While Su Qingluan was refining the lard, she cut off most of the fat from the pork belly, cut it into slices as thin as cicada wings, and threw them all into the iron pot for refining.

After a while, the originally pink and white meat slices gradually turned into a slightly transparent color due to the effect of frying, and the surrounding areas became brown and curled due to the heat.

Seeing that the heat was almost right, Su Qingluan picked out the spices to remove the fishy smell, added black pepper powder to the hot lard and stir-fried it until fragrant, then added soy sauce, sugar, salt and a small amount of water starch to stir-fry to make black pepper sauce. When the sauce thickened over high heat, she removed the iron pan to prevent the pan from overheating and causing the sauce to burn.

Next, Su Qingluan peeled off the old skin of the onion and cut it into small pieces at random.

"Young Master..." The maid surnamed Huang cried out in surprise, "Why are you crying? Are you feeling wronged?" The chef that the young master favored actually burst into tears. Did something go wrong?

Su Qingluan felt the pungent smell of onions choking her, tears streaming down her face. Hearing the other person's exclamation, she quickly squinted her eyes and tried to look at him. Unfortunately, her tears were streaming too hard, and she couldn't see clearly. She could only wipe her tears and explain, "It's just that the onion smell hurts my eyes. I don't feel wronged..."

It's so embarrassing...

Upon hearing this, a maidservant beside him immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Young Master, let Xiaotao cut the onions..."

Xiao Tao deftly took the onion knife from Su Qingluan's hand...and then she also burst into tears.

"Okay, these onions are enough." Su Qingluan thanked him quickly, "Close your eyes and let the tears flow for a while, then your eyes will stop hurting."

"Thank you...thank you..." Xiao Tao's face turned a little red for some reason, but Su Qingluan didn't care too much. She turned around and spread the peeled garlic and chopped onions on the bottom of the casserole in a thick layer. Then she placed the flounder that had been deodorized with ginger slices into the casserole one by one according to the order in which it was cut, forming the shape of a whole fish.

Finally, pour the freshly made lard and black pepper sauce all over the fish.

Originally, Su Qingluan wanted to put the entire casserole on the stove, but found that the casserole was a little small compared to the stove.

"This pot is a bit small. Is there a smaller stove eye?" Su Qingluan asked as she turned around and held the pot.

Xiao Tao nodded when she heard this and said, "Yes, yes." Then she turned around and used an iron hook to hook down two iron rings from the lower row of shelves at the back?

Su Qingluan wisely did not ask what it was used for, because it looked like a very common thing. If she were a "chef" character, she intuitively felt that asking "What is this" would ruin her character.

Fortunately, Xiao Tao didn't need Su Qingluan to ask, and she put the larger iron ring on the stove, which just happened to be stuck on the edge of the outermost layer of the stove, making the stove eye much smaller.

Su Qingluan picked up the casserole and tried it. The stove eye was still a little big, so Xiaotao added another iron ring, making the stove eye smaller.

Su Qingluan thought to herself that this thing was really convenient and she would get a set for her home tomorrow. However, she didn't say anything on the surface, but just nodded and thanked him.

The chef, who had been watching from the side, looked at Su Qingluan in astonishment: "Young Master, can you... do this?" So simple? Isn't it a bit... careless to treat the precious ingredients that he had worked so hard to obtain like this?

Su Qingluan couldn't say that she had simply chosen a more convenient and common method, so she adjusted her expression, first looking at him with a look that said, "You don't understand this," and then calmly said, "The more precious and delicious the ingredients, the simpler the cooking method, the more likely it is to preserve their original flavor."

The cook looked at Su Qingluan suspiciously: "Really? But black pepper, garlic and onions are all spicy, not light, enough to cover the taste of any food..."

Su Qingluan's mouth stiffened and twitched, then she said, "I heard that doctors say that summer is a good time to get rid of winter colds, so eating spicy food in summer can induce sweating and dispel cold, which is good for health." Of course, Su Qingluan was just talking nonsense, but the amazing thing was that everyone in the kitchen actually believed it.

Su Qingluan thought she had finally fooled him, so she chopped some green onions. It was almost time, so she placed a dry towel over the lid of the pot and opened it. Suddenly, a fragrant aroma filled the air along with white smoke. The people nearby couldn't help but take a breath, as if the fragrance would linger longer.

Su Qingluan sprinkled a handful of freshly chopped green onions and covered the pot again.

"Where's the tray?"

"Here it is." Xiao Tao took the tray, and a servant placed the casserole on the tray.

Seeing that the tray was ready, Su Qingluan nodded and said, "You can serve the food now."

As the sun sets and the angle of sunlight changes, Xie Zian has moved from the previous pavilion to another waterside pavilion.

All the windows of this waterside pavilion were propped up with poles at this time. With the gurgling water and the gentle breeze blowing through the window lattices, it was very cool.

Su Qingluan sighed in her heart: "Luxury! It's so luxurious!" The three-story house I saw at Mr. Xu's house was already very spacious, but behind this five-story house there are garden pavilions and even running water!

And from what Xie Zhonger and his housekeeper said, this should just be an ordinary outer house of their family!

Although all kinds of comments were flashing in her mind, Su Qingluan's expression was calm. She handed the chopsticks to Xie Zian and reminded him, "This fish is braised in oil. It is very hot and not easy to cool down. Be careful when eating it." As she spoke, she opened the lid.

"So much?!" Xie Zian exclaimed, "How can I finish this whole pot?!"

Su Qingluan rolled her eyes inwardly, thinking that at worst she could just eat it next time. But she also understood that someone from Xie Zian's background probably wouldn't eat leftovers, so she either gave the fish to someone else or threw it away.

Xie Zian didn't feel Su Qingluan's criticism at all, and just asked curiously: "Where do you think is the most delicious?"

Su Qingluan thought for a moment and replied, "The meat around the fish head and cheeks is delicate and smooth, the fish bones are flexible and springy, the fish skirt is rich in fat, and the fish skin is fragrant and glutinous. They are all excellent choices."

Xie Zian listened to her and asked suspiciously, "Didn't you say you've never seen this fish before? How come you know exactly where it tastes good?"

Su Qingluan thought it was bad, she had complained so much that she had forgotten what she had said before, so she thought for a moment and said, "I've seen it in books before, but I've never seen a real flounder."

"Flounder? Is this fish called flounder?" Xie Zian was curious.

Su Qingluan didn't know what flounder was called in this era, but she had a ready-made reason: "It's called flounder in that book. Maybe different regions have different names."