Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 11

Just at the Entrance of the Community

Considering Sun Miao’s egg fried rice is very popular, it is very likely because it is too much in demand resulting in…

After considering that Sun Miao’s egg fried rice is very popular and may have led to going home early because it was too much in demand, Su Ruixi could only resign herself and return to the car. She thought for a moment, considering whether to come back tomorrow morning.

Sun Miao sets up her stall at 8 a.m., and Su Ruixi’s company starts work at 9 a.m. It only takes a thirty-minute drive from here to the company, and if there is traffic, add another twenty minutes. So, if she leaves at 7 a.m., she can definitely make it.

After thinking it over, Su Ruixi decided: Come again tomorrow morning!

That night, Su Ruixi did not sleep well. She had been taking stomach medicine during this time, and although she ate seriously, she really couldn’t muster any appetite. Even if she ate, it was like swallowing dates whole [囫囵吞枣 | hú lún tūn zǎo | an idiom meaning to swallow something without proper chewing or understanding]. Perhaps her brain was sending the signal “I don’t want to eat,” causing her stomach to be uncomfortable.

She tossed and turned for a while, forcing herself to fall asleep.

Early the next morning, she woke up at six o’clock. Su Ruixi tidied herself up, thinking that she shouldn’t go too early; otherwise, Sun Miao would definitely think she was particularly greedy. Moreover, waiting there early just for a portion of egg fried rice would seem too ceremonious.

So Su Ruixi waited until the right time to leave.

When she arrived at the parking lot, she glanced at the time on the car’s dashboard. It was now 7:50, and it took seven minutes to walk over. She waited a little while longer before changing her shoes and getting out of the car. By the time she reached the south gate of the hospital, it was exactly eight o’clock.

At this time, the alley behind the south gate was full of small stalls, and Su Ruixi walked all the way over without seeing the figure of Sun Miao’s food truck. She thought for a moment, perhaps Sun Miao arrived late in the morning and didn’t get a good spot, so she wasn’t in the usual place.

Thus, Su Ruixi frowned, lifted her foot, and continued to walk forward.

After walking the entire back street, Su Ruixi saw that the time was already 8:05, yet there was still no sign of Sun Miao. At this moment, Su Ruixi felt a bit anxious.

She hesitated a bit, could it be that Sun Miao had something to do today, so she didn’t come to set up her stall? But she couldn’t just come again tomorrow, right? That would make her seem like she really wanted to eat the egg fried rice. Su Ruixi frowned, ready to walk back.

As a result, she happened to run into the nurse from that day. The nurse also saw Su Ruixi and quickly walked a few steps to reach her: “Miss Su!”

Su Ruixi nodded reservedly: “Hello.”

However, she quickly lost her reserve because the nurse mentioned Sun Miao: “Last time, the little boss asked about you. I said you probably wouldn’t come after your IV drip was done. I didn’t expect to meet you today.”

Su Ruixi thought that the nurse was at the hospital every day and particularly liked egg fried rice; Sun Miao had also helped her, so she should be more attentive to Sun Miao, right? Thus, after hesitating repeatedly, Su Ruixi still opened her mouth to ask: “I didn’t seem to see Boss Sun today. Does she have something going on today and didn’t come to set up her stall?”

The nurse delivered a heavy blow: “Ah? Yesterday was her last day setting up here. It seems she changed locations, but she didn’t say where she moved to.”

Even Su Ruixi couldn’t help but let out an “Ah?” But she quickly adjusted, returning to being the reserved, calm, and noble President Su, Miss Su. She nodded calmly, indicating she understood, engaged in a bit of small talk, and then left first.

She got back into the car, started it up, and went to the company. That day, she once again had a day where food was tasteless.

In the following two days, Su Ruixi had to admit: she really wanted to eat egg fried rice. She even looked at the local circles online and searched for egg fried rice keywords, but there was no buzz. She was somewhat surprised that no one was recommending Sun Miao’s delicious egg fried rice online.

Perhaps it was fate; she was just destined to miss out on that delicious egg fried rice.

Compared to the cold and indifferent Su Ruixi, her community’s owners’ group was much more lively. The owners seemed to say that a new stall had come to the community entrance. At first, Su Ruixi thought: Could it be such a coincidence, that it’s Sun Miao?

The result was that the photos they showed were of fresh and spicy malatang, and Su Ruixi immediately lost interest.

The photos they posted were nice-looking, with a red broth that was clear and not oily, but with a particularly vivid feeling, floating with green scallions and cilantro, making the colors more vibrant. The white rice noodles winding through it were even more tempting. Along with various side dishes, just a glance made one’s mouth water.

If someone likes to eat spicy food, they might fall in love at first sight and immediately rush to devour a bowl.

The group was also having heated discussions, asking about the taste and where it was. No one asked about the price, though, because Su Ruixi’s neighborhood is a villa area, and it’s the particularly expensive kind of villas, with annual maintenance fees costing tens of thousands. Who cares about how much a bowl of malatang costs?

After being recommended, many people went to eat, and the conclusion they reached was: delicious, especially delicious, highly recommended.

Everyone is wealthy, used to eating delicacies from land and sea, and there are even a few famous gourmets in the group. In such a situation, if they say it’s good, then it really must be good.

But if you don’t eat spicy food, or even have a stomach condition like Su Ruixi, then eating spicy food is simply a disaster. Su Ruixi doesn’t eat any spicy food at all; she usually eats relatively bland foods. Sun Miao’s egg fried rice actually doesn’t have much oil, but for Su Ruixi, it was already considered a lot.

Being able to accept Sun Miao’s egg fried rice, even Su Ruixi found it incredible.

From the last time she had egg fried rice until now, it had been eight days. Su Ruixi thought, that little boss really wasn’t fated to be with her. If she couldn’t eat it, then so be it. A person won’t starve without egg fried rice.

Su Ruixi was indeed busy, and her neighborhood group chat was set to “Do Not Disturb” all year round, so she occasionally remembered to check it. Therefore, she didn’t see—shortly after, someone took a photo of that Miao Miao’s Mobile Food Bar’s small food truck and posted it in the group, even tagging the person who had recommended it before.

【Is this the small food truck?】

【Yes, yes, yes, it’s this one, it’s really delicious!】

【But I didn’t smell any pepper, is it really malatang?】

【Yes, yes, yes, she has a big pot, and it’s all spicy soup inside. That big pot seems to have pretty good sealing, so there’s no smell when it’s not opened. You can rest assured and go eat, you won’t be disappointed!】

If she had seen this conversation, she probably would have realized that Sun Miao was actually setting up her stall right at the entrance of her community.

By the ninth day, Su Ruixi had completely given up. Although her stomach still felt very uncomfortable and she was very hungry, life just went on day by day like that.

Today, Su Ruixi went to meet a client, and since it was different from her usual place after work, she didn’t go through the main entrance when she went home in the evening but went through the west gate.

When Su Ruixi was about to reach the entrance of the west gate, she stepped on the brake, slowing down a lot. Therefore, she saw the somewhat familiar sign by the roadside—Miao Miao’s Mobile Food Bar.

At that moment, Su Ruixi directly hit the brakes and parked by the roadside. She was a bit surprised. She had already driven a meter or two past, so she could only use the rearview mirror to observe that food truck, and sure enough, she saw Sun Miao.

What’s going on? Did she really come to set up a stall at the entrance of their community?

Su Ruixi didn’t even turn off the car. If asked, she would definitely say: she didn’t really want to eat, just taking a look.

Su Ruixi pulled up the handbrake, turned on the hazard lights, and got out of the car directly. She didn’t even change her shoes, still wearing her driving-specific flat shoes, which made her aura not as imposing.

Su Ruixi walked up to Sun Miao, and actually, when she got out of the car, Sun Miao had already seen her. Because this car obviously slowed down and stopped upon seeing her, a smile had already appeared on her face, ready to greet the customer, and then she saw that it was indeed Su Ruixi.

Sun Miao blinked her eyes; she didn’t expect to see Su Ruixi again, but she was still very happy in her heart, and her smile became even more genuine.

Su Ruixi walked up to Sun Miao and was silent for a moment, not speaking, so Sun Miao spoke first: “What a coincidence, do you live here?”

“Mm.” Su Ruixi relaxed a little, finally having time to take a closer look at the small food truck in front of her, and found out that this didn’t seem like egg fried rice—she immediately recalled the messages she had skimmed in the group yesterday, realizing that Sun Miao was selling malatang here.

Su Ruixi didn’t want to eat malatang, so she didn’t even ask for the price and directly said: “One serving of egg fried rice, please, to eat here.”

Unfortunately, Sun Miao’s answer was: “I haven’t been making egg fried rice recently; I’ve been selling malatang for the time being.”

“?” A slight confusion showed on Su Ruixi’s face. She looked again at the food truck and discovered there was indeed no place to make egg fried rice. The iron pan that should have been used to make egg fried rice was gone and replaced with a large pot, and even the disposable lunch boxes seemed to have changed types.

At this moment, even someone as reserved as Su Ruixi really wanted to ask her: Why did you switch to malatang? Your egg fried rice was so good! Most importantly, now that you’ve switched to malatang, what am I supposed to eat?

Su Ruixi felt some resentment, but her good upbringing kept her from saying anything. She just nodded: “Alright.” After saying that, she prepared to leave.

However, Sun Miao spoke up: “Why don’t you try it? It’s very tasty too.”

Su Ruixi trusted Sun Miao’s skills; her egg fried rice was so delicious that even if her technique for making malatang wasn’t as good as for egg fried rice, it should still be better than ordinary malatang. However, Su Ruixi really wasn’t interested in malatang.

She pursed her lips, shook her head, and said, “Sorry, I…”

Sun Miao knew that she had a stomach condition, so she said, “There’s a non-spicy one, not stimulating at all, and it’s very nourishing. Really, I’m not lying to you.”

Su Ruixi hesitated a bit, and while she was hesitating, her stomach growled.

Even Su Ruixi couldn’t help blushing a little. She had been busy all afternoon, and in the evening, she was with a client for dinner, though she didn’t have to drink alcohol, she also didn’t eat much at the table. Now it was already past nine o’clock, so it was quite normal for her stomach to be hungry.

“Then, give me one.”

---

---