1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 542 The Story of the Black Forest
Ronan and others' Mena Village dog show ended happily amidst gossip about the 'black blanket'.

The local griffin, who had been a 'robber' twice, left the deepest impression on the group.

When Ronan, not forgetting the purpose of his trip, tried to sell other puppies to his parents before leaving, Luo Tianhai and Feng Zhen used the excuse, "I think that Griffin is nice, why don't you get it?" to brush him off.

It was so profound that Zoe lost interest in buying other puppies.

She said that compared to that Griffin, the other dogs always seemed a bit lacking, since so many dogs couldn't find the quail's exact location, but only it 'hit it right on the first try'.

"Then I hope we'll meet again someday," Ronan said casually.

This dog's behavior was so 'high-profile' that several dog owners from Mena Village immediately recognized the Griffin. It was said that it had been hanging around Mena Village for years, going wherever there was food or excitement, making it a real 'hooligans'.

Lourmaran and Mena village are so close, they come here several times a month. If they keep an eye out, they might actually have a chance to 'see each other again'.

This dog is so funny.

"Then we'll meet again someday." Zoe glanced back, then reluctantly got into Freddy's car.

Going to the dog show in Mena Village was a quick break from my busy schedule. As soon as I got back to Ronan in Lourmaran, I immediately returned to the weaving workshop to catch up on my work.

He hadn't visited Professor Fernand and his students in the forest for two days in a row, so he had to go and see them today.

But around 3 p.m., Sylvie suddenly visited the knitting compound, which slowed Ronan down again.

“I’ve been looking all over Lourmaran, and here you are.” Sylvie pulled up a small stool and sat opposite Ronan. “So, you, the boss, have to get involved yourself?”

“Orders have suddenly surged, aren’t we afraid we won’t be able to finish them?” Ronan joked to Sylvie. “You’ve come at just the right time, or I would have been in the forest a few minutes later.”

Sylvie knew about the situation in the forest and that Ronan often went there to check on things. Contina was the person she sent to liaise with the professor's team.

She wiggled her hips and spread her hands out:

"I'm afraid you won't be able to go today. I need to talk to you about something."

Barty had become familiar with most of the women in Lourmaran, but not Sylvie. He was delighted to see her looking like she wanted to have a long chat.

Today I must win over this beautiful lady!

"That stool isn't comfortable. Wait a moment, I'll go inside and get you a chair and some food," Barty warmly welcomed Sylvie.

Sylvie didn't hold back at all:
"thank you."

As Ronan finished up the work, he asked with a smile:
"What is it? Is it so important that you came to see me in person?"

Sylvie said in a pretentious manner:
"Of course it's important. If it weren't important, would you send Theo to whip my workers every day?"

Ronan's eyes lit up:
"Can we go into the castle now?"

Sylvie was just joking; she certainly understood Ronan's eagerness, and said with a smile:

“That’s right. I asked the workers to leave some building materials and tools behind. If you encounter any problems while setting up the wedding venue, you can ask me to coordinate with the workers for help. I have already informed them in advance.”

"The wine's here, and the chairs' here too!" Batty appeared with small, quick steps, as if afraid of missing anything.

Ronan personally poured wine for Sylvie:

"I won't say much in thanks. I'll be waiting for you after get off work on your wedding day. The party won't end until you come."

Influenced by Catholic customs and centuries of agricultural practices, the formal wedding ceremony of Luberon must be completed before noon.

Furthermore, Avignon even enacted laws on this matter.

According to the Catholic Code of Marriage:

"The wedding Mass should be held after the morning prayers and before the midday prayer, so as to be blessed by the dawn of God."

Holding the event in the afternoon or evening would be considered 'blasphemy'.

However, the revelry can continue until late at night, or even into the early hours of the morning.

Officials in the Lourmaran government are usually quite busy, and apart from Blanco, who holds an important position on the wedding day, the others are unlikely to be able to attend the wedding ceremony in person. They can only attend the 'Moonlit Feast' after get off work.

Sylvie's tone suddenly became cheerful:

"Blanco said that we can all attend your wedding, which can be considered part of our job."

“That’s fantastic!” Barty was even happier than the groom Ronan and Sylvie, who was getting paid to attend the wedding. He raised his glass. “We have to have a drink, friends.”

The three clinked glasses, and Batty, while pouring drinks for Ronan and Sylvie, began to speak eloquently:
"There will be a country dance on the wedding day, beautiful lady, please allow me to reserve your first dance."

The country dance was a segment that Barty insisted on adding, and he added another name to his guest list!
Sylvie happily tossed her hair, thinking to herself that her charm was as strong as ever. She politely nodded and accepted Barty's invitation.
"no problem."

Before Barty could even be happy for two seconds, Sylvie continued apologetically:

"But could you give Ronan and me some time alone today? I have something important to discuss with him."

Bati wisely left.

The optimistic boy felt he had had enough to eat and readily gave Ronan and Sylvie some space.

Ronan asked in confusion:

"What else?"

Did Sylvie come to see him not just to talk about Lourmaran Castle, but for something else?

Moreover, it requires excluding others.
This time, it was Sylvie's turn to pour Ronan's wine:
"Remember the event I told you about? The one Blanco asked us to plan as soon as possible."

Ronan nodded in sudden realization:
"I remember, I remember. You said you wanted me to go back and think about it together. I'm sorry, but I've been a bit busy lately and haven't had time to think about it yet."

Sylvie expressed her understanding:
“Of course I know you’re busy. The Lourmaran Handicraft Cooperative needs you, the boss, to step up, and you also have to go to the forest. So, I came to see you today.”

Ronan thought about it carefully.

The last time they met at the village entrance, Sylvie only mentioned that there was such a thing, without giving any direction or requirements. Coupled with her sudden arrival, Ronan's mind was now blank. He asked:

"May I ask what the current progress is?"

Sylvie downed the drink in her glass in one gulp, then sighed bitterly.
"The current progress is that we have put forward many ideas and have also drawn on many cases from neighboring villages, but Blanco is not satisfied with any of them. He either feels that the 'imitation' is too obvious or that the event is not interesting. Blanco wants us to come up with an event theme that is unique to Lourmaran."

She said to Ronan in a pleading tone:
“For the past few decades, Lourmaran has only had one major event each year, the Vow Fulfillment Festival. Apart from that, we have no experience in organizing any events. Ronan, you must be the villager who has personally participated in the most events of the widest variety. I’ve come here today to learn from you and broaden my thinking.”

Lourmaran is developing rapidly, and such rapid development inevitably exposes many problems, one of which is that government officials' experience cannot keep up with the pace of Lourmaran's development.

Many of the things we are doing are new things that we haven't encountered in our previous work. Some of these can be overcome with attitude and hard work, but some really can't, such as experience.

At this moment, Sylvie thought of Ronan.

Ronan has participated in the Gold series of art events, the food events in Mena and Aix-en-Provence, the Nice Carnival, the sports events in Monaco, and the century-old goat race in Bonnieux.

These activities varied in scope and content, yet Ronan consistently achieved excellent results.

Moreover, Ronan's friends are spread across all walks of life in Provence, and they are all from Paris. Their perspective and experience are unmatched by native Lourmarin people.

Ronan thought for a moment and then asked in return:
"What kind of event do you want to organize? You need to at least have a direction, right?"

Sylvie said with a headache:
"We suggested holding art events, since Lourmaran has many artists, but Blanco said it was too early and we needed to gain more experience first; then we suggested food events, but Blanco believed that food events in Lourmaran must be related to rosé wine to deepen tourists' impression of the rosé wine country, but Stjesga is not ready yet, so now is not a good time to hold food events either, so we suggested—"

Sylvie talked for a while, and even Ronan started to get a headache.

God, this is a real chore.

The main reason is that everyone lacks experience and can't come up with anything that will impress people.

Ronan had a few ideas in his head, but none of them were as interesting as what Sylvie had said.

Sylvie became increasingly anxious as she spoke, pulling at her hair incessantly.

The deadline set by Blanco is fast approaching, but I have absolutely no idea where to go from here.

She pleaded with Ronan:

"I really can't think of any other creative ideas. Look at my hair, it's falling out in clumps, I'm going bald from worry!"

Ronan immediately backed down and pleaded as well:
"I'm not as experienced as you are. If you can't figure it out, I certainly can't." Don't even think about making me lose my hair!
I absolutely cannot take over this job!!

But Ronan was no match for Sylvie; after her persistent pleading, he finally came up with an idea:

"How about this, I'll introduce you to a friend. In terms of event experience, he's absolutely top-notch in Provence."

Sylvie immediately asked with obvious delight:
"Is it an official from the province of Vaucluse?"

Blanco inadvertently revealed that he had met many officials from the Vaucluse province at Ronan's restaurant.

Ronan shook his head:

"No, he's a member of the Provence Food Association and the president of the Vaucluse Food Federation. He personally plans dozens of events every year."

Llorente's experience should surely satisfy the discerning Blanco, right?

Sylvie's smile vanished again:
"But Blanco doesn't have a gourmet event."

Ronan smiled and comforted her:

"Don't worry, my friend is incredibly capable. He can meet all your needs, so there's nothing to worry about."

In a phone call a few days ago, Llorente specifically reminded him that he knows everything, understands everything, and can do everything, and there are many opportunities for cooperation, so he shouldn't limit himself to the food industry.

Sylvie said with some skepticism:
"Okay, then I'll tell him my requirements and see."

Ronan suddenly recalled what he had seen at the dog show in Ména earlier that day. In Provence, every event is inextricably linked to food. In that case—

“Then I’ll add a requirement as well,” Ronan said.

Sylvie once said that Blanco would be more inclined to activities that benefit Ronan.

After considering for a moment, Ronan continued:

"Add a requirement for me, whether it's verbal, illustrative, or through other means, I need to convey a message to the participating audience—that Stellar is going to enter the high-end market in the future."

Sylvie memorized it perfectly:
"Okay, I will pass it on."

Sylvie put a lot of effort into the castle issue, and in addition to introducing her to Llorente, the two chatted for a while in the weaving courtyard before heading to the dining room.

Ronan treated Sylvie to a meal, and then called Llorente in front of her.

It's clear that Llorente hasn't been having a good time lately. In the past, when Ronan called Llorente's house, he wasn't home two out of three times. This time, however, he found him very easily.

Ronan gave a brief introduction to the situation here. Llorente gladly accepted the invitation and wrote down the phone number of Sylvie's office, saying that he would definitely contact them first thing tomorrow morning. In just a few minutes, dozens of interesting scenarios for the event appeared in his mind, all of which were suitable for Lourmaran at this moment.

After seeing Sylvie off, Ronan looked up and realized it was already dark; there was no way to get to the forest now.

It was not safe for a person to go into or out of the forest at night, and the professor's students had told him many terrifying stories about the 'Black Forest'.

"Forget it, I'll definitely go tomorrow," Ronan consoled himself.

He turned and went to the kitchen, wanting to ask Leah if her trip to Avignon went smoothly. He had just entered the dessert kitchen and hadn't even been there for five minutes when Cornell came running in, panting.

"Ronan, my mom wants you to go to the weaving compound." The chubby boy looked anxious.

Ronan glanced back and said, half-jokingly:

"Are you a communications soldier? Every time I see you lately, you're always asking me to do this or that. Why is it always you who delivers the message when there's something to do?"

Cornell scratched his head sheepishly:
"Haven't things been going well lately?"

Ronan said goodbye to Leah and left the kitchen. As soon as he stepped outside, he said to Cornell:
"Take your men to the castle tomorrow; you can go inside and set things up."

Cornell stood at attention and saluted:
"Okay! Promise to complete the task!"

"Did Aknina say something?" Ronan asked, his steps unwavering.

He had only recently left the weaving compound; what could have happened to him?

Cornell blurted out:

"Several people went to the compound and said they wanted to see you."

Ronan immediately stopped and bumped into Cornell behind him:
"Come find me at the knitting compound? Or are there several of you?"

Without a doubt, these people must be Professor Fernand's students. Ronan often tells them about what happens in the weaving compound, and says that the atmosphere there is just as harmonious and comfortable as theirs.

If it were anyone else, they would definitely come to the restaurant to look for him.

Having figured this out, Ronan started jogging again, leaving Cornell far behind, as if something had happened in the forest.

After all, he hadn't entered the forest for three days in a row.

Otherwise, how could so many people appear at the same time?

The professor would probably curse him to death!
The weaving courtyard was already closed, and inside were all employees of the Lourmaran Handicraft Cooperative.

Before even opening the door, Ronan asked with concern:

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

But when the door opened, the scene inside caught Ronan completely off guard.

The professor's students were "enjoyed" in the courtyard, surrounded by delicious food and drinks, and people chatting with them while smiling.

When Cafu's men saw Ronan arrive, they quickly dropped their fawning smiles, fearing that their boss's boss would target them again.

"Ronan!" A young boy in Elden's group was the first to run over, followed closely by the others, who quickly surrounded Ronan.

Ronan asked with concern:

"Why did you come out? Did something go wrong with the experiment?"

The students chattered away, treating him like one of their own.

"No problem, everything's fine! How could there be a problem?"

"Today is a day for shopping. I remembered you always talking about how great the craft cooperative in Lourmaran is, so we stopped by to take a look."

"The professor went back to Carpentertra this morning, haha!"

The guy in Elden's group flashed eight teeth:

"Mainly because we missed you; you haven't come for many days."

The students came out to buy supplies, and the number of them far exceeded the professor's requirements. After chatting with Ronan for a few words, they hurriedly left.

When it was time to leave, everyone said they were reluctant to part.

"You absolutely have to come tomorrow, everyone's been talking about you every day."

"We still want to hear your stories. You should stay a little longer tomorrow and tell us more."

"Um, if I can't come tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. I definitely have to go the day after tomorrow!"

Ronan felt uneasy. After a few seconds of internal struggle, he said to Cornell, who had just rushed in:
"Could you send another message for me? Tell my mother I'm not going home tonight."

After saying that, he caught up with the professor's students:
"I'll go back with you today, and I'll come back tomorrow morning."

There are plenty of tents at the base camp; there's definitely enough room for one more person.

"Really?" one student asked incredulously.

Ronan snatched a bag of supplies and said excitedly:

"Didn't you say that the forest at night is very different from the forest during the day? Come on, take me for a night walk in the forest!"

A person going into the forest at night is a horror story.

A group of people going into the forest should make for some fun and memorable experiences, right?
(End of this chapter)