Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 103 I must thank Miss Deng for personally helping me complete this dish! (Bonus Chapter)

"Deng Xiaowen's Courtyard, Reception Room"

With a white beard but gleaming eyes, Deng Xiaowen was currently scooping up the broth from the "Special Soup-Filled Yellow Croaker" in front of him.

"It's delicious, so delicious! Spicy, salty, and so refreshing!"

He raised his hand to beckon someone to bring him some wine, but then lowered it halfway through the wave.

"Forget it, I'm already pretty glad I can eat something spicy right now, so let's skip the alcohol."

Deng Xiaowen wants to live a few more years to see her granddaughter get married, so she still has to follow some of the doctor's orders.

But he still couldn't let go of his knife-making skills. Even though his youngest son, Deng Xiujian, had expanded his business overseas, his other children would always show him all kinds of filial piety whenever they came to visit.

But Deng Xiaowen always felt that he was used to being a rough and uncouth man and didn't like playing cards with his peers at the card table. While he could still move his hands and feet, he would play cards every day to keep himself occupied.

"I just hope Fang Qing can get her marriage arranged sometime soon."

“This child takes after his father; he’s quite meticulous, but lacks composure. Fortunately, he’s well-mannered and gentle. If things don’t work out, I’ll see if any of my old friends have children.”

"Speaking of which, it's been so many years since I last saw them. Can those guys still be as lively and energetic as I am now? Hahaha!"

As she was smiling, Deng Xiaowen saw her granddaughter walk in from the doorway.

Behind her followed a boy with a well-proportioned figure and extremely good looks.

Upon seeing this scene, he couldn't help but twitch his brow, feeling that the two people under the setting sun looked like a perfect match!

Just then, Deng Fangqing led Xia Ming to the side. She glanced at the fish that was almost finished eating, her Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and then she greeted her grandfather.

"This is Xia Ming, who said he was introduced by Xie Tingfeng."

“This is my grandfather, Deng Xiaowen.”

Xia Ming smiled slightly at Deng Xiaowen.

"Hello, Mr. Deng~ Are you satisfied with this fish?"

Deng Xiaowen felt extremely comfortable listening to Xia Ming's voice, and since the large yellow croaker was exactly what he wanted, he quickly waved for someone to bring over a chair.

"Satisfied, come, sit down first, have some tea and then we can talk about the knife."

When Xia Ming saw that a chair had been brought, he didn't stand on ceremony and sat down next to the old man.

He had plenty of experience dealing with elders, and with just a few simple gestures and a few words of conversation, Deng Xiaowen found Xia Ming to be quite well-behaved and sensible.

"Haha, isn't Nicholas Tse the celebrity who came here last time asking for a knife?"

"I remember now, he was handsome too. He was using a Western-style dinner knife, and I even remember the size of the handle!"

Xia Ming was also chatting with Deng Xiaowen with a smile.

Compared to his peers, he is actually better at communicating with his elders.

The two chatted more and more happily, but Deng Fangqing's doubts did not diminish at all. She just couldn't understand why her grandfather had eaten so many fish!
So, while the two were chatting, she quietly took the fish and sniffed it.

The fish soup looked similar to before, but now it smelled distinctly spicy!

"How is that possible? I clearly checked it when I came in. It was definitely umami-based. How did it turn into spicy flavor?"

Thinking of this, Deng Fangqing looked at the fish soup, whose color had changed slightly, quietly picked up the chopsticks next to her, dipped a little into the soup, and put it in her mouth.

Deng Fangqing moved her tongue slightly and felt it was okay.
"Nothing seems wrong, but wait a minute!"

As she moved her tongue around, a spicy sensation shot straight to the top of her head from the tip of her tongue. The spiciness came quickly and intensely, and in an instant, her face turned red.

"Cough cough, it's spicy. Why is it so spicy? Give me water!"

Hearing her call, Deng Xiaowen and Xia Ming, who were standing nearby, turned their heads to look over, and the person taking care of Deng Xiaowen quickly fetched water from the inner room.

After gulping down several mouthfuls, Deng Fangqing finally recovered. After calming herself down, she turned around and looked at Xia Ming with a hint of anger.

"What exactly did you do? It definitely didn't taste like this when I ate it just now!" Deng Xiaowen had a very good impression of Xia Ming, and seeing his granddaughter like this, he coughed.

"Fang Qing, how dare you speak to your brother Xia Ming like that."

"?"

Deng Fangqing was full of questions. Xia Ming had only been in for a dozen minutes, and his status had changed directly from customer to brother. Could the speed be any faster?

Xia Ming smiled and waved his hand.

"Grandpa, it's alright. What Miss Deng said is actually not wrong. I did use some tricks."

"After all, you and Ms. Deng have different tastes, so it would be difficult to pass both tests if you followed the normal approach."

Deng Xiaowen patted Xia Ming's hand.

"Don't call her Miss Deng. She's younger than you. Just call her Fang Qing."

"By the way, since we're on the topic, I'm also a little curious. Logically speaking, Fang Qing would have carefully checked everything at the door, so she shouldn't have missed anything. How did you manage to bring this smell over here?"

Xia Ming smiled and had Deng Fangqing hand him the fish.

By this time, Grandpa Deng had almost finished eating the fish on the plate, leaving only the head, tail, and a small amount of broth at the bottom.

Xia Ming picked up his chopsticks, flipped the fish head over, and then pointed it inside.

"Inside the skull of the large yellow croaker, there is a place called the 'otolith,' located in the inner ear of the head, on both sides of the skull, slightly below and behind the eyes."

"The size of this thing varies with the age of the fish, but it will never be too big."

"Because the angle is so tricky, it's completely undetectable from the outside. I made the secret chili oil into a popping bead-like form, and after the fish is cooked, I cleverly embedded it into it with a carving knife, so that it's fresh first and then spicy."

Hearing Xia Ming's words, Deng Fangqing pondered for a moment.

"No, even if you have the best knife skills, according to your theory, the outer shell of this popping bead should melt after a certain time and then release the spicy juice inside."

"But I clearly deliberately delayed when changing the plates. You couldn't possibly follow the time exactly as instructed. This method has too many flaws and is unlikely to succeed."

Xia Ming smiled as he looked at Deng Fangqing, who was looking serious at the moment.

"When did I ever say that this stuff would melt over time?"

Deng Fangqing shook her head.

"That's impossible! You were clearly counting the steps incorrectly before. Was that some kind of illusion?"

Her mind raced, and Deng Fangqing was suddenly startled.

If counting the steps from the beginning was intentional, then all subsequent actions were planned by Xia Ming.

But Xia Ming didn't do anything extra after the fish was served; it couldn't be that someone did the cooking for him.
Thinking of this, Deng Fangqing suddenly trembled.

"I flipped the fish when I changed plates, and I even poked at it for ages. So, the condition for triggering this 'exploding bead' hidden inside isn't fusion, but flipping!"

Xia Ming nodded as he watched Deng Fangqing, who had found her bearings.

"To be precise, it involves soaking in the broth and turning the food."

"I recently participated in a variety show where a foreign chef showed me a type of popping boba that is filled with broth. I later modified it so that the outer skin is firmer before being soaked in the broth and becomes softer after being soaked in the broth."

"I deliberately added some small spikes to the otoliths so that they wouldn't break open if they weren't soaked in the soup."

"Even if it's soaked, without any major movement, it's still a matter of chance for it to break open. But how could such a big fish be transferred to a different plate without any movement at all?"

At this point, Xia Ming looked at Deng Fangqing seriously.

"So, I must thank Miss Deng for personally helping me complete this dish!"

(End of this chapter)