1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 456 The Four Great Vajras Gather
While having dinner at the restaurant, Ronan mentioned what he had seen in Batty's yard.

“They go even when there are no orders. They are very enthusiastic. I think they help each other a lot. The atmosphere is great. I heard they stay until about 8:30 pm and don’t go back until it’s almost bedtime.”

Typically, Ronan and Zoe's families would gather together for dinner in the evenings, as the young couple's families mostly worked there.

However, Louis has been busy lately and sometimes misses dinner time after get off work.

Vieri also finished eating early and went home because he was busy preparing for his exams, so recently only Zoe and Leah have been having dinner at Zoe's house.

“This craft is very suitable for them.” Like Luo Nan, Luo Tianhai was also surprised by the women’s attitude, but after thinking about it, he felt it made sense. “Grapevines have no cost and every household has them. This is like ‘reusing waste.’ They take up space at home anyway. If they learn any new techniques, their income will also increase.”

Feng Zhen said with great enthusiasm:

"Of course they're enthusiastic! What kind of life did we have when we were making embroidered quilts? We'd go blind from embroidery and still wouldn't earn much. Now these girls are making money just by chatting and laughing. I just can't get away, otherwise I would have gone too!"

Ronan quickly waved his hand to dissuade his mother from this idea:
"Mom, just give up. You can't do it. You really can't."

Ronan's parents both tried making jewelry, not to make money, but just to give it a try.

Look how easy Ronan made it up, like a magic trick. What's so difficult about it?
But their hands looked like prosthetics.

What you think in your head and what you do with your hands are two completely different things.

Luo Tianhai was slightly better, perhaps because he worked in the kitchen all year round. Feng Zhen's hands would cramp up after a while. The main problem was that she was impatient and got annoyed after learning for a short time.

It can only be said that the women of Lourmaran are indeed very well-suited for weaving.

Having started sewing and embroidering quilts in their teens, they have developed skillful hands. Despite years of low or no income, they have also cultivated a resilient spirit that can withstand setbacks.

As Leah served noodles to everyone, she smiled and said:
“I believe that even people who are not good with their hands will work hard to learn and improve. You may find it hard to understand what work means to the women of Luberon, and how much we cherish the opportunity to earn money.”

After saying that, she suddenly put down the tongs she was using to portion out the spaghetti, stood up, and jogged back to the kitchen.

"There's still something in the oven, I'll go check it out."

"Nicola's behind us, you can eat in peace." Ronan called out to Leah's retreating figure, but all he got in response was a rapidly disappearing silhouette.

Zoe's gaze also shifted away from the direction her mother had left, and she said in a complicated tone:
“Actually, it’s not just Barty; Mom also cherishes her work opportunities.”

Luo Tianhai nodded in deep understanding:

"Indeed, people in Lourmaran are more hardworking than Parisians, especially the women. The restaurant is so busy every day, and the workload is so heavy, but I have never heard anyone complain about being tired."

Luo Tianhai said this unintentionally, but Feng Zhen couldn't sit still when she heard it.

She slightly raised her buttocks, also wanting to find something to do. She glanced at the people behind the cashier, then looked around at the orderly various areas of the restaurant, and her lips twitched into a grimace.

Why is there no work?!
Luo Tianhai noticed his wife's actions and realized he had just spoken without thinking. He took the pasta tongs that Leah had put down and put another dollop of pasta on his wife's plate.
"You've worked hard today, calculating so many purchase orders. Eat more."

Feng Zhen smiled happily, just like a young girl.

Yes, I feel much better now.

After dinner, Ronan and Zoe went for a night stroll as usual to digest their food.

After spending two laps around Lourmaran and dropping Zoe home, Ronan returned to the restaurant and was surprised to find Leah still busy in the kitchen.

In fact, Ronan had already begun to 'reduce the burden' on Luo Tianhai, Feng Zhen, and Liya several months ago.

There are several trustworthy chefs in the kitchen, so even when Luo Tianhai is not around, they can still take good care of the customers every day.

In terms of management, Luo Tianhai's burden has been lightened considerably. The clever and quick-witted Isabel has played a significant role in many matters, and she can independently organize and complete tasks such as scheduling and daily morning meetings.

During the few days that Luo Tianhai accompanied Ronan to Mena Village for the bread competition, everything at the restaurant was in good order; he was no longer the restaurant's brain that couldn't get away.

In terms of accounting, Ronan also found Feng Zhen a helper so that she wouldn't have to rely on herself alone. Moreover, Vieri could also take on the financial work. That guy was particularly good with numbers and was a natural businessman.

Desserts have always been a very important part of the restaurant. When it first opened last year, there were only two people, Lia and Nicola. As the art of desserts gained popularity in Provence, and the bread competition also attracted a lot of attention, the dessert team has expanded twice and is now a 4-person 'big team'.

It's worth noting that even Mr. Jacques' two-Michelin-starred restaurant only assigned four staff members to desserts.

Ronan's restaurant was not as large as Mr. Jacques' restaurant, and Leah was probably the first of the two sets of parents to be "liberated".

But even now, aside from taking a few days off each month, Leah is always one of the last people to leave the kitchen at night, sometimes even later than the other pastry chefs.

"Going to take another exam?" Ronan asked, walking up behind Leah.

France has one of the most stringent pastry certification systems in the world, with Switzerland and Japan being other countries with relatively strict pastry certification requirements.

The reason for this is the centuries-old tradition of "bloodline" in court desserts. Before the 17th century, the French royal family established the position of "court pastry chef," and to obtain this honor, one had to pass through layers of tests at the Palace of Versailles.

In 1880, the French Third Republic legislated to regulate the professional training of pastry chefs, thus giving birth to the CAP system.

Italians, who also have a deep understanding of desserts, only systematically standardized dessert cultivation in the 20th century.

Lia was the first woman in Luberon to receive a CAP certificate.

However, CAP is only an entry-level certificate in dessert making, which is roughly equivalent to a vocational high school diploma in terms of education.

Only by passing this exam can you call yourself a 'pastry chef'.

Alan's bakery also sells some cakes, but he's just a 'bread seller' because he doesn't have a CAP certificate.

It is said that he took the exam twice, but stopped because he couldn't stand the so-called masters pointing fingers at him.

But obtaining the CAP certificate is only the first step in the strict system of French pastry making.

After obtaining the CAP certificate, you can apply for the advanced BP exam. Once you obtain the certificate, you can apply for the French 'Craftsman's Business Card'.

Next is the BM certificate, representing master pastry chefs. This certificate is issued by the CMA, the highest level of French craft association. Participants need to submit an original portfolio (note that it is a portfolio) and have 8 years of industry experience.

Above that is the prestigious MQF, the 'Nobel Prize' of the pastry world, held every four years. The latest exam required participants to create 12 themed desserts within eight hours.

In addition, France has various sub-certifications, such as Chocolate Master, Ice Cream Master, Confectionery Master, and so on.

In short, you can keep taking pastry certificates in France as long as you want, and even go abroad to get them.

Seeing that Leah hadn't left by evening, Ronan assumed she was going to take the CAP Advanced Certificate (BP) exam, but Leah just smiled and shook her head.

"I don't own a shop, why would I need to take the BP exam? CAP is enough."

"What are you doing?" Ronan stood beside her and saw that Leah was carving a very intricate pattern.

Ronan took a closer look and felt that it looked familiar.

Although there was only a slight resemblance, he quickly recognized it—wasn't this one of the patterns he had carved from dried fruit and nuts during the preparation phase of the Gold Art event last year?
When he first started preparing, Ronan's [Cooking] skill was not yet at level 5, and he couldn't find suitable ingredients to cut. So he spent some time carving on dried fruits and nuts, hoping to win by carving.

Later, once he had a 'recipe' in his mind, he never did it again because he found better ideas and mediums.

"Why are you practicing this?" Ronan dissuaded him. "I was forced to do it back then; it was completely unnecessary."

Leah straightened up, first rubbing her sore eyes, then swaying her back, and sighed:
“You exhibited two pieces in Gold, and many people came to our restaurant specifically to eat the same dishes as those two pieces. However, we can only serve ‘Hope’ and cannot serve ‘Lovebird,’ which requires extremely high craftsmanship. This is a great pity.”

She quickly bent down again and carefully examined her work: "You're going to participate in a dessert competition soon. I don't know what you'll be using to compete, but whatever it is, the restaurant will definitely have to serve the same thing. I need to practice my knife skills quickly, so I can't keep fooling customers with substitutes like 'Lovebird'."

The word 'Hope' emphasizes the artistic conception, and the overall craftsmanship is not complicated. Lia and the others can all replicate it, and they do it quite well.

To this day, 'Hope' remains the restaurant's most distinctive dessert and the most popular choice.

While the 'Lovebirds' also carries significant historical meaning, Ronan's masterful carving skills are undoubtedly a major plus—it is a true work of art that would impress even master sculptors.

Ronan used desserts to attend the event, so the restaurant naturally had to serve the same desserts.

However, no one but Ronan could make the 'Lovebird' dessert, so the restaurant could only offer a few other fruit desserts with the meaning of 'love'.

This has always been a sore spot for Leah.

She was still too weak to keep up with Ronan's pace.

Ronan is going to participate in a dessert competition again this month. Fearing that her skills won't be up to par and she won't be able to supply the same desserts again, Leah has started improving herself early on.

She didn't know the best way to practice her knife skills.

But she remembered that Ronan had spent a long time carving nuts and dried fruit before he went to Gold.

So she followed suit.

“No need, no need.” Ronan waved his hands repeatedly. “This place sells desserts, not works of art. There’s no need to develop such amazing knife skills.”

Ronan had the support of a system, which enabled him to carve patterns on that small object.

Leah, this is hard sculpting! This is too exaggerated.

Leah focused intently on her incision, her deep blue eyes, framed by fine wrinkles, brimming with concentration.

"Go on out, I'm much better lately."

Ronan kept rambling on and on, trying to persuade Leah to do something else.

Leah impatiently pushed Ronan out and said seriously:

"Don't have any worries in this competition. Do whatever you want. I definitely won't hold you back."

By mid-May, the days in Provence are already quite hot, especially in the afternoons. You'll be drenched in sweat with just a little movement. Girls who care about their skin should start using the highest level of sun protection from this time onwards.

After a hot afternoon, people in Lourmaran usually sit in their yards or on the streets for a while in the evening to cool off and let the day's heat dissipate before they can sleep comfortably.

The Parisian family naturally followed the lead of the Lourmaran people, gathering in the courtyard every evening.

Luo Tian and Feng Zhen were relaxing in the backyard, playing with the dog and eating fresh seasonal fruit, while Luo Nan was making woven furniture beside them.

Just like I told Bati.

The days leading up to the opening of the flagship store will probably be busy, with a lot of design work to do.

While filling the flagship store, we also need to make sure the shooting location provided for Michelin magazine is beautiful and memorable.

After working for a while, Ronan suddenly looked at the mechanical watch on his wrist.

He had long since stopped wearing watches; this one was a special purchase Zoe bought for him for the Monaco F1 Grand Prix.

"8 o'clock," Ronan muttered, glancing at his watch.

He looked back toward the center of Lourmaran village. Although it was far away and separated by layers of vegetation, he could see bright lights and busy women.

They felt no pressure or urgency, yet they still kept themselves busy.

At that moment, Ronan suddenly understood the words Batistuta often said.

"The women of Lourmaran are the most lovely people; they are the most beautiful women I have ever seen!"

Ronan smiled and lowered his head, focusing intently on his knitting:
"They really are a group of lovely women."

Hardworking, resilient, and lovely women deserve more opportunities.

Two days later.

Ronan, Batty, Sandrine, and Cafu gathered in Batty's yard.

After setting his small goal, Ronan arranged a meeting with a few people.

This is the most staff-rich event the Lourmaran Handicraft Cooperative has ever had since its establishment.

We'd occasionally run into each other before, but always one of us would be missing or another would be missing.

Today, the 'Four Great Warriors' are finally all together!

The meeting place was at Barty's house, ostensibly for a meeting, which made Barty both nervous and excited.

When has a wandering artist like him, who roams the world, ever held such an important meeting?

But what did Ronan want to say when he brought everyone together?

To ensure everyone had a pleasant meeting experience, Barty prepared wine in advance, packed some desserts from Ronan's restaurant, and bought snacks from the grocery store.

"Let's eat and chat." Barty placed the cups in front of everyone. "Haha, it's my first meeting, and I'm quite nervous. Eating and drinking will make me feel more relaxed."

Ronan offered to pour drinks for several people:

“I was negligent before. Actually, we should get together regularly.”

“It’s not too late now.” Cafu still looked like a ‘suit-wearing thug,’ having somehow adopted this look from someone else. Today he was even wearing gold-rimmed glasses, completely transforming into a businessman.

Sandrine nodded slightly:
"Let's meet at least once a month from now on."

Ronan is the face of the business, the chief designer.

Bharti is at the heart of the supply chain.

Cafu and his brothers are the 'tentacles' of the Lourmarin Crafts Cooperative, bringing this high-end and niche craft to various regions of Provence.

Sandrine, on the other hand, is the strategist. Her valuable experience in Paris will protect the craft cooperative and keep it on the right track, occasionally giving it a little push.

The Four Heavenly Kings are indispensable!

Ronan glanced at the other three people:

"How about making it more frequent? Once a week?"

Before the others could reply, Ronan looked at Sandrine, who was dressed professionally:
“You’re right. The Lourmaran Handicraft Cooperative’s previous business model was too arbitrary and unclear. Why don’t we resolve this issue today?”

(End of this chapter)