1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 434 The New Lourmaran
The second floor of the studio wasn't finished yet. Ronan was going to experiment with his bread-making entries for the bread competition in the restaurant, but Zoe stayed home to work so they could get the news as soon as Thor went somewhere.

Ronan waited and waited, but Thor didn't come to the restaurant, and Zoe didn't call either. The sun was about to set, and everyone was getting a little impatient.

"Are you sure Thor meant today?" As time went on, Feng Zhen looked out the window and on the phone more and more often.

Ronan also began to doubt if he had misheard the date, and then he regretted even more not insisting on going to Avignon to bring Thor back:
"He said he was coming two days before Easter, but it shouldn't be here yet. He probably had some trouble finding a car."

"Should we wait at the village entrance?" Feng Zhen asked her son. "There are so many people here, is it possible they just can't find the place?"

Although he thought the possibility was slim, Ronan couldn't sit still any longer. He nodded to his mother:

"I'll bring a few more people with me."

All the villagers who participated in Ronan's proposal knew that Ronan had a big, hardworking classmate from Paris.

Ronan went to the area where the farmers lived, and after explaining the whole story, Cornell almost spat out the rosé he was drinking:

"Your classmate has already arrived in Lourmaran!"

"You've arrived in Lourmaran?" Ronan asked Cornell in surprise. "You saw him?"

“I saw him.” Cornell stood up. “I saw him at the Rosé Museum. He was visiting the museum and even said hello to me. Don’t worry, I’ll go look for him.”

Fabian also stood up along with Cornell:

"Now that you mention it, it's like I've seen him too."

"Where did you see Thor?" Ronan was even more surprised.

Fabian recalled:
"He was walking down the street in Lourmaran, eating a bag of chichi as he went. Oh, and by the way, your classmate was also carrying a bag with the Stella logo on it. I thought you gave it to him."

Stellar hasn't started brewing wine yet. The people currently holding Stellar logo bags are all people who have participated in the Stellar tourism program. Ronan arranged to provide 'souvenirs' to the tourists after the program ends.

In other words, Thor not only visited the Rosé Museum, but also participated in a tour of St. Scotts.
Ronan waved to Cornell and Fabian, indicating that they didn't need to go:
"Since everyone is safe and has already arrived, you don't need to go. I'll go out and check on them myself."

Ronan ran into Batty, who was having lunch at the restaurant. Batty rarely cooked and had no family around, so the restaurant was his canteen; he ate whatever the employees ate.

"Going out?" Batty greeted Ronan with a smile.

"I'm going to find my classmate." Ronan brushed past him.

“The one from Paris?” Barty looked back at him.

Barty had also met Thor at the proposal ceremony.

Ronan stopped and asked:
"You saw Thor too?"

Batty nodded:

"Yes, he went to visit the women doing weaving and even tried it himself. Your classmate is really skillful; he made a souvenir in less than half an hour. I left the weaving courtyard with him."

Ronan slapped his forehead in exasperation.

Thor is actually hanging out in Lourmaran?

Ronan knew Thor's character well.

He's the kind of person who goes wherever there's excitement. Last Easter, his plan was to read at Ronan's house, but he couldn't resist the temptation and went to watch tourists argue, admire a truck crashing into a telephone pole, see a tractor fall into a septic tank, and even find a car to take a stranger to the train station.

This year's Lourmaran has become even more alluring, and Thor must be dazzled by the dazzling array of temptations on his way to find Ronan.

The restaurant has been doing well these past few days, and Ronan is preparing for the bread competition. He doesn't leave the restaurant until almost 9 pm every day, after it's completely dark.

Lourmaran was not much different from usual at that time; there were few pedestrians on the streets, only the lights of each household.

He came out a little earlier today. Although the sun hadn't completely set yet, it was close to 7 o'clock, but there were still many pedestrians on the road, especially on the outdoor seats on both sides of the street, which were full of people eating.

It's worth noting that in the past six months, only Ronan's restaurant in Lourmaran has been packed with customers, while the other restaurants have been doing only moderately well. Both the pedestrians on the street and the restaurants on both sides of the road prove that Lourmaran is very different from what it used to be.

Thor loves crowds, and Ronan's route in search of the person was towards the village center. On the way, he passed by Coman's 'primitive' restaurant.

Koman used to always sit at the table closest to the door and smoke, but today two tourists were sitting there.

Meanwhile, Coman, who is a chain smoker, is taking orders from customers.

Seeing Ronan pass by, Coman ran a few steps, leaned against the door frame, and shouted to him:

"Ronan, could you deliver two more cases, no, four cases of rosé wine for me? The tourists all want to try it after visiting the rosé wine museum."

Ronan waved to him:

"Okay, I'll have someone deliver it to you."

Stella is now nominally under Ronan's ownership, and all the restaurant, pub, and café owners in Lourmaran will buy rosé from Ronan.

"Thanks." Coman went back to serving customers.

Ronan shifted his gaze from the subject to the not-too-small pedestrians on either side:
"Everything has indeed changed."

Frankly speaking, Lourmaran's 'revitalization' plan has been in place for over a year, and the government has used the tourism board's first budget to do a lot of infrastructure work, but Ronan doesn't seem to have found a proper opportunity to 'take a good look' at the new Lourmaran.

At this time, the temperature becomes pleasant and comfortable.

There weren't too many pedestrians on the street, so it wasn't crowded or lonely—it was a very comfortable situation.

The beautiful pink sunset overhead relaxed Ronan, and he slowed his pace to get a better view of the things on both sides of the road.

The old church in the center of the village remains a favorite spot for tourists to take photos, and even as the sun is about to set, there are still quite a few people around.

The faded stone walls have been restored to their original state, the mottled stained glass windows have regained their magnificent light and shadow, and the ancient clock tower at the top of the building glows with a warm orange-yellow in the afterglow of the setting sun.

At the foot of Ronan, the newly paved cobblestone ground is smooth and clean, and many tourists choose to sit on the ground under the trees, enjoying the peace of mind brought by the ancient church at dusk.

Ronan, along with the tourists, looked up at the afterglow of the setting sun.

“So beautiful”

Ronan couldn't find Thor on the commercial street, nor near the old church in the village center, so he followed the snail shell to other places to look for him.

Before long, he smelled a rich, milky aroma of bread, and he was certain that this was the first time he had smelled it on the streets of Lourmaran.

Following the scent, Ronan arrived at Alan's bakery. As soon as he stepped inside, he couldn't help but ask:
"What are you making? It smells so good!" Alan was methodically weighing bread for the tourists when he saw Ronan arrive, and immediately handed him a piece.
"Try our new honey bread!"

The bread was so hot that Ronan could barely hold it, but he still couldn't resist taking a bite:
"It's delicious. Why haven't you sold it before?"

Alan said while he was busy:

"There are too many international tourists this year. They are not used to traditional French bread. This is a special product for them. Wait a while before you leave. Another lavender bread will be ready soon. Take some back for your parents to try."

The tourists in line were already drooling and urged Alan to hurry up:

"Boss, I've been waiting for ages, can you please get it for me first?"

"Okay, okay! We have everything, we don't close until 7:30 today, and we'll have several more batches of bread coming out later," Alan said with a big smile.

Ronan was going to find Thor and didn't wait for Alan's newly launched lavender bread.

But this is not a regret, because there are so many things to eat on the old street where Alan lives, which is lined with many shops.

A stall making traditional dice games was set up in front of the grocery store, various flavors of dried meat were displayed in the butcher shop, fresh-looking fruit platters were introduced in the fruit shop, and even bookstores that have nothing to do with food started selling drinks.

"Ronan, skip the rosé today and try my olive leaf lemon tea, it's chilled too." The bookstore owner warmly handed Ronan a cup.

Ronan held up the food bags in his hands:
"Kalisan, I really can't eat anymore, my stomach can't hold any more food."

There were so many new food stalls that Ronan would stop and look at each one he passed. The villagers, who had received a lot of help from Ronan, naturally kept feeding him.

The result was that Ronan was full before he even finished walking the road!

Kalisan laughed heartily and said:
“Then come and drink tomorrow. We’ll have two drinks tomorrow. My mom said she’s going to make melon juice, made with Cavallon melon.”

“Then I must try it.” Ronan said goodbye to Calizan with a smile. “Zoe loves Cavallon melons the most.”

Kalisan also waved goodbye to Ronan:
"You and Zoe can drink as much as you want, it's all free!"

After exploring the newly appeared 'snack street', Ronan still couldn't find Thor.

At this moment, Ronan looked in another direction from the village:
"Did they go to an art exhibition?"

Art shops in Lourmaran are scattered throughout the village.

However, thanks to the emergence of the unique art market, that area has become the most artistically vibrant part of Lourmaran.

Before he even reached the barn, Ronan encountered three painters creating artwork on the spot, one of whom was Vivian.

"So that's why you haven't come to my house to visit Zoe lately," Ronan greeted Vivian with a smile. "So you've been out here sketching."

Seeing that there were no tourists nearby, Vivian excitedly said to Ronan:

"I did want to do some research, but several tourists asked me to draw their portraits today, so I earned more than 200 francs!"

Young artists generally don't have good financial conditions, and earning more than 200 francs a day is already a very good figure, especially since this is a 'part-time' job.

"That's good." Ronan handed her the untouched pancakes and vegetable tarts. "Have you eaten?"

Vivian accepted it without hesitation:

"We haven't eaten yet. We agreed to have barbecue on the terrace of Gotia's house later, but I'm really a bit hungry. Thanks."

"Is Zoe going too?" Ronan had never heard of this trip.

But that doesn't matter. In Provence, nobody cares about plans. If Ronan decides to hold a small party in half an hour, he can immediately call in dozens of people.

This is the kind of life that people in Provence aspire to.

Vivian blinked and said:
"Zoe will definitely go. Not only will she go, but you and your classmate from Paris will go too. Oh, by the way, has that person arrived yet?"

Vivian didn't see Thor, but Ronan still searched the area again, unwilling to give up.

Outside the barn where a unique art market is being held, several artists are doing graffiti, and the surrounding area is full of tourists watching and taking pictures.

Graffiti art is common in Paris, but it is still quite rare in Provence. Ronan couldn't help but stop and watch what these masters would paint on the walls.

However, he didn't have time to look for too long, because Thor hadn't been found yet!

At this point, Ronan really started to get anxious.

Thor loves excitement and has a sweet tooth.

But he couldn't be found in the bustling Lourmaran or anywhere that sold food. Where else could Thor have gone?

Unable to find anyone at several famous 'tourist attractions,' Ronan could only search aimlessly around the area.

About ten minutes later, the sun finally began to overlap with the horizon—the moment of sunset had arrived.

At this time, Lourmaran, which has been bustling all day, will suddenly quiet down. Tourists who have not yet left will find benches, stone steps or flower beds to sit down and enjoy the last rays of the sun for the day.

The village of Lourmaran has many fountains of all sizes. Listening to the tinkling of the water every few dozen meters and looking at the tranquil and peaceful scene, time seems to stretch out.

Ronan couldn't help but stop and look back at the village where he had lived for more than a year. It seemed to be bathed in a honey-colored halo, and it was incredibly beautiful.

Ronan used to think that there were only a few attractions in Lourmarin village: the old church, Lourmarin Castle, the commercial street, and a number of art shops and galleries.

But in this situation, Ronan's thoughts changed—there was no need to deliberately search; Lourmaran was full of scenery, steeped in a century of history.

Suddenly, the lights of the newly built cast iron railway lit up one after another, signaling the start of night in Lourmaran.

Tourists who had been quietly enjoying the sunset were now looking for the best spot to see the night view, as if they couldn't bear to miss any of Lourmaran's beautiful moments. A tall figure appeared from a corner and was spotted by Ronan at a glance.

"Thor!" Ronan quickly went over.

After half a day, Thor found that in addition to his suitcase, he had a lot of food, drinks, and toys in his hands.

When Ronan found him, he looked like a child who had done something wrong, and lowered his head to explain:

"I'm sorry, Ronan, I just wanted to look around a bit, but there are so many fun things to do in Lourmaran, one after another, it's impossible to stop. I got tired and wanted to rest, but the scenery here is so beautiful. I didn't want to leave, so—"

Ronan hugged Thor tightly and said happily:
"It's not your fault, this place has really become so beautiful, so beautiful that I almost don't recognize it. Welcome to the new Lourmaran, my friend!"

(End of this chapter)