Chapter 69 Bread Incident
Ever since he successfully made desserts and bread abroad and used this skill to win back Su Nian, Ling Shen has developed a unique hobby.
Every weekend morning, the morning light would filter through the kitchen blinds, casting tiny shadows on his dark gray apron. The humming sound of the blender and the ticking of the oven timer became a unique morning concerto in their apartment.
However, when God opens a door, he always closes another window. Ling Shen's desserts always win Su Nian's praise, but the bread he bakes is always less than satisfactory.
When Su Nian bit into Ling Shen's newly developed cranberry walnut bread, her brows slightly furrowed at the moment the crispy crust broke between her teeth - the bread that should have been fluffy was as hard as a brick, and the sour taste of insufficient fermentation spread across her tongue.
This was the seventh failure this month. The kitchen trash can was filled with various "failures", including burnt baguettes like charcoal and brioche that collapsed into a pancake.
Su Nian was actually very confused. When Ling Shen was abroad, his bread baking skills were quite good, but after returning to China, he could no longer bake perfect bread.
The most dramatic moment was undoubtedly the Waterloo in the first battle. Ling Shen specially brought back dark beer yeast, combined it with Japanese camellia flour, and strictly followed the notes in the recipe.
When the golden country bread came out of the oven, the aroma of caramel instantly filled the entire living room. Under Ling Shen's sparkling gaze, Su Nian forced herself to finish the last bite.
Three hours later, under the pale light of the emergency room, Ling Shen's hands were shaking as he held the payment slip. The shadow of the IV tube swayed on the wall, and his eyes were filled with regret.
But this did not defeat Ling Shen's belief. He was determined to make delicious bread to change his image.
But these setbacks only ignited Ling Shen's inherent desire to win. He began to pore over his yellowed baking notebooks late at night, testing yeast activity with different water temperatures and even calculating oven temperatures to the nearest decimal point.
The flour on the chopping board piled up like a small mountain, and the experimental notebook was densely filled with parameters. Just like when he overcame the project difficulties, he vowed to find his own perfect formula in the microscopic world of dough fermentation.
Early that morning, Su Nian was awakened by a beam of sunlight slanting through the window. Looking up, he saw that the sycamore tree outside had long lost its lush greenery. The yellow leaves on the tree swayed gently in the autumn wind, and from time to time a few leaves broke free from the branches, swirling and floating down.
At the same time, a faint baking aroma quietly entered his nose, and Su Nian subconsciously sighed slightly.
It was obvious that Ling Shen had started his weekly "regular program" again - baking bread. Su Nian still felt a lingering fear when she recalled the time she had a stomachache after eating the bread baked by Ling Shen.
Since then, Ling Shen never dared to let Su Nian taste his "failed creations" again. But Su Nian was determined not to let Ling Shen eat these breads, as he knew they were good or bad. After all, food safety was a serious issue. So, the family's cat and dog became the main "poison testers," forced to taste all kinds of strange breads.
At first, Zhazhao was very happy to see the golden bread, but after being poisoned by the strange smell, now whenever he saw Ling Shen holding the bread, Zhazhao would breathe at Ling Shen and then run away.
As for the silly and stupid Shuangshuang, although he was poisoned by the strange bread every time, he never learned his lesson and would run over when Ling Shen called him, then chew it twice and spit it all out.
Suddenly, there was a burst of barking from cats and dogs downstairs, accompanied by tinkling and clanging sounds, as if something had been knocked over.
Su Nian shook her head helplessly, put on her coat, and went downstairs. At the kitchen door, Ling Shen was wearing a cute little bear apron, his face and hair covered in flour, looking like a little old man who had just crawled out of a pile of flour.
He was holding a piece of bread that looked very good, dangling it in front of the tail-wagging Shuangshuang, and said in a tempting tone, "Shuangshuang, try it, it's really delicious."
Zhazha sat at the top of the cat climbing frame with a look of disdain, looking down at his owner coaxing the stupid dog. When he looked up and saw Su Nian, the originally proud Zhazha immediately changed his expression and meowed in grievance, as if complaining to Su Nian.
Su Nian walked over, gently holding Zhazhao in her arms, and reached out to take the bread from Ling Shen's hand. The bread was golden and crispy on the surface, and the rich wheat aroma filled the air. The appearance was perfect.
But as soon as Su Nian took a bite, her brows furrowed - it looked and smelled impeccable, but why did it taste so strange? An indescribable weird taste spread across her tongue.
"Stop struggling. Have you had breakfast?" Su Nian put the bread back on the plate and put down the fried dough sticks in his arms. He sighed softly as he watched Shuangshuang and Fried dough sticks run back to the balcony.
Ling Shen's face was filled with frustration as he stared at the remaining bread, bewildered. "What happened? I clearly followed the recipe this time. The water temperature, the amount of yeast, the fermentation time, every step was correct!" As he spoke, he picked up the notebook beside him and flipped through it. It was filled with dense records of the process and data of each bread baking.
Su Nian didn't respond. Instead, she turned and walked to the coffee machine, skillfully brewing coffee. Soon, the rich aroma of coffee blended with the lingering aroma of bread in the air.
Su Nian took the coffee and sat comfortably next to Ling Shen. "Don't think too much. Aren't we going home to have dinner with our parents today? Why don't you take a shower and clean up?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a light suddenly flashed in Ling Shen's eyes, as if he suddenly thought of a good idea.
Before Su Nian could react, a kiss with the taste of coffee gently landed on his forehead, "I know who to try." After that, Ling Shen rushed upstairs like a gust of wind, leaving Su Nian holding the coffee, looking at his back with a confused look on his face.
Looking at the messy kitchen in front of him, with flour scattered everywhere and various baking tools placed randomly, Su Nian secretly decided to call a part-time worker to clean up. He really didn't know where to start in this "battlefield".
The car slowly stopped in the Ling family's yard. Su Nian watched as Ling Shen mysteriously pulled out a beautifully wrapped paper bag with a pretty bow from the back seat. "When did you buy this?" Su Nian couldn't help but ask.
"This? You'll know soon." Ling Shen curled his lips into a wicked smile, blinked mysteriously, took Su Nian's hand, and strode towards the living room.
The faint aroma of bread wafting from the paper bag made Su Nian react suddenly. She looked up at her lover with a smug look on his face. The scene of Ling's father tasting bread emerged in her mind, and she couldn't help but feel sad for Ling's father in her heart.
"Oh, the little brat actually remembers to bring something back?" When Ling's father saw Ling Shen coming in with a paper bag, a relieved smile instantly appeared on his face and he reached out to take the paper bag.
Su Nian couldn't bear it any longer. Just as he was about to open his mouth to remind him, Ling Shen grabbed his hand tightly. He could only watch as Ling's father carefully took out the bread wrapped in a paper bag and took a small bite.
Ling Shen and Su Nian held their breath, nervously staring at their father as he chewed, their hearts in their throats, afraid that he would show a look of disdain. But his father remained calm, showing no expression at all, and he ate mouthful after mouthful with extraordinary joy.
"Dad, do you... think it tastes good?" Su Nian quickly handed him a cup of warm water, with a hint of uneasiness in his voice.
Father Ling looked puzzled. He took the bread and tasted it carefully again. "It's okay, just a little... uh... sour, like it's been fermented for too long." After saying that, he took another big bite.
Su Nian looked at Ling Shen in disbelief, and at this moment Ling Shen also widened his eyes, his face full of shock, as if he had seen something incredible.
"Hey, who brought the bread?" Ling's mother came in from outside with a vase. When she saw the bread that Ling's father was eating, she reached out and took a piece.
Ling Shen and Su Nian stared at Ling's mother, not daring to breathe. The next second, Ling's mother spat out the bread with a "Pah, pah, pah" sound, and said with disgust, "What does this taste like? It's so disgusting."
The two of them breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at each other. But seeing Father Ling still unaware and enjoying his meal, Su Nian still found it amazing.
Ling Shen's face was filled with joy, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He had finally found the "perfect person" to consume the bread!
Since Father Ling thinks the bread he eats now is okay, does it mean that if one day Father Ling thinks it doesn't taste good anymore, it means that his bread baking skills have improved and become successful?
The more Ling Shen thought about it, the more excited he became. The look he gave Ling's father was like a scientist looking at a mouse in a laboratory, full of anticipation and curiosity.
For a long time afterwards, all the bread baked by Ling Shen ended up in Ling's father's stomach without exception.
Poor Father Ling became a loyal "taster" for Ling Shen's "bread business". It was not until Ling Shen finally faced the reality and discovered that he really had no talent for baking bread that Father Ling's days as a "guinea pig" came to an end.
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