1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 87 Carnival Party
The subsequent development was smooth.

The family of three held a family meeting while cooking.

Ronan's development in Provence has far exceeded his parents' expectations. Three days ago, they thought he would have to live in a "donkey shed".

At the same time, Ronan has also received attention from the village of Lourmarin, which means that his future development in Provence will be smoother.

Blanco promised to arrange the best stall in Lourmarin for Ronan, and if he participated in two markets in the future, his income would likely increase exponentially.

Luo Tianhai and Feng Zhen coming to Provence to help Ronan will be much more helpful than staying in Paris to work.

The most important thing is that the family can be reunited again.

The meal was ready and everyone had reached a consensus.

"Let's go back and deal with the work at hand and try to move in within a month." Feng Zhen made a concluding speech.

Luo Tianhai looked at his wife, then at his son, smiled and opened a new bottle of pink wine.

He had planned to return to Paris to find a part-time job, but unexpectedly found one in Provence—the new boss was his son.

Easter was spent quietly at home.

No one went out and no one came to disturb me.

They will have plenty of time to travel in Provence in the future and there is no need to rush.

There is no French dinner on Easter, they are used to eating dumplings on traditional festivals.

This also echoes Feng Zhen's "dumplings on the bus and noodles off the bus".

The next morning, Ronan drove his parents to Avignon train station.

"Avignon Central Station is going to be renovated, so it might be messy. Come buy tickets to Marseille next time," Ronan reminded his parents after seeing the notice posted at the door.

Avignon is on the west side of Lourmarin, and Marseille is on the south side of Lourmarin. In terms of distance, Marseille is closer to Lourmarin, but a few days ago, my parents failed to buy a suitable train ticket from Paris to Marseille.

The next time his parents came, there was no time urgency, and Ronan did not stay in Marseille. He could stroll around Marseille, a seaside city close to the Mediterranean Sea.

Feng Zhen hugged her son reluctantly:
"Take care of yourself, we'll be back soon."

Luo Tianhai said to Ronan:
"Take good care of Xiao Hei too."

Ronan smiled and waved to his parents.

With his parents' "spoiling", Xiao Hei's status in the family rose sharply.

This reminded Ronan of something - the truffle picking season will come again in four months. Can Xiao Hei's second round of truffle dog training be put on the agenda?
Ronan's first stop when he returned to Lourmarin was the old tavern. He wanted to see if Lucas was there.

His car could only seat two people, and this Cherokee was a great help. Ronan planned to thank Lucas properly.

But there were not many people in the old tavern at 2 p.m., only a few farmers were drinking lazily, waiting for the hottest time of the day to pass.

The boss took the initiative to pour Ronan a glass of pink wine.

"Has Lucas been here recently?" Ronan asked, sitting at the bar and resting his elbows on the table.

"Lucas?" the boss said, leaning against the bar, stroking the stubble on his chin. "I haven't seen you for a few days."

Ronan nodded and said nothing.

Lucas doesn't come here often, so I'll go to his house and return the car keys.

"I heard he went out." The boss added.

"Where did you go?" Ronan asked.

The boss spread his hands and said enviously:
"Who knows? This guy has bought houses in many places. If you want to know, you can ask Theo. He should be here soon."

Ronan drank in the old tavern until the sun set in the west, but Theo never showed up, so he had no choice but to get up and go home.

He spent Easter with his family and there was still a lot of work to be done in the fields. The temperature had dropped a bit at this time, so he had to get down to work.

He would carry the car keys with him and give them to Theo when he saw him. If he didn't see them for a few days, he would go to Lucas's house and give them to his wife. In April, everything comes back to life and green vegetation covers the earth.

The fragrant little flowers in the vineyard indicate that the grapes are about to be born.

In winter, the only thing farmers have to do is prune, which Ronan completed when he moved in in January.

In spring, there is a lot to do.

In March, Ronan completed deep tillage so that the grapes could better breathe the breath of spring.

Recently, in addition to daily weeding and watering, the most important work is pruning branches and leaves and "edging".

Cutting off new shoots and defective leaves can reduce useless consumption and make the vines develop well in the right direction.

Spring and summer foliage pruning can make up for any deficiencies left by winter pruning.

I hadn't been to the vineyard for a few days. When Ronan came to prune the branches, he found something similar to wormholes on some leaves, but they were not as big as wormholes and could not be seen without careful observation.

He had seen this thing several times before and had not taken it seriously.

The number this time is obviously higher than before.

Aren’t pesticides effective?

Ronan walked around the vineyard and found that this phenomenon existed in every area. Although the number was not large, he was worried that the situation would continue to deteriorate.

"What on earth caused this?" Ronan glanced at the sky and found that it was time for dinner again.

Before leaving, his mother prepared a lot of food and put it in the refrigerator, enough for Ronan to eat for three days.

He went home, ate a quick bite, and went to the old tavern again.

For professional matters, you should ask professionals.

After listening to Ronan's description, Pierre showed a 'gloating' expression:

"Congratulations, my friend."

"The leaves are rotten, and you're still congratulating me? You're such a bad guy." Ronan retorted angrily.

Pierre smiled and put his arm around Ronan's shoulders:

"What a pity! Your parents just went back, otherwise you could have tasted the Provence specialty, the grey snails, with them."

"Snail?" Ronan frowned and looked at Pierre.

Snails have appeared on the Roman tables since the fourth century BC. At that time, France was part of the Roman Empire, and the habit of eating snails has continued to this day.

Today, snails, foie gras and black truffles are known as the three famous French dishes.

In high-end restaurants, baked snails are the best choice for appetizers.

Are those leaves eaten by snails?
Pierre tilted his head:

"It seems that you don't know much about snails. French people mainly eat two kinds of snails. One is the Burgundy snail, which is large, yellow-brown in color, plump and expensive. The other is the grey snail, which is slightly smaller, gray-brown in color, and mainly grows in Provence. It is relatively cheap."

He suddenly lowered his voice:
"Most of the 'Burgundy snails' labeled in high-end restaurants are Provence snails, and only the shells are from Burgundy."

Ronan asked worriedly:

"How do I kill them? Buy the appropriate pesticides?"

Pierre distanced himself from Ronan and looked him up and down in surprise:
"Kill?! You are such a devil. The French eat thousands of tons of snails every year, and even have to buy them from neighboring countries. You actually want to poison these cute little creatures?"

After saying this, he put his hands in front of his mouth in a trumpet shape:

"Hey guys, how about a 'rave party' tonight? You're in for a treat!"

(End of this chapter)