1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 316 A New Era Has Arrived
Early the next morning.

The first person the restaurant greeted when it opened was Zoe.

“Dad seems to be in a much better mood.” She eagerly shared her new discovery with Ronan.

"How did you suddenly get better?" Ronan asked curiously.

Zoe spreads her hands:

“I don’t know, but he’s visibly gotten better. This morning before he went to work, he kissed me, my mom and Vieri, and said ‘I love you’ to everyone. He never did that before.”

Ronan said with a smile:
"Perhaps he suddenly figured something out last night?"

Zoe pursed her lips cutely, then broke into a happy smile:

"Maybe so, but whatever the reason, I'm relieved he's alright—"

Suddenly, Zoe shut her mouth.

She saw Ronan take out woodworking planes and carving knives—things that shouldn't be there—from behind the cashier's counter.
"What are you going to do?"

Ronan raised an eyebrow:
"Make tools."

"What kind of tool?" Zoe asked, her eyes wide.

Ronan did not hide anything:
“The works I’m preparing for the sculpture exhibition at the center require some special tools that I can’t buy outside, so I’m going to make a set myself.”

Zoe's voice suddenly rose:
"What exactly are you trying to make? Isn't this supposed to be a sculpture? Why are you making tools too?"

Ronan has a lot of 'experiments' to do these days, and constantly fiddling around in the kitchen will affect the normal operation of the restaurant.

However, he couldn't leave the kitchen with all the things and ingredients, so he could only temporarily set up a small studio on the second floor of the restaurant using tables.

At this point, he was eagerly anticipating the completion of the studio in the backyard.

He installed plumbing in the studio so that he might need a kitchen in the future when making desserts or other ingredients.

"I asked the workers this morning, and the studio will be completed next month," Ronan happily reported to Zoe on the progress.

“Okay.” Zoe’s attention was already drawn to the large clump of 'mud'-like substance on the table.

She picked up a piece, tried carving it a few times with a carving knife, and then asked Ronan beside her in horror:

"Are you sure this thing is edible? It doesn't look like anything edible at all."

Ronan stopped what he was doing, pinched off a small piece of 'mud', put it in his mouth, and said with a smile:
"It tastes pretty good."

Zoe took a small, cautious bite and recalled, "..."
"It tastes just like the one you made—"

"The red bean paste in the peach blossom pastry," Ronan said for Zoe.

“Yes, yes, yes.” Zoe examined it carefully. “But the filling in the other one is black, while yours is white.”

"Red bean paste is made from red beans, while this is made from white kidney beans. We add food coloring extracted from vegetables and fruits, which can give it a variety of colors and the aroma of those ingredients." Ronan stylishly tied on his apron. "The dessert I'm making is called Tang Guozi, and its main ingredient is beans."

After two days of searching, Ronan found six or seven suitable types of desserts that could be carved and were easy to cut; Tango was just one of them.

However, the survey he conducted yesterday showed that locals have a good acceptance of the "smooth" and "sandy" texture of red bean paste, so he ultimately chose to use Tang Guozi (a type of fruit) to make carvings, in preparation for selling "same style" products in the future.

Some desserts can be carved with beautiful patterns and designs, but they taste so bad that even Ronan himself couldn't accept them, let alone put them on the menu.

Ronan has never forgotten that everything he does now is to give back to the restaurant in the future.

Tang fruit has a soft texture, so it can certainly be carved with a knife, but other tools can also be used as an aid.

The system provided information on the names and dimensions of the tools. Ronan was a carpenter, so he made several wooden tools specifically for making Tang fruits, such as a triangular bamboo knife.

If Ronan really intends to sell this dessert long-term, he will also make some patterned wooden boards, similar to the method of making mooncakes. You can press out any pattern you want using the wooden board.

Ronan was quick at making tools, and before long he began experimenting with making things with 'white clay'.

"They actually need scissors?" Zoe, who was standing next to her, was stunned.

Both the ingredients and the tools were completely out of her understanding of desserts.

She simply couldn't imagine what Ronan would make of it with a knife and scissors.

Ronan said with a smile:
"Today's first experiment was just to see if this ingredient was easy to cut, but what can't be used if it can create the desired shape? I'm a chef participating in art events." 20 minutes later.

Ronan's initial work was taking shape.

He didn't intend to do anything elaborate; he just wanted to test whether this ingredient was suitable for carving.

He was very satisfied with the result—the firmness was just right.

Zoe, who had watched the whole thing and knew Ronan was doing it for an experimental purpose, offered some advice:
"Its plasticity is good, but its stability needs further observation. Will it crack if left for a long time?"

If it's a dessert, then there's no problem; cracking won't affect its edibility.

But Ronan is now participating in an art event, so the stability of the materials must be taken into account.

Ronan could only reach this conclusion through his own experiments, as there was no reference material available.

“The next test will address this problem!” Ronan pulled a large box from under the table.

Zoe looked at the large box and asked:

"You want it to dry quickly?"

She guessed the box might contain a hairdryer or other quick-drying tools, but to her surprise, Ronan pulled out a pair of rubber gloves.
"No, no, no, it's not just about testing stability."

Seeing Ronan take out several more bottles and jars filled with colorful liquids from the box, Zoe continued to guess:
"Do you want to dye this clay? Do you need the color mixed?"

Ronan continued to shake his head:

"No, that's the last step, something we experiment with when we're thinking about what shape to make."

Zoe really couldn't think of any possibilities:

"So what are you going to do now?"

Ronan suddenly pulled a gas mask over his face and said in a frenzied tone:

"I want to try adding some chemical reagents to it!"

Zoe practically screamed:

"God, are you really conducting an experiment?"

When choosing which dessert to use for the sculpture, Ronan listed four criteria.

Easy to cut, easy to store, ideally killing two birds with one stone and tasting good.

Now that ease of cutting and deliciousness have solved the problem, the next challenge is 'easy storage'.

But this is actually a very difficult problem to solve.

Ronan's goal, in particular, was to make the work "timeless," and he wasn't satisfied even if it only lasted 30 days.

However, the new knowledge provided by level 5 [Cooking] is all recorded with 'food' as the starting point, and does not take into account the issue of preservation at all.

Ronan searched high and low but couldn't find anything he could learn from, so he had to find another way.

Of all the knowledge provided by the system, the only one related to 'extending storage time' comes from the skill 'Weaving'.

When the [Weaving] skill is upgraded to level 2, the system provides many methods for processing materials, all of which can serve as anti-corrosion measures, and some of them also mention inhibiting mold and yeast.

Actually, weaving is a very large type of craft. Not only grass, bamboo, and rattan can be woven, but also leather, paper, latex thread, and even seaweed can be woven into handicrafts.

Today's topic of 'experiment' mainly refers to this part of the attempt.

Ronan didn't know if he could find a way to prevent decay in the long term, but maybe?

Many things that have happened to him before have proven that when faced with trouble, one should broaden one's thinking, and perhaps the solution will be found in some unexpected place.

Watching Ronan patiently mix white clay with various unidentifiable reagents and carefully place them into the test kit, Zoe felt that what she had seen in Ronan that day had completely transcended her understanding of 'art'.

She rested her chin on her hand, gazing at Ronan's profile, and sighed proudly:
"I feel that you have brought art into a new era."

(End of this chapter)