1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 441 is on the front page!

A little later.

Llorente chose a time when there were fewer tourists to visit Ronan's exhibition area.

After exchanging pleasantries, seeing that the man was still there, and that this was his second visit today, Ronan took the initiative to ask:

Is there something you need from me?

Llorente gave an awkward, wry smile and said, quite apologetically:
"I arranged this interview for you to help you get more exposure, but those stubborn guys on the organizing committee are demanding that the interview be cut. But don't worry, I'll treat those old guys to dinner tonight. I'll make sure they give in."

Ronan quickly walked over and said with a complicated expression:

"You've already helped me so much, you don't need to worry about me anymore."

Llorente squeezed Ronan's arm hard twice, his face serious:
"You are a distinguished guest I invited, so of course I have to protect your rights. Besides, we are friends, so this is my duty."

Before Ronan could say anything more, a staff member rushed over and anxiously said to Llorente:
"Sir, the car has arrived. Everyone is waiting for you. Dinner time is approaching."

Llorente waved to his men, then whispered in Ronan's ear:

"Your problems are my problems, and I will do my best!"

After saying that, he left as if he had died a martyr, disappearing from Ronan's sight.

Llorente's two visits were just two insignificant episodes in Ronan's day, as they had received far too many customers and met far too many people.

The bread, buns, and rosé wine brought in the morning sold out shortly after lunch. Fortunately, Ronan noticed something was wrong and called the restaurant in advance, asking them to prepare another batch of bread and rosé wine to be sent over.

After leaving Mena village in the afternoon, Ronan had no time to rest and immediately returned to the restaurant to teach the women how to make dumplings.

If things go well tomorrow, he can call the women to restock their supplies of bread and buns and have them delivered to Mena village.

Zoe and Thor stayed behind to help Ronan prepare for tomorrow.

The three young people chatted and laughed, creating a relaxed atmosphere.

"I noticed that we weren't the only stall that restocked today; several stalls restocked this afternoon." Zoe neatly tied her hair back, a hairstyle she only sported when she was working diligently.

This hairstyle used to only appear in the studio, but now it's also appearing in the kitchen.

Ronan said while chopping vegetables:

"It seems that we misjudged the situation by saying that tourists arrived early; it was actually a surge in the overall number of tourists to Provence."

The bread competition attracted significantly more visitors this year than last year. Ronan guesses that it's not because the bread competition's promotional efforts increased, but rather because the overall number of tourists visiting Provence has increased.

Thor, focused on kneading the dough, said without even looking up:
"This year, my colleagues have been visiting Provence much more often, and there are frequent programs about it on TV. Also, there are many more tourists traveling with me by train than last year."

He happily pounded the soft dough twice:
"There are more cars coming to Lourmaran now!"

Parisians have a greater say in this matter.

Residents living in Provence can only assess popularity by the number of people, while people living in other areas have a much wider range of factors to consider when judging popularity.

Ronan twisted his neck and stretched his waist:
"The real Provence 'heat' is about to begin."

The tourist season that locals 'hate' right now isn't its most frenzied phase. Ronan recalls that the real tourism boom in Provence arrived around 1990.

The development of anything requires a gradual process.

In the coming years, Provence will only become more and more popular, attracting more and more tourists.

Ronan understands future trends better than others and needs to plan ahead.

“We must seize this opportunity.” Zoe and Ronan were of one mind, thinking the same thing. “Passively waiting for tourists to come is far from enough. We must take the initiative and participate in more events like bread competitions. In addition, we need to think of other ways.”

Zoe is a proactive girl, and this was evident when she was pursuing Ronan.

“The best way to benefit both the restaurant and Stellaco at the same time is to participate in food-related events, like bread competitions. Look how many customers we attracted today! And how much rosé we sold!” But Ronan wasn’t satisfied with the status quo. He seemed to be asking a question, or perhaps just muttering to himself, “What else could we do?”

“Participate in more markets!” Thor answered loudly.

Ronan slammed the cleaver onto the cutting board with force:
"That's right, participate in the market as much as possible, scale up the market, and you could even set up a small team specifically for this!"

For Ronan now, applying for stalls in various places is no longer a problem. His network of contacts is enough to allow his stall to enter the markets of every large village or town. The only thing he lacks is manpower.

Ronan was planning to hand over the market entirely to the women this year, but he thought it better to go all out and build a large-scale market – a team dedicated to running it.

Zoe wiped the fine sweat from Ronan's forehead with the back of her hand:

"Once the renovation is finished, I will participate in the event, which should also provide many opportunities for promotion."

Prior to the Gold series of art events, Zoe was already a darling of various art events in Provence.

Following the Gold Art event, she received countless invitations to events, not only in the arts but also from organizers of cultural and fashion events who took notice of her striking appearance.

In the past few months, Zoe has not participated in any art events or released any new works. Cotillard said that an organizer was willing to offer her an "astronomical appearance fee" to attend a brand event in Aix-en-Provence.

Zoe now has the power to choose; she can carefully select activities that will benefit both herself and Ronan.

Ronan leaned over and kissed Zoe on the forehead:
"The 'Pearl' of Provence is making a comeback!"

The furniture for both the indoor and outdoor areas has been completed. The young couple is now waiting for the swimming pool to be finished before buying some ready-made furniture and accessories, at which point the renovation of their new home will be completely finished.

And our beautiful, kind, and virtuous Zoe is off to shine in Provence again!
"It's great to have helpers." Ronan smiled, looking at Zoe and then at Thor. "With everyone brainstorming, we're sure to get things done."

Zoe playfully raises her eyebrows:
"Of course, there's strength in numbers."

Thor pounded the dough with force:

"Yes, it's powerful!"

Ronan lowered his head and continued working, his thoughts becoming increasingly clear:

"After Easter, I'll go see Blanco; he'll definitely have more and better ways to help us."

Early the next morning.

Ronan, Luo Tianhai, and Thor got up early, just like the day before, ate breakfast, and continued their journey to Mena Village.

Breakfast in Provence is both plentiful and delightful.

Luo Tianhai was used to eating while reading the newspaper, while Ronan and Thor, who didn't read the newspaper, could go out for a leisurely walk with their dog and enjoy the beautiful early summer morning. By the time they got home, it was 'almost' time to leave.

However, this morning, as Ronan and Thor were preparing to leave home, Luo Tianhai suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

"What's wrong?" Ronan, who was already standing at the door, craned his neck and called into the house. The answer he received was the sound of hurried footsteps.

Luo Tianhai, standing three meters away, pointed to a page in his Provence Daily and said:

"We're on this."

Ronan took the newspaper and saw a huge headline—"The winner of the 27th Provence Bread Competition revealed."

A few seconds later, Ronan hugged Thor, who was eagerly waiting at the door, as he couldn't wait to go out for a dog walk.

"Thor, what you said is absolutely right!!"

at the same time.

Inside a private residence in Gold.

At the large dining table, a maid is feeding an elderly woman with gray hair.

The woman's eyes were vacant as she chewed without any emotion, like a machine.

Across from them, Llorente, with his jet-black hair and energetic demeanor, put down his coffee cup, picked up the newspaper beside him, and asked:
"My dear Enisa, what would you like to hear today? Hmm... how about we listen to 'The Secret Behind the 27th Provence Bread Contest Winner'? I bet that'll be very interesting!"

Llorente flipped to the headline of a page, where there was a picture of a flag embroidered with golden ears of wheat:

"Haha, Enisa, guess what the subtitle of this article is?"

He pointed it out to his wife:

"The subtitle of this article is—The champion recipe is rosé from Provence! Isn't that interesting?"

Llorente, in a very good mood, read aloud:

"At the 27th Provence Bread Competition, which concluded yesterday, a contestant from Lourmarin won the crown with his ingenious 'Rosé Bread.' Surprisingly, the champion declared on the podium without any hesitation, 'Without Stella's rosé, there would be no champion bread!'"

That afternoon.

Avignon, 50 kilometers away from Gordes.

In the banquet hall adorned with gilded chandeliers, ladies and women enjoyed exquisite afternoon tea while chatting about interesting events that had recently occurred in Provence.

"Did you see this morning's Provence Daily? There was a whole page dedicated to the bread competition, but the winner only spent half the page promoting rosé wine and that wine brand called Stella."

“I saw it. When I read that report, I checked the article title three times. I even suspected that it was a product placement by a certain brand.”

"Hey, Astrid, why are you smiling so happily? Would you like another cup of black tea?"

“You’ve forgotten, Mrs. Astrid doesn’t like tea,” someone whispered a reminder from the side.

"Oh, right, right, right!" The talkative lady quickly lowered her head, like a cat that had done something wrong.

A lady very politely handed over the cup, smiling and saying:
"Thank you, could you pour me another cup of tea?"

Meanwhile, the tea party for the young ladies and wives continued.

"That champion not only promoted Stellar Rosé, but also invited everyone to their restaurant for a drink—blatantly so, without any pretense!"

"So you're talking about that Chinese restaurant? It's the most popular one in all of Lourmaran. I just came back from there at noon, and I waited for more than an hour without getting a table."

"Really? Are there really restaurants in Provence where you have to wait in line for that long?"

"Hey, hey, hey, where's your focus? Shouldn't the focus be on how someone dares to so blatantly promote rosé wine at a bread competition?"

Amidst the chattering chatter, Astrid, in a very good mood, tapped her cup with her spoon, and a figure appeared before her:
"He really is a 'madman'."

The bread competition will last for 3 days.

For the next three days, Ronan will personally lead a team to Mena village to showcase their work.

In other words, Ronan did not have the opportunity to see Lourmaran during the Easter holiday.

If Ronan had the chance to stay in Lourmarin and see that the streets were nearly twice as crowded as the day he was searching for Thor, he would definitely say without hesitation—

"Is the gap between Lourmaran and the Golden Triangle getting smaller and smaller?" Sylvie would come out to inspect every day, but every day he couldn't help but ask the same question.

But things are a little different today.

She used to come out to watch alone, but today she came out with the group.

As soon as she asked the question, she realized something was wrong, but it was too late to take it back. All she could do was stick out her tongue, hoping that Quincy wouldn't hold it against her, this lovely woman.

Quincy didn't even look at Sylvie.

He had been stationed in Lourmaran for so many days not to look at any women, but to observe this important village.

“Yes, the gap has narrowed considerably. Lourmaran’s visitor numbers are now in the second tier, whereas last Easter, Lourmaran was at the bottom.” Quincy looked at the crowded visitor center from afar and asked Blanco beside him, “Where is the visitor center expansion project at? We need to speed up the infrastructure construction to cope with tourists.”

Lourmaran has seen a significant increase in popularity and visitor numbers, but its infrastructure development has lagged behind.

Blanco rubbed the corner of his eye:

“We just received the second grant. The factory in St. Strasbourg needs to be built urgently, and the Lourmaran Castle needs to be renovated urgently. These are even more urgent matters.”

Quincy thought for a moment:
"I will urge the third payment to arrive as soon as possible, and you should also hurry up here."

The group walked around Lourmaran for a while, and the shopping street was their last stop.

Actually, this was their first target for investigation, but there were just too many people in the commercial street, so they didn't go in on their first visit.

After going around in circles, the intersection was still congested with many people.

"Didn't they improve the museum's ticket checking process? Why are there still so many people blocking the intersection?" Quincy continued to ask.

The museum has only been in trial operation for a short time, and many problems have already been exposed.

Quincy clearly remembers that the Lourmaran government had reported several times that it wanted to simplify the ticket checking and entry procedures, as the previous steps were not concise enough and caused tourist congestion.

The person in charge, Sylvie, immediately replied:
“We have completed the improvements, and now the group of people at the intersection are not queuing to go to the museum.”

Quincy frowned and asked:
"Where are they trying to go by blocking this way?"

Sylvie revealed a smug and excited expression, pointing into the shopping street and saying:

"They're all going to eat!"

(End of this chapter)