Apparently, I'm the Infamous Earl's Legendary Bride

Book 1: A Girl in Another World - Chapter 5

Quinn

As expected, this town was lively with residents going about their businesses here and there. Along the shopping district, there were the usual shops such as bakeries, butchers, tailors, grocers, and more. There were even taverns and restaurants, too. I strolled along, eyeing each store with interest, noting that the buildings were very medieval-era and made of brick and timber, the typical Tudor style, which indicated wealth. I supposed that meant this town was prosperous then.

The bakeries interested me the most since I wanted to know what sort of baked goods they sold. Surely, there'd be something like soft bread, pastries, pies, tarts, and the sorts?

I stood in front of the store and gazed at the products displayed before me, feeling disappointment building inside me. There were no such things as soft bread, pastries, pies, or tarts. There were only loaves of bread, and they ranged from light brown to dark brown to black, and the loaves looked so hard that one thrown across the air could possibly knock a man unconscious.

Perhaps I was staring at the bread too long? Not to mention my very thin physique and pale complexion, the owner thought I was starving and wanted to steal his goods because he glared at me and snapped, "Get out of here, you little rat!" He shooed me away with his hand fluttering in the air. "Go! Out with you, rat!"

I was quite taken aback even though I wasn't surprised by his treatment of me. I looked like a homeless scum, after all.

"Still standing there?" He raised his hand in the air as a threat. "Go! Away with you, brat! Or I'll beat you up."

I snorted. What sort of world was this? To beat a youth just because he stared at your goods for a bit too long. Indeed, it was a cold, harsh world, I decided. The poor just didn't have a chance.

I turned on my heel and started on my way again when a woman, dressed in fine clothing, walked up to the owner. She looked like she was from a well-off family, and immediately, the attitude of the owner did a one-eighty. He clasped his hands together, and with a big smile plastered on his face, he said, "Mrs. Owen, how lovely to see you."

I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

"As if your hard-as-rock bread is anything like the softness of a normal bread back home," I said. "Or the heavenly taste of pastries like croissants or Danish pastry or chocolate Eclair." I pumped my fist. "When I'm out of here and have a more stable life, I'll start experimenting making those and introduce them to this world and then your business, you bastard, will turn to dust." I grinned with mischief.

I loved a challenge. The more difficult the better. It was part of the scientist within me. One simply couldn't be a research scientist without loving challenges.

I continued with my exploration of the town, heading toward the market. There were many stalls here, and after spending an hour just exploring and researching, I came to the conclusion that there was not a lot of variety in terms of fresh fruits and vegetables. I noticed also that stalls with those as goods did not sell well.

I racked my brain, going through Quinn's memory, wanting to understand this topic, but there was none. Obviously, being poor, buying fruits and vegetables as part of groceries was not an option where Quinn and her family were concerned. Then again, Quinn had never been one to cook in the family. It had always been Elizabeth or Maria.

In terms of fruits, there were only apples and pears. As for vegetables, there were potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, beans, peas, onions, celery, and cabbage, and not much else. Counting out of the fifty or so stalls here, four were fruits and vegetables, while more than ten were grains and flours, which were mostly oak, wheat, rye, and barley, and the flour version of those were coarsely grounded, which meant their color was darker than the ones I was used to which were fine and pure white. I suspected also that the use of yeast for baking was not done here, which explained why the bread was so hard and did not raise well.