Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 141

That Little Stall of Hers

After breakfast, Sun Miao continued making her Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe. She said to Su Ruixi, “Should I make an extra one for you for lunch? You can eat at home, no need to wait for me.”

Su Ruixi was also in the kitchen, standing to the side and cleaning up the pots and pans from breakfast. Hearing what Sun Miao said, she turned her head. “No way, let’s eat together at noon. Don’t come back and get busy all over again, who knows what time you’ll be working until. We can just eat something simple together for lunch.”

Su Ruixi’s intention was to eat out, but Sun Miao couldn’t help but think of the outcome of their last meal out. She paused for a moment before saying, “There are still some chicken broth cubes left. For lunch, I’ll make you some noodles with tomato and egg gravy, and then I’ll heat up some chicken soup for us to drink. How about I sprinkle some baby bok choy in it for you?”

How could she not agree to that? Su Ruixi immediately nodded like a little chick pecking at rice.

With lunch decided, Sun Miao got back to work. Su Ruixi, having finished her task and with nothing to do for the moment, glanced over at Sun Miao. But after just one look, she felt a bit dazzled.

The process Sun Miao used to make the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe was too complex, and the following step of slamming the meat¹ was exceptionally boring. She watched for a while and couldn’t bear to look any longer. Yet Sun Miao could stand there for hours, her feet not moving an inch, working nonstop.

Just watching her make the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe made Su Ruixi feel a little tired. She shifted her gaze to the bamboo basket on the side. It was covered with a lid made of thin bamboo strips², and inside were many crabs.

“Are these the ingredients for the crab roe later?”

“Yes.”

Su Ruixi thought of crab roe noodles again—they were just too delicious. When it came to cooking, she was like a curious baby who knew nothing, unable to resist reaching out to touch things. Although Sun Miao wasn’t looking over, it was as if she had a 360-degree camera and knew exactly what she was doing.

“Susu-jie, it’s fine if you just poke them through the bamboo lid, but don’t stick your hand in. Getting pinched by a crab really hurts.”

Su Ruixi peered through the bamboo strips and only then realized the crabs inside weren’t tied up with cotton string; instead, they were a picture of being living dragons and vibrant tigers³.

“Why didn’t you tie them up?”

“Tying them up makes them lose their vitality, and the meat inside will change slightly. You have to keep the ingredients happy before they die to make the materials even more delicious.”

If anyone else had said that, Su Ruixi would have definitely thought they were spouting nonsense. How could such a principle exist? But since the person saying it was Sun Miao, she felt it made perfect sense. After all, Sun Miao’s skill was right there for all to see; whatever she said was right.

“Oh, I see.”

Seeing that Su Ruixi actually believed her, Sun Miao couldn’t help but chuckle. “Actually, it’s because the cotton string has weight, and I’m charged by weight. It adds to my cost.”

Now that was a reason that perfectly matched Sun Miao’s character. Her stingy persona would never crumble, and it was far more convincing than the last reason. Su Ruixi looked at her for a moment, feeling like a fool for having been tricked.

Su Ruixi grew a little sullen. Sun Miao could tell, so she sidled up close to her and whispered, “I bought a lot of crabs today, so I’ll make you some crab paste.” She explained in a low voice, “Over in Gusu⁴, there’s a traditional crab paste called Tuhuangyou⁵.”

Sun Miao gave her a quick lesson. “I saw it online before. I’ve never eaten it, but I can imagine the taste. The character ‘tu’ over there means ‘only,’ and ‘huangyou’ isn’t butter, but refers to the crab roe and crab paste. The oil used is lard.”

“It’s insanely fragrant⁶ when you make it. Later, my stall hours will probably go back to how they were before, from six in the morning to six in the evening. You’ll have to bring a packed lunch, and with a bit of Tuhuangyou to go with it, it’ll taste even better.”

In truth, what Sun Miao described wasn’t that tempting. Thinking about how fishy crabs could be, and how strong-tasting and greasy lard was, a dish with only those two things in it couldn’t possibly be good. But the person cooking it was Sun Miao, so Su Ruixi subconsciously felt it would definitely be delicious.

She thought of the crab roe noodles Sun Miao had made last time and felt that this Tuhuangyou couldn’t be bad either.

“Is it really that good?”

“This combination definitely can’t go wrong.” Crab roe and paste, lard, plus the fragrance of flash-fried scallion and ginger, all simmered through with yellow wine. Placed in a glass jar, the roe and paste would slowly sink to the bottom, revealing the glistening golden oil on top. When you stir it with chopsticks or a spoon, the crab solids would float back up, becoming thick and viscous again, and then you scoop a spoonful onto your rice… how could it possibly not be delicious?

Only then did Su Ruixi’s anger from being duped by Sun Miao dissipate. She turned and asked with some concern, “These crabs aren’t tied with cotton string. Will they pinch you?”

“They won’t. Don’t you worry.”

In the System space, I’ve processed who knows how many crabs. I’m a cold-blooded, merciless crab-killing machine now.

Su Ruixi was quite curious about how she didn’t have to worry, so she kept her eyes fixed on her until she started processing the crabs. Sun Miao’s hands were incredibly nimble. With a stretch and a flick of her chopsticks, a crab fell from the large basin into her hand—crucially, with its ten legs facing the sky.

Its large pincers were quite agile, trying to reach back to get at Sun Miao, but she tapped them twice with her chopsticks, knocking it into a daze. Su Ruixi had no idea what the principle was. Then, Sun Miao picked up a brush and scrubbed the crab completely clean.

During this, the crab came to its senses and tried to attack Sun Miao again. But, as if she had eyes on her hands, Sun Miao swiftly brushed the crab’s large pincers as well. Once it was scrubbed, she tossed it directly into another bucket. That bucket contained warm water that Sun Miao had prepared earlier. The crab was thrown in, gulped a few mouthfuls of water with a gurgle gurgle, and was promptly knocked out by the heat, lying listlessly in the bucket, unable to move.

The water wasn’t scalding, just warm. Seeing the crab so dazed, Su Ruixi was even more confused. “Warm water can knock it out like that?”

“Mhm, I put it in belly-up. By the time it flipped over, it had already drunk a few mouthfuls. It couldn’t get used to it, so now it’s all limp.”

After cleaning them one by one and washing them again with warm water, Sun Miao took advantage of their dazed state and placed them directly into the steamer, putting a slice of ginger on each crab’s belly before closing the lid.

“It’s better without the cotton string anyway. The places tied by the string can’t be scrubbed clean. This way is cleaner.”

After chatting a bit more, Sun Miao shooed her out. “You don’t have anything to do in here. Go rest outside for a bit. I still have to come out to pick the crab meat later.”

Hearing this, Su Ruixi was actually a bit eager to try, but she quickly gave up the idea when she saw Sun Miao’s movements. Sun Miao’s speed was truly fast. The specialized tools from the eight-piece crab set slid into the shell, and with simple ease, she removed the entire thing. In just a few minutes, all the meat from one crab was picked clean.

This certainly wasn’t the first time Su Ruixi had seen someone shell a crab. When she went to restaurants before, it was mostly done by the waitstaff. They would peel it slowly and methodically, their speed nowhere near Sun Miao’s, nor was their work as good. She picked up a crab leg and looked at it, thinking only one thing—it was the work of a ghostly axe and divine craft⁷.

The crab leg was perfectly intact, without a single flaw. What’s more, the thin membrane between the meat and the shell remained, a single, complete piece.

What she didn’t know was that many people who pick crab meat peel it off along with this membrane, filtering it out only after everything is shelled. There were also some little black things on some of the crab meat, and Sun Miao used tweezers to pick those off and set them aside.

This stuff was leftover from when the crab molted its shell incompletely. Sun Miao would not allow such things to enter her crab roe mix. Although she was watching a bit of TV on the side, she didn’t let a single trace of excess material get by.

After Sun Miao finished shelling the crabs, she went back inside, turning off her phone and leaving it face down on the dining table. She had bought several dedicated timers for her cooking; she just needed to twist one when she needed to time something.

The kitchen in Su Ruixi’s house had already been invaded by too many of Sun Miao’s belongings. The central island, which originally had nothing on it, was now cluttered with Sun Miao’s pots and pans.

After she was done, she arranged the finished Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe one by one into disposable food containers on the central island before carrying them out. Seeing this, Su Ruixi hurried over to help. After they put everything away, Sun Miao was about to tidy up the kitchen, but Su Ruixi told her to just go.

“You go rest for a bit. I’ll do it.”

“It’s my day off today, Susu-jie should be the one resting. Besides, this mess isn’t from our meal…”

But Su Ruixi insisted, pushing Sun Miao right out of the kitchen. “Go on, go. The sooner you go, the sooner you’ll be back. Drive slowly on the road.”

“Okay~”

To Sun Miao, Su Ruixi was truly like family, and she enjoyed everything Su Ruixi did for her. Although Su Ruixi was unfamiliar and clumsy with housework, she never tried to be lazy or shirk her duties, never thinking of procrastinating if she could. Sun Miao really liked this side of Su Ruixi; her personality was just so good.

Before she left, Su Ruixi even kissed Sun Miao on the cheek. “Come back early. I’ll be waiting for you.”

She was truly awkward when she was feeling awkward, but she wasn’t stingy when it was time to be direct. Hearing Su Ruixi’s words, Sun Miao’s heart felt incredibly soft, as if her whole body was immersed in perfectly temperate forty-five-degree water.

“I’ll definitely be back as soon as I can.”

After the two of them finished their sweet and sentimental dawdling, Sun Miao finally drove her electric tricycle out. Su Ruixi opened the garage door for her, watching her little food cart slowly drive away. When she reached the gate, Sun Miao waved vigorously, telling Su Ruixi to hurry back inside.

Su Ruixi raised a hand and waved gently, saying goodbye.

But as soon as Sun Miao was gone, Su Ruixi’s smile fell. It’s not that she wanted to complain, but it was Sunday, and she was home, yet Sun Miao still had to go to work. That… that little stall of hers, what was so good about it?

The past few days were one thing. After all, she was selling expensive things, earning a lot in a short time. She could make over 10,000 yuan in this short period. Seven days would be 80,000, and if she sold this for a month, it would be around 350,000—an income that would be enviable anywhere.

But from everything Sun Miao said, it sounded like she was going back to her usual money-making model afterward.

Six in the morning to six in the evening, not to mention, all for just a few measly coins a day!

The more Su Ruixi thought about it, the angrier she got. She really wanted to just lock Sun Miao at home, to cook only for her, to just be sweet and loving with her.

But Sun Miao just wasn’t that kind of person.

She likes running her stall. Su Ruixi could see it. She genuinely loves pushing her little food cart around, loves interacting with other people, and loves coming home and chattering nonstop about the interesting things that happened while she was working.

Su Ruixi also couldn’t bring herself to actually persuade her not to go out, to just wait for her at home.

There was nothing to be done. She also truly loved the Sun Miao who was like a little sun when she was at her stall.

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