Chapter 392 First attempt
Xu Qing had never seen Ke Ling so angry before, and he didn't know how to persuade her, so he had to look to Master Abei for help.

Master Abei took Ke Ling to the side and said softly, "Ke Ling, Ah Qing just said it unintentionally. He didn't mean to make you angry."

"I understand. I just... I just..."

Ke Ling didn't know what to say.

"You're angry that he thinks less of you, aren't you? You want to have a good impression on him, right?"

Master Abei's gentle words made the vague thoughts in Ke Ling's mind clear and thorough.

Ke Ling nodded silently.

Master Abei smiled and said, "Then go and prove to him that you are more capable than he imagined, and make him look at you with new eyes."

Ke Ling said anxiously, "But, he is Ah Qing! So many powerful people are not as good as him. I am not like you, my mother, nor like Ah Mao. I have no talent in cooking. How can I impress him?"

As Ke Ling spoke, her mood became increasingly depressed.

Master Abei patted Ke Ling's shoulder and said, "Don't underestimate yourself, Ke Ling. Now A Mao and I can only make things worse for him. I'm afraid you are the only one who can help A Qing."

Ke Ling asked in confusion: "Me? What can I do?"

"Help Ah Qing find the dishes he really likes, not because of his extraordinary talent, not because of the taste or craftsmanship of the food, but something beyond that. Only by finding it can Ah Qing recognize himself and move forward. Otherwise, his future path will either stagnate here or go further and further astray. Ke Ling, are you willing to help Ah Qing?"

Ke Ling quickly said, "Of course I am willing! I'm just afraid... I'm afraid I won't be able to do it well."

Master Abei smiled and said, "If you don't do it, how do you know that you can't do it well?"

"I……"

Ke Ling was still very hesitant.

"Well, I'll teach you a method. As long as you learn this method, you will definitely be able to help Ah Qing and make him look at you with new eyes."

Ke Ling's eyes lit up: "Really? What is it?"

"You can imagine what kind of expression Xu Qing would have if he ate his favorite dishes?"

What kind of expression?
Ke Ling thought about Xu Qing's expression when he ate in the past. Even when the dishes her mother cooked made everyone intoxicated by the deliciousness, his face did not reveal any overly obvious expression.

It would be great if Xu Qing could also show an intoxicated expression.

Ke Ling had some wild thoughts in her mind.

Chef Abei said, "When you cook, cook with this attitude. When you cook each dish, think about making Ah Qing like it. Then there will be no problem."

Ke Ling asked doubtfully, "Will this work?"

"Do you believe Mom?"

"Of course I do."

Ke Ling answered immediately.

Master Abei encouraged, "Then don't hesitate any longer, just go."

After hearing what Master Abei said, Ke Ling temporarily put aside her doubts and hesitations.

She was still very unconfident and didn't believe that the dishes she cooked would be liked by Xu Qing.

But, if it is really possible...

If the dishes she cooked could really please Xu Qing, and if she could really see an intoxicated look on his face...

What a wonderful thing that would be!
When she thought of this, Ke Ling couldn't help but get excited.

Master Abei and Ke Ling returned to Xu Qing and A Mao and said, "A Qing, Ke Ling promised that she would help you."

Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great. Let's get started without further ado."

Ke Ling immediately became nervous: "Now... now? It's too soon, I'm not ready yet..."

Xu Qing said: "There is nothing to prepare. The stove is right here. We have all the knives, spoons, pots and spatulas. The ingredients are also ready. Just cook whatever you want."

"That's...ok."

Ke Ling stepped forward with gritted teeth.

She grew up in the kitchen and has seen many people cook.

Ke Ling recalled the cooking process in her mind.

What should I do?
Stir-frying vegetables is relatively simple.

In the past, when I watched my mother and Uncle Hong Xi cook, they would just put the vegetables in and stir-fry them twice before serving.

She should be able to do this, too.

First, wash and cut the vegetables. Ke Ling picked up the kitchen knife and cut the washed vegetables into small pieces. Then, light a fire.

Boom! The fire in the stove was burning fiercely and vigorously.

Ke Ling nodded secretly.

This step is no problem, after all, she usually helps with chores.

She also heard Uncle Hong Xi and others mention that cooking must be stir-fried over high heat to be fragrant.

Then pour the oil.

wow...

Xu Qing opened his mouth, hesitated, and still said nothing.

Finally, it’s time to stir-fry.

Ke Ling poured the vegetables into the pot. When the water droplets on the vegetables met the hot oil, they were instantly evaporated into water vapor. The water vapor burst with a "pop" and splashed the hot oil everywhere.

In the blink of an eye, the boiling oil droplets in the pot shot out in all directions like flowers scattered from heaven. The tiny drops of oil that were too small to be seen immediately caused a burning pain when they landed on the skin.

Ke Ling jumped back in fright, narrowly avoiding the attack of the oil droplets. She looked at the crackling sound of the oil pan that seemed to be exploding, and was suddenly at a loss as to what to do.

"This...what should I do?"

Ke Ling looked at Xu Qing in confusion and asked.

Xu Qing sighed and said, "Wait a while, and all the water vapor will evaporate."

"Oh."

Ke Ling had no choice but to wait patiently.

Sure enough, after a while, the oil pan gradually calmed down, the oil droplets stopped splashing, and the terrible crackling sound also disappeared.

Only then did Ke Ling carefully step forward and pick up the spatula to stir the ingredients in the pot.

I shoveled it lightly, but it didn't move.

With another strong shovel, the dish was finally turned over, and the flipped half was burnt black.

"…The vegetables are burnt."

Ke Ling murmured.

"Ah."

Xu Qing said calmly.

It’s like this when stir-frying vegetables. Vegetables are easy to cook, so if you don’t turn the ingredients over in time to allow them to be heated evenly, the pan will easily get burnt.

Not to mention that the oil droplets were splashing everywhere before, and Ke Ling was hiding aside and waiting for a while.

It would be strange if the pot doesn’t get burnt.

Now the ingredients in the pot are half mushy and half raw.

Ke Ling picked up the ingredients twice and immediately became dejected.

Even if she was not a good cook, she could tell that this dish was inedible.

"Ah Qing, I'd better pour it out and start over."

Xu Qing shook his head and said, "No, that's fine. I want to verify first whether my and Master's conjecture is correct."

"That's...ok."

Ke Ling had no choice but to serve out this half-cooked dish and put it in front of Xu Qing.

Xu Qing picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and put it into his mouth, his expression suddenly changed.

Ke Ling asked anxiously, "How is it? It tastes terrible, right?"

Xu Qing nodded silently.

It was indeed unpalatable, so unpalatable that it made his mouth numb.

My usually sensitive taste buds went on strike at this moment.

As he and Master Abe had expected, the strategy of doing the opposite was successful.

This should have been a good thing, but Xu Qing still couldn't be happy.

(End of this chapter)