Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 128

Weren’t You Not Buying?

The little apprentice caught his breath before answering, “No good. There were people crowding around to watch the spectacle, but they ran off as soon as they asked the price. And also…”

“Also what?”

“The presentation was mediocre, too. It was just in a regular disposable container, so it didn’t look very tasty.”

Hearing this, the head chef finally laughed.

What he didn’t know was that just as the little apprentice left, Sun Miao’s customers arrived.

Sun Miao had gotten up early that morning and gone to the wet market to buy ingredients before coming back to make breakfast and lunch for Su Ruixi. After Su Ruixi got up, she came downstairs to eat breakfast with her. Sun Miao watched Su Ruixi leave for work, then returned to make the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe.

It had to be said, the time arranged by the system was quite considerate. The stall’s operating hours this time were very friendly, and it was only for a few hours, so she would be back soon enough. Sun Miao methodically finished making the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe, then set off on her food cart.

Yuanfu Lou wasn’t exactly close to Cuiting Yayuan; it was over a half-hour drive. Fortunately, there was no traffic at all when Sun Miao left, and the cart sponsored by the system had unlimited power, so she didn’t have to worry about running out of battery on the way back that evening.

After arriving at the location designated by the system, Sun Miao was waiting for the security guards from Yuanfu Lou to come and shoo her away, preparing to argue her case forcefully. However, the guard just glanced at Sun Miao and said nothing. Sun Miao breathed a sigh of relief, immediately unfolded her food cart, and placed the fluorescent board she had written on at home in front of it.

What followed was a long wait.

At 11:30 AM, right at lunchtime, customers began to arrive one after another. As a restaurant highly renowned in the circles of the wealthy, Yuanfu Lou might not have had an endless stream of diners, but it was by no means empty. Even on a Monday, people still came in groups.

Seeing Sun Miao’s stall, a customer paused, then came closer to ask, “Is this a takeaway stall provided by Yuanfu Lou?”

“No, I’m Miao Miao’s Mobile Food Bar. I make it myself.”

Hearing that it wasn’t a Yuanfu Lou takeaway stall, the customer’s interest clearly waned. But since he had already asked, he had planned on getting a serving to go and try the taste. After all, to set up a stall at the entrance of Yuanfu Lou, she was clearly quite confident in herself.

But as soon as he saw the items and prices written on the sign, the customer immediately shook his head. Relying on his seniority in age, he even said to Sun Miao, “Young lady, you’re too unscrupulous. It’s true that those who frequent Yuanfu Lou have some wealth, but they aren’t idiots who would waste money on a small stall like yours.”

Being told off like this, Sun Miao wasn’t annoyed. She just nodded, and knowing the man before her wouldn’t buy her Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe, she sat down behind her cart and started playing on her phone. A little while later, two or three more customers came, and it was the exact same situation as with the previous man.

Sun Miao also saw the person who came to scout her out; seeing his chef’s uniform, she knew he was sent by the head chef. She even smiled at him, but he immediately scurried away.

Sun Miao was a little surprised. Could it be that I look scary?

However, Sun Miao didn’t have a chance to think about it anymore, because her regular customers had arrived. The first to appear was Zhou Ling’s mother, with a woman of a similar age next to her. The woman was holding her arm, originally intending to enter Yuanfu Lou, but Zhou Ling’s mother pulled her back to Sun Miao’s stall.

“Hey, what are you doing? Weren’t we going to eat at Yuanfu Lou? Is this stall part of Yuanfu Lou? You can just go inside and order.” Her Mandarin, mixed with a local dialect, had a certain soft, gentle tone reminiscent of the Wu dialect¹.

“You don’t get it. This is the stuff that’s truly delicious.”

Zhou Ling’s mother’s friend² sized up Sun Miao’s stall. She probably guessed that Sun Miao definitely wasn’t a stall from inside Yuanfu Lou, and a hint of pickiness inevitably appeared in her eyes. While Zhou Ling’s mother was talking to Sun Miao, she just stood to the side, looking a bit impatient.

“Alright already³? Let’s hurry inside, it’s so hot out here.”

With someone rushing her, and having been rejected by Sun Miao just yesterday, Zhou Ling’s mother didn’t have the face to say something like, “Please sell me one more portion, just one.” She looked down at the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe that Sun Miao had taken out, her mouth watering uncontrollably. She immediately paid and took the Lion’s Head away.

“Aren’t you buying one?”

Zhou Ling’s mother asked her friend. The friend glanced at it and immediately shook her head. “How could you buy something from a roadside stall? It’s so unhygienic, I’d never.”

Zhou Ling’s mother went into Yuanfu Lou with her friend, apparently for lunch. After she left, Grandma Li and Hip-hop Mei’s rich second-generation friends also paid a visit. Once that wave of people was gone, Sun Miao checked and saw she had only sold eight portions.

But she wasn’t in a hurry. Having sold eight in just that short time, Sun Miao suddenly felt a surge of confidence.

In the meantime, another customer came and bought one, probably with the thought, “This young lady looks so pitiful running her stall. Even though she’s asking for the outrageous price of 588, I guess I’ll buy one so she can go home early.” With that, Sun Miao had sold nine, with eleven remaining.

The number sold really wasn’t small. Sun Miao sat behind her food cart, slowly fanning herself with her hand, calm and composed.

About twenty minutes later, just as it turned 12:00 PM, Sun Miao saw Zhou Ling’s mother’s friend walking out by herself, hurrying as if someone was chasing her from behind. Sun Miao was a bit surprised to see the woman arrive in front of her, splay her hands on the countertop of the food cart, and—

Before Sun Miao could even get up from her chair, she heard the woman exclaim, “You still have some, right?! The Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe, you still have some, right?!”

“Yes, I do.”

Sun Miao took out another portion of Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe from under the counter, but Zhou Ling’s mother’s friend shook her head. “One is too little. I want three.”

In response to the customer’s request, Sun Miao could only shake her head, point to the small sign, and reply, “There’s a purchase limit. One per person, while supplies last.”

…Wait, why does a little stall have a purchase limit?

She didn’t understand, but since the owner said so, there was nothing she could do. She could only sigh, pay the money, and carry the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe back towards the private room. She could already imagine what Zhou Ling’s mother would say: “Oh my, didn’t you say you don’t eat from roadside stalls? And that you thought her selling one for 588 was purely a desperate money grab? Why are you walking so fast? Were you going to the restroom? How come you’re coming back with a Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe?”

Damn it, she had something this delicious and didn’t tell me about it beforehand! Seeing the familiar way Zhou Ling’s mother interacted with the little stall owner, she knew she must have eaten it many times before. Yet she only brought her to eat it now, and didn’t even tell her in advance how delicious the little boss’s cooking was!

The friend fumed at the thought. Just now in the private room, only a few cold appetizers had been served when Zhou Ling’s mother opened the disposable container. The lid made a click sound as it opened, attracting her friend’s attention.

“Yuanfu Lou is pretty good, you know. That Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe you got totally scammed into buying from a roadside stall is going to be blown out of the water by Yuanfu Lou’s.”

But Zhou Ling’s mother didn’t seem to care. She just smiled faintly and started eating. In that instant, her friend’s words vanished. The fresh, fragrant aroma of the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe wafted over, leaving one with no capacity to speak. Just smelling it, the friend swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Especially the look on Zhou Ling’s mother’s face—the expression of someone captured by delicious food couldn’t possibly be faked. One glance was enough to see how much she was enjoying that portion of Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe.

But the friend was still being stubborn. She said, “It only smells good. When the head chef’s Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe arrives, you’ll see what a real difference is.”

Yet when the head chef’s Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe was served, the taste was not very satisfying. It wasn’t that it was bad, it just felt like something was missing. When she ate it, her expression didn’t mirror Zhou Ling’s mother’s—that look of satisfaction, of blissful sighs.

At the same time, the aroma was far inferior. It was merely edible.

Seeing that Zhou Ling’s mother’s Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe was almost finished, the friend finally couldn’t help but say, “Wait, give me a bite, let me have a taste.”

Of course, Zhou Ling’s mother wasn’t so stingy as to refuse. She pushed it a little closer to her, and her friend immediately and impatiently dug her spoon in. She scooped the remaining bits of the Lion’s Head meat into her mouth, and at that moment, she fell silent.

A moment later, she abruptly stood up. Zhou Ling’s mother raised her voice to ask, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the restroom!”

What a joke. There was a restroom in the private room, yet she was heading outside.

Of course, Zhou Ling’s mother knew what she was up to. A smile immediately spread across her face, and she thought gleefully: See, no one can resist being conquered by Boss Sun’s cooking.

As the friend was walking back carrying the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe, she saw a group of successful-looking individuals in suits and leather shoes hurrying outside. For some reason, seeing their movements made her feel a pang of guilt, because… the way she had just rushed out felt awfully similar to this.

The friend felt a bit awkward and could only pretend nothing was happening, even hiding the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe container a little behind her back.

As it turned out, her hunch was correct; they were indeed heading for the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe. It was the private room of the man who had bought a portion out of pity for Sun Miao. He had brought the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe in, not originally planning to eat it, but he was getting a little hungry and figured he’d line his stomach first, as drinking would be hard on it otherwise.

The result of that one bite was extraordinary. He had single-handedly stirred up the cravings⁴ of everyone in the room. In the end, they all shared that one portion of Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe, and every single one of them felt they hadn’t had enough⁵. So, after finding out the details, they rushed out.

In just that short while, Sun Miao had sold quite a few more. By 12:10 PM, Sun Miao only had 4 portions left to sell.

Just then, the lemon tea boss arrived, along with the cat owner and Niuniu. The lemon tea boss was carrying two fast-food containers, though it was impossible to tell what was inside. As she approached, the cat owner very sensibly took Niuniu, accepted the bag from the lemon tea boss’s hand, and went to wait at a seat, leaving the lemon tea boss to talk to Sun Miao.

“Give me one portion of Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe.”

“You two are sharing one portion?”

“Yeah, I can just about manage one for 588, but I really can’t do 588 times two. Besides, I promised to cover her food and lodging, I can’t go back on my word, can I?” Over there, the cat owner opened the disposable food containers she had brought. Sun Miao glanced over and saw two portions of egg fried rice.

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