1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 32: Simple Folk Customs of the People of Provence
European countries began artificial cultivation of truffles after World War II.

World War II reduced the annual production of truffles in France, the main producer of truffles, to around 30 tons. How could the French, who are so obsessed with truffles, not have considered artificial cultivation?
However, truffle cultivation is extremely difficult, and it was not until around 2010 that France found a relatively complete method of artificial cultivation.

However, unlike traditional artificial cultivation, truffles can only be cultivated through human intervention.

As for what Lucas said, the success rate is very high.
Of course the research institute has to come up with a nice slogan when looking for partners.

There are too few opportunities for the simple-minded people of Provence to interact with the Parisians. Have you forgotten that they are "hypocritical" Parisians who are full of lies?

But this is inevitable. These institutions can deceive thousands of wealthy people like Lucas every year to do free experiments for them.

"High returns are always accompanied by high risks. There is no business that is guaranteed to make money." Lucas was still intoxicated by his dream of a truffle empire and refused to wake up. He even wanted to take Ronan with him. "There are many broad-leaved forests in Luberon. Growing truffles does not require the use of any chemical fertilizers, pesticides or other substances that change the ecological environment. There is no need to change the land use attributes. The government will give us a lot of support."

Ronan knew that it was difficult to wake up someone who was dreaming of getting rich unless he could produce evidence, and he didn't have any, so pouring too much cold water on him would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble, so he just stopped at the point:
"Sorry Lucas, I am on the fence about this project and am not considering joining for now."

The party ended and the guests left.

Lucas, Theo and Elena sat in front of the fireplace in the living room, talking about what they had gained that night.

"Ronan refused again." As soon as he felt better, Lucas started drinking again, forgetting the oath he made while hugging the toilet.

"Rejected again?" Theo fell into deep self-blame. "I haven't been drinking with him much recently. I will go to him next week when I have nothing to do and ask Ronan what he is worried about."

Damn it, Elena wasted so much of my time!

"You can drink, but you don't have to worry about this." Lucas rubbed his sore neck.

"Why?" Theo didn't understand.

Not trying to get Ronan to join?
Lucas looked at Elena and his expression softened:
"You had a good chat with Ronan? Keep in touch with him and mention truffles occasionally. If there is a chance, test whether he has concerns about the profit share."

The only good news tonight is Elena.

After Ronan talked to her, his attitude obviously changed. Maybe this is a breakthrough?
"It's so easy." Elena was like a cat with its tail up, baring her teeth and claws and giving Theo a 'winner' smile.

Lucas thought of something and asked casually:
"What did you and Ronan talk about?"

He wanted to understand Ronan's preferences to facilitate the next round of operations.

In short, he decided not to give up Ronan, this good helper.

"Oh, yes, yes!" Elena sat up straight. "Help Ronan get a stall in Mena Village. I've already promised him."

The wine in Theo and Lucas' mouths sprayed out at the same time.

"what?"

"What did you promise?"

Elena said excitedly:
"I asked him if he had encountered any problems. He said his application to set up a stall was rejected by Mena Village. He asked me if there was any solution. I said, isn't it easy? He can go to any market in Provence he wants. Hey, hey, hey, why are you looking at me like that? Don't we need to show our strength to make Ronan believe in us?"

"Do you know how tight the stalls are in Mena Village? Is this something that can be agreed to casually?" "He can go to any market in Provence he wants. Elena, do you think I am a high-ranking official?"

"You can brag about this, are you crazy?"

Elena cried and rolled back and forth on the sofa:
"I don't care! Anyway, I promised him, you have to find a way! You have to!!"

In the next few days, Ronan lived a typical Provencal farmer's life.

I wake up at 5:15 every day and get in the car on time 3 minutes later. If I don’t need to comfort Xiao Hei, this time can be minutes earlier.

Xiao Hei had grown up and become smarter. He understood that if Ronan left at this time, it would take at least twelve hours for him to come back. So every time Ronan took the dog for a walk in the morning, he would try his best not to come back, intending to go with him.

Ronan wanted to take it with him many times out of soft-heartedness, but his current means of finding truffles depended entirely on various "traces". Xiao Hei's presence would destroy the "barren" area and scare away the flies in advance. He had no choice but to reluctantly let it become a "left-behind child".

However, when the picking season is over and he is less busy, he plans to try to train Xiao Hei again. Maybe his IQ will increase as much as his height?
I eat breakfast and lunch on the way to work every day. I get tired of eating dumplings every day. During this time, Ronan has to prepare other foods that are easy to carry and quick to eat.

One time Ronan went out in a hurry and forgot to bring his watch. He estimated the time based on the position of the shadows of the trees throughout the day. Unexpectedly, the time he walked back to the parking place was only 7 minutes different from his usual return time.

From then on, he hardly looked at the time, nor did he care what day it was. In Provence, time is the least important thing.

He also developed a good habit of going to bed early, and before 9 o'clock, the snoring of him and Xiao Hei would be heard in the bedroom.

But one night, a phone call disrupted his plan to go to bed early.

It was Theo who called.

"I helped you get a stall permit for Mena Village. Your code is DS."

Ronan didn't even bother to put on his socks. He put on his coat and boots and drove to Louis's house.

The residents of Lourmarin village all go to bed early, unless there are gamblers or drunkards at home. Louis' family of four are also ready to rest. When they see Ronan coming, they come out of their bedrooms and gather in the living room.

"We can go to Mena Village to set up a stall!" Ronan said happily to Zoe, who was the last one to come out.

This should have been a happy thing, but Louis and Leah looked at Zoe worriedly after hearing it.

Zoe has been in a bad mood recently, and the couple speculated that it was because the application for stall permit was not progressing as expected.

She goes out early and comes back late every day, and she went to bed without having dinner last night.

Louis offered to help find someone several times, but was rejected by Zoe.

She is so independent and strong that she doesn't even want to trouble her father. The news Ronan brought is not necessarily good news for Zoe.

Ronan's smile was awkward. He realized that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what was wrong.

Just as he was racking his brains to find a reason to say goodnight to everyone, Zoe suddenly smiled, and her smile was as beautiful as a blooming iris:
"Okay, let's go to Mena Village this weekend."

(End of this chapter)