Can I draw it?
“There’s still half a Hami melon1 in the fridge. I saw you have some plastic food containers at home. I’ll cut up a fruit platter for you, so you can take it to the company to eat tomorrow.”
Sun Miao instructed her. Su Ruixi nodded, indicating she understood, and didn’t forget to remind Sun Miao, “You take some too.”
“Mm.”
After chatting for a while, Sun Miao prepared to go up and sleep. Su Ruixi actually knew that Sun Miao had changed her stall hours to come back earlier. She had shifted from her original 7 AM to 7 PM schedule by an hour, now starting at 6 AM. Because of this, she had to wake up even earlier, and naturally, go to bed earlier the night before.
Su Ruixi’s heart was undoubtedly filled with both joy and heartache. Joy, because Sun Miao made such a change for her, just to come back earlier and make her dinner. And the heartache, needless to say, was because someone already working so hard would now likely have even less sleep.
At this moment, Su Ruixi really wanted to say to Sun Miao: “Can you not set up the stall?” She could support her if she stayed home.
However, Sun Miao wasn’t that kind of person. Su Ruixi could tell she was very dedicated to her stall. And though Sun Miao seemed easygoing, she was actually a very opinionated person. If Su Ruixi really said that, Sun Miao would definitely get angry.
They had just started their relationship and were still in the sweet, innocent phase of dating. Su Ruixi didn’t want to argue, so she stopped at just thinking about it, unable to voice the words.
They returned to their respective rooms. Early the next morning, Sun Miao went to set up her stall again. The morning was still dominated by the regular customers from the neighborhood who had already been converted, so much so that even the Hip-hop Yabi duo had to avoid their prime2, completely unable to compete. It wasn’t until noon that the crowd gradually thinned.
Because Sun Miao set up her stall at the park entrance, the age demographic of her customer base had undergone a significant change. Many local elderly people enjoyed jogging and exercising in the park early in the morning. In the past two days, Sun Miao had already attracted many of these seniors. After finishing their morning exercises, they would gather around Sun Miao’s stall out of curiosity to see what she was selling.
Most of them thought: Too expensive, goodbye. Being older, they didn’t have the “I must see what’s so expensive” mindset of younger people. Instead, it was more like, “Aiyo, twenty yuan for a bowl of mini wontons? If I bought wonton wrappers and made them myself, I wonder how many bowls I could make.”
However, there were still some well-off elderly people. They had their own pensions, and quite substantial ones at that, plus their children were filial, so they weren’t short on money. Thus, buying a bowl of mini wontons was really nothing. Once they bought it, they couldn’t stop. By the third day of Sun Miao’s stall, they were coming directly to queue.
But they still felt the pinch, thinking it was too expensive. So, they’d chat with Sun Miao in Mandarin tinged with a local accent: “Young lady, I have to say, your Bubble Wontons are delicious, truly fantastic3, but they’re just too expensive. Can you make them a bit cheaper? Ayi4 will come buy them every day, okay?”
Many people asked this, but asking Sun Miao to lower the price wasn’t that like asking for her life? She even kept clear accounts with her own girlfriend; how could Sun Miao possibly give others a discount?
Besides, the price was set by the system, and the system was completely non-negotiable: 【This price is already very cheap. I’m practically doing charity. If I lower it any further, wouldn’t I have to pay out of my own pocket? It wouldn’t even cover the time cost.】
No wonder the system chose Sun Miao as its host. Their stinginess was truly identical.
Sun Miao rarely stopped her work, but she patiently explained, “Ayi, these are all handmade by me. If you’ve eaten them, you should know that the wrappers are different from those outside; I roll them out by hand. The chicken broth is also simmered by me, not made from store-bought bouillon cubes or chicken powder. And the taste, I’m not boasting, is genuinely good.”
“As the saying goes, you get what you pay for5. I wouldn’t say this is extremely cost-effective, but you’re definitely not losing out.”
The Ayi opened her mouth: “Then can’t you make it a little cheaper?”
Sun Miao ended the conversation with two words: “No can do.”
The Ayi retreated, unwillingly. Actually, she knew Sun Miao was telling the truth. If it wasn’t delicious, the shrewd Ayi wouldn’t even glance at it. But it was precisely because there was no substitute in the whole city that the Ayi willingly paid.
Many people shared the Ayi’s sentiments. Sun Miao explained many times, but she didn’t feel any impatience.
Mainly, her tolerance limit had been raised by the system. Among the virtual customers the system arranged for her, there were even those who directly overturned her stall. So, Sun Miao remained completely calm in the face of change. However, their incessant questioning did affect other customers.
“Stop asking, stop asking! I’m rushing to work! Little Boss, don’t mind them. No discount is no discount. I’ll buy it every day even at this price. Deliciousness is the most important thing!” Amidst the customers’ urging, those asking for a discount finally gave up, and could only leave with their Bubble Wontons and Crab Shell Yellow.
There were also some smarter people who wanted to add Sun Miao as a friend, so they could ask if there was still food available if they woke up late. Sun Miao added them to a group chat, saying that any updates would be announced in the group.
As soon as new people entered, the old customers in the group understood:
【Alright, customers for Bubble Wontons and Crab Shell Yellow have still managed to barge in.】
【Not surprising. It’s the third day, someone was bound to figure out the ‘join group’ trick.】
【This time, Little Boss Sun’s stall is so far from my home, I can’t go, wuwu. T_T】
The chat in the group usually scrolled very quickly. In no time, it had scrolled so much that one couldn’t even keep up. Some enthusiastic people were also briefing the new customers on Sun Miao’s stall patterns and history. Hearing this news, the new customers weren’t happy; instead, they typed:
【Huh? Bubble Wontons and Crab Shell Yellow are only sold for a week? Doesn’t that mean I only have four days left to eat them?!】
【No way, I’m going back to buy another serving of Bubble Wontons. A person cannot live without Bubble Wontons.】
Similar remarks appeared frequently in the group, and Sun Miao indeed saw customers returning. This morning wave, from when she started her stall at 6 until 8:30, finally began to subside. Taking advantage of the lull, Sun Miao sat on a chair to rest for a bit.
The air near the park was quite good, and the weather wasn’t hot. The sun wasn’t too strong, and sitting behind the food truck, she felt extremely comfortable.
She sat for a while and then took out her phone. With nothing to do, scrolling through her phone was a good option. But as soon as she logged into Xiaohongshu6, the homepage pushed a same-city notification to her. At a glance, she saw the post7 with a super high number of likes: “Online bounty for Meow Meow’s Mobile Food Truck, Changfen, please come back!”
Feeling a little guilty, Sun Miao stealthily clicked on it.
Upon entering, she saw a big-character poster8 style message: “Meow Meow’s Mobile Food Truck, online bounty, 200 yuan reward for reliable information. I really can’t live without Changfen.” Looking further down, it was the detailed, tearful denunciation of the Meow Meow’s Mobile Food Truck by the student crowd.
For this student to offer 200 yuan as a direct bounty for her, it was clear they really loved her Changfen. But, to be fair, her stall was called “Miao Miao’s Mobile Food Bar,” not “Meow Meow’s Mobile Food Truck.” They even got the name wrong. Luckily, she could connect the dots herself; otherwise, she might have thought they weren’t looking for her.
The post even linked to the previous one about the Beef Pancakes. Many people were telling this poster to private message the previous one, who was Man Man. The group had probably given Man Man a heads-up, because no matter how much people DMed Man Man, her main strategy was to act like she hadn’t seen anything.
Of course, there were also people acting as riddle-tellers9 under the post. After being questioned, they started lurking10. Regarding not exposing Miao Miao’s Mobile Food Bar, the regular customers in the group were very united. Actually, with the students searching for Sun Miao like this, she felt a bit reluctant due to compassion.
Sun Miao almost wanted to reveal herself, but the thought of how those students would confront her made her a little cowardly.
After scrolling through her phone for a while, the cat owner arrived with her cat. Sun Miao found it rather strange. Listening to the cat owner’s tone yesterday, she didn’t seem like a wealthy person, yet for three consecutive days, she had appeared at different times. No matter how one looked at it, it didn’t seem like she was working.
However, that was her own business and had nothing to do with Sun Miao. Although she found it strange, she didn’t ask directly.
But the cat owner was indeed short of money11. Sun Miao could tell. The cat owner really wanted to eat the Crab Shell Yellow. She hadn’t bought them on the first day, but after eating one yesterday, she clearly liked them. Today, when ordering, her eyes kept darting towards the Crab Shell Yellow.
The cat owner hesitated repeatedly, but still only ordered the Bubble Wontons and Niuniu’s portion of broth.
After the person sat down, Sun Miao began to cook her mini wontons. She heard the cat owner whispering to Niuniu, “Mama is so poor yet still buys you wonton broth. In the future, you must eat less to repay Mama! This is a critical period, Mama can’t find a job. When Mama finds a job, I’ll make up for the dried small fish for you.”
Looking at the situation, it was indeed quite tight.
Sun Miao pursed her lips. She was thinking, maybe she shouldn’t charge for the cat’s broth. She couldn’t bring herself to give discounts, but giving an extra portion of broth for free was still doable. So, Sun Miao reduced the amount a bit and brought it over.
The cat owner looked at the cat’s smaller soup bowl, somewhat surprised. Just as she was about to ask, she heard Sun Miao say, “There wasn’t enough wonton broth today, so I reduced the amount a bit. This portion is just a little, no charge. Let Niuniu drink it.”
The cat owner was stunned for a moment, then realized Sun Miao had probably overheard what she said. She quickly waved her hands, “It’s okay, I have money, I was just…” She found it hard to say, because she was about to lie: “I was just teasing Niuniu, I have money.”
Just then, Niuniu let out a “Meow,” silencing the cat owner. Sun Miao said, “I’m telling the truth.”
The cat owner also knew she was trying to deceive her, but faced with someone’s kindness, it was hard to refuse. In the end, she only managed, “Thank you.”
She sat there holding her tabby cat12, diluting the broth with water before giving it to the cat, just like the previous two days. Only after she finished eating did she stand up, preparing to come over and pay. Sun Miao specifically reminded her, “Twenty.”
The cat owner smiled, “Okay.” After scanning the QR code, she saw the panel in front of Sun Miao’s food truck again. Only then did she transfer twenty yuan and said, “Boss, this panel of yours, can I draw it?”
Sun Miao was a little puzzled. The cat owner said embarrassedly, “You didn’t charge me money the day before yesterday and today. Let me repay you somehow.”
LP: Hey now, it just so happens that a certain artist is looking for an assistant
✨ Unlock Early Access to Chapters! ✨
Choose your perfect membership at bamboopandatl.net:
📚 Full Access ($4.99)
• Advanced chapters of ALL ongoing novels
• Access to complete finished novels
• Ad-free reading experience
📖 Single Novel Access ($1.49)
• Advanced chapters of ONE specific novel
• Ad-free reading for chosen novel
PayPal is the only current payment option!