That Confident, to Only Show Up Now?
Sun Miao really wanted to say: This really has nothing to do with me. What customers want to eat is their own choice, it has nothing to do with her.
Just as Sun Miao’s food cart pulled into its spot, that group of customers surged forward. Unlike her usual patrons, these people were all in sharp suits or elegant dresses1; in short, every one of them looked like they weren’t short on cash. However, this was also Sun Miao’s main target demographic for this venture. She couldn’t expect customers to be like the Lemon Tea Boss every day, gritting her teeth just to support her business.
“Little Boss, why are you only just arriving? What time is it? I have to criticize you, you should have come earlier. We’ve been waiting for a while.”
“Yeah! I even told my friends I was coming to eat your Lion’s Head today, but we waited so long for you to finally show up!”
As the voices of the complaining customers rose and fell, Sun Miao laughed it off. “Well, I’m here now, aren’t I? Everyone, please make some space and let me set up the stall first.” While her spot was bustling with activity, the server standing at the entrance of Yuanfu Lou looked at Sun Miao with eyes increasingly filled with killing intent.
Sun Miao could only pretend not to see, her hands flying as she quickly set up her little stall and placed her sign on the counter.
Some of the customers had been brought here by friends who had eaten her food yesterday. Seeing the price, they couldn’t help but be shocked. “588 yuan for one serving? Isn’t that the same price as Yuanfu Lou?! Don’t kid me, is it really that good?”
His friend swore solemnly, “Would I lie to you? And to be honest, this is more expensive than Yuanfu Lou. At Yuanfu Lou, that price gets you a whole portion. Her ‘serving’ is just one meatball. But I’m more than willing. The flavor… it’s really something else.”
Other customers in the crowd chimed in. “That’s right. I’ve traveled all over for years and eaten all sorts of delicacies2, but I’ve never had a Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe this good. I once went to the Huaiyang region to eat it locally, and with great difficulty, I hired a descendant of a former imperial chef to make it. I can still recall that unforgettable flavor to this day, but compared to this Little Boss’s Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe, it was still a notch below3.”
“Delicious is delicious, you can’t fake that.”
Of course, there were also people in the crowd who had no intention of buying and were just there to watch the show. Hearing all this, one couldn’t help but interject with a cynical remark: “I hope she didn’t just add some ‘science and hardcore stuff4‘, like those shellac coatings or whatever. You won’t know what hit you when it’s time to cry about it later.”
What he said made sense, but who among them wasn’t a sharp character5? Yesterday, upon realizing the food was absurdly delicious, someone had already scraped off a tiny bit from their portion to save as a sample and send it for testing. It was only after confirming there were absolutely no issues that they immediately dragged people back to eat again. There was even someone who, after eating it last night, was completely obsessed6; they would drool just from waking up from a dream about it. Knowing that Sun Miao had a limited quantity, they had dragged their wife and kids out first thing in the morning to buy Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roes.
The large crowd bought the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roes in twos and threes, and Sun Miao’s twenty servings were quickly depleted to a single-digit number. Some others who had just come to Yuanfu Lou for a meal today saw how lively Sun Miao’s stall was and bought one as well. Before she knew it, only two servings were left.
Hip-Hop Mei ‘s rich second-generation friend drove by in her itasha7. Today, she had someone else in her passenger seat. The two of them bought one serving each, clearing out Sun Miao’s stock.
Sun Miao looked up at the sky. She had arrived at 11 AM and was already sold out by 12 PM. Sun Miao announced in the group chat that she was sold out, then packed up her stall, preparing to leave.
In the group chat, people were @’ing Hip-Hop Mei, asking if she was the one who bought everything out. Hip-Hop Mei cried out in the chat that she didn’t get to eat any at all. Zhou Ling’s mother also spoke up, saying it was a real shame. The Gaokao was coming up, and she really wanted to let Zhou Ling try it after the exam was over, but Sun Miao would be ending her stall before the Gaokao. They could only hope for next time.
At that moment, Sun Miao was almost done with her work and was about to get on her electric scooter to leave when her sharp eyes spotted that Huaiyang cuisine head chef. He walked out of Yuanfu Lou and, the moment he saw Sun Miao, his gaze filled with disdain. Sun Miao could guess that he probably thought she had just arrived.
“That confident? Only showing up at 12 o’clock? Think you can sell those 20 servings by one?”
He spoke impolitely, so naturally, Sun Miao wasn’t going to be polite either. She had a smile on her face, looking as pleasant as a spring breeze8 just like any other day, but her words carried a sharp edge. “Nope. I’m actually getting ready to leave. I came at 11, and I’m all sold out now, so I’m heading home.”
The head chef’s eyes went wide. He immediately thought Sun Miao was lying. “Are you trying to win against me with tricks like this?! How could you possibly sell out so fast? Despicable! You are truly despicable!”
“Uncle, I’m running my stall right at the entrance of the restaurant where you work. Your restaurant has a security camera right over there; it definitely would have filmed me. Just go back and check the surveillance footage, won’t you know then whether I was seriously selling? Count how many people walked away carrying plastic bags, won’t you know then how many servings I sold?”
She pointed to the security camera by the road. Her voice was calm and steady9, and she stood with her back straight.
Hearing this, the head chef subconsciously glanced over. Sure enough, a security camera with a flashing red light was in operation. And that camera did indeed belong to the restaurant. As the head chef, and with the manager to help him, it would be extremely easy to pull up the footage.
Having been called out, the head chef was still reluctant and unwilling. Because if he really lost, he would have to pay out 540,000 yuan! What did 540,000 yuan mean? That was more than his salary for half a year! For a chef of his caliber, 540,000 yuan wasn’t an amount he couldn’t afford, but affording it would still feel like his heart was bleeding. Besides, if he lost, it wouldn’t just mean losing 540,000 yuan; the 3,000,000 yuan that was nearly in his grasp would be gone too!
So, he stubbornly insisted, “Who knows if you just had a bunch of your friends come over to buy them.”
“I wouldn’t do something so classless.”
The head chef was about to say more when he heard a woman’s voice. “Master Qian10, what you’re doing is a bit too embarrassing.” He turned to look and saw the new Huaiyang cuisine head chef, Jiang Ping11, standing with the owner. The head chef knew the owner had come yesterday. At the time, both he and the manager had a guilty conscience, but thankfully, the owner left without doing anything, so they thought she wasn’t aware of the situation.
Now that the owner had suddenly appeared, Head Chef Qian only wanted to cover things up. “Boss, what are you doing here? This little brat doesn’t know her place12, setting up a stall here. I’ll chase her away immediately!”
Ugh, this guy is so nasty.
Sun Miao was about to say something to the owner, but the owner shook her head and said directly, “Master Qian, there’s no need for that. I already know everything about the matter between you two.” She seemed quite approachable, but as she spoke, her expression darkened, and the owner’s intimidating aura immediately emerged. “You have truly disappointed my expectations for you, to think you would do something like this behind my back with the manager! This is a disgrace to Yuanfu Lou’s reputation!”
She reprimanded Head Chef Qian, her voice seeming to suppress a burning rage. “Furthermore, since you already made a bet with the young lady, don’t do such embarrassing things again! First refusing to admit that her sales are good, then trying to chase her away—what on earth are you doing?!”
The previously high-and-mighty Head Chef Qian now had his head lowered, being scolded by the owner.
“If you’re going to bet, then bet properly! I haven’t even chased her away, what right do you have to do so in the name of Yuanfu Lou? If she wants to set up her stall here, then she can set up her stall here. You should take a good hard look at where the gap between you and her truly lies, you classless thing.”
What a great scolding. Sun Miao was getting eager to have a go at it herself. The next second, the owner said, “Get back in the restaurant and cook properly.” Under the owner’s reprimand, Head Chef Qian could only tuck his tail between his legs and return inside Yuanfu Lou.
The owner looked at Sun Miao. Sun Miao braced herself. The Yuanfu Lou owner would probably still try to find a way to make her leave. After all, her setting up a stall here was, one, stealing Yuanfu Lou’s customers, and two, causing Yuanfu Lou to lose face. The owner likely wouldn’t be happy to see her here.
Besides, the Yuanfu Lou owner was so imperious; she didn’t seem like an easy person to get along with and might even give her a talking-to.
But the owner’s expression changed in an instant. The aggressive demeanor from a moment ago vanished the second she turned her head, replaced by an approachable, smiling, and ‘harmony-brings-wealth13‘ kind of look. “Little Boss, how should I address you?”
“My surname is Sun.”
“Ah, Little Boss Sun.” Seeing that Sun Miao didn’t object to this form of address, the Yuanfu Lou owner asked with a beaming smile, “Did you just arrive? I’ll have one Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe, please.”
The fact that she could ask this question showed that they hadn’t been listening from the beginning, but had really only heard the last sentence or two. Hearing her request, Sun Miao shook her head. “I came at 11 AM. I’m already all sold out and getting ready to pack up and go home.”
“I see.”
A hint of disappointment appeared on the Yuanfu Lou owner’s face, as if she were genuinely regretful about not being able to buy one of Sun Miao’s Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roes. Jiang Ping, however, nodded her head, feeling that this was only to be expected. “What you make really is delicious. It would sell out in a flash no matter where you were.”
Since the other person was praising her, Sun Miao replied sincerely, “Thank you, you’re too kind.”
The Yuanfu Lou owner interjected at the right moment, “Then could you save one for me tomorrow? I’d like to try one.”
But Sun Miao replied, “I can’t do that. I don’t have a rule for saving portions for people in advance.” She was lying. There was actually a rule, but there was only one exception: Su Ruixi.
What was the Yuanfu Lou owner’s status? How could she possibly enjoy the same treatment as Su Ruixi?
Still, the Yuanfu Lou owner was taken aback. She seemed to be rarely rejected like this. Even when she traveled the country poaching head chefs, others would treat her with the utmost courtesy because she was one of the top figures in the restaurant industry. Even if a deal couldn’t be made, they would still cook something for her to leave a good impression.
What if they wanted to switch jobs in the future? Or find a job for their own apprentices and grand-apprentices? Wasn’t it only natural to stay on good terms with a restaurant owner?
In the beginning, the Yuanfu Lou owner only had the one restaurant, but now, she had built up businesses all across the country. Being rejected so bluntly, the owner felt she had lost a bit of face, but Jiang Ping reached out and gave her a nudge, causing the owner to snap back to her senses. “In that case, I’ll be sure to come early tomorrow to try and buy a Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe.”
It was just a matter of acting humble. In her earlier years before she made her fortune, she had been turned away by chefs14 more times than she could count.
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