1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 74 You're Going to Be Rich, Buddy

Ronan didn't take Zoe's words to heart.

After getting to know each other, she often made little jokes, and Ronan was used to it.

But two weeks later, at the Mena Village Market, several tourists came to him for photos again, which seemed a little strange.

"When did you arrive in Provence?" Ronan asked in a chatty tone.

"We arrived in Avignon the day before yesterday, the day before yesterday." The tourists held sweet and sour pork in one hand and rosé wine in the other.

"Then how do you know me?" Ronan became curious.

Half a month ago, some more exciting stories than the "bread competition" did happen in front of the stall. It was understandable that it attracted some attention at the time, but it has been half a month since that incident.

After that, apart from using the gimmick of "Provence specialties" to sell more rosé wine, everything was normal. How come tourists suddenly appeared to him to take photos this week?

These tourists didn’t come to Mena Village last week.

A lady with freckles on her face took out a booklet, pointed to a page and said:

"It's written in the Mifal Guide. If you come to the Mena Village market for sightseeing, you must come and see your place."

"The Guide to Mirfal?" Ronan stretched his neck out.

"The Michelin Guide is so popular that many magazines and media have imitated its content to create their own guides. The Mifar Guide is a travel guide published by Michelin magazine specifically for tourists."

That afternoon, Ronan went to visit Jules.

He guessed that this senior restaurant owner who had run the restaurant in Lourmarin for seven or eight years might know some information, and sure enough, he got something out of it.

Jules took out his Miphar Guide and handed it to Ronan:

"This is last year's version, not the latest one. The Mifar Guide will be updated once every April when the travel season begins."

Ronan then opened the book and found that the Mifal Guide only recorded food, accommodation, transportation and entertainment in the Vaucluse province, but not other areas of Provence.

Provence also includes the Bouches-du-Rhône department with Marseille as its capital, the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the northeast, and the Côte d'Azur region on the southeast coast.

"Michelin is a local magazine?" Ronan asked as he flipped through the pages.

Jules wanted to pour Ronan a glass of anise wine, but remembering that this guy sold pink wine in the "Miphar Guide", he opened a bottle of pink wine for him:

"Yes, a magazine dedicated to recording information about life in the Vaucluse."

The Mifthal Guide is completely different from the Michelin Guide.

The Michelin Guide focuses more on food, while the Mifthal Guide gives almost equal weight to food, accommodation, transportation and entertainment.

The content and style of the two guidelines are also very different.

The Michelin Guide only roughly records the prices, star ratings and signature dishes of each restaurant, while the Mifal Guide has much more detailed records about restaurants:
How old is the chef, where did he learn his craft, how many years have he been in the industry, whether he is currently stagnant or still making progress, and even information about the owners and their wives is mentioned.

Ronan's mouth twitched.

Can these also affect the restaurant's reviews?
The Mifal Guide also records the scenery around the restaurant, whether there are beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows and terraces, the attitude of the waiters and the dining atmosphere, etc. Some even come with a menu and wine list.

Ronan dare not say that the information included in the Mifal Guide is necessarily correct, but the content is quite exciting and can be read as an "entertainment newspaper". For example, when recording Mr. Jacques's restaurant, the author described the restaurant owner as a lucky guy who looks humble, but is extremely fragile and sensitive inside, and has a harmonious relationship with his wife. He also reminded customers not to go hungry, as they may faint from hunger on the way.

Ronan couldn't help but recall the passage that mentioned him in the latest edition of the Mifal Guide that was just released a few days ago:
"If time is limited and you can only attend one Luberon specialty market, I would recommend Meine Village without hesitation. The market there is the largest and has the most comprehensive products in the Luberon Mountains. You can learn all the characteristics of Luberon in just one morning. Don't be surprised when you see a yellow-skinned stall owner using "Provence characteristics" to attract customers. He is also one of the "characteristics" of the Meine Village market. Luberon welcomes friends from all over the world, whether they come to travel or live here."

"Very interesting guide." Ronan collected his thoughts and continued to ask Jules, "Where can it be sold? I mean, can locals buy it too?"

Ronan had only seen local travel guides like this near train stations.

Such a good thing should be discovered by more people, especially since he is written in it.

Jules drank a whole glass of aniseed wine on the rocks in one gulp:

"The Miphar Guide is not for sale, it is given away free of charge."

"Free?" Ronan paused holding the wine glass.

Are there still free guides?
Social welfare?

Jules flattened his hands, indicating that he didn't understand either:
"It wasn't free before, but it has been distributed free of charge near various transportation hubs in the past two years. Maybe the Vaucluse Tourism Bureau wants to compete with other regions for tourists."

Jules' answer reminded Ronan of what Arthur had said in the morning about the 'Vaucluse Gourmet Alliance'. Could there be any connection between the two?

"Do you know the Vaucluse Gastronomy Union?" Ronan asked.

A new customer came to Jules' restaurant. He stood up and patted Ronan on the shoulder:

"I don't know what the 'Vaucluse Gastronomy Union' is, I just know you're going to make a fortune, man. The Mifal Guide has a huge audience in the Luberon region, especially among tourists, who will follow what is written in it to visit."

There are many advantages to attending the market, but the disadvantages are equally obvious.

It was only held one day a week, and Ronan had no way of verifying whether he was really going to get rich until next Saturday.

But in the latest week, his turnover has indeed increased significantly.

After finishing all the work, I went home and did a careful calculation, and the net profit exceeded 2500 francs.

Because he didn't want to have leftover food, Ronan only brought a limited amount of pork every week, which resulted in the sweet and sour pork being sold out before the market ended.

If he brings more, the number will be even more impressive.

The revenue share of rosé wine has gradually increased, and the 10 bottles I brought today were sold out easily.

Alcohol has huge profits, so Ronan thinks he should increase the promotion of rosé wine in the future.

April is almost halfway through and real summer is about to arrive. Who can resist a tempting glass of iced rosé?

Ronan is full of confidence in making money and believes that the future will definitely get better and better.

But in the woodworking workshop, neither he nor Zoe was happy.

There was only one week left until Easter and their closet renovation was a failure.

(End of this chapter)