1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 486 Green Leaves and Red Flowers

Ronan hadn't hung out with Artur and his gang for a long time.

But during Ronan's absence, these restaurant owners in Provence often heard stories about him—that he had become an artist, run a handicraft cooperative, and appeared on television. In short, all the news was so enviable that it made their eyes light up.

Upon hearing Artur's invitation, the bosses responded immediately, making time to travel to Lourmaran, hoping to rekindle their romance with Ronan.

Who would refuse an invitation from a successful person?

But soon, these bosses who came with various purposes discovered that the protagonist tonight was not Ronan, but his father, Luo Tianhai.

Luo Tianhai and his wife had been in Provence for a year, and their usual social circle consisted only of Louis and Freddie's friends. Today, they wanted to expand their social circle, and Luo Tianhai was incredibly enthusiastic, dressed smartly, and talked non-stop.

With the father working so hard, the son should naturally cooperate as well.

Ronan dutifully played a supporting role, introducing his father's life story and praising how indispensable he was to the restaurant. He said that without his father's help, he would not be able to move an inch, and that Luo Tianhai was the brains of the restaurant.

Compared to Ronan, who had already proven himself in Provence, Luo Tianhai was too low-key. Apart from being a good cook, he had nothing else that people could remember about him.

Although they seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with Luo Tianhai, the bosses actually wanted to get closer to Luo Nan, and the conversation would always veer back to Luo Nan from all sorts of tricky angles, making it impossible to pull them back.

In order to give Luo Tianhai more opportunities to speak, Ronan and Artur had a very pleasant conversation, not giving others a chance to "squeeze in" for him.

"Why haven't you come lately?" Ronan asked Artur, pointing to the dishes on the table, such as Kung Pao Chicken, Mapo Tofu, and Twice-Cooked Pork. "These are some of your favorite dishes, and they've been revised several times."

Artur shrugged awkwardly:

"I've been too busy lately, I haven't been able to find the time."

"Oh? What are you busy with?" Ronan asked with great interest.

Olivier, who had been waiting for Ronan to say something to ease tensions, blurted out:

"Artur has opened another restaurant in Apt."

Artur's business philosophy is completely opposite to Olivier's.

Olivier's style is to cast a wide net and win by quantity, but none of his restaurants have made a name for themselves.

Artur's style is to make a restaurant the best it can be.

Ronan visited Artur's restaurant in a bustling area of ​​Apt, which was very authentically French. The owners told him that his restaurant was extremely popular in Apt.

Given Artur's personality, it's quite surprising that he opened another restaurant.

"Why didn't you mention something this big?" Ronan asked reproachfully. "Has it opened yet? I have to go and give you a big gift."

This question made Artur even more embarrassed. He used eating to cover up his inner emotions, saying between chews:

"It opened in February, but you were attending an art event in Gold at the time, and I was afraid of distracting you, so I didn't tell you. Later, I was so busy with the new store that I forgot. If you don't believe me, ask Taylor and Noah. It's been so long since I last contacted them."

The first part of Artur's statement was an excuse.

His second restaurant served 'innovative' cuisine, not the traditional French food he had previously served. He had only changed the names of a few dishes he had learned from Ronan, and the presentation was not much different. Naturally, he didn't dare to invite Ronan to dine there.

But the second half of the statement is true.

In order to run this restaurant that he had high hopes for, Artur devoted all his time to it, which not only made his relationship with Ronan more distant, but also reduced his contact with other people.

Ronan pretended to be angry and said:

"No matter how busy you are, you have to let me know. Give me the address as soon as possible, and I'll find some time to go and take a look."

Artur shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. Ronan would probably never know that he had secretly learned the trade.

"That restaurant isn't doing very well, and I plan to close it at the beginning of next month, so you shouldn't go there."

"How could that be?" Ronan asked with concern. "Your first restaurant was so successful. You must have learned a lot of lessons. You shouldn't have failed by following the same path. Was it because you didn't choose a good location?"

Artur's smile became even more strained:

“The location is not the problem, it’s my decision that’s flawed. It was too radical and deviated from the local market. Also, the month I opened was shortly after the economic downturn, as you know. At that time, the economy of Provence was not good, so it has not recovered. It’s too difficult to open a new store now. I’d better continue to run the old store well.”

Ronan and Luo Tianhai both knew that Artur had been secretly learning Chinese cooking.

Everyone knows he failed to learn the technique by stealing it, because he never came back afterward. Combined with Artur's answer, it seems that his 'groundbreaking' restaurant was not accepted by the locals.

The father and son had discussed this issue privately many times, and their conclusions were consistent—the spread of Chinese cuisine to other regions would be beneficial to them, and a very significant one at that.

Therefore, Ronan did not want to see the restaurant go out of business.

There is no such thing as a sure thing in the world. Many of the people here have experienced the failure of running a restaurant poorly. When they heard Ronan and Artur talking about this, they all comforted Artur and told him that it was nothing and that he should pick himself up and start again.

Ronan sighed and also shared his opinion:
"It's such a shame. I didn't know you had opened a new restaurant. Actually, I wanted to talk to you last year to see if you would be willing to do some Chinese fusion in the restaurant, because I saw that you were very receptive to and interested in Chinese food. However, at that time your restaurant was authentic French cuisine, so fusion wasn't suitable. The second restaurant sounded like a better place to try it out, but then you decided not to continue."

Artur knew that his original restaurant was not suitable for fusion cuisine, which is why he opened a second one, but the result was already clear—it failed.

In fact, Artur has learned a lot over the years, and he has been exposed to many cooking styles from all over the world. However, what he considers to be very distinctive foreign dishes are not the same as what the locals think.

Seeing that Ronan brought it up, Artur also found a good opportunity to 'confess':
"Some of the dishes in the new restaurant have incorporated Chinese elements, but for some reason, customers just aren't interested."

"Has it already blended in?" Ronan put down his knife and fork, pointed to the people waiting for a table outside the window, and said, "That shouldn't be the case. Look at my place, there are a lot of people who like Chinese food."

Following Ronan's finger, the business owners exclaimed in amazement.

"There have always been people queuing outside. When we arrived, it was only a little past 3 o'clock, and people had already started queuing."

"Your popularity is rare to see in Apte and Aix-en-Provence. There are very few restaurants in all of Provence that have people queuing all day long."

"Is it related to the changes you've made to your menu? I remember it wasn't like this last time I came."

"Perhaps it's because Lourmaran has suddenly become a popular village?"

“But other restaurants in Lourmaran aren’t like this,” Olivier said, looking at Ronan with a fawning expression. “There are so many restaurants in Lourmaran, but only Ronan’s Chinese restaurant is doing so well.”

The bosses' words rekindled the flame in Artur's heart that was about to go out.

why?

Why is Ronan's restaurant so successful while mine is about to go out of business?
My judgment was absolutely correct: Chinese food has a market in Provence!

Noticing the confusion and resentment on Artur's face, Ronan offered a suggestion:
"Why don't you let my father go and see what's going on in your area? If you want experience in Provence and anything related to Chinese food, no one is more experienced than him."

Hearing Ronan's words, Artur felt both surprised and regretful.

Surprisingly, Ronan actually offered to help him.

It's a shame that they went to Luo Tianhai instead of Luo Nan.

“Why don’t you come with your father? Didn’t you just want to go and see?” Artur suddenly changed his attitude and took the initiative to invite Ronan.

Ronan said regretfully:

"I've been quite busy lately, so if you're in a rush, you'll have to wait a while. I heard you say you're closing the shop early next month, which seems to put you in a hurry—"

At this point, he revealed a warm smile:
"And to be honest, the biggest contributors to the restaurant's success are my father and the employees. My staff are incredibly talented. Compared to them, I'm nothing."

Ronan spent the entire afternoon praising his father, Luo Tianhai, for how outstanding he was. As the most successful person present, his words naturally received unanimous approval, but it was necessary to carefully discern how much of it was true and how much was false.

The bosses offered emotionless compliments for a while, then a commotion arose near the cashier. Several waiters were whispering and exchanging exaggerated glances. Ronan went over to inquire and learned that Leah was actually tasting the desserts in the back.

"What's wrong?" Luo Tianhai asked Luo Nan, who had returned.

Leah didn't inform him either.

Ronan, eager to try, said:

"Lia was tasting the desserts in the kitchen, which excited the girls so much that they said they were delicious and beautiful, and they all wanted to go in and grab a couple more pieces."

"Lia is trying out desserts?" Luo Tianhai also looked surprised.

Artur asked:

"Who is Leah?"

Luo Tianhai explained to these people:
"He is our pastry chef."

Ronan couldn't wait to go check out the back, and at the same time, he wanted to give Luo Tianhai a chance. If he stayed here, these people would only be after him, not pay attention to Luo Tianhai.

"I'll go check in the back. You guys continue eating. I'll be right back."

Ronan came and went quickly, not giving anyone a chance to ask questions. Seeing how hurriedly he left, Olivier asked Luo Tianhai:

"Isn't your pastry chef Ronan?"

Ronan is the most famous pastry chef in Provence, the kind of pastry chef whose desserts can sell for hundreds of thousands of francs. With such a master chef around, it's natural for everyone to assume that the restaurant's pastry chef is Ronan.

Luo Tianhai explained to everyone:

“Our pastry chef has always been Leah. Ronan only designed some desserts last year when the restaurant first opened. All the new products this year were designed by Leah.”

Ronan Restaurant is more famous for its desserts than its main dishes, and many customers come specifically for the desserts.

Everyone was quite surprised to learn that most of the desserts here were designed by other people.

You actually have a great pastry chef here?
"Can we participate in today's dessert tasting?" Artur asked expectantly.

He was interested in everything new and didn't want to miss any opportunity to 'learn'.

Luo Tianhai thought about it for a moment and felt that there was nothing wrong with it.

The purpose of food tasting is to obtain effective feedback until it is improved to the best, and the purpose of dessert tasting is the same.

These are all experienced restaurant owners, and their advice would be a great help to Leah.

He called Isabel over, briefly described the situation, and then lowered his voice to say:

“If Leah and Ronan have no objections, take some out and let your friends have a taste.”

Three minutes later, Ronan apologetically placed the two small plates on the table:
"I'm so sorry, the desserts were so popular that I only managed to grab this little bit."

When he went to the kitchen, the desserts had already been almost completely devoured. These two plates were left by Leah for his beloved Louis, but he snatched them away.

The bosses chuckled awkwardly a few times.

Seven people came, and they only gave us two small plates. Who would dare to eat them?
But just because everyone else is embarrassed doesn't mean that Artur, who loves learning, is also embarrassed.

Without any hesitation, he picked up the plate closest to him and examined it closely.

“What an exquisite cake—” Artur’s eyes narrowed instantly.

Judging from its appearance, the dessert he's holding is probably a corner of a cake, but just looking at this corner, one can imagine that the whole cake must be extremely exquisite.

Every flower and every leaf is so exquisite.

Classic styles from the 80s still dominate French desserts, such as mousse, éclair, and soufflé, with butter, cream, chocolate, and vanilla as the basic flavors. In recent years, fruit-flavored desserts have begun to appear on the market more widely, such as strawberry cake and lemon tart.

In terms of appearance, the French abandoned the elaborate court style decades ago and prefer to make minimalist desserts. On top of minimalism, they use icing, chocolate rolls and gold leaf as decorations, emphasizing symmetrical beauty and avoiding excessive piling up.

The desserts at Ronan's restaurant are so popular because they are simple yet sophisticated, and reveal a unique artistic flair within that simplicity, just like the cake in front of them.

“You really didn’t do this, Ronan?” Olivier’s massive body loomed over him. “But this sounds like your style.”

Olivier had seen the 'Lovebird' before, and he knew very well how Ronan combined desserts and art, so when he saw this beautifully designed cake, he would assume it was made by Ronan.

In fact, Ronan was also taken aback when he saw this cake. He didn't expect Leah's styling skills to be so strong. Her advantage should be in the taste. Her desserts are very much in line with the tastes of the locals in Provence.

Ronan guessed that it might be because Leah's 'learning' plan was derived from her own experience, which is why her dessert-making style changed.

But it must be admitted that art has truly become the main theme of restaurant desserts.

"I really didn't do it. I only saw it a few minutes ago," Ronan said truthfully.

While these people were focusing on the cake, Luo Tianhai and a few others on the other side of the table were looking at a dessert on another plate, a pear-shaped dessert with a brownie on the bottom.

Both of these desserts are so eye-catching.

At this point, the owners no longer cared whether two slices of cake were enough for seven people; they all grabbed dessert spoons, eager to try some.

"Oh my God, what's that not a brownie down there? Wait, what's this?"

"The 'pear' on top isn't actually fruit, it's mousse! Damn, this dessert's creativity is so unexpected!"

Artur put down his spoon and looked at Ronan with a complicated expression.

"Now I believe it. Your restaurant's staff is indeed full of hidden talents."

This pastry chef named Leah is amazing!

Leah's two desserts not only proved the restaurant's formidable strength in the dessert field, but also changed everyone's perception of Luo Tianhai.

At first, they didn't believe Ronan's claims that "the restaurant's success today is not due to me, but to my father and the employees," but now they are starting to believe it.

Artur left after arranging a time for Luo Tianhai to go to Apt. As he left, he kept saying "thank you for your trouble," "thank you for your hard work," and "thank you."

After seeing their friends off, Ronan and Luo Tianhai walked back to the restaurant from the parking lot together.

"Help if you can, and don't worry if you can't. Don't feel pressured," Ronan said calmly.

If Luo Tianhai can help Artur's restaurant 'come back to life,' then he will be guaranteed to be able to infiltrate this circle.

But if that still doesn't work, then look for other opportunities.

Luo Tianhai walked with his hands behind his back, habitually a step ahead of Luo Nan:

"You've gone to great lengths tonight, playing the supporting role all night."

The father had seen everything his son did tonight. In order to get credit for himself, he went to great lengths to shift the blame onto others.

Suddenly, a pair of hands hooked onto his shoulders, and the two of them stood side by side like buddies.

“I’m just a supporting character,” Ronan said with a smile. “You and Leah are the real stars of the restaurant. I’m just telling everyone the truth.”

(End of this chapter)