Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 19

Is It Really That Good?

Li Nainai’s granddaughter was known throughout the entire residential complex for being picky with food, but…

Li Nainai’s granddaughter was known throughout the entire residential complex for being a picky eater. If anything wasn’t to her liking, she would refuse to eat. They had to coax her just to take a single bite of food. The neighbors said she was raised too preciously, secretly criticizing the Li family’s child-rearing abilities.

But the Li family didn’t mind – their granddaughter was their precious pearl. So what if she was a bit picky with food?

This malatang stall was her favorite, and Li Nainai had checked the ingredients and soup base herself, knowing it was clean and hygienic. With Xiaosun’s demonstrated skill, if her granddaughter loved it, she as grandmother would wait in line.

There was still an old man at home who didn’t want to queue but wanted malatang. He’d have to eat the cold leftovers after the grandmother-granddaughter pair finished dining. Hmph, if he wouldn’t queue himself but wanted to order others around, cold food was what he deserved.

Li Nainai had considered sending their housekeeper to buy it while she waited at home, but since her granddaughter was willing to come out for malatang, she was happy to take the child for a walk.

Despite Li Nainai’s endorsement, Mother Zhou couldn’t believe a mere malatang stall could be that good. Nevertheless, she waited patiently. As the line shortened, the small tables next to Miao Miao’s Mobile Food Bar stand were full, so everyone was getting takeout.

When it was Li Nainai’s turn, two seats happened to open up, so she decided to eat there. She ordered three portions: one mildly spicy for takeout for her old man, and two with clear broth. Her granddaughter, already like a regular customer, started ordering her favorite items.

Sun Miao’s fish balls and peeing beef balls were the best sellers. You could tell they were handmade at first taste – they were truly delicious, which explained their popularity. After ordering, the little granddaughter, acting like a grown-up, recommended them to Mother Zhou behind her.

“Sun-jiejie’s fish balls and peeing beef balls are handmade, they’re especially delicious, even better than the restaurant we usually go to!”

Li Nainai added: “She means Yuan Fu Lou.”

At this, Mother Zhou was skeptical. Yuan Fu Lou was a famous restaurant in the city with many master chefs, and its owner’s ancestors were said to have been imperial chefs, with several signature dishes. While peeing beef balls weren’t their specialty, Mother Zhou had tried them several times, and the taste was extraordinary.

Fresh, crisp, and simply delicious.

Despite her skepticism, after the grandmother-granddaughter pair finished ordering, Mother Zhou followed suit. Sun Miao recited her usual lines: “Thirty yuan per portion, choose two meat items and three vegetables, comes with rice noodles. We have spicy and non-spicy options – would you like to dine here or take out?”

Mother Zhou glanced aside, saw no empty seats, and said, “Takeout… clear broth.”

After saying this, she began selecting sides. Out of curiosity, she ordered one portion of peeing beef balls and basa fish slices. She casually picked three vegetable options, but made a point to observe that, true to Li Nainai’s words, all vegetables at this small stall were indeed fresh.

Especially the bok choy, which was crystal clear with particularly tender leaves, clearly purchased that very morning.

In fact, they were especially tender because Sun Miao lived in the suburbs, where landlords had one or two mu [666.7 square meters] of farmland each. Some grew more than they could eat but found selling troublesome. Sun Miao simply bought directly from them early in the morning.

Buying directly from them was cheaper than the market and fresher too. The downside was that only seasonal vegetables were available – no mushrooms, bean sprouts, or enoki mushrooms. She still had to make a separate trip to the market.

However, Sun Miao still preferred buying seasonal vegetables from them. She would process them right after harvest and store them in her high-tech refrigeration system. How could they not be fresh? Moreover, the elderly farmers were kinder than market vendors, selecting only the best vegetables for her, saving her the trouble of careful selection.

In short, her vegetables were guaranteed quality, far superior to ordinary restaurants.

Sun Miao prepared the malatang for this unfamiliar customer and smiled: “Here you go. Please come again~”

Sun Miao’s smile was simple and uplifting. She appeared young and energetic, with such a sunny expression that anyone who saw it couldn’t help but smile back. “Ah…” Mother Zhou responded, then headed home with her malatang.

After getting home, she became hesitant. She had sent her driver away and walked home, wondering if the food would be cold and unpalatable. Just thinking about the layer of oil that would float on top of the cold soup made Mother Zhou lose her appetite.

After a moment’s hesitation, curiosity got the better of Mother Zhou, and she opened the food container. To her surprise, though the soup had indeed cooled somewhat, the oil on the surface was light and delicate, appearing more like decorative ripples than the unappetizing, congealed layer she had feared.

This discovery startled her, but then she remembered – this was the stall everyone in the complex recommended, so it must have something special about it.

Mother Zhou took a sniff. Earlier at the malatang stall, the clear broth’s aroma had been masked. Though Sun Miao’s food cart contained the aromas well, the tables nearby had customers eating the fragrant spicy soup base, its powerful scent overwhelming all other aromas.

Now at home, opening the takeout container lid, she could finally smell the clear broth’s aroma. The pure fragrance wafted up to her nose, and just this scent alone was more aromatic than Yuan Fu Lou’s premium soup.

Mother Zhou couldn’t resist and began eating.

This malatang was truly delicious. Especially the peeing beef balls – nowadays, most peeing beef balls are machine-made, and most people can’t tell the difference. But for gourmets [老饕 | lǎo tāo | food connoisseur] and wealthy individuals like Mother Zhou, the difference was immediately apparent.

Hand-made peeing beef balls had a more refined texture and better bite, while machine-made ones were too loose. Even when machine-made ones had some chewiness, it wasn’t the same – the texture felt more like biting into plastic.

Such a distinct difference – how could Mother Zhou not taste it?

She was conquered by this bowl of malatang. When people eat something truly delicious, they can’t force themselves to say “this thing is unsanitary or tastes bad.” Instead, they forgive its minor flaws because of how good it tastes. For instance, it being a street stall with possible dust from passing vehicles, or having a proprietor who looked too young to make such delicious food.

In short, these small issues could be overlooked in the face of such delicious food.

She finally understood why Li Nainai would bring her precious grandchild to eat malatang – because it was genuinely delicious.

At that moment, she thought of her daughter, Zhou Ling.

Remembering what her neighbor had said yesterday, she thought, perhaps she should bring Ling’er to eat here tonight – surely she wouldn’t dislike these flavors.

Setting aside Mother Zhou’s evening plans, Su Ruixi happily left work early today, so early that even her assistant was puzzled by her boss’s unusual departure time. Su Ruixi offered no explanation and left even earlier, not wanting to get caught in the evening rush hour traffic and end up eating malatang after seven.

In the morning when she went to work, Sun Miao hadn’t set up her stall yet. The location wasn’t close to her company, and making a round trip just for a bowl of malatang during lunch break wasn’t practical. So she could only leave work early and arrive at the right time for dinner.

She had already eaten there twice, and this would be her third time.

But unexpectedly, she still had to queue today. Well, considering the timing – she’d arrived at the small stall right during dinner hours – the crowd wasn’t surprising.

After waiting a while, Su Ruixi suddenly realized she was actually standing in line this long just for a bowl of malatang. If someone had told her before, “One day you’ll wait half an hour in line for a bowl of malatang,” she would have thought they were talking nonsense.

Yet here she was, doing exactly that.

Yes, she waited a full half hour before it was her turn.

Sun Miao stood behind her food cart, reciting prices and asking about preferences as usual. Without exception, Su Ruixi chose clear broth and decided to eat there. But then Sun Miao suddenly asked, “I made some chili sauce, it’s not very spicy. Would you like to try it?”

Who? Try what?

This was Su Ruixi’s first reaction. She had stomach problems, which Sun Miao knew about, so why would she suggest such a thing? Besides, Sun Miao knew she only ate non-spicy food.

Perhaps Su Ruixi’s confusion was too obvious, as Sun Miao noticed and softly explained: “It’s really not spicy, very mild. I use a little when I eat, and I added some beef. You could try it…”

There was a reason for this offer – because… yesterday, Su Ruixi had been watching her eat. Sun Miao hadn’t realized it at first, but after getting home, she understood that Su Ruixi had been curious about what she was eating.

Knowing about Su Ruixi’s stomach condition, Sun Miao had prepared this condiment with minimal chili, barely any spiciness, just a hint for flavor. This was both because Su Ruixi was her crush and as thanks for her help.

After the explanation, Su Ruixi reluctantly nodded: “Well… I’ll try it then.” Sun Miao made an affirming sound and pulled out a disposable plastic bag. The bag was quite large, but the beef sauce only occupied one corner, about the size of a thumb.

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