1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 291 A Desolate Market

Saturday.

Vieri knocked on Ronan's door before 7 a.m.

While the family was having breakfast in Paris, he took Ronan's two dogs out for a walk. When he came back, he helped Ronan pack up the things they would need for setting up their stall later, and he seemed to be more attentive than Ronan.

“You’ve been getting more and more proactive lately.” Ronan piled up boxes at the front door, planning to move them all out later.

Even after the Christmas holidays ended, Vieri would still help out at the restaurant for more than an hour after school, and he would also go to the village of Mena with Ronan to set up a stall on Saturdays.

Ronan never imagined that Vieri would stick with something he said casually a few months ago and do it so well.

Vieri, holding a large pot, said eagerly:

"I've come up with a new promotional strategy and a new slogan today. I'll try them out later."

Ronan looked over:
"Did you bet with Isabel again?"

Vieri shook his head, saying indignantly:

"Isabel has broken her promises several times, so I'm not betting with her anymore. She has absolutely no sense of contractual obligation!"

Ronan suppressed a laugh and said:

"But she kept her promise to treat you to dinner. I heard from your sister that you didn't bring lunch on Wednesday because Isabel went to have dinner with you?"

Vieri's lips curled up slightly:

“She lost to me, and she can’t possibly break all her promises, can she? If that’s the case, I would advise you to keep an eye on this employee’s character.”

Ronan put down a large box of spices, grinning mischievously, and said:
"So now, what do you think of my character as an employee?"

Vieri thought for a few seconds, then tilted his head:
"He's quite smart; he should be able to help you."

"Nothing else?" Ronan pressed.

Vieri opened the door, deftly carried his things out, and said calmly:

“I’m not familiar with her, so I can’t tell anything else. If you want to know more, I’ll keep an eye on her next time we have dinner.”

Ronan smiled and shook his head.

You're not familiar with her yet?

People are coming to your school to have meals with you.
Your sister and I became close through meals together!
Eat up, eat up, keep eating!!

Ronan carried his things out the door, a gust of cold wind blew by, making him shiver, and then he exhaled a puff of white breath:
"Is it so cold today?"

Vieri jogged to the parking area:

"It got colder tonight, but the heating in both of our houses was so hot that we didn't feel it."

Oil-fired heating was the best way to keep warm in this era, besides natural gas heating. Ronan could wear only a light shirt when he got home, and there was no wind outside, so he didn't notice how much the temperature had dropped overnight.

As a farmer, he is much more sensitive to the weather than others.

Ronan immediately began recalling the weather records for this week from the private weather forecast printed by the 'Carpunk Weather Station,' which did not seem to indicate that the temperature would drop over the weekend.

However, he had heard Pierre say that although this private weather station was relatively reliable, it was only accurate in monitoring weather phenomena such as wind, rain, clouds, and snow. Its accuracy in monitoring temperature was only effective for 48 hours, and its accuracy would drop significantly after that time.

Ronan looked at the clouds in the sky, felt the wind direction, and finally took a deep sniff.

A large amount of cold air entered his chest cavity through his nasal cavity, causing him to cough twice.

There was no sign of snow, Ronan muttered to himself.

However, this does not mean we can let our guard down.

Fortunately, Monday is the day to deliver the newspaper, and I must check the weather forecast for the coming week that morning.

Temperatures in the Luberon region are lower in winter than in other low-altitude or coastal areas of Provence.

This sudden drop in temperature brought daytime temperatures in Luberon down to around 3 degrees Celsius, a level that is usually only reached in February.

The Mena Village market, already experiencing a low period in visitor traffic, was almost deserted. The few tourists who did visit changed their plans to indoor activities, and nearby residents also did not want to come out to shop in the cold weather.

The stall owners weren't very enthusiastic either; some didn't come at all today, like the Urbana couple across from Ronan. Only a few brave stall owners were still holding on.

Even when people come to the market, they come and go in a hurry, heading straight to the stalls they want to visit, buying what they need and running off. They've lost their usual composure, and you won't see a single idle person.

Ronan's stall was already considered one of the more "lively" ones at the market, but business today was still "dismal" compared to usual. He packed up early at 11 a.m. and returned to Lourmarin with his staff and Vieri.

"You're back so early?" Feng Zhen asked in surprise as Luo Nan and the others pushed the door open and came in.

Ronan rubbed his stiff hands together a couple of times:

"It's too cold, and there aren't many people at the market."

Feng Zhen glanced inside the restaurant:
"The restaurant's customer traffic hasn't been affected much."

Ronan also turned around and looked over, letting out a surprised "Huh?"

It's almost noon, but the restaurant is almost full, even more than usual.

There are even more people now.

Feng Zhen whispered to her son:
"Maybe it's because it's warm here; not every house has central heating."

It wasn't cold at all in the restaurant; Mr. Simon's heating was quite effective.

Ronan added with a smile:

"It's also possible that people have more money now, so when the weather is bad they don't want to cook and just go out to eat."

If that's true, then Ronan's months of hard work have not been in vain!

Before turning his gaze away, Ronan spotted an unexpected figure in the area where the farmers were gathered, and he immediately went over to greet him.

"Bruno, you're back in Lourmaran again?"

After finishing the clearing of the bushes in the Lesser Luberon area, Bruno went to the forest near Roussillon for the next phase of work, and his dormitory was also arranged there. Ronan hadn't seen him for almost half a month.

Bruno immediately stood up and warmly embraced Ronan: "You're finally back! I've come to see you all."

The farmers made way for him, and Ronan sat down, smiling as he asked:

"How's things going over there?"

Bruno touched his bald head and said:
"Overall it's alright, but they're definitely not as reliable as the people you found for me, and the process is much slower."

Ronan said in a comforting tone:
"Don't rush. It's okay to go back a little later. The most important thing is to complete the work smoothly."

Bruno said with a smile:
"No rush, the kids will be on winter break soon, and my wife can take time off after Christmas. They'll be coming to Provence for a week at the end of the month."

Ronan excitedly patted Bruno's arm:
"Congratulations, you can finally be reunited."

Bruno smiled happily:

"I will bring them to Lourmarin then and introduce them to the new friends I met in Provence."

Ronan was genuinely happy for Bruno.

Tell this fellow Parisian all the things you know about winter activities in Provence and promise to lend him your car so he can take his family on an in-depth tour.

After a while, Luo Tianhai called Luo Nan away to talk about something.

Before leaving, Ronan told the farmers at the table to have a few drinks with Bruno, as it was on him today.

Fabian smiled and pushed Ronan away:
"You always treat me, so no one can take it from me today. Go quickly and come back soon, we'll wait for you."

Seeing Ronan walk away, Bruno asked Fabian:
"Has the Ronan family really only moved to Provence a year ago?"

He always felt that Ronan was playing a 'Provence' joke on him.

How can someone who has only been here for a year have such a deep foundation in Lourmaran?
Can he command dozens of farmers older than him?
Bruno didn't believe it even a little bit!
Fabian clicked his tongue, stroked his beard, thought for a while, and then asked the farmer beside him:

"I remember Ronan came around this time last year?"

The farmer thought for a moment, then said uncertainly:
"I can't remember clearly, I only remember it was winter. We all went to watch when he drove a tractor for the first time. But I don't recall it being as cold as it is today. If it were this cold today, I wouldn't have gone out to watch."

Fabian asked a few more questions, then turned back to look at Bruno:

"It's hard to say the exact date, but it's been about a year since they arrived. You know, when a Parisian suddenly comes to a small place like ours, everyone will know the news."

Bruno paused in his drinking, and his voice rose several decibels:

"Ronan moved here from Paris?"

Bruno never discussed this topic with Ronan.

He had also wondered if Ronan's accent was Parisian, but Bruno made it clear that he was a Parisian when they first met. He guessed that if Ronan were a Parisian, he would definitely want to "recognize" him.

An smiled and said:
“A genuine Parisian, though he won’t bring up that identity; the kid now identifies himself as a ‘Provençal’ person.”

Bruno looked at Ronan, who was talking to his father not far away, with a complicated expression.

He knew that many Parisians had fled the city to the countryside in recent years, but that was all hearsay.

This is the first living example he has encountered.

"Looks like these people are doing quite well in Provence," Bruno smirked and continued drinking.

Cornell didn't show up at the restaurant this week; he was out "doing things" for Ronan.

On Sunday evening, Ronan returned to the restaurant, radiating an icy aura like an ice sculpture, and the chubby boy immediately greeted him warmly:
"It's getting colder. I thought you wouldn't be going into the mountains today."

Ronan stamped his feet a few times, then picked up the glass teacup that Luo Tianhai had placed behind the cashier to warm his hands:
"It is a bit chilly, I'll need to wear two more layers tomorrow."

Luberon is already at a certain altitude, and to find truffles you have to go to even higher mountains. Ronan was freezing cold that day.

It was those truffle-scented banknotes that spurred Ronan to persevere.

Cornell braced himself against the cash register and said urgently to Ronan:

"I've finished the statistics."

Ronan put down his teacup and asked:

"So, how much area do they cover?"

Cornell spoke slowly:
“常用品种中，歌海娜有42公顷、希拉30公顷、慕合怀特43公顷、神索22公顷，不常用的佳丽酿有2公顷、堤布宏有3公顷，可以和红葡萄混调的白葡萄品种候尔有11公顷。”

There are more than 3100 acres of vineyards near Lourmarin, which is 212 hectares.

Excluding the 11 hectares in Houer, the grape varieties that can be made into rosé wine account for about 67% of the total area.

"I remember the most common pairing for rosé is Grenache and Cinsault?" Ronan asked Cornell.

Cornell nodded:
"This kind of combination is more common in Provence."

Ronan stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Jerome once said at a party that the major wineries in Provence produce over a million bottles of wine every year.

So, there aren't that many grapes available for direct use near Lourmarin.

The second is Monday.

The night before, Ronan was already thinking about checking the weather forecast the next morning.

But on Monday morning, he was still asleep when he was woken up by Feng Zhen's knocking on the door.

Ronan glanced at the time in a daze; it was only a little past 4.

"What's wrong?" he asked, struggling to lift his head.

Feng Zhen didn't even open her eyes, uttered a single sentence, and left:
“Pierre called you, he sounded really anxious, go answer it quickly.”

Ronan sat up abruptly, all sleepiness gone.

Could it be that his worst fears have come true?
(End of this chapter)