1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 8 Market
No one believes in the mischievous Pierre, but everyone believes in the calm and generous Zoe.

This quiet girl with a strong artistic temperament never lies.

At the same time, this most beautiful pearl of the Lourmarin village is rarely praised.

Is Ronan really as powerful as Pierre and Zoe say?

Afterwards, Pierre used his extremely magnetic voice to describe Ronan's performance in the afternoon.

Because he had just been questioned, he spoke with extra passion and emotion, and Ronan's image became taller.

After listening to this story, Carl asked Ronan in amazement:
"You actually came here to farm?"

It's not that there were no outsiders in Lourmarin village, but they all came here for vacation. This is not their real home, not even a "second home".

But Ronan's performance made him re-examine this young man.

Ronan touched his head embarrassedly:
"I want to not only farm, but also truly integrate myself into the world and experience all the splendor of Luberon."

"Not leaving?" Alan asked.

are you serious?
"I don't want to leave. I even want to bring my family here." Ronan replied with a smile.

Where can I go to increase my happiness if I leave here?

Louis raised his glass excitedly:

"Isn't this worth a drink guys? For Ronan!"

"For Ronan!"

"For Ronan!"

"For Ronan!!"

At this moment, the "Parisian" hat on Ronan's head was completely taken off.

He is Ronan of Provence.

The vineyards do not require much effort in winter, which gives Ronan plenty of time to think about his next move.

The vineyard could only provide enough food and clothing, but Ronan still had to worry about a loan of 13 francs.

And it was unbearable to eat only bread every day.

First, the body protests and refuses to take in too much food.

Secondly, the growth of [Happiness] has slowed down. At first, each meal looking at the beautiful blue sky could increase 4-5 points, but in recent days, it takes three meals to get the same number of points.

He couldn't go to his friend's house for meals every day, so he had to cook some delicious food himself. However, the kitchen was ransacked by thieves, so if he wanted to cook, he needed to buy a full set of kitchen utensils, all of which cost money.

He and Zoe made an appointment to go to the village market together, and Ronan planned to observe if there were any other ways to make money.

Early Friday morning.

Ronan arrived at Louis's door 5 minutes earlier than the agreed time.

In the leisurely Provence, he usually got up after nine o'clock. Suddenly, when he went outside at around seven o'clock, he felt a bit cold.

Here, the coldest month of the year is February.

It turns out that the cold winter has arrived quietly without us noticing.

Ronan was thinking about his first winter plan in Provence when Vieri pushed open the door holding a large box. Behind him came Zoe, who was also holding a box and had her blonde hair shawl on.

Vieri yawned and handed the box to Ronan:

"Thank you, otherwise I would have been the one to do the heavy lifting."

Zoe said to Ronan apologetically:
"I made a lot more stuff this week, which I could normally get myself."

Ronan took Vieri's box with a smile and pointed in the direction of the village:

"It's okay, let's go, do you want to take up space?"

At the fair held in Paris, vendors were eager to reserve a spot the night before. Zoe walked to the front to lead the way:

"No, the location is fixed."

The market of Lourmarin village is held in the small square in the center of the village. It takes some time to walk there. On the way, Zoe told Ronan about the past and present of the markets in the Luberon region.

The market culture of Provence has a history of more than 500 years, starting when the land was still under the rule of the Pope.

There are two types of markets:

The first is the traditional market, which is held once a week. France’s agricultural self-sufficiency rate is close to 100%, so the items sold at the market are mainly agricultural products.

Each village has its own characteristics according to local conditions, such as the fish at the Marseille market, the flowers at the Grasse market, the frosted fruits at the Apt market, and so on.

If you want to buy non-agricultural products, there are many special markets to go to. You can go to the Verdun Square in Aix to buy antiques, and go to the Sorgue Island to visit the antique market.
Another type is a seasonal market, also called a farmers market, which sells only seasonally harvested produce.

For example, there is the lemon market in Mondon in February, the olive market in Nyon in July, and the jasmine market in Grasse in August.

In short, anyone living in Provence can go to a different market on any day of the year.

Before reaching the small square, Ronan saw market stalls.

On the clean cobblestone streets, there is one or several folding tables in front of each stall, covered with beautiful printed tablecloths, and a huge parasol overhead.

Under the morning sunlight, the colorful scenery is connected into one.

Ronan smelled all kinds of 'fresh' smells, seasonal vegetables, fruits and flowers were the main theme of the market, but there were other things too.

In a booth made up of four tables, there were many Provencal-style tablecloths with bright yellow and blue patterns.

There were also vendors selling pottery, plates, olive-wood chopping boards, and straw flower baskets.

In the area near the church, there are actually lively street performances and singing groups.

"Don't be surprised. There are plenty of artists in Provence." Seeing Ronan looking like he had seen a ghost, Zoe reminded him.

"I almost forgot, there's someone in front of me." Ronan smiled brightly.

Zoe's stall is in front of Alan's bakery.

Stall items such as folding tables and parasols are also stored here.

Ronan gentlemanly took care of all the physical work, and whenever Zoe was about to do something, he would rush to do it first.

"You make me feel useless." Zoe said jokingly.

Ronan carefully took out the ceramic cup and glass plate and laid them flat on the red floral tablecloth:
"This is as a thank you for bringing me out to see the world."

Zoe tried hard to find something to do to prove that she was not idle:
"If you've been to the 'Golden Triangle', you'll know what the real world is like."

In 1986, Lourmarin village was not as big, popular and well-known as those "star villages".

That's why Ronan was able to take advantage of the opportunity.

If it was a leak in the Golden Triangle, it wouldn't be his turn to pick it up.
Ronan shook his head disapprovingly:

“That’s where its strength lies.”

The entire Luberon Mountain area is not large, and the distance between villages is no more than an hour and a half.

People outside envy the Golden Triangle now, but when tourists from all over the world conquer Provence, people in the Golden Triangle will envy them.

Tourists also don't like to live in crowded and noisy places and want to go to a slightly quieter place.

The key is to find peace in the midst of noise.

In the future, the commercial value of Lourmarin Village will be no less than those star villages, and it will overtake them and be selected as the "most beautiful town in France".

The more Ronan thought about it, the happier he became. This investment was truly a wise one!

(End of this chapter)