1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 352 Interesting Facts about Truffles
Ronan will never forget how he had to use two of the latest lipsticks to calm his mother down after interrupting her gossip, and how, even after all this time, his mother still refuses to tell him the outcome of the unsolved case of "five people turning themselves in at the same time."

Seeing that Feng Zhen looked like she had something on the tip of her tongue and couldn't hold it in any longer, Luo Nan brought out some dessert from the kitchen and brewed a pot of his mother's favorite tea, making it clear that he was determined to listen to a good story today.

Feng Zhen was overjoyed.

The last time Ronan listened to her stories so attentively was more than a decade ago.

Today, she must perform exceptionally well to keep her twenty-something son engrossed in her story.

A voice as ethereal as a news anchor entered Ronan's ears:

"The first story begins with a truffle dog named Louis—"

At the beginning of the year, a very skilled truffle hunter appeared in Arles.

After the cold wave hit Provence, the original truffle hunters could only bring down a handful or a dozen truffles from the mountains each day. But this lucky guy, whose main job was as a bricklayer and who only went up the mountain to try his luck, was able to appear in a café in the old town of Arles every day with a bag full of truffles.

He wasn't a professional truffle hunter and didn't know how to trade, so he wanted to sell the truffles directly to people eating and drinking at the coffee shop.

When people saw that he could bring back so many truffles every day, they asked him how he did it. He pointed to the beagle at his feet and said that 'Little Louis' led him to the truffles.

In fact, this beagle wasn't originally named that. It was renamed 'Little Louis' because it found so many truffles, to indicate how valuable its nose was.

“Alright, I forgive it for sharing the same name as me.” Louis, who was picking up his son Vieri from school, stopped curiously at the checkout counter when he heard a dog also named 'Louis.' “That’s definitely a priceless nose. This guy from Arles is going to make a fortune.”

In Provence at this moment, no amount of houses can compare to owning a fine truffle dog.

Everyone's saying that the price of black truffles will definitely exceed 6000 francs per kilogram in the future, and that 'black gold' will be more expensive than gold!

Ronan ate several bites of dessert with envy to stop his mouth from watering.

Another impressive truffle dog. When will it be his turn to own one?

Feng Zhen interrupted Ronan and Louis's thoughts, suddenly lowering her voice and squinting as she spoke to the two listeners:

"Let me continue—"

Louis the Younger's name spread throughout the old town of Arles in less than a week.

Countless restaurant and coffee shop owners stake out Little Louis and its owner every day, hoping to buy fresh truffles from them.

Some truffle hunters coveted Louis the dog, and every day many people offered its owner tempting prices to buy the dog, but the owner refused them all.

Until one day, a bearded man came to the café and placed five tightly bundled stacks of banknotes, as thick as bricks, on the table—a full fifty thousand francs!
The dog owner was hesitant at first, but he had his own job and didn't like going into the mountains every day. After some struggle, he accepted the money.

And so, 'Little Louis' went with his new owner.

"5 francs for a dog?!" Theo, who was passing by, only heard this sentence and exclaimed in surprise.

Is the person who bought the dog crazy?

"Sold for 5 francs?!" After hearing the rest of the story, Louis thought the dog owner had gone mad.

How could it be sold for only 5?

As a professional truffle hunter, Ronan's reaction was somewhat different from theirs:
"Was the entire transaction conducted in a café in Arles? With such a powerful dog and such a large quantity of truffles, there would definitely be people willing to pay a higher price in Carpenter."

Feng Zhen suddenly slammed her hand on the table, widened her eyes, and said to Ronan:

"Son, you've hit the nail on the head!"

Little Louis disappeared from the café in the old town of Arles, and everyone missed it, often talking about its 'heroic' deeds—a dog that changed the fate of a family.

But one day, little Louis reappeared in that coffee shop, brought there by its new owner.

Everyone thought this guy was there to trade truffles, but it turns out he was there to sell dogs.

That's right, he wants to sell 'Little Louis'!

The new owner said his wife was seriously ill and needed care, so he could no longer go into the mountains.

'Little Louis' was so famous that it quickly found its third owner.

Just when everyone thought they would never see it again, its third owner quickly took it to the coffee shop again!
"Guess why this time?" Feng Zhen asked, her eyebrows dancing with excitement.

The audience had grown to five or six people, all captivated by Feng Zhen's distinctively melodious voice.

Theo, with his extensive experience, said:

“Keep showing off to these people that you have a great truffle dog. Lucas is too modest. If I were him, I would be strolling around Lourmaran village every day, enjoying everyone’s admiring looks.”

Feng Zhen took a few sips of tea, smacked her lips, and said:

"You've been listening for so long for nothing, you didn't understand a thing."

Louis crossed his arms and thought for a moment:
"I suspect there's something wrong with this dog."

"What's the problem?" people around asked curiously.

Feng Zhen smiled as she looked at Ronan, who was leaning his upper body against the cash register with a half-smile on his face.

"Son, what do you think?"

Ronan, suppressing a laugh, asked his mother:

"Is that dog still in the cafe in Arles?"

Feng Zhen took a bite of dessert and finally finished telling the story.

The truth is, after Louis the Younger was traded away, not a single truffle was ever found.

Its first new owner angrily confronted the bricklayer, demanding a refund, but the bricklayer told him to "get lost," saying he had no idea how to find truffles.

The wealthy new owner consulted a lawyer and reported the incident to the police, only to be told that the case fell into a gray area, and that there was not a single case in French history with detailed records involving the dog's misconduct.

How can you prove that the seller cheated you?

Or, during the court hearing, do you want to bring the dog to the witness stand?

There is no doubt that this dispute can only be resolved by a learned judge, and it will take a considerable amount of time.

So, Louis the Younger's second new owner appeared.

"Damn it, it was a scam?" Theo felt his intelligence had been insulted. He should have realized it when Ronan asked, 'So the transaction was taking place in the coffee shop the whole time?'

That person is exploiting legal loopholes!
Louis sighed:
"Just like how Italians sold their fake white truffles in Provence for almost a month before it was discovered, people's mentality has changed in the face of huge profits in the truffle market. They are willing to spend tens of thousands of yuan for a possible 'success,' and if it is true, they will reap dozens or even hundreds of times the reward."

The huge scandal in the Provençal truffle industry has become a household name in Lourmarin.

Feng Zhen pouted and said:

"Yes, ultimately it's because black truffles are so attractive that people are willing to take the risk, even knowing it's wrong, they still want to try it."

Everyone was already engrossed in listening, so they asked Feng Zhen to tell another story.

Feng Zhen was very pleased that everyone enjoyed her story. She proudly touched her calculator a few times, seemingly searching for a target story in her vast library:

“Then I’ll tell you another story about truffles, a story that takes place in a very remote village north of Capontra—”

In a very remote village north of Capontra lived an old farmer.

He had a piece of land a little distance from his house, not very big, less than two hectares, but it was covered with old oak trees.

Every winter, black truffles grow at the base of oak trees, allowing the old farmer to live comfortably for the rest of the year without having to work.

His secret garden had existed for decades, and no one had ever set foot there, but one morning in early February, the farmer discovered for the first time in his life that the soil under the oak tree had been disturbed.

His first thought was of a dog or a lost pig; some little creature had wandered in and stolen some truffles from under the oak trees, because the place was so remote, with only a dozen or so households within a 5-kilometer radius. But as he walked a little further, he found trampled cigarette butts in the ground.

This certainly wasn't left behind by some stray pig; someone must have come to his 'secret garden'.

He felt like the sky had fallen!

Ronan, who had been listening silently, felt a pang in his heart.

His 'secret garden' also showed signs of human activity!

The black truffles now buried beneath the soil of Luberon are as alluring as francs exuding the scent of money.

With truffle prices skyrocketing, there may be more new truffle hunters flocking to Provence than real estate agents.

It is highly likely that Ronan will travel to more remote places to find new 'secret gardens' after the new truffle harvesting season begins in November.

But where to go?
In fact, he was not familiar with the mountainous region of Luberon.

Thinking about this, Ronan suddenly had an idea.

With the vast amount of knowledge provided by the system, Ronan knew which altitude ranges, soil types, and environments increased the probability of wild truffles growing. Could Bruno offer Ronan some assistance in pinpointing a better secret garden?

Ronan decided to try asking at their next meeting.

They only discussed issues like soil and altitude, which shouldn't be considered confidential.

Feng Zhen's story continues.

The old farmer was certain that outsiders had come to his oak grove and dug up the truffles from below.

It couldn't have been his neighbors who did this. He had known everyone within a ten-kilometer radius since he was a child, and all his neighbors knew that this treasure belonged to him personally.

To warn the outsiders that they had come to the wrong place.

That afternoon, the old farmer drove to the nearest town and bought a bunch of signs that read 'Private Property, No Entry'.

He and his wife worked until dark to put up signs all around the plot of land.

"But the result was—"

Before Feng Zhen could finish speaking, Theo interrupted:

“Those brands are useless. The allure of truffles is too great. Even if they said there was ‘wild boar’ in there, those bandits would still sneak in.”

Like a storyteller, Feng Zhen slammed her hand on the table:
“That’s right, the signs are useless; his land has been violated again—”

Under the cover of night, these shameless individuals repeatedly robbed the elderly man of his only source of income for exorbitant profits over a period of two weeks.

One evening, the old farmer and his wife had a serious discussion about this issue.

They can certainly call the police.

But the old farmer believed that given the current price of truffles, the people in the police station were not trustworthy, as they could potentially make his secret garden even more dangerous.

Moreover, the official punishment for stealing truffles is at most sending the person to prison; they can't possibly get back the tens of thousands of dollars worth of treasures that the thief stole from him.

So the couple decided to take a tougher approach to resolve the matter.

The old farmer called his two sons, and the three of them, armed with hunting rifles, crouched in the oak grove, hoping to catch the man.

Finally, on a cold winter night, they saw a beam of car headlights shining into the oak forest!

"If it were me, I would break that man's legs!" Theo had already projected his emotions onto the old farmer.

He would go crazy if his truffles were stolen!
Cornell also said angrily:

"Find out where he's from, and tell his neighbors he's a thief!"

Feng Zhen made a shushing gesture and said mysteriously:
"The people who got off the vehicle inspired the old farmer to come up with an even better solution—"

The car door opened gently, and out stepped a middle-aged couple dressed and looking ordinary, along with two large dogs wagging their tails. The woman carried a small bag, and the man held a flashlight. As soon as they got out of the car, they eagerly began looking down to search for truffles, saying that the few they had found last time seemed to be nearby.

These words infuriated the old farmer.

The two outsiders were discussing their private land as if they were buying vegetables at a market.

The old farmer and his two sons approached the couple with their weapons, but encountered no resistance.

The man obediently raised his hands, and the two large dogs lay down on the ground as well.

With the gun barrel pressed against their chests, the middle-aged couple quickly admitted that they had stolen all the truffles.

The old farmer asked them how much they had stolen, and the couple frankly admitted that they were under immense psychological pressure. Many truffles remained unsold at home, still covered in dirt. The ones they had already sold had probably fetched over 1 francs.

The old farmer pointed a gun at the man and said, "Go home now and bring back all the unsold truffles, plus 2 francs in cash. The three of them will watch over his wife and two dogs until the goods are delivered."

The couple whispered a few words to each other and quickly agreed to the decision.

So the man left.

Dawn soon arrived, and the sky gradually brightened—

Louis was the first to speak this time:

"At least they had the right attitude. I hope this will teach them a lesson."

Feng Zhen suddenly snorted coldly:
"You're all so naive!"

She got up from the cashier and went to the kitchen to get some hot water.
"That man never went back. In front of truffles, no woman or dog is of any use. This is Provence now!"

The audience was stunned.

Damn it, why did this story end like this?

However, they quickly realized that it was simply because truffles were currently priced too attractively!

Cornell looked at Ronan with envy:

"Ronan, a skilled truffle hunter like you must be making a fortune, right?"

The price of truffles has driven the people of Provence crazy, and right in front of him is a skilled truffle hunter!
Ronan was visibly happy every day.

He must be extremely happy right now.

Ronan humbly said:

"It's alright, truffles are very hard to find these days."

"But you've worked so hard!" Theo laughed and put his arm around Ronan's neck.

Ronan smiled broadly and said nothing more.

Whether a person is happy or not cannot be hidden.

Of course I'm happy to have made money!

After a while, Lucas entered Ronan's restaurant, bringing with him a chilly breeze, and placed a huge bag on the cashier's counter.

Following up on the previous topic, everyone wanted to make a few jokes about Lucas.

But the words wouldn't come out.

They're both truffle hunters, and Lucas is even more hardworking than Ronan, so why does he seem so unhappy?

Is it our illusion?
(End of this chapter)