1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 29 Using the Forest to Make a Garden
[Waking up at home increases happiness by 2 points]

Since Ronan came to Provence, the reminder tone he heard every morning has always been:

[Waking up in a bare house increases happiness by 1 point]

'Pension nothing' is gone?
One more point?
If this house is decorated like a palace, how much [happiness] will you get when you wake up?

5? 10? 100? ?
Ronan suppressed the urge to replace all the windows with new ones right away, or to go buy furniture right away.

"Make money first. Without money, nothing can be changed. Have you forgotten the suffering you have endured because of poverty?"

Thinking of this, he jumped up and continued to go into the mountains to dig truffles.

Ronan went home a little earlier than usual today because he was going to attend a party at Lucas's house in the evening.

He had been in Provence for a month, and this was the first time he had left the familiar Louis's, Alan's, Freddy's or Karl's homes to visit other families.

Influenced by his parents, he would bring something every time he attended a party, and this time, what he brought was the "Tuopai Qujiu" that he accidentally found at the market.

A villager found two bottles of Chinese liquor from somewhere and displayed them as if they were old items.

Ronan thought that a wealthy man like Lucas would not appreciate ordinary gifts, and that specialty wines were more meaningful and more in line with his Chinese identity, so he bought them at 85 francs per bottle.

The farmers in Provence have a set outfit in winter - jeans, leather jackets and leather boots.

Ronan seldom dresses like this. He only wants to be comfortable and convenient when working and does not pursue any style. But today he deliberately changed into a farmer's outfit.

Although he didn't know who else was attending the party or what they were doing, the party was held at Lucas's house, so wearing this outfit was a way of showing respect to the host.

Lucas's home is also not in the densely populated center of the village. He lives on the side of the village close to the forest, at the junction of farmland and forest.

There is no fence around the house, giving people the feeling that the entire forest behind it is a back garden.

And the fact is indeed like this
"Lucas bought all this land." Theo said proudly when he came out to pick up Ronan.

"You bought the whole forest?" Ronan looked shocked.

"Oh, no, no, no." Theo said with a look of 'this is a really funny joke', "He doesn't have the money to buy the whole forest!"

"I'm telling you." Ronan muttered silently.

"I just bought more than 100 acres." Theo helped Ronan open the door.

Even if Ronan had not inquired about the price of the land in Lourmarin Village, he knew that it was definitely not a small amount.

Lucas is really rich.
As soon as he entered the door, Ronan was greeted by a rush of hot air.

From what he had heard from Simon, Ronan guessed that Lucas must have installed the best cast-iron heater ever invented by the Germans or Belgians.

Lucas's house was very big. Ronan didn't hear any conversation when he entered the house, but when Theo took him through the foyer, the living room, the huge kitchen area and the dining room where the tableware was already set, and finally to the expanded leisure area, he suddenly realized that there were nearly twenty people.

Lucas was playing a local poker game with two other people. When he saw Ronan coming, he pushed his cards on the table and walked towards Ronan with open arms.

"You're finally here!" He hugged Ronan tightly. Lucas was so enthusiastic that it was like meeting a brother who grew up with him. This was only the second time he and Ronan had met!
If he wasn't in the truffle business, maybe Lucas could try his luck in Cannes, Ronan thought to himself.

He hugged back with an acting skill that was no less impressive than Lucas's:
"The snow hasn't melted completely yet, which slowed down my return. Here, I brought you a small gift, Chinese liquor."

Ronan handed over the gift in his hand.

Lucas put his arm around Ronan and held a bottle of wine in the other, and said to the other guests passionately:

"Tonight we will taste some Chinese liquor, and I will also introduce you to this man with an oriental face!"

Lucas arranged Ronan to stay by his side, which made Elena, who had been pretending to be a lady for a long time and didn't even dare to go over and say hello to Ronan, very angry.

This guy Lucas only has Ronan in his eyes!
Move me to your side too!
What does it mean to put me in a corner?
Then she looked around at the guests present.
Even though Elena was a spoiled young lady, she understood that only she could sit in this corner and it was not appropriate for anyone else to sit there.

Theo sat down next to Elena silently and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear:

"Lucas told me to tell you that everyone who comes to the party today is not simple. If you dare to make any noise at the table, he will throw you out without mercy."

The second half of the sentence was added by Theo himself. He often used Lucas's "message" to punish Elena for her disrespect towards him on a daily basis.

"Mind your own business." Elena retorted, and listened attentively to the conversation between Lucas and Ronan.

"This is Olivier. He has restaurants in Marseille, Nice, Cannes and Avignon. His wife likes the environment of Lourmarin Village and moved here from Marseille three years ago. By the way, Mrs. Chels has opened a restaurant in the village. You must try it if you have the chance. The cooking skills are excellent."

Lucas pointed to a fat middle-aged man at the table with a mustache above his lips and a belly that could reach the table and introduced him to Ronan.

Ronan was stunned.

It was definitely not easy for someone to own multiple restaurants in 1986.

And he is Mrs. Chelsea’s husband?
Lucas introduced another plain-looking man:

"This is Jean Camus, the son of Albert Camus, the Nobel Prize winner in literature. After his father died unexpectedly on the way from Lourmarin to Paris, he and his mother and sister have been living a low-key life here."

Camus is a famous French writer and philosopher. His major works include "The Outsider" and "The Plague". He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957.

Ronan knew that Camus had lived in Lourmarin because there was a road named "Camus" in the village, but he didn't know that Camus' wife and children still lived in Lourmarin.

Ronan was still in shock when Lucas pointed at another person and introduced him:

"This is Xiweier. His father was the Minister of Transport of France. In order to commemorate his father Raoul's contribution to French railways, the square in front of the Paris train station was named after him. You should have been to that train station, right?"

Ronan took a sip of wine to calm himself.

Everyone at the table was either rich or noble. He was sitting at the vice-guest seat next to Lucas and felt very stressed.

Why was he given this position?

(End of this chapter)