1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 380 The Parisians Forming a Group
The normal budget approval process takes a long time, sometimes as short as 4-5 months, and sometimes as long as several years. The main reason is that it requires multiple layers of approval, and each approval may be rejected and required to be revised.

However, developing tourism was Provence's most important task in the 80s, and the various provinces were in a fierce competition for tourists and time.

In special circumstances, some special measures may be taken.

The Vaucluse Tourism Authority submits its budget to the local government in the form of "major items" a year in advance, in November of each year, with the funds allocated in May of the following year.

If you need to use funds that have been applied for in advance, you only need to go through two approval processes: the local audit office and the Ministry of the Interior. This will be much faster.

Even so, the official written approval still required several stamps before it could be delivered, so Sylvie said they only received 'verbal approval'.

As for why verbal approval was given in advance...
“Quincy ordered us to have the infrastructure for the Rosé Route completed before next year’s travel season, and to submit a detailed plan as soon as possible. He will process our funding in the same way.” Sylvie spun around in her chair a few times. “So this official is interested in rosé wine. No wonder he was suddenly so excited the other day!”

Blanco looked at the documents in front of him and said with a smile:
"It can only be said that Ronan has extensive connections and understands what the tourism bureau is truly interested in."

Thinking about it this way, Ronan's friend was really amazing.

Blanco could still recall Quincy's tone on the phone, as if he would firmly support Lourmarin as long as it remained steadfast in its development of rosé.

“Alright, we’ll talk about that later. Let’s first discuss what the different funds should be used for.” Blanco tapped the table twice earnestly.

Claude, referring to the prepared documents, reported to Blanco:

"The 100 million yuan tourism infrastructure fund will be used for road repairs, parking lot construction, visitor center development, public health facilities, and waste sorting stations."

"A cultural heritage subsidy of 60 francs will be used to restore Lourmarin Castle."

"The 50 francs allocated for tourism promotion and event sponsorship will be used to enhance the market's influence, host the pilgrimage festival, and plan two major cultural events to be held in Lourmaran this year."

Local tourism promotion and maintenance

Lourmaran received its first tourism support grant of 350 million francs, a figure higher than the 250 million francs granted to Gordes and the 150 million francs granted to Mena last year.

Besides the fact that Lourmaran needs to upgrade more infrastructure than the previous two, it also benefits from its new look, with so much to offer tourists that it's worth the investment.

According to information obtained by Blanco and others, this is the highest single amount approved in the village of Luberon.

In fact, 350 million francs is enough for the government to support Ronan in opening a rosé winery, because they also have local tax revenue, and the growth of this figure is also very encouraging.

Surprisingly, in addition to the familiar tourism support funds, Quincy also approved an unexpected budget for Lourmaran, named the Traditional Crafts Preservation Fund.

The art of handcrafting rosé wine has been listed as an 'endangered craft,' and the first round of funding provided is 80 francs.

With this additional 80 francs, the Lourmaran government can not only improve tourism infrastructure but also provide substantial disaster relief to affected farmers, making its economy very prosperous.

Quincy urgently needed Lourmarin to submit a detailed rosé development plan, and Stellar Winery was at the heart of this matter. Like Ronan, Blanc's future plans all revolved around this winery. So, after receiving Quincy's call, Blanc immediately had Sylvie book the winery, only postponing the payment until the funds arrived.

“Ronan would definitely not want to start a winery from scratch; the challenge would be too great. But we bought the best rosé winery in Provence, so he certainly has no reason to refuse.”

"Of course! If I were Ronan, I'd be ecstatic right now!"

Ronan was so happy, he was absolutely ecstatic.

Because Jerome said on the phone that he had already accepted the buyer's deposit and couldn't back out.

Ronan asked him about the buyer's background, and Jerome was 'baffled' and said that he didn't know much either. The woman had only come to the winery once, asked about the price and details, and then disappeared. She reappeared more than a month later to inform Jerome that she wanted to pay a deposit.

"Where did this idiot come from?" Ronan complained indignantly.

Around 8 p.m., Ines's party invitation arrived as scheduled.

She happily said that such wonderful news must be celebrated in person, and she would make time no matter how busy she was.

The gathering was scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Apte, a place that was friendly to everyone.

On Sunday, after packing his luggage for Nice, Ronan arrived a little early at a café in Apte.

Jerome has a habit of arriving early, and Ronan wanted to take this opportunity to find out more about the new owner of Stellar Winery. What if a miracle happened?

Unexpectedly, Ronan was not alone in having such a goal. When he entered the small private room, Ness and the bartender Theodore were already chatting with Jerome.

Ines patted the seat next to him and said to Ronan with a complicated expression:
“Jerome just told us that the buyer seems a bit strange.”

Ronan looked at Jerome with a puzzled expression:

"Is it strange?"

Jerome spread his hands out:
"When that woman went to the winery, we talked about some things. She didn't answer very fluently and seemed unwilling to say more. She just told me that she wasn't the owner of the winery and that she was there on behalf of the 'boss'."

A few days ago she called me, saying she wanted to book the winery. I asked if her boss needed to come and see it. She said no, my God, can you believe it? Such a big deal, and the boss isn't even going to show his face!

Theodore fiddled with a bottle opener in his hand and said in a less-than-friendly tone:
“Your words make me even more worried. None of the winery owners in Provence are interested in St. Strasbourg, which means that this buyer must be an outsider. Coupled with your description, I am very worried that this is some rich kid or girl spending money to buy novelty.”

Theodore is a very famous sommelier in Provence and knows almost all the winery owners there. For the past two months, he has been trying to find a buyer for Jérôme, but he has been hitting roadblocks everywhere. As soon as the other party hears that it is a rosé winery, they just laugh it off.

Theodore's words made Ronan automatically picture Miss Patricia's face.

He sighed helplessly. Having a rich father is so enviable!
We simply can't compete with that.

Theodore looked at Ines and said in a 'complaining' tone:
"They can't run Stersgaard well!"

But what could Ines do?

She thought of something and asked Jerome:

"Did that buyer purchase the entire Stellar Winery?"

Jerome mentioned at the last gathering that he might sell them in parts, making them easier to sell.

Jerome shook his head and said:

"No, that woman only wanted the 'Stesgar' brand and the rosé recipe, nothing else. But to be honest, what she wanted were precisely the two hardest things to sell. Land, equipment, and factory buildings are easy to sell; I'm surrounded by wineries."

Ines glanced at Theodore with a complicated expression, as if to say that there was really no other way now.

Jerome observed the micro-expressions of these people and shrugged awkwardly:
“I know what you’re thinking. This might not be a good buyer. I had the same concerns, which is why I offered a high price of 80, but she actually agreed.”

Ronan gulped down the wine.

The last time Jerome offered him $50!
You can own the 'Stras' brand for 50.

But this buyer actually paid 80?
Rich! Extravagant!

Ronan had already given up struggling, but Theodore hadn't. He asked Jerome tentatively:

“Have you signed a contract? I can ask those new winegrowers from Paris again. Their thinking is different from that of the locals in Provence. They shouldn’t be as opposed to rosé. It’s just that those people are very ‘xenophobic’ and might not accept my proposal. But give me some time, I want to give it a try!”

Jerome scratched his head:
"We're about to sign the contract, and we've already agreed on the amount of the deposit. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Seeing that things had developed to this point, no one felt comfortable saying anything more.

Members then arrived one after another, all surrounding Jerome to learn what had happened.

Ines, Ronan, and Theodore, who had been talking with Jerome for a long time, went to a quiet corner.

Ronan asked Theodore:
"Didn't you just say that you're a new winemaker from Paris?"

The term was mentioned by the cooperative owner in Gur village where Ronan and Zoe bought high-proof brandy.

He said that in recent years, many people from big cities have come to Provence to do wine business, and these people have a common name - new winegrowers.

Besides all being from big cities, they have another characteristic—they prefer to operate in the high-end wine sector and almost never deal in table wine.

But the boss never added an adjective like 'Paris' before it.

“Yes, those winery owners from Paris are very united,” Theodore explained.

After Ronan joined the association, Theodore missed most of the gatherings.

Ines, worried that the sommelier might not know Ronan's background and might say something biased or derogatory towards Parisians, took over the conversation and added to Ronan's point:
"These Parisian winery owners also formed a local organization called the 'New Era Winery Alliance,' and they also participated in the auction of one of Zoe's artworks exhibited in Gold."

Ronan recognized the name; this buyer was also active in Gold and had acquired several very good pieces.

When Ronan first heard the term "new winegrowers," he wanted to get in touch with them because their expertise in the high-end market was exactly what he lacked.

In fact, the entire Provençal wine market, including red, white, rosé, and other wines, is facing a crisis of being "cheap," which is why the European Union launched the "removal plan" to force the market to transform.

Ronan decided he must get to know them if he had the chance; they were all fellow Parisians, so he thought it would be easy to fit in.

Thinking about this, Ronan suddenly felt incredibly sad.

Forget about the high-end market, Stellar is gone!

Ronan was only sad for a few minutes, because his sadness was quickly replaced by other emotions.

Ms. Astrid arrived late and plopped down next to him without even taking off her coat.

She asked in a tone that was a mixture of anger and incomprehension:

"The buyer wasn't you?"

(End of this chapter)