1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 488 New Trends
"Huh?" Ronan was taken aback. "Have I gained weight?"

As they were talking, Bruno had already embraced Ronan. Hearing his question, he released his arms, tilted his head back, looked at him carefully for a moment, and then said hesitantly:

"You seem to have gained a little weight since the last time I saw you?"

Bruno and Ronan last met in April, which is more than a month ago.

Sandrine walked past her husband carrying a vase:

"You were wearing coats when you last met, you must have seen wrong, right? I don't think Ronan has gained weight."

Bruno scratched his head:

"Yes, yes, then I must have misread it."

Ronan placed two chairs in the dining room, noticed a mirror on the wall, and went over to look at himself.

He turned his head left and right, muttering to himself, somewhat uncertainly:
"Have you gained weight? No, I don't think so."

He only knew that his appetite had been pretty good lately, but he hadn't paid attention to whether he had gained or lost weight.

But he absolutely cannot gain weight at this time, because he and Zoe are going to take wedding photos in June.

Zoe looks like a big star, but he's not so good-looking with his 'fat head and big ears'.

"Henry," Ronan called Henry over, pointing to his own face, and asked, "Do I look fat?"

Henry grinned and said:

"No, Mr. Ronan! You're still as handsome and dashing as ever!"

Ronan waved his hand, signaling Henry to continue moving things.

Henry would never say anything detrimental to Ronan; he asked the wrong person.

"Hey, you're all here?" Zoe appeared at Bruno's house; she was also there to help.

Ronan quickly called Zoe over and asked nervously:

"Honey, do you think I've gained weight recently?"

Zoe didn't even glance at Ronan, gave a perfunctory reply, and went to find Sandrine:

"No, darling, you're still the same as before, Sandrine. Is there any work you can arrange for me?"

Bruno has some friends in Lourmaran, the farmers who worked for him at the end of last year, but his brothers are all busy in the morning and will be coming later. Only Ronan, Zoe, and Henry can come to help all morning.

Fortunately, Bruno was moving across provinces, and most of the large furniture items were bought in Provence. The truck only brought small, miscellaneous items, which weren't very heavy.

But it gets quite tiring over time, especially in such hot weather.

Sandrine and Zoe were the first to stop and rest. The two ladies rarely do physical labor, so it was quite remarkable that they had managed to keep going until now.

Bruno persisted for a while longer, then sat inside to fan himself and drink water, his face as red as the sun overhead.

He also works in an 'office' position, so he can't handle very strenuous activities.

"You can all rest. Today is Henry's and my home game," Ronan said confidently.

He and Henry were farmers.

Farmers work in the fields all day long, so moving things is nothing to them.

But another 40 minutes passed.
"You should go and rest, Mr. Ronan!" Henry snatched the large trunk from Ronan's hands and helped him up as well.

"It's okay, it's okay, I can manage." Ronan wiped the sweat from his eyes and steadied himself. "It's just that it's too hot."

Henry helped Ronan move a couple of steps, making sure Ronan was alright, before leaving to do other things.

Seeing Henry leave, Ronan's back slumped instantly.

His physical strength is too poor right now!
They used to pick grapes for three days straight under the scorching sun without taking a break; they were as strong as oxen.

Now, moving house only takes two hours and you're already sweating buckets?

“I’ve been ‘resting’ for too long.” Ronan struggled up the stairs.

This year, he handed the land over to Henry to manage, as he hadn't done any physical labor in a long time.

I can no longer use last year's physical condition to measure my strength.

"Are you alright, darling?" Zoe walked towards him and, seeing Ronan's pale face, reached out a hand to touch his cheek. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Ronan immediately straightened his back and gritted his teeth, saying:

"No, darling, I'm perfectly fine."

Zoe patted Ronan's butt:

"Go down and have some fruit. Sandrine bought it at the market this morning."

"Come on, Henry, have some fruit," Ronan said, inviting Henry to rest with him.

"Yes, Mr. Ronan, I'll be right there after I've moved these boxes!" Henry's booming voice came from upstairs.

Bruno's house was a bit messy. Ronan took a peach and a handful of strawberries and sat down on the steps outside the door. Just as he took a bite, Bruno sat down next to him.

"Oh dear, I'm exhausted. You guys have amazing stamina." Bruno spread his legs and leaned back, feeling completely drained.

This was his second break this morning.

Ronan handed him the strawberries:
"When I first came to Provence, my physical strength was also very poor. It took me almost a week to finish the spring cleaning. My strength only improved after I started farming."

I need to figure out how to improve my physical strength.

If this continues, my physical fitness will only get worse.

But there's nothing to do in the fields now, what should we do?

“I can’t compare to you, I don’t have much time.” Bruno sat up straight, took a strawberry from Ronan’s hand, looked at the empty space in front of him and said, “If I had time, I would plant a grape vineyard in front of my door.”

Ronan took another bite of the peach:
"If you don't have time, you can plant some flowers or something. Henry will tell you how to take care of them later."

He wasn't even in charge of taking care of the backyard; Henry came two or three times a week. Ronan thought to himself.

"Ah, right, right, right." Bruno slapped his forehead. "I've heard that people in Provence care a lot about beautifying the area around their gates, so I'll plant some flowers and plants. That should be nice, right?"

After waiting for a while and seeing that Ronan didn't react, Bruno nudged his arm:
"is not it?"

Ronan finished contemplating life and nodded, saying, "Yes, a little bit of flowers and plants can make a house look completely different. I suggest you go to Lourmaran village and see how the villagers decorate their front doors, especially the houses of the artists. You're sure to learn something."

The entire village of Lourmaran is adorned with beautiful flowers. In the past, tourists would only take photos at the entrance of the scenic spots, but now many people take photos in front of the houses.

“Okay, I’ll go take a look after the move!” Bruno said eagerly. “I’ll be going on a business trip early next month, so I need to get it done before then.”

Cornell and Theo's gang would be coming over with food at noon, so it wouldn't be convenient to talk about anything else. Ronan took this opportunity to talk to Bruno about his plan to develop a black truffle tourism project in Lourmaran.

Bruno was very excited when he heard about this special project. The development of Lourmaran was also beneficial to him; he had even moved his family there.

“I think this project will be very popular.” Bruno said, drawing on his own experience, “This winter I took my wife and children on a trip to Provence and found that winter is too barren in terms of both tourism and food compared to the other three seasons. If we could go into the forest to learn about the details of artificially cultivated truffles and possibly pick them ourselves, it would definitely be on my travel plans.”

Ronan was well aware that there weren't many winter tourist attractions in Provence, which is why he wanted to find a forest near Lourmarin to conduct his experiments. Even if he couldn't get support from the Institute of Technology, he was willing to do it entirely at his own expense.

Professor Fernand's attitude is currently unclear, but Ronan wants to know Bruno's attitude first:

“I’m not sure if this experimental forest in Lourmaran will be included in the ‘experimental field’ program in the future. I consulted the Ministry of Agriculture, and they said it depends on the research institute and whether they are willing to increase their workload. But if this area is not included in the ‘experimental field’ program, will the Forestry Department still bear the cost of the trees?”

Bruno countered Ronan's question:
"Why not? The 'experimental field' is a project of the Ministry of Agriculture. What does it have to do with our Forestry Bureau? As long as you choose native holly oak as your host tree, we will cover this part of the budget. The symbiotic relationship between truffles and host trees can limit logging, restore forest degradation, and balance ecological health. It has too many benefits for us."

Ronan leaned forward to confirm:
"So, as long as Capontra's experimental station provides mycelial seedlings, you can provide the host tree?"

Bruno gleaned from Ronan's words the information that the testing station's attitude was ambiguous, and took the initiative to ask:
"Do you need me to send someone to the testing station to help you push things forward? Have the researchers refused you?"

“No, no!” Ronan laughed and put his arm around Bruno’s shoulder. “You were the first person I contacted. I haven’t gone to Capontra to push this matter forward yet, so I don’t know their attitude.”

Bruno said very seriously:

"If you need any help, just let me know. Please don't feel like you're bothering me. Even if it has nothing to do with you, I will take care of anything related to truffles and native holly oak."

“I’ll have to trouble you now.” Ronan became serious. “Are there any suitable forests near Lourmaran for this project? It can’t be too far from the village, preferably within a 20-minute drive, and it shouldn’t be too expensive.”

Land prices in Provence are skyrocketing, just like housing prices, making it difficult to find a forest that is perfectly suited to all needs.

Bruno stroked his bald head for a while, seemingly searching for a target.

Suddenly, he slapped it hard:
“There really is a suitable one. Here, I’ll check it out when I’m at work. If there are no problems, I’ll take you to see it.”

"Okay, then I'll wait for your news!" Ronan smiled happily.

Around noon, a dozen or so brothers came to help Bruno's family, and the truckload of stuff was emptied in the blink of an eye.

The afternoon was mainly for tidying up, which didn't require much physical exertion, so Ronan took Henry and left.

Even though several hours had passed, Ronan was still wondering if his son had gained weight.

As soon as he arrived at the restaurant, he couldn't wait to ask his mother, Feng Zhen:

"Mom, do you think I've gained weight recently?"

If Henry would never say a bad word about Ronan, then Feng Zhen would never say a good word about Ronan, constantly rubbing salt into his wounds.

Ronan hoped to hear the truth from his mother.

Feng Zhen put down her teacup, squinted and scrutinized him for a long time, then smacked her lips and said:

"I didn't notice you were fat, but you're really dark-skinned."

She held out her arm and compared it to Ronan's face:

"Look at you, you don't even look like we're from the same race anymore."

The intense physical labor not only gave Ronan a strong physique but also a skin color that closely resembled that of nature.

Later, he bought a convertible, which made him even darker-skinned.

Ronan was quite pleased to hear his mother's answer.

As long as you haven't gained weight, that's fine.

And being 'black' is a good thing!
“You don’t understand,” Ronan said, pointing to a table of artists. “Those artists said that bronze skin is all the rage in Aix now; it’s a sign of wealth.”

"What is it?" Feng Zhen raised her voice, her face clearly showing disbelief.

Ronan, in a good mood, leaned against the checkout counter and explained to his mother:

“In the past, dark skin was indeed a sign of serfs, and people in high society were used to maintaining their skin as white as porcelain dolls, but that’s not the case now. Times have changed.”

The French began to show signs of sun worship in the 1920s, a phenomenon that originated in the United States.

But by the late 1980s, tanned skin had become a symbol of status, representing that a person was rich, had plenty of free time, and enjoyed traveling. They were likely to be seen on those expensive yachts.

French people who are trying to 'whiten' their skin in this day and age will soon be crying in the bathroom, because in a year or two, 'tanning' will become the mainstream trend in France.

The richer people are, the more they want to tan themselves, not even sparing the gaps between their toes.

This tanning craze lasted until around 2000. Every year before summer, tourism bureaus across France would post signs reminding residents that excessive sun exposure could cause damage, leading to premature wrinkles, dark spots, and even skin cancer.

After the French curbed their tanning, other European countries started tanning again. In short, until the 21st century, most Europeans still took pride in being tanned.

So what's wrong with the black spots?
This is trending!

Feng Zhen dismissed Ronan's explanation with a sneer, rolling her eyes and saying:
"Anyway, this was one of the issues you had when you and Zoe took your wedding photos."

“I believe the photographer can solve this problem perfectly.” Ronan smiled as he left the cashier.

Ronan habitually strolls around the restaurant every day, and if he encounters an acquaintance or regular customer, he will go over and say hello, which is also a way of maintaining customer relationships.

Today, while strolling around the lobby, he saw a familiar guest.

This guest had only visited the restaurant a handful of times, maybe two or three at most, so Ronan shouldn't have remembered his face.

It was this man's profession that made Ronan remember him so vividly.

This time, the old gentleman began describing his legendary life to the people at the next table.

“Where are you from? Oh, England. England is so unfortunate. When people think of England, they think of gloomy, rainy days, old industrial areas, and terrible fried fish. France is lucky in this respect. When people think of France, they think of the Eiffel Tower, baguettes, Napoleon, or Brigitte Bardot. These are all wonderful things.”

An elderly gentleman with gray hair and a robust build continued, raising his wine glass:
"But besides these, there is something else that you will never see on a postcard, but it is unique to France—the guillotine!"

The old man downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, then lifted his shirt to show off his well-developed biceps.

"And I was once an executioner, one of only ten remaining executioners in France!"

(End of this chapter)