1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 531 Goodbye, Privacy!

The residents in the heart of the Luberon region generally have a low level of education.

People who have completed high school are considered highly educated, and the situation is worse for older people.

During the war, many schools in the Luberon Mountains were closed, and children were forced to farm or hide.

After 1945, the government prioritized urban reconstruction, and the shortage of school buildings in the rural areas of Luberon persisted until the late 1950s.

During those ten-plus years, some children had to walk for more than two hours along mountain paths to go to school in neighboring villages. The dropout rate was extremely high, and it can be said that an entire generation did not receive a good education.

The most severely affected group is elderly women.

In Lourmaran, a large proportion of women can only spell their own and their family members' names and cannot even read the instructions for medications independently.

Unfortunately, these women with dyslexia are now working at the Lourmaran Handicraft Cooperative.

Even though the women had severe dyslexia, they were still reluctant to put down the magazines Ronan had brought.

Ronan bought up all the copies of the "Provence Art Guide" that he could buy in the village of Mena, brought them back to the weaving courtyard, and placed them on a whole spiral iron frame.

Knowing that the magazine featured a lot about weaving, the women who came to work in the compound today all picked it up to take a look.

"Ronan is in such a prominent position? Boge, quickly read to me what's written here?"

“Dear Barty, don’t be sad. Being last is good; it will attract more attention. Being in the middle is easier to be overlooked. Can you read this to me how you are introduced?”

"Although I can't understand the words, I can see the pictures clearly. There are several photos of woven furniture in this magazine!"

"Oh my, why does this magazine smell so good?"

Women love the magazine, largely because the Provence Art Guide contains a wealth of photographs rather than dense text, making it easy to spot familiar faces like Ronan, Batty, and Zoe.

Besides familiar faces, the magazine also contains many alluring photos.

Beautifully shot perfume advertisements can be seen everywhere, whether viewed from front to back, back to front, or from the middle.

The perfume brands, without exception, all belong to the renowned Fox family of Provence.

To ensure a successful launch for "Art Guide to Provence," Ines personally visited Grasse and negotiated with the Fox family multiple times, and introduced a customized business collaboration model—the magazine's pages were sprayed with the Fox family's seasonal signature perfume.

If readers who have purchased the magazine are interested in the fragrance, they can use the 'coupon' included with the magazine to buy their favorite perfume at a more favorable price.

The success of a magazine depends not only on its sales figures but also on the reputation and prestige of its sponsors.

As for sales figures, Ronan had no idea.

But seeing so many photos of perfumes, Ronan knew that from a commercial point of view, "The Art Guide to Provence" was bound to be a success.

Of course, advertising is not the core content of this magazine.

The core of it is to emulate Michelin's ranking of Provence artists.

On this point, Michelin magazine did not keep its readers in suspense.

The first part of the magazine is a list and ranking, and the following 24 pages are all photos of 'celebrities' and their introductions.

People who look at photos have enjoyment in looking at them.

People who look at words find enjoyment in it.

While the women discussed which perfume photos looked most alluring, whether they could afford them, and whether Barty's photos were more attractive than the real person, Ronan had already read through many artist biographies.

It must be admitted that Michelin magazine is incredibly professional in its information gathering; no wonder Ines is known as the 'Provence encyclopedia'.

In their "Miffal Guide," they even mention whether the restaurant owner and his wife have a harmonious relationship.

In the artist profiles of the Provence Art Guide, Ronan found the information to be much more 'detailed'.

Which artist's child didn't inherit their father's/mother's artistic talent, unable to even draw a perfect egg? Which master sculptor likes to recite Shakespeare's verses while playing in their swimming pool? Which international pianist's backyard design 'borrowed' inspiration from a German painter's work? There's nothing Michelin Magazine doesn't know.

Only one thought echoed in Ronan's mind—Goodbye, privacy!
And these 'private' gossips are exactly what the gossipy Provençal people are most interested in, so Ronan guessed that this magazine would definitely sell well in Provence, just like how every local household would have a copy of "The Milfair Guide".

Thankfully, his and Zoe's artist introductions were very official and formal, without involving any private information, not even a tiny bit.

Perhaps it was because Ines didn't want to waste words and wanted to focus more on praising the excellent qualities of these two rising stars.

Zoe's artist ranking is ahead of Ronan's.

This was the first part that Ronan saw.

The opening describes Zoe as a very loving, childlike, and incredibly talented woman.

The first line looks fine; it's definitely Zoe. But as you look further down, things start to go wrong.

The magazine said that every morning, she would say good morning to the birds that perched on the windowsill.

She loves sitting on the grapevine swing and listening to the sounds of nature, which she considers a gift.

They even made temporary shelters out of clay to house lost owls.

The Provence Art Guide describes Zoe's studio as a magical castle, filled with many fun tools, where she can create animal sculptures imbued with spirit and life.

Ronan's descriptions are even more exaggerated.

The magazine described Ronan as an artist who possessed both talent and hard work, and was exceptionally gifted.

Every day he forces himself to come up with an artistic idea.

In less than a year, Ronan's bedroom was piled high with design inspiration sketches, reaching a height of two meters. Yes, that's how hard Ronan worked.

He uses his free time to explore and learn about other art forms, and weaving is an interest he developed in his spare time.

This interest has risen to the level of 'professionalism,' which shows Ronan's exceptional talent.

Moreover, Ronan not only knows how to weave, but also taught himself to paint, sculpt, play the guitar, and play the accordion.

If you have the chance to meet Ronan, you'll find that he can have common topics with everyone, because that's just the kind of interesting person he is.

“Luckily, these women can’t read words,” Ronan muttered, blushing.

Is this me?

How come I didn't know I could play guitar and accordion?
In short, compared to the introductions of other artists, the introductions of Zoe and Ronan reveal their true nature as "connected individuals" throughout.

Even readers who have never heard of Ronan and Zoe will surely fall in love with them after reading these words.

This shows just how determined Ines is to promote them!

An excited voice interrupted Ronan's thoughts.

“Ronan, this is an art map!” Barty pointed to a page in the magazine and showed it to Ronan. “Look, your name, mine, and Zoe’s names all appear in Lourmaran, so readers can easily find us!”

Batistuta saw it faster than Ronan.

He didn't have the patience to read long passages of text. After finishing the part describing himself, he went to look for pictures of beautiful women in the magazine.

While flipping through the pages, I found this 'art map'.

Ines had shown Ronan the layout of the inaugural issue of the *Guide to Art in Provence*, but had never mentioned the existence of this map. Therefore, it seems that her delay in publication was likely due to this change.

“This is very important to us.” Ronan carefully examined the unusual map of Provence. “We have physical stores, and this map is our guide.”

The Provence Art Guide and the Mifal Guide are different in nature. When describing restaurants, it is inevitable to include addresses and locations, but the artist ranking focuses more on the artist's personal information. It would be strange to mention studios, painting studios or other locations in it.

This Provence art map perfectly fills the gap in this location.

If readers are interested in Ronan and Batty, if they are interested in photos of woven furniture, or if they are interested in the 'Thorns and Sunshine' certification, they can try their luck at Lourmaran on the map.

Ines's original intention in making this change was certainly not for Ronan's sake, but this change will definitely make Ronan the biggest beneficiary.

"Everyone, grab your magazines and follow me!" Ronan excitedly stood up and shouted to the women, "Let's have a get-together today!"

The weaving business in the courtyard remained good, and the women's plans for a gathering never materialized.

Bati pointed to the tourists visiting the interior, then to the windows on the second floor:

"Not now, there are customers looking at things, and people are queuing up for trial classes. I've been too busy lately, I'll go later."

Ronan closed the magazine and slapped his palm hard:
"Wait? Wait until when? It'll only get busier from here on out. Let's not wait any longer. Let's do it today. A few people can stay a little longer, and the rest of you can come to the restaurant with me."

Barty hesitated.

I'm already very busy now compared to a few months ago. Can I get any busier?
He wanted to say something, but Ronan had already led the women away from the courtyard in high spirits, leaving only his relaxed and cheerful voice in the air:

"Everyone will definitely make money. In the future, you will each own several bottles of those perfumes in magazines that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. I swear!"

The praise in "The Provence Art Guide" is not enough.

Besides talent, hard work, and brilliance, Ronan has another shining quality—his uncanny ability to foresee the future.

Three days after he organized a women's dinner, the number of visitors to the Lourmaran handicraft cooperative saw a huge surge, followed by an explosion in weaving orders.

To what extent did the 'blowout' occur?

The dozens of full-time women couldn't even guarantee that they would finish all the orders by the deadline. Ronan and Batty had to mobilize other villagers who knew how to knit but weren't full-time to do it part-time.

Moreover, this order crisis is different from the wreath crisis before Christmas last year.

Last year, Cafu also ordered a lot of things in a short period of time in order to catch up with the Christmas craze, but that time it was flower wreaths.

This time, most of the people who came to Lourmaran to order things were buying furniture.

In fact, the Lourmarin Craft Cooperative started with garlands and became famous in Provence for its woven artworks and ornaments around the time of the Gordes art events, but furniture was a product introduced relatively late.

In the past, the majority of monthly orders came from low-priced products such as wreaths, handicrafts, and ornaments. Furniture, due to its higher unit price, accounted for a larger proportion of revenue, but the number of orders was far less than the other types.

The photos of woven furniture featured in the Provence Art Guide and Ronan's hard-won "Thorns and Sunshine" project brought the woven furniture of the Lourmarin Crafts Cooperative into the public eye.

This marked the first change in the composition of orders since the cooperative was established more than half a year ago—the number of furniture orders surpassed those for wreaths, artworks, and ornaments in an instant.

“God, we don’t even have enough people.” Batty came out of the old tavern. He and Ronan had just convinced Como to take on four flower wreath orders. “We have to go around asking people for part-time jobs.”

Ronan was exhausted from searching for people all day.

"It's not necessarily that we're short-staffed; it's just that we've never handled such a large furniture order volume before, so it's hard to estimate production capacity. Having a backup plan is just in case."

Furniture production is time-consuming and requires advanced technology, so full-time workers are prioritized for furniture production to ensure timely delivery.

Other smaller items, which lack the 'Thorns and Blazing Sun' certification, can be completed by part-time workers.

Barty said, both amused and exasperated:

"If it can be completed, it will be at its limit. It's really strange that the more complicated and expensive the furniture is, the better it sells. Those designs are very time-consuming."

Ronan shrugged:

"All I can say is that the magazine helped us attract truly wealthy people."

Not every customer who places an order has a need for renovation or furniture replacement.

Many people were attracted by the 'Thorns and Blazing Sun' certification and wanted to collect it.

Those who have this hobby are inevitably wealthy people. Wealthy people don't care whether furniture costs 3 or 4. The more money they spend now, the more collectible value it will have in the future.

Barty shook his head bitterly:
"Alright, I'm going back now. I need to make two chairs today."

Ronan left with Batistuta:

“I’ll go back with you and help everyone share the burden. I can do it quickly.”

Batistuta and Ronan marched side by side like comrades-in-arms:

"I dream about orders being delivered late, even though we've brought in so many part-time workers and still haven't been able to finish them."

Lourmaran's labor shortage has made it difficult for them to find part-time jobs, as everyone is busy with other things.

Ronan sighed silently:

“I’ll talk to Blanco in a few days and ask if the soon-to-be-built high school can offer a major related to weaving.”

Ronan naturally hoped that business would get better and better, and that there would be many more orders in the future.

But as business gets better, there's a greater need for more and more people who can make furniture.

The surge in orders led Batistuta and Ronan to join in.

Sandrine and Cafu have been spending their days in the knitting courtyard these past two days.

Kafu needs to organize the young men to handle the surge in tourists.

Sandrine, on the other hand, was determined to make this "fire" burn even brighter. Her job was to try to get customers who had already spent money to spend more, such as incentivizing them to become VIP customers by buying another piece of furniture.

As soon as Ronan returned, Sandrine told him some good news:

“In the few hours you were gone, we gained two more VIP customers.”

Barty stood up straight in surprise:
"How many VIP numbers do we have now? We must have seven or eight by now, right?"

“Nine already.” Sandrine looked at the VIP list in her hand with some anticipation. “At this rate of development, we can organize a VIP event as soon as our flagship store is established. I was worried before that we wouldn’t have enough people to hold the event and that the plan would have to be postponed, but now it seems that the number of people is definitely not a problem. I need to start thinking about the theme of our first VIP event.”

The entire Lourmaran Handicraft Cooperative will now enter 'high-speed' mode, including business consultant Sandrine.

“You’ve been working hard lately,” Ronan said gratefully. “Caff told me yesterday that several customers bought a lot more things on your ‘advice’.”

Sandrine was undoubtedly a key accelerator.

“What hardship do I have to endure? This is my job.” Sandrine didn’t take any credit. “The hardship is your amazing friend, the magazine ‘Art Guide to Provence’.”

Batistuta looked utterly delighted:
"My goddess is amazing! We really need to thank Ines properly this time. Where does she live? Avignon or Aix-en-Provence? How about we pay her a visit to express our gratitude?"

Ronan smiled and shook his head, shattering Batistuta's dream:
"No need, I'll see her tomorrow, I don't need to go to her house."

(End of this chapter)