Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 116

You dare to trick us!

On Sunday at 8:30 in the morning, the students of the Education Park all seemed to have an agreement, waking up at this exact time. This was quite incredible for students, as they would usually stay up late the night before a day off.

Those who went to bed at midnight were considered god-tier; if you didn’t scroll on your phone until two or three in the morning, it couldn’t even be called pulling an all-nighter. But to wake up a bit earlier today, they had all gone to bed early and dragged themselves up with alarms.

What could possibly make them get up so early on a day off? To the point they didn’t even laze around in bed with their phones, but instead left immediately with their small backpacks on? It was because of—the temptation of delicious food. This was the most loyal and persistent obsession rooted deep in the human soul.

The Changfen made by Sun Miao had hooked their primal urges. Plus, for so many days—nine days, a full nine days—they hadn’t eaten such delicious Changfen again! They hadn’t even eaten any food that could compare to that serving of Changfen.

They had tried all the Changfen places around the school and even in other areas. Some had even gone to starred Cantonese restaurants and ordered a serving of Changfen worth 88 yuan, only to come to the conclusion: It’s just so-so, not nearly as good as the ones from that Meow Meow Mobile Diner.

One could only imagine how crazy they were getting from craving those Changfen.

Fortunately, yesterday, they had finally gotten news about the little stall. Two female students had sent photos they took to the group chat, along with the location. At that moment, everyone had wanted to rush over to eat, but the girls also said: The boss is about to sell out and is getting ready to pack up and go home.

Most importantly: she wasn’t selling Changfen anymore, but had switched to selling Bubble Wontons in Chicken Soup and Crab Shell Yellow.

Hearing this news, the students were all instantly dumbfounded. A moment later, the group chat exploded with indignation, with people directly going off.

【Are you kidding me?! She’s not selling my Changfen anymore?!】

【No way, the Changfen were so delicious, why would she sell something else?!】

【I don’t believe it, this can’t be real! What is even real anymore! Where are the Changfen? What about my super delicious Changfen?!】

Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, the group owner stepped in to manage the scene: 【Everyone calm down. The monk can run, but the temple can’t¹. We’ve already found her. When the time comes, we’ll all just have to wear her down with pleading. When she realizes the Changfen sell better than these two other things, won’t that solve the problem?】

【Oh, right! When she was selling Changfen near our campus, she sold out and went home by noon. But selling these two things, she has to work until the afternoon to go home. And the cost of Changfen isn’t high, so selling them is definitely more profitable!】

Very quickly, everyone was pacified. Then, the two female students released beautiful pictures of the mini Wontons and Crab Shell Yellow. The student crowd had wide-ranging tastes; when they saw the photos, they couldn’t help but swallow, deciding to eat something similar for dinner.

【They actually look really delicious. I think the taste is just as good as the Changfen. Everyone should give them a try.】

【Well… if you say so, maybe I’ll give them a try?】

【I feel like the technique for the Bubble Wontons is similar to the Changfen. Since the Changfen were so good, the Bubble Wontons can’t be that bad. I’ll go try them tomorrow.】

Messages like these appeared in the student group chat, and everyone unanimously decided: Tomorrow, we’ll go and try them.

That was why everyone had woken up early and set out with their small backpacks. After seeing the location, they also knew there was a park nearby. Guided by the principle of “since we’re already here,” it would feel like something was missing if they didn’t also take a stroll in the park.

As they sat on the subway, they were also thinking: It’s still too far away. This won’t do, we have to persuade the stall owner to come back and set up her stall at our Education Park.

Their area was so much better—more people, high foot traffic. It would let the boss sell out early and go home early every day, saving her time and effort. For the sake of their own appetites, they all decided they absolutely had to persuade Boss-jiejie to come back!

However, when the first student arrived at the designated location, she found the place completely empty. Forget the Meow Meow Mobile Diner cart, there wasn’t even a single person in sight. She was stunned and began to wonder: Could it be that the boss hasn’t arrived yet? She sat down by the roadside and began to wait.

After a while, her classmates also arrived in twos and threes. They stood together, looked at each other, and then fell into a shared silence.

Seriously, where’s that huge food cart? Where’s the cart selling Bubble Wontons and Crab Shell Yellow? Where did it go?!

Someone with a shorter temper directly asked the two girls who had spotted Sun Miao yesterday in the group chat. They also found it strange; logically, she should have been there. The girl who had arrived earliest hesitated for a moment and said, “Why don’t we wait a little longer?”

Since they had nothing better to do anyway, everyone waited together.

Many people were coming and going in the park. Passersby saw them and wondered, “Isn’t it a bit late for a spring outing? Are these university students on a group trip to the park?”

“Youth is so nice, coming to the park together so early in the morning.”

The students opened their mouths to explain but ended up closing them again. Some couldn’t wait any longer and simply left the group to start wandering around the park. Only a few stubborn ones remained, standing desolate in the wind.

—Boss, you dare to trick us!

At this very moment, at exactly 9:30, Sun Miao, who was enjoying a fine breakfast at home with her girlfriend, couldn’t help but sneeze. She scratched her head, thought nothing of it, and continued eating her breakfast.

The student crowd was quite single-minded; once they decided to wait, they would probably wait indefinitely. To prevent missing Sun Miao, they even arranged for people to wait in shifts. Fortunately, they encountered someone. The owner of Niuniu, who had just finished walking her cat in the park to help it lose weight, was riding past on her bicycle with the cat in tow when she screeched to a halt.

Having already made a deal with the lemon tea boss, the cat owner had also heard some things about Sun Miao, including about the student crowd from the Education Park. She had actually seen the post searching for the Changfen stall before, but she hadn’t connected it to Sun Miao.

Only after that did she learn that Sun Miao had such a terrifying potential harem²—the students from the Education Park. In the lemon tea boss’s description, it was basically impossible to compete with this group of students for food, and she had also memorized the “Stall Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

At this moment, the students before her, with their peculiar formation, allowed her to match them with the student crowd the lemon tea boss had described.

As an older sister figure herself, and with a cat that looked particularly interesting, she immediately captured the students’ hearts. “What are you all doing here?”

After they explained their purpose, the cat owner told them with great sincerity and thoughtfulness, “Oh, that boss was here for her last day yesterday. She probably moved to a new spot today.”

“Huh? She’s not setting up her stall here anymore?” They began to whisper amongst themselves, not forgetting to thank the cat owner before asking, “Then do you happen to know where she’s setting up her stall today?”

At this moment, bearing the immense condemnation of her conscience, the cat owner replied, “I don’t know either.”

The students knew that waiting any longer would be hopeless. After thanking her, they sent a message to the group chat and left, heading into the park to hang out. The cat owner let out a sigh of relief: Great, I successfully fooled them.

I’m so sorry, but I really can’t add you to the group. I want to drink chicken soup with Niuniu too, wuwu! If you guys came, Niuniu really wouldn’t get a single drop of soup!

Wait a minute, it seems Niuniu is already out of soup to drink. According to the old customers in the group, the day after tomorrow, the boss is supposed to start selling something new again? The cat owner was nostalgic for the chicken soup, but there was nothing she could do if it was gone. Besides, she was also very much looking forward to what Sun Miao would sell next.

For the time being, however, Sun Miao also didn’t know what she would sell. After she and Su Ruixi finished breakfast, they sat down together to plan out their day’s itinerary. Su Ruixi wasn’t a particularly romantic person to begin with, so she had only thought of letting Sun Miao rest and not work, and to eat out. But as for what to actually eat, and what to do in the afternoon, she didn’t have a plan.

Sun Miao laid out her own plans. When Su Ruixi heard that Sun Miao wanted to buy skincare and makeup products, she leaned in closer. The two had originally been sitting properly on the sofa with a small gap between them. The moment Su Ruixi moved toward her, Sun Miao could only lean back, but Su Ruixi moved too quickly for her to retreat completely.

The two of them were huddled together, with Su Ruixi extremely close. She studied Sun Miao’s face and commented seriously, “You can’t really tell now, but it’s about to get hot soon. Since you’re out running your stall every day, you really should take good care of your skin. But Sun Miao is very pretty, so you don’t need to wear makeup. I only wear it because I have a need to.”

The need for makeup was real. She often had to meet with various business partners, and wearing makeup was a form of respect for others, a part of social etiquette. This point wasn’t gender-specific; men also had to wear makeup, though it was much lighter. Generally, it involved a clean face and cologne, and smokers always kept mouthwash on hand.

Being clean and tidy was the most basic etiquette.

Aside from work requirements, Su Ruixi was someone who paid great attention to her own image, so she would also wear light makeup on her days off. That was the case right now, and her lipstick was her favorite color.

Of course, liking to wear it herself was one thing; if Sun Miao didn’t like it, there was no need for her to wear it. Sun Miao hadn’t really worn much makeup before, so she probably wasn’t the type who particularly loved it. Sun Miao scratched her head, “I want to learn.”

Su Ruixi smiled. “Then I’ll teach you.”

“Okay.”

The two of them dawdled at home for a long time, even huddling together to figure out what to eat for lunch. Sun Miao wasn’t a local and didn’t know which restaurants were good, especially since her girlfriend, Su Ruixi, was an exceptionally picky person.

Su Ruixi did know a few places, but some of them were troublesome and might secretly report back to her parents. She thought it over and came up with a restaurant: “Want to eat at Yuanfu Lou?”

Sun Miao vaguely recalled having heard this name before. She didn’t have any ideas herself, so when Su Ruixi suggested something, she naturally nodded and agreed. But as soon as she turned away, she started searching for “Yuanfu Lou” on a review app to check the average cost per person, getting her own money ready.

She was already living at Su Ruixi’s place, and she had always wanted to be the one to provide for her girlfriend. When they ate out, she couldn’t let Su Ruixi pay again. Even if Su Ruixi had more money than her, she couldn’t let her cover everything.

Su Ruixi, however, didn’t care about these things. But she didn’t know much about Yuanfu Lou either, as her assistant usually ordered for her. So she also turned away and sent a message to Hip-hop Mei.

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