1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 511 Stay Calm, Ronan
The professor and Alden slept in Ronan’s spacious two-story studio in the backyard for the night.

Upon learning that this uniquely styled studio, which made the working class reluctant to leave once they entered, was actually a gift from Ronan to his fiancée, Fernand felt even more that 2 hectares of forest was not worthy of Ronan's status. Even when they met the next morning, Fernand was still encouraging Ronan, saying that he was very confident about this experiment.

After a night, Ronan calmed down considerably and stopped focusing solely on the "bargain hunting" aspect, thinking that it would be a waste not to buy such cheap land. Instead, he began to consider more practical factors.

Professor Fernand's experiment is not the same as last year's; it has been upgraded in various aspects, and the corresponding costs have also increased. Ronan had anticipated this from the first day he met the professor.

Buying the forest is just the first expense; there are many other costs to cover, such as soil improvement, maintenance, and experimental operations. We cannot underestimate the money-making potential of the artificial truffle cultivation experiment just because it is 'easy' before planting.

The 22 francs invested so far this year is just an appetizer; the real expense is the maintenance costs after the autumn planting. And these costs will be incurred every month.

A few months ago, Lucas quoted Ronan a maintenance cost of 5 to 6 francs per month based on last year's experiments. However, last night, Ronan and the professor did a detailed calculation and found that the figure had almost doubled. This does not even include the new costs that Ronan might incur if he suddenly "throws" a few ideas at him.

In addition, there's the new land plot in Lourmaran. After September, the monthly fixed expenses will be so high that Ronan can't even imagine.

Even if he grits his teeth and scrapes together money or takes out a loan to buy more forest area, the subsequent operating costs and monthly repayments will definitely overwhelm him. This is just like having money to buy a luxury car but not having money to maintain it, which is just as heartbreaking and despairing.

The thought of this made Ronan start to have second thoughts.

I earn a good amount every month now, but I can't spend most of it on artificially cultivated truffles, that 'money-devouring beast,' and then give up everything else? How is that different from Lucas last year?
Moreover, no one knows what the experimental results will be; perhaps the more you invest, the more you lose?
Buying at a low price and quickly selling it to make a profit is not practical. Bruno helped Ronan get this land so that Lourmaran could have a project for winter tourism. Ronan was worried that the land sale for profit would affect their relationship, which would be a loss.

In Provence, connections are far more valuable than money.

After much thought, I think it's better to be more down-to-earth.

"Two hectares is indeed a bit small, but the increased area must be within our means. Don't be like Lucas last year, with wishful thinking and a gambler's mentality. Stay calm and remember, you don't have that much money to burn," Ronan reminded and warned himself.

Having remembered these things, he went to Barty's weaving courtyard.

Despite Ronan's belief that knitting is the business with the greatest potential at present, he has recently devoted the least amount of energy to it. This is mainly because Barty, Sandrine, and Cafu have managed the knitting business very well, so Ronan doesn't have much to worry about.

In May, a major internal reform was completed, and starting this month, Ronan will officially start paying salaries to dozens of women and the newly joined Cafu team.

However, he wasn't worried at all about the huge amount of salary he would receive at the end of the month. He hadn't even been inside the knitting compound for a minute when he saw the sales staff sell two items, one of which was a large piece of furniture.

After Kafu's team was merged in, several people stayed in the knitting compound every day to work full-time as salespeople.

Bati has ready-made knitting products, and the guys at Cafu have a lot of product photos. They'll introduce them to anyone who comes to visit or takes a trial class.

With the addition of professionals, the results were greatly improved, and Ronan's goal was achieved.

One of the people selling products to tourists in Lourmaran today is Grondin, who helped Ronan weather the cold wave earlier this year. He's practically a mini-Café now.

After Grondin saw his guests off, Ronan went over, took off the gold-rimmed glasses from his nose, and put them on his own face.

Why are you wearing glasses if you don't have a prescription?

Grondin replied in a very good mood:

"The boss isn't nearsighted either."

Nowadays, Cafu has more and more "equipment". Suits and ties are standard accessories, and glasses, pens, watches and the like are also always with him.

The upper beam is not right and the lower beam is crooked.

His men started an 'imitation show,' copying Cafu's style of dress and buying the same things he did.

No one would believe that this group of "suit-wearing thugs" were swinging sledgehammers and smashing walls around last year.

Ronan returned the glasses to Grondin:

"Café wears glasses because his wife sells glasses. Does your girlfriend also sell glasses?"

Why don't they learn something good!

Grondin laughed heartily and said:
"Chairman, it's been a long time since you've seen the boss, hasn't it? His wife no longer works at the optician's shop; she's now a full-time stay-at-home mom."

"Not going to work anymore?" Ronan really didn't know this news, but he remembered that when they went to Monaco for a 'team building' trip, Cafu said that he was going to pick up his wife from her night shift in Apte.

Grondin pointed in the direction of the house:
"It's been a long time since you've been here. You probably don't know, but our courtyard is quite lively now."

The house that Batty rented was not as big as Ronan's house in terms of yard, but the interior structure and area were about the same.

In fact, the houses in Lourmaran are basically similar in structure and size because they were all built in the same period.

Bati rarely cooks for himself, so the entire first floor of his house, except for a storage room, is dedicated to his weaving business. Part of it is used for product displays, and another part is used for experiential classes. There is a bedroom on the second floor where grapevines are kept, and the rest is for Bati's private use.

But when Ronan came this time, he found that the place had changed drastically.

First of all, the layout has changed.

The storage room on the first floor, which had previously housed products that hadn't yet been delivered to Apt, was cleared out and turned into a classroom, while the rest of the space was converted into an exhibition area.

The second change is that there are more people indoors.

Previously, most tourists gathered in the courtyard because the women would gather in groups of three or five in the shady area of ​​the courtyard to do weaving. Tourists enjoyed watching how it was done, and most of the people who went inside wanted to take a trial class.

However, now that there are more samples on display, tourists are carefully admiring the woven works in every corner of the public area on the first floor.

Ronan mentally estimated that the exhibition area here was definitely larger than that of Apt's.

The third change is that many of the pieces on display here are ones Ronan has never seen before, especially the furniture.

When Ronan decided to fully upgrade the Lourmaran handicraft cooperative, he put the new product launch on the agenda. Concerned about his limited energy, Ronan brought in Batti to design with him.

But Barty said, "We two have other things to do. How many designs can we come up with in a week? Why don't we mobilize the women too?"

At that time, Ronan didn't have much confidence in this and didn't expect too much, but now, looking at the woven tables, chairs, benches, and decorations placed against the wall and on the ground, Ronan felt that Batistuta was amazing.

“Women can reach their full potential under Batty’s guidance,” he muttered with delight.

Think about it, all these women's weaving skills were taught by Bati, and after becoming formal employees of the handicraft cooperative, Bati was still their boss.

My teacher, who is also my boss, encourages me every day—"Dear, you're amazing! Beautiful girl, you have the most skillful hands in the world! You're the most adorable person! I believe you can do it!"
Who wouldn’t be confused?
Who can resist getting a headache?
They must have used every ounce of their strength to live up to Batistuta's trust.

Compared to his last visit, the weaving courtyard had changed a lot. Ronan wanted to ask Batty what had happened in the past two weeks, but the person giving a lesson to tourists inside was not him.

Ronan glanced at the young girl whose fingers were being held by Aknina, who was trying to correct her technique. He thought to himself, how could Barty possibly give up such a good opportunity?
“Barty is upstairs.” Aknina pointed to the roof. “There are two more classrooms upstairs.” Ronan saw Barty chatting and laughing with a group of hot girls on the second floor. In the next room, Boje was explaining to two children and their parents what ‘one-on-one’ meant.

After seeing this, Ronan roughly guessed the reason for the change in the layout.

Influenced by last month's F1 Grand Prix and the summer heat, there has been an increase in tourists experiencing weaving. However, putting them all in one place would lose the 'high-end' attribute that the cooperative is trying to create. Therefore, they separated the areas so that each group of guests has their own independent space, which is the limit they can do under the current conditions.

Although Ronan didn't see Sandrine, he knew she must have done a lot in the past two weeks.

“There are no suitable empty houses in Lourmaran right now, otherwise we would have to rent another one,” Ronan sighed.

The conditions are too limited.

And houses in Lourmaran are so sought after now.

Ronan believed that if these people were given better conditions, they could definitely do even better.

While teaching, Batty chatted with the girls about the beach. He said he goes surfing in Nice every year and almost became a professional surfer. He asked the girls which direction they wanted to go after leaving Lourmarin, and if they went to the beach, he could be their guide.

Ronan smiled and shook his head, intending to leave first.

Judging from the situation, it seems like class won't be over for a while.

Let's talk about it later.

Ronan's second passing by the classroom startled Barty, who immediately called him over when he saw Ronan approaching.
"Mr. Chairman! Wait a minute!"

Referred to by his official title in public was a rule established by Cafu. Ronan greeted "Secretary-General" Barty with a speechless expression, and then chatted with the group of hot girls for a bit under Barty's guidance.

"The chairman and I are going to talk about something. We need to find a temporary teacher to 'substitute' for you for a few minutes." Barty opened the window and called downstairs, "Dear Lulis, could you please come up here for a moment? There are four beautiful and lovely girls here who need your care."

After shaking the group, Barty winked at the girls:

"I'll be back soon, don't miss me. I hope there will be four more skilled weavers in Provence when I return."

“I’m so touched.” Ronan followed Barty into the only room on the second floor that wasn’t occupied by ‘teaching’; it was where the grapevines were kept. “You actually abandoned those girls for me.”

Barty reluctantly closed the door:

"I have to skip class, there are still several groups of customers queuing up for the experience, and I won't be able to get any free time until after sunset."

"Is business this good?" Ronan asked in surprise.

Barty said with great enthusiasm:

“I’ve been looking for you at the restaurant several times, but you’re either at Exeter or interviewing in the next village. I’ve wanted to talk to you for a while, but I let you go today. I don’t know when I’ll see you again.”

Ronan said somewhat embarrassedly:
"I've been quite busy lately. I'll be working on the market until the middle of the month. Thank you all for your hard work."

Batistuta waved his hand and said nonchalantly:
“Of course I understand. There aren’t three people like us to help you anywhere else. You have to do everything yourself, so naturally you can’t get away. But let me tell you, Ronan, you have to find professionals for professional matters. The same applies to other places. Do you know how much our business has improved since Cafu and Sandrine joined us? It’s so much better than when you and I were working ourselves to the bone a few months ago!”

Ronan naturally understood the principle that 'professional matters should be handled by professionals,' but the problem was that he couldn't find any professionals. Time was limited, and he didn't want to waste time on unnecessary chatter, so he asked directly:

How was business last month?

Barty clapped his hands excitedly:

"May's turnover was double that of April! Cafu calculated that if the situation was the same in June, he could get more commission than when he was doing it on his own, so he made his wife quit."

In May, there was no need to pay the saleswomen's wages, so the financial situation was relatively simple and straightforward. The fact that the turnover had doubled meant that Ronan's take-home pay had also doubled.

In April, Ronan received around 80,000 francs, which means he has 160,000 francs this month.

“But how could June be the same as May?” Batty muttered excitedly to himself. “Your influence at the F1 Grand Prix isn’t over yet. We have Sandrine, this marketing genius, and Cafu’s whole sales team. Since they came to Lourmarin, our products have been selling like hotcakes. Oh, and the women too. They’ve greatly expanded the product range. They’re amazing.”

"You are all excellent!" The Chairman was extremely pleased; each and every one of these people was more reliable than the last.

With time limited, Batistuta also explained why he kept Ronan with him:
“Caff recently brought something up. He said our furniture is too cheap, and that we had discussed the price with you a long time ago. You said you would wait until the cooperative had a better reputation before raising prices, but now Sandrine and I think the time is right.”

When Cafu first launched its woven furniture, the cheapest chair was priced at 5000 francs. It was Ronan who brought the price down to around 2500 francs for the family.

Ronan hesitated for a moment, then replied:
"Wait a second."

The time isn't right yet.

Barty and his student briefly discussed the most important points before parting ways.

On the way back to the restaurant, Ronan began to consider what his reply to Bruno should be.

Based on the current development, the knitting business will only get better in June, and it is not impossible for the turnover to double compared with May, because there is another series of measures waiting for this month.

Then buy more?
The moment this thought crossed Ronando's mind, a sentence immediately came to mind:
"The increase in area must be within our means. Don't be like Lucas last year, with wishful thinking and a gambler's mentality. Stay calm and remember, you don't have that much money to burn."

Ronan made a snap decision and stamped his foot:

"Then let's make it 3 hectares!"

Back at the restaurant, Ronan immediately rushed to the phone on the cashier's counter.

Feng Zhen tapped twice on the paper on the table covered with densely packed numbers and letters:

“A woman called you just now. I wrote down her number; it's the one at the bottom.”

Ronan glanced at the number but had no recollection of it.

Worried that something important might be happening, he called this unfamiliar number before calling Bruno:
"Hello, this is Ronan. May I ask where this is?"

A cold female voice came from the other end:

"Hello Ronan, this is Ellian. Your application for 'Free Sprout' certification has been approved."

Ronan gripped the phone receiver tightly.

(End of this chapter)