1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 429 Please Live Well!
Including the 8 acres of vineyards in front of Ronan's house, Stesgar owns approximately 9.5 hectares of land.

Five hectares of the vineyards were planted with Merlot as a trial.

Zoe's newly acquired 4 hectares of south-facing slope and her original 8 acres of land in Ronan will continue to be planted with Grenache, the mainstay grape variety needed for making rosé wine.

Concerned that it would be too much work for Henry to cultivate such a large area by himself, Ronan suggested adding a planter to Stellagard, but Henry immediately rejected the suggestion.

Henry didn't want anyone to share Mr. Ronan's favor, and insisting on having only one person was perfectly fine.

Ronan then consulted Pierre for his opinion.

Pierre said that with the machinery Henry currently has, managing 10 hectares of vineyards is not too difficult, and even adding another 3-5 hectares would not be a problem. The only challenge would be harvesting the grapes, which would require more help from other people.

Considering that Pierre and he would definitely help at various key junctures, and that there were so many farmers in Stella who had switched careers, Ronan put the idea aside for the time being.

But Henry kept this in mind.

He worked even harder and more diligently, always patrolling the fields whenever there was a problem, and he also took better care of Ronan's backyard.

"Henry, you don't need to come every day. I just finished cleaning the yard yesterday."

In the morning, Ronan took his two dogs out for some fresh air, and when he opened the door, he found Henry cleaning the backyard again.

Since the flowers and plants in the yard couldn't be watered every day, Henry would come over every few days to clean them up.

But that's the yard, so the frequency doesn't need to be that high.

Henry, who had been all smiles when he saw Ronan come out, immediately became anxious and asked when he heard that Ronan had actually cleaned up the house himself:
"Mr. Ronan, is there something I haven't done well in terms of hygiene?"

Ronan shook his head repeatedly:

"No, no, Bruno came to visit me yesterday with his wife and children, so I just cleaned up a bit. It has nothing to do with you."

Henry put down his tools, walked over to Ronan, and said seriously:
"Give me a call next time you have guests, and I'll come over and clean. It's my job!"

Ronan chuckled and gave Henry a couple of pats on the shoulder:

"Relax, buddy, you've done enough, both here and in the vineyard."

Including his own land of less than 1 hectare, Henry needs to manage 10 hectares of land this year.

Although Pierre said that he was far from reaching his limit, Henry was already 40 years old, not a young man.

Ronan was very worried about Henry's current state; he was being too aggressive.

Henry stubbornly stuck out his neck:
"This is nothing! Give me another 10 hectares and I can do it all!"

"Alright, alright—" Ronan pointed in a direction and said, "They're going to lay drainage pipes on the north slope soon. Go up the mountain and keep an eye on the workers. Don't let them mess it up."

Juliet has obtained the underground drainage and drip irrigation equipment that Ronan needed, and it is currently being installed.

“They don’t need me there, Theo’s in—” Henry stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, then changed his expression and said, “Okay, Mr. Ronan, I’ll be right there!”

Theo is not very good at farm work, but he is second to none in his ability to direct people to work. Knowing that important equipment is being installed on the north slope, Theo will take the initiative to keep an eye on it every day.

Henry didn't want to see Theo at all, and he avoided any construction sites.

Behind Ronan's back, he and Theo fought several times, and the two still couldn't stand each other.

However, in order to prove his abilities to Mr. Ronan, Henry decided to go and see for himself today—he couldn't let Theo steal all the credit.

So what if we fight again?

Who is afraid of whom!
After Henry left in a hurry, Ronan continued walking the dog.

As Ronan walked through the vineyards, he couldn't help but think:

Last year he only had 8 mu of land, but in just one year the amount of land he owns has doubled.

How many more will there be next year?

He and Zoe will definitely continue to buy land once they have money.

With more land comes more work.

In the future, there won't just be a shortage of farm workers, but also a shortage of equipment. Henry is still using his own tractor.

"I need to think about upgrading the tools," Ronan muttered to himself, his hands behind his back.

Upgrading agricultural equipment is not so easy, and it has little to do with money; the obstacles lie elsewhere.

First, there were limitations imposed by the times.

In this day and age, Provence lags behind not only in agricultural technology, but also in agricultural equipment.

During several casual conversations with Pierre, I learned that many advanced agricultural devices had not yet been introduced to Provence.

Stella is positioned as a purely handcrafted rosé winery, which means that much of the existing equipment is unusable.

For example, a harvester that can improve efficiency by 5 to 10 times.

If we had this, Henry could harvest all the vineyards by himself in September.

However, due to the limitations of manual labor, such equipment, which could potentially crush the grapes, is strictly prohibited, and harvesting can only be done manually during the harvest season.

Another obstacle is the terrain.

The terrain on the south and north slopes is not flat enough to allow some large equipment to work there.

"It's tough," Ronan sighed softly.

It's not at the point where I absolutely have to buy it yet.

Or should we wait a bit?
Let's see if anything new comes out next year.
Ronan played with his dogs in the neighborhood for more than half an hour, and also went to Theo's house to see the donkey for a while.

As it turned out, Marseille and the donkey got along very well and became old friends.

Every time Ronan walked by with his dogs, Anna's two little donkeys would bray a couple of times, and Marseille would also go over to offer her a word of comfort.

Marseille could clearly get along with people from different backgrounds, but Ronan increasingly felt that the problem lay with Huhu.

He's about to have a 'training session' with Hu Hu before the match.

Zoe has been working on a detailed training plan for them recently, saying that training will begin in May. Her goal is for Ronan and Huhu to at least finish second to last.

Lost in thought, Ronan led the two dogs back the way they came.

When I got to the door, Henry was back in the same spot, holding the same cleaning tools.

"Why are you back again?" Ronan asked curiously.

Henry turned around and grinned, showing his teeth.
“On the way there, I suddenly remembered that Theo, that lazybones, doesn’t want to get up early. He agreed with the workers to start laying the pipes at 8:30 every morning. It’s not even 8 o’clock yet. I’ll work for another ten minutes or so before I go over.”

Ronan grabbed Henry's arm and started walking.

Henry carried the tools far away, afraid of soiling Mr. Ronan's clean clothes:

"There's still time, Mr. Ronan, there's no rush to go now!"

Ronan, pulling Henry along without turning his head, said:

"Let's not go to the north slope first, come with me somewhere else."

"Where to?" Henry obediently followed and jogged off.

Ronan said domineeringly:

"Buy agricultural tools."

No more waiting, Ronan is going to equip Henry with a full set of the most advanced agricultural tools right now!
You need to go to Apt to buy agricultural equipment.

After Ronan grabbed a wad of cash from the restaurant, he immediately set off with Henry. Henry sat in Ronan's car, nervously unsure what to do with his hands and feet.

Last year he rode in Ronan's newly modified bright yellow sports car, but he was dressed very cleanly that day. Today, however, he was wearing work clothes, and the only clean thing on his body was the hat he almost always wore.

Seeing Henry's flustered expression, Ronan chatted with him enthusiastically to ease his pressure.

Ask about his wife and daughter, and whether the family needs anything else.

Henry, a naive newbie who had lived in Luberon for decades, was no match for Ronan's tricks.

The tension quickly disappeared, replaced by excitement and gratitude—Mr. Ronan was so kind to me; he cared so much about me and my family!

But what excited and grateful Henry even more was that Ronan actually wanted to buy him a pneumatic pruning shear!
"This Campagnola AP200, manufactured in 1985, weighs only 500g, but can cut 25-35 times per minute. Conservatively estimated, it can prune 0.7-1 hectares per day. Thanks to its curved handle wrapped in non-slip rubber, it won't cause fatigue even after long periods of use. You won't feel tired even if you work continuously for 8 hours a day. If you choose the high-end model, you can also switch the air pressure between old vines and new branches at any time to prevent branches from tearing," the salesperson explained conscientiously.

Ronan asked Henry:
"Is this ok?"

Henry was so excited he was incoherent:

"I can, I don't know."

The farmers in Lourmaran prune by hand; they've never used semi-automatic tools.

Ronan waved his hand:
"I want nine."

Henry, him, and Pierre each had one.

The salesperson immediately smiled and said:
3600 francs.

“Three high-end models, not the ordinary kind.” Ronan looked at the other items. “Do you have electric sprayers?”

The salesperson visibly became more enthusiastic:
"I'll have someone prepare the goods for you right away. We have everything here. Do you need the most advanced model of electric sprayer?"

Ronan left with the salesperson, looking relaxed.

"Show me the most advanced, top-of-the-line model; the ordinary ones don't need to be looked at."

Behind them, Henry clenched his fists.

Mr. Ronan rarely went to the fields, and these agricultural equipment were bought for Henry to use.

He used to work for landlords, but which landlord cared whether he was tired or not?

They will only exploit farmers to do more work!

Mr. Ronan is the best person in the world!!

Ronan bought three pneumatic pruning shears, one electric sprayer that could spray one hectare in 1.5 hours, and upgraded Henry's weeding and soil loosening machine in less than an hour, spending more than 40,000 francs.

This is a rate of spending that the people of Lourmaran can't even imagine!

On the way back, Henry insisted on driving.

I was too nervous when I came and didn't think too much about it. What kind of boss drives his employees around?
In TV shows and movies, it's always the employees driving while the boss sits or lies down comfortably.

But Ronan got into the driver's seat, started the car, and waved to Henry:
"Hurry up and sit down, Henry. There aren't that many rules."

After a brief standoff, Henry, preoccupied with the construction progress on the north slope and not wanting to waste time, reluctantly returned to the passenger seat.

After the car had been driving for a while, Henry couldn't help but say:

"Mr. Ronan, I will work hard to take good care of those vineyards and manage your backyard. I swear! I will treat them like my own children! Please rest assured!!"

Ronan, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gearshift, said, word by word:

"If you really want me to feel at ease, spend more time resting and with your family. I bought these devices not so that you would invest more time and energy in your work, but to free you up as much as possible."

Henry froze on the spot, all the words he wanted to say to express his determination stuck in his throat.

Ronan patted the steering wheel and said:

“Do you know why I love Provence? Because it has beautiful scenery, simple villagers, and free air—all things that Paris doesn’t have. Henry, you didn’t give up on ‘life’ even when you were starving. Now that you have money and your wife and daughter are living a comfortable life, you should ‘live’ even better, instead of spending your time in the fields and my backyard. You’ve done enough. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself, okay?”

Ronan turned to look at Henry, and said with a bright smile:

"I know what you're worried about. Look, I even took you out shopping today. Have I ever taken anyone else out like that? Relax, buddy!"

Henry turned his head to look out the other window and bit his lip hard.

Mr. Ronan must be an angel sent by God to save me. I can't let the angel see me crying!
But Mr. Ronan is just too good!!

Tears, stop! Stop it!!
Henry took off his captain's hat and covered his face, afraid that Mr. Ronan would see him looking so pathetic.

Suddenly, a gentle hand touched his neck:

“I’ll order another new tractor. With these things, your work efficiency should double. You’re not so busy lately, so take Josephine and Lisa to Gold or Roussillon. They’d love to go.”

"Ahhhhhh—" Tears finally burst forth.

After ordering the equipment, Ronan and Henry rushed back to the northern slope of Lourmaran.

I heard that Quincy and Blanco went to inspect the Stesgar plant on the mountaintop, and Ronan went up there too, but they didn't watch the workers work.

Although Ronan was very efficient, it was already past 11 o'clock when he and Henry returned. Theo immediately mocked his arch-rival Henry upon seeing him:

"Hey, didn't you make money? Why are you still coming to the construction site to freeload? Why did you have to come at mealtime?"

In Luberon, employers are obligated to provide breakfast and lunch for temporary workers, such as decorators, cleaners, and installers. Dinner is provided on a case-by-case basis; this is the rule.

Stella was going to provide lunch for the installers, and the guys around there could get a free meal too.

Upon hearing Theo turn his attention to Henry, several winery workers immediately stood far away, fearing that a fight between the two would affect them.

Everyone in the village knew that Theo and Henry would definitely fight if they met.

Theo stared at Henry with a wicked grin, his fist already clenched in his pocket.

If that rotten-toothed guy says a word back, he'll immediately throw a punch.

But the scene he had been 'expecting' did not appear. Henry, as if he hadn't heard, squatted down to check whether the pipes had been laid properly.

"Hey, are you deaf?" Theo's temper flared up.

What's even more unacceptable than arguing is being ignored!
Henry is now ignoring him!

Henry found a place to sit down, took out a cigarette and lit it:

"I'm not fighting you anymore."

Henry's words drew the attention of several other men who had been hiding far away.

They surrounded Henry and asked curiously:

"You're not angry at Theo for saying that?"

"Don't you have some other revenge plan? You're not thinking of burning the Theo family's house down, are you?"

"Henry, you old rascal, you must be plotting something, right!"

Henry propped one knee up and quietly gazed at the mountaintop behind him, as if guarding something:
“I’m just listening to Mr. Ronan. I do whatever Mr. Ronan tells me to do. He doesn’t tell me to fight, so I never fight again. That’s all.”

Theo's face looked even worse.

What did Ronan take Henry out to do?

Is this Henry?

(End of this chapter)