Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 197

Isn’t That Also Pretty Good

Early the next morning, Sun Miao kissed Su Ruixi’s forehead and whispered to her that she would make breakfast and lunch, telling Su Ruixi to eat on time. Then she went downstairs, and after getting ready, she went straight out the door.

When she was kissed on the forehead, Su Ruixi was completely groggy, randomly grunted an “en,” and hid back in the bed-nest¹ to continue sleeping. It wasn’t her fault; today was Saturday, Su Ruixi’s day off, and after dinner last night, they had done some things that were beneficial to physical and mental health².

After a whole night, Su Ruixi had to sleep with her head muffled, of course.

Sun Miao drove her small food cart to the place where she sets up her stall. This time, it was at the entrance of a niche³ scenic area, and she still set up her stall under the second lamppost. She hadn’t even arrived yet, but from far away, she could see a large crowd of people, a dark and dense mass, waiting over there.

Even though it was July and the sky was already very bright early in the morning, that group of people had an imposing aura, making one feel a dark and heavy expanse.

Sun Miao, however, was used to it, but her regular customers gave the auntie who worked at the scenic spot a scare. The auntie had come over early, tidied up a bit, and was preparing to open the gate. This scenic area was open for free from 5:30 to 8:30 in the morning, and after 8 o’clock, it also symbolically charged 15 kuai⁴, so although it was niche, there were still quite a lot of people from the surrounding area who came over for morning exercises⁵.

But even though there were many, suddenly seeing a group of people waiting there so early, each and every one silent and with a heavy expression, still gave the auntie a scare.

The auntie asked in an accent tinged with the local dialect: “Ah? How come you’re here so early, o-yo, I’ll open the gate right away, so you can go in, ya.” As a result, someone from the group came over and explained the situation to the auntie: “We’re not here to exercise, auntie, you don’t need to mind us.”

Although they said that, the auntie was still very curious: If not for morning exercises, what are they here for, ya?

While the auntie was over there being curious, she saw Sun Miao riding over on a food cart before six o’clock. Before she had even reached the side of the scenic area, Hu Yangyang⁶ from the group of people who had been waiting all along ran over. The auntie was startled, and only after taking a closer look did she realize it was a food cart.

She didn’t say much either; although there were few people who set up stalls here, there were still stalls occasionally, as long as they left before nine o’clock.

However, she also didn’t understand why so many people would wait for a small stall.

Sun Miao hadn’t even arrived yet, and because everyone had crowded around, she could only get off the cart first and switch to pushing it. As it turned out, this was great; in order to eat from the long-awaited Miao Miao’s Mobile Food Bar, everyone worked together with one heart to help push the food cart.

Sun Miao was already used to it; this way, she even saved a bit of effort.

Without Sun Miao even needing to say anything, everyone stopped once they reached the second lamppost. Sun Miao first set up the small stall, and only then did she prop up the fluorescent board. Actually, she had already announced the price in the group chat yesterday, but she was worried that some customers might have rushed over directly without seeing it beforehand.

Spanish mackerel dumplings, one portion of 10, selling price 88 yuan.

This price was definitely expensive.

Sun Miao remembered that the restaurant she and Su Ruixi had gone to eat at was also only 88 yuan. That was the standard for a star-rated hotel;⁷ it shouldn’t be the price for a small stall at all. However, everyone accepted this well, and Hip-hop Mei standing at the very front said directly: “There’s no limit, right? Give me three portions, I can eat them all!”

Although there was no limit, Sun Miao still gave a reminder: “The dumplings are quite large, you can get full from one portion of 10.”

Hip-hop Mei thought for a moment: “Then I’ll still take three portions, just right for one meal each for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

“…” It seemed Hip-hop Mei was truly ruthlessly hungry.

Since Hip-hop Mei had made up her mind, Sun Miao didn’t say anything more. She set up a large pot, turned on the induction cooker, and began to boil clean water. This pot of hers could cook five portions at once, which was fifty boiled dumplings⁸, so it was quite large. Logically speaking, the heating power of an induction cooker is low, and it should take a lot of time to bring water to a boil.

However, this one was provided by the System, so its heating power was very fierce, and it could also adjust automatically, which on the contrary saved time and effort.

When the water was about to boil, Sun Miao took out a large tray from the refrigerator prepared by the System, on which boiled dumplings were arranged neatly. There were about 30 on this tray.

Even before they were put in the pot, each of the white and plump dumplings made people feel that they couldn’t possibly be bad. Seeing that they weren’t cooked yet, Hip-hop Mei couldn’t help but ask: “Can you cook 10, and I’ll take the remaining 20 packed up uncooked to go later?”

“It’s possible, but the way other people cook them and the way I cook them should be different…” As soon as Sun Miao said this, she dispelled Hip-hop Mei’s idea. She hurriedly said: “Then cook them all, I guess.”

“I’ll rinse them in cold water⁹ in a moment, that way the dumplings will be less likely to stick together. Later, you can put them in the refrigerator, and when you take them out, bring water to a boil again, put the dumplings in for a moment, and you can eat them once they’re hot.” Sun Miao tried to make her voice a little louder so that the people behind could also hear.

Quite a few people were planning to buy two or three portions to eat. There were about twenty-some people crowded around in a dark and dense mass, and Sun Miao felt that she would be able to sell out of all the dumplings in no time.

The water boiled, and Sun Miao directly put in 50 dumplings, which was five portions.

Yabi Mei wanted 2 portions; she said her appetite was relatively small, and 20 would also be enough for three meals. It seemed it wasn’t just Hip-hop Mei who was starving, Yabi Mei was as well. Sun Miao also asked what kind of seasonings they wanted and packed them in small bags for them in advance.

“Do you want the dumpling soup?”¹⁰

“What’s so good about dumpling soup…” Hip-hop Mei hadn’t finished speaking when her mouth was covered by Yabi Mei. Yabi Mei gave Hip-hop Mei a profound look, then asked: “I bought two portions, can I have two portions of dumpling soup?” Sun Miao nodded and said, “Okay.”

At this moment, Hip-hop Mei suddenly had an epiphany, took down Yabi Mei’s hand that was covering her own, and immediately said: “Then I want three portions!”

After they were cooked, Sun Miao took out mineral water, put it in a basin, and only after rinsing the dumplings in the cold water did she pack them into boxes. Of course, two portions weren’t rinsed; the two of them just carried those directly to the side to eat. Sun Miao had also prepared those very small bags and portioned out the corresponding number of dipping sauces.

The Hip-hop and Yabi Duo went to the small table at the side and started eating directly. Yabi Mei was a bit more demure, while Hip-hop Mei was especially extroverted, even making a bit of a commotion from time to time while eating. The two of them ate over there, their faces full of satisfaction, and Hip-hop Mei’s little expressions, in particular, made the people in line start to imagine—just how delicious must these boiled dumplings be.

However, there were too many people, and that small table definitely couldn’t seat them all. But this group of customers was just like reincarnated hungry ghosts¹¹; they couldn’t even wait for a moment, directly carrying their food and squatting on the curb to start eating. Because there were no tables, they didn’t even want the small bags for the dipping sauce anymore, just sprinkling it directly on top of the boiled dumplings and being done with it.

That bold and uninhibited manner didn’t at all resemble that of the rich and noble people who have money and leisure.

Yes, at this time and in this place, those who could come here to buy her boiled dumplings to eat were mostly those with money and leisure, with the friends of the Hip-hop and Yabi Duo being the most numerous among them. Therefore, the sight of them squatting there also made them look like unemployed vagrants.

It wasn’t wrong to say, either; the majority of them were indeed unemployed vagrants.

After they finished eating their boiled dumplings, they left, carrying their takeaway orders, still not fully satisfied. This wave of twenty-some people had nearly cleared out Sun Miao’s entire stock. She had only prepared a total of one hundred portions of boiled dumplings, and these customers had taken at least one portion each, with some, like Hip-hop Mei, taking three.

Fortunately, however, the remaining dumplings should still be able to sell for a while. After all, she had thought that after this wave of people left, she would have to wait a while before getting any customers. As it turned out, not long after, customers began to arrive one after another.

What Sun Miao didn’t expect was that the first of the next customers to appear was one of Zhou Ling’s mother’s little sisters. The luxury car she was riding in stopped directly near Sun Miao, and then she got out of the car gracefully, yet when she started walking, it was as if wind was generated under her feet¹²; she covered the few steps as if it were a fifty-meter dash.

Upon reaching Sun Miao, this elder sister finally let out a breath of relief: “O-yo, I had originally set an alarm this morning, but I ended up oversleeping anyway. I saw there was no notification in the group chat yet, ah, so you haven’t sold out yet, ah? Give me two portions, to go.”

Sun Miao asked: “Are you taking them to go to eat right away, or for later?”

“Taking them home to eat right away.”

“Okay.” While Sun Miao was making the Spanish mackerel dumplings, she heard Zhou Ling’s mother’s little sister saying over there: “Little Boss Sun, ah, you know the little girl Zhou Ling, ah?”

“Mm.” Sun Miao didn’t like to talk while making food, so upon hearing her question, she just kept her mouth closed and replied with a light sound, also giving a nod. Perhaps running those few steps just now had made her a bit hot; Zhou Ling’s mother’s little sister was using her hand to fan herself: “The university that little girl Zhou Ling applied to is so far away. I’m worried for her mom; why did she go so far away?”

She kept on talking, and Sun Miao just listened. She had actually somewhat forgotten what school and what major Zhou Ling had said she was going to apply for, but listening to the words of the person in front of her, it was clear that she had already applied to the school she desired. And so, Sun Miao’s eyes curved into a smile, and she instead kept an ear open to listen to what the other was saying.

Actually, people from the Jiang-Zhe-Hu¹³ area rarely apply to schools far away. Su Ruixi, for example, is an outstanding graduate of a well-known local university; she had never been to a faraway place from childhood to adulthood. Of course, this didn’t prevent her from becoming an independent, self-reliant, and well-adjusted adult.

There are also many who, because they have never left this area, have an independence ability that is somewhat poorer than that of an ordinary person.

Zhou Ling was a very brave girl to choose a distant place, far away from the home she had grown up in and was familiar with since childhood. From the little girl who, at their first meeting, had a face full of sorrow, was listless and depressed because of her studies, had never eaten malatang, and would whimper and cry because she ate chili peppers, to have grown so much in such a short period of time, Sun Miao was also very gratified.

So after finishing this portion of dumplings and handing it to the other person, she had a smile like a flower: “Isn’t that very good? When a little eagle grows up, it must always fly.”

Zhou Ling’s mother’s little sister was stunned for a moment, then sighed deeply: “Yes, ah. It’s just that recently I’m always thinking, if my child also went as far away as Zhou Ling, how my heart would ache, ah.”

A child travels a thousand li, and their mother worries¹⁴. Seeing someone else’s child makes one think of one’s own; no wonder she would sigh so. Sun Miao offered a word of comfort: “If they have their own ideas and have a goal they will work hard for, isn’t that also pretty good?”

The other person smiled, waved her hand, and walked away.

After her, the next customer also walked up; it was Shen Yiqiu. She hadn’t had her driver bring the car over, so the road she walked was much longer than that of Zhou Ling’s mother’s little sister, but she didn’t walk particularly fast, so she wasn’t out of breath when she arrived. Just now, while Zhou Ling’s mother’s little sister was buying boiled dumplings, she had been right behind, and had heard the entire conversation between the two.

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