1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 373: Careful Testing
Ronan and Zoe bought so much food from the Milona market that they couldn't finish it all in a week.

Fortunately, the temperature has risen, and the 12th graders' lunch break has returned to two and a half hours. Vieri can go home for lunch every day, which means there's one more person to help with digestion.

Over the past few months, no matter how busy he was, Ronan never forgot to take time out every now and then to talk to Vieri and pay close attention to his mental health.

Ronan's efforts paid off, and as Zoe and Louis gradually came to see Vieri as an adult, the 17-year-old's face began to regain the vigor unique to adolescence.

When he first saw Ronan and Zoe cooking in the kitchen, he would sensibly hide in his bedroom and come out when it was time to eat. However, under Ronan and Zoe's persistent invitations, Vieri also joined their cooking lessons.

Zoe isn't the only one who needs to improve her life skills.

After observing for three or four days, Ronan discovered that Leah's two children both had good cooking talents, and each had their own unique style.

Zoe is very capable and can clean ingredients very well. She is also very good at knife skills and can be taught quickly. The side dishes she prepares are arranged on the plate like works of art.

However, when it comes to the actual cooking process, her skills fall short. She often mixes up the seasonings, doesn't measure them properly, and is afraid of oil stains. Apart from dishes that can be eaten simply by putting them in the oven to bake, she still needs some time to work on being able to independently prepare other types of dishes.

Unlike his sister Zoe, Vieri could "learn" many dishes after seeing them only once. Although he couldn't completely replicate the details, the ingredients were handled roughly, and the presentation was appalling, the taste was still acceptable.

However, Vieri's biggest problem was that after he finished cooking, the kitchen was like a ruin.

Vieri will work hard to clean up, but that will take a lot of time and may mean missing his precious afternoon nap, so Zoe will take the initiative to clean up the mess.

The good news is that Zoe loves tidying up, not only in the kitchen, but also in the bedroom, living room, and bathroom. She says the process of cleaning and restoring things to their original state is very therapeutic.

Zoe's studio is filled with all sorts of things: plaster, glass, clay, dyes, molds of various materials, tools for different purposes, machines of all sizes, and all kinds of books. Ronan gets a headache just thinking about cleaning it up, but Zoe does a thorough cleaning every two weeks, the kind where she takes everything out and wipes it down. If she's not busy these days, she does it even more often.

“So it seems I do have something to show for myself.” Zoe looked at the ’shiny’ kitchen countertop and proudly put her hands on her hips.

I'm really amazing.

Ronan wiped the last patch of kitchen floor clean, straightened up, and praised:

"Of course, this place is practically brand new."

"I'm going to school—" The sound of the kitchen door closing came from outside; Vieri had left.

"What are you planning to do this afternoon?" Ronan asked Zoe.

After finishing their meal, they took a short nap on the sofa before cleaning up the kitchen, ready to begin their afternoon 'work'.

Zoe bent down to check if the stove was clean enough:

"To improve your drawing skills, you need to upgrade these aids regularly."

A few days ago, Zoe would learn sculpting from Ronan after lunch; now it's her turn to paint.

Ronan nodded and continued to ask:

"Should I practice at home or go out and find someone to teach me?"

Lourmarin has many painters, and although they are not well-known, some of them are very skilled and are only missing a bit of luck and opportunity to succeed.

Zoe finally put down the rag:
"I've arranged to meet Pedricia at your restaurant."

Ronan moved his tools into the workshop:
"Then I'll go to the restaurant this afternoon too."

Zoe shouted from the kitchen:

"You're not going to make chairs anymore?"

Ronan has been spending his free time making woven chairs lately.

Ronan's cheerful voice came from the tool shed:
“Ines called me back yesterday. The list of artists I submitted has been approved. The big spring outing you’ve been looking forward to is next Monday.”

Zoe came running over and stood at the door, asking excitedly:
"Can we go to Nice together?"

Good heavens, thirty or forty artists from Lourmaran actually managed to be guests at the Nice Carnival!
Ronan said happily:
"Yes, I'll inform them this afternoon."

Zoe said excitedly:

"Shall we go to Milona Market again in the next few days? We can buy more food to eat on the way and share with our friends!"

Ronan smiled and raised his hand to touch his forehead to hide his uncontrolled expression.

Shopping is truly in a woman's genes; the first reaction to hearing good news is to buy, buy, buy!

The restaurant is a gathering place for artists. Although not all the artists are there in the afternoon, if you tell one table of artists, all the artists in Lourmaran will soon know the news.

Upon learning that Ronan had actually sent everyone to Nice, the artists present immediately began to celebrate like it was a carnival. They sang and danced excitedly, looking forward to what would happen next Monday.

"The Nice Carnival attracts 40 to 50 tourists from all over the world every year. There are so many people that I've been twice and I can't see the core of the event at all. All I can see are heads. But this year I'm going to Nice as a guest, and I can sit in the area with the best view!"

"Ronan, can we get on the float? Will there be an 8-meter-tall Louis XVI on the float this year?"

"I'm going to see a puppet show, an opera, and a masquerade ball. Anyone want to come with me?"

"A masquerade ball! Should we prepare our costumes in advance?"

Unlike the lively atmosphere in the artists' area, the farmers, who also gathered here, were gloomy.

Why can Ronan take artists to Nice but not these farmers? We've known Ronan for ages.

"Although... what are those floats?" Cornell complained indignantly before asking Theo, "Have you ever seen one?"

Cornell was considered a well-traveled local in Lourmaran. He often went out to work and delivered goods for Ronan, and had been to many large towns. Other villagers rarely had the opportunity to leave the Lüberon region.

However, even Cornell, who had been to many places, couldn't understand what a float or an 8-meter-tall Louis XVI was. He could only tell from the tone that it was an amazing and impressive thing, so he consulted Theo, who was more knowledgeable.

Theo keeps talking about all the places he's been with Lucas. Have you ever been to the Nice Carnival?
Theo suddenly raised his voice:
"Of course! A float is a vehicle made of flowers, haven't you seen one before?"

After saying that, Theo guiltily drank half a glass of wine.

He's never been to the Nice Carnival.

Lucas bought a house in Avignon a few years ago, and sold the Avignon house two years ago to buy an apartment in Marseille. Theo's 'worldly experience' is limited to these two cities.

Nice is only 30 kilometers from neighboring Monaco. Theo only went there twice to deliver truffles and didn't even stay for a meal.

Cornell continued to ask:

"What is that 8-meter-tall Louis XVI statue? Why was it made so tall? What was it made of? Why was Ronan invited to this event?"

Theo waved his hand impatiently:
"Because Ronan is a chef, he must have been asked to make the dessert. Don't you remember? The bird he made with the dessert became a national treasure."

“Oh, I see—” Cornell was no longer so envious. “So you’re going to cook. I thought you didn’t have to do anything. Well then, I’m not so keen on going.”

Henry at another table spat out a mouthful of saliva:
"Hmph, two idiots!"

Ronan chatted with the artists for a while about going to Nice, then turned around and saw Theo and Henry in the restaurant. Too scared to linger, he went to the area where the farmers were.

He was scared when those two guys showed up at the same time!

Actually, the farmers had already started talking about other topics, but when Ronan came over, Theo sourly blocked the empty seat next to him:
"Go away, go away, don't come here, go find your artists."

Ronan chuckled and patted his shoulder twice, saying in a joking tone:

"You took a bottle of rosé wine from me yesterday, and now you're denying it and trying to sever ties with me?"

After nearly a year of effort, Ronan finally found two men among his male friends who loved drinking rosé.

The first one is Louis. Zoe said her father must have liked rosé wine a long time ago, but he was too proud to admit it. Now, under the influence of his daughter and son-in-law, he finally dares to 'be himself'.

The second person was Theo.

Originally, this kid liked to go against the grain and have a drink or two, but after getting to know Ronan, he started ordering drinks for himself more often.

Theo really enjoys using Lucas and Ronan to provoke others, showing off that he has close ties with the two most powerful men in Lourmaran. Ronan knows that Theo has this habit, so he often gives him wine to keep him entertained.

Theo could talk about a bottle of rosé for three days straight. Thanks to his efforts, other farmers would occasionally order a couple of glasses as well. Of course, if Ronan noticed that others were ordering rosé, he would also give them some.

Lourmarin should have a better rosé atmosphere.

Theo said with righteous indignation:

"Rosé wine can't compare to Nice? You've already taken them on a trip!"

Although Ronan knew Theo was joking, his words reminded him of Claude's request—to help manage the relationship between the arts community and the villagers.

This was a joke, but what about next time?

What about next time?

Who knows, maybe one day they'll actually start to dislike it.

To completely solve this problem, the two groups need to find common interests and ideally integrate with each other. How can this be achieved?

Ronan's first thought was the 'purge plan' that Juliet had mentioned.

Most farmers in Lourmaran grow 'high-yield, low-quality grapes', and many will be affected if the removal plan is implemented.

Whether they switch careers to work at a winery or an art shop, they are now firmly connected with tourists.

The remaining part is in the same situation as Ronan's brothers who were researching 'new varieties'. The benefits of the museum and the winery are inseparable, and they both depend on the development of tourism. Only if the rosé wine sells well can they buy grapes at a beautiful price.

Ronan optimistically believes that the plan should not have a significant impact on farmers' income.

Those who have switched careers now have a stable source of income, and with more tourists in the future, they might earn even more than they would from farming.

Some people went to work, while those who continued farming were allocated more farmland, and their income increased accordingly.

In addition, there are disaster compensation payments from the Lourmaran government and compensation payments from the relocation program. In the long run, it won't be a loss.

However, this was just Ronan's idea.
He had planned to wait until Lourmaran received the tourism bureau's budget and saw the amount of disaster compensation before trying to implement the plan, so he gave Juliet a deadline of the end of March or the beginning of April.

However, Ronan wanted to take this opportunity to gauge the farmers' attitudes first.

Ignoring Theo's attempts to stop him, he plopped down in an empty seat and asked in a low voice:
"If I told you I had a way to make money that I could take you all with me, but it might mean I couldn't farm or couldn't farm the land I have now, would you be willing to come?"

(End of this chapter)