Things have come to this, let’s eat first (Completed)1
The next morning, Sun Miao woke up and made breakfast for Su Ruixi before getting ready to head out. When she got to the side door, she saw a huge pile of things Su Ruixi had laid out for her on the nearby cabinet. There was everything from gloves to earmuffs.
Sun Miao first bundled herself into a heavy down jacket before putting on every single item. By the time she was done, she felt like she had definitely turned into a little ball2. But it was all proof of Su Ruixi’s love, so there was no way she was taking any of it off.
Besides, it was genuinely cold today.
It was Christmas, the end of December. Normally, winter in this city wasn’t particularly harsh—it didn’t even drop below freezing. But in that moment, she finally understood what people meant by the damp cold of the south. Riding her little electric donkey3 in the snow was an unbelievably frigid experience.
Even though she had done her best to wrap herself up, Sun Miao couldn’t help but shiver the moment her food truck hit the open air.
Her scarf was wrapped tightly around the lower half of her face, and her helmet’s visor shielded the upper half, but a few fish that escaped the net4 still managed to slip through and graze her cheeks. The sensation was like ice picks striking her skin, a raw, stinging pain.
Brave Miaomiao, fear no difficulty, charge! She pumped herself up5 and shot off into the cold.
The snow from yesterday hadn’t stopped, and the ground was a bit slick. Thankfully, Sun Miao had ducked into the System Space to switch to anti-skid tires before leaving. Even so, she drove slowly, afraid of sliding out.
Right up until she arrived at her spot, Sun Miao secretly thought that with such awful, cold weather, not many people would show up. In reality, however, a huge crowd was waiting. Even a pair of daughters of a thousand gold pieces6 like the Hip-hop Yabi Duo had come, and they were first in line.
They were huddled under a single umbrella. When Hip-hop Mei saw Sun Miao arrive, she sniffled. “Hurry, hurry, Little Boss Sun! I’m about to freeze solid. We were just waiting for you.”
Sun Miao smiled and pushed her cart the last few feet. This time, everyone was quick to help her maneuver the stall into place. Once she was settled, Sun Miao began to set up. Her food truck was specially made by the System and had many components, including a rain cover.
Sun Miao reached out and pulled a sky curtain7 from the edge of the cart, creating a small area in front of her stall that was sheltered from the falling snow. She then went around to the back, pulled out another small sky curtain, and set up a little table beneath it.
As she returned to her station to start making Jianbing Guozi8, Hip-hop Mei couldn’t help but marvel, “Little Boss Sun, you got a new cart already? I don’t think it had a sky curtain yesterday. Where did you get this made? This thing is pretty useful.”
An old regular behind her chimed in, “Hey, don’t knock Little Boss Sun’s tricycle. It looks really handy, would be great for a trip. And I’ve seen that the mileage is great, too. It made it all the way to the Education Park and back, and that’s a long way.”
Sun Miao just laughed it off9 and changed the subject. They could never replicate this food truck; it was all the System’s black technology10.
She made Jianbing Guozi for the Hip-hop Yabi Duo. Once they had the food in hand, they didn’t rush to eat. Both were wearing fingerless gloves, their fingertips constantly tucked away in their pockets. Now, they pulled their hands out and immediately wrapped them around the warm Jianbing Guozi to thaw them out.
Chatting and laughing, the two walked over to the side and sat down to eat.
After they finished, Hip-hop Mei came back to pay. “Oh, wow, New Year’s Day is almost here,” she began. “When the time comes, we…”
Before she could finish, Yabi Mei kicked her. “Let’s go. Who wants to hear you ramble?”
Yabi Mei quickly dragged her away, and Sun Miao breathed a sigh of relief. The moment Hip-hop Mei had started that sentence, Sun Miao’s heart had started beating like a drum11. She was terrified Hip-hop Mei would say something else and let the other regulars find out she’d invited them to sponge a meal12.
If they knew, what would happen? Her regulars were the type of people who would secretly travel all the way to Xin Province13 just to get a free meal from her! Especially Zhou Ling’s mother. Her family lived right next door. If she found out about a deal like this, she’d probably drag Zhou Ling over to knock on their door immediately.
And she’d likely bring her little sisters14 along, too. A good friend would never forget to include you when it came to sponging a meal.
Thankfully, Yabi Mei was reliable. She didn’t even let Hip-hop Mei finish before hauling her off.
Yabi Mei was practically a god sent to keep Hip-hop Mei in check.
But since Hip-hop Mei had opened the topic of New Year’s Day, the other regulars were bound to chat about it. Sun Miao took the opportunity to announce that she would also be taking a holiday. Hearing this, the regulars began to wail again.
Sun Miao was used to it. In fact, she was so used to it that when she was resting at home and didn’t hear their wails and complaints, it felt a little strange. It turned out she’d become a total Do M15.
On Christmas Day, the two went out for a stroll, but they didn’t stay out long before Su Ruixi was pulling Sun Miao back home. Su Ruixi was barely wearing anything. She had bundled Sun Miao up like a zongzi, but she herself was dressed lightly—a classic case of someone who would want style, not warmth16.
Sun Miao scolded her for it, and Su Ruixi pouted, looking completely unconvinced.
It wasn’t until New Year’s Eve, when Sun Miao presented her with the bare leg artifact17 that had arrived, that Su Ruixi was stunned into realization: So, Sun Miao has been thinking about me this whole time. The discovery lifted her spirits considerably. Though her lips were still pouting, this time it was to demand a kiss from Sun Miao.
The snow in the city only lasted a few days and had long since stopped by New Year’s Day. On the first, the two of them lazed around at home all day, only going to the supermarket for ingredients after dinner. The next morning, Sun Miao got up early to start preparing. Su Ruixi lingered in bed for a while, but when she realized Sun Miao was gone, she yawned and got up too.
After washing up, she ambled downstairs. She ate the breakfast Sun Miao had made for her and then helped out with some chores. Today, Sun Miao was making something special. She remembered that Shen Yiqiu hadn’t tried many of her snacks, so she planned to recreate every dish she had made before.
From egg fried rice18 and malatang19 to the most recent Jianbing Guozi, she didn’t miss a single one.
Su Ruixi gathered her hair. “But a lot of these are main courses,” she asked. “Won’t we have too much?” Sun Miao had bought quite a lot of ingredients yesterday. Su Ruixi was no longer a girl whose ten fingers don’t touch the spring water20; she could roughly estimate how many meals the ingredients would make.
There were only six of them in total, and besides her dad, they were all women. There was no way they could eat that much.
“If we can’t finish it, they can take it home,” Sun Miao replied. “It’ll keep in the freezer for a long time.”
Their own family did the same thing; it was basically Sun Miao’s own line of pre-made dishes21. Besides, some foods required a lot of prep time, so Sun Miao just pulled previously made ones like zongzi from the freezer instead of making them on the spot.
Su Ruixi thought about it and decided the plan was feasible, so she let Sun Miao do her thing.
There wasn’t much Su Ruixi could do to help, so once things were mostly done, she washed her hands, juiced some fruit, and went to the sofa to watch some TV and rest. Around ten o’clock, the Hip-hop Yabi Duo arrived first. Su Ruixi welcomed them in and took the things they brought into the kitchen.
By the time Su Ruixi came back out, the two were already sitting on the sofa as if they were in their own home. Hip-hop Mei even asked, “Haven’t Uncle and Auntie arrived yet? I thought ten was already late, but they’re even later than me.”
Su Ruixi chatted with them for a bit, and soon enough, her parents arrived. As usual, Shen Yiqiu didn’t bring anything, simply pulling Father Su inside with her. After they entered and greetings were exchanged, a silence fell over the room.
Only Shen Yiqiu was able to carry on a conversation. Father Su could only sit to the side, acting as a wooden person22. After sitting for a while, Shen Yiqiu wandered into the kitchen. She saw Sun Miao bustling about by herself, a spread of finished dishes already laid out beside her.
“Is this Huaihua Jelly23? I’ve never had it before, but old Su has had it several times himself.” Shen Yiqiu had started burying a landmine24 for Father Su, who was sitting obliviously outside, knowing nothing.
Sun Miao didn’t defend Father Su, just smiling and agreeing. “When I had my stall back then, Uncle was very enthusiastic about lining up.”
After a few words, Shen Yiqiu saw that Sun Miao really didn’t need her help, so she went back out. The atmosphere outside was quite awkward now. Su Ruixi and Father Su were both playing on their phones, and Yabi Mei was sitting there as still as a rock.
Yet Hip-hop Mei seemed completely oblivious to the suffocating mood, still laughing and telling stories she thought were interesting.
Shen Yiqiu sighed. She suddenly felt that suggesting a meal with the Hip-hop Yabi Duo had been a mistake. Just look at this—there was no atmosphere at all. She worried the awkwardness would get so bad that even Sun Miao would feel like she cannot swallow food25.
Shen Yiqiu was regretting it, Yabi Mei was spacing out, Hip-hop Mei was being a happy fool, and only the father-daughter pair of Father Su and Su Ruixi were thinking the same thing: When do we eat?
Just then, Sun Miao called out from the kitchen, “It’s ready! Come help me carry the plates.”
Her words made everyone—who had been acting like NPCs26—spring to their feet. Su Ruixi headed in without a second thought, the Hip-hop Yabi Duo right behind her. Only Father Su, the elderly NPC, lagged behind, unsure if he should go in or not.
Luckily, there were plenty of hands, and soon all the food was on the table. Hip-hop Mei was still shouting, “Isn’t this my beloved malatang! I can’t believe it’s making an encore27 here!”
If she’d said that while they were sitting on the sofa, no one would have responded. But now, Sun Miao was walking out behind her with bowls and chopsticks. Hearing Hip-hop Mei’s words, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course it can make an encore. Next time, I’ll let you guys vote, and the most popular dishes will return to the stage.”
Hip-hop Mei’s eyes were about to light up when Yabi Mei smacked her again. “You think I don’t know what you’re thinking? Knock it off, or you’ll get yourself blacklisted28.”
Hip-hop Mei quieted down.
Standing to the side, Su Ruixi couldn’t help but let out a soft “Tch” of laughter.
Once they sat down, any talk of an awkward atmosphere vanished. Everyone was fully focused, huffing and puffing29 as they ate with gusto.
Shen Yiqiu was silent for a moment. When Sun Miao raised her glass and said, “Cheers,” she raised her own glass as well. A smile spread across her face as she joined in, saying, “Cheers!”
Hah, I was just worrying for nothing30. With Sun Miao around, especially at the dinner table, how could the atmosphere ever be awkward?
But just as she thought that, her eyes shifted and she saw her daughter staring at her.
Shen Yiqiu slowly revealed a look of surprise. “?”
Su Ruixi sighed. “Mom, you came empty-handed again.”
“!” This daughter of mine will be the death of me one day.
“Why would Auntie need to bring anything? It’s enough that she came! Susu-jie, if you say that again, Auntie won’t come next time.”
“Auntie, let me say a word of fairness31. Even though you’re Su-jie’s own mother, you can’t come empty-handed. Isn’t Little Boss Sun here, working for half the day to cook for us? Take this beef pancake32, for example, it’s absolutely divine…”
“Just eat. Can’t even food shut your mouth?”
Shen Yiqiu was silent for a moment, then thought to herself: Things have come to this, let’s eat first.
————————The End————————
The author has something to say:
Finished, scattering flowers~33
Actually, I was quite happy while writing this story, because I didn’t have to worry about anything. There were no major turning points, and the whole writing process was exceptionally smooth. But I was also very worried, because the plot is as simple as boiled water34. The relationship between Little Boss Sun and Susu-jie has always been a calm and steady one—in other words, it’s also pretty lacking in viewing points35.
I was once very worried that this kind of relationship development would drive many readers away36. But even now, so many great readers37 are still following along and leaving me messages every day. Thank you all so, so much!
Before I knew it, I’ve written about a dozen books.
Moving forward, I will continue to work hard on my writing!
My writing style isn’t the best, a bit little white38, and my plots are barely passable as coherent. My only strength is probably my stable and uninterrupted updates. The only reason someone like me can keep writing is because of the affirmation and support from all you great readers!
My next book will be released at the same time tomorrow. See you there!39
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The author is the best at describing foods and even the animated personalities of each character! I love every moments that they have and I think I’m already satisfied with the romance of the FL and P. I’m not expecting much because they’ve already solved all of the problems! However, it has already been fulfilled because of every mouth watering food. I’ll miss reading and waiting for the update of this novel. Lastly, for the translator, I’ll say that I’ll grow old reading every stories that you have translated here! Thank you as always and be healthy.