1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 552 All the people of Lourmaran prepare for their 'son's' wedding

After resting overnight in Papal Newcastle, Ronan got into Cornell's car early the next morning.

Cornell went to Avignon to buy materials in the morning, which was a good opportunity to bring Ronan along.

As soon as he got in the car, Ronan couldn't wait to ask about the progress at Lourmaran Castle.

These past few days, he's been thinking about that place constantly.

“It went very smoothly, very smoothly,” Cornell said patiently. “Besides the guys from Stuscal, many villagers came spontaneously, and artists came to help too. We had so many people that we couldn’t use them all. Zoe said the final result was even better than planned.”

Zoe led the artists in designing the castle; Ronan didn't contribute at all. He even went on a three-day business trip to Châteauneuf-du-Pape close to the wedding, and didn't participate in the setup either.
Thinking about this, Ronan's little mind started to ponder again—could he bring Zoe some more surprises?
He, as the groom, also needs to do his part.

However, we need to be careful about this. There's less than a week until the wedding, which is too short. He'll be incredibly busy during that week, and we might end up turning a surprise into a shock.

"What are you going to Avignon to buy?" Ronan asked Cornell.

Cornell answered while driving:
"Zoe said that decorating the castle with only flowers was a bit monotonous, so she asked me to buy some candles, light bulbs and decorations. She made a really long list."

"Are all the flowers arranged?" Ronan asked in surprise.

Flowers are a very important element in the wedding decoration plan, and the entire Lourmaran Castle will be transformed into a sea of ​​flowers.

Such a huge project, is it finished?
Cornell nodded:
“Yes, all the flowers were arranged in just three days. This is your wedding, Ronan, the biggest event in Lourmaran. You have no idea how enthusiastic the villagers were. Every day, people were vying to take care of and tend to the flowers.”

Ronan leaned back in his chair, annoyed.
"There's nothing I can do when I get back."

"Who said that?" Cornell tilted his head and smiled. "My sister said that getting married is a lot of trouble, with a lot of things to worry about. And yesterday I heard Zoe telling the artists that she wanted to design and make the wedding cake with you. See, isn't that your job?"

Ronan clapped his hands excitedly:
"Okay, let's design it this afternoon!"

After a shopping trip with Cornell in Avignon, Ronan finally returned to Lourmarin at lunchtime.

On the way, Ronan thought of many wedding details that needed to be resolved one by one in the next few days.

It seems that he was not idle at all in the days leading up to the wedding, but rather extremely busy.

Upon arriving in Lourmaran, the first stop was the castle to find Zoe.

Cornell said Zoe is here every day.

Lourmarin Castle was originally a 12th-century fortress, which was renovated in the 15th century by the steward of King Anjou. Its new annex is the first Renaissance building in Provence.

Afterwards, the castle became the residence of the Crécy-Rédicis family, the lords of Château de La Tourdegues. Although the family owned Château de Lourmarin, they never lived there, a situation that continued until the start of the French Revolution.

After the French Revolution, Lourmaran Castle gradually fell into ruin.

But this castle, which had been abandoned for hundreds of years, has suddenly come back to life and is now thriving.

In this renovation, in addition to restoring the castle's interior and exterior buildings to the greatest extent possible to restore its historical appearance, the Lourmaran government also built a beautiful arcade courtyard, striving to leave more tourists with wonderful memories of the castle.

Ronan and Zoe will hold an outdoor wedding, a very popular style in Provence, which involves no indoor decorations and mainly utilizes the outdoor space.

“This is completely different from when I last came here.” Ronan stood under the covered walkway, recalling the scene when he brought his parents to visit last year. “Last year, this place was so dilapidated that it didn’t attract any attention.”

Cornell bent down and touched the flowers:

“The corridor was renovated by the government, and Zoe and I arranged the flowers. She and her artist friends are amazing,” Sylvie said. “If possible, we would like to ask them to help decorate the interior of the castle in the future, and even the village.”

“It can indeed allow artists to play a greater role.” Ronan nodded.

Through Sylvie's request for help, Ronan learned that the Lourmaran government was lacking in many areas and needed people to "step forward" in many places. This made it even more important to give full play to the role of every villager, especially the artists.

Suddenly, he began to search around:

Where is Zoe?

I'll think about everything else later. Where is my fiancée?

The exterior of Lourmaran Castle has changed drastically after the renovation, and he is almost disoriented.

Cornell looked around:

"She must be around here; she's here every day."

Ronan searched the castle and finally found Zoe.

She and Vivian were under a secluded pavilion, discussing whether they needed to add some other accessories.

Although this place is far from the core area of ​​the castle, Zoe has not relaxed her attention to it in the slightest and still strives to do it to the best of her ability.

Ronan strode over, hugged Zoe from behind, and buried his face in her neck.
"God, you've decorated this place so beautifully."

Zoe screamed first, then excitedly turned around and hugged Ronan, saying impatiently:
"You're finally back! Let me show you around and see where we can improve things."

Zoe took Ronan for a walk outdoors, and Ronan couldn't find any fault with it; everything was perfect.

“You guys didn’t leave me any room to do anything,” Ronan said, taking the initiative to do some work. “You also need to set up some candles and decorations, right? I’ll do it with Cornell and the others.”

Zoe smiled and took Ronan's arm:
"You don't need to stay here. Go to the restaurant and take a look. We need you to decide on the wedding menu."

Ronan proposed himself, so Zoe took the initiative to handle the decorations and design for the wedding. However, she wasn't as knowledgeable about food; Ronan was more of a professional.

Ronan thought for a moment and realized there were still many things to prepare, so he stopped insisting.

"Okay, I'll go back to the restaurant and see. Cornell said you wanted to make a cake with me?"

Zoe nodded excitedly:
"Yes, let's go together. I still have some things to take care of here, I'll come find you later."

After Ronan left, Vivian smiled and asked Zoe:
"How's the 'surprise' you prepared for Ronan coming along?"

“We’re going to the studio to install it tomorrow, so everything can be done before the wedding.” Zoe made the sign of the cross. “We absolutely mustn’t let anything go wrong, and we mustn’t let Ronan find out about this surprise beforehand.”

Vivian gestured with her chin in the direction Ronan had left:
"Do you think Ronan might have prepared a surprise for you too? He's the kind of person who loves creating surprises."

Zoe shook her head without hesitation:
“There was no time. For a long time before going to Papal Castle, Ronan had to work at the weaving compound every day. He was busy for a long time. I have been closely observing his actions. He definitely didn’t prepare anything.”

Vivian shrugged noncommittally:

"What about these next few days? There are still a few days left, aren't there?"

Zoe shook her head even more firmly:
"He has countless things to arrange and implement these days, how could he have time to create surprises for me?"

Vivian pursed her lips:
"Maybe."

Zoe, unsure after hearing Vivian's words, turned to look in the direction Ronan had left.
"There probably isn't enough time to prepare, right?"

Ronan arrived at the restaurant, eager to show off his skills, but was told:

"Do you need to bother with the menu? Your dad has already decided on several versions; you just need to choose one."

Feng Zhen placed several pieces of paper on the cashier's counter, tapped the table, and said:
"Everything is arranged. The restaurant will only be open for half a day the day before your wedding, and then we'll start preparing for your wedding. Waiters, kitchen staff, and everything else will be there. I also had Cornell find some women from the weaving compound to help out temporarily. We'll definitely have enough manpower. Don't worry about this. Go and take care of other things."

Ronan carefully examined the menus and couldn't find anything wrong with them; even the cold dishes and snacks to accompany drinks were listed. Luo Tianhai was much more professional in this area than Ronan. "Use this one. It's a combination of Chinese and French, which is more unique. I'll show it to Zoe in a bit. If there are no problems, you can give this to Dad." Ronan pulled out a piece of paper and placed it on top. He didn't need to worry about the food anymore, so he looked for something else to do. "The restaurant doesn't have enough tables and chairs. I'll go find some."

Provençal weddings are typically held in the form of a 'long table banquet,' but even if all the tables and chairs in the restaurant were moved there, it wouldn't be enough to accommodate all the guests.

Feng Zhen quickly stopped Ronan, who was about to push open the door and leave:
"You don't need to worry about the tables and chairs. Batty said he'll figure it out. He and Theo and the other guys have measured them out several times."

"The table and chair problem is solved too?" Ronan asked, his eyes wide.

Feng Zhen said with great enthusiasm:

"Not only the tables and chairs, but even the tablecloths have been made for you. Let me tell you, after the wedding you must give a proper thank you to the people from the weaving compound. They put in a lot of effort for your wedding."

Ronan thought of several details, but Feng Zhen told him that someone had thought of them in advance and solved them.

It was as if the whole village was preparing for their 'son's' wedding.

Ronan felt both grateful and excited. He could only repay these "fellow villagers" with his actions in the future.

After chatting with Feng Zhen, Ronan went to the kitchen to start preparing the wedding cake.

As I was thinking about what kind of cake to make, I entered the dessert kitchen and was greeted by an enormous cake base, the top of which was only a little bit away from the ceiling.

"What are you doing?" Ronan asked Leah, tilting his head back. "Are you developing some new dessert?"

Leah handed her work to a woman, wiped her hands, and went to Ronan's side:

"It's not for the restaurant, it's for your and Zoe's wedding."

"Huh? My wedding with Zoe?" Ronan asked, pointing at the huge thing. "This?"

Leah shook her head:

"No, this is just an experiment. I've never made one that tall before, and the space is limited. I'll take it out and share it with everyone later. For your wedding, I'm going to make one that's even bigger and taller than this."

Several busy women chimed in, adding to Lia's list of comments.

"There are hundreds of people attending the wedding this time, and you've invited so many friends from out of town. We can't help you with anything else, but we have to make you a huge cake to show off your grandeur."

"It's not just big, it's delicious too. Leah said that you should add your favorite strawberry jam, her secret recipe, between each layer."

"We also need to make Zoe's favorite animal out of cream."

"Ronan, do you think we should make it like a traditional French wedding cake, or add some Chinese elements? We've been discussing this for over half a month."

Leah and her team volunteered to make the wedding cake and refused Ronan's offer to join them.

The women said in a tone of experience, "There are too many things to worry about when you get married. You don't need to worry about anything here. Go and do something else."

But Ronan stood at the restaurant entrance for a good ten minutes, thinking.

What else could he possibly need to worry about?
Isn't it obvious that someone is 'worrying' about him?
But a few hours later, Ronan realized he had underestimated the importance of marriage.

When he got home that evening, at least ten kind-hearted older women came to his door to share their wedding experiences and remind him of many details that are easy to overlook.

The kind-hearted women not only offered advice but also directly told Ronan how to solve the problem, or even solved it for him.

After that night, Ronan was certain—

"It seems I really have nothing to worry about anymore," he finally came to this conclusion.

So, could we use these few days to prepare a surprise for Zoe?
Creating a surprise rather than a shock is quite difficult.

The last marriage proposal was a surprise success because Thor secretly helped him. This time, Thor can't arrive too many days early, so Ronan needs to find another helper, a trustworthy and reliable one.

He first turned to look at the kitchen.

There, Luo Tianhai was busily preparing something—his 'special skill' that he would showcase to the guests at the wedding.

His father had already taken on the task of hosting the wedding banquet, and he was busy enough. Ronan didn't want to add any more pressure to him.

"Luo Tianhai! Luo Tianhai, take a look and see how I look in this outfit for my wedding!"

The ability to hear someone's voice before they see them is something only Feng Zhen in the Ronan family could achieve.

'duang～duang～duang～～'

Then the stairs creaked under the weight of the weight, and Feng Zhen appeared, dressed in a flamboyant manner.

This was the fifteenth outfit she changed into tonight. Ronan lost his ability to comment on the fifth outfit, and the 'Little Sun of Marseille' also lost her enthusiasm by the tenth.

Luo Tianhai gave a perfunctory answer:
"It's all good, it's all good, you can wear whatever you want. Hey, I'm frying something here, don't come any closer, or I'll get you all over."

"You said it was good without even looking at it?" Feng Zhen stormed into the living room, plopped down on the sofa next to Ronan, and then picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Hey, Zoe? Are you asleep? I've put together a few more outfits, can you come over and help me decide?"

Zoe on the other end of the phone clearly accepted the invitation, and Feng Zhen happily skipped upstairs again.
"Daughters are so great, they're much more useful than sons."

Ronan lowered his head and gave a wry smile.

Feng Zhen is definitely not a suitable candidate for 'helper'.

Ronan tells her he's going to surprise Zoe, and she immediately tells Zoe the secret.

Since he couldn't rely on the people in his family, Ronan began to think about other options.

But the aroma of Luo Tianhai's cooking was so enticing that Ma Sai barked incessantly in the kitchen, driving Luo Nan crazy.

Unable to bear it any longer, he left home and went to the yard for some peace and quiet.

As soon as he sat down, he caught a glimpse of a dark figure scurrying down beside his leg.

Looking down, I saw it was Little Black.

Knowing that Ronan was coming back today, Lucas took Little Black and Margaret back to Ronan's house in the afternoon.

This was the first time in his life that Little Black had been away from Ronan for so long. After returning, he stayed by Ronan's side, ignoring even his wife, Margaret.

Moreover, this little guy neither barks nor seeks interaction; he simply lies quietly beside you, giving you an immense sense of security.

"You're still the most reliable." Ronan smiled and patted Xiao Hei's back.

Suddenly, Ronan crouched down and hugged Little Black's head:

"Hey Black, how about we surprise Zoe?"

Absolutely trustworthy and wouldn't betray you. Isn't that the best choice for an accomplice?

(End of this chapter)