Xie Zian glanced at Su Qingluan thoughtfully. Su Qingluan naturally didn't feel guilty. After all, this middle school boy couldn't read his mind, right? So she looked back with a very calm expression.
Xie Zhonger was quite cautious when picking up his chopsticks because this was the first time he had seen this fish. Even though the woman surnamed Huang had already tasted it to test for poison, he looked at the flounder's ugly skin with a trace of disgust on his face.
After a moment, he thought about it, picked up a relatively "conservative" fish skin with his chopsticks, picked up a piece and put it into his mouth.
"Cough cough cough cough..." In an instant, the young master, who had been so noble and cool just a moment ago, let out a series of earth-shattering coughs, which frightened the nearby servants. Aside from the old butler and the maid surnamed Huang, who were obviously quite experienced, the remaining servants and maids, including those who were just passing by to sweep the floor, all fell to their knees.
The maid quickly took the tea set beside the table and poured tea for Xie Zian. The old housekeeper looked at Su Qingluan with the same serious and tense expression as when she first entered the house. "Will this lady not explain a little?"
Su Qingluan blinked: "Maybe this black pepper flounder is a bit spicy, and my young master is not used to it?"
The old butler, somewhat angrily, supported the young master beside him and gently soothed him: "This dish is so spicy, why didn't you tell us earlier?"
"But the ingredients I asked for just now are all spicy, and you didn't stop me, right? I thought the young master didn't mind spicy food." Su Qingluan was very confident.
In fact, she was a little bit malicious and deliberately did not ask those middle school students whether they could tolerate spicy food - after all, unlike the usual dish that only uses a small amount of black pepper for seasoning, this black pepper flounder dish uses a handful of black pepper powder boiled into a sauce and poured all over the surface of the flounder. The spiciness is completely different!
But as long as she insisted, who would know? This was also a lesson for Xie Zian, a naughty kid who always choked people with his words.
Xie Zian coughed for a long time, and finally suppressed it with tea. The housekeeper lowered his head carefully and asked, "Young Master, why don't you take this fish away?"
Xie Zian smacked his lips, savoring the soft and sticky texture and spicy taste of the fish skin in his mouth, and picked up another piece of fish skin: "I'll try again, if it doesn't work, I'll take it away."
"Cough cough cough cough..." He coughed again and took a big gulp of tea.
"Young Master!" The maid surnamed Huang looked distressed and knelt down with a plop. "Why do you have to embarrass yourself like this? If you are afraid of wasting the fish, you can just give it to—"
"No!" Xie Zian shouted his refusal almost as soon as the word "reward" came out. Seeing everyone looking at him, his face, already rosy from his intense coughing, turned even redder.
"I... I..." After holding it in for a long time, he finally came up with a less ridiculous excuse. "By the way, as a man, how can I back down because of a little pepper?! I'll take another bite, and this time I definitely won't..."
“Cough cough cough…”
Even so, although Xie Zian coughed a little, sweated all over, and kept gasping for air due to the spiciness of the black pepper, he didn't know why he couldn't help but reach out his chopsticks again for the plate of "black pepper flounder" that looked dark and a bit ugly.
He was even a little dizzy from the spicy impact of black pepper, but he was still reluctant to put down his chopsticks.
Although Su Qingluan wanted to teach the middle school boy a lesson, she didn't really have any deep hatred for him and wanted to kill him. Moreover, if Xie Zian really had any trouble because of her food, her whole family would probably be implicated.
Thinking of this, Su Qingluan looked at the housekeeper: "Excuse me, do you have any milk?"
The old butler looked at Su Qingluan warily: "Yes, I do. May I ask what advice you have for me?"
Su Qingluan ignored the sarcastic tone of the old housekeeper and said, "Boil the milk and add sugar to it to relieve the spiciness."
In fact, even without milk, any sweet food can alleviate the spicy taste to a certain extent. However, milk has a stronger ability to bind spicy molecules than ordinary foods, so dairy products can be said to be a magical tool for relieving spicy taste.
So the servants hurriedly took action, milking the cows, boiling the milk and adding sugar. Finally, a bowl of white sugared milk was brought to Xie Zian. He was already feeling a little dizzy from the spiciness, but he still couldn't bear to put down his chopsticks - but now he had already started to eat the "skirts" on both sides of the fish.
Unlike the soft and spicy skin of the same fish, the "skirt" of the flounder has a very delicate and mellow taste and is easy to break, but it is indeed a rare delicacy.
What’s even more rare is that although flounder is a fish, its meat is delicate and has a very light fishy smell. With the background of pepper and other seasonings, the fishy smell, which was not very strong to begin with, is magically dissolved, and instead has a unique sweetness.
Su Qingluan watched Xie Zian's face flush from the spiciness, unable to put down his chopsticks, and chuckled to herself: "Sure enough, for many young people, this strong taste is very addictive." Even if you're not particularly good at spicy food, the spicy taste itself is very appealing to your senses.
Perhaps it was too spicy to bear, and the milk had not been served yet, so Xie Zian put down his chopsticks and sniffed inconspicuously.
"Xie Xiaolangjun, are you not used to the spicy taste of this pepper?" Su Qingluan asked in a voice that was deliberately caring and tinged with pity. "It's my fault for not considering this. Children have sensitive tastes and prefer sweet and sticky flavors. They can't stand this kind of spicy taste. I didn't consider your taste."
"Who... who is the kid?!" Xie Zian angrily straightened his back, "I... I can eat this black pepper, I don't like sweets!"
Su Qingluan's mouth twitched: This kind of character who will take the bait without any provocation... should I say that he is too naive, or that he has a straightforward character?
But this kind of personality is also good - Su Qingluan lowered her eyes - this way, during the negotiations later, it would be easier for her to find loopholes in the other party's personality and negotiate more conditions.
Since you have worked so hard to run so far and humble yourself to cook for others, you must get some benefits!
So, Su Qingluan seized the opportunity, stepped forward and curtsied towards Xie Zian: "Excuse me, young master, are you satisfied with the flounder?"
Xie Zian is indeed a straightforward person. Although his words may make people angry, he does not hide his intentions: "I like this dish very much." Although he is not good at eating spicy food, it is difficult for him to say "I don't like" the soft and glutinous texture of the fish and the spicy taste.
"In that case, can you fulfill the promise made by the young master?"
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