1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 281 Finding a Good Buyer
"Then how did he join the association?" Ronan's mouth gradually widened.

A 'good boy' who doesn't drink gets mixed in with a group of alcoholics who are addicted to alcohol?
Jacques said calmly:

"In fact, the association's previous activities were quite diverse; we would even experience the process of craft brewing, but later—"

Ronan shrugged:

"understood."

It must be because of Ms. Astrid's involvement that the association's activities have become what they are now—simple and straightforward: drinking.

However, another question arose in Ronan's mind:
"Since the members don't know Astrid's profession or her background, how do they know she is a noblewoman with a distinguished lineage?"

Jacques' expression immediately turned serious:

"Shortly after Astrid joined the association, Corentin and Juliet, along with a few other government officials, joined in as if they were chasing after her. Information about Astrid was accidentally leaked by those people, but once Astrid warned them at a party not to talk nonsense, and after that, no one dared to say anything more."

Ronan asked in surprise:

"You mean, those government officials like Corentin and Juliet knew Astrid's identity?"

Jacques thought for a few seconds, then said in a speculative tone:

“Isn’t it obvious? I guess Astrid is probably a high-ranking government official, otherwise it’s hard to explain Corentin and Juliet’s attitude.”

Ronan frowned.

Mr. Jacques's speculation completely contradicts the information he has.

So, is Astrid a government official or a businesswoman?
This was Ronan's first visit to Stella Winery.

After parking the car, Jacques took him for a tour of the winery.

We couldn't go into the equipment room, and there wasn't much to see in the vineyard, so we ended up in the wine cellar without even realizing it.

Here, they met Jerome and a young man with curly hair.

“That’s Theodore,” Jacques introduced to Ronan.

They didn't go over to say hello immediately because Jerome was performing a 'sacred ceremony' with Theodore, and Jacques and Ronan both felt it would be impolite to go over now.

The curly-haired young man named Theodore was staring intently at the wine glass in his hand, as if trying to see right through it.

A dozen seconds later, he slowly lifted the glass, then grasped the bottom of the glass with his hand and slowly rotated it three or four times. He then raised the glass to eye level and carefully observed the traces of the rosé wine slowly flowing down the glass after rotating.

Next, he brought his nose close to the glass, his nostrils flaring, and inhaled intently for a few moments. After taking a deep breath, he swirled the glass once more before taking his first sip, but only a small one.

Ronan thought this long 'ritual' was finally coming to an end, but little did he know that this was just the beginning.

Theodore held the liquor in his mouth and gargled for a few seconds, then pursed his lips to let some air into his mouth, making a strange gargling sound.

He tilted his head back high, staring straight at the dark roof, his cheeks repeatedly contracting and bulging. After five or six repetitions, he finally lowered his head.

Ronan saw a smile appear on his face, as if he was very satisfied with the taste of the liquid in his mouth, and finally, he spat out the wine.

“It doesn’t taste good at all, none of them are as good as yours,” Theodore said after spitting the wine into a drain in the cellar.

Seeing Ronan's horrified expression, Jacques introduced him to:

"That drainage ditch is used for spitting out and pouring out any unfinished wine."

When Jacques spoke, Jerome and Theodore realized there were two other people present.

The other three were old friends, and Jerome gave Ronan and Theodore a detailed introduction.

"This is Ronan. He is a restaurant owner, an excellent truffle hunter, and a rosé wine enthusiast."

“Theodore, Luberon’s most talented young sommelier, has given me many suggestions for improvement on the wines here, and is also a rosé enthusiast.”

Theodore reached out his hand to Ronan while smiling and correcting him:

"I enjoy appreciating rosé wine, not just drinking it. I'm very happy that our team has a new member."

Ronan and Theodore shook hands, and Ronan pointed to the bottles of rosé in front of them and asked:
"Are you tasting rosé wines from other wineries?"

He immediately recognized that none of these wines were produced by Stellar Winery.

Theodore said with a smile:
"Yes, I enjoy rosé wine. Jerome knew I was coming and brought out several of his recently collected good ones, but I was so disappointed. Not a single one was good."

He smiled and said to Jerome:
"I can't speak for other places, but the rosé wine produced in St. Strasbourg is definitely the best in Provence."

Perhaps because they learned of Jérôme's decision, Jacques and Ronan were somewhat saddened and worried about the future of this best-tasting rosé winery in Provence.

But Jerome had a good attitude, and said with a smile:

"That's because you've been keeping an eye on things for me, Theodore. Long time no see. Tell me all you've been drinking these past few months, what good wines have you been enjoying?"

"Oh my, that's too much!" Theodore laughed even more heartily than Jerome. "I drank so many fine wines in Burgundy!"

"Really? Tell me about it!" Jerome said excitedly.

It was time for the gathering, and the four of them chatted as they walked from the wine cellar to the lounge of the Jerome Winery.

Ronan listened silently the whole way and discovered that this eccentric sommelier not only tasted but didn't drink, but also used very 'unique' vocabulary when describing wine.

Plump and juicy, powerful and vigorous, sexy and flamboyant, arrogant and domineering, wild and unrestrained. These words popped out of the mouth of a sommelier, making Ronan wonder if this young man had other ways to make money besides his main job.

Theodore was a lively person, and his arrival brought a lot of joy to the party, making the atmosphere lively all of a sudden.

But this lively atmosphere vanished after Ines announced Jerome's decision.

Everyone's eyebrows furrowed, and Theodore was no longer in the mood for jokes.

Ronan went to check on Astrid and found that the woman had no reaction at all, as if she hadn't heard him at all.

This was completely unexpected for Ronan. He knew Astrid wouldn't take it on, but he thought she should at least have some emotional ups and downs.

Of all these people, she's the one who's most inseparable from Stellar Winery.

Now that the delicious rosé wine is gone, what will she drink in the future?

After observing for a while, Ronan sighed silently to himself; Ines's hopes were destined to be dashed.

The only two people present whose expressions remained unchanged were Jerome and the others; he even had the composure to comfort them.
“When I heard Ines say that he wanted to hold the party at my place, I was very resistant. I was afraid that it would turn into the situation we are in now, with everyone so sad. Although Stella may have to close in the future, it has been affirmed and loved in the past ten years or so, which is enough for me. Haha, Theodore just said that Stella's rosé is the best in Provence.”

Gabriel asked him:
When will it close?

Jerome said with a smile:
"We'll sell this last batch of wine, but it'll probably take several more months, as you know, rosé wine isn't easy to sell."

Gabriel continued to ask:

Have you found another job?

President Ines breathed a sigh of relief.

This candy tycoon, who has nothing but money, is finally able to play a role in the association.

Jerome said in a relaxed tone:

"I've looked, but it hasn't been that easy. It's possible that the vineyards, equipment, factory buildings, and labels are sold separately. There are quite a few wineries around here, so it's still possible to find sellers if they're sold separately."

Theodore frowned and said:
"Aren't those all places selling red and white wine?"

Jerome looked at Theodore with a smile:
"Then can you help me find a new supplier who can continue selling rosé wine?"

Theodore touched his mouth a few times with a serious expression, seemingly considering who he could ask.

Seeing that the conversation had reached this point, Ines said to the other members:
“Since the association was founded, we have been drinking rosé wine produced by Stella. I believe that no one wants Stella to disappear. There is still time. Let’s ask our friends and see if anyone is interested in it, so that we can at least keep the Stella tradition going.”

The members enthusiastically mentioned people they knew who might take over the job and assured that they would definitely make it happen.

Gabriel asked Jerome directly:

"How much do you plan to sell it for?"

Jerome said with a wry smile:
“The vineyard has a market value, and I can’t break the rules; the equipment will be sold at 3% of its original price; you all know this winery, it’s only been built a few years ago, and you can buy it as a vacation villa even if you don’t use it as a winery, I asked the agent and it should be worth 100 million; and the name Strasbourg, to be honest, is the most valuable thing, but it’s the one that doesn’t sell for the most.”

Gabriel blurted out:

"I'll buy it—"

"Bam—"

Astrid opened a bottle of rosé wine, drawing everyone's attention.

She said coldly:
"The reputation built up over more than a decade is hard-earned, and we need to find a good buyer if we want to sell it."

Gabriel swallowed the rest of his sentence.

Is she saying I'm a bad buyer?

When Ines saw that Astrid had finally "come online," he asked enthusiastically:
"Astrid, do you know anyone suitable to take over Stryker Winery?"

Astrid refused without even thinking:

"No."

Ines continued to ask:
"And what about you? Are you interested in Strath?"

Astrid suddenly let out a few cold laughs:

"You expect an unemployed person to run a winery well?"

Ronan carefully observed the expressions of several officials, including Corentin and Juliet.

Other members showed expressions of regret, disappointment, or surprise upon hearing Astrid's straightforward refusal, but the expressions of these officials remained unchanged, as if the answer was already in their minds.

Ronan turned to look at Astrid.

No way. Could Astrid really be a high-ranking official?

His official rank was so high that revealing it would frighten the members, so he chose to 'keep his name hidden'?
Ines still wanted to try to win Astrid back, but Ronan quietly shook his head at her.

It's no use, stop talking.

Ines received Ronan's signal, sighed silently, and went to do other people's work.

The news of Strasbourg's impending closure made it difficult for the atmosphere of the gatherings to become lively again. Members who usually chatted happily in small groups instead gathered together to discuss countermeasures or pessimistically imagine what things would be like a few months from now.

Amidst a series of sighs in the background, they saw Astrid stand opposite Gabriel with a bottle of wine in her hand.

The Candy King was thrilled.

Is she going to come and explain to me that her bad tone just now wasn't intentional?
"Can we switch seats?" Astrid asked, her face expressionless and looking down at him.

This doesn't seem like a discussion, but rather a 'gift'.

"Huh? Ahh!" Gabriel left his seat after a brief moment of surprise.

After that... the members don't know what happened after that.

Because Astrid and Ronan started whispering, she leaned close to Ronan's ear and spoke for a very long time.

The only information that everyone could glean was that Ronan's eyes would widen every few seconds, clearly indicating that he was extremely shocked.

(End of this chapter)