撰文．攝影 / 林秋玫
（2025-0511是小浩取得德國烘焙大師授證的日子，僅以此文2013-0104的回憶祝賀他任務達成。）
(P.S. May 11, 2025, marks the day Xiao Hao received his certification as a German Master Baker. This 2013-0104 piece is dedicated to him, in celebration of his achievement.)
「欸，你們怎麼都不來看我？你們來嘛，快來看我剛弄好的烘焙坊。」小浩在電話中撒嬌抗議。
“Hey, why haven’t you guys come to see me yet? Come on, come check out my newly opened bakery,” Xiao Hao protested playfully over the phone.
「有聽說了，生意還不錯吧，周老闆。」我陶侃笑道。
“I heard about it. Business is going well, right, Boss Zhou?” I teased with a laugh.
「你們快來啦，先來看我的『梅鈉反應』，我再帶你們去看貓頭鷹。」小浩忍不住重磅出擊。
“Just come already! I’ll show you my ‘Maillard reaction‘ first, and then we can go see the owls,” Xiao Hao threw in a tempting offer.
「你說什麼？貓頭鷹！是哪一種貓頭鷹？是活著的嗎？」潛龍連忙搶過電話，發出連串問號。
“Wait, what? Owls? What kind of owls? Are they real?” Qianlong, clearly intrigued, quickly grabbed the phone, bombarding him with questions.
「哎喲，我不知道牠叫什麼名字，但真的是貓頭鷹啦，會勿勿勿叫的那種，我沒騙你！不然你們來看就知道啦。」小浩一派輕鬆地拋出「誘餌」，這次他可說對了關𨫡字。
“Oh, I don’t know their exact name, but they’re definitely real owls! They go ‘woo woo’ at night, I swear. Come and see for yourselves,” Xiao Hao confidently tossed out his bait, clearly hitting our weak spot.
隔日，西螺小鎮尚在惺忪晨光中，我們已經到達隱身在巷子內的梅鈉反應烘焙坊。一間外觀平凡無奇的公寓，因為牆頭上立著一座草泥馬塑像，而透露著幾分古怪而引人好奇。門庭的小花園還沒來得及長成氣候，牆邊上靜置的紅色小花灑倒已經入畫三分。
The next morning, while the town of Xiluo was still bathed in the soft light of dawn, we arrived at the “Maillard reaction” bakery, hidden in a small alley. The building itself was an ordinary apartment, made peculiar only by the quirky alpaca statue perched on the wall, adding a touch of eccentric charm. The small garden by the entrance, though not yet fully grown, already had a red watering can leaning idly against the wall, perfectly capturing a quiet, rustic vibe.
我們左顧右盼，好奇又安靜的慢慢推門入屋。
We cautiously pushed open the door, peering inside as we stepped in.
「嘿，你們終於來啦！」小浩得意地笑說。我們還來不及讚美這個可愛的工作室，他便提高嗓門：
「欸，我現在很忙，沒空理你們，你們先坐一下，自己逛逛。」說罷，他像一枚穿了圍裙的陀螺在屋內轉個不停 。
“Hey, you finally made it!” Xiao Hao greeted us with a proud grin. Before we could compliment his charming workspace, he raised his voice:
“Hey, I’m super busy right now. No time for chit-chat. Just sit down and take a look around.” With that, he whirled around like a spinning top, apron fluttering as he darted back and forth around the kitchen.
「小浩，你說的貓頭鷹不會是這隻吧！」我指著桌上的小貓頭鷹飾品，著急地的發問。
「才不是啦！」小浩語氣無奈，大聲抗議，
「那貓頭鷹還在嗎？我們什麼時候才可以去拍？」潛龍開門見山指出重點。
「喔，應該還在，至少昨天還在，等我弄好了，一會兒你們跟我去學校送麵包，就可以看到啦。」小浩耐著性子安撫我們。
“Xiao Hao, you weren’t talking about this little owl figurine on the table, right?” I asked, pointing to a small ceramic owl, a bit worried we’d been tricked.
“Of course not!” he protested, rolling his eyes with a hint of frustration.
“Is the owl still there? When can we go take pictures?” Qianlong cut straight to the point.
“Oh, it should still be there. At least it was yesterday. Once I’m done here, I’ll take you guys to the school to deliver some bread, and you can see them then,” Xiao Hao reassured us, doing his best to keep us from rushing him.
趁著等待的空檔，我剛好可以細看這脫俗的小客廳。
「梅鈉反應烘焙坊」的招牌，反貼在屋內門後，貼牆而立的是一輛老摩托車，它讓我想起有次小浩騎著摩托車來嘉義火車站接我，那模樣活脱脱是宮奇駿紅豬飛行員的造型。而緊靠在最內側牆壁的二手專業烤箱，便是他烘烤夢想和麵包的「溫床」。我再ㄧㄧ巡視屋內擺設的小物件：一台古老的打字機、一張復古沙發搭配橘色的手工編織抱枕，最後我的眼光聚焦在那被修復的棕色的小鬧鐘上，時光滴答滴答….。我轉身，來到客廳的角窗邊，各式小小的綠色植栽簇擁一個雅緻的玻璃蛋糕台。
With time to kill, I took a closer look around this cozy little living room. The sign for “Maillard reaction Bakery” was taped to the inside of the door, while an old motorbike leaned casually against the wall, reminding me of the time Xiao Hao picked me up at the Chiayi train station – he looked just like a pilot straight out of a Studio Ghibli film. Nearby, an old second-hand commercial oven stood ready, the very “incubator” for his bread and dreams. My eyes wandered over the eclectic collection of items scattered around: a vintage typewriter, a retro couch with a handwoven orange cushion, and finally, a carefully restored brown alarm clock, ticking softly in the corner. As I moved toward the corner window, I found a cluster of small green potted plants surrounding an elegant glass cake stand.
終於，室內飄起一股溫熱的麵包香，剛出的麵包上桌展示著樸素模樣，幾位女孩怯生生地推門來買麵包，她們稚氣的臉蛋掛著青澀笑意，小浩一臉靦腆地迎上前來，手忙腳亂的招呼。我見狀不禁深吸一口，心想 ：「這便是小浩最初的江湖了！」
Finally, the warm, comforting aroma of freshly baked bread filled the room. A few shy girls pushed open the door, giggling nervously as they came to buy their morning bread. Xiao Hao hurried over to greet them, clearly a bit flustered but doing his best to act confident. Watching him, I couldn’t help but take a deep breath, thinking, “This is the humble beginning of Xiao Hao’s little corner of the world.”
隨著小浩到鄰近的學校送麵包，我們也如願拍到棲息在小葉欖仁樹上的一對可愛的領角鴞。
Later, as we accompanied Xiao Hao to deliver bread to a nearby school, we were delighted to spot a pair of adorable Collared Scops Owls perched among the branches of a Small-leaved Terminalia tree, just as promised.
