Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 225

by Little Panda

The Meal Moochers¹ Are Here Again

Su Ruixi, however, was not satisfied. “Miaomiao, why are you so resistant?” She was actually somewhat self-aware. Although a person like Sun Miao liked money, she was the type who held a petty urbanite mentality² and believed that “little wealth is peace.”³ If too much money were to come smashing down like a big pancake⁴, it would instead leave Sun Miao at a loss.

This was also the reason she would wave her hands in refusal.

But not only did Su Ruixi not think, “Ah, the side of her that doesn’t love money is so unique, I love it,” she would instead think: Could it be that my money is too much, making her feel burdened? Is she actually still thinking of a way to run?

Su Ruixi’s domineering CEO⁵ side revealed itself. She reached out and grabbed Sun Miao’s flailing hands, pressing her directly down onto the sofa and straddling her waist. “Miaomiao, tell me. You’re unwilling to accept my gift—are you preparing to run away at any moment?”

Sun Miao’s eyes widened in shock at Su Ruixi’s unreasonable tantrum. “Susu-jie, how could you have such an idea?”

“Then why are you so resistant?”

At this moment, Sun Miao felt that Su Ruixi most likely didn’t understand the lives of ordinary people. She looked at Su Ruixi and answered, “Because it’s really too valuable. Even if you sold me, I couldn’t pay back this gift.”

Su Ruixi was still a bit unwilling to give up. “But…”

For Sun Miao, there was no “but.” Their current posture was strange, and her fingers were still being held by Su Ruixi. Sun Miao shifted her body slightly, and her hands moved along with it, changing from having her fingers gripped to having their fingers interlaced.

Sun Miao pulled downwards. Because the sofa was narrow, Su Ruixi couldn’t quite maintain her position. She could only press her body down, her chest coming to rest against Sun Miao’s.

“Susu-jie, don’t worry about all that.” As Sun Miao said this, she quietly craned her neck and kissed Su Ruixi on the lips. After resting for a week, during which they had also hosted Shen Yiqiu, both Sun Miao and Su Ruixi had been living a life of a clear heart and few desires⁶ ever since their night market stall last week.

Her kiss now made Su Ruixi feel soft all over, and she let her entire weight press down on Sun Miao. Her cheek rested against Sun Miao’s collarbone, and she could feel Sun Miao’s chest rising and falling with each breath.

“Naughty Miaomiao. Using this trick to change the subject.”

The two of them fooled around on the sofa for a while before Sun Miao picked Su Ruixi up, preparing to go upstairs.

Su Ruixi looked at Sun Miao carrying her horizontally in her arms and was silent for a moment. “Let me try next time. I can definitely pick you up too.”

“Alright, alright, Susu-jie can definitely do it too.”

But the current Susu-jie could not. After their recent fooling around, she had no strength left and could only drape her arms over Sun Miao’s shoulders and neck, letting Sun Miao carry her upstairs. Sun Miao’s strength was truly great, at least much greater than Su Ruixi’s; it was something she had developed from years spent in front of the stove.

Su Ruixi always felt that Sun Miao was a young girl, and her frame looked rather slender, but at times like this, she was incredibly strong.

Su Ruixi wasn’t wearing slippers. Her bare feet dangled and swayed before she was finally carried upstairs by Sun Miao.

Two hours later, Sun Miao went back downstairs to the living room, cleaned the sofa meticulously, and then brought Su Ruixi’s slippers up before going upstairs again.

The next morning, Sun Miao pulled Su Ruixi, who was draped over her, off. The latter was in a daze, and she simply rolled over and continued sleeping. Sun Miao climbed out of bed, made breakfast for her, and brought it upstairs on a tray. She set the thin blanket aside and called for her to get up and eat.

Su Ruixi’s eyes were open and her voice was a bit groggy, but she knew that Sun Miao had already made breakfast.

Sun Miao knelt on the bed. Next to her was the tray, on which a simple meal was placed. What she made today wasn’t her usual fare; instead, she had made a sandwich, poured a glass of milk, and mixed a vegetable and fruit salad.

It was only because she had made these things that she dared to place them directly on the bed. If she had made noodles or wontons, there was no way Sun Miao would have put them on the bed to call Su Ruixi to eat.

“Miaomiao, I haven’t brushed my teeth or washed my face yet… I’ll eat in a bit.”

Her voice was truly groggy; she looked like she wasn’t fully awake yet. Sun Miao had rested for a week and had long since recovered, whereas Su Ruixi had worked for five days. The difference in their stamina was already vast to begin with, and with one well-rested and the other having been busy for a week, there was no way Su Ruixi was Sun Miao’s match.

“No rush. Susu-jie, eat a little first, it’s fine. You can brush your teeth and wash your face after you eat.”

Su Ruixi raised a hand and laid it across her face, a hint of coquettishness in her voice. “No, my breath is stinky. I want to wash up first…”

Sun Miao leaned over and sniffed with great deliberation. “It’s not stinky. Eat a little first. I warmed the milk; it’ll get cold in a bit.”

In fact, to go from frugality into luxury⁷ is truly easy. A person as organized and principled as Su Ruixi, being coaxed like this by Sun Miao with a delicious breakfast right beside her—even she couldn’t hold out. After hesitating for a moment, she finally reached out, wrapped the thin blanket around herself, and began to eat.

Sun Miao had probably guessed that Su Ruixi would be lazing in bed and had a mind to spoil her, so she had specially placed wax paper under the sandwich so it could be picked up and eaten directly without getting one’s hands dirty. The moment Su Ruixi picked it up, she could clearly see the contents from the sandwich’s cross-section.

Sun Miao hadn’t put much in it—just a fried egg, a slice of ham, a slice of tomato, a lettuce leaf, and some sauce. But Sun Miao’s skill at frying eggs was truly too good, and the bread had also been pan-fried with butter. With one bite, Su Ruixi felt it was more delicious than any sandwich she had ever eaten at any breakfast shop.

The bread, pan-fried in butter, was soft and carried the fragrance of the butter. Eaten with the fillings inside, a single mouthful was full of a fresh feeling. The vegetable and fruit salad was right beside it, and Sun Miao had also thoughtfully prepared a small fork. After a few bites of the sandwich, followed by a little salad, Su Ruixi was completely satisfied.

After she finished breakfast, Su Ruixi was fully awake and finally got out of bed to wash up. Sun Miao carried the tray downstairs and washed the dishes.

In the afternoon, Sun Miao dragged Su Ruixi along to buy ingredients for dinner. Su Ruixi asked what Sun Miao was planning to make. She thought for a moment and said, “Let’s just have fried skewers. I’ll make more fried vegetables, the kind you like. Then I’ll pan-fry a couple of beef pancakes, and that should do it.”

Sun Miao wasn’t as attentive to the Hip-hop and Yabi duo as she was to Shen Yiqiu, so she was making something relatively simple. However, Sun Miao was confident that the two of them would love it.

That evening, the two arrived at the door, carrying some fruit and the tourist souvenirs they had bought as an excuse. As the saying goes, you don’t hit a smiling person who extends a hand⁸. Although Su Ruixi didn’t like them coming over to mooch a meal, their attitude was so good that she couldn’t say anything.

Su Ruixi opened the door. “Come in.”

“Alrighty~ Su-jie.” Hip-hop Mei pulled Yabi Mei into the house. As soon as they entered, they smelled the fragrant aroma. “What did our Little Boss Sun make today? It smells so good.”

“Fried skewers.”

Su Ruixi told them the dinner for the day, her words simple and meaning comprehensive⁹. Hip-hop Mei was especially happy, her joy overflowing in her expression. “That’s great! I haven’t had fried skewers in a week. I really didn’t expect to be able to eat them now.”

She changed her shoes and asked again, “So, Su-jie, what are we eating besides the fried skewers?”

“Beef Pancakes and Guang Bing¹⁰.”

As they spoke, the two of them followed Su Ruixi to the dining table, where two large plates of flatbreads were already set out. One plate looked rather dry, and Hip-hop Mei recognized it at a glance: this was Guang Bing, the kind with no filling at all!

Looking at the other plate, it was, without a doubt, the beef pancakes.

Saliva began to secrete wildly in Hip-hop Mei’s mouth. She actually really liked beef pancakes too! Who would have thought? The beef pancake toxic solo stan¹¹ who was constantly thinking about the beef pancakes’ return hadn’t gotten their wish, but she herself was the one to eat them again first.

Besides these two, there was only a large stainless steel platter on the table, piled high with a dazzling array of fried skewers. This was different from the fried skewer trio she had imagined upon hearing the words “fried skewers.” This time, there were all sorts of different kinds.

Beef skewers, chicken skewers, and even Palm Treasure!¹² As for the vegetables, Hip-hop Mei didn’t like them that much and skipped right over them.

Sun Miao brought out the last of the small cold side dishes, and the four of them sat down to eat. Today was a day off, and the Hip-hop and Yabi duo had even specially bought chilled beer and fruit wine from a nearby supermarket, calling for Sun Miao and Su Ruixi to have some too.

The two exchanged a look. Su Ruixi got up to get glasses, and Sun Miao didn’t spoil the mood.

Sun Miao didn’t like to drink and didn’t find beer tasty, so she simply started drinking the fruit wine. Hip-hop Mei looked like a capable drinker at a glance, while Yabi Mei was more reserved, grabbing a bottle for herself without a word. Su Ruixi opened a can of beer with one hand, a gesture so cool it made Sun Miao’s head spin.

Hip-hop Mei even exposed Su Ruixi. “Little Boss Sun, don’t be fooled by my Su-jie being an aloof beauty. She can actually out-drink anyone. Three of me combined can’t drink as much as Su-jie.”

Su Ruixi glanced at Hip-hop Mei. “Even eating can’t block your mouth¹³.”

Hip-hop Mei let out a “hehe” twice and didn’t say any more, instead lowering her head to earnestly eat skewers and drink beer. To her surprise, the fried vegetables were also delicious.

Hip-hop Mei was a standard carnivore. Unlike Su Ruixi, who always found meat dishes to have a certain gamey taste, Hip-hop Mei absolutely loved meat, a classic case of someone who can’t be happy without it. She first ate several skewers of the meat she loved, then took several large bites along with her beer and flatbread before finally launching an attack on the fried vegetables.

But after eating just one skewer of fried chives, she started making a fuss. “These chives are too delicious! How did you make them? The chives are so tender, and they have a natural bit of spiciness. Super delicious!”

Seeing her inexperienced look, Yabi Mei couldn’t even bear to watch.

Sun Miao always felt that of these two, one was “No-Brain” and the other was “Unhappy.”¹⁴ When the two of them were together, they were surprisingly compatible and very amusing. When Yabi Mei said with disdain, “Stop being embarrassing, making such a fuss,” the comedic atmosphere rose to another level.

Hip-hop Mei even said, “If that ‘Lin-meimei’¹⁵ who especially loves the beef pancakes knew we were secretly eating them, she would definitely be furious.”

“Then don’t you go telling anyone.”

The way the two of them had one sing, the other harmonize¹⁶ made Sun Miao, who was listening beside them, unable to stop herself from chuckling. She smiled and leaned closer to Su Ruixi, who subconsciously wrapped an arm around her shoulder. The two exchanged a look and smiled even more happily.

But Hip-hop Mei, who was sitting opposite them, saw it and yelled, “We’re eating here! Stop feeding dog food!”¹⁷

The author has something to say:

Happy National Day¹⁸, everyone! Happy birthday to our Motherland¹⁹, too! Be happy, everyone!

Footnotes

蹭饭的 (cèng fàn de). Lit. “the ones who mooch a meal.” Ceng fan is a common colloquial term for dropping by someone’s place around mealtime, often uninvited, with the expectation of being fed. It carries a familiar, sometimes teasing, connotation.
小市民心态 (xiǎo shìmín xīntài). A mindset attributed to the urban working class, characterized by being pragmatic, sometimes materialistic, and prioritizing stability and modest comforts over grand ambitions.
小富即安 (xiǎo fù jí ān). An idiom meaning to be content and feel secure with a small amount of wealth, without striving for more.
大饼一样砸下来 (dà bǐng yīyàng zá xiàlái). A culturally-specific metaphor for a huge, unexpected windfall. The image is of a large, flat pancake literally falling from the sky.
霸道总裁 (bàdào zǒngcái). Lit. “overbearing president/CEO.” A popular archetype in Chinese romance fiction, referring to a wealthy, powerful, and domineering male (or in this case, female) love interest who is possessive and controlling but ultimately devoted.
清心寡欲 (qīngxīn guǎnyù). An idiom meaning to purify one’s heart and reduce one’s desires; to lead an ascetic or abstinent life.
由俭入奢 (yóu jiǎn rù shē). An idiom. Lit. “from frugality, enter luxury.” It means that it is easy to become accustomed to a life of luxury after having lived frugally, but difficult to go back.
伸手不打笑脸人 (shēn shǒu bù dǎ xiàoliǎn rén). A proverb. Lit. “extend hand, not hit smiling face person.” It means that it’s hard to refuse or be angry with someone who is being polite, friendly, and smiling, even if their intentions are questionable.
言简意赅 (yán jiǎn yì gāi). An idiom meaning that one’s words are concise but the meaning is complete and clear.
光饼 (guāng bǐng). A type of hard, unleavened bread or biscuit, traditionally baked by sticking it to the side of a clay oven. It is known for its simple, plain flavor and is often eaten as a staple or used to wrap other ingredients.
牛肉饼毒唯 (niúròu bǐng dúwéi). A piece of internet slang. “Duwei” (毒唯) is a term from fan culture, referring to a toxic solo stan of an idol group member who often attacks other members. Here, it’s used humorously to describe someone who is an obsessive, die-hard fan of only beef pancakes.
掌中宝 (zhǎng zhōng bǎo). Lit. “treasure in the palm.” A food item, typically referring to the crisp cartilage from a chicken’s knee or foot, which is a popular ingredient for skewers or stir-fries.
吃饭都堵不住你的嘴 (chīfàn dōu dǔ bù zhù nǐ de zuǐ). A common colloquial reprimand meaning “You talk too much, even with your mouth full.” It’s a way of telling someone to be quiet.
没头脑、不高兴 (Méitóunǎo, Bùgāoxìng). A direct allusion to the classic 1962 Chinese animated film and children’s story 《没头脑和不高兴》 (“No-Brain and Unhappy”). The story features two boys, one who is forgetful and does things carelessly (“No-Brain”) and another who is perpetually grumpy and disagreeable (“Unhappy”).
林妹妹 (Lín-mèimei). Lit. “Little Sister Lin.” This is a famous nickname for Lin Daiyu, the main female protagonist of the classic Chinese novel “Dream of the Red Chamber” (《红楼梦》). She is known for being beautiful, intelligent, melancholic, and physically frail. The name is often used to refer to a girl who is delicate, sensitive, or prone to sadness.
一唱一和 (yī chàng yī hè). An idiom meaning one person starts something (sings) and the other responds in concert (harmonizes). It describes two people acting in perfect coordination, often in conversation.
喂狗粮 (wèi gǒu liáng). Lit. “feeding dog food.” Popular internet slang for public displays of affection (PDA). Single people are humorously referred to as “single dogs” (单身狗), so watching a couple be affectionate is like being fed dog food.
国庆 (Guóqìng). The National Day of the People’s Republic of China, celebrated annually on October 1st. It marks the founding of the PRC in 1949 and is typically celebrated with a week-long public holiday.
祖国妈妈 (zǔguó māmā). A common, affectionate personification of China as the “motherland.”

Footnotes

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