Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 142

Let Her Do It!

Su Ruixi had figured things out. She turned back to get ready to clean the kitchen, and right at that moment, her father called. She hadn’t put on her gloves yet, and to answer the phone, she set them aside.

Before Su Ruixi could even speak, her dad spoke first. He mainly said that the matter with Yuanfu Lou should be resolved. Although the situation with Chef Qian and the manager hadn’t been finalized, they definitely wouldn’t be able to stir up any more trouble. He also mentioned that because their affair had become known throughout their circle, the owner of Yuanfu Lou had offended a whole bunch of people and would probably suffer big time later on.

Su Ruixi just responded faintly. When she decided to cause a scene at the main entrance yesterday, she had already guessed the outcome.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up. Don’t keep me from my work.”

“Where are you now? Working overtime again? Hasn’t your girlfriend tried to talk you down? If being in a relationship can’t even get you to rein it in a little, then I say you might as well not have this girlfriend!” Father Su seized every opportunity to put in a bad word about his daughter’s girlfriend. As the girl’s parent, he was already dissatisfied with anyone who pried his daughter away.

And now, to make things worse, the other person was a woman!

As Father Su muttered pettily, he heard Su Ruixi say, “Nope, I’m at home.”

“You brought your work home with you?”

“No, I’m getting ready to clean the kitchen.”

“???” Father Su nearly fainted from anger and immediately tried to persuade Su Ruixi, “Don’t you go doing something like digging for wild vegetables!¹ A love-addled brain isn’t worth it. What about that girl? Let her do it! And what about the cleaning lady you hired? Let her do it!”

“The cleaning lady doesn’t come until the afternoon. She’s out with her stall right now, and she has to come back for lunch. She can’t come back to a complete mess², can she?” Su Ruixi stated the facts, which nearly gave her father a heart attack.

He took a long moment to calm down before saying, “When are you bringing your girlfriend home? Let us have a look, too.”

“I’m not letting you see her. You’ll definitely cause trouble for her.” Su Ruixi saw right through him.³ With the matter settled, Su Ruixi didn’t want to talk to her father anymore. “Don’t call me for no reason in the future. Every time you call, you just want to drive a wedge between us. If you need to get in touch, have Mom call. Hanging up.”

“…”

Su Ruixi didn’t know how her father was feeling, but it had nothing to do with her.

Having spent so much time with Sun Miao, the habit had probably rubbed off on her. When doing tasks that didn’t require brain cells, she now felt like making some noise. She would occasionally hear Sun Miao humming a song while she worked.

There was no fixed melody, and you couldn’t tell what song it was; even the lyrics were incomprehensible. She just sang whatever she wanted, things that popped into her head or came out without thinking.

Su Ruixi hadn’t quite reached that point, but she did feel that without some sound, it would be a bit boring. So, she turned on the sound system in the living room. She didn’t know much about audio equipment; it was just part of a package deal installed during the renovation, shipped from abroad, with a quoted price of around 800,000 yuan.

The quality was actually quite good. Su Ruixi knew there was surely a markup, but she approved of the system’s quality. It also had built-in speakers, which created a really nice atmosphere.

It was just that Su Ruixi rarely used it.

Now, however, it came in handy. Listening to music while working in the kitchen, Su Ruixi found that she worked faster and was in a better mood than usual.

While Su Ruixi was working at home, Sun Miao was still on the road. She followed Su Ruixi’s advice and drove slower and more steadily, arriving at the entrance of Yuanfu Lou around the same time as usual. The customers swarmed her as soon as they saw her, though there were fewer people than normal.

Before Sun Miao could even ask why, a more talkative customer told her the whole story.

“Didn’t the owner of Yuanfu Lou say they’d be offering free Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe made by the Huaiyang cuisine chef, Jiang Ping, starting today? A lot of people are planning to go over there at noon to eat. It’s not that they’re being cheap, they just want to try a different flavor.”

This customer’s phrasing was rather tactful. Another one was much more direct: “Some people are just cheap. They’re clearly not short on money, but the moment they hear ‘free,’ they immediately ditch Little Boss’s stall to go eat at Yuanfu Lou.” The customer also took the chance to praise one at the other’s expense: “I’m different. I’m completely devoted to the boss. No matter how delicious Yuanfu Lou’s food is, I’m sticking with Little Boss.”

It wasn’t actually strange that wealthy people would want to try something for free. Being rich was one thing, being frugal was another. When something free was right there, why not give it a try? If it were Sun Miao, she’d probably be tempted to try it too.

But Yuanfu Lou was too expensive. Sun Miao felt that going to Yuanfu Lou just for a Lion’s Head Meatball with Crab Roe wasn’t really worth it. After all, the prices of the other dishes were right there—even a bowl of plain white rice cost 88 yuan. Sun Miao felt her own homemade rice tasted better, so she would never fall for that ripoff.

Sun Miao understood these people’s choices, and she also understood the customer who praised her by putting others down.

But she still burst their little bubble: “Even if you say that, if you don’t get one when it’s your turn in line, I won’t sell you one separately, you know.”

“…” Little Boss Sun was great in every way, except her words could be so hurtful.

In no time at all, Sun Miao had sold out of the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe and it was time to pack up her little food cart again. Fewer customers had come than usual, but there were still quite a few, and some still hadn’t managed to buy one.

As Sun Miao was packing up, she caught a glimpse of Yuanfu Lou’s owner, Yuan Xiangyi, walking out of the restaurant. Her steps were lighter today, and the smile on her face was tinged with extra delight. As the woman approached, Sun Miao preemptively poured a basin of cold water on her: “The Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe are already sold out. I’m getting ready to go home.”

Yuan Xiangyi, however, waved her hand. “I’s not here to buy a Lion’s Head, Little Boss Sun. Could we step aside to talk?”

“No.” Sun Miao refused her instantly. She had promised Su Ruixi she would go back early, and they were going to eat noodles together.

Hearing Sun Miao’s words, Yuan Xiangyi was a bit taken aback. She looked troubled. “But some things aren’t really appropriate to say in front of a large crowd.” She glanced at the remaining customers who hadn’t left. They had clearly seen Yuan Xiangyi; some were curious about why she was looking for Sun Miao, while others, who had become Sun Miao’s loyal fans, were worried Yuan Xiangyi was there to cause trouble.

But Sun Miao shook her head. “What could you and I possibly have to say that can’t be said in public? If you want to say it, say it. If not, I’m going home.”

Yuan Xiangyi raised a hand, signaling for Sun Miao not to leave in such a hurry. After a moment, seeing Sun Miao’s packing speed up as she truly prepared to leave, she finally blurted out, “It’s like this, I want to invite you to work at Yuanfu Lou. We’ve all seen your skill, and as a restaurant owner, I feel I absolutely cannot miss out on you. We can discuss the compensation; you just name your price.”

She was serious. After eating that Lion’s Head Meatball with Crab Roe, she’d had this idea. It was just that Chef Qian and the manager were still standing between them at the time. If she had brought it up then, she would have just gotten a sour look from Sun Miao. That’s why Yuan Xiangyi had waited until the matter was over before eagerly approaching Sun Miao to make her request.

But Sun Miao wasn’t one to be swayed; when she decided not to give someone face, she meant it. “No thanks, I’m quite happy with my stall. Please find someone more qualified.”

The moment Yuan Xiangyi proposed to recruit Sun Miao, alarm bells went off in the system inside Sun Miao’s head, ringing so loudly her head hurt. Sun Miao soothed the system and prepared to leave. But at this moment, the customers crowded around. After realizing Sun Miao wasn’t being bullied, they started chiming in:

“Little Boss Sun, I think you should consider it. The benefits for employees at Yuanfu Lou are really good, and it can give you a bigger platform. If you have aspirations for a culinary career, you could get a lot of sponsorship for certification exams and various major competitions to win awards.”

They started persuading Sun Miao, mainly because they all wanted to eat her Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe. As a street vendor, Sun Miao could pack up and leave at any time. These were all shrewd people; they knew that with her level of skill, Sun Miao wouldn’t remain completely unknown. Many had already discovered that Sun Miao was the same owner of the beef pancake and changfen stalls that people had been searching for online.

They had never eaten the beef pancakes or changfens, but they imagined the taste couldn’t be bad. They were used to a life of comfort and certainly didn’t want to be like college students, begging grandpas and pleading with grandmas⁴ all over the place for an unknown little stall. If Sun Miao were permanently stationed at Yuanfu Lou, wouldn’t they be able to find Little Boss Sun whenever they wanted to eat?

The customers’ thinking was all well and good, but unfortunately, the system exploded in Sun Miao’s head. It was going crazy with rage. It pointed at the crowd and began: 【This one, that one, and her, and him, and it—add them all to the blacklist! They’re not allowed to eat our food!】

The system had truly lost its mind. The “it” it was referring to was a small dog being held by a customer, which had let out a couple of “woofs” after being startled by the noise.

Luckily, Sun Miao could only hear the sound “ta.” With so many people at the scene, she didn’t know who the system was talking about. She just thought: my customers have gone crazy too.

She raised her hand and pressed it down. “Everyone, quiet down. If you keep this up, I’ll add you all to the blacklist.” In an instant, the customers truly fell silent. Some of them were in the same social circle as Zhang Qiang and had long heard about what happened to her. They had been laughing at Zhang Qiang at the time, but now that the power of the “blacklist” was directed at them, they didn’t dare act up.

Who could laugh at Zhang Qiang now? They were worse than her; at least Zhang Qiang dared to confront things head-on.

Some people didn’t know what the blacklist was, but their instincts told them it was best not to speak right now. Hadn’t they seen those shrewd ones shut their mouths immediately?

“Everyone, I’m just a lowly street vendor. I’m not going to go take some chef certification exam, nor will I enter any competitions to win awards. Peacefully running my little stall is more important than anything else.” Sun Miao’s words spoke right to the system’s heart. It was soothed and stopped shouting in her mind.

Sun Miao looked at Yuan Xiangyi again. “And thank you for the offer, really, but I still want to run my stall. It’s better for me this way. Besides, I don’t only make dishes like Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe. Most of the time, I might just be selling a bowl of small wontons, a beef pancake, or a bowl of noodles. Although I sell them for more than usual, they’re still things everyone can afford.”

“So, I won’t be going to Yuanfu Lou.” Sun Miao broke into a smile. “That’s all. See you all tomorrow, I’m heading home now~”

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