1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 382 I'll buy you a house when I make some money.

The next day was an ordinary Monday.

As usual, Sylvie walked to the government building for work in the morning, passing by Alan's bakery along the way, where she bought a croissant and a cup of coffee, her usual breakfast combination.

But when he thought about how Lourmarin had secured 350 million francs in tourism funding—not the 430 million francs for tourism plus traditional crafts—and how he would soon be able to expand his workforce, reduce his workload, avoid overtime, and possibly even get a raise, Sylvie happily bought another serving of spicy sausage.

"You deserve a lot of credit for Lourmaran's success today, Sylvie. You deserve to be treated to something good!" Sylvie smiled and comforted herself.

As she ate her bread and thought about her work for the day, she slowly walked to the government building entrance.

Despite saying she wanted to "take it easy," Sylvie was always the first person to arrive at the government building every day, thus taking on the important task of opening the doors.

Looking up, she saw a black car parked at the entrance, and Quincy, dressed in a suit, pacing anxiously on the stone steps.

Sylvie grabbed the keys from her pocket and jogged over.
"Mr. Quincy, what brings you here?"

Quincy finally saw the person he was waiting for and quickly went to greet them:

“I kept calling you last night, but I couldn’t reach you, so I came here early this morning.”

“We don’t have anyone on duty tonight.” Sylvie opened the government building door and ushered him inside. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Quincy stood at the door, showing no intention of going in.
"Where is Blanco? Take me to him quickly."

Sylvie sensed something was wrong and asked nervously:

"what happened?"

“The budget, the budget is wrong!” Quincy said, frowning.

Quincy's words completely devastated Sylvie.

what?
My beautiful dream has been shattered?!

Quincy was even more devastated!

The struggle with the Ministry of Culture is something the Tourism Bureau cares about very much, and rosé wine is their breakthrough point, as well as Quincy's 'achievement'.

In order to get things moving quickly and get Lourmaran moving as soon as possible, I gave verbal approval before the formal approval was given. My colleagues have all done the same thing and there have never been any problems.

But last night he suddenly received a notification—the budget figures had been changed!

Quincy gestured to Sylvie to take him to Blanco immediately:

"Just pretend you've never heard of the number 350 million. I've always said 500 million. Got it?"

Sylvie nearly tripped on the stone steps at the entrance, as many franc symbols appeared before her eyes:
"What about the 80 francs from the Traditional Crafts Preservation Fund?"

“When did you say 80? It’s always been 100 million francs.” Quincy asked Sylvie, “Did you talk to that guy named Ronan? Quickly, get someone to come with us and ask him if he told anyone else.”

As Sylvie led the way, she pointed towards the village entrance and said:

"He took the artists from Lourmarin to Nice for the carnival and won't be back until the day after tomorrow, but we haven't had a chance to tell him yet, so he doesn't know anything about it."

Quincy glanced in the direction Sylvie was pointing:
"That's good. But I also want to talk to him about rosé wine. Never mind, we'll talk about it later. I'll be staying in Lourmarin for the next two weeks."

"You're staying in Lourmaran today and not leaving?" Having heard too many shocking news this morning, Sylvie felt dizzy.

Quincy said, both excited and anxious:
"I'll stay and work with you to advance the initial work."

This year, the tourism bureau only approved 1000 million francs for Avignon, which is a town, while Lourmarin, a small village, received 600 million. This shows how much importance the authorities attach to this place.

Quincy dared not leave!
The cheerful tourist atmosphere has been permeating the Lourmaran artists for several days.

When Ronan picked up Zoe this morning, he also picked up Cotillard, Vivian, and Paulette, who were staying at her house. The group of sisters had been living together since yesterday, and they were so excited that they couldn't sleep until 1 a.m. this morning. They got up again at 5 a.m. to get ready, and each of them was fully made up!
Ronan was driving the DS19 this time, which was just big enough to seat all of them.

However, while the person could fit, the luggage couldn't.

Batty borrowed Pierre's pickup truck, which was originally intended for Zoe and the other girls to store their luggage, but there was too much stuff to fit, so they had to call two more trucks to barely move it.

This wasn't just happening in front of Zoe's house; everyone on this trip was carrying large bags and bundles, and there was no one like Ronan who only had a backpack. Several drivers had to find villagers to exchange them for larger vehicles.

However, it's not their personal belongings that are taking up space, but their creative tools; some people are almost moving their studios away!
"No, Cotillard, you also brought a drawing board and paintbrushes? Can you paint?" After driving for a while, Ronan heard the conversation of several people in the car and looked at Cotillard through the rearview mirror.

Isn't Cotillard a musician?

"Who do you think you are? Just because I can't draw doesn't mean I can't learn!" Cotillard complained to Zoe, "Your Ronan looks down on me!"

Zoe patted Ronan's hand, which was resting on the gearshift, and said:
“Codia said that we live by the sea, and everyone is looking forward to creating something in a room filled with sunshine and where you can see the sea as soon as you open the window. That would definitely be a burst of inspiration.”

Ronan asked Zoe:
"Then why didn't you bring your tools?"

Before the Rosé Wine Association gathering yesterday, Ronan accompanied Zoe to Milona Market for some shopping. Zoe brought a lot of food, but only a few small pieces of wood related to work, saying she would practice the carving skills Ronan taught her in her spare time. She didn't bring anything else.

Zoe happily shook her head:
"Because they went alone, they could only work while facing the beautiful scenery, but it's a bit unreasonable for me to work while facing the sun and the sea when I went with my boyfriend."

Several sounds of vomiting came from the back seat. "Quick, open the window, I want to throw up."

"Ronan, we're not afraid of the cold. Open the roof and let the wind blow away these sweet nothings. I don't want to hear them at all."

"Thanks to you all, I have plenty of inspiration for my romance novel. Please, could you provide me with some other material? How about we become enemies?"

The sharp-tongued people behind them quickly quieted down.

I didn't sleep well yesterday, and the journey to Nice was long, so I fell asleep soon after.

With the third wheel gone, Ronan and Zoe can get along better without having to worry about other people's feelings.

"You should get some sleep too. We'll wake you up when we get there," Ronan said considerately.

Zoe shook her head excitedly:
"I'm not sleepy at all, I'm excited just thinking about going to Nice."

Zoe spent four years at university in Nice, giving her an extra reason to be excited compared to others.

Ronan rested his elbow on the car window and said with a smile:
"Then tell me about Nice, tell me about Nice through your eyes."

Nice was a city in southern France that Ronan was quite familiar with; he had visited it many times in his previous life.

This fifth-largest city in France boasts a very strong geographical advantage, facing the Mediterranean Sea and backed by the Alps, forming a natural bay. Its coastline is winding and complex, with towns distributed along the coast in a strip, creating a unique 'Côte d'Azur' landscape.

That's right, this 8-kilometer-long azure coastline is the culprit that causes several major highways to be completely blocked during the tourist season!
Nice, France's second-largest tourist city, attracts over 4 million visitors annually. From April to August, tourists from all over the world flock to this historic city to explore its unique French and Italian charm.

Nice is also a favorite filming location for many famous movies, such as the 007 series. Its picturesque scenery and pleasant climate throughout the year add a charming filter to the place.

However, Ronan also wanted to hear what Nice was like through Zoe's eyes. Having lived there for four years, she should have some different experiences, right?
This topic excited Zoe even more:

"To be honest, without my four years living in Nice, I probably wouldn't love art this much. Nice has the second most museums in France, after Paris. It's also the center of French culture and music. The Nice Jazz Festival is one of the oldest and most prestigious jazz festivals in the world. And did you know that there are many cultural events held here every year, such as the Flower Festival, the Rowing Festival, the Hat Festival, the May Festival, and the King Cake Festival?"

Zoe said, intoxicated:

"Those four years were so fulfilling."

Ronan reached out and touched her face:
"I'll work hard to make money, and then we'll buy a house in Nice so we can come and stay whenever we want."

Ronan's words broke Zoe's reverie, and she shook her head as she said:

"Do you know how expensive houses are in Nice? It's only a half-hour drive from Monaco, which is known as the center of the world's richest people. There are yachts everywhere on the coast of the Simière district, and beachfront villas start at least at 600 million francs. Even small apartments cost more than 50 francs. And that was a few years ago. I don't know how much they have risen now."

Ronan touched his nose:
"Not many—"

Before she could finish her boast, Zoe suddenly pointed out the car window:
"Here we are!"

Nice is divided into three main parts. The first part is the old town and the port, which has a strong Italian feel, with restaurants, nightclubs and art galleries complementing the ancient city walls.

The second part is the city center built in the 19th century, which is the most popular area for tourists, featuring the famous English Road.

The third part is the Simière district, a favorite of the Romans and Queen Victoria, which is the area Zoe described as full of luxury yachts.

The places that Codia has found for everyone this time are several seaside guesthouses in the Simière district.

Codia was awakened by Zoe's voice. Still half asleep, she wiped the drool from her mouth, quickly determined her location, and directed Ronan towards the sea:

"Let's go, let's go! I can't wait to embrace the sunshine and the sea!"

There were quite a few artists this time, and Cotillard arranged rooms for men and women separately.

Ronan, Batistuta, and Marini stayed in the same guesthouse.

As he went upstairs, Marini kept complaining that the stairs were too narrow and he was always just a little bit too close to getting his expensive suit dirty.

Barty joked:

"You're already in Nice, why are you wearing a suit? Wear a floral shirt instead!"

Bati started calling on men to wear floral shirts several days ago. I don't know what got into her, maybe she felt that it would be too eye-catching for someone to wear one?

Marini pointed to Ronan ahead and said:

"If Ronan wears it, I'll wear it too."

Ronan, who opened the door first, exclaimed "Wow!"
"After seeing this scenery, I can actually accept wearing a floral shirt."

As he spoke, he pushed open the double doors to the living room and walked onto the balcony.

When Marini and Batty entered, they were greeted by a beautiful scene where they could "embrace the sea as soon as they opened the door."

Marini couldn't help but let out a small "wow":
"I'm starting to look forward to the rest of the trip."

(End of this chapter)