1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 55 Don't mess with a drunk woman

"Human energy is limited, and 'screening' is an important issue." Jacques' smile lasted only a few seconds.

Ronan thought about it for a while, pointed at the empty bottle of pink wine and asked:

"Like this?"

A new expression appeared on Jacques's calm face, as if his little trick had finally been discovered:
"Yes, like this one."

"For example, building the restaurant at the highest location?" Ronan continued to ask.

Jacques tilted his head:
"Oh, this. This is not the case. My wife likes the scenery here, but it does serve the purpose of 'screening'."

Do all of you restaurant owners like to show off your affection so much?
"Are you screening customers?" Ronan stopped complaining and continued asking.

Jacques's eyes were blocked by his black-framed glasses, and it was unclear where he was looking:

“It’s not just about screening customers, but also about screening what you are good at and others are not good at, what you have and others don’t have. There is no end to what to screen and how to screen, so I describe it as a subject.”

Ronan pondered for a while, and finally nodded:
"I seem to understand."

Jacques was too busy. Either the restaurant staff or the customers were looking for him.

They only chatted briefly for half an hour, but paused three times in the middle.

After Mr. Jacques left for the fourth time to deal with something, Ronan called the waiter and prepared to end this fruitful trip to the Michelin restaurant.

Seeing the bill, Ronan sighed that Mr. Jacques really took "screening" to the extreme.

They 'collected' it and ate it, and it cost 850 francs.

These prices severely screened out a group of poor people.
But who can blame them for having two Michelin stars?

When Ronan was counting the money, the salesman named Simon appeared again and sat in the seat where Mr. Jacques had just sat:

"My friend, if you can put in a few good words for me and Mr. Jacques, I'll treat you to dinner."

Simon was one of those three stops.

Simon had interrupted their conversation about 15 minutes earlier, trying to make his olive oil the focus of the conversation.

Mr. Jacques politely declined, saying he already had a supplier.

As long as the topic was not about restaurants and Michelin, he was the most polite adult Ronan had ever met.

Simon was obviously not the kind of person who would give up easily. Seeing Jacques running towards Ronan's table, his "smart little brain" started working again.

Ronan and Zoe were dressed in civilian clothes.

It must be painful for ordinary people to eat at Michelin restaurants, right?
"My friend, you have seen it too, Mr. Jacques doesn't need it." Ronan spread his hands helplessly.

Simon played the emotional card again:
"You and I are both people who want to make money from Mr. Jacques' pocket. If you help me once, I may help you next time."

Ronan and Jacques did not deliberately lower their voices when chatting, and Simon heard the key information that Ronan was a truffle hunter.

We are all suppliers, it’s just that you started a little earlier than me.

Ronan put the bill into the check holder without looking at Simon:

"Thank you, but I'm used to treating pretty ladies to meals with my own money."

He stood up and pulled out Zoe's chair.

Simon snorted, and muttered in a voice that was not small at all:
"Short-sighted guy, trying to make money from Michelin restaurants"

Zoe drank a lot of wine today. It would be a waste not to finish such expensive wine.

Slightly tipsy but definitely sober, she looked at Simon with a frown.

Ronan gently pulled Zoe, signaling her not to let the fool affect her mood and to leave quickly.

The two walked a few steps, and Jacques came back again. It was obvious that he had taken time out of his busy schedule to come here.

He quickly took the bill folder away and returned the money inside to Ronan:

"My second lesson for success is to be generous with what's worthwhile. I believe you've already experienced this. I invited you for a couple of drinks, and I'm very happy you came."

Then he smiled and said to Zoe:

"I prepared two bottles of pink wine for you and left them at the door."

"I will definitely go and try your stall once it's open." Mr. Jacques patted Ronan on the shoulder and continued to work. Zoe turned around and smiled contemptuously at Simon, who looked envious:
"Someone paid for us, thank you."

As Ronan was walking up the Hundred-Step Stairs, he suddenly laughed out loud:
"You still hold a grudge."

He kept thinking about Zoe's contemptuous smile.

"You're not an honest person either. If I remember correctly, your house was decorated four days ago, and you even came to Bonnieux by yourself. But you told Mr. Jacques that you'd come as soon as you were done." Zoe grabbed Ronan's arm, "Help me, I'm dizzy."

[Happiness increases by 4 points when having physical contact with the opposite sex]

Ronan grinned.

Since Zoe helped me collect 500 [Happiness] points early, I didn't bother with this tipsy woman.

But she's so cute when she's drunk.

After a few days of eating and drinking, Ronan successfully upgraded his [Cooking] to level 3.

He spent an afternoon testing the changes brought about by the upgrade and found that both abilities were significantly enhanced.

First of all, my understanding of ingredients has deepened.

Through smelling and tasting, you can tell which of the seemingly ordinary basil leaves are ripe and which were picked too early, thus lacking in flavor.

This effect is most evident on vegetables. From a pile of tomatoes, you can pick out a few that are best for stir-frying, while some tomatoes are more suitable for vegetable salads.

To sum up, Ronan has the ability to maximize the taste of food and spices.

The second change is reflected in the hands.

In the past, I had to be very careful when adding seasonings. Although I knew the best measurement and ratio, I didn’t have a recipe and could make a mistake if I wasn’t careful.

Now his hands are the scale.

It feels really magical. Ronan tested it several times with a dosage cup and the deviation was no more than 5%.

And his hands-on ability, which he needed most, has also improved significantly.

Whether it's cutting vegetables or processing meat, he does it very well. Although there is still a big gap between him and a professional chef, it is definitely good enough for amateur gourmets.

Ronan guessed that the vegetable-cutting scene that could only be seen in Chinese movies required further upgrading of [Cooking] to unlock it.

However, the experience required to reach level 4 is staggering.

[Level 2 Construction: 0\500]

[Level 2 Planting: 0\500]

[Level 2 Collection: 0\500]

[Level 3 Cooking: 0\2000]

[Level 1 Fishing: 0\100]

[Level 1 Hunting: 0\100]

[Usable experience: 3]

Based on the current [Happiness] accumulation rate, it will take about 2000 months to accumulate more than 6 experience points.

If you want to upgrade your skill to level 4 as quickly as possible, you need to unlock more ways to gain [Happiness], and you also need to find ways to increase the 'weighted' coefficient, such as continuing to beautify your house and backyard.

However, he now has no problem setting up a stall at the market.

At this point, let’s look back at the difficulties listed earlier.

Difficulty three: Hands-on ability and cooking conditions do not support high-intensity gourmet work.

This problem was completely solved after upgrading the kitchen and the [Cooking] skill.

Difficulty 2: Not understanding the prices of delicious food in Provence.

In the past week, Ronan has eaten at Michelin restaurants that cost 500 francs per person, as well as country pizza that cost 12 francs per piece, so he has a general understanding of the situation.

So there’s only one last question left to be solved – what to sell?

(End of this chapter)