Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 202

A Food Streamer Arrived

On the 10th, Su Ruixi had to work. Sun Miao got up bright and early to make her some food, wrote a little note and stuck it on the fridge, then pedaled her cart and headed out. When she arrived at the entrance to the scenic area, she found even more people waiting.

Besides the familiar faces of her regulars, there were also six or seven older men and women. One of them was the very same grandpa who had pioneered the trend of eating inside the scenic area yesterday. He was especially excited to see Sun Miao, but the grandpas and grandmas with him wore expressions of doubt.

Sun Miao hadn’t even gotten close when she heard the grandmas and grandpas talking. “Old Qian¹, are these dumplings really that good? You said they’re 88 a serving. If they’re not good, no one’s going to do square dancing² with you anymore.”

Old Qian immediately puffed out his chest in assurance. “Of course they’re good, I never lie! You all just eat, and if they’re not good, I’ll pay the bill!”

Compared to them, the expressions on the regulars’ faces were much more interesting. This was especially true for the Hip-hop Yabi Duo, who arrived on time every day to queue up. Yabi Mei was still able to manage her expression somewhat, but Hip-hop Mei was straight-up wearing a pain mask³.

At first, Sun Miao didn’t know why, but after she got to her spot and started setting up her stall, she looked at the front of the line and saw it was full of elderly people. At that moment, she finally understood: the girls hadn’t managed to out-compete them for the front of the line.

Old Qian was first in line. Just like yesterday, he was a bit hesitant, but even though his face showed indecision, he said what he needed to say. “Little girl, look at all these customers this old man has brought you. Can you… you know, give me a discount?”

She didn’t even need the system to remind her; Sun Miao truly couldn’t give a discount. “Grandpa, I really can’t give a discount. I won’t give you lines about it being a small business or the cost of ingredients. You’ve eaten it, so you know the ingredients don’t cost that much; it’s all supported by my skill. If I give you a discount, what about all the customers behind you? They’re all my regulars. If I make an exception for you, I’ll never be able to stop.”

Hearing Sun Miao’s words, Old Qian sighed, knowing it was impossible, and could only grit his teeth. “Fine, no discount. Give me one serving.” He looked behind him. “You all heard that, we can’t get a discount. How many servings do you want?”

Everyone had been brought over by Old Qian. They looked at each other, then finally spoke up. “Just one serving. It’s too expensive, 88! What if it’s not good?”

Sun Miao could cook 50 dumplings in one pot. It wasn’t until the second pot was done that she had finished all the orders for the elderly group. They took their food and headed into the scenic area behind them. After they left, Sun Miao started cooking the third pot. The next customers were the Hip-hop Yabi Duo, and the leftovers from the second pot definitely wouldn’t be enough for the two of them.

Sure enough, when they ordered, they asked for a total of five servings.

“This group of grandpas and grandmas gets here so early. The two of us woke up pretty early, we were so groggy this morning we didn’t even drive ourselves. We had a driver bring us and even took a nap on the way, but they were still way earlier than us.”

Yabi Mei chimed in, “Older people naturally wake up early. They come out for morning exercises and then buy food.”

Hip-hop Mei thought about it and felt it made a lot of sense. “Then I’m pulling an all-nighter today. I have to be the first one here tomorrow!”

Sun Miao didn’t say anything, but as she was packing their order, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you have to be first?”

“None of your business.”

Although Hip-hop Mei said that, her expression was full of resentment. It wasn’t without reason that she always wanted to be first. She always felt that Sun Miao prepared too little, and what if someone with a huge appetite who didn’t know the rules showed up and bought everything Sun Miao had?

That possibility was small, and Sun Miao would prevent it, but what if the person in front of her was like that stall-flipper from last time at the research institute? What if they flipped the stall before it was even her turn? Wouldn’t that be even worse? She’d get nothing to eat!

Plagued by this worry, Hip-hop Mei always felt that she had to be first in line to be safe.

In fact, anyone who had experienced the stall-flipping incident last time had this fear to some degree. There was another person in the line who had been at the scene of that incident; it would have been his turn in just a few more spots. But then, holy cow, the stall was flipped right in front of his eyes.

If he hadn’t remembered that this was a society ruled by law, the regular might have rushed up to have a go with the troublemaker. But thinking that he had to help Sun Miao, he immediately took out his phone as a weapon. It was just that Zhou Ling’s mother’s friend beat him to it; otherwise, he would have been the first to provide evidence.

But the feeling of having waited in line for so long, only for the stall to be flipped and getting nothing to eat… In the end, he could only go to a nearby stall to buy something to fill his growling stomach.

Thinking of this, the regular couldn’t help but feel a wave of sorrow and thought Hip-hop Mei was absolutely right.

Once all the regulars had bought their food, many went directly into the scenic area to eat. This time, the auntie at the gate was all smiles, because this group of people was truly high-quality, and she could finally put her worries to rest.

After a while, there was no one in front of Sun Miao’s stall, with only an occasional customer stopping by. Sun Miao estimated that the next wave would probably be around eight or nine o’clock. But then, at just past seven, a girl holding a selfie stick, filming herself and talking, appeared in Sun Miao’s line of sight.

At first, Sun Miao thought she was just a tourist visiting the scenic area; it was normal to record your visit. But when the person saw her, her eyes lit up, and she immediately ran over. Mumbling to herself, she pressed a button on her camera, and that posture… she was probably filming Sun Miao.

As the person got closer, Sun Miao could hear what she was saying.

“Hello, audience! I finally found it! This is the Miao Miao’s Mobile Food Bar that broke out of the circle⁴ online a while back. It got famous for its beef pancakes, changfen, and zongzi. The entire Magic City⁵ was looking for this stall back then. But the stall disappeared for a while, and I thought it had closed down. But according to a tip from an insider, I learned that it’s now here selling dumplings.”

Hearing the girl’s tone, Sun Miao guessed she was probably in new media, possibly recording a video or live streaming. She walked up to Sun Miao, switched the camera back to herself, and explained in a low voice, “Hello, Boss. I’m a food streamer⁶, and I also make store exploration⁷ videos and things like that. When I was filming just now, I didn’t film you, I was pointing it at the sign above. Is it okay for me to film? I won’t get you in the shot. Also… can I film the price list and everything?”

“Are you live streaming now or just filming a video?”

Sun Miao asked. The other party replied, “Just filming a video. At this hour, my fans are either sleeping or on their way to work. They wouldn’t be watching my live stream.”

That makes sense, she thought. It’s seven in the morning, what kind of decent person watches live streams at this time?

Sun Miao nodded. “Go ahead and film.”

After getting permission, the young woman introduced herself. “Thank you, Boss! My name is Lizi Ai Chifan⁸, you can just call me Lizi⁹. Let me see…” Her camera was now pointed at herself, but when her eyes fell on the price list, they suddenly widened, followed by a look of confusion.

Her expression clearly said: Did I come to the wrong place? Why is it so expensive?

But she had gotten her information from a reliable source and knew that Sun Miao was selling Spanish mackerel dumplings this time, so after a moment of confusion, she said, “Boss, I’ll have three servings.”

“These are bigger than normal dumplings. You might not be able to finish three servings.”

When the topic came to this, Lizi immediately puffed out her chest. “Boss, you’re underestimating me. I have the big stomach king¹⁰ attribute!” She smiled and told Sun Miao to just go ahead and cook. After talking with Sun Miao, she also filmed a bit of the dumpling cooking process.

Just before the dumplings were ready, she hurried over to a small table, set up her equipment, and adjusted it.

Sun Miao waited for a moment with the dumplings in hand, and only when the girl was ready did she walk over and place them on the table. The dipping sauce was made according to her specific request: a version with heavy spice, lots of vinegar, and no soy sauce.

As the girl started to eat, Sun Miao sat down in her own seat, suddenly idle, and happened to glance over at Lizi a couple of times.

Her mouth didn’t stop for a second. “I got an inside tip that this little stall is really hard to get into. If you don’t come early, they sell out and pack up before noon. So I came here first thing in the morning. There’s no one here, so Lizi might be the first one!”

Sun Miao looked up. She wanted to say something, but she felt it would be a bit crazy to randomly go up to someone and say, “No, you’re not the first,” so she lowered her head again.

Lizi continued, “These are the Spanish mackerel dumplings that sell for 88 a serving. Lizi is also from Lu Province, so I’ve eaten countless dumplings, but it’s rare to see them for 88 a serving at a small stall.” Lizi was sitting directly facing Sun Miao, and when she glanced over, she could see the expression on Lizi’s face.

As she spoke, she had a smile on her face, and when the smile deepened, you could see a single pear dimple¹¹.

Hm, Lizi has a pear dimple. Very persuasive.

She began to show off the Spanish mackerel dumplings with a very professional posture. She held one dumpling firmly with her chopsticks, raised it in front of her, and used her other hand as a backdrop behind the dumpling to prevent the phone’s camera from losing focus. The morning light was very good, and she was sitting in the sunlight, so Sun Miao thought: The dumplings should film well¹², right?

Sun Miao felt that the dumplings she made were quite good-looking: white and plump with a hint of pink showing through. Plus, having just been scooped from the pot, they had a lovely, glossy sheen.

It wasn’t surprising that Sun Miao was paying extra attention to Lizi. She was always worried that her dumplings might have a bad side, which would lower her online reputation.

She was, after all, the magical little chef in the hearts of netizens. The photos of her beef pancakes and changfen had directly broken out of the circle. If the dumplings, which were selling for such a high price, pulled the hips¹³, then Sun Miao’s toes would be digging into the ground¹⁴.

After showing the dumpling to the camera, Lizi said, “I’ll try one first without any dipping sauce. This dumpling is indeed a bit bigger than usual. Lizi ordered thirty, we’ll see if I need to add more later.” After speaking, she opened her mouth and swallowed the dumpling in one bite.

The dumpling was large. Lizi said she was a big stomach king, but her frame was rather thin. Swallowing one dumpling immediately made both her cheeks puff out, bulging like a little squirrel’s. It was even more apparent when she chewed a couple of times.

Watching her, Sun Miao couldn’t help but think: No wonder she can be a food streamer.

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