1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 346 The Sudden Influx of Art Practitioners

Miss Patricia's information about the Fox family perfectly matched Ronan's knowledge of Astrid—the Astrid family was in the perfume business.

However, she had only heard the name from others and could not provide Ronan with any more useful information about Astrid.

But Ronan's goal wasn't to find out Astrid's story, but rather the family behind her who made perfumes.

"Did the Fox family open a perfume museum?" Ronan asked, even more eagerly.

This time, Patricia didn't hesitate and nodded without thinking:
"Yes, yes, the Fox family has opened perfume museums in Grasse and Paris, as well as perfume workshops open to the public."

“Glass,” Ronan murmured unconsciously.

Provence has many places or cities named after 'the capital of xx', such as Apte and Roussillon.

Most of these titles were given by the locals themselves, but Grasse's reputation as the "Perfume Capital" is probably the most widely recognized in the world.

Grasse is undoubtedly the perfume center of France, where the world's first synthetic fragrance was created after the Industrial Revolution.

Grasse is also a very important tourist destination in Provence – roses in May and June, lavender in July, and jasmine in August. From May to September, Grasse attracts millions of tourists from all over the world to enjoy the flowers.

Miss Patricia's information thrilled Ronan; he had finally found a breakthrough.

Ronan decided to take some time soon to visit this "perfume capital of the world" to learn about the mature business model that Astrid had mentioned, which had existed in Provence for hundreds of years.

After leaving Miss Patricia's hotel, Zoe went to the organizing committee to collect the checks from the auction. Ronan was surprised to find that he could also collect his check, but the results of the 'national treasure' certification application had not yet come out, so he could not file taxes for the time being.

"I remember you said last time that we could get the results in about a week?" The staff from the Grané Museum who remained in Gold had also left, so Ronan could only ask the organizing committee staff.

The staff didn't know much about the situation either, they just told Ronan:

"You should have the Granet Museum's contact information, right? You can ask them for details."

Ronan expressed his gratitude to the staff.

Cotillard had the Grané Museum's contact information and planned to go back and wait for news. If there was still no result after a week, he would go and inquire.

As Zoe left the organizing committee office, she looked at the 28 franc check in Ronan's hand and said with 'envy':
"If the application for national treasure status for 'Lovebirds' is approved, a 50% reduction in personal income tax will be directly granted. In addition, with the tax exemption limit for artists under 35 years old and tax reductions for local elements, it is possible that only value-added tax will be required."

Ronan smiled and flicked the check in his hand:

"It must be wonderful to be an artist in Provence."

In other regions, the artist would likely only receive a little over 28 from that 10 check, because the maximum personal income tax in France is 60%.

Zoe happily took Ronan's arm:
"Let's go, let's go spend some money."

Both of them received checks today, and they were for such large sums, so they had to buy something to celebrate.

Ronan exclaimed "Ah!", glanced at his watch, and asked uncertainly:

"Shall we go to X to buy clothes?"

Is it getting a little late?
Zoe walked briskly towards the parking lot:
"If we don't buy clothes, I probably won't have a chance to go out for the next month. Let's go to Gur village to buy brandy to stock up on my orders."

Ronan nodded indulgently:
"it is good."

The route from Gordes back to Lourmaran passes through the village of Gur.

Ronan drove to a winery run by a fellow Parisian and picked out a few cases of fruit-flavored brandy.

Zoe has already discussed the order requirements with Miss Patricia today. Although Miss Patricia said she wouldn't interfere with Zoe's ideas, what if her father, Mr. Thuram, gets involved?

It's good to have some good brandy on hand!

Ronan and Zoe also brought some of the strong liquor they had bought last time for their friends, and some of them thought it was delicious.

Back in Lourmarin in the afternoon, Ronan first drove to Pierre's house to deliver wine, but on the way they encountered two tourists who were visiting Lourmarin.

"Ah, Ronan!"

Ronan was recognized as soon as he got out of the car.

"Ahhh, Zoe!!"

Zoe received the same treatment.

Those who recognized them must have been tourists who had visited the art exhibition at Gold. Ronan and Zoe chatted with them for a while and discovered that they were several emerging artists.

When they parted, Ronan welcomed them to visit Luberon and Lourmaran again if they had the chance.

“We don’t plan to leave Luberon,” one of them said excitedly.

Ronan asked unexpectedly:

"You're planning to stay?"

The tourist nodded and said:

“Many villages in Luberon have a very strong artistic atmosphere, which is something that our current city lacks. After participating in the art event in Gold, we began to investigate Luberon, wanting to move here. Lourmarin was also one of the options.”

“That’s great, welcome!” Zoe said, both surprised and happy.

Artists need a great atmosphere, and moving to Luberon will definitely help these people.

Ronan's reaction was incredibly enthusiastic:
"Actually, Lourmaran has a good artistic atmosphere. Many artists live here. After I deliver the things, I'll take you around the village, and then we can sit in my restaurant for a while. There are many artists there who exchange ideas every day."

"Okay!"

These aspiring artists certainly wouldn't refuse to be guided by two renowned artists. But Zoe's gaze towards Ronan became strange.

When did Ronan become so enthusiastic?

When Gold encountered 'fans', he would try to avoid them if possible.

Ronan suddenly winked at Zoe, making her even more confused.

After delivering the wine to Pierre, Ronan and Zoe led the tourists on a tour of Lourmarin.

On the way, we inevitably talked about the living conditions in Lourmaran.

Ronan objectively introduced the basic facilities, which were not abundant but sufficient, from different perspectives, and kept emphasizing the artistic atmosphere to enhance the tourists' goodwill.

Zoe knew that Ronan wanted Lourmaran to attract more artists, so she supplemented his understanding from the perspective of the indigenous people, allowing these people to have a more comprehensive understanding of Lourmaran.

Lourmaran was one of the villages these artists considered. After learning about the village, they naturally asked about renting and buying a house.

“Property prices in Luberon have risen a lot in the last two years, and the price can change every day. However, property prices in Lourmaran are still relatively affordable. If you would like more specific information, how about I introduce you to a real estate agent who is very familiar with Lourmaran?” Ronan said with a smile.

The tourists immediately nodded in agreement.

The purpose of this trip is to conduct research, so of course the more detailed the information, the better.

Zoe finally figured out why Ronan was so enthusiastic.

It turns out that this guy not only kept her in mind all the time, but also her family—he hadn't forgotten Louis's 'job crisis'.

Ronan didn't give Zoe much time to be moved, pulling her aside and whispering:

“Gold’s art events are coming to an end, and many artists or art lovers will soon be influenced by the atmosphere here and want to move to Luberon. These people are all potential customers of Louis.”

Is competition increasing for real estate agents in Luberon?

Then let's introduce more clients to Louis!
He glanced at his watch and asked Zoe:

Has Louis returned home by now?

Zoe gently tugged at Ronan's hand, then turned and headed towards home.

"Take these people to the restaurant first, and I'll take Dad there right away."

It's already 5 o'clock, and Louis usually comes home at 3 or 4 o'clock, so he should be sitting on the sofa watching TV at this time.

To Zoe's surprise, Louis was not there when she got home.

After waiting for five minutes without any results, Zoe hurried to Ronan's restaurant.

Those tourists are still waiting. Since Dad isn't here, we can't let them wait idly; we need to go and inform them quickly.

To her surprise, when she pushed open the door, she saw Louis sitting in the restaurant, and opposite him were the same tourists from before.

Zoe went to ask Ronan, who was standing behind the cashier:

"What happened? Did you run into Dad on the street?"

Ronan smiled and shook his head:

“You might not believe it, but Louis was already here when we came in, and he was attending to customers who wanted to buy a house.”

"Huh?" Zoe's eyes widened in confusion. "Dad invited the customers here?"

That's not right. Dad always invites customers to his office because he has a lot of information about houses there, and he says that this increases the chances of getting a deal.

Ronan gestured with his chin in a direction, indicating that Zoe should look in that direction:
"You'll see when you look over there."

Vieri made it a daily routine to help out at Ronan's restaurant for over an hour, a habit he maintained even with his high school exams approaching.

Moreover, he would compete with Isabel for the job of "greeting guests" every day. The two teenagers would bicker every day as if something was missing.

However, in the last few days, Vieri has stopped competing with Isabelle for work and has started to actively seek out tasks in the lobby.

As Ronan analyzed, the Gold series of events was coming to an end, and more art practitioners were influenced by the event and wanted to move to Luberon.

Furthermore, Ronan, Zoe, and Batty's tireless promotion of Lourmarin on numerous occasions in Gold has made Lourmarin one of the top choices for these art professionals, further elevating the artistic atmosphere of Ronan's restaurant, which was already teeming with artists.

People who need to 'relocate' will come to the restaurant and naturally ask the artists who have moved to Lormarin about all aspects of Lormarin.

However, some questions are too technical for the artists who have already moved in to answer, so they have to ask for help.

Whenever they wanted to find a kind local to answer their questions, they would look up and find a handsome young man already waiting beside them.

Vieri would patiently answer these artists' questions about Lourmarin, and before leaving each time, he would politely say:
“If needed, I can introduce you to the best real estate agent in Lourmaran; he can meet all your needs.”

"Great! Thank you so much!"

Behind the cashier.

Zoe nestled in Ronan's arms, watching Vieri relentlessly 'promote' Louis to everyone, her feelings a mix of emotions as she didn't know what to say.

I felt a mix of emotions: gratitude, guilt, joy, and many others.

Ronan squeezed Zoe's shoulder and said in a similarly complicated tone:
"I've said it before, Vieri's heart is not just about football."

(End of this chapter)