1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 67 What’s Wrong with You Provençal People?

"Ronan wants to make his own furniture?" Zoe shouted in her heart.

Although she was shocked, she squatted beside Ronan with a calm expression.

She wanted to see what this guy was going to do.

"All of them." Ronan gestured again to prove to the stall owner that he had heard correctly.

Level 2 [Construction] gave him some basic carpentry skills, but he was not arrogant enough to think that he could successfully make a bed or a closet.

At least not before you start.

But the stuff at the flea market is so cheap.

The two cups that Zoe bought only cost 2 francs, while the cups that Zoe made herself cost 9 francs each.

If these things are cheap, Ronan will buy some and try them home.

The knowledge provided by the system told him that it is best to use new power tools, but it is completely possible to buy second-hand hand tools.

Especially since there is a complete set of tools placed here, it shows that the previous owner was a person who understood carpentry and would most likely take good care of them.

The stall owner is still in a state of 'not quite understanding the situation'.

Today he only sold two hammers and a chisel. Few people even asked about the other tools. When he was almost done, someone suddenly came and told him "I want them all". Who could believe this?

Are you here to play a trick on me?

"1000 francs." He casually quoted a price without even calculating.

Ronan said to Zoe next to him:
"Let's go."

1000 francs can buy a bed.

Zoe said with relief:

"Thank God, I thought you were so mad because you couldn't buy suitable furniture that you decided to make it yourself."

The stall owner looked up suddenly when he heard this:

"Do you really want to buy it?"

Ronan stood up:
"Yes, but I don't want to now."

"Wait, wait!" The stall owner tried to stop Ronan from leaving, "How much do you want to pay?"

Having learned from Simon's failed bargaining experience, Ronan quoted a price:
"Two hundred and fifty francs, all for this."

He roughly counted and found that there were twenty or thirty tools on the ground.

There are four types of saws: hand saws, mortise saws, dovetail saws and bow saws. He also saw several sizes of European hand-made bench planes that can meet the production needs of soft and hard wood in various scenarios.

"They're yours now!"

"Did I report too high a price after all?" On the way home, Ronan became angrier and angrier as he thought about it, and he became annoyed again.

Is it still so satisfying to take half and half?

What's wrong with you Provencals?
Zoe asked speechlessly:
"You're still in the mood to complain about the price? Why buy so many tools?"

The trunk was filled with the things the two had used to set up their stall that morning. It was already full. Even if Ronan and Zoe worked together to think of a solution, they wouldn't be able to stuff all the tools in.

Ronan's car only has two seats in the front.
At this moment, there were carpentry tools under Zoe's feet, in her arms, in her hands, and next to her face.

If the oncoming driver had better eyesight, he might be able to see a "giant with a hundred arms" sitting in the passenger seat, with a dangerous weapon in each arm.

"Try making furniture yourself." Ronan was not very confident.

Zoe wanted to turn her head to look at Ronan, but she was afraid of bumping into the tools beside her, so she forced herself to look forward:
"Do you know how difficult it is to make furniture? Carpentry is very complicated and the number of people who can do it in Lourmarin can be counted on two hands."

Ronan touched his nose and said guiltily:

"But they're cheap, aren't they? If I try and it doesn't work, I'll resell them."

"You just complained that you might have overpaid." Zoe leaned forward and turned her head to look at Ronan. At the same time, there was a 'crackling' sound of tools colliding with each other in the car. Ronan didn't dare to meet her eyes:

"I do know a little bit of carpentry, I really do."

Zoe shook her head tiredly, closed her eyes and stopped talking.

Ronan glanced at Zoe secretly:
"I know where the carpenter in the village is. If necessary, I will go to him to learn."

Ronan's family has an empty donkey shed, which is now used to store farm tools.

He moved all his new tools and his old tools here.

This will be his workshop in the future.

The first thing to do is to categorize the tools.

Before a soldier goes to the battlefield, he must first know what weapons he has.

About twenty minutes later, the tools on the ground had been lined up according to their categories.

From left to right are:
Ruler, tape measure, marking knife, square ruler, protractor, movable angle ruler, double-head marking tool, dovetail marking tool;
Hand saws, mortise saws, dovetail saws, bow saws;
Roughing planes, smoothing planes, block planes of various sizes, combination oil whetstones and lubricating oil;
mortising chisels and miter chisels;
Flat-bottomed bird plane, double-sided flat file, pliers, screwdriver, mallet, 4 G-shaped racks, 4 puzzle clamps, and some screws.

Ronan looked down at the tools and fell into a brief moment of contemplation.

He felt that the first experiment of carpentry should not be a bed or a cabinet. The furniture he needed most now was a large table, a workbench.

The tools can be temporarily placed on the ground, but he cannot work on the ground.

Moreover, compared with the bed and the closet, the table is relatively simple and suitable for him as a 'beginner'.

Now a huge problem arises.

How could he make a workbench when he didn't have a workbench to make it?

This question is like the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg.

Even if we find a substitute for the workbench, where can we find the wood to make the table?
He had never seen any usable wood in Lourmarin.

"The first step is to ask the carpenter for advice," Ronan came to this conclusion helplessly.

It was getting dark now, and Ronan wanted to get the answer before dinner.

The merchant who sold windows was skilled in carpentry, and he had seen many tools when he went to buy windows.

Ronan left home and saw from afar Louis's old Citroen car slowly driving towards him and stopping in front of his door.

In Lourmarin, unless there is something urgent, people will choose to walk instead of driving.

Does Louis have something urgent to discuss with him?
But Ronan never expected that the person driving the car was Zoe.

"Where are you going?" Zoe rolled down the window.

"I'm going to find the carpenter." Ronan asked, "Why did you drive out?"

Zoe put on a helpless expression that said, "I knew it would be like this."

"boarding."

Ronan sat in the car obediently and found that Zoe was not taking him to the carpenter's house he was familiar with, but to her backyard, where there was a building very similar to Ronan's donkey shed.

Zoe parked the car in front of the building, and without giving Ronan a chance to speak, she quickly turned off the engine, got out of the car, and opened its door.

Ronan followed in helplessly and was stunned.

This is a very professional carpentry workshop with all kinds of tools hanging on the walls, more tools than those found in a window shop!
Ronan turned around in horror and saw Zoe biting the hair tie on her wrist. She waved her hands behind her head, and her blonde hair was combed neatly behind her head like magic.

"Ask me. I'm one of the ten people in Lourmarin who can do carpentry." Zoe closed the door behind her.

She took off her brown leather jacket and threw it on the chair:
"Let me see how much you know."

(End of this chapter)