Hearing Su Qingluan say this, Xie Zian's originally angry expression faded a bit, and turned into curiosity: "Oh? If you don't want to ask for an exorbitant price, is there any difficulty?" Then he waved his sleeves nonchalantly, "Tell me what the difficulty is. If I can solve it, it's not a problem!"
Su Qingluan sighed softly and said in a very regretful tone, "I also know that Mr. Xie is very filial, but since this jam is presented to the elder, I naturally cannot be perfunctory."
Xie Zian subconsciously straightened up when he heard this and nodded: "...This is natural. If I want to dedicate it to my grandmother, I have to give it to the best!"
"In that case, no process of making jam can be missed." Su Qingluan lowered her eyes, "From the selection of raw materials, picking, brewing of jam, and even the choice of container, nothing can be sloppy." Although there are only a few key steps, it does not prevent her from saying some scary names to start fooling people... Oh no, to persuade Xie Zian to make up his mind.
However, Xie Zian obviously did not have the patience to listen to Su Qingluan's words, and only asked: "What do you mean?"
Su Qingluan sighed silently, thinking that this Chuunibyou was really the type with a hole in his brain. She had already said it so clearly. So she had to make her words even clearer: "Thank you, young master, this jam is not conjured out of thin air, it is made bit by bit."
"Nonsense, do you think I'm a fool?"
...Well, why not? Su Qingluan silently complained in her heart.
The housekeeper beside him understood Su Qingluan's implication and bent down to say to Xie Zian, "Young Master, it's only a few days until the Mid-Autumn Festival. Even if we rush to send the things to the old lady right now, it's a 50-50 chance that we can make it in time."
Xie Zian was quite respectful of the old butler who had always been by his side. Although there was still a hint of impatience between his brows, he finally did not say anything rude and just nodded: "So?"
"From what Madam Su said, it might take a while to make the jam."
Upon hearing this, Su Qingluan interjected, "That's exactly it. Not to mention choosing the right fruit in advance, even after the jam is successfully brewed, it still needs to be left for a few days to allow the tea powder inside to fully blend with the jam, thus achieving a more layered and richer aroma."
"How long will it take?" Xie Zian looked up and asked quickly.
"If you don't want to cut corners, it will take at least 20 to 30 days." In fact, if the process is accelerated, it will only take about ten days. However, after repeated consideration, Su Qingluan told Xie Zian that it would take twice as long for many reasons.
"Then I can't give this jam away," Xie Zian said a little disappointedly, "It's rare that I came up with a good idea to make grandma happy..."
After mumbling for a while, Xie Zian, whether out of anger or something else, said to Su Qingluan in a sarcastic tone: "It seems that you don't have the blessing to let the nobles in the capital try your jam. Alas, some people are destined to be humble and hard-working, and lack the luck to soar to fame and fortune."
Su Qingluan rubbed her back teeth when she heard this, silently muttering to herself: I'm not angry even if people are angry, I'm angry to death and no one can replace me. Treat him as a piggy bank, and one hammer will explode the gold coins... Gold coins are so cute, I won't be angry even if there are so many gold coins...
After repeating a few words silently to suppress her anger, Su Qingluan delivered the speech she had prepared earlier: "It would be unfortunate if I could not let the nobles of the capital taste my fruit jam during the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, if my young master just wants to fulfill his filial duty, there is no need to be bound by a few days."
"Oh? How do you mean?"
"Although I come from a humble background, my elders are very kind and loving. I know they are always thinking about me. Whenever I offer something, no matter how insignificant, as long as it expresses my filial piety, they will be very happy."
Xie Zian's eyes lit up when he heard this: "...So you're saying that if I just give her something to fool my grandmother, she'll be happy?"
Su Qingluan: ...
Old Butler: ...
Although their positions were completely different, at that moment, their brain waves subtly overlapped: This Xie Zian is really a bit stupid, what's wrong with his brain?!
Of course, no matter how the two of them felt about Xie Zian in their hearts, they would not show it due to their respective positions and identities.
However, Su Qingluan lowered her head speechlessly to hide her rolling eyes.
The old housekeeper explained, "...I think Madam Su means that since this jam is meant to express your feelings, it shouldn't be sloppy. However, it doesn't have to be delivered on the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"Then I won't give my grandmother anything for the Mid-Autumn Festival?" Xie Zian looked up and asked.
"Not giving anything wouldn't be good either, but if I say something particularly outstanding..."
In fact, the old housekeeper had secretly prepared some local products. However, Lefeng County was a remote and poor place, and there was really no special local products that could catch the attention of the nobles in the capital.
To put it bluntly, it is because Xie Zian came here to "reflect" in the final analysis, which is equivalent to a low-end version of "exile". Although Xie Zian will not really suffer, it is still a punishment after all, so this "exile place" naturally cannot be too fertile and prosperous, otherwise it will become a "blessing".
The old housekeeper put a lot of effort into preparing the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts, hoping that this naughty kid Xie Zian would take the initiative to remember to show filial piety to his grandmother, but it turned out that this stupid kid just couldn't remember it at all.
Although the old butler has a lot of experience, he is still a servant after all, and he is not a particularly trusted servant. He can only give suggestions from the master, but cannot directly ask the master to do this or that.
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