Xie Zian, still with that boastful look, snorted coldly, "You'll know when you get there. Why are you asking so many questions?"
Su Qingluan shrugged without comment.
In fact, when she asked the servant to deliver the letter to the villagers of Huaxi Village just now, she wanted him to tell his parents that they might be back late today, and it was also a disguised way to let them know where they were.
Although Xie Zhonger on the opposite side looks frank, who knows what weird ways these wealthy families will use to make things difficult for others?
At this time, Su Qingluan noticed that a servant was leading a horse over by the roadside. Xie Zian was probably too small to step onto the horse, so a servant knelt on the ground to act as a step for him, and Xie Zian stepped on the man's back to get on the horse.
Xie Zian couldn't see it, but Su Qingluan, standing beside him, could see that the servant, with his head lowered, was grimacing because he was being stepped on, and it was obvious that he was feeling uncomfortable.
However, his body did not move at all, as if it was the most normal thing.
Su Qingluan knew that for people from these wealthy families, this level of "ordering slaves around" was a very normal thing, but she still frowned secretly when she saw it.
Of course, she wasn't some traitor, and she wasn't stupid enough to just go up to someone and say something stupid like "How dare you bully me?" This kind of useless pity and self-righteous sense of justice would do no good except to cause trouble to others.
But she still felt uncomfortable.
Suppressing the strange feeling in her heart, Su Qingluan asked, "Xie Xiaolangjun, what should I do if you ride a horse?"
Xie Zian looked at Su Qingluan strangely: "Of course you are following me. Do you want to come up and ride a horse with me?!" As he said this, he showed a wary expression, as if Su Qingluan was a woman with ulterior motives.
Su Qingluan: ...
She was so upset that her eyes almost rolled to the sky.
Taking a deep breath, Su Qingluan suppressed her strong urge to complain and reminded him, "Xie Xiaolangjun, I don't think my legs can outrun your fine horse."
Xie Zian was surprised: "If my servants can keep up, why can't you?"
Because you are an idiot—Su Qingluan complained loudly in her heart.
However, she was timid. She even maintained a smile on the surface: "Young Master's family is naturally good. How can I, a commoner, compare with him? Besides..." Su Qingluan thought for a moment, "Don't I have to cook later? If I use up too much energy, I'm afraid I won't be able to perform normally."
"Tsk, what a hassle." Xie Zian curled his lips in disdain. "I know, I'll just walk slower."
Even though she walked slower as promised, it was still about an hour before Su Qingluan arrived at the gate of a luxurious-looking house. Her legs were already trembling and her feet were aching.
But at this moment, Xie Zian said afterward: "Ah, I'll hire you a sedan chair."
Su Qingluan: ... Could you please think of this kind of thing at the beginning?
She was careless and had no idea the journey would take so long!
But after thinking about the shop, she decided to just bear with it. It was all for the money! It was just a little more walking. She could handle it!
Although Su Qingluan was an ordinary citizen, she was "invited" by Xie Zian to do the work, and could be considered half a guest, so the tea serving ceremony at the beginning was still a big deal.
Unlike Mr. Xu's house which only had three courtyards, Su Qingluan took a glance and found that this one should have at least four or even five courtyards.
Moreover, even the rough servants who swept the courtyard outside the courtyard were dressed much neater and more beautifully than many ordinary people. Whether it was the style of their clothes or the patterns on their cuffs and collars, they were even comparable to those worn by some wealthy families.
Su Qingluan was secretly shocked: No wonder some people are unwilling to leave even if they are slaves in a wealthy family and are ordered around like this. It really makes sense.
After drinking tea and taking a short rest, Su Qingluan asked, "Excuse me, what exactly is that 'rare ingredient'?"
Xie Zian sat on a carved mahogany chair, clapped his hands, called the housekeeper over, and pointed at Su Qingluan: "Take her to see the living creature we brought today!"
The housekeeper was an old man with gray hair. Although he looked like a kind grandfather in front of Xie Zian, he had a stern face when he looked up at Su Qingluan, and looked at her up and down with some suspicion.
Then, he whispered in Xie Zian's ear, "This young man is so young, he looks no more than twelve or thirteen years old. Isn't it a bit... inappropriate for you to rashly hand over such precious ingredients to such a person..."
Although it was a "whisper", it was obvious that the old butler did not intend to do it behind Su Qingluan's back - it was better to say that some of his words were just to warn her.
Su Qingluan calmed down after hearing this. After all, no one knew that this little girl had a soul from another world inside her shell, right? Furthermore, none of these people had actually seen her cooking, so it was normal for them to express doubts.
As expected, Xie Zian showed a thoughtful expression. After a moment, he nodded: "What the housekeeper said makes sense. Then let's test this girl's cooking skills with other dishes..."
"Girl?" The old butler grasped the key word.
"Yes!" Xie Zian pointed at Su Qingluan as a matter of course, "She is a woman."
Su Qingluan thought the old butler was about to explode in anger, like a moralist pedant, and start a tirade about how a woman could not appear in public in men's clothing, blah blah blah. However, he simply looked her up and down even more slowly, then nodded, "In that case, I'll trouble you, young lady."
Su Qingluan didn't know if it was her illusion. She even felt that the housekeeper's attitude towards her was a little kinder than the initial wariness.
However, she didn't care what these people were thinking. What Su Qingluan cared about most was completing the task and getting the benefits.
So she started bargaining: "Thank you, young master, just now you only asked me to cook one precious ingredient, which means I only need to make one dish. Didn't you say that you wanted to test my cooking skills first?"
Xie Zian raised his eyebrows: "Could it be that you are just a name with no real ability, so you are afraid?"
Su Qingluan shook her head: "No, I can show you my skills so you can understand my level, but..." She narrowed her eyes and smiled, revealing her small white teeth, "Each additional dish will be charged a different price."
Xie Zian was stunned when he heard this, then sneered: "Oh, you're going to put out the money first? Fine! I promise you, if this 'test dish' is good, I'll reward you with ten taels of gold!"
Ten taels! And it’s not silver, it’s gold!!
Su Qingluan's eyes were shining with a special brilliance: Ten taels of gold is equivalent to one hundred taels of silver!
Oh my god! This is equivalent to two or three months of dividends from Hong Fu Lou - if it were the off-season, I'm afraid this time would be even longer!
So Su Qingluan immediately bowed and said, "I am willing to serve you, Mr. Xie! But..."
"But what?" Xie Zian asked.
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