It was still early in the morning, with the sun barely having risen above the horizon, but the smell of freshly baked bread was already wafting from the bakery.
Walking up and knocking on the front door, Lucas waited for a moment before Jake appeared.
Jake was Baker Jerry's oldest son who had just recently turned 18.
In the Rockwell Kingdom, children were considered adults at 16 and were expected to start looking for employment at this age, though most peasant and commoner children actually started working much younger than that. This was especially true of children of farmers, who could be out helping in the fields when they were still just 7 or 8 years old.
In short, while Lucas still called him Big Brother, Jake was technically a full-fledged adult.
Of course, in a small place like Redwood Town, such distinctions really weren't relevant and no one would try to throw their weight around using their age or status. This might have had something to do with the easygoing attitude of the Newton Family, or it might just be a product of the peaceful life around these parts; either way, Lucas had no qualms about just treating Jake like a slightly older kid, while Jake also didn't mind such treatment.
"Lucas! You here to drop off another batch of your Cleaning Solution?" Jake smiled and called out enthusiastically.
Nodding, Lucas smiled back and replied, "En, that's right. Uncle Jerry mentioned last time I made a bread run that he was running low, so I brought 2 barrels today on my way to Aunt Farah's."
"Hahaha, good good," Jake laughed before walking over to the cart and grabbing one of the barrels, commenting as he worked, "You know, I gotta say, this stuff has really been a life-saver. It makes cleaning up the oven and counter so much easier, and that helps keep the pests away. Sometimes I wonder just what's in it when it looks like simple murky water. How did you come up with it in the first place?"
Flashing a grin, Lucas casually replied, "Sorry, that's a trade secret!"
Pausing for moment, Jake turned a funny look towards the boy who was half his age before bursting into a laugh and rubbing Lucas' head roughly.
Lucas knew Jake wasn't really asking for the production method of his lye-water and was just making conversation, so he didn't take his questions to heart.
Jake never hesitated to speak his mind or say what he thought, habits which sometimes got him into trouble, but he was kind and responsible at heart, always looking out for the younger kids in town, so he was well liked. This was probably a result of him being the oldest of 6 kids in his family and being used to taking care of his younger siblings.
Jake's family was fairly well-off by Redwood Town's standards. This wasn't surprising since when Jerry, Jake's dad, had taken over the bakery almost 20 years ago from his father, it was already one of the biggest shops around. The bakery occupied a prime piece of real-estate in the Central Square, and was patronized by at least a couple hundred people daily.
Looking around, Lucas could see large stacks of freshly baked breads. This kind of flatbread was by far the most common type of bread in Redwood Town and was best eaten within a couple of hours of it being made; after that, it got hard, very hard.
There were also some intentionally dense, hard loaves and crackers on the store's shelves. These types of 'breads' were basically impossible to eat without first being soaked in some kind of soup or broth, but they also lasted far longer than ordinary flatbread and were thus useful for longer term storage and traveling long distances.
White fluffy bread and pastries were completely absent, but Lucas wasn't too surprised by that as until about half-an-hour ago, he didn't even know such things existed.
I wonder if I could make some kind of fluffy bread here? Lucas thought to himself absentmindedly. He now knew that in order to make such bread, yeast was required, but as for how to make yeast, he was clueless. Lucas wasn't even sure if yeasted bread existed in the Redwood Kingdom.
Unable to contain his curiosity, he decided to ask an expert on the subject, "Big Brother, have you ever heard of a kind of bread that's light and fluffy?"
"A light and fluffy bread?" Jake paused in place before turning to ask, "Where did you hear about that, Lucas?"
Slightly surprised by this reaction, Lucas couldn't stop his eyes from flashing as he asked, "So, it does exist?"
Smirking, Jake teased, "Oh? Do you not like the bread we bake here?"
"Uh…" Lucas faltered before quickly shaking his head, not wanting to appear rude, "It's not like that, Big Brother Jake. I just… heard from a merchant some time ago that in the big cities they sometimes eat fluffy bread."
Chuckling, Jake waved his hand casually, "I've never eaten, or even seen that kind of bread before, but my dad told me it exists."
"That's right," a new, deeper voice called out, drawing the boys' attention.
Walking out from the back of the shop was an apron wearing, slightly chubby middle-aged man with dark brown hair the same colour as Jake's. Naturally, it was Jerry, the owner of the bakery.
Calmly strolling over, Jerry patted his son on the shoulder warmly, then smiled down at Lucas, "Back when I was a kid, my pops took me on a trip to Southbridge, the capital of the province, where I once got to try that type of soft, fluffy bread."
A look of nostalgia flashed across Jerry's face as he spoke about this experience. Obviously, that trip, and that bread, had left quite an impression on him.
Intrigued, Lucas inquired cautiously, "Have you ever tried to make that kind of bread, Uncle Jerry?"
"Of course, I've tried," the middle-aged baker replied with a hearty chuckle, "After eating that bread, both me and my old man tried many different times to replicate it, but we never had any success."
"Why is that, Dad?" Jake asked curiously. As far as he was concerned, his father was the best baker around. Even if he couldn't compare to those professionals who served the high-ranking nobles of the kingdom, Jerry still had considerable skill and experience.
Shrugging his shoulders, Jerry simply replied, "It's because I have no idea where to even begin."
Letting out a sigh, the middle-aged baker continued, "Your grandpa tried to purchase the secret to that fluffy bread from the shop we visited, but forget the owner, even the workers there refused to discuss it the moment the subject was brought up, saying it was the secret to their success, and they were indeed really successful. That bakery must have been 5 times the size of ours and had more than 20 people working in its kitchens at all the times, yet there were still lineups down the street just to buy their bread throughout the entire day!"
"Wow… can we go there one day, Dad?" Jake asked with a twinkle of excitement in his eyes.
"Hahaha, sure, Jake. Before I hand the shop over to you, we can take the whole family there!" Jerry agreed immediately as he licked his lips, obviously also interested in tasting that special kind of bread once again.
Lucas didn't know how far Southbridge was from Redwood Town, but it obviously wasn't close. Traveling back and forth would probably take more than a month by carriage, which would certainly be quite expensive, especially for a family of 8. However, Jerry's shop made quite a bit of money every day, and its reputation for quality was excellent, so it probably wouldn't be an issue for the chubby baker to take an extended vacation with his family while leaving his other employees to handle things.
Of course, Lucas could now provide information on the 'secret ingredient' required to make that fluffy bread, but he knew that right now, he had no way of explaining how had come across such specialized knowledge. As such, he decided to just nod along, "Be sure to tell me about it when you get back, Big Brother Jake!"
"Oh, don't worry, I'll be sure to describe it in detail for you, Lucas!" Jake agreed in a slightly teasing tone.
Picking up the small barrel Lucas had set down, Baker Jerry fished out a small bag of Coppers from his pocket and placed it in the boy's hands, "In any case, thanks for the delivery, Lucas. I was just about to run out of this miracle liquid."
Flashing his best business smile, Lucas bowed his head in thanks before fishing out 8 Coppers from the bag and handing them to Jake.
Understanding what he was asking for, Jake pocketed the coins and grabbed a freshly baked loaf from a nearby bench and handed it to the boy.
"Pleasure doing business with you!" Lucas said enthusiastically before accepting the bread and heading back to his cart, waving goodbye to the father and son pair as he walked out the door.
"He's a clever one, that kid," Jerry commented appreciatively before teasing his son, "Much more so than you."
"Oh please," Jake rolled his eyes before quipping, "Don't compare me to Lucas, his parents are both smart and strong, while I have you for a dad!"
*Whack!*
"Damn brat, you dare talk about your father that way?!" Jerry scolded, though his tone was light and playful.
The father and son continued to banter for a while, illustrating the closeness between them; but soon after, a sharp female voice called out from the kitchen, "What are you two doing out there? Get in here and help!"
Both Jerry and Jake's necks shrank as they hurriedly stopped joking around and replied, "Yes, Dear!" "Coming, Mom!"
Jerry was the man of the house, and Jake was the eldest son, but it was clear to everyone in Redwood Town that his wife Dorothy was the one really in charge of the biggest bakery around.
…..
Farah's butchery was just on the opposite side of the Central Square from Jerry's bakery, a couple hundred metres distance at most, so it didn't take long for Lucas to wheel his handcart over.
Pulling up to the back of the shop, where he usually parked to make his deliveries, Lucas was about to circle around and grab the barrels of lye-water when the nearby door was suddenly flung open and Farah burst out.
Taken aback, Lucas froze in place.
Normally, when he came to drop of Cleaning Solution, he would have to knock on the back door and wait for a while before his Aunt Farah showed up with her bloody apron and butcher's knife, so seeing her emerge in a fluster before he even had time to unload his cart came as a big surprise.
As far as Lucas could recall, he had never seen Farah frazzled, shocked, or surprised by anything before. It was as if nothing could phase her and she was always in complete control of her emotions.
This only made her current behaviour even more unusual.
With hurried strides, Farah swiftly arrived in front of Lucas and reached out her hand towards him, but just as she was about to touch his forehead, she hesitated, like she was uncertain if she should proceed or not.
Silence fell as the two people, one young, one old, stared across at each other, looks of confusion and uncertainty filling both their faces.
Eventually, Lucas decided to speak up and hesitantly asked, "Is something wrong, Aunt Farah?"
Scrunching up her face, Farah seemed to be having an internal struggle.
It wasn't until a good 30 seconds passed that the middle-aged butcher let out a long breath, retracted her hand, and straightened herself up.
Hoisting up all 4 of the lye-water barrels at once with her typical amazing strength, Farah quickly carried them into her shop without another word, leaving Lucas to wonder just what was going on.
Without knowing what else to do, Lucas decided to wait and see what happened next.
A couple minutes later, Farah returned, having changed out of her work clothes and into a long winter coat. Placing 4 small empty barrels into the back of Lucas' cart, she then closed and locked the back door to her shop.
Grabbing the handle of the cart, Farah turned to Lucas and for the first time since she appeared, spoke, "Come with me."
Lucas was used to his Aunt Farah being gruff and abrupt, but this was a bit much, even for her. Still, he felt the seriousness behind her tone and the look of concern on her face was unmistakable, so he decided not to ask any questions for now and just followed after her.