1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 305 Utter Reassurance
in the dark.

Lucas, with one hand on the steering wheel and a cigarette between his fingers, drove his old SUV on Highway D943.

There are no road signs in the heart of the Luberon; drivers rely on the buildings on either side to determine their location.

Under the moonlight, Lucas finally saw the indistinct Lourmaran Castle.

“My dear daughter, we’ll be home soon. I’ll give you beef when we get home.” Lucas glanced at the rearview mirror. Although he couldn’t see Margaret lying on the back seat from this angle, he had a habit of glancing at her there every now and then.

A moment later, his elbow bumped into something soft—it was Margaret's head sticking out onto the center console.

This is her way of showing that she's feeling wronged and wants to be touched.

Whenever Margaret was in a bad mood, she would go to Lucas's side.

Lucas tossed the cigarette he'd just taken three or four puffs of out the window, switched his driving hand to his right, and gently stroked Margaret's head, speaking softly in a soothing tone:

"You've worked so hard, baby! You've been doing such a great job lately. How about we sleep in until 7 tomorrow? We'll go out two hours later, and you'll still be able to find enough truffles. My daughter is the best!"

Margaret hummed twice and closed her eyes as she was being stroked.

Lucas let out a long sigh.

Margaret has a typical 'queen' personality and rarely 'asks for a pat,' but lately she's been seeing Lucas two or three times a day, which shows she's really feeling tired.

He decided that no matter what happened after spring, even if he lost everything, he would not let Margaret go into the mountains next winter.

Large dogs have shorter lifespans than small dogs. Margaret is already 7 years old, and she should be enjoying a carefree retirement.

Lucas is short of money, but he wouldn't be so selfish as to use it to harm Margaret or anyone else.

He can handle the pressure himself.

“Once winter is over, I’ll contact the merchant who sells Margaret dogs and ask him if he has any Wirehaired dogs,” Lucas decided.

As the old off-road vehicle left the flat main road and turned onto a dirt road connecting the D943 highway and the entrance to Lourmaran village, two 'eyes' suddenly appeared in the darkness in front of it.

Lucas couldn't make out what kind of car it was, but the driver kept flashing his headlights, as if to say, "Look here!"

He slowed down, and before he came to a complete stop, the door of the car opposite opened, and a person jogged out.

Before Lucas could even see who it was, he heard a slightly anxious voice through the glass:

"Are you alright? Is Margaret alright?"

Lucas rolled down the car window and asked Ronan, both amused and exasperated:

Why are you waiting at the village entrance?

Only after seeing that Margaret's condition was normal did Ronan feel relieved.
"Why are you back so late? It's already past 8 o'clock."

Ronan waited and waited at the restaurant, watching the guests leave one table at a time, but still didn't see Lucas. So he drove to the village entrance.

Although it was intended to help Lucas relieve stress, this collaboration was initiated by Ronan himself. If anything were to happen to Lucas or Margaret while they were harvesting truffles, Ronan would regret it terribly.

Lucas picked up the bag of truffles from under the passenger seat's feet:
“I was worried something might have happened to you. 2.5 kilograms wasn’t enough. I’ll only come back when I’ve dug up 3 kilograms.”

Ronan couldn't resist and knocked on the car door:
"I was worried there might be a problem with your area, so I only came back after collecting 2.5 kilograms. God, we actually managed to collect 5.5 kilograms today?"

Alphonse said that in Provence today, a stable supply of 3 kilograms of fresh truffles per day would be "worth" a price of over 2500 francs per kilogram.

They not only dug up 3 kilograms, but they could also dig up another 2.5 kilograms. Do they have to go to such lengths?

However, they both burst out laughing at the same time very soon.

There's no way around it. Ronan and Lucas are both extremely responsible people.

Although they each demonstrated their 'responsibility' differently, they were all accustomed to taking on the pressure themselves to lighten the burden on others.

“It’s alright.” Ronan reached in. “Give me the truffle. You go straight home. Margaret must be tired. Don’t let your family worry.”

After taking the truffles, Ronan jogged back to the car, and Lucas started the car again.

But Lucas didn't drive away immediately; instead, he slowly pulled up next to Ronan's car.

Seeing that Lucas's car window wasn't rolled up, Ronan rolled it down as well: "What's wrong?"

Lucas patted the steering wheel, looked straight ahead, and spoke with a very relaxed expression and tone:
"It's nothing, I just wanted to say that I feel really at ease working with you."

Lucas's previous partner, Olivier, left him during his most difficult time.

His current business partners are eager to share the 'pressure' with him.

The difference between the two is so great that it's hard not to feel a strong sense of unease.

Ronan shook his head and sighed helplessly:

"That's what I wanted to say too. I know you're 'reliable' enough, which is why I dared to take on this business with you. If it were someone else, I would never have taken it on, even if you killed me."

You're so reliable, my buddy.

Even now, not a single family member knows that you're desperate.

"Alright, let's go." Lucas waved his hand and was about to roll down the car window.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Ronan suddenly stopped him, laughing as he said, "I was in such a rush that I forgot something important. Have your wife and son come to my restaurant for the New Year the day after tomorrow. You can come right over after you finish picking truffles too, so we can all have a good time."

"New Year? What New Year?" Lucas didn't live in Lourmaran this summer and didn't know the stories of people making dumplings after the rain.

Ronan smiled and raised an eyebrow:
"You'll see when you get here! You absolutely have to come! All my friends are coming the day after tomorrow. Oh, and remember to bring Margaret too!"

Provence had just experienced one of the top three disasters of the 20th century, and the residents of the entire Luberon hinterland were in low spirits. At this time, it would be very inappropriate for a restaurant to launch a festive 'Chinese New Year' event.

So this Spring Festival, Ronan only invited a small number of his friends. If any villagers or customers wanted to join in the festivities, they were welcome to do so as well.

Anyway, there will be plenty of people helping out on New Year's Eve, so having an extra ten or eight pairs of cutlery won't be a problem. They can handle even more people if they come. After all, this is a restaurant.

There aren't many Chinese people in Provence, but Chinese supermarkets in Avignon and Marseille sell traditional Chinese New Year decorations.

This includes not only the character "福" (Fu, meaning good fortune) and Spring Festival couplets, but also New Year paintings, lanterns, paper-cut window decorations, paper windmills for children, folded red paper ingots, and other auspicious red decorations invented by the local Chinese community.

Two weeks ago, Feng Zhen took a truck to Avignon and went on a shopping spree, and started making arrangements a week ago.

Now, red decorations and ornaments are everywhere in the restaurant, which, combined with the Chinese-style decor, makes Ronan feel like he has traveled back in time to an ancient royal mansion where a wedding is being held.

He had never seen so many red things before!

However, only Ronan and Luo Tianhai would complain about the excessive decorations. The Provençal people, who had never seen such a setup before, were immediately intrigued when they saw the restaurant decorated like this.

On the morning of New Year's Eve, Cafu clapped his hands excitedly as soon as he entered the restaurant with his wife and children:

"Yes, yes, that's the feeling! This is exactly the Chinese style I've always imagined! The atmosphere is just right!!"

When Ronan first told him that he wanted to decorate the restaurant in a 'Chinese style', Cafu immediately pictured the scene in front of him.

Ronan isn't at the restaurant during the day; he'll be back in the evening. Feng Zhen is in charge of receiving his friends.
"Come in quickly, Ronan has prepared a gift for you."

Cafu pointed at himself in astonishment:

"You prepared a gift for me?"

Cafu's son jumped up and down and said:
"A present! A present! Daddy, hurry up and open the present, I love presents!"

Feng Zhen squatted down, gave Kafu's son two pieces of candy, and patted his head with a smile:
"You also have a gift."

He then said to Cafu's wife, whom he was meeting for the first time:

"Ronan also prepared one for you."

Cafu's eyebrows furrowed.

Ronan has never even met his wife and son, so why is he preparing gifts for them?
Seeing the Cafu family's puzzled expressions, Feng Zhen proudly and smugly put her hands on her hips:

"Ronan has prepared gifts for every friend and their family who came today. Come in and see what he has prepared for you!"

(End of this chapter)