It’s Better to Go Back a Little Earlier
When it was time for dinner the next day, Sun Miao really hadn’t forgotten about the matter and brought it up at the dinner table. Su Ruixi stiffened for a moment but could only admit, “It should have been my parents. That, um, that Auntie from before who looked a bit like me, that was my mom. Her name is Shen Yiqiu. She especially loves to eat yangyu potato cakes, and she really likes zhe’ergen.”
Hearing this, Sun Miao immediately straightened her clothes and sat in a dignified manner1, her mind racing as she tried to recall her few encounters with Shen Yiqiu, wondering if she had said or done anything wrong.
Her little expression made Su Ruixi laugh. “Miaomiao, don’t you worry. My mom has a pretty good impression of you. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone to buy your food so many times after finding out, and she even brought my dad along.”
Su Ruixi’s words temporarily calmed Sun Miao’s apprehensive little heart. But she still felt a bit awkward afterward and couldn’t help but complain in a small voice, “Susu-jie, you should have told me. What if I didn’t make a good impression?”
To Su Ruixi, Sun Miao’s little complaint had no bite to it at all; instead, she found it rather cute. It felt more like a charming pout than a real complaint.
Moreover, Sun Miao was clearly not old and crafty, big and slippery2 enough to hear the meaning Su Ruixi hadn’t expressed.
Sun Miao had clearly mentioned Su Ruixi’s parents, but when Su Ruixi spoke, she only mentioned Shen Yiqiu’s attitude and didn’t bring up Father Su at all. Not mentioning him at a time like this most likely meant one thing: Father Su didn’t actually like Sun Miao, and Su Ruixi, not wanting to lie to Sun Miao, simply chose not to mention him.
Su Ruixi only said, “But while my mom knows you’re my partner, my dad probably doesn’t know yet. Just stay calm and treat them like any other customer. There’s no need to specially suck up to them. That way, you might even score some extra points.”
“Then can I cheat a little and secretly go through the back door3?” As Sun Miao asked this, she clasped her hands together in a praying gesture. “Please? Let me curry favor with Auntie a little.”
Su Ruixi laughed and let out a “hmph.” “Alright, seeing as you’re so full of filial piety.” She said, “Is there any zhe’ergen chili sauce left? Later, when you go to set up your stall, I’ll go home and drop some off.”
“There is.”
There really was. It was the zhe’ergen chili sauce left over from the yangyu potato cakes. Sun Miao had tossed it into the System’s refrigerator. A normal refrigerator’s preservation ability wasn’t that good; it had to be the System’s. Many of the System’s things weren’t put away after being used up, but had instead landed on the ground and grew roots4 in Su Ruixi’s kitchen or storage room.
It was a good thing Su Ruixi’s house was large, otherwise there would be no space for all of Sun Miao’s things.
And so, there was leftover zhe’ergen chili sauce. Su Ruixi didn’t eat spicy food, and while Sun Miao loved spicy food, she didn’t like zhe’ergen, which is why there was some left. After finishing dinner, Sun Miao ran to the storage room to get the zhe’ergen chili sauce from the freezer. Thinking that it wouldn’t look good in just a plastic bag, she immediately found another jar, washed it clean, and even let it air dry completely before putting the sauce inside.
This jar also had a history.
It was a jar Sun Miao used to make tuhuangyou for Su Ruixi. Su Ruixi was quite fond of tuhuangyou, especially on days when she didn’t let Sun Miao deliver meals. She would rely entirely on tuhuangyou mixed with rice or vegetables to save her life; otherwise, when she got home, she would surely be so hungry my chest was sticking to my back5.
Sun Miao would make some for Su Ruixi from time to time, so there were several jars at home specifically for sauces.
Seeing her beloved tuhuangyou jar being used for such a purpose, the corner of Su Ruixi’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch, and the expression on her face grew complicated. When Sun Miao turned her head to look at her, Su Ruixi couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh. “Sigh, what a pity. This jar can’t be used anymore.”
To Su Ruixi, this jar… had been defiled by zhe’ergen!
Even if Sun Miao washed it spotlessly clean and disinfected it after getting it back from her parents’ home, it was still no good for Su Ruixi!
Zhe’ergen! That was zhe’ergen! The smell was so strong and so fishy; it would definitely seep into the jar and could never be washed away. At that moment, Su Ruixi even regretted giving Sun Miao the idea.
But no matter what, her beloved tuhuangyou jar was now filled with zhe’ergen chili sauce. Just as Sun Miao was preparing to contaminate a second jar, Su Ruixi urgently stopped her. “One jar is enough. When she finishes it, she can come back for more. She’s the only one in the family who eats this, so it’ll probably last her a while.”
——Impossible.
Judging by their family’s inherited foodie constitution and the speed at which Su Ruixi finished tuhuangyou, the speed at which Shen Yiqiu would finish this jar of zhe’ergen chili sauce would absolutely be no slower than Su Ruixi’s.
But it was better not to tell Sun Miao such things. Otherwise, Su Ruixi wouldn’t be able to save even a single jar. That evening, Sun Miao went out to set up her stall, while Su Ruixi took the zhe’ergen chili sauce to her parents’ house. She originally thought the old couple would already be asleep and was planning to just give the chili sauce to the housekeeper or butler and bolt, but the house was brightly lit. Shen Yiqiu and Father Su were on the first floor watching TV.
To be precise, Shen Yiqiu was watching TV like an old god, just there6, while Father Su was having a fit of madness.
Having been their daughter for so many years, Su Ruixi knew their personalities very well. Although Father Su was currently sitting on the sofa, looking like he was sitting up straight and proper, he was in fact having a fit of madness, just not very obviously. Seeing his anxious and restless appearance, he had probably been at it for a while.
Su Ruixi saw right through her father and chatted with Shen Yiqiu as if nothing was amiss.
She took the jar of zhe’ergen chili sauce out of her bag and handed it to Shen Yiqiu. “Mom, my partner made this. I told her you like zhe’ergen, so she specially prepared this zhe’ergen chili sauce for you.” Although it wasn’t specially prepared—it was just the leftovers—it was still good to say a few nice words.
Shen Yiqiu took it, looked at it, and impatiently opened the lid. The smell of zhe’ergen rushed out immediately. Su Ruixi was standing relatively close and inevitably caught a whiff of it. She subconsciously scooted to the side; she really disliked that smell.
Shen Yiqiu, however, was very happy. “I’ve been craving this for a long time. I didn’t expect your partner to be so thoughtful of me.”
The two of them were there for a while, the mother was kind and the daughter was filial7, before Father Su couldn’t sit still any longer. He also leaned over and couldn’t help but ask, “What about me? Does your partner know how to make fried skewers?”
Su Ruixi didn’t answer directly, but looked at Shen Yiqiu, asking with her eyes: What’s the deal?
Shen Yiqiu replied, “Don’t mind him.”
So Su Ruixi really didn’t mind him, but she actually knew what the deal was. It was nothing more than that he had eaten fried skewers at Sun Miao’s stall the night before last and had now, having to know the flavor by eating the marrow8, desperately wanted to eat more. But for some reason, he didn’t go yesterday and was still holding out here today.
Su Ruixi didn’t ask, Shen Yiqiu didn’t say, so Father Su, scratching his ears and cheeks, finally spoke up. “It’s really nothing. It’s just that your mom took me to an internet-famous fried skewer stall the night before last. The person really has some skill, it was strangely delicious. But your mom said we’re getting old and it’s not good to eat such greasy food…” His tone shifted, and he grumbled in a low voice, “I think they did a pretty good job. It wasn’t greasy at all, still good enough to satisfy a craving.”
After saying his piece, he glanced at Su Ruixi and then had to diss Su Ruixi’s partner. “Your partner definitely doesn’t know how to make fried skewers, and they might not be as good as that person’s. As the saying goes, there are people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens9. She can’t be arrogant just because she’s good at making other dishes; she should also learn to make some fried skewers.”
Su Ruixi still paid him no mind. After chatting with her own mom for a few more sentences, she went home. She yawned, stood up, and prepared to leave. Shen Yiqiu also stood up, also stepping as she stepped10, feeling a little sorry for her. “You should also go to bed early at night, don’t stay up late.” Shen Yiqiu really wanted to say, “Don’t really get up in the middle of the night to wait for Sun Miao,” but with Father Su right there, she couldn’t say everything.
She could only say in a roundabout way, “Sleep a little more. Every moment of sleep counts.”
“I know, I’m planning to go to sleep as soon as I get back now.”
Father Su, however, spoke up. “I’ll see her off. A young girl, all alone in the middle of the night, it’s quite dangerous.” After speaking, he followed directly behind Su Ruixi out the door. He went, thickening his face’s skin11, and got into Su Ruixi’s car. He sat in the driver’s seat and skillfully started the engine.
With a ready-made driver available, Su Ruixi was happy to take it easy, so she went around to the passenger side and got in.
Shen Yiqiu couldn’t bear to look at her husband and only reminded Su Ruixi to come home often.
The car drove all the way to the entrance of Cuiting Yayuan. Su Ruixi switched to drive, and Father Su got out at the entrance. Su Ruixi looked at him. “You’re not planning to go eat fried skewers, are you?”
“Is your dad that kind of person?” His expression was perfectly serious, but Su Ruixi knew: Heh, he really is.
Meeting Su Ruixi’s gaze, the thick-skinned Father Su declared righteously, “I just can’t sleep, so I’m going to walk around a bit more.” He said goodbye to Su Ruixi and, only after she had driven into the residential complex, did he take out his phone to call a car. Not long after, he got in the car, which drove straight to the little park from the other night.
It was already past 11 p.m., and the line at the entrance of the little park was long. He quickly got out of the car and scurried to the back of the line. Once he was in line, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He even sent a message to Shen Yiqiu, telling her he would bring something delicious back for her later.
In response to this sentence, Shen Yiqiu replied with just two words: For shame.
Father Su stuffed his phone into his coat. He would never admit that he had no shame. He wasn’t actually that greedy; it was just that his mouth felt bland and he wanted to eat something. Shen Yiqiu had the zhe’ergen chili sauce from Su Ruixi’s partner, but he had nothing. Now that he’d found a fried skewer place that was satisfying to eat, what was wrong with having a few more bites?
Of course, this fried skewer place was just okay, passable, barely edible.
Father Su’s mouth was hard12 again, but his actions couldn’t deceive anyone. He craned his neck, looking forward. The “Miaomiao’s Mobile Food Bar” sign was lit up in the dark, and he could hear the chatter of the people in front of him. The person behind him even patted his shoulder and struck up a conversation. “Uncle, you’re getting on in years, why are you still lining up to buy fried skewers so late at night? For your health, it’s better to go back a little earlier.”
There were words within her words13. Father Su’s eyelid twitched, and he couldn’t help but ask, “And what is your advice?”
“It would be better for you to go home early, Uncle, and that would also mean one less person in line in front of me.”
Tong Yuwei, the beef pancake diehard fan14, offered her sincere suggestion. But Father Su had no intention of accepting it.
The author has something to say:
Father Su: ???
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