Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 22

What to Sell Next Week

When the last day ended, Sun Miao rode away on her electric tricycle amid farewell calls from her regular customers in the residential complex. After returning home on her tricycle, she first rested for a day. The next morning when she woke up, she saw 99+ notifications in the group chat, with many people asking:

【Little Boss Sun is awake, it’s a new week, where are you setting up your stall? @Still Working Hard at the Stall Today】

【Little Boss Sun, what are you selling this week? @Still Working Hard at the Stall Today】

【You’re still selling malatang, right? I love malatang, even if you go far away, I’ll rush over to buy it.】

【I’m not kidding, I suspect Little Boss Sun has cast a spell on me, I can’t live without malatang now.】

Sun Miao checked the group messages, a smile appearing on her face. Just then, the System popped up with her new weekly task:

【Ding! Dear host, congratulations on completing your second stall task. Now, we’re moving straight on to your next task. Please set up your stall the day after tomorrow from 7 AM to 7 PM, at the second lamppost west of Jinsha Building’s main entrance, selling beef pancakes [牛肉餅 | niú ròu bǐng]. You must sell at least thirty portions. (Note: This task lasts one week.)】

Now she could reply to the group chat. After finishing her morning routine and making breakfast, before she could reply, she was pulled into the System space. This time it didn’t take a full six months – obviously, malatang required more ingredients and lots of handmade preparation, which was why it needed six months.

The beef pancakes were a single food item, much simpler to make, so the System only kept her for three months. When she emerged, Sun Miao had mastered the art of making beef pancakes. Looking outside, she saw her “Miao Miao Mobile’s Food Bar” tricycle had been modified to suit making and selling beef pancakes.

When Sun Miao stood behind the tricycle, on her left was an oil pan, this time using electric power instead of a small gas stove. Being a System product meant premium quality – even the electric heating was exceptionally fast. The oil pan was flat-bottomed but quite large, with a big round plate and a wooden lid to cover it when not in use.

On the right was the prep station, with a stainless steel countertop covered by a plastic windproof and dust-proof cover that could be secured with clasps, ready to be opened when making pancakes. Under the prep station were cabinets and layers of drawers for storage.

In short, it was an impeccable little stall for making beef pancakes. However, since beef pancakes didn’t require many ingredients, this tricycle was smaller than the previous one… As expected of the System, with its black technology, it could transform an electric tricycle overnight.

Sun Miao wanted to experiment and make some beef pancakes, but having just eaten, she definitely couldn’t eat more. Yet with her newly acquired skills, she felt itchy to try them out, and fortunately, she had some ingredients at home. Green onions and Chinese cabbage were common in rural areas, and she had some beef left over.

Sun Miao had saved money to buy a refrigerator for storing her daily food. She had some leftover fish balls, peeing beef balls, and meat dishes, all of which she had stuffed into the fridge. And right now, she did have beef.

Though she couldn’t eat more, she could give some to her neighbors. Across from her lived a young couple with a little girl who was too young for kindergarten, requiring her mother to quit her job to stay home. They lived in poverty, barely making ends meet, and were planning to return to their hometown.

Big cities offered higher wages but came with higher expenses. With two mouths to feed, relying solely on the husband’s income was barely sustainable. If they returned to their hometown, they’d have elderly relatives to help with childcare, making life a bit easier.

This might sound unbelievable in 2024, but it truly reflected the reality of lower-class people. 1,200 yuan monthly could only rent a corner in an urban village, though it was better than city proper. It had private bathroom facilities, a kitchen, a spacious bedroom, and convenient access to markets.

The same size accommodation in the city proper would cost at least 3,000 yuan. The pressure of living in a metropolis couldn’t be underestimated. Sun Miao could only afford rent thanks to the System’s golden finger. Her business required no capital investment, no rent, and even the vehicle license and vendor permits were handled by the System – otherwise, how could she set up in such a prime location?

Thinking of the neighbor’s little daughter reminded Sun Miao of Li Nainai’s [李奶奶 | lǐ nǎi nai | Grandmother Li] granddaughter. Different fates: the granddaughter never craved snacks because she had everything she wanted. The neighbor’s daughter could only look on longingly, though she was well-behaved and never came asking for food.

Sun Miao thought it over and decided to make some to give away, building relationships with her neighbors.

Once decided, Sun Miao immediately began kneading dough, letting it rest, and preparing the filling. She learned two flavors – spicy and non-spicy – though the flavors were fixed, unlike the varying tastes of malatang. Sun Miao also considered different spice tolerances, especially Su Ruixi, who couldn’t handle any spiciness, so even the spicy version wasn’t too hot.

For those who wanted it spicier, she could brush an extra layer of chili sauce on top.

This chili sauce was derived from the spicy base of her previous malatang, and when brushed on the beef pancakes, its fresh, fragrant, and numbing spiciness made it irresistibly addictive. After finishing the beef pancakes, Sun Miao distributed them to several households in the courtyard. The little girl across the hall, whose nickname was Kaixin [開心 | kāi xīn | meaning “happy”], took the beef pancake and gave Sun Miao a sweet smile.

After completing this, Sun Miao returned to her room and picked up her phone, sending a message to the eagerly waiting “wolf pack” [狼群 | láng qún | metaphor for hungry customers] in the group chat: “I’ve decided, next week I’ll be selling beef pancakes at the entrance of Jinsha Building.”

【Jinsha Building?】

While everyone was discussing beef pancakes, Hip-hop Mei suddenly mentioned the address with a question mark. Sun Miao saw this message and replied directly: 【Yes, what’s wrong?】

【Does Little Boss know what kind of place Jinsha Building is?】

Sun Miao did know, she had specifically looked it up, so she answered: 【I know, the shopping mall nearby is quite famous, there should be good foot traffic.】

Hip-hop Mei put down her phone, now certain that Little Boss didn’t really know.

What a coincidence? Jinsha Building was exactly where Su Ruixi’s company was located. However, she had noticed that Su Ruixi wasn’t in this group chat, though she had seen Su Ruixi quite enjoying malatang, and wondered why she wasn’t there.

Now that the beef pancakes would be sold right below Su Ruixi’s company, she wondered if Su Ruixi would buy any.

As far as she knew, Su Ruixi didn’t like eating things that were too meaty or greasy, and beef pancakes were exactly that.

Hearing about the beef pancakes, people in the group started clamoring, many expressing they still wanted malatang, but Sun Miao had made up her mind. No matter what they said, she couldn’t go against the System and continue selling malatang.

She posted another message in the group: 【I’ll rest for these two days and start setting up the stall the day after tomorrow, so don’t come running for nothing.】

Are street vendors all this willful now? Having to wait two more days to open. While everyone in the group complained endlessly, Sun Miao put down her phone. She planned to look for high-quality beef, after all, she was specifically selling beef pancakes, and if the beef quality wasn’t good, it would definitely affect the taste.

After resting for two days, Sun Miao drove her small tricycle to set up precisely on time below the Jinsha Building. At 7 AM, while the office workers hadn’t started work yet, the Urban Management Officers had already arrived. Jinsha Building was located in the city center, a key area with many urban management officers, who, upon seeing Sun Miao’s tricycle, wanted to drive her away.

However, Sun Miao had all her permits in order and was already accustomed to security guards and urban management officers trying to chase her away, so she remained very calm when facing them. After showing her documents and explaining the situation, they had no choice but to let her stay. Sun Miao set up her small stall beside Jinsha Building.

The first hour saw no business, with passersby asking prices but not buying. Around 8 AM, people gradually started appearing in greater numbers.

Sun Miao had prepared several beef pancakes and pancake bases in advance to avoid getting flustered when customers came. Her beef pancakes didn’t have the intense flavor of malatang’s spicy broth, and even when cut in half and placed in oiled paper bags for convenience, they didn’t emit an overpowering aroma.

Nevertheless, quite a crowd gathered around Sun Miao’s stall because there weren’t many breakfast vendors nearby. Office workers arriving by subway had only the convenience store below their office as the nearest breakfast option. The convenience store breakfast was barely edible, expensive and unpalatable, treating them like suckers [冤大頭 | yuān dà tóu | someone easily cheated].

Sun Miao’s beef pancakes weren’t cheap either, costing ten yuan each, but seeing her use 100% quality ingredients, people were still tempted. After the first person tried one, things became unstoppable, with a long queue forming. Until 8:55 AM, the last office worker bought their beef pancake before rushing into Jinsha Building to start their workday.

After the morning rush, there were hardly any customers in front of Sun Miao’s cart.

Meanwhile, Su Ruixi’s assistant started munching on her beef pancake. She had to admit it was truly delicious, but with work starting soon, she quickly wolfed it down before going to find Su Ruixi to start work.

Looking at Su Ruixi, she really felt her boss was working too hard. As a startup, their company was doing quite well, but Su Ruixi felt it wasn’t enough, spinning like a top every day. Most importantly—the boss had stomach problems and often felt unwell.

However, these past couple of days, she had been eating regularly and quite well, unlike before when she would barely eat a bite or two.

The main reason was that she had brought a small bottle containing some side dishes [下飯菜 | xià fàn cài | dishes that go well with rice]. It was truly a tiny bottle, barely larger than a nail polish bottle. Each time she ate, she would scoop out a little bit to put on her rice.

The assistant didn’t think Su Ruixi was being stingy, but she couldn’t understand how such a tiny amount could have any taste. Until she saw—the boss’s eyes turning red from the spiciness.

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