Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 217

Without Comparison, There is No Harm¹

While the diners were lining up to enjoy the delicious food, a post was quietly starting to ferment online. The originator was none other than one of the vast student party.

The post’s author chose a screenshot from Lizi’s livestream as the cover photo, precisely showing a starch sausage that looked exceptionally delicious just from a glance. That glistening layer of oil covering its surface, along with the casing that had already burst open like a flower from being fried, told you how tasty it was without even needing to take a bite.

The text content below wasn’t describing how delicious the fried skewers were, but rather expressing their own indignation and “friendly regards” for Sun Miao. These words could almost materialize, deeply shackling everyone who saw them, as vivid as life itself² depicting for everyone the hatred of a special effects ghost³ for the mortal world.

Especially the last paragraph: Why?! Just why?! Why do you have to sell these things when everyone is on vacation?! And why did you take a break during the plum rain season before?! You’re a street vendor! How can you always be taking breaks?! Ahhh, I shouldn’t have gone home, I should have stayed at school to wage war against you! After watching Lizi’s edited clips, I regret it even more! Ahhh, when does school start already!

Below, her friend proceeded to land the last hit⁴: It’s okay, just enjoy your summer vacation at home. Because even when school starts, you still won’t get to eat the Fried Skewer Trio. I’m different, my hometown is right here. Look, here are the fried skewers, here’s my mouth, I’m eating!

It was originally just a video of two young women messing around, but because it mentioned Lizi, Lizi’s fans clicked into the post and proceeded to mock, ridicule the original poster, and give an Amway⁵ for Sun Miao’s snack stall’s Fried Skewer Trio.

【It’s true, it’s really delicious. I never thought fried skewers could be this good.】

【To say it wasn’t worth 30 yuan before was me having eyes but no pupils⁶. Now, I’m giving an Amway to all the foodies under heaven: Eat it!】

【No joke, it was the first time I’ve ever waited in such a long line for the Fried Skewer Trio, but I felt it was totally worth it. Oh god, how can there be such delicious fried skewers.】

By the time the regular customers finished eating and got home, ready to scroll through their phones for a bit before sleeping, this post was precisely pushed to them. When Hip-hop Mei saw it while lying in bed, her angry eyes opened wide and round. The phone went thwack and smashed into her face, making her cry out in pain.

Especially when she saw someone reply in the comments section: 【Seeing a lot of people interested in the fried skewers, you can add me, I’ll pull you all into the group.】

Who on earth is this person! Still trying to pull people into the group! Kick this person out!

Hip-hop Mei poured out her bitter water⁷ in Group 1, and everyone shared her righteous indignation filled the chest. They knew that group of students would poke a hole⁸ sooner or later, but they never expected Lizi’s fans to be a disaster too!

At this very moment, Sun Miao had also returned home. When she saw Su Ruixi, before she could even say a word, she sneezed. Su Ruixi was a little worried, “Miaomiao, you should bring a jacket. Wear it when you come back at night.”

“Huh? No way, it’s so hot.”

Sun Miao was telling the truth. It was over 40 degrees Celsius, so it was impossible for her to get cold even at night. It was at times like this that Sun Miao finally experienced what “there’s a kind of cold called ‘your family thinks you’re cold'”⁹ felt like.

After returning home and washing up, Sun Miao hugged Su Ruixi and went to sleep. By this day, Sun Miao was actually starting to complain a little about the system: Why did it have to arrange a task to set up the stall so late at night? All told, today was the fourth day of vending, and neither she nor Su Ruixi had gotten a good night’s sleep.

It was one thing for her; she had plenty of time during the day and could still take a returning to the cage sleep¹⁰ or catch up with a nap in the afternoon, but Su Ruixi couldn’t.

Su Ruixi had to get up early in the morning to go to work, and after a full day, she was probably as tired as a spinning top¹¹. When she got home, she’d rest for a bit, then try to sleep for a while at night, only to toss and turn, unable to fall asleep. She had to wait with great difficulty until 2 or 3 in the morning, when Sun Miao came home, before she could finally get a good night’s rest.

How could her Susu-jie go on like this? Sun Miao’s heart ached just watching her.

If the system knew what Sun Miao was thinking, it would definitely throw a fit.

On the fifth day of vending, Sun Miao and Su Ruixi were having dinner together. At the table, Sun Miao brought up Father Su, “He came and bought three servings the night before last. He didn’t come yesterday. Will he come today? Should I save some for Uncle?”

Su Ruixi shook her head. “No need. Why would you save any for him? Just sell as normal. Besides, you said he didn’t come yesterday, so he probably won’t come today either.”

Actually, Father Su had wanted to go, but he was caught by Shen Yiqiu and couldn’t make it. In Shen Yiqiu’s words, “How can you eat fried skewers every day? It’s not healthy for you at all. For everything, you have to to stop when things are good¹² and have some moderation.” She conveniently failed to mention that when she was eating yangyu potato cakes before, she was a daily patron.

Su Ruixi also guessed that Father Su must be having a particularly tough time now. This idea of “moderation in all things” was something Su Ruixi had initially insisted on. The result? Because she thought about cutting back after eating fried rice for three consecutive days, the consequence was not getting to eat anything made by Sun Miao for nine straight days.

The overturned cart in front is a lesson for the carts behind¹³. Su Ruixi had a feeling that Father Su would to regret without stopping, just like she did.

Su Ruixi’s guess was spot on. Father Su was regretting it, regretting it immensely, for all sorts of reasons. The thing he regretted most was not being able to withstand the pressure and giving his remaining portion to the young girl in line behind him. Now, he could only reminisce about that tiny bit of fried skewer he ate on that first night.

Everyone has their own preferences, and for Father Su, his current white moonlight was the fried rice cakes. In order to properly commemorate his white moonlight, Father Su had not been without effort. For example: he ordered a plate of stir-fried rice cakes in his own company’s cafeteria.

The result was, without comparison, there is no harm.

The company’s chef was truly not up to par. Once upon a time, Father Su had even been proud of the food provided by his company’s cafeteria. He ate there himself, so he had hired better chefs and paid them relatively high salaries. But who knew that the stir-fried rice cakes they made were not the least bit delicious.

To be honest, the chef’s cooking wasn’t bad; compared to what you could get outside, it was considered quite good. But as soon as he thought of Sun Miao’s, it was simply one in the heavens, one on the ground¹⁴.

These rice cakes didn’t taste homemade; they were most likely store-bought. They were probably just sliced up randomly while frozen and then cooked with these seasonings. They were sticky and gooey, and the sauce on top wasn’t clean, made similarly sticky by the starch from the rice cakes. Eating a piece of rice cake, it felt like it would stick all the way from the roof of his mouth down to his stomach, the most prominent feature being its adhesiveness.

That was the texture, and nothing could be done about it, since they were store-bought. He couldn’t be picky with high standards; they were certainly different from the handmade rice cakes from the boss herself.

But what about the seasoning? The seasoning was also no good. Not to mention the texture of the sauce, sticky and gooey, as mentioned before. What about the balance of sour, sweet, and salty? No good, really no good. It was stir-fried with ham sausage, diced carrots, and shredded greens, but it didn’t have any of these flavors. The ham sausage also tasted bland, the kind of meat sausage sold in supermarkets.

It wasn’t good. He only ate starch sausages now; he didn’t like it if there was even a little bit of meat.

But Father Su was a person who had come from a time of poverty and shared the same good character as Shen Yiqiu—that is, he generally wouldn’t leave leftovers. So even though the stir-fried rice cakes weren’t good, he still finished the entire plate with worried brows, bitter face¹⁵. And then, came the longing.

An endless longing for the fried skewers.

In the end, a thousand thoughts transformed into a single sigh, “Sigh.”

Alright, Father Su now admitted it. The Fried Skewer Trio was delicious, truly delicious, so delicious that he to not think of tea or rice¹⁶. Especially the rice cakes, those fried rice cakes that were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, he yearned for them.

The night before last, Shen Yiqiu even had hers with iced orange juice. He had to have it too! Filled with this heroic passion and lofty aspirations¹⁷, he returned home, came before Shen Yiqiu, and resumed his quiet tone. After his repeated pleading, Shen Yiqiu finally relented, “Alright, but you have to eat less tonight. Including today, we’ve eaten it three times. Eating so much fried food in one week is not good for our health.”

“…Okay.”

Eaten it three times? Had he?

Father Su to want to cry but have no tears¹⁸, but he couldn’t say anything. He just thought that tonight, he had to eat a proper meal! So he dragged Shen Yiqiu out the door at 9:00 PM, and they arrived at the entrance of the small park by 9:30.

On the way, Father Su was full of ambition, thinking that since he was arriving so early, he definitely wouldn’t have to wait in line. And even if he did, he would be at the very front. But as he approached the park entrance, he saw a huge crowd of people there, which surprised Father Su. He thought to himself: For some fried skewers, there’s no need to come this early, right?

Father Su and Shen Yiqiu parked their car near the small park and walked over. Before they even got close, they heard someone ask, “You’re here to line up for Miao Miao’s Mobile Food Bar, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then get in line behind me. You’re at the end of the line now. Everyone in front is already queuing.” The person in line looked at Shen Yiqiu, then at Father Su, and continued, “Auntie, why don’t you go find a place to sit down at the front? There’s still half an hour before Boss Sun gets here. It must be tiring for you to stand here. Just let Uncle stay here.”

Before Father Su could even speak, a young person had arranged everything for him. Shen Yiqiu smiled, “Thank you.” She turned to Father Su, “Did you hear that? You wait in line here, I’m going to the front for a bit.”

How could Father Su have any room to object to Shen Yiqiu’s command? He could only obediently stand at the back of the line.

Shen Yiqiu walked to the front by herself. When people occasionally asked if she was there for Miaomiao’s Mobile Food Bar, she would reply, “Someone’s holding a spot for me at the back. I’m old and can’t stand for long, so I’m just coming to the front to sit for a while.” When she reached the very front, she saw two familiar faces at a glance.

The Hip-hop Yabi Duo immediately greeted Shen Yiqiu upon seeing her, “Auntie Shen, you’re here?”

“Ah, yes.” She glanced at the line and couldn’t help but say, “You two are quite far up in the line.”

Hip-hop Mei puffed out her chest, “Of course. We’re number one in line right now. It’s not me blowing¹⁹, but under normal circumstances, we’re always first.” Someone else behind them heckled, “Only when the old grandpa isn’t here can you snatch first place so easily!”

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The author has something to say:

Shen Yiqiu: Then I’ll go to the front.

Hip-hop Yabi Duo: Auntie, come, come, we’ll buy you a few skewers.

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