1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 294 The Black Cloak

From the day he began working on the 'burying method', Ronan simultaneously began preparations for the 'smoke method'.

Pierre asked Ronan to prepare more than 500 kilograms of incendiary material, but the wet straw, stalks, wood chips, and sawdust piled up in Ronan's backyard should be enough to fumigate the 2-hectare vineyard for 3-4 days.

There are many farmers like Ronan in Lourmaran village who are 'prepared for a rainy day'. When Ronan went out to find wet straw, he encountered more than a dozen people.

These experienced farmers, though they appear optimistic, have also made full preparations to combat extreme weather well in advance.

Before Pierre made the call, Ronan had buried all the grapevines in his yard, and then covered them with an additional layer of insulation and a thick layer of soil.

The next step is to complete all the preparatory work for the 'smoke method' before sunset tomorrow.

The daytime temperatures in Luberon are not high enough to damage plant roots; the nighttime is the main battleground for cold resistance.

If we can get through those nights of drastic temperature drops, things might not be too bad.

Combustion can directly release heat, causing the surrounding air temperature to rise by 1-3°C for a short period of time; smoke particles act as condensation nuclei, promoting the condensation of water vapor in the air and releasing latent heat. These are traditional methods that humans have used for hundreds of years.

Louis and Ronan each brought five or six men with them to their new job.

Thus, the battle against the cold in the vineyards entered its most crucial stage.

Placing the smokestacks was not as simple as Pierre described; it required a certain skill.

They should be distributed in a checkerboard pattern along the rows of grapes or the perimeter of the vineyard, and the spacing should be adjusted according to the wind direction.

The distance between upwind and downwind sides should be 8-10 meters, and the distance between downwind and downwind sides should be 5-6 meters.

Once the bottom stack point is determined, the next step is to stack the data.

It is about 1 meter wide at the bottom and 0.5-0.8 meters high. The interior is hollow with ventilation channels so that the combustibles can burn smoothly and later 'smother' more protective smoke. In this traditional method, the most crucial element is the smoke, not the fire.

Even with preparations made to collect the burning materials, it still took more than a day to set up more than 50 collection points, and all the work was not completed until noon on Saturday.

The biggest challenge is that the Mistral wind has quietly and officially arrived in Provence.

During the process of building the mound, they had to constantly fight against the severe cold and north wind.

If Louis hadn't been an experienced farmer and Ronan hadn't possessed a wealth of knowledge, the tobacco pile might have collapsed as soon as it was erected.

In addition to agricultural and botanical knowledge, Ronan also cleverly utilized some of the abilities granted by the [Construction] skill during the stacking process.

As his skills improved, Ronan discovered that the various abilities granted by the system could no longer be applied to their original purpose.

In addition to the knife skills provided by the [Cooking] skill, the dexterity provided by the [Weaving] skill also greatly helps in dessert making.

The ability to observe animal emotions granted by the Hunting skill can be combined with the ability granted by Gathering and applied to future training of Truffle Dogs.

The [weaving] ability can also be applied to certain aspects of farming, such as the 'burying method' from a few days ago.

At this moment, [Construction] has also become a clever helper in helping the grapevines resist the severe cold.

When faced with future troubles, we should broaden our thinking; perhaps the solution lies in some unexpected place.

After setting up all the smoke piles, Ronan dared not leave the vineyard, keeping a close watch on the piles from outside, afraid that a few might collapse if he wasn't careful.

"You should all go inside and rest. We'll have to take turns coming out to watch over things tonight," Ronan said, urging Louis and the others to go inside.

Pierre said that the smoke pile must not be extinguished at night, and that the rest of them would take turns going out to check the temperature and refuel.

Louis knew that Ronan was not fully relaxed, both physically and mentally, and after offering some words of advice to no avail, he led Freddie and Alan and the others inside. They had been working outdoors for almost a week.

Ronan walked around the vineyard to make sure the tobacco piles were all in good condition, then sat down on the ground in front of one of the tobacco piles.

Upon noticing the wind picking up, he immediately threw himself into intensive preparations, without a moment's respite.

Only at this moment did his 'head' and 'body' come together once again.

He looked up at the clear sky and said, as if in a dream:
"The cold wave has actually arrived."

This week felt like a dream.

But I wonder if the outcome will be good or bad when I wake up from this dream?

The last afternoon before battling the cold wave was unusually busy.

Feng Zhen went home and prepared temporary accommodations for Louis, Freddie, and several other guests who had come to help; they might stay there for a few days. Thomas and Cotillard, knowing that Ronan and his men would be going out on patrol that night, brought them a large amount of warm clothing, saying they had bought it specifically at the morning market.

“Buddy, there’s not much else I can do to help, but I hope these things can help you.” Thomas made the sign of the cross. “The Lord will surely protect you and get you through this.”

A while later, Barty brought several women to Ronan's house with food, including bread, sausages, and cheese, all of which were quick and easy to fill their stomachs.

“You take good care of the vineyard, and leave the rest to me and the sisters. We will definitely provide you with all the logistical support,” Batty said earnestly.

Ronan, the "friend of women," was fighting the disaster; how could he and the women of Lourmaran stand idly by?

They may lack physical strength, but they have hardworking hands!
Later that evening, Marini also visited Ronan's house:

“Some artists wanted to come to your house to help, but I stopped them. I know we would only be a burden to you. But brother, I came with the best wishes of all the artists of Lourmaran. ‘The giant waves are tearing at the ship’s side, the helmsman is gripping the compass, and his eyes are brighter than the lighthouse under the fangs of the storm.’ In the struggle against nature, human dignity lies in the indomitable fight. I know your eyes will be brighter than the lighthouse!”

Hugo's poetry gave Ronan and his team spiritual motivation. In the last few hours before nightfall, they conducted another round of investigations and waited anxiously for darkness to fall.

But before they could see the night, they encountered Sylvie first.

"How have you been lately?" Ronan asked as he walked over.

Sylvie's face was as red as Ronan's, clearly indicating she had also been working outdoors for several days.

"These past few days we've been making preparations to combat the cold. The government building has been opened up as a temporary shelter for residents, which can accommodate about 120 people."

Cold waves kill crops and animals on the ground, and they can also kill people.

Hundreds of people froze to death during the cold snap in Luberon in 1956; after all, not every household had a sturdy house and warm oil-fired heating like Ronan's.

In fact, the government has been under just as much pressure as the farmers during this period.

“You’ve all worked hard too,” Ronan said with emotion. “But don’t worry about me here, it’s very warm at home.”

Sylvie directed a truck to back onto the asphalt road in front of Ronan's house, saying apologetically:
"We only managed to secure and coordinate a limited number of fuel-fired heaters, just over 70. Many farmlands still haven't received them, so we can only give you one. We're really sorry."

"A fuel heater?" A hint of joy appeared on Ronan's flushed face.

He climbed onto the truck and saw that what was loaded in the back was a fuel heater!
In the 20th century, fuel-fired heaters were the most effective way to combat the cold, but they were not widely adopted due to their high price, terrible fuel consumption, and relatively complicated operation.

单台加热器功率约 50000-80000 BTU/h（14.6-23.4 kW），覆盖半径 10-15米，可提升覆盖面积地表以上2米处气温2-4度。

What's most impressive is that this thing can disrupt the inversion layer by rising hot air, reducing the deposition of cold air, and the actual area affected by each unit will be wider than 10-15 meters.

Although there was only one, it was incredibly helpful!
An invisible barrier has been added to the vineyard!

In the evening, Freddie called Ronan into the house and said that a woman had called looking for him.

Ronan answered the phone and was surprised to find that it was his 'good sister' Juliet.

His first reaction was to inquire about the role played by the Vaucluse Ministry of Agriculture in this natural disaster, but Juliet spoke with personal concern:
"The Ministry of Agriculture has coordinated with EDF (Électricité de France) to prioritize power supply to the Luberon mountains, and we have also brought 500 oil-fired heaters to the Luberon area for disaster relief. How are things there?"

Sylvie said the fuel-fired heaters were obtained through 'coordination' and 'fighting,' so some of them were sent by the Department of Agriculture?
Ronan swallowed his grievances for the time being; now was not the right time to bring them up.

“Personally, I think there is much room for improvement in the Vaucluse province’s ability to monitor and prepare for severe weather,” he said firmly, looking out the window at the setting sun. “However, I am fully prepared.”

At 5:20 p.m., the sun dipped below the horizon, and night officially began in Luberon.

At 6:30, Ronan and the others, wearing heavy winter clothing and smoke masks specially brought by Zoe, left the warm indoors and went into the vineyard to light the smoke piles that had been set up beforehand.

One by one, bright orange flowers appeared in the already bare vineyard, as if a strange 'ritual' was about to take place.

About 20 minutes later, Ronan led the others to suppress the open flames with wet straw and soil.

Fluffy gray smoke billowed out, rushing forward and winding along the ground to every corner of the vineyard, gradually merging with the night.

"Snapped--"

A sharp crack erupted from a pile of smoke, and a tongue of fire broke free from its 'cage', stretching out its back.

Ronan looked up in the direction the flame was leaping and saw that gray-black smoke was rising in the sky all around him.

They drifted into the sky little by little, gradually merging and weaving into a net.

This black 'protective cloak,' crafted by hundreds of farmers, will fiercely protect Lourmaran tonight.

(End of this chapter)