Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 220

Operation Mooch a Meal, Commence!

They weren’t the only ones who learned that Sun Miao was taking a vacation; Shen Yiqiu did as well. When she saw the message, her heart sank.

It had to be said, Sun Miao’s cooking was truly delicious and perfectly suited her palate. She had only started eating it from that time with the Yangyu potato cakes, and hadn’t had it many times since. In the middle of all that, Sun Miao had even taken a break for the plum rain season.

Now, after she had finally returned, she was taking another vacation before Shen Yiqiu had even had a few more meals.

Shen Yiqiu couldn’t help but think: How can this child be so unable to bear hardship, taking a break just because it’s hot!

But while eating breakfast, she subconsciously scooped up a spoonful of zhe’ergen chili sauce and had another realization: It seems like taking a vacation isn’t a problem. After all, Sun Miao is Su Ruixi’s girlfriend, and Su Ruixi is her own daughter. Sun Miao even sends her zhe’ergen chili sauce from time to time, so it’s not like she’s being mistreated.

Besides, she was Su Ruixi’s biological mother. If she went to see her daughter and, incidentally, had a meal or two, would Su Ruixi really kick her out and refuse to feed her?

In that moment, Shen Yiqiu and the hip-hop wannabe duo had the exact same thought: Operation Mooch a Meal! Commence!

Perhaps only Father Su was still blissfully happy today. He adhered to the principle that things don’t exceed three¹ and hadn’t gone to eat for the past two days. But today was the start of a new week, and he felt he could finally go get some fried skewers. He was already prepared to tell Shen Yiqiu tonight that he would go buy some and bring a little back for her.

Shen Yiqiu didn’t react much. She just waited until Father Su left that evening before secretly calling Su Ruixi. “Tomorrow evening, I’m coming to your place to see little Sun, and I’ll have dinner there too.”

“Are you going to reveal your identity now? Isn’t my dad still being kept in the dark inside a drum²? Besides, I think coming to see Miaomiao is the excuse, and mooching a meal is the real reason.”

This child, why does she always speak the blunt truth.

Shen Yiqiu was still a bit thin-skinned. After being called out, her face flushed slightly, but she still let out a “hmph.” “Your dad is your dad, and I am me. Besides, doesn’t little Sun already know I’m your mom? Instead of making her come visit me at home, I’m taking the initiative to go to her. She should be secretly overjoyed.”

And that was indeed the case. When Sun Miao heard Shen Yiqiu was coming, she was so restless she couldn’t sit still. At the same time, she got the message³: Shen Yiqiu was acknowledging her.

Understanding this, Sun Miao leaned over to Su Ruixi’s cheek, held her face in her hands, and showered her with kisses. She then asked in a small voice, “Susu-jie, what does Auntie like to eat?”

“Just make the Yangyu potato cakes. She quite likes those.”

“It’s the first time I’m meeting her, I can’t just serve Yangyu potato cakes.” Sun Miao was both excited and worried. That night, even after getting into bed, she was holding a tablet and looking up dishes from Guizhou province. Hearing the instructional voice from the tablet, Su Ruixi’s head began to ache.

She reached out and pressed down on Sun Miao’s tablet. “Stop looking. She’s really not picky. My mom does miss Guizhou, but she’s been here for so long that her daily tastes are closer to the local ones. If you make Lion’s Head meatballs, she’ll definitely love them.” She snuggled closer, leaning against Sun Miao, a hint of jealousy in her voice. “Besides, she likes to eat zhe’ergen. You can’t just prepare spicy dishes, what about me?”

As Su Ruixi spoke, her actions didn’t stop. She wrapped her arms, as white and tender as lotus root segments⁴, around Sun Miao’s neck. When Sun Miao was pulled down a little, she whispered next to her ear, “I don’t like spicy food, you know.”

“I know…” Sun Miao mumbled softly, but her lips were sealed by Su Ruixi’s kiss.

The two of them didn’t fool around for long that night, as Su Ruixi had to work the next day. When Sun Miao woke up in the morning, she made breakfast for Su Ruixi, prepared her packed lunch, and saw her off at the door. Then, she started to feel anxious again.

In that moment, Sun Miao really missed the system. If the system were here, she could at least discuss things with it. She could also ask for advice, and if it issued a temporary mission for a Guizhou dish, it would solve the urgency of her burning eyebrows⁵.

But the system wasn’t around, and she couldn’t just be a useless person incapable of doing anything. She had to cheer herself on.

Sun Miao clenched her fists and pumped them up and down, giving herself a pep talk. “You can do it!”

Even without the system, Sun Miao felt she could successfully make new dishes and snacks. Her culinary skills were genuine goods at a fair price⁶, honed over long years of practice in the system’s space. It was impossible that she couldn’t cook well on her own.

Sun Miao spent some time drafting a menu for that evening, then set out to buy the ingredients she would need. First on the list, she planned to make stir-fried zhe’ergen with preserved meat⁷. This was an especially famous and common homestyle dish in Guizhou, but the preserved meat, or larou⁸, wasn’t so easy to buy.

The local larou was made differently from the kind in Guizhou, so the flavor was naturally completely different. The local version was mostly air-dried, whereas the larou from the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan region was preferably smoked. Guizhou larou had a unique smokiness to it. Those who liked it couldn’t get enough, able to eat three bowls of rice in one sitting. But those who disliked it found the smoky flavor strange.

Shen Yiqiu probably liked Guizhou larou. When talking with Su Ruixi last night, she had mentioned that every year she has someone send some over from her hometown. However, Su Ruixi really disliked it; she hated strong-tasting foods and especially disliked preserved meats. That was fine; being a picky eater is a very normal thing. Sun Miao could just make some other dishes that Su Ruixi liked.

Fortunately, life now was very convenient. Even though they were south of the heavens and north of the seas⁹ from Guizhou, she could still buy Guizhou larou at the market.

Sun Miao searched carefully before finding some better-quality larou and bought all of it without hesitation. If Shen Yiqiu came again in the future, she could make it again. Compared to the larou, the zhe’ergen was much easier to buy.

Next, she bought many other vegetables and prepared to go home and greatly display her body and hands that evening.

In the afternoon, Sun Miao took a nap. When the alarm clock rang, she began her preparations. Although there were only three people eating that night, the guest was Su Ruixi’s mother, so Sun Miao planned to make a lot more. It was fine if there were leftovers; she could set some aside first and give it to others later.

Zhou Ling from next door was a good choice.

Little sister Zhou Ling could handle spicy food. Although she wasn’t very tolerant at first—when she ate malatang at her stall, even the “mildly spicy” option had her on the verge of tears—over time, she gradually fell in love with it. Sun Miao heard that over the summer vacation, she had become exceptionally good at eating spicy food.

She just didn’t know if Zhou Ling could accept zhe’ergen.

After waking up, Sun Miao rolled up her sleeves and got started.

She prepared three meat dishes from Guizhou: braised beef in brown sauce¹⁰, Wujiang Tofu Fish¹¹, and the zhe’ergen with preserved meat. They were all relatively common homestyle dishes. The braised beef wasn’t spicy. She also made a separate dish of boiled shrimp, which Su Ruixi loved. That made two meat dishes for Su Ruixi, which was enough. She also prepared two or three vegetable dishes, none of which were spicy.

The Yangyu potato cakes were also prepared for Shen Yiqiu, ready to be served with zhe’ergen chili sauce. Sun Miao had also bought a rather large jar, filled it to the brim with the chili sauce, so Shen Yiqiu could take it with her when she left.

The stir-fried zhe’ergen with preserved meat was relatively simple to make, but the Wujiang Tofu Fish ran into a small problem. This was a very famous dish from Guizhou, made with fresh fish from the local Wu River¹² and tofu. The tofu was silky, the fish was fresh, and paired with a fragrant, numbing, and spicy chili sauce, it left an endless aftertaste¹³.

But the trouble was, it required fresh fish from the Wu River.

Wujiang fish is actually silver carp. Sun Miao had never eaten it herself, but after watching many online tutorials and reading user reviews, she saw many netizens say that Wujiang fish is different from ordinary silver carp. Compared to the regular kind, Wujiang fish is characterized by its freshness, fragrance, tenderness, and smoothness.

Sun Miao didn’t know if she could replicate this dish, but she planned to follow a master’s online tutorial first and see how it went. She scaled the silver carp, cleaned the innards, then made decorative cuts¹⁴ on both sides before cutting it into pieces. She took a block of tofu, cut it into 4-centimeter cubes, and blanched¹⁵ them in boiling water before removing them.

She heated oil in a wok, but instead of frying the fish directly, she first added the seasonings to stir-fry them. Sliced scallion, ginger, and garlic were the basics, but the most important ingredient was ciba chili paste¹⁶. Sun Miao had already learned how to make this when she made the Yangyu potato cakes, so now she could pick it up with a confident hand¹⁷. She poured it in directly, added broad bean paste¹⁸, and stir-fried the sauces until fragrant.

Then she poured in clear water and waited for it to boil.

Sun Miao had seen some videos where high-quality stock was added at this step. But she felt that fresh fish and fresh tofu were already the epitome of freshness. Adding stock to enhance the flavor would be like drawing a snake and adding feet¹⁹. What’s more, the flavor of the stock might overpower the natural freshness of the fish, so she chose clear water instead.

The water gurgled as it boiled, the chilies and broad bean paste bobbing up and down, sending waves of fragrance up to Sun Miao’s face. She took a large ladle, scooped up a little, and tasted it first.

The soup base itself was delicious; anything cooked in it would taste good. Only then did Sun Miao relax a little. She added the fish and tofu, then put in other seasonings like salt, five-spice powder, pepper, and MSG. With that, she turned the heat to low and let it simmer for 10 minutes before it was ready.

It was too hot that day. Even though the kitchen had its own air conditioner, sweat kept dripping down Sun Miao’s face. It was a good thing Su Ruixi’s kitchen was relatively large and well-ventilated. With the window open and the AC on, Sun Miao was able to calm down a bit. However, once the dishes were nearly done, she didn’t dare to keep the AC on, afraid it would cool down the food she had just made.

After finishing all the dishes for the evening, Sun Miao did a quick cleanup of the kitchen and went upstairs to take a shower. Shen Yiqiu would be arriving soon, and she couldn’t let Su Ruixi’s mother see her drenched in sweat and looking a complete mess.

She had not only set aside time for a shower, but also for drying her hair and putting on makeup. Sun Miao’s makeup skills were average, so she could only manage a simple, light look. When she was done, she checked herself in the mirror from left to right before heading downstairs, satisfied. She looked at the time—it was almost six-thirty. She was an absolute wreck with nerves.

Fortunately, the first person to come home was Su Ruixi. Seeing Sun Miao’s appearance today, she felt a little jealous. “My, my, Miaomiao is dressed up so beautifully today. I don’t usually see you dress up like this.”

---

---