1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 417 Recruiting, Recruiting Like Crazy!

"What job?"

"Where is the land?"

Theo and Henry released each other at the same time.

Ronan made them stand in a row and said seriously:

"Can you two please stop arguing every time you meet? It wasn't this bad before. What's going on lately?"

When Ronan first arrived in Provence, Theo and Henri often bickered, but they could still sit at the same table and drink together, and occasionally even crack jokes; their relationship wasn't that bad.

But since the beginning of this year, whenever the two of them meet, they always seem to be in a tense, "it's either you or me" situation.

The problem is that these two are among Ronan's best friends in the village, and their terrible relationship is a real headache.

Ronan decided to take this problem seriously!
Theo pointed at Henry's nose and 'complained' to Ronan:
“I can’t stand this guy’s smug attitude. He’s made a few pennies and now he thinks he’s all that. Without you, he’s nothing. I don’t know where he gets the nerve to talk to us like that. And he even ignores Lucas!”

A few months ago, Lucas had just returned to Lourmarin from Marseille. While drinking with Theo, they talked about how Lourmarin had "changed drastically." He casually mentioned that even Henry, who used to fawn over him for favors, had changed. The two of them pretended not to see him when they met.

Theo's "brother-protecting maniac" nature exploded. He already disliked Henry, and later regarded him as a "thorn in his side".

The two stood in a row, and Henry turned his head, spitting all over Theo's face:
“I became rich thanks to Mr. Ronan’s help, but didn’t you rely on your brother Lucas? Without Lucas, you’re nothing. You have no money, no skills, and you’re lazy. So why do you always act so high and mighty? All your boasts are full of holes. People don’t call you out on it because of Lucas, but I, Henry, am not going to put up with you!”

"Alright, stop it!" Ronan quickly stopped the argument from reigniting, giving them no chance to speak. "I can give you jobs and land, but only if you stop arguing. If I find you arguing in the village again, I will take everything back. You've known me for a while now, you should know that I mean what I say!"

Ronan rarely spoke so harshly; he was clearly genuinely angry. Theo and Henry were so frightened that they dared not speak, each pulling out cigarettes to cover their mouths.

Seeing that the two of them had shut up, Ronan continued to ask:

"Can it be done?"

Theo turned his head to the other side and mumbled:

"With a job, who has time to argue with him?"

Henry wanted to scoff, but fearing Ronan's anger, he stopped after uttering only a soft sound.
"With more land to take care of, I don't have time to waste on irrelevant people; there's so much to do."

Ronan's seriousness was an act.

After 'lecturing' them for a while, and feeling that the two people roughly understood his attitude, he smiled again.

"Let's get along well in the future. We were villagers before, but we might be 'colleagues' in the future."

The two heads opposite looked over at the same time, their movements perfectly synchronized!
From Ronan's perspective, the expressions and mannerisms of those two guys were hilarious; if he had a camera, he would love to take a picture and show it to Zoe.

Theo looked at Henry with disdain and asked:
"You're going to St. Scottsga too?"

Henry was so anxious that he could hardly speak:
"Mr. Ronan, I...I want to farm."

Was it a mistake?

Ronan waved his hand, telling them not to rush, and then said to Henry:

"Henry, could you turn the ground over for me first? I need to talk to Theo."

“Okay.” Henry immediately climbed onto his tractor.

After Henry had walked away, Ronan asked Theo:

"Did Lucas tell you? He'll be helping me research the rosé wine market in Marseille this time."

Although Stellar will only start brewing in September, there is still a lot to be done, and Ronan urgently needs help.

Cornell went to the Rosé Museum to promote Stellar, and there will definitely be tourists interested in the winery. But we can't turn these tourists away just because the winery isn't built yet. We need to find some other 'projects' to keep them here, or make them have a lasting impression of Stellar.

Ronan's current idea is to organize a project that takes tourists to visit vineyards, with tours from April to July and opportunities to pick vines themselves in August and September. These things need to be taken care of by someone.

This is also what makes Lourmarin's Stellar de Rosé different from Old Stellar de Rosé, because it has firmly linked rosé wine with tourism. The workers at the winery are almost never idle, and there is always something to do all year round, either making wine or promoting tourism.
Besides the business-related matters mentioned above, there are also many other miscellaneous tasks, such as the construction and design of the winery, the purchase and transportation of machinery, liaising with previous clients, market development outside of coastal cities, and talking to farmers about purchasing traditional grapes like Grenache.

Even if Ronan had three heads and six arms, he couldn't handle everything. In the past few days of farming, he had already hired several people and assigned them tasks.

Theo is Ronan's brother and Lucas's younger brother. He asked Ronan if he could come to St. Louis, and Ronan naturally agreed.

The people of Lourmaran have no concept of 'class'; even when working for Ronan, they are still brothers.

The best example is Bruno.

Even though Bruno used to be the farmers' leader and has now been promoted to an official position, the farmers will still call him whenever they miss him, regardless of his status.

“He did.” Theo’s expression finally turned serious. “Before Lucas left, he told me that if I encountered any obstacles while promoting rosé wine, I must step in and help you resolve them. If there were any problems that he couldn’t solve, I should call him and he would come back immediately.”

"Lucas," Ronan thought to himself, and continued asking Theo:
"So, do you want to go with your brother Lucas to expand the market, or do you want to do something else?"

Ronan has too many things to arrange here, and he wants to ask Theo for his opinion.

Theo was overjoyed and was about to answer that he would go with Lucas to explore the market, but after thinking about it for a few seconds, he changed his mind.

He said with utmost candor:
“I don’t have as many friends as Lucas, and I’m not familiar with other places, so I probably can’t do that.”

Theo certainly wanted to work with Lucas; he had always wanted to do something with Lucas, and he would be happy just to be by Lucas's side.

But he didn't want to "trap" his good friend Ronan, because he knew very well that he wasn't suited for market development.

Well, actually, nothing Theo does is appropriate.

He can't do anything.

Noticing Theo's somewhat disappointed expression, Ronan patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile:
"It's alright, I have a job here that's more suitable for you."

"What?" Theo looked up excitedly, his eyes full of anticipation.

Ronan pointed in a direction and said:

"The location for Stellar has been decided, it's on that mountain, and construction will begin soon. You go and keep an eye on the construction for me. Once we've recruited enough people, I'll teach you how to brew wine together."

Theo was so excited that he almost dropped his cigarette. He took a step forward:
"You'll teach me how to brew wine?"

“Of course.” Ronan put his arm around his shoulder. “I’ve said it before, anyone who is unemployed can come to me.”

Worried that Theo might follow in his brother Lucas's footsteps and demand payment after working, Ronan quickly wrote down the payment details:
“3500 francs a month, and I will provide you with insurance. If Stella does well in the future, your salary will increase once a year.”

The 3500 francs is slightly higher than the average monthly income of local residents, but 30% of it will be borne by the Lourmarin government. In addition, Blanco exempted the winery's employees from employment tax for 5 years, so Ronan's actual share was not much.

Last winter, Bruno hired farmers for 3000-3500 francs a month, and everyone was so happy they popped champagne. But because they were temporary workers, they weren't covered by insurance. Ronan's pay is so much higher, and the benefits are even better—what's there to hesitate about?

Theo wanted to say thank you, but then felt it was too sentimental, so he ran off to the tractor.
"I'll plow your land right away!"

What's the point of saying it?

Let's get practical!

From now on, Ronan's family will have plenty of rabbits every winter!

Amidst the deafening roar of the tractor, Theo excitedly shouted to Ronan:

"Supervising the construction site is perfect for me. You know I'm great at talking, so I definitely won't let them slack off. Don't worry!"

Ronan, still worried, called out again:
"Stop arguing with Henry, do you hear me!"

"Okay, okay!" Theo happily drove the tractor into the vineyard.

With the subsidy and such a good job, life will definitely get better and better!
With Theo settled, the next step is Henry's problem.

Seeing Theo's grin stretching to his ears, Henry knew at a glance that Ronan had given him a good job.

He was extremely conflicted.

Or, I could take the money and go to St. Louis to find a job.

But, but, but I really can't let go of those lands!
"Henry!" Ronan called out to Henry from afar.

Henry walked over nervously and anxiously, barely daring to breathe as he awaited Ronan's decision.

Ronan led Henry away from the vineyard to the backyard.

"It's changed again!" Henry looked around in surprise and found many unique little things.

Several pottery jars have appeared in a few corners, and upon closer inspection, there are even green plants inside.

Moreover, he saw lounge chairs under many trees.

Henry was certain that Ronan's backyard wasn't like this last summer, because he was in charge of tending to the plants then!
Ronan smiled happily:
"Zoe did it all. I've been a bit busy lately, so the home renovations have been temporarily put on hold. She did some of the garden decorations all by herself. They're pretty good, aren't they?"

The young couple's wedding home renovation plans have been stalled for over a week, during which time Ronan has been dealing with land issues.

Ronan told Zoe to rest for a bit and wait for him to join her, but Zoe was too excited to stop. She took some readily available items and started decorating the backyard herself, such as terracotta pots, woven lamps, and chairs.

"It's so beautiful!" Henry looked around. "It's even more beautiful here than last year."

Ronan said smugly:

"The major construction in the backyard hasn't even started yet. I'll continue the renovation once I finish the important things I have on hand."

After he finished speaking, he asked in an inquiring tone:
"Henry, would you still like to continue helping me take care of the yard?"

After Ronan and Zoe's antics, there's just too much to manage in the backyard.

Henry took care of the backyard last year, and Ronan wants to hire him again.

“Of course!” Henry squatted down next to a very ordinary wildflower, pointed at it and said, “I took care of every flower and blade of grass here myself. Have you forgotten what this place looked like last spring? This flower almost died last year, and I even built a protective frame for it!”

Ronan laughed happily:
“Okay, 500 francs a month, the same as last year. You can come regularly to trim the lawn and water the flowers.”

Henry stood up nervously, shaking his head vigorously:
"No, no, every penny my family earns now comes from you. How could I possibly ask you for money again? I won't charge you for your backyard; I'll take care of it for free!"

Henry did receive some payment from Ronan last year, but he returned it after making money through knitting. However, Ronan did not accept it.

Because of this, Theo ridiculed Henry quite a bit.

Henry absolutely cannot afford to give anyone anything to criticize him for!
Moreover, he was willing to help Ronan take care of the backyard. It was so beautiful here, and working here was a pleasure. It was much easier than doing farm work.

Ronan had already guessed that Henry wouldn't accept the payment, so he didn't press the issue, but simply continued to ask him:
How much land are you managing right now?

After the removal plan was implemented, many farmers abandoned farming, and the area of ​​farmland managed by the farmers who continued to cultivate the land increased.

Henry awkwardly fanned himself with his hat, but his tone remained vicious, his teeth clenched wide as if he wanted to devour them:
"It's still less than 1 hectare. Those ignorant guys in the village will regret it if they don't sign the land contract with me!"

Henry was unpopular and had a somewhat eccentric personality, but he was skilled at farming and had a deep affection for the land and crops. Ronan saw him talking to the flowers in the yard several times.

Without any hesitation, Ronan took the initiative to invite him:

"Would you be willing to take over my land? But not in a profit-sharing partnership; I'll give you a fixed fee."

Ronan not only needed to worry about the management of St. Strasbourg, but he also had to take care of the experimental field project.

But now there are too many things for Ronan to do and think about, so he can't devote as much energy to farming as he did last year. He has to find someone to manage the vineyards and act as the 'brain' or deputy.

Lourmaran's agricultural structure will undergo a radical transformation; with Stellar in charge, land will inevitably become more concentrated.

Wineries that own vineyards typically employ workers to care for them, abandoning the profit-sharing system.

Henry asked cautiously:

"Approximately how much?"

Ronan hesitated:

"If things go smoothly, you'll get 3500 francs a month, and I'll also provide you with insurance."

Ronan consulted Jerome workers about their wages.

Jerome said that apart from the more important winemakers, vineyard managers, and marketing managers, the salary differences among other workers are not significant, and it's not a problem to set a figure.

Henry thought he had misheard:
"3500 francs? Mr. Ronan, are you mistaken? Those eight acres of vineyards are hardly worth that much."

Ronan stood with his hands behind his back, looking in a certain direction:

"Maybe a few more hectares?"

Only that northern slope in Lourmaran is suitable for growing Merlot, and even if it's just a rental, Ronan will definitely rent the land.

But Pierre has been trying to contact them for four or five days now, why haven't we heard anything yet?

(End of this chapter)