Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 210

Setting Up the Stall

The next day, Sun Miao woke up for a bit before Su Ruixi went to work and made her a simple breakfast. After having breakfast with her, she went back to sleep for a bit¹. She only got up after waking up naturally and even delivered lunch to Su Ruixi at noon.

This time slot for the stall had its pros and cons. On the plus side, she didn’t have to wake up early, could deliver lunch to Su Ruixi, and they could have dinner together. On the downside, setting up at 10 PM meant losing some sleep, and she couldn’t go to bed at the same time as Su Ruixi.

But you lose some, you gain some², and Sun Miao felt she wouldn’t be running the stall until the early hours of the next morning anyway. So, after saying goodbye to Su Ruixi, she set off on her little food cart.

The location for the stall was once again chosen by the system, at the entrance of a small park. It was a genuinely small park, the kind of fitness area you’d find downstairs in a residential complex, not a landmark park like before. The number of people coming and going was neither too many nor too few. It was just that before Sun Miao even arrived, she saw quite a few people already waiting.

The Hip-hop and Yabi duo was there as always. As soon as Sun Miao set up her stall, they got in line. Everyone was quite self-disciplined, lining up lengthwise along the sidewalk without spilling onto the road. They formed a neat, single line, making sure not to block the path for pedestrians.

While Sun Miao was heating the oil, Hip-hop Mei spoke up. “That old man told me I might not be able to snag first place. Hmph, it’s so late, he probably couldn’t make it, right? Little Boss Sun, open your eyes and see, I’m the customer you really need to hold on to.”

“Give me ten of the three-piece sets, straight up. Who are you looking down on? Just three skewers, who is that enough for?”

Hip-hop Mei was only this confident because she saw the sign didn’t mention a purchase limit.

Sun Miao nodded. “Wait a moment, the oil is heating up.”

She opened the fridge and took out the portions for the two of them. Yabi Mei wasn’t as extravagant as Hip-hop Mei and only asked for five sets.

“There’s too much rice cake. Two skewers are actually enough for me,” Yabi Mei commented. Hip-hop Mei immediately perked up at the scent and chimed in, “Then give me what you can’t finish. I can definitely eat it.”

Yabi Mei rolled her eyes at Hip-hop Mei and said nothing.

While the two were chatting, the Lemon Tea Boss suddenly rushed over. Hip-hop Mei’s eyes widened instantly. “What are you doing, what are you doing? No cutting in line! Cut in line and I’ll put you on the blacklist!”

“Get a load of you,” the Lemon Tea Boss shushed Hip-hop Mei. She then put down the table and stools she was carrying, setting up a small stall next to Sun Miao’s and placing her lemon tea sign out front.

“Someone @’d me in the group chat yesterday, right? I thought about it, and it’s true, every little bit you earn counts. I have to support a person and a cat now, Alexander is great³, so it’d be a loss not to sell lemon tea. I also brought Sprite and Coke, which I can mix and add a slice of lemon to.”

She casually pulled one out and handed it to Sun Miao. “Little Boss Sun, want one? Lemon Sprite with ice, it’s wicked good.”

Only then did Sun Miao notice she had also brought a cooler box, filled to the brim with drinks she had prepared in advance. Sun Miao shook her head. “No thanks, you should keep it to sell.” She then casually asked, “Where are Niuniu and her owner?”

The Lemon Tea Boss jutted her chin. “There, they’re in line over there. I told her to buy a few extra portions to treat me.”

She sounded mournful talking about it. She had clearly hired an assistant, but now a person and a cat were both weighing on her. The assistant was even more proactive about chasing manuscript fees than she was. It was only because she earned a little money drawing baihe manhua that she could even afford to keep the cat.

But the Lemon Tea Boss was indeed sharp. Once Hip-hop Mei realized she wasn’t there to cut in line but to sell drinks, her expression improved considerably. After getting their fried skewers, the duo sat down and immediately ordered two drinks.

The summer sun blazed, but here at the park entrance, a cool breeze drifted by. Sitting at a small folding table with fragrant fried skewers in front of them, it was impossible to describe how pleasant it was. Hip-hop Mei punched a straw through the lid with a crack. She didn’t drink first, instead impatiently grabbing a fried skewer.

She was a carnivore. Sun Miao’s message yesterday had clearly stated the sausage was a starch sausage, so she went straight for the fried tenderloin, and quick of eye and swift of hand, she stuffed it into her mouth. The tenderloin was exceptionally soft, and after being brushed with sauce, it was incredibly slick. In one bite, she got all the sauce and meat.

The flavor of the meat exploded in her mouth, the seasonings giving Hip-hop Mei the most primal sensation. She loved spicy food and had Sun Miao add a lot of chili sauce, but she didn’t skip the sweet sauce either, getting a bit of both. In that moment, the extreme impact left her completely stunned.

After swallowing the bite, the spiciness hit her, making her involuntarily open her mouth and suck in some air with a hiss. To quell the heat, she snatched up her drink and took a huge gulp.

The fried skewers and the iced drink made Hip-hop Mei feel as if the top of her skull had been opened⁴. She put down her drink, unable to hold back, and a single word escaped her lips: “Awesome!”

This was the ultimate summer indulgence!

Especially that spiciness. Eating it in winter would make your whole body feel warm, but eating it in summer, that hot and spicy feeling would instead make you feel a rush⁵.

Of course, the experience would have been even better if there weren’t so many people in line, and if the area hadn’t quickly filled up with people standing or squatting all around.

But that’s how it was. Even though it was more suitable to take home and enjoy alone, most customers chose to just stay near Sun Miao and eat their fill first.

No, it really wasn’t that they liked hanging around the little stall. There weren’t even any seats; you either stood or squatted, and if you were really unpretentious, you’d just sit on the curb. But it’s not like they wanted to do that! If they could, they would also love to elegantly take it home, turn on the TV to watch a show, grab an iced drink from the fridge, and then feast to their hearts’ content.

But they just couldn’t do it!

You can’t just carry a bag filled with such a tempting aroma and walk the streets and cross the alleys, spending at least half an hour on the road to get home before eating, right? By then, the skewers would be cold, the aroma would have faded, and your heart would feel empty too.

So, unable to resist, they could only stay right there and finish eating first.

At 10 PM, the night was just beginning for nocturnal creatures. Lizi was one of these night owls whose days and nights were flipped. Holding her phone, she stood in the middle of the line. After her last experience with the mackerel dumplings, she had thought that Little Boss Sun was just famous by name, but that not many people actually came to line up.

3 skewers for 30 yuan, Lizi also felt the price was a bit steep. That’s why she was even more convinced that there would be fewer people this time.

She had even come early specifically to film Little Boss Sun arriving to set up her stall. But as soon as she got to the park entrance, she saw it was already full of people. They were gathered in twos and threes, and whenever someone new arrived, they would glance up before lowering their heads again to play on their phones or chat with the person next to them.

At first, Lizi thought she had come to the wrong place. She said to her camera, “I didn’t expect there to be so many people at the entrance of this small park at this hour. Little Boss Sun must have done her research beforehand, knowing there’s a lot of foot traffic here, so…”

Before the voice had faded, a particularly outgoing customer came over and asked curiously, “Are you live streaming?”

“Yeah.”

The customer spoke with confidence and composure. “I’ve seen your videos. Sigh, they’re pretty good, it’s just that too many people watch them. We’re all here waiting for Little Boss Sun. She doesn’t do research beforehand; she could set up her stall anywhere…”

The customer went on and on, and a question mark couldn’t help but pop up over Lizi’s head: So what if a lot of people watch her videos?

Before Lizi could ask, a voice suddenly came from the front. “She’s here, she’s here! I see Little Boss Sun’s food cart! I see her ‘Miaomiao’s Mobile Food Bar’ sign!” This one sentence instantly mobilized the previously quiet customers, who all surged toward the second lamppost.

At that moment, Lizi finally understood: So everyone really was waiting for Little Boss Sun!

Lizi was still in a daze when the customer from before grabbed her arm. “You line up behind me in a bit. I got here right before you. You keep an eye on the people behind you and remind them, that way the line won’t get messy!”

This group of customers not only arrived incredibly early, but they were also incredibly self-disciplined.

Because she had been instructed to do so, Lizi subconsciously looked to see who had arrived after her. But she had been standing there for a while, and more people had shown up, leaving her a bit lost. Fortunately, she still had viewers in her live stream, and a comment on the bullet screen prompted her: “The one behind you, the woman with the cat! That really fat cat!”

Only then did Lizi find her, pulling her to follow behind. The woman was wearing a cat carrier on her back, but the cat wasn’t inside it. Instead, it was squatting right on top of the carrier. The woman held a leash in her hand, but compared to the cat, the leash was ridiculously thin.

The bullet screen’s comment about a “really fat cat” was no joke.

Lizi marveled at this. The woman, however, knew the procedure better than Lizi did. She immediately nodded like pounding garlic and even made an “OK” sign. “Got it, I’ll definitely follow you.” After speaking, she turned to find the person who came after her and began talking to them enthusiastically.

In the time it took for a few of these exchanges, Little Boss Sun had already set up her stall at the front, and the line had formed. Lizi, still a bit bewildered, lined up behind the customer from before.

She held up her selfie stick for half an hour, and even the viewers in her live stream were saying: 【We’ve been waiting so long, can you buy a spot at the front? I’ll send Lizi some gifts, I don’t want to wait anymore.】

Lizi hesitated for a moment. Just as she was about to ask one of the customers near the front, she saw someone send a particularly expensive gift with an attached message: 【Don’t go to the front! I’m a regular of Little Boss Sun’s, and I’ll tell you the truth, no one will give up their spot for you, not even if you pay! See those few people up there? Look at the clothes they’re wearing and the bags they’re carrying. Even they are lining up obediently. How much do you think you could offer to buy a spot?】

Lizi looked over, a bit confused, but since the person had sent such an expensive gift, she could only remain obediently in line.

When it was finally her turn, she heard her own stomach rumble several times. Never mind the long line, but the aroma from the front kept wafting over. That tempting scent made the rumbling of stomachs in the line rise here and fall there, especially the one behind her…

At first, Lizi thought it was the cat’s owner, but the bullet screen told her: 【It’s not the owner. Listen to that huge noise, it’s the really fat cat’s stomach rumbling!】

It was the first time Lizi learned that a cat’s stomach could make such a loud noise.

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