Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 117

Having a Meal at Yuanfu Lou

Su Ruixi: What’s good at Yuanfu Lou?

Hip-Hop Mei: They just hired a new Huaiyang¹ cuisine chef who’s amazing at making Boiled Shredded Dried Tofu in Chicken Broth²—it’s basically just stuff added to chicken soup. But it’s not as good as the chicken soup Little Boss Sun makes; the broth isn’t as clear.

Su Ruixi paused for a moment, then asked: What about other things?

Hip-Hop Mei: Well, it’s Huaiyang cuisine, so they’re bound to make Yangzhou Fried Rice³. Why don’t you order that?

…No way. After eating the egg fried rice Sun Miao made, how could she possibly eat anyone else’s Yangzhou Fried Rice? In her mouth, it would be riddled with flaws—either the oil would be too heavy and greasy, the scallions too overpowering, or the eggs would still have that raw, fishy smell.

Su Ruixi: What about other things?

Hip-Hop Mei: ?

She was a bit baffled now. What was going on? Had Su-jie turned into a broken record⁴? Was that the only sentence she knew now?

Hip-Hop Mei thought for a bit longer and continued to reply: They have Sichuan and Cantonese chefs, but the Sichuan chef’s spicy base isn’t as tasty as the broth from the Malatang stall, and the Cantonese chef’s skills are probably decent, but Little Boss Sun’s noodle dishes are all excellent, so he might not measure up to her.

Hip-Hop Mei: Why are you eating at Yuanfu Lou anyway? Isn’t Little Boss Sun living with you now? From what I can see, your favorite food is whatever she makes. You might as well just pay her a little extra to cook for you.

Su Ruixi let out a proud “Hmph,” though it was a pity Hip-Hop Mei on the other end couldn’t see it. What a joke. Sun Miao cooking for her required her to pay? Sun Miao always took the initiative to make her delicious food, always thinking of her with every bite. Even the Crab Shell Yellow were specially made for her without any chili peppers.

Oh—actually, it did cost money. When she went to her stall, she had to pay.

With a hint of smugness, Su Ruixi typed her reply to Hip-Hop Mei: I’m taking Sun Miao out to eat. It’s a rare day off for her, so she shouldn’t have to cook.

Hip-Hop Mei quickly sent a thumbs-up emoji and then said: In that case, just order whatever. It’s not going to be as good as Little Boss Sun’s cooking anyway, so you might as well just try something new for the novelty of it.

She genuinely thought so. In this day and age, state banquet-level chefs weren’t like cabbages you could buy wholesale. Many state banquet-level chefs were revered figures who rarely cooked for the public. It was their disciples and grand-disciples who became the head chefs of major, renowned restaurants.

The master of Yuanfu Lou was one such person. He had apprenticed under a state banquet-level chef of Lu cuisine⁵ and was now gradually taking over his master’s work. He had settled in the capital, flying around to cook when needed, and resting otherwise. As for the chefs who could be hired to cook regularly, they were a tier below that.

Even at that level, they wouldn’t spend hours in the restaurant every day. They would typically only come in during the evening to cook a few dishes and entertain some guests. And the ingredients had to be prepared for them in advance—how could you possibly ask a master chef to wash and pick vegetables?

Someone like Sun Miao was truly… an enigma.

To this day, Hip-Hop Mei still couldn’t understand why a chef with Sun Miao’s skills would be running a street stall. And most importantly, her skills were constantly improving. When she first tried the malatang, Hip-Hop Mei thought it was delicious, but that was it. At most, she felt that many professional chefs couldn’t compare, chalking it up to specialized expertise.

But as she continued to eat Sun Miao’s food, her culinary skills kept leveling up. Now, she was without a doubt at a grandmaster level, the kind of master who could guide others at a state banquet. And don’t dismiss her food as just a few snacks; they were worthy of high praise.

Take the Mini Bubble Wontons in Chicken Broth from her recent stall. Hip-Hop Mei dared to say that the chicken broth alone could be served at a state banquet. The Crab Shell Yellow, from their appearance to their deliciousness, were also more than qualified. Besides, state banquet cuisine was primarily based on Huaiyang cuisine, which emphasized a light and delicate palate—wasn’t Sun Miao a perfect fit for that?

It was just that she was too young; her seniority probably wouldn’t be recognized.

Although she didn’t understand why a chef of this caliber was content to be a great hermit hiding in the bustling city⁶, it was to her benefit, so she was happy. So when Su Ruixi asked her for recommendations, especially for a meal with Sun Miao, she was truly at a loss.

After reading Hip-Hop Mei’s message, Su Ruixi came to a realization. That’s right. Since none of them can compare to Sun Miao, why bother agonizing over what to eat? She could even order the Yangzhou Fried Rice. It would be an exercise in remembering the bitter to appreciate the sweet. Then tomorrow, she would have Sun Miao make her some egg fried rice.

If the head chef of Yuanfu Lou knew she was coming to his restaurant to “remember the bitter to appreciate the sweet,” he would probably faint from anger.

Meanwhile, Sun Miao had been searching for Yuanfu Lou for a long time but couldn’t find it. It wasn’t on any review apps, which was quite headstrong of them. Nowadays, many-starred hotels would have ratings on those platforms, mainly to give out-of-town guests a chance to get acquainted. But Yuanfu Lou was nowhere to be found, which probably meant they were extremely confident in themselves.

Thus, Sun Miao also began to look forward to today’s lunch.

Unfortunately, when they arrived, a waitress informed Su Ruixi that the newly hired Huaiyang chef was not on duty today; it would be the usual chef. Su Ruixi had no objections and simply followed the waitress with Sun Miao to their reserved table.

As she stepped into Yuanfu Lou, Sun Miao truly felt a bit like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden⁷. Despite being a private-style restaurant, the establishment occupied a massive area. To purchase such a large piece of land in a place where every inch was gold, and not even in a suburban location, was truly extravagant.

Coming up from the parking lot, Sun Miao initially thought Su Ruixi had come to the wrong place, that they had arrived at some classical garden. But when she reached the entrance and saw the welcoming staff and the plaque with the three characters “Yuanfu Lou,” she knew they were in the right spot.

The main entrance of Yuanfu Lou was grand, and one had to step over a high threshold to enter. Inside, they first passed through a vestibule into a front courtyard before proceeding further. After crossing the front hall, the waitress led Sun Miao and Su Ruixi to one side, providing explanations along the way.

“Miss Su, the weather is wonderful today. The Waterside Flower Hall you’ve chosen has a lovely spot for an outdoor table. Shall we move to the area outside the hall? Of course, if you’d rather not see guests from other halls, we can also dine inside.”

Su Ruixi was fine with either option, so she turned to ask Sun Miao. Sun Miao’s eyes lit up; she had never eaten outside the flower hall of a Suzhou-style classical garden before. Su Ruixi knew the answer just from her expression without her even needing to speak. “Let’s dine outside, then.”

The waitress led them through a covered veranda into the flower hall, inviting them to sit on the Grand Tutor chairs⁸ in a side room. She then brewed them some tea. “Please wait a moment, ladies. The outside will be set up shortly.” Peeking through the latticed window, she could indeed see staff arranging a table and chairs outside.

The waitress then timely presented a menu. “Ladies, please take a look and see what you’d like to eat today.”

Su Ruixi and Sun Miao huddled together, thinking about what to order, while the waitress stood nearby. Her service was excellent; she would offer timely explanations and recommendations when they seemed to need them, but if they didn’t, she would stand aside like a silent fixture, not saying a word.

“Their Yangzhou Fried Rice is quite famous,” Su Ruixi said, showing off the information she had gotten from Hip-Hop Mei and her own assistant. She stole the waitress’s job, recommending Yuanfu Lou’s delicacies to Sun Miao.

“They also just hired a new Huaiyang cuisine master chef, whose specialty is Boiled Shredded Dried Tofu. But he isn’t here at noon, so today’s lunch will likely be prepared by the previous Huaiyang chef.” Su Ruixi mentioned quite a few things, and in the end, the two of them ordered four dishes plus the Yangzhou Fried Rice. Since there were only two of them, they really couldn’t eat much more.

The waitress noted down their order and excused herself.

Aside from the Yangzhou Fried Rice, the other dishes were not commonly seen. For the meat dishes, they ordered the Huaiyang specialties Three-Nesting Duck⁹ and Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe¹⁰. For vegetables, they chose a simple Stir-fried Water Spinach¹¹, and for a cold appetizer, they picked the Rose and Red Wine Poached Pears¹².

While they were ordering, the outside area had been fully prepared. Another waitress invited them to sit outside the flower hall. When they stepped outside, Sun Miao was taken aback by the scenery. The area outside the hall was a balcony, and beyond it were pavilions, terraces, and waterside gazebos¹³.

The staff had placed classical furniture on the balcony and opened a large parasol to shield the guests from the sun. A few steps forward brought them to the edge, where a knee-high stone railing blocked the way. Beyond it was a pond. Inside, an unknown number of koi fish were swishing their tails, their plump bodies gliding through the water in a picture of contentment.

She… she had truly never imagined a restaurant could be like this.

The joys of the rich were something a poor person like her could never even imagine.

“Sun Miao, let’s sit down first. The food will be here soon.” Su Ruixi walked over and pulled Sun Miao to sit at the table. They didn’t sit facing each other but at a corner, just like they used to at Sun Miao’s small dining table.

Just as Su Ruixi said, the food arrived shortly. A restaurant of this size would certainly have to prepare ingredients in advance; many things took time. If they waited until guests arrived to start from scratch, the guests would probably end up throwing down their chopsticks and leaving in frustration.

However, some time-consuming and labor-intensive dishes, like Consommé-Simmered Cabbage¹⁴ and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall¹⁵, had to be ordered in advance. They were expensive, troublesome, and used costly ingredients, so not many people would order them, and the restaurant wouldn’t prepare them daily.

The first thing to arrive was, of course, the cold appetizer. Yesterday at home, they had eaten sugared tomatoes arranged like a flower. Today, this Chilled Poached Pear was a true work of art in the shape of a flower. The pear was sliced into thin pieces, layered one by one, and twisted into the shape of a white rose, perched delicately on a white porcelain plate.

Because it had been soaked in red wine, it was tinged with red, giving it a pinkish hue. From a distance, it truly resembled a rose.

Even before tasting it, Sun Miao knew the flavor wouldn’t be bad. The red wine had saturated it thoroughly, even dyeing the “petals” into two distinct shades. With this level of care and skill, the taste was bound to be good. Its presentation was also flawless, but Sun Miao was still a bit dissatisfied, because—the portion was too small.

It was served on a massive plate, one that Sun Miao felt was bigger than her own head, but the rose itself wasn’t even as big as Sun Miao’s fist.

Seriously, there was no need to use such a big plate.

But Sun Miao understood why. This single dish cost 188 yuan, a price that would make Sun Miao cry. She really was selling her food far too cheaply. She couldn’t even fathom charging 188 for such a small portion. In that instant, she felt her back straighten with pride; what she sold was actually a very generous amount.

She mentally calculated the cost of their meal, thinking about the prices of the dishes they just ordered. The sliced pear was 188, the stir-fried water spinach was 288, the lion’s head meatballs with crab roe were 588, and both the three-nesting duck and the Yangzhou fried rice were 1888 each, for a total of 4840. There was probably a service fee as well… five thousand yuan wouldn’t even cover it…

Maybe I should buy a little less skincare and makeup later.

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