1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 39 Worried Zoe

At the Lourmarin village market on Friday, besides Zoe and Ronan, there was also Vieri behind Zoe's stall.

After witnessing his idol's cooking skills, Vieri regarded Ronan as a god even more. If it were not for the inconvenience of taking other people with him to dig truffles, he would have wanted to stick to Ronan from morning to night.

“Business isn’t very good today?” Zoe was referring to Ronan’s truffle business.

Normally, once the truffles were put on display, there would be a constant stream of customers coming to the stall. But today, apart from the ladies who came to "chat", there weren't many people who actually bought truffles. Many people just took a look and left.

Ronan cleaned up the dirt on the table:
"The truffle season is coming to an end, and the quality is not very good right now."

Most of the things he brought today were defective products. These "old" things could not last a day and might become garbage by the time they reached Mena Village tomorrow. In any case, they had to be put out and sold today.

Ronan prices these ripe truffles at 700 francs per kilogram. If they still don't sell, he will reduce the price to around 200 francs, with the main selling point being that "even a fly leg is meat."

Vieri followed Ronan's example and cleaned up the dirt that fell from the truffles with him:

"Do you want me to check out the other truffle stands?"

Ronan asked him with interest:
"What are you going to see?"

"Let's go and see how their business is, the quality of the truffles, and how much they are priced. We don't want to sell them at a loss." Vieri said with his head down.

Ronan carefully examined this boy with short blond hair, a thin body, and a preference for wearing football uniforms:
“You think very comprehensively.”

After receiving the praise, Vieri worked even harder:

"I learned this from my father. He said that in business, you need to understand your competitors. You don't have to imitate them, but you need to know what they are doing and what their advantages are, so that you can adjust your strategy accordingly."

Ronan asked Zoe in surprise:

"Will Louis teach you these at home?"

Zoe shrugged and asked in a self-deprecating tone:
"Do I look like I've learned this knowledge?"

Ronan grinned awkwardly.

The price of the equipment sold by Zoe is not low. If she cares about the situation of her opponent, she should give a 50% discount or even lower.

Zoe's explanation for this is that craftsmen (artists) have their own pursuits.

Well, so Vieri is self-taught?

"I told you I know a lot of things!" Vieri said proudly, "So do you need me to go take a look?"

Ronan wanted to say no, he didn't want to make money from this batch of goods, he just didn't want to waste them, but Zoe spoke first:
"Go and have a look."

"Okay." Vieri received the task and left happily.

Vieri's back disappeared, and Zoe turned around and asked Ronan:

"Have you thought clearly about what to do next?"

She asked this question in Mena Village last week, and Ronan said he would go back and think about it.

Have you thought it through now?
Ronan folded his hands behind his head with a slightly melancholy look and shook his head:
"No."

Zoe looked him in the eye and said:
"I have a suggestion, would you like to hear it?"

Ronan immediately sat up straight.

Zoe thought about the future for me?
"You say." Ronan said seriously.

"As you can see, Provence is full of 'gourmets'. People who live here have an almost paranoid attitude towards food. As long as something is delicious, everyone will like it. The braised beef and mouth-watering chicken you make are very popular among the locals. You can sell them at the market." Zoe summarized her ideas in concise language.

Whether Ronan can continue to set up the stall is a question that Zoe is very concerned about during this period.

For the sake of public interests, she used the money she had originally saved for the car to buy a new kiln. If Ronan did not go to Mena Village, she would have to find other ways to transport herself and the goods to Mena Village, which would be very troublesome.

Personally, Zoe wanted to have more opportunities to spend time with Ronan, something she had only recently figured out.

At the family gathering that day, Zoe didn't praise Ronan's two dishes as much as others did, because from that time on, she began to wonder if Ronan could sell these things at the market. "Selling food?" Ronan was a little surprised, "But I haven't seen many things that can be eaten directly at the market, except bread and fruit."

Zoe patiently explained:
"Because it is winter now, the market is in its 'low' period. When the weather gets warmer, there will be more food on the market, such as frosted fruits, olives of various flavors, gibbezee, sausages, pesto biscuits, etc. The winter market is different from the markets in other seasons."

Zoe gave Ronan a very important message - the flow of people at the market was even greater than he expected.

As long as you make good use of your own advantages and choose a good path, your income after March will not necessarily be less than that during the truffle digging period. Don't give up on yourself.

"This is indeed a direction." Ronan thought seriously.

Of course he could sell braised beef and mouth-watering chicken, but both dishes were time-consuming to make. In addition, his knife skills and hand speed were very slow now, so making these dishes might lead to an embarrassing situation where he would work himself to death but still make very little money.

But it's a good idea.

Seeing that Ronan had listened and was thinking seriously, Zoe let out a sigh of relief:
"You can also ask Alan and Freddy. They are both in the business of 'eating'. I will also keep an eye on other fields."

She didn't want to show her "favor" too obviously, so she sent Vieri, who knew her very well, away before mentioning the matter.

Zoe could see that Ronan was more focused on his career and wasn't considering personal issues for the time being.

He never showed any interest in the ladies who came to "chat", so Zoe didn't want to put pressure on Ronan in this regard.

Treat him as a younger brother and worry about him as a "sister", and it won't arouse any suspicion.

"I'll ask for their opinions." Ronan said with a smile, "You can't snatch this meal from me today, right? You've thought so thoroughly for me."

Zoe leaned back in her chair comfortably and said, "You're welcome."
"I didn't intend to compete with you today."

Vieri inherited Louis' business acumen. After a tour of the market, he suggested that Ronan change the price of defective truffles to 440 francs per kilogram.

In the end, these old guys were sold for 920 francs. A woman dressed like a housewife bought them all and said she would can them and eat them slowly in the next few months. This was hundreds of dollars more than Ronan had expected.

Not only did he treat Vieri and his sister to a good meal, he also gave Vieri 200 francs as a "hard work fee" before they left.

200 francs was Vieri's monthly living expenses, so you can imagine how excited he was.

"Mom, don't prepare my lunch tomorrow." The first thing he did when he got home was to run into his parents' bedroom.

"Why?" Leah frowned.

"Tomorrow I will go to Mena Village with Ronan. I will be inseparable from Ronan during the last few days of the winter vacation." Vieri said excitedly.

"But you haven't completed the practical activities for the winter vacation. You promised us to go to Freddy's slaughterhouse." Leah said sternly.

The French education system places great emphasis on students' freedom and leisure time, and holidays are considered sacrosanct, so there will be no academic assignments.

However, the school will encourage them to carry out various practical activities and trips. Although it is not mandatory, parents will use this to restrict their children from just playing during the holidays, and often arrange different "homework" for them.

Vieri's practical assignment for this winter vacation is to experience life in Freddy's slaughterhouse.

"Doesn't going to the market with Ronan count as practice? I've made money." Vieri shook the new francs in his hand.

"Don't make excuses for avoiding practical activities, Vieri. I used this trick forty years ago." Leah said firmly.

Vieri finds his sensible sister Zoe:
“Zoe, tell mom how Ronan praised me. He said I was born to be a business person, and that if I can’t find a job after graduation, I can go to him!”

Zoe came out of the bedroom, having changed into work clothes.

She neatly put her golden hair back:
"I proved that Vieri just didn't want to go to Freddy's slaughterhouse, and Ronan didn't say that."

After saying that, she went into her studio and closed the door.

Vieri opened his mouth wide, feeling like the sky had fallen:

"elder sister??"

(End of this chapter)