“Hold on a second! I’m buying five weizenbrots and three kipfels!”
“Crap, I’ve only got three rolls!”
“I won’t lose! I’ve got zopfs, pretzels and roggenbrots, ten of each!”
Men, after all, are stupid.
More bread per customer was sold that day than ever before.
In a shadow by the kiln, Lud watched the scene unfold with a complicated look on his face.
“What’s with that strange face?”
“Jacob! I’ve told you not to come back here, haven’t I? This is where I handle the food!”
“It’s fine, I’m already here,” Jacob reassured him. “More importantly, that girl is amazing. She’s got all the men wrapped around her finger. Where did you manage to find that waitress outfit, anyway?”
Sven had found a broken sewing machine left in the storeroom by the previous owners and asked Lud if he had any cloth she could use.
Unfortunately, the only thing Lud had was an ancient black felt carpet.
Nevertheless, Sven took it and after several hours in the storeroom fiddling with the sewing machine, she emerged in a beautiful waitress outfit.
Even the seamstresses at the Thieves Market in Neopolis would grow pale at the speed and brilliance of her work.
She also added lovely embroidery to the headband and apron.
Lud knew that the black cloth had come from his old carpet, but he didn’t recognize the white silk of the embroidery.
“You don’t mean to tell me … Did you use the clothes that you were wearing too?”
“Yes! My underwear is enough for sleeping in, and once I’m awake, I’m ready to work.”
Lud wondered if she had been sewing her outfit almost naked?
Imagining the scene in his head, Lud blushed slightly.
“Master?”
“Ah, Hahahaha! N-Nothing! But what are you going to do without a spare set of clothes?”
Lud wanted to provide that for her but he didn’t have any way to do so.
“Hehehe … You don’t need to worry about that. I will be able to take care of ten thousand customers before this clothing wears out.”
As Sven said this, she chuckled to herself like an elite soldier boasting about a new weapon.
Over fifty customers had visited the shop just that day. If business continued like this, it wouldn’t take a year for Sven’s prediction to come true.
But Lud’s thoughts were in turmoil.
“I don’t know.”
“What?” Jacob asked.
“Does this mean that as long as there’s a cute girl here, anything will sell?”
Lud had believed that as long as he made good products seriously and with all his effort, people would come to the shop to buy them.
However, he was now told that Sven’s smile was more important than the many days he had persevered.
He was thrilled that customers had come. But it made him sad too.
“How naïve!”
Jacob shook his finger and admonished the troubled Lud.
“You’re naïve Lud! If you could sell something just by having a cute girl smile, then everyone would be doing it! But that’s not true, is it?”
“What does that mean? Ow!”
Lud was depressed and stooping lower than usual, so Jacob’s finger stabbed him in the nose.
“I’m saying that customers aren’t that stupid. I’ll tell you something. You’re going to get even busier from here on.”
“Huh?”
Jacob chuckled to himself. The next day, his prediction came true.
“What the heck …”
The next day, men drawn by the stories of Sven’s beauty visited Tockerbrot again, and—in numbers surpassing the men—women and children came too.
“Heh, heh, heh. Just as I expected.”
Barging once again into the kiln area, Jacob smiled, but Lud just stared in awe at all his customers, too dumbfounded to scold Jacob.
The wives of the men who had come home from the bakery the day before, laden with all the fresh bread, at first were furious at the unnecessary expense.
“Why in the world would you waste money like this? Even though we already have dinner?!”
Sven’s magic didn’t affect the wives. They resented and blamed her.
However, food is innocent, and that night they ate Lud’s bread with their dinner.
“Oh my …”
“This is …”
“Delicious!”
Since there was no other bakery, everyone had always baked their own bread. They didn’t even want to touch the nasty, preserved bread that the peddler came to sell.
But, there was no comparison between their bread and that baked by Lud, who day and night perfected his recipes and technique.
Those women now remembered that bread could be delicious. Their desire to eat and savor properly-baked, fresh bread was suddenly rekindled.
And Tockerbrot had many different baked treats on its shelves, priced low enough for all the townspeople to afford.
Hungry for the small donuts covered in nuts and chocolate, the children came to the shop, copper coins held firmly in hand.
And, not only did Sven’s smiling face capture the hearts of the men, it gave a sense of security to the women and children.
“Thank you very much. Here is one of our newest items, free of charge. Please visit us again soon!”
For the women, Sven wore a smile of warm friendliness and respect.
“Thank you, here you go. They were just fried so be careful when you eat them.”
For the children, her smile conveyed good humor and kindness.
“I don’t believe it …”
Lud trembled as he eyed the bakery overflowing with customers.
This had always been his dream.
He had longed to have a crowd of people eating his bread.
He was so happy that he was on the verge of tears.
Sniff, sniff.
Or rather, he was already in tears.
“You understand now, right? The girl was the key that opened the door to the treasure room. Inside are the treasures that you’ve polished and shined, all lined up. Everyone is here for that!”
No matter how much a beautiful girl improves sales, if the product being sold is unappetizing, the sales won’t last.
The reason Jacob had advised Lud to hire a waitress was because he knew that as soon as the villagers tasted the bread baked by this dour-faced man, it would capture their hearts and never let go.
“Master! The pumpernickel has sold out! Please provide more as soon as possible.”
Sven’s voice came from the storefront.
“C’mon, what do you think you’re doing! If you show your face in the bakery, the customers will run away. Keep quiet and bake the bread!”
Jacob jabbed Lud with his elbow as he spoke.
But despite his words, tears of sympathy welled in Jacob’s eyes.
“Yeah, that’s right … I’d better get baking! I’ll bake until this body burns out!”
“I don’t think you have to go that far …”