Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 184

Oyster Pancake¹

The small stall over here was not as clean as Sun Miao’s; the egg hamburger stall had a large griddle with individual round molds in it, and egg hamburger were already being made. Beside it were basins for the batter and basins holding the fillings.

The boss was not so particular; the rice batter leaked from the edge of the basin and dripped onto the tabletop. She was busy attending to business and had no spare time to deal with it. The outside of the griddle that was being used to make the egg hamburger was also caked with a layer of batter. In short… Su Ruixi looked at it and only wanted to frown.

But Sun Miao was used to this kind of situation. She just opened her mouth like any other customer who came to buy and asked for a Wuxiang² one. The egg hamburger was picked out from the round mold and fell onto the serving plate beside it. The boss skillfully brushed on the Wuxiang sauce.

After finishing brushing, she gave a bag to Sun Miao and went to attend to the next customer.

Sun Miao scanned the code to pay, sending 5 kuai out.

This price was truly cheap. If it were the city the two of them had come from, you absolutely could not buy it for less than 10 kuai. Sun Miao pulled Su Ruixi to the side, so as not to block others from doing business. Sun Miao knew Su Ruixi did not like to eat things from outside, so she only bought one, planning to share it with Su Ruixi.

It was already very hot at the end of June, but the temperature in Qindao was comparatively cool and refreshing, and it was still a little cold in the early morning. The egg hamburger was placed directly into a bag, making the plastic bag warm and soft, and it was also steamed with hot air. Sun Miao held it in her palm, using the plastic bag to wrap the egg hamburger, and moved it out a little to bring it before Su Ruixi: “Susu-jie, you take the first bite.”

Su Ruixi indeed really did not want to eat outside, but seeing Sun Miao’s action, her entire heart was soft. She was holding the egg hamburger, and the first person she thought of was her. The way she held it, it was as if she were holding a rare treasure of the age. This made Su Ruixi feel that this egg hamburger, perhaps, was not that hard to eat.

Su Ruixi reached out and pushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ear to prevent it from hanging down while she was eating. Then she moved a little closer and, from Sun Miao’s hand, gently took a bite.

To be honest, Su Ruixi still did not think it was that delicious, but it was not hard to eat either. She chewed a few bites and tasted the soft pancake skin and the Wuxiang sauce spread on it.

“Susu-jie, is it delicious?”

“It’s not hard to eat.”

Su Ruixi spoke the truth, but Sun Miao revealed a smile: “Right? It’s not hard to eat, right?” Sun Miao took several large bites. Her hearty manner made Su Ruixi feel that she herself was a little hungry. She had clearly just had a bite and thought it was just so-so, but watching Sun Miao eat, that egg hamburger seemed as if it were a delicacy of the human world.

Sun Miao noticed Su Ruixi’s expression and moved closer again: “Susu-jie, another bite?”

“Mm.”

Su Ruixi took another bite, and it was the same feeling: just not hard to eat. But Sun Miao ate so happily that, in fact, it was not that bad to eat either.

This kind of scene continued many times. By the time they walked out of the market, Sun Miao was full, and Su Ruixi was also full. Only then did she realize in surprise: it turned out that in this kind of market, she too could eat her fill.

But Sun Miao had to be by her side. If she were alone, she definitely would not eat a single thing.

After coming out of the market, Sun Miao let out a burp and sighed with emotion: “This place really has a smoke and fire flavor³.”

Su Ruixi also nodded: “Indeed.”

But Su Ruixi’s smoke and fire flavor was not the same as Sun Miao’s. Only in a place where Sun Miao was present did Su Ruixi feel it was a smoke and fire human world⁴. If Sun Miao were not there, then that market, to Su Ruixi, would at most be a dirty, messy, and bad place.

After finishing breakfast, they went to some scenic spots to stroll for half a day, and then at 9:30, they went to the famous seafood market here.

Actually, regarding whether or not to go to the seafood market, Sun Miao was a bit conflicted. The first point was that every time a seafood market was mentioned, then that meant preparing for a pit⁵. Inside the seafood market, the moisture content is too great⁶. Deceiving on the scales, short-weighing, ghost scales⁷ and what not could be overlooked; at most, one would just be cheated out of a sum of money. The most feared thing was—they were clearly fine and fresh when you bought them, but as a result, if you had them shipped by air or carried them away, you would discover that what you bought was a bunch of what stinky fish and rotten shrimp.

Moreover, the connections in this kind of market were twisted roots and tangled branches⁸; it was not like when buying the chicken before, where one could argue on the basis of reason.

He who understands the times is an outstanding person⁹. She was with Su Ruixi; it was impossible to carry out a positive energy rectification in an unfamiliar city. Besides, Qindao also had a very famous tourist incident—the Qindao Prawns¹⁰. At that time, the person who bought the prawns to eat had specifically asked whether the prawns were 38 yuan per plate or per piece, and the shopkeeper had clearly told the consumer it was per plate.

As a result, when it was time to pay the bill, it was 38 for one piece.

This matter was super famous, causing everyone’s impression of Qindao to be not very good. Especially later, when incidents of the Qindao seafood market ripping off customers emerged one after another, it made tourists keep a respectful distance from Qindao.

Sun Miao was also afraid of encountering such a situation and had even looked up many posts. Quite a few bloggers patted their chests and said that Qindao was much better now, which was what gave Sun Miao the courage to bring Su Ruixi over. In fact, as soon as Sun Miao went in, she discovered that it should be much better than before.

The price list for the seafood was directly enlarged and posted in the most conspicuous place in the market, allowing every person who came in to see the official guidance prices.

This made Sun Miao breathe a sigh of relief. She took Su Ruixi to choose carefully in the market for a while before buying some seafood to take back. There was a lot of seafood in Qindao from June to July, but this was not a place that was a rich producer of that kind of large seafood; it was mainly small seafood.

For example, clams, oysters, scallops, and prawns were more numerous.

After returning to the hotel, Sun Miao went to the kitchen of the suite and began to clean up the seafood. Su Ruixi wanted to help, but seafood was much more difficult to handle than vegetables. Sun Miao did not let Su Ruixi help, instead telling her to find the hotel butler to ask for some things.

Although there was a kitchen in the suite, its usage frequency was not high, so many things were lacking.

Su Ruixi nodded and went to prepare according to Sun Miao’s request, while Sun Miao stayed in the kitchen and started to make their lunch. She had bought quite a few oysters, which are also called hailizi. When she bought them, she had already thought it over; she definitely had to make a Oyster Pancake.

She had experience making pasta and flour-based food and had also made pancakes several times. Making Oyster Pancake for her was a matter of holding it in her hand and pinching it¹¹.

However, Sun Miao had never made it before, after all, so she still had to follow an online tutorial.

The ingredients needed for Oyster Pancake were not many; the most crucial were oysters, flour, eggs, and chopped scallions, and that would be enough. The most difficult part of this dish was not the preparation, but processing the oyster meat. Oysters are actually quite dirty, with many impurities stuck to the meat.

When cleaning, you must first add flour to let the flour absorb the dirt on the oyster meat, then rinse it repeatedly under running water. The most crucial thing is that every single one must be pulled open to prevent some broken shell fragments from hiding inside the oyster meat.

This step required more patience, but it also had to be done. Otherwise, what if you were halfway through eating and bit down on a small, hard piece of shell?

Fortunately, Sun Miao’s patience was abundant. Only after picking through all of them one by one did she begin the preparation.

In the middle of it, Su Ruixi had already returned with the butler, placing everything in the kitchen before preparing to leave. The butler saw that Sun Miao seemed to be making Oyster Pancake and could not help but remind her: “Ladies, the hotel restaurant also provides these local dishes. You may also purchase them yourselves and then hand them directly to the kitchen for preparation. You are both our hotel’s honored guests, so these services are all free of charge. Our hotel’s chefs are all chefs who hold first-class chef certificates; their skills are absolutely trustworthy.”

Su Ruixi’s reaction was very faint: “Mm, got it, you can leave first.”

This attitude of hers showed that she still preferred to eat what Sun Miao made. The butler saw that Su Ruixi’s mind was made up and did not say anything more, only once again wishing them an enjoyable time in Qindao before choosing to leave.

After the person left, Su Ruixi then moved closer to Sun Miao to speak ill of the hotel. Strictly speaking, it could not be considered speaking ill.

“I don’t want to. No matter who makes it, it definitely won’t be as delicious as what Miaomiao makes.”

Sun Miao was at the sink picking out the dregs from the oyster meat. Hearing what Su Ruixi said, her voice muffled a laugh: “That’s not the case either; they might make it better. I’ve never cooked much seafood before; I learned it all from the internet just now.”

“It’s still better than what that chef makes.”

Su Ruixi’s faith in Sun Miao’s cooking skill was blind.

Hearing her lover trust her so much, Sun Miao could not help but reveal a small smile: “Okay.”

The Oyster Pancake was made in no time. The edges of the freshly-out-of-the-pan Oyster Pancake were crispy, while the inside was very soft and tender. Su Ruixi picked up her chopsticks and launched an attack on the Oyster Pancake.

The oyster is a very special food; it is soft. Su Ruixi actually did not like to eat this thing because the fishy smell was relatively strong. But to many people, this was simply a top-grade delicacy. It was even said that oysters were naturally born to be served on the dining table, especially on a barbecue grill. As long as you pried it open, placed it on top, and put on some chili and minced garlic sauce, it even prepared a bowl for itself.

People who love to eat it find it delicious even without adding minced garlic sauce. But for people who do not love to eat it, such as Su Ruixi, they detest it to the extreme.

Especially some oysters that were said to be cultivated organically, to be swallowed in one gulp except for the shell… what a joke, was she, Su Ruixi, supposed to eat the oyster’s internal organs too? She could not do that.

Anyway, whoever loved to eat it could eat it; Su Ruixi would not.

But at this moment, all of Su Ruixi’s ideas were shattered. The oysters in Sun Miao’s Oyster Pancake were whole. She had not chosen large oysters, but the small kind, each about the size of a finger joint. With one bite, you could also taste the pancake skin, egg, and fragrant scallions, which enveloped the oyster meat and entered the stomach together.

Perhaps because many other things were added, the original taste of the oyster was diluted, and the fishy smell that Su Ruixi disliked the most was also gone. On the contrary, it made her eat the marrow and know its taste¹², eating one bite after another without stopping.

The Oyster Pancake was really delicious. After eating it, Su Ruixi even felt the sensation of a sea breeze brushing against her face and could not help but think of the scene from yesterday, standing with Sun Miao on top of Hui Lan Pavilion, gazing out at the sea.

The freshness, fragrance, crispiness, and tenderness of the Oyster Pancake blossomed in her mouth, leaving Su Ruixi incomparably satisfied. But when the last bite of Oyster Pancake went down her stomach, Su Ruixi’s sense of satisfaction receded like the tide, continuously sailing into the distance with the sea waves. All that was left was the smile from eating delicious food on her face, and that impulse in her heart: I’m not full yet, I want to eat another bite.

Su Ruixi licked the corner of her mouth but did not act on the impulse.

Because at this very moment, Sun Miao was already making other delicacies.

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