Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 248

Gotta Have Two Servings

Sun Miao had only been sitting for a short while when the assistant walked over quickly. Seeing so many things placed next to Sun Miao, she immediately reached out to help her carry some.

“Miss Sun, you’re here? President Su told me you were coming today. I’ve been gazing until my eyes are worn out¹.” She glanced at the things in her hands—ten cups of milk tea, quite heavy. She thought again: Wait, our President Su definitely can’t finish this much by herself, right?

The answer was definitely no, which meant—there was a share for her!

At this thought, the assistant was quite happy, because she had always known that Su Ruixi’s girlfriend was a good cook. She wasn’t someone who was particularly heavy on the desire of mouth and belly², but if delicious food was placed in front of her, the assistant would also be very happy.

What’s more, these were clearly drinks, which she loved!

So, the assistant was especially energetic as she carried them. She chatted with Sun Miao, “Are these the drinks Miss Sun prepared? They look so red, what are they?”

Sun Miao explained, “It’s Watermelon Bobo³. I made the Bobo myself too.”

Hearing Sun Miao say this, the assistant became even happier. “I usually love drinking milk tea too, but I always see on the news that the toppings from outside are left out for a long time. The ones Miss Sun made herself must be fresh and delicious!”

Sun Miao’s face bloomed with a smile from the praise. Chatting with the assistant, she arrived at the door of Su Ruixi’s office. When they pushed the door open and went in, Su Ruixi was already sitting on the sofa. Seeing the two of them talking and laughing, although Su Ruixi knew she shouldn’t eat vinegar⁴, that there was absolutely nothing going on between Sun Miao and the assistant!

Unfortunately, the thick smell of vinegar still stealthily leaked out and even entered Sun Miao’s nose.

Just by looking at that expression, Sun Miao knew that Su Ruixi was definitely eating vinegar on the sly. Su Ruixi didn’t confront Sun Miao directly, but instead looked at her own assistant and said bluntly, “You can go get busy first.”

The assistant was stunned for a moment, a smile still on her face, but her eyes couldn’t help but drift to the drinks she was carrying. Su Ruixi said again, “Put down what’s in your hands and go get busy.” Having already told her to go “get busy” twice, if the assistant still couldn’t understand the subtext, she would be far from keeping this job of hers.

The assistant silently roasted Su Ruixi in her heart for being so petty. How could she possibly finish so many servings? On the surface, however, she maintained her professional smile, replying “Okay” as she turned and walked out.

Only after the person had left did Sun Miao say, “Susu-jie, you can’t finish all of this. I also brought Bridgehead Pork Ribs⁵, which pairs perfectly with the Watermelon Bobo. It can cut through the richness if you get tired of it. See, I made so much specifically for your colleagues.”

Su Ruixi didn’t correct Sun Miao that those weren’t her colleagues, but her employees and subordinates. A superior could use both kindness and severity⁶ with their subordinates, but that didn’t mean she had to use the delicious food Sun Miao made to build connections! Ordering them some 20-yuan-a-cup milk tea from outside would be more than enough!

However, because she was in front of Sun Miao, she didn’t directly expose this stingy and petty side of herself. Instead, she said directly, “I can finish it.”

“…Susu-jie, you really can’t.”

The Bridgehead Pork Ribs were all large portions. If Su Ruixi could eat all of this, Sun Miao would have to completely re-evaluate her portion sizes when she cooked. Hearing Sun Miao say this, Su Ruixi couldn’t help but feel a little indignant. However, she was still a good boss, so she could only nod. “Then wait a moment. I’ll take two portions for myself, and the rest can be distributed to the assistants.”

Su Ruixi’s assistant department wasn’t too big or too small, just over a dozen people. What Sun Miao made wasn’t actually enough, especially since Su Ruixi was going to exploit two portions for herself. Even with some people out running errands, it probably still wouldn’t be enough. After she finished deducting her share, she even told her head assistant, “There isn’t enough. Go buy some more to fill the gap. Buy the more expensive kind and give them to the other assistants.”

The assistant agreed, knocked, and came in again. She smiled at Sun Miao before taking away the portions Su Ruixi had set aside.

After the person left, Su Ruixi took two portions and beckoned Sun Miao to eat with her. But Sun Miao shook her head. “Susu-jie, you eat. I tasted a lot when I was making it at home. You try it and give me some suggestions.”

Su Ruixi couldn’t give Sun Miao any suggestions. Every time Sun Miao made something delicious, she would only think: this is delicious, that is also delicious. But she said with a smile, “Did your system see how pitiful we were eating my mom’s salt and pepper pork ribs yesterday and specially have you make Bridgehead Pork Ribs?”

Her words made Sun Miao laugh. “What Auntie made wasn’t that bad, was it?”

“I don’t like it, anyway,” Su Ruixi said truthfully. “She’s always thought I like those salt and pepper pork ribs, purely because the other things she makes are even worse, and only the salt and pepper pork ribs are somewhat edible. I don’t know why my mom is always thinking about innovating. A master chef is right there beside her, yet she doesn’t even know to learn a few tricks.”

Hearing Su Ruixi’s complaint, Sun Miao also smiled. “But Auntie really looked like she thought you liked it. You and Shushu must usually indulge Auntie. When I saw her making the salt and pepper pork ribs over there, she was so proud and pleased with herself. If you all hadn’t praised her, she wouldn’t have been so enthusiastic about making it.”

“What can I do? She’s my mom, after all.”

After a few sentences of idle chat, Su Ruixi couldn’t wait to open the greaseproof paper packaging. The aroma of cumin immediately rushed to her face. Deep-fried food is just like that; although people always say it’s unhealthy and too greasy, its fragrance is truly one of a kind. Coupled with the enhancement of cumin, just smelling it makes one’s mouth water nonstop.

When Sun Miao went to buy ingredients this morning, she also bought bamboo skewers. Two small ones were tucked inside the greaseproof paper. Su Ruixi picked one up with a skewer and brought it to her mouth. The Bridgehead Pork Ribs had cooled down during transit and wasn’t that hot anymore. Even though Sun Miao had specially packed it in an insulated takeout bag, it was hard to resist the loss of heat.

But for Su Ruixi, the current temperature of the Bridgehead Pork Ribs was just right, perfect for eating.

Even after some time had passed, the Bridgehead Pork Ribs itself still presented a golden hue, sprinkled with cumin powder as if coated in a layer of frosting. Su Ruixi wrinkled her nose and sniffed, but still couldn’t resist. She opened her mouth and took a direct bite. In that moment, Su Ruixi was blissful.

The perfectly warm Bridgehead Pork Ribs was torn apart by Su Ruixi’s teeth, and the meat juices inside burst out. The outside was crispy, while the inside was full of juice, and even the rib meat was smooth. This experience was an elevation for Su Ruixi, who had eaten Shen Yiqiu’s⁷ special version of salt and pepper pork ribs yesterday. The terrible feeling from before was instantly covered up.

After gnawing a couple more bites, Su Ruixi quickly discovered—the bone underneath was cartilage that could be chewed and swallowed directly.

The fried pork rib was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and underneath was hard yet chewable cartilage. As Su Ruixi chewed, she heard a “gazhi gazhi” sound. Along with the sound, the cartilage was crushed by her teeth and entered her stomach mixed with the rib meat.

It was so delicious!

Hurriedly, Su Ruixi ate several more pieces of ribs. Of course, not every piece was cartilage; there were indeed a few with bones that couldn’t be crushed. When that happened, even if she had to spit it out, she had to suck it in her mouth until all the flavor was gone first. When it was finally spat out by Su Ruixi, the rib bone was clean without a single shred of meat clinging to it. Even Sun Miao stared wide-eyed.

There’s no need, really no need, Susu-jie. This is a large portion, and you took two. It’s more than enough.

Su Ruixi spent fifteen minutes gnawing through one bag of Bridgehead Pork Ribs and was about to advance on the second bag when she was stopped by Sun Miao. “Susu-jie, drink some beverage to cut the grease.”

Cut the grease? What grease? Where is the need to cut any grease? It’s not greasy at all!

Su Ruixi didn’t feel it was greasy in the slightest. She just wanted to quickly eat the next piece of rib and had absolutely no interest in the Watermelon Bobo! Even for a little fresh⁸ like Su Ruixi, who disliked heavy flavors and preferred vegetables, she simply couldn’t stop when faced with this dry, refreshing, delicious, and yet surprisingly deep-fried Bridgehead Pork Ribs.

It was too delicious!

The outside was so crispy, but the meat inside was as tender as if it were bursting with juice. Add to that the incomparably savory flavor—if she could stop, it would be a disgrace to humanity’s long evolution to the top of the food chain. The top-tier enjoyment brought by deep-fried pork ribs was unparalleled.

However, the one who said it was Sun Miao, and she was indeed a bit thirsty after eating for so long. So Su Ruixi nodded and agreed to have a drink.

Sun Miao picked up a cup of Watermelon Bobo, took out one of the wholesale straws she had, and poked it directly through the sealing film on top. Sun Miao hadn’t sold any drinks before, so she didn’t have a cup sealing machine at home. Her method of sealing the drinks was the common household version: a disposable transparent drink cup with a layer of plastic sealing film on top, and then the lid pressed on.

When you wanted to drink, it was convenient to either use a straw or just take off the lid along with the sealing film. But, of course, using a straw had more of that milk-tea-drinking sense of ritual.

Sun Miao handed the Watermelon Bobo to Su Ruixi, who received it like a great young miss and took a sip through the straw.

In that instant, Su Ruixi once again tossed aside the thought of “there’s no need to cut the grease at all”.

It’s needed! People need to cut the grease! They need drinks! They need Watermelon Bobo!

The watermelon juice was too delicious. With one sip, Su Ruixi tasted pure watermelon juice and also sucked up some Bobo. The Bobo was made by Sun Miao herself—purely natural and pollution-free, and also particularly simple to make. All you needed was some agar-agar powder, a bit of sugar, and some calcium lactate powder. Heat and stir, then remove from the mold and refrigerate, and it was done.

And… it was really cheap.

Sun Miao had only used a little from a bag of agar-agar powder to make a huge cupful, and there was still some unused in the fridge at home. That pile of crispy Bobo probably cost only 2 yuan.

“It’s so Q⁹! This really pops in your mouth when you bite it. It feels even more Q than the ones you buy outside.”

“It’s because I added a bit of calcium lactate powder. It’s supposed to be more Q and bouncy.”

Su Ruixi drank half the cup in one go and then put the Watermelon Bobo down. It wasn’t that the Watermelon Bobo wasn’t delicious, but there was a more important battle awaiting her.

Second portion of Bridgehead Pork Ribs, come and get your life!

Su Ruixi had completely forgotten her persona of being someone who preferred to eat vegetables.

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