1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 275 It’s been a hard year
Ronan ultimately did not agree with Zoe on whether to go or not.

I just solemnly promised that I would practice hard in the next month.

Zoe seriously reminded Ronan that the final deadline for exhibition submission was at the end of January, and she didn't want Ronan to miss this great opportunity to display his works.

Ronan is very clear that he is currently at most a pastry chef and is still a long way from being a dessert artist.

This is definitely not something that can be achieved in just one month of practice.

God needs some 'miracle' to give him.

For example, upgrade [Cooking] to level 5 before the exhibition deadline, and offer some recipe rewards, etc.

Mr. Llorente said that various food events in Provence will begin in March.

Ronan will definitely upgrade [Cooking] to try his luck.

So he will definitely upgrade this skill.

What we need to do now is to accumulate [Happiness] as quickly as possible to reach 5000, and pray that something helpful for the "Land Art" activity will appear.

As Christmas approaches, the weather in Luberon suddenly turns cold.

The lowest temperature in the morning and evening is around 0 degrees. Unless there is a necessary reason, no one wants to go out during the day.

But Ronan has a lot of outdoor activities, such as walking the dog, going into the mountains, and today he is going to the market in Lourmarin.

"I hope the temperature won't affect everyone's enthusiasm for visiting the market." Ronan prayed.

At the market today, they are promoting Christmas activities.

The flow of people at the market will directly affect the liveliness of the event.

As he was thinking about this, Ronan walked to the door of his house with his two dogs, and unexpectedly found a car that had just been turned off parked on the asphalt road in front of the door.

A few seconds later, the car door opened and three men in uniform walked out.

This asphalt road only leads to Ronan's family. When they saw Ronan appear with the dog, they guessed Ronan's identity as the owner of the house. After adjusting their uniforms, they walked towards Ronan seriously.

The visual impact of three strong men in uniform walking towards you is still very strong. Even with two dogs around, Ronan's nervousness cannot be relieved.

He couldn't help but reflect on whether he had done anything wrong recently.

Reported for drunk driving?

Or is there some problem with the restaurant's taxes?
Or maybe Blanco's backdoor payment of "development tax" to him was exposed, and these people invited him to have coffee to investigate?
Ronan walked slower and slower, hoping to delay the time of the two sides meeting.

So as to give the brain as much time as possible to think about what has been done recently that is not conducive to the social security of the French Fifth Republic.

In a flash, he even thought of a way out.

Mr. Jacques once said that if you encounter 'something' in Provence, don't panic, call Ines and she will help you find someone who can solve the trouble.

Is this true?
However, Ronan's nervousness soon dissipated because the three men stopped a few meters away from him and saluted him.

In France, no matter how polite people are, the police will not salute you before arresting you.

The alarm was lifted and he was still a good citizen.

"Hello, we are from the Luberon Fire Department." The leader shook hands with Ronan.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" Do the uniforms of your fire department have to be so similar to those of the police station? Ronan complained in his heart, but the expression on his face was unusually respectful and polite.

One of them pointed to the house behind him with a cold face:
"Your home?"

Ronan nodded and said:
"Yes, my home."

The leader said with a serious expression:

"We want to go in and take a look."

Ronan warmly invited them into his home while recalling where the chimney sweep certificate was placed.

Louis once said that one of the tasks of the Luberon Fire Department is to randomly check the condition of residents' chimneys. If they are not cleaned, they will impose fines under various excuses.

Ronan thought with a smile on his face:

But you are doomed to fail this time, because I am the one who is paid to clean the chimney!
Unexpectedly, Ronan's plan also failed.

As soon as those people entered the closed room, they couldn't wait for Ronan to pour them some wine. They immediately took out a calendar and their faces became friendly:

"This is the Luberon Fire Department calendar we sent you specially. Look, all the public holidays for next year are marked on it."

The size and style of this calendar are almost the same as the calendar delivered by the postman that Ronan hid at the bottom of the cabinet.

It's just that those girls in bikinis have become heroic firefighters.

Some firefighters were rappelling from high altitudes.

Some rushed out of the fire holding their children.

Of course, there are also photos published in the "Provence Daily" showing the young men working hard to put out the forest fire caused by the northwest wind.

Firefighters in the Luberon mountains have a much heavier workload than their urban counterparts.

In addition to putting out fires, they are also responsible for searching and rescuing fools who go to the forest to dig for 16th-century treasures, sheep that accidentally fall into caves, protecting unlucky people who are chased by magpies and poop, and so on.

From any perspective, they are people worthy of respect.

If these respectable people were allowed to speak up, it would be a crime worthy of death.

However, some methods and approaches should be taken into consideration at this time.

"My childhood dream was to be a firefighter, and this dream lasted until I graduated from high school. Can I express a little respect for this great cause by making a donation?" Ronan asked excitedly. The firefighters were obviously moved by Ronan's words and took out a receipt from their pockets.

And write on the receipt: To the best friends of the Luberon Fire Department.

Ronan was just feeling touched that he had become friends with the fire brigade. The man stopped writing and asked:
"So how much do you want to donate?"

After receiving 50 francs, the three firefighters saluted Ronan again and left.

After a while, Luo Tianhai and Feng Zhen packed up and went to the restaurant to open the door. Seeing Luo Nan standing in front of the window, they asked curiously:

"What are you doing?"

Ronan looked out the window and said calmly:
"Waiting for a friend."

There are many service personnel in the Luberon Mountains who deserve to be given a "New Year's bonus", but there is one that Ronan thinks is the most worthy of it.

Ronan lives on the outskirts of Lourmarin, and there is no garbage station nearby.

Every Tuesday and Friday, a ragged old man would drive a broken truck to Ronan's door to collect garbage.

Ronan's family often has gatherings and renovates frequently.

Wine bottles, kitchen waste, construction waste and all kinds of garbage were piled together, and the smell was unimaginable, heavy and unpleasant.

Especially in summer, Ronan felt a little embarrassed.

But the old man never complained about anything and never said a word. He would come at the right time of year all year round, take the trash and leave. He was so cool.

Ronan didn't know his name or where he lived. He only knew that he was sent by the Health Bureau and that the Paris family was used to calling him "cool old man".

And today is Friday, the day when the cool old guy comes to collect the garbage.

Not every service staff has the habit of asking for "New Year's tips" and "Christmas red envelopes", and Ronan is not sure whether the cool old man will come to knock on their door.

But what if?
More than twenty minutes later, a mechanical noise almost as loud as a tractor appeared at the end of the asphalt road.

After a while, a dilapidated old truck appeared there.

The car drove slowly to the end at a speed not much faster than walking.

Stop the car and turn off the engine.

A skinny old man wearing a holey hat and a torn coat got off the car.

The man rushed to Ronan's garbage dump without any hesitation.

He nimbly picked up a bag of garbage and expertly threw it into the back of a truck that was not much shorter than he was.

After two rounds, he went straight back to the cab and prepared to leave, but the appearance of a person interrupted his smooth movements.

"Thank you for your hard work this year." Ronan stood at the front of the car and handed over 50 francs.

The cool old man obviously didn't expect someone to offer him a tip. He didn't take the money, but opened the car door and frantically looked for something:

"I didn't print the calendar. Wait for me to find something else."

Ronan patted him on the back below:
"No, I have a lot of calendars at home, please accept them."

The cool old man turned around, took off his dirty gloves, took the banknote, and smiled:

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Ronan."

Ronan waved goodbye to him and went home to get the things for the market stall:

"Merry Christmas."

"Why are you late?"

Isabelle, who had been waiting in the market for a long time, saw Ronan finally appear pushing a cart, and trotted over to get her things.

Ronan was actually 10 minutes late today.

"I was delayed because of something important." Ronan pushed the cart to the back of the stall and put things in place neatly.

He asked Vieri, who was silently setting up the stall with him:
“Have you started the promotional activities?”

Vieri shook his head:
"No, we wouldn't dare do anything if you didn't come."

"I'll do the display myself, you and Isabel go promote the Christmas event," Ronan said to the two of them.

As soon as the words fell, the two young men were ejected.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and ladies! On Christmas Day, our restaurant will hold a medieval retro-themed Christmas event. It will be an immersive medieval journey spanning a hundred years. Come and bring your family to participate!"

Although there were not many people at the market now, Vieri still shouted hard.

Isabel cursed inwardly, "Fool," and proudly pulled out her weapon.

She turned on the pre-recorded loudspeaker, and soon a young female voice appeared:
“Welcome to the Chinese restaurant on Commercial Street to experience the harvest feast that travels through time. You can experience the medieval palace Christmas atmosphere. In addition to tasting the special Chinese food and desserts, we have also prepared exquisite gifts for every customer, and there will be free meals waiting for you! Come on!”

Vieri said to Isabel angrily:

"You're cheating!"

Isabel gave Vieri a face in return and went to the market to give a "lecture tour" with a loud speaker.

Ronan smiled and shook his head.

Vieri has found a strong opponent.

(End of this chapter)