Chapter 194 Chapter 194. A baker in the house

Chapter 194: 194. A baker in the house

Carlos looked at the ovens again after Mira finished speaking.

He had been thinking about how many meals could come out of them but she, on the other hand, had already reached the things she couldn’t make properly, which was a little embarrassing when he thought about it.

"Then we will get a baker," he said. "Do you need anything else?" he asked.

Mira shook her head but then her mind went somewhere but it came back soon enough.

"Don’t worry and just tell me," Carlos spoke again.

"Uhhh, if it is possible, can you buy as many high grade food ingredients, crops, vegetables and spices, anything you can find related to cooking for me, please?" she asked while tapping her hands together.

Carlos smiled and nodded toward Cosmic who made a mental note about it.

"We were going to get as rare a crop as we can get anyway, other things added won’t change anything much," he spoke, making a smile bloom on Mira’s face.

"Cosmic, can you look for a baker first?"

His friend was already opening the market. Mira stood beside him instead of returning to the other building, and Carlos noticed she kept looking at the listings as they appeared.

"What do you want them to know?" Cosmic asked her.

"Bread first. Doughs, ovens, storing flour properly. If they can make other things too, that would be good."

"You don’t want a dessert specialist?"

Mira shook her head. "We have grain coming from the fields and a mill to process it. I want somebody who knows how to use what we already grow. We can find the other ingredients afterward."

Carlos nodded at that. He would have picked whichever listing had the longest recipe list without asking where they would get half of it.

Cosmic rejected a building that only produced finished biscuits from supplied materials. Another was an oven workshop with no troop summons. The third made Mira lean closer.

"That one. Open its troop information too."

--

Baker’s Lodge Blueprint

Level 1

Uncommon Grade

Daily Summon: 1 Baker

Summoned Baker Starting Level: 1

Summoned Baker Grade: Common

Summoned Troop Ability:

Baking Expertise (Level 1)

Provides Bakers trained in dough preparation, oven management and the handling of baking ingredients.

Building Requirements:

Wood x120

Stone x100

Iron x20

--

"It doesn’t bake by itself," Cosmic said. "The lodge is where they live and train. They still need the kitchen."

"That is what we want," Mira answered quickly.

Carlos liked hearing her so certain.

The seller wanted 800 Iron and 1200 Copper for the blueprint with the listed construction materials included. Cosmic asked whether the price changed without the bundle, then compared the answer to the materials he could buy separately.

Carlos waited. He had enough to buy it, but that was usually when his friend found a reason to make him wait another minute.

"Take the bundle," Cosmic said at last. "I checked the material records. Buying them apart saves almost nothing."

Carlos accepted before another thought could delay him. Iron x800 and Copper Coins x1,200 left his inventory, and the blueprint arrived with its construction bundle.

Mira took them around the back of the kitchens. They checked a small clear space beside the living buildings, leaving the flour-carrying path open. Carlos placed the preview there and showed her the doorway before confirming.

The materials disappeared into a low building with a pale stone base and a wooden upper wall.

There was a little covered entrance, with racks inside and sleeping places farther back. Carlos walked through it once, then returned to the summon record.

"One today," he said. "Let’s see who comes."

When he summoned, the man appeared in front of the lodge with his sleeves rolled above his elbows. He had broad wrists, short brown hair and a cloth tied around his waist. He looked at Carlos first, then at the flour dust on Mira’s sleeve.

"My lord."

"Welcome to Ironroot. I am Carlos Goldwin, the lord of this territory." He pointed beside him. "This is Mira. She manages our kitchens."

The Baker bowed to her too.

"Hollis, my lady. Such a fine territory this is. I can see wheat growing there, a mill there and the sweet smell of flour coming from that place." He spoke with delight and etiquette.

Mira’s face changed to happiness and Carlos could tell too: this man knew what he was doing. The hesitation she had shown while asking Carlos for help was gone.

"We keep the flour in the dry storage. Come, I will show you the ovens first."

Carlos followed them, with Cosmic putting the completed trade away behind him. Hollis walked around the new hearth, opened both oven mouths and crouched to examine the lower space where the fire would be tended.

He asked for a little flour and water. Mira brought them herself.

The Baker rubbed the flour between his fingers, mixed a small piece of dough and pressed it with his thumb. Carlos couldn’t tell what he had learned from doing that. Mira could, apparently, because she began asking about the flour almost immediately.

"The first batch we milled was coarser. The workers have been adjusting it. Do you want it finer than this?"

"Yes, but only for some things. I can use this for today’s bread. Keep the finer flour apart until I see it. Who works the mill?"

"I can introduce you," Carlos offered.

Hollis looked up. "Thank you, my lord. If I can see what comes through it, I can tell them which flour to keep for each preparation. Even how to get better results if they don’t know yet."

Carlos went to get the worker who had been handling the mill that afternoon. By the time they returned, Mira and Hollis had already spread a little flour over one end of the preparation table.

"We normally make this size," she was saying, showing him with her hands. "It goes with the grain and vegetable portions."

"Then I will start with that. How many for tomorrow?"

She gave him the kitchen’s actual bread count, then explained the ten High-quality meals they had promised the new buyer. Hollis listened to both before shaking his head at one part.

"Let me handle the ordinary bread first. If you want bread in the traded meals, taste mine and inspect it tomorrow. I would rather you choose after that."

"Agreed," Mira said.

Carlos stood beside the mill worker and watched them settle it. He had expected to tell the new Baker what Ironroot needed, but they had gone further than he could have taken the conversation himself.

He was pleased about that. Mira had someone she could ask questions instead of having every question directed at her.

"You still manage both kitchens," he told her when Hollis went to look at the flour sacks. "Tell me if you need more people too."

"I will. Tonight, I want him to prepare for the morning. One Hearthkeeper can work with him here while the others stay with me. We can change it after seeing the first batch."

"Then do that."

Hollis returned with a small sack tucked against his hip. He asked about salt, oil and the clean cloths before setting it down. Mira called a Hearthkeeper over and introduced them properly.

Cosmic stopped beside Carlos at the doorway.

"You look happier about him than the building."

"Look at her, bro."

Mira was showing Hollis the bread she had prepared earlier. He broke a piece, examined the middle and began explaining something about how the heat had reached it.

She listened closely, then reached for another loaf to compare.

Carlos watched for another moment before stepping outside. Tomorrow he wanted to eat whatever those two made after having that conversation.