1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 409 Our hometown has changed dramatically!

Lourmaran last organized a general assembly in September of last year.

After the battle to defend the grapes ended, Blanco announced that the Lourmaran pilgrimage festival would be moved to the autumn, allowing the entire Lourmaran to bask in the joy of harvest and festive celebration.

More than half a year later, Lourmaran held another general meeting. The villagers had been excited for several days and this excitement continued until the meeting began.

"There must be good news to announce; Lourmaran might be hosting some big event again."

"How could it always be announcing good news? I think you just want to use this as an excuse to drink!"

"Do I need a reason to drink? I'm making money now, drinking isn't a given. Koman, give me a glass of rosé!"

"What? No rosé wine here? God, how can there be a restaurant or tavern in Lourmaran that doesn't have rosé wine?"

The open space in front of the old church in the center of the village is not large enough to gather everyone in the village; when holding a meeting, everyone only needs to stay within the range of the loudspeaker in front of the old church.

For the last plenary session, Ronan chose to hold the meeting at Koman's restaurant. During that meeting, Ronan and his parents were the only guests at their table.

This time, the restaurant, which has an excellent location but is usually deserted, was filled with villagers. Now that they have more money in their pockets, everyone wants to make themselves comfortable.

Who would want to stand outside if they could sit down?
But the sudden influx of guests caught Coman and his wife off guard. They couldn't even keep up with the demand for ice to make anise liqueur.

"The beer isn't cold, and there's no ice either. Corman, what else do you have here?" Pierre protested.

Although he became busy, Coman still couldn't put down his cigarette.

He pointed to the wine box in the corner with his finger, which was holding a cigarette:
"The Moli Winery Cooperative has as much wine as you want."

Although Moli was upgraded to a winery last year, the people of Lourmaran still prefer to call it a winery cooperative because the winery is too far removed from their lives.

The simple villagers grew up drinking the cheap wine from the brewing cooperative.

Henry's furious howl came from the corner:

"Moli is a traitor! It broke its promise to Lourmaran, and even if it lowers the price in the future, I will never drink it again! Take it away, give me something else."

Koeman didn't spoil Henry at all:

"I don't have any other brands of wine here. If you want to drink something else, go somewhere else."

Henry angrily slammed his fist on the table twice:
"Damn it, why is your restaurant the only one near the old church? If Mr. Ronan's restaurant opened here, it would be even more popular. And you don't even have rosé? How shameful!"

Henry doesn't drink rosé, but he overheard others ordering rosé and being told it was unavailable.

This is Lourmaran!
How could we forget Mr. Ronan's favorite rosé wine?

“Then go ask Mori, ask him why he doesn’t make rosé. Even though the price has gone up, it’s still the cheapest source of wine.” Como gestured with his chin. “Also, Ronan didn’t even mention that I don’t have rosé, so what are you yelling about?”

Feng Zhen surveyed the packed restaurant and said to her husband and son with great enthusiasm:

"It's clear that everyone made money!"

They booked the entire venue for last year's meeting, and if you arrive late today, there won't be any seats left.

Luo Tianhai took a sip of room-temperature beer and said with some dissatisfaction:

"You don't even need to look at today's situation; just look at how well our restaurant is doing to know that the living standards of the villagers in Lurmaran have improved. On which day are there fewer people coming to eat?"

The tourist season hasn't even started yet, but the restaurant's profits are already reaching 10 francs per month.

Of course, this is partly due to the contributions of guests from other parts of Provence, but the villagers are the restaurant's 'base'. Even if extreme weather occurs again, they can get through it smoothly and won't be 'frowning' all the time like last year.

Ronan took out a handful of sunflower seeds he had brought with him and shared them with his parents:
"This is just the beginning."

Feng Zhen grabbed a few and put them in her palm, then glanced disdainfully at the wine glass in front of her:

"The restaurant has a great location, but the wine is terrible."

The villagers became wealthy under Luo Nan's leadership, and in terms of living standards, Luo Nan's family was definitely among the highest in the village.

Feng Zhen ate and drank well with her son, and hadn't had a bottle of wine that cost 35 francs in a long time.

She ate a sunflower seed:
"With this weather and this atmosphere, a bottle of chilled rosé would be perfect. This owner really doesn't know how to do business."

Driven by Ronan, the rosé trend in Lourmaran has spread from artists to ordinary villagers.

In just a short while, several people around were 'wailing' about why there was no more rosé wine here.

Ronan smiled and comforted his mother:

"Don't worry, you'll be able to drink it at the next meeting."

At exactly 2 p.m., Blanco's kind and gentle voice came through the loudspeaker.

However, he had barely said two sentences when the atmosphere of excitement and joy that had lasted for several days turned tense.

“In January of this year, Lourmaran experienced a once-in-a-century natural disaster. Although our brothers and sisters have all taken action, I believe that some villagers are already aware of the enormous damage our farmland has suffered due to the cold wave.”

A dark cloud drifted unnoticed over Lourmaran.

The farmland near Lourmarin grows not only grapes, but also other crops such as cherries and apricots. Although the grape growers, under Pierre's leadership, have implemented many measures to protect against the cold, everyone is still on edge until the grapes are unearthed.

Even Henry, who had been cursing the whole time, shut up when he heard this and took deep drags on his cigarette.

The voice from the loudspeaker continued:

"But I am very gratified and proud that the villagers were not defeated like they were in 1956. Their lives have not been changed, and they have become more positive and optimistic."

Quiet discussions and complaints began to emerge in Cuomo's restaurant, as everyone's negative emotions and anger that had been building up for two months were suddenly ignited.

Many 'Henry's' appeared around Ronan, some complaining about the terrible weather system in Provence, some complaining about the government's failure to make advance arrangements, and others complaining about their miserable lives.

"Thank goodness Ronan taught us how to knit, otherwise how would we survive?"

"How can we make a living? We'll weave more flower baskets to earn money. Those grapes won't grow for three or four years."

"Damn it, I'm going to find Barty after the meeting and make him teach me how to weave chairs no matter what!"

Pierre let out a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, the nightmare he had was not repeated in Lourmaran.

He looked at Ronan gratefully, only to find that Ronan was looking at him too.

The two exchanged a knowing smile.

Blanco, as if he had 'ears from afar,' gave everyone ample opportunity to vent their emotions before continuing:
"But today, I'm not here to tell you to 'endure,' I'm here to tell you—you will not face this alone. The government promises not to neglect anyone, nor to abandon any field! Now I will read out the specific details of the 'Disaster Compensation Clauses.' Please remember the compensation conditions for crops carefully. For grape growers, there will be 40% economic compensation based on the average selling price of the frost-damaged or frozen vines over the past three years and the replacement cost. The maximum compensation is 5000 francs per hectare, and the criteria for determination are as follows—"

The noise in the restaurant suddenly stopped.

The villagers stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Should the government share the economic losses caused by the cold wave with us?
“Mr. Ronan!” Henry stood up nervously and asked, “Is it true? The government will give us funds to replant?”

Ronan smiled, made a shushing gesture, and then pointed in the direction of the old church:

"Listen carefully, there's more to come."

After explaining the direct economic compensation for different crops, Blanco continued:

"Affected farmland will be exempt from this year's land tax, and agricultural income tax can be spread over the next three years, reducing everyone's tax burden. All disaster compensation payments are expected to be distributed within six months, with the order of distribution arranged according to the order of submitted disaster information."

"My God, they've even changed the tax policy! The government has really taken action!"

"This money is enough for me to live on for the next year!"

"Pierre, with so much land, can you get more than 2 francs?"

Finally relieved of his psychological burden, Pierre imitated Ronan and made a shushing gesture:

"Look at you all, so pathetic! You're satisfied with just this little bit of money? Hurry up and keep listening!"

A farmer asked him expectantly:

"Do you know what Blanco is going to say next?"

Pierre smiled and pursed his lips, saying confidently:
"Of course, I knew about it a long time ago."

Ronan had already spoken to him beforehand. Today, in addition to discussing the disaster compensation terms, Blanco would also encourage everyone to pull up the dead old vines and get another part of the compensation from the Ministry of Agriculture.

"What is it? Hurry up and tell us, you're really something! Everyone's been discussing it for so many days, and you haven't revealed a single piece of information!" Several villagers immediately surrounded Pierre.

Even the boss, Koeman, came over.

Pierre picked up his wine glass with feigned nonchalance:

"What's the rush? Blanco is talking right now."

Blanco's voice still echoed over Lourmaran:
“I’m sure some villagers are wondering how the government could possibly come up with so much compensation? Isn’t our little Lourmaran a ‘remote and impoverished area’? Brothers and sisters, I implore you to give me some more time so that I can introduce Lourmaran to you and show you the most authentic Lourmaran we see today.”

After the villagers scolded Pierre a few times, saying "You're really not a good friend," they released him and went back to their original seats to continue listening to the radio.

Over the past year, everyone has felt, to varying degrees, that Lourmaran has changed, and changed dramatically, but they can't summarize or generalize about it.

Now finally someone can tell them the most authentic picture of their hometown.

"In the past three months, Lourmaran has welcomed more than 5000 tourists from around the world, brought in 67 new family members, and built 13 new commercial shops, resulting in a nearly 200% increase in local tax revenue."

A series of numbers entered everyone's ears. Although many people did not understand the specific meaning of these numbers, they could feel that Lourmaran had become 'powerful'!

"We received visits from eight departments, large and small, including the Vaucluse Tourism Bureau, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and received maximum support from each department! I can tell you with absolute certainty that this year we have received the most support of any village in the entire Luberon region!" Blanco's voice became excited.

It’s coming, it’s coming!
Pierre tilted his head expectantly, wanting to observe everyone's expressions when they heard about the 'removal plan'.

You're already this happy with the first compensation? You'd go crazy if you got another one, right?
“But Lourmarin’s potential is far more than that—” Blanco’s voice suddenly became excited, “In the future, Lourmarin will be the center of Provence’s weaving crafts, a cradle for more artists, we will build Provence’s first museum dedicated to rosé wine, and Provence’s largest rosé wine estate, Stella Gard, will also be located here!”

Dozens of heads turned to look at Pierre, their eyes filled with shock.

Pierre, who was confident of success, looked at Ronan in shock!
Is a winery planning to open in Lourmarin?
Is it rosé wine?
(End of this chapter)