Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 153

Backpacker

Sun Miao and this backpacker exchanged with one hand, one handing over a Zongzi, the other passing over a jumbo water bottle.

When she got it in her hand and took a look, she felt that this thing could hold as much as a thermos. Looking again at the measurement markings on the cup body, it read 2200ml. Sun Miao almost laughed out of exasperation; if this whole bottle of water was drunk, this backpacker could probably drink for an entire day.

Sun Miao opened the sluice gate to release water, taking about 30 seconds to fill it up.

After it was full, she returned it to the backpacker. The backpacker said “Thank you” as she took it, and then, like a hungry ghost reincarnated¹—she first drank the water, taking several big gulps, kuang chi kuang chi, before she felt better. Afterwards, she took the Zongzi and went to Sun Miao’s table and chairs to sit down.

After sitting down, she began to eat slowly.

At the first bite of the Zongzi, her eyes lit up, shining brightly. Evidently, she had been subdued by Sun Miao’s Zongzi and had fallen in love with it. Following that, she ate faster and faster, making Sun Miao a little worried as she watched: She won’t choke, will she?

Fortunately, although she ate quickly, she also knew to drink water. In no time, she had finished one Zongzi and had also drunk several mouthfuls of water.

After finishing, she didn’t leave in a hurry, but instead started to chat with Sun Miao: “Boss, there’s really no fault with your Zongzi. At first, when I saw it was 15 for one, I was wondering how it could be so expensive. But it’s truly delicious. The high price is not its shortcoming, it is mine.”

“Also, thank you for filling my water. I was about to die of thirst. I slept directly in the train station yesterday, and the water inside was so expensive… The prices here are also so expensive, truly worthy of being the place known nationwide for having the highest prices. Thank you, thank you, you really saved my dog life².”

Sun Miao waved her hand: “It’s a small matter.”

She chattered on for a good while, then sighed: “The only pity is, such a delicious Zongzi, I probably won’t be able to eat it in the future.”

At this moment, many things surfaced in Sun Miao’s mind. After a moment, she asked with some caution: “What’s wrong, did you get some kind of…”

Before Sun Miao could finish her question, the backpacker waved her hand: “No, no, I’m not sick. But you can tell by looking at me, I’m just a budget backpacker³. The prices here are so expensive, I can’t stay for long. I’ll have to leave in a couple of days.”

“Sigh, after leaving you, where else can I go to eat such a delicious Zongzi.”

The backpacker’s tone was very sorrowful, and it was clear that she was someone who recognizes quality goods, who knew that Sun Miao’s craftsmanship was hard to find in this world.

At first, Sun Miao was a bit perplexed, because what she made was truly delicious, and the person in front of her fully understood this point. Yet she still said she would give up eating such a delicious Zongzi again because of her travels.

The next moment, Sun Miao understood. Her own cuisine might be the best, might be unforgettable. But to a person, the most important thing might not be what to eat. For the backpacker in front of her, perhaps this was the case. The important thing was where to go tomorrow, what kind of unforgettable scenery to see, rather than lingering in a certain place to eat some unforgettable delicacy.

The backpacker looked not the slightest bit like the stereotypical impression of women in the public eye. She had a buzz cut, with only a tuft of black stubble on the top of her head. Her body was also dark, and even her face was dark. Her skin looked even rougher than that of Sun Miao, who was exposed to the wind and sun.

But her water bottle was a very cute and lovely blue and pink gradient.

Just having such a person standing in front of her, anyone would first be attracted by her sparkling eyes and unrestrained soul. So Sun Miao said: “Then I wish you a smooth journey. We will meet again if there is fate⁴.”

“Boss, aren’t you going to give me a Zongzi? Usually, when others hear me say this, they can’t help but give me something to eat.”

“No.”

The two of them stared at each other, big eyes facing small eyes, for a while. Soon after, both of them let out a puchi⁵ and laughed. The backpacker finished eating, put her backpack on her back again, and then waved at Sun Miao: “We will meet again if there is fate~”

It was not strange for such a backpacker to come to an international metropolis. Mountains and lakes are beautiful scenery, and so are tall buildings. Perhaps she came from the north, is now heading south, and will then go west to see even more beautiful scenery.

Perhaps she had no destination at all; wherever she walked, that was it. She didn’t have much money, but to be able to just carry a backpack and travel everywhere at such a young age, Sun Miao actually admired her quite a bit. Just now, when passing her the water bottle, Sun Miao had also seen the thick calluses on the web of her hand⁶.

This was a mark left from gripping something for many years. The previous Jiang Ping had them; she was a chef and held a knife all year round, so it was natural. The backpacker in front of her also had them, but she probably wasn’t a chef, so she must be gripping something else—such as a self-defense weapon or the like.

She was a very formidable girl, with courage, but it wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about anything. She had also experienced and seen extraordinary struggles, and had long been prepared for this arduous journey.

“System, will she and I meet again?” Sun Miao didn’t want that “meet again if there is fate” to truly be a final farewell. Such a shining soul, she of course hoped to see again.

The System hummed and hawed for a couple of sounds: 【When the Host and Su Ruixi go to other places to have fun, just remember to keep doing missions.】

“Haha, I knew you were a good person~”

Sun Miao unreservedly gave the System a good person card⁷. It wasn’t that she liked the backpacker in that sense, but she yearned for the other’s free soul. Having met such a person, she naturally hoped Su Ruixi could also meet her once. Otherwise, just hearing her talk about it, Susu-jie would definitely feel it was a pity not to have seen it with her own eyes.

After that person left, Sun Miao took out her phone again. Su Ruixi had already sent her a message, saying she was now driving to work. Sun Miao really wanted to send Su Ruixi a message, to tell her to work at ease, to cheer her on. But the thought that Su Ruixi was driving right now, and might be distracted by her message, was ultimately not good.

She put down her hand, waiting until around nine o’clock, when Su Ruixi would have already arrived at the company, to send it to her.

At this point, not many people came to buy Sun Miao’s Zongzi. She knew some people were rushing to work and wouldn’t come to buy, and that business might get better around noon. She sat in her seat, idly watching the time fly by.

After waiting with great difficulty until 8:50, Sun Miao finally sent a message to Su Ruixi: A new day, you have to cheer up~

Su Ruixi’s message was an instant reply: You too.

Only then was Sun Miao satisfied. Not long after, a message popped up on her shopping app, telling her that the items she bought had been placed at the delivery point in Cuiting Yayuan. When Sun Miao saw that message, she couldn’t sit still.

Because… it was the lubricant and finger cots she had bought. Just the thought of these items of hers waiting at the delivery point made Sun Miao feel inexplicably embarrassed. She wanted to message the auntie to ask her to pick them up, but was worried that some information might be written on the delivery box that the auntie would see, making things awkward for them both later.

She was still inexperienced, having never bought these things before. She only knew that it was said to be discreet shipping⁸ online, but she had also seen many people complain that “discreet is worse than no secrecy” and “the shipping is a mess.” She had even secretly changed her surname and hadn’t specified the villa number in the address, only locating it at Cuiting Yayuan.

She comforted herself: “The things are just there, they won’t run away, what’s there to be anxious or worried about.”

Yet the System still teased her: 【When is the Host planning to have a nightlife? I’ll block it in advance.】

“If you say another word, you can block yourself right now.”

【…】

The little System was no match for Sun Miao at all.

At this time, the number of people on the pedestrian street increased. Although today was a workday, and there were still two or three days until the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, it was an international metropolis after all, and there was an endless stream of people who had taken leave in advance. This hour was still considered early, so they only came in groups of two and three. This number was not small for Sun Miao, but very few people actually stopped to buy her Zongzi.

Actually, her small sign really deterred many people. If it weren’t for this sign, it’s estimated that some people would see the Zongzi and come over to ask. After asking, they would be too embarrassed not to buy, so they would buy one to try, and then they would be captured by Sun Miao’s Zongzi and willingly buy a second one.

However, Sun Miao didn’t want to do it this way. Even if the final result was good, when people came over to ask the price and felt it was too expensive, they would still have an unpleasant feeling.

She was doing business, mainly with a Buddha-like⁹ approach; as long as everyone was happy. It was only because she was earning more money now, especially since the last cycle of selling Lion’s Head Meatballs had made her a huge profit and her wallet was full, that she could say this. If she were as poor as when she first transmigrated, clanging with poverty¹⁰, she would definitely be eagerly hoping for people to buy more.

More and more people came, and by 10:30, the pedestrian street was already packed with people. Sun Miao’s small stall was still a place where you could set up a net for sparrows at the door¹¹. Sun Miao wasn’t anxious, just sitting on her chair and playing with her phone. Only when a customer occasionally arrived would she get up to pack a Zongzi for them.

Actually, she still had some gains. There was a group of customers who looked around inside but couldn’t find anything they wanted to eat. This was a pedestrian street, and everything was equally expensive; even a bottle of mineral water cost 5 yuan. In comparison, Sun Miao’s 15-yuan-a-piece Zongzi was very expensive, but not expensive to an unbelievable degree.

In other words, Sun Miao had fully integrated into the environment.

So, from time to time, a customer would buy one, and if they found it delicious, they would return to buy another. Going back and forth like this, Sun Miao also sold quite a few. By this time, she still had one hundred and twenty Zongzi left. In the meantime, a chengguan¹² had come to ask, checked the relevant documents to confirm there were no problems, and after reminding her to make sure to clean up the sanitation afterwards, didn’t bother Sun Miao anymore.

Her business truly picked up at 11 o’clock. Many regular customers only came at this time, especially the wealthy customers she had accumulated. For them, they mostly couldn’t get up in the morning, and going to the company after lunch was more in line with their schedule. On the way to work, “coincidentally” stopping by Sun Miao’s place to taste a meat Zongzi, wouldn’t that be beautiful.

They were all like chicken thieves¹³; they brought their own drivers, had their drivers buy two as well, the driver would eat one, and the remaining one was for themselves. They were cautiously testing Sun Miao’s bottom line, terrified that they would accidentally be blacklisted themselves. Not being able to eat Sun Miao’s cuisine was fatal, but what was more fatal was that, from then on, besides Zhang Qiang, there would be one more person in their circle to be laughed at.

After confirming that Sun Miao didn’t care about this, they breathed a sigh of relief.

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