1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 90: Professional matters require professional dogs

"Mom, how much did you feed it in those few days? It's too picky about food now."

At first Ronan thought that there was some special smell in the dish he heated up that attracted Blackie, causing it to give up the expensive truffles and squat at his feet, staring at him with beggar-like eyes, hoping that Ronan would let down even a little bit of the residue.

But Ronan had finished his meal, and Xiao Hei still didn't touch the bowl of truffle bread, but just licked his paws "sadly".

Seeing this, Ronan suddenly remembered that from the Easter holiday until today, Xiao Hei seemed to have been eating "quite well".

Needless to say, when the parents were around, the people ate upstairs and the dog ate downstairs. In places where Ronan couldn't see, Feng Zhen must have fed it a lot of food.

After his parents left, Ronan was worried about wasting food, so he would give it some at every meal.

So this guy is a picky eater?
But truffles are delicious too.
After that, Ronan observed for a day and conducted several experiments.

Now he is absolutely sure that Xiao Hei's taste is exactly the same as his mother's. He likes salty and sweet things, with a lot of oil, and he especially likes shredded potatoes.

I don’t know whether I can find truffles in the future, but Xiao Hei will definitely be an excellent "potato hound".

Ronan became angrier and angrier, so he called Paris's mother and denounced her "evil deeds".

Feng Zhen didn't think she had done anything wrong, and her momentum was no less than Ronan's:
"It doesn't even eat truffles, and you say it's picky? It would be picky if it only eats truffles. We are such a good child. It even eats the fruit leather that you don't like. It's not picky at all!"

Wait, what else did you feed it?!

Ronan was overwhelmed:
"I'm trying to train it to find truffles, but now I can't do it at all. I can only correct its picky eating habits first."

Luo Tianhai's ethereal voice came from the other end of the phone:

"When you were a kid, you practiced piano for three months, but you still couldn't play as well as me, a student auditing. We didn't force you. There's no need to force you if you're not that talented."

Ronan held his forehead in pain.

OK OK.

It turns out there is an accomplice.

If I have a child in the future, I will never give it to you.

The words of his parents might sound like nonsense, but Ronan agreed with one thing - there's no need to force someone if he's not cut out for it.

It was obvious that Xiao Hei had no talent for finding truffles.

For professional matters, you should find a professional dog.

That day, he met Pierre again in the old tavern.

"Does Lucas have a particularly powerful truffle hunting dog?" Ronan invited Pierre to have a glass of wine. He had come to this guy to ask questions many times recently.

Henry had complained that Lucas had a purebred wirehaired pointer who could smell truffles a kilometer away.

People in Provence have a habit of exaggerating when they speak, but if you take away the water content, the dog must have been excellent, because Lucas doesn't use his "eyes" to find truffles, he relies on his hound for everything.

"Yes, a very good hound. Lucas treats it like his own daughter." Pierre took a sip of ice-cold beer, and a lot of white foam got on his beard.

In summer, the sales of red wine are not as good as beer. When the weather is hot, it is more suitable to drink something that can be chilled.

"Where did you get it?" Ronan asked casually.

Everyone knew that Lucas had a powerful Wirehaired Hound, but the fact that there had never been a second excellent truffle hunter in Lourmarin before Ronan meant that they did not have accurate information, and Ronan did not hold out much hope.

As expected, Pierre shrugged and said:
"I only know that they were brought from the north, but I don't know exactly where. Wirehaired Spaniels like humid environments, such as swamps, ponds and lakes. Provence lacks such environments, so not many people raise Wirehaired Spaniels. They would not be able to adapt to the local climate."

"What a shame." Ronan took a sip of the pink wine in front of him.

"Yes." Pierre finished his beer in two gulps. "This kind of dog has a nose like a radar, and is particularly sensitive to the smell of prey. It is an excellent hunting dog."

"Is there no one supported in the village?" Ronan continued to ask.

Pierre thought for a while:
"No, but Theo said there is a dog farm in Marseille that specializes in raising wirehaired retrievers. It seems that some breed improvements have been made to make them more suitable for the environment of Provence."

Ronan silently noted down this information.

He decided to find a younger brother or sister for Xiao Hei. Finding truffles was one aspect, and he could also keep Xiao Hei company.

I'm going to Marseille to pick up my parents next month, so I can stop by this dog farm.

Pierre suddenly turned around:
"I haven't seen Theo again. I haven't seen him for several days."

Ronan also turned around.

Theo loves to join in the fun, but I didn't go to his house to catch snails the day before yesterday, and I can't see him in the old tavern. Is there anything wrong? "Another glass of pink wine." Ronan waved to the boss.

Soon, the boss placed a glass of iced pink wine in front of Ronan:

"Thanks to you, I can sell a whole case of rosé in a week."

Ronan couldn't drink so much by himself, so others started ordering pink wine.

Although the sales of rosé wine still cannot compare with those of beer and red wine, it is much better than before.

Pierre waved his hand in front of his nose:
“There are more and more weird guys.”

Ronan smiled and pushed the wine towards Pierre:
"Would you like another drink?"

Pierre hesitated for a moment and then moved the glass a little closer to himself:
"It's okay to drink once in a while."

Why not have it for free?
Ronan smiled and patted him on the shoulder twice, then drank his wine.

"You're one of the 'weird guys' now, too."

Theo's house and Ronan's house are on the same street. Before going home, Ronan went to Theo's house to take a look. The window was open and the lights were on. He went over and knocked on the door. It was Theo's wife who opened the door.

"Is Theo home?" Ronan asked.

"Dad went to Marseille a few days ago and will be back in a few days." Theo's daughter ran over, leaning on her mother's legs and said shyly.

Ronan touched the little guy's head and asked Theo's wife:
"You went with Lucas?"

Lucas also went out. Did the two brothers go together?
Theo's wife shook her head and said:

"We didn't go together, but Lucas asked Theo to go."

Ronan waved at them:
"Okay, I'll come see him in a few days."

After leaving Theo's house, Ronan had some vague guesses in his mind.

Theo is the only one who takes care of the vineyard. Unless it is something particularly important, he would not leave his farmland for so many days to go to Marseille during this season.

So something happened to Lucas in Marseille?

"Marseille. Marseille again." Ronan muttered softly.

As Friday approached, Ronan became more nervous.

On Thursday morning, the first thing he did when he woke up was to turn on the TV and watch the news program, imagining what tone and content he would use to answer those questions if he were sitting in that position.

"Why should I agree to be interviewed by the media?" Ronan said frustratedly.

After a while, Louis called:

"You can eat snails at noon."

Ronan was a little surprised:

"You're actually at home today?"

As the temperature rises, Louis is busy every day.

The travel season brings many customers looking to buy homes.

Moreover, Louis is a person who cannot sit still. Even in the off-season in winter, he rarely stays at home.

Louis said calmly:

"My car had a minor problem and is being repaired. You could have come earlier to help me. It's too dirty. Leah and Zoe both refused my request for help."

Ronan didn't want to stay at home at all, as it would make him think about tomorrow's interview:

"Okay, what's broken?"

Louis said in a relaxed tone:

"It suddenly won't shift into gear. I guess I drove too fast when I was showing a client a house yesterday and the transmission got damaged."

After hanging up the phone, Ronan couldn't help but sigh.

Such a 'small' question.

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(End of this chapter)