1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 66 Are You Serious?

Going to Sorg Island was not an excuse Ronan made up, he really planned to go and take a look.

In Provence, it is very expensive for craftsmen to make furniture with materials other than stone, but he can't buy a bed and closet made of stone, right?
Although Doku could certainly do it, it would make parents feel like they have returned to the 'Stone Age'.

And then there is the all-important issue of money.
It cost a lot of money to prepare the items needed to sell sweet and sour pork at the market. Although he earned about 2000 francs every week, he only had 7000 in cash.

After buying three toilets, the number reached more than 3. Even if the upcoming weekend income was taken into account, it was still not enough to support his lavish spending.

Sorgue Island has a flea market that is famous throughout Europe, as well as hundreds of antique shops.

Ronan plans to try his luck there.

The flea market on Sorgue Island is only held on weekends. Ronan chose to go there in the afternoon on the day of the Mena Village market, so that he could visit antique shops and flea markets in one trip.

Zoe said she also wanted to go to Sorgue Island to see the antiques, and she was very familiar with the place, so the two of them went there together after having lunch in Mena Village.

Starting from Mena Village, driving west along D900 Road for about thirty minutes, a river appeared in front of us.

"The Sorgue River originates from the village of Fontaine a few kilometers away." Ronan kept emphasizing that he should tell him more about the things he saw. Zoe spoke immediately when she saw the important "landmarks" outside.

Fontaine Village is one of the most famous villages in Provence. It has beautiful scenery and is known as the 'Water City'.

"Is Sog Island named after it?" Ronan asked.

Although Sorgue Island is called an 'island', it is located in an inland area.

Zoe nodded:
"The Saugue River continues to flow westward, forming a swamp. Saugue Island is located in this swamp area and is surrounded by the Saugue River. The town is also built along several small river canals that branch off from the Saugue River."

Ronan drove across an unknown bridge and saw many small white houses on both sides of the canal.

The scenery of Ile-de-Sorgue is not outstanding in Provence. Most outsiders come to Ile-de-Sorgue to attend the weekend flea market or visit antique shops.

But Ronan saw not only antique shops along the way, but also traditional processing workshops such as flour shops, dye shops and wool workshops.

"Is business very developed here?" Ronan asked as he looked around.

Many workshops have never been seen in Mena Village.

"Ile Sorgue is the manufacturing center of Provence. The Sorgue River has abundant and stable water flow, which provides a stable driving force for the development of handicrafts." Zoe explained patiently, "In the 18th century, this was one of the four areas where Jews were allowed to live. About 300 Jews lived here."

Ronan nodded, and when he looked at the other side of the canal, he suddenly thought of a photo he saw in a tourist brochure:
Dense crowds of vendors row their fishing boats and sell fruits and vegetables on the canal.

Therefore, Isle de la Sorgue has another name - the Venice of Provence.

But that scene won’t be seen until August.

Zoe thought Ronan was looking at the flower shop on the roadside:
"Want to buy some flowers?"

Ronan shook his head and said:
“Henry has planted a lot of flowers near my house and comes to take care of and water them regularly.”

Zoe showed a puzzled look:

“Henry doesn’t have a good reputation in the village, but he seems to have become a different person in your mouth.”

Ronan smiled and said:
“It’s hard for us to see the whole person, isn’t it?”

Zoe didn't say anything and just looked out the window.

Indeed, you haven't seen all of me yet.

Zoe is very familiar with Isle de Sorgue.

She directed Ronan to drive to the southwest of Sorgue Island, near an 'antique city' that was converted from an abandoned park.

Ronan stopped the car and found that there were no other shops on both sides of the road in this area, only shops selling antiques.

Ronan went into several antique shops. The furniture inside was not cheap at all. Any cabinet cost hundreds or thousands of francs, and the sofas were so expensive that he had no desire to sit on them to try them out.

He finally understood why Zoe came to Isle de Sorgue once or twice a month.

These shops sell expensive 'art'.

Zoe said in a voice that only the two of them could hear:
"Many designers come to Ile-de-Sorgue specifically to look for 'inspiration'. The antique market on Ile-de-Sorgue is second only to London and Paris in Europe."

"No wonder." Ronan quickly ended this art trip, "Is this also what is sold in the 'Antique City'?"

Zoe thought about it:
"more or less."

Ronan took heavy steps.

This trip to Isle de la Sorgue might lead to a return empty-handed. As expected, Ronan did not find the furniture that suited him in the "Antique City".

The cost of buying second-hand furniture here is not much cheaper than having Ronan find a craftsman to make new ones.

There is no need to buy second-hand.
When Ronan was thinking about whether to bite the bullet and buy expensive wooden furniture, or to ask Duoku to make another batch of stone furniture, Zoe stood at the entrance of the "Antique City" and asked:

“Still going to the flea market?”

"Go, why not?" Ronan said after coming to his senses.

“There isn’t much furniture for sale at the flea market, and individual sellers mainly sell sundries.”

"What kind of junk?"

"There is everything there, everything you can think of and everything you can't think of."

Ronan tilted his head:
"Go and see."

Compared to the lifeless "antique city" with few customers, Ronan prefers the bustling flea market.

Zoe said that hundreds of thousands of people come here to visit every year.

If he hadn't seen what was being sold, Ronan would have thought he had come to a morning market in a village.

This is the Provence he is familiar with!
Provence should be friendly and natural. Those "high-end" things should not belong here!

There are indeed not many furniture in the flea market, at least very few large furniture. There are some small tables, chairs, boxes, shelves, etc. that are in good condition.

Although they are cheap, they are not what Ronan needs most. His main targets are beds and closets.

But Ronan and Zoe both had a great time shopping.

There are a wide variety of things here, including toys, tableware, stationery, clothes, farm tools, accessories, handicrafts. Ronan even saw Chinese brushes, ancient coins and ancient swords here.

"It's very interesting here." Ronan said with emotion.

Flea markets are spontaneous, the stalls and items are not fixed, and you can find new things every week.

If the journey wasn't too far, he would come here every week.

The most important thing is that things here are very, very cheap.

"This place is suitable for people of all ages." Zoe was very happy today. She bought two cups that she liked very much.

The only drawback was that Ronan didn't find what he wanted.

"Let's go to Avignon tomorrow?" Zoe said, looking at Ronan's profile. "There are antique shops and furniture stores there."

"This is the only way," Ronan shrugged.

Around four o'clock, the stall owners started packing up and preparing to leave.

Some of them had happy smiles on their faces, and it was obvious that their products were selling well.

Some have sad faces, which means their income is lower than expected.

As he walked, Ronan heard a long sigh, which probably meant that no one was interested in this stall.

Ronan looked over with interest, wanting to see what was unsellable in a market with such a huge flow of people.

After seeing this, he couldn't walk anymore.

On the floor was a complete set of carpentry tools—saws, planes, chisels, marking tools, and grinding tools.
The stall owner no longer had any hope of selling these things, and said listlessly:

"Do you need it, sir? It's very cheap."

Zoe was attracted by the voice, turned her head to take a quick look, and quickly looked away, but she saw Ronan squat down with a 'swish' in her peripheral vision.

"How much?" Ronan asked.

"Which one?" asked the stall owner.

Ronan drew a big circle with his right hand:
"all."

Zoe exclaimed before the shop owner could:
"You can't be serious?"

(End of this chapter)