1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 478 An Unexpected Visitor (Revised)

The Ronan family returned home with a full load of goods.

In addition to buying cherries and peaches, they also bought fresh almonds, mulberries, and cantaloupes.

We brought back even more kinds of vegetables, including tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus, artichokes, broad beans, and fresh garlic.

Everything was just picked.

Despite carrying large bags and packages, Ronan's steps were incredibly light:

"I'll call Freddy as soon as I get in and ask him to send over two lambs and some fresh beef. We'll have a barbecue tonight. In addition to the cherry barbecue sauce, let's also make a garlic aioli. The taste of fresh garlic will definitely be excellent."

Ronan doesn't like the smell of garlic, but today he actually thought of his friends and prepared a strong garlic recipe, which shows that he was in a very good mood.

A wise child is better than his mother.

Feng Zhen naturally noticed that her son had a great time at the market, and said with a smile:
“Let’s go there regularly from now on, just like today. Remember to bring Zoe along. Oh dear, look at my memory! I was just thinking of bringing her some seafood, but I forgot about it as soon as I turned my head.”

"No problem, no problem, I'll go buy some in a bit," Ronan said enthusiastically. "Squid, lobster, cod... let me think, what else would be good for barbecue?"

Luo Tianhai, carrying more things than his son and wife, was carrying a larger load.

"I'll go. I'll deliver the spices to the restaurant first, and then I'll go straight there."

The filial son surpassed his father again, as if in a race:
"I'll go. I'll deliver the spices and buy seafood. I ate a bit too much for lunch."

Ronan ate quite a lot at the market, and later took his parents to Mr. Jacques' Michelin-starred restaurant to introduce them to him.

Although it wasn't officially lunchtime yet, since they had already gone to a Michelin-starred restaurant, they naturally ate something, and Ronan's stomach was already quite full.

Today's parent-child activity was quite successful. His son eagerly volunteered to do the tasks, so Luo Tianhai didn't argue with him.
"Then you should put your things down and hurry up, there's not much seafood left at this time."

In summer, seafood resources in Luberon are relatively scarce. The lack of cold chain technology makes suppliers reluctant to send plump seafood to this place. If you want to eat fresh seafood, you have to go early to grab it. It's almost noon now, and it's not certain if there will still be any fresh seafood left.

"Then I'll call the restaurant first and have someone come out to pick me up." Ronan disappeared in a flash.

Finding a parking spot in Lourmaran is now very difficult, especially near the commercial street.

Many villagers now park their cars on wasteland far from the village center.

Ronan wanted to buy seafood quickly, so he called the restaurant as soon as he got home and asked the front desk to find someone to pick up the spices at the intersection of the commercial street. Ronan didn't get out of the car; he just put his things down and left.

But the person who would take over Feng Zhen's shift at the front desk told Ronan:
"You should come over. Someone wants to talk to you and has been waiting for a while. I've been calling your house, but no one answers."

After the restaurant opened, people would come by from time to time saying they "had something to ask Ronan," but they were actually trying to cut in line and get away with it.

Ronan recalled that none of his friends had recently given him advance notice that they were coming to see him:

"Did he say what he wanted to talk to me about? Just tell that kind of unreliable person to leave. Just tell him I'm not going to the restaurant today."

The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly became much louder, as if someone was covering the receiver with their hand and speaking with their lips pressed against the earpiece:

"She didn't say why she wanted to see you, but she said she was from the Vaucluse Department of Tourism."

"Vaucluse Provincial Tourism Bureau? And a woman?" Ronan couldn't help but raise his voice because the waitress used the feminine "she".

Ronan only knew one official from the province of Vaucluse, Quincy, but he was a man.

“Yes, it’s a woman, and she’s not young. I don’t think anyone would joke about the tourism bureau, would they?” the waiter urged. “So you’d better come over quickly.” Lourmaran’s second budget request had been submitted some time ago.

Apart from a few key government officials, no one knows how much funding Lourmaran will receive this time.

However, after the May Day holiday, the number of visits and inspections by various departments in the Vaucluse province to Lourmaran has increased significantly. Clearly, this small village from the Luberon Mountains has attracted the attention of many higher-level departments.

Previously, government departments such as the Tourism Bureau, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Finance Department, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry would only visit Lourmaran once every few years, but this year there have been two cases of long-term stationing.

A few months ago, Lourmaran made extensive preparations to receive visiting officials from higher authorities. Now, receiving officials from the Vaucluse province has become routine for the government, eliminating the need for elaborate preparations beforehand. Lourmaran is constantly in a state of peak performance to cope with the surge in tourists and various challenges, and has never let its guard down.

Of course, there is another reason: the Lourmaran government simply doesn't have the energy to prepare anything. They are too busy with infrastructure development, expansion, building houses, and accommodating tourists, so busy that they can't even gather a full complement of people to receive the leaders.

The last time Quincy led a delegation to inspect Lourmaran, almost all the officials of the Lourmaran government followed on both sides; it was quite an impressive sight.

This time it was the same expedition team, the same expedition members. Accompanying Quincy, Willie, and Elian were only Claude and one of his colleagues from his department.

The group of five mingled among the bustling streets without attracting anyone's attention, just like a group of ordinary tourists, looking around and chatting in a very relaxed atmosphere.

To put it another way, the tourism bureau's inspection team didn't really need any accompaniment. Given Quincy's understanding of Lourmaran, he could handle the reception work himself; visiting Lourmaran was like visiting his own backyard.

“It’s only been a few months, but Lourmaran has changed so much.” Willie came out of the public restroom, shaking the water off his hands. “Many new restrooms have been built, and they are clean, bright, and private.”

"Great! I don't have to pee with those enthusiastic villagers anymore," Willy thought happily.

Quincy personally oversaw the bathroom renovation project while he was in Lourmaran, so he naturally has a lot to say about it:
"Currently, Lourmaran has the best public toilets among the villages in Luberon. The last batch of villages that underwent extensive toilet renovations was a few years ago. By the end of the year, several 'drinking springs' will be built here to further improve the infrastructure and make it the 'best' village in all aspects."

The toilets are a major sore point in Luberon; those Turkish toilets have scared away countless visitors from out of town.

It's no exaggeration to say that the upgraded toilets in Lourmaran village alone will significantly boost the impression on tourists.

Seeing that the surroundings had quieted down, Quincy turned to look at Enrian, who was lagging behind at the back of the line:

"Elian, do you have any suggestions for improvement?"

Elrian and Quincy are of equal rank, but because Quincy was directly involved in the construction of Lourmaran, Elrian was the leader of this expedition.

Upon returning to Avignon, Elian will be responsible for writing the report on the expedition to Lourmarin.

A female voice devoid of emotion spoke:

"I think the sanitation work in Lourmaran is very successful, and the progress of tourism infrastructure has also improved significantly compared to last time. The whole village is thriving. I don't know if it's because last time was the off-season and now it's the peak season, but it feels like this is my first time visiting Lourmaran."

Wei Li nodded vigorously.

That's right!

I definitely have that feeling. When I'm walking down the street, I always find myself thinking – is this Lourmaran? This is a place I've never been before!

Quincy smiled with satisfaction.

This report went well!

Before Quincy could even be happy for a second, Elian spoke up again:

“But I think Lourmarin has overlooked something very important in its development. It has a strong artistic atmosphere, rapid construction, and steady commercialization, but Mena, Bonnillo, and Gordes all have these things. However, it has a unique feature that is not found in other villages in Luberon.”

(End of this chapter)