Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 252

Are You Going Out to Have Fun?

This was probably a case of you can’t have both fish and a bear’s paw¹. If you wanted to wait for the Queue King’s milk tea, you wouldn’t have a seat and could only squat. But Hip-hop Mei was very happy. “Whether it’s food or drinks, this is the ultimate enjoyment. You guys are just jealous of me~”

But she squatted by the curb, not caring in the slightest as she sat down. After slurping two mouthfuls of milk tea, she put it aside and focused wholeheartedly on eating Sun Miao’s Bridgehead Pork Ribs. Seeing her like this, a rather perplexed customer asked, “Why did you stop drinking it? Didn’t you spend a lot of money to have someone buy it for you?”

“It doesn’t taste good. If you ask me, fried foods like Bridgehead Pork Ribs pair better with happy water².”

Amidst their hustle and bustle, the truth of why Hip-hop Mei wasn’t drinking her milk tea was revealed. The milk tea was quite good, and the first sip was indeed not bad, befitting its status as the new Queue King. But when paired with the Bridgehead Pork Ribs, it fell a bit short. Both had very strong flavors, and Sun Miao’s Bridgehead Pork Ribs had, without a doubt, overpowered the taste of the milk tea.

The Bridgehead Pork Ribs was extremely domineering. It was the ultimate in savory fragrance, and since Hip-hop Mei had ordered the spicy flavor, that taste shot straight to her head, leaving her with no mind to pay attention to the milk tea. Afterward, when the flavor of the milk tea surged up again, the rich milky taste clashed with the meaty flavor. Sun Miao’s Bridgehead Pork Ribs was still delicious, but the milk tea’s taste had been ruined.

So, Hip-hop Mei only took two sips before stopping. In contrast, Yabi Mei next to her was taking a sip of milk tea, then a bite of Bridgehead Pork Ribs. Hip-hop Mei found it strange. “How can you still drink that?”

“I ordered fruit tea, no milk, thirty percent sugar. It’s a perfect match.”

Hearing their conversation, the people around them couldn’t help but smile and shake their heads, finding it even funnier when they saw the look on Hip-hop Mei’s face, as if she had been struck by lightning.

After a while, it was Kaixin’s turn. Seeing that Hip-hop Mei still hadn’t left, Sun Miao’s heart was already beating a drum. This was the first time she was doing something bad, and of all people, the one with the sharpest eyes was still around, all because she had ordered the Queue King’s milk tea. This made Sun Miao feel a little guilty.

Guilty or not, the bad deed still had to be done. When Kaixin and her family reached the front of the line, Sun Miao flashed a smile even more brilliant than usual and asked the little girl, “Kaixin, what do you want to eat today?”

Kaixin smiled back. “I want to eat! Fried pork ribs! Xiao Sun-jiejie’s³ fried pork ribs are definitely super delicious! I want one order, not spicy!” She tugged on her parents’ hands, then looked up at her mother. “Mama wants a not-spicy one too!” Then she looked at her father. “Papa wants a spicy one!”

One order was 25 yuan⁴, so three orders came to 75.

Based on this family’s past income, they probably wouldn’t spend so much on a single snack. But following Kaixin’s words, her parents just smiled and nodded. “Yes, we’ll take three orders.”

Sun Miao didn’t ask any questions, simply replying with an “okay.” She was calm and composed. Even with Hip-hop Mei nearby, she still stealthily packed a little extra into each of the three orders for Kaixin’s family. It was a good thing it was Sun Miao; her hands were exceptionally fast. In a flash, she broke apart a portion hidden underneath and distributed it among the three bags.

While she moved, she kept talking to divert the family’s attention. “So, should I sprinkle a little less cumin powder for Kaixin?”

Kaixin looked like she didn’t want less cumin powder, but her mother nodded. “A little less, please. It’s not good for children to have too much.”

Sun Miao smoothly handed over the three orders of Bridgehead Pork Ribs, with their secretly increased portions that no one knew about. After they left, she even waved at them. A little while later, the hip-hop and yabi duo also finished eating. When Hip-hop Mei came over to say goodbye to Sun Miao, she suddenly stared at her suspiciously.

Sun Miao’s gaze drifted to the side for a moment, but she couldn’t hold back and asked, “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

“No…” Hip-hop Mei didn’t leave, just stood in front of Sun Miao’s stall, watching her for a good while. Sun Miao was thinking: Her eyes can’t be that sharp, can they? She could even spot that? After a long moment, she finally heard Hip-hop Mei speak. “Boss Xiao Sun, why do I feel like you have a guilty look on your face? What bad thing are you planning to do behind our backs?”

“Not at all. Why would I do anything bad?”

Hip-hop Mei thought for a moment, then, as if she’d suddenly been enlightened, she said abruptly, “Are you planning to go out for Shiyi⁵ and not run your stall for the entire holiday? I knew it! You’re the type to see beauty and forget righteousness⁶, you definitely wouldn’t save Shiyi for us!”

“…”

On this point, as a stall vendor, she probably did have reason to feel a bit guilty. However, not being caught for secretly giving someone extra food was a relief for Sun Miao. Compared to that, admitting she was going out to have fun wasn’t so difficult. So Sun Miao nodded directly. “Yes, I’m planning to go out and have fun during Shiyi.”

“How could you! Where are you planning to go? Can you let me in on it? I promise I won’t disturb you guys.”

Hip-hop Mei raised this question, and Sun Miao didn’t really mind, since Yabi Girl was right there and would surely keep an eye on her. It was just that the timing and place she asked were really not great. Sun Miao was running her stall, surrounded by her regular customers. When they first heard that Sun Miao was planning to “abandon” them and run off to have fun, their faces had instantly darkened.

Now, hearing Hip-hop Mei’s question, every single one of them was staring at Sun Miao like wolves with green eyes.

If Sun Miao answered Hip-hop Mei’s question at this moment, then needless to say, when she got to the desert, she would definitely be surrounded by her own acquaintances.

So Sun Miao said directly, “Nope, how could I reveal something like that?”

Hip-hop Mei was still unwilling to give up, but Sun Miao waved her hand at her. “Go on, go on, don’t hold up my business.”

Hip-hop Mei was dragged away by Yabi Girl, but because of the question she had just asked, all the subsequent customers would look at Sun Miao and ask, “Boss Xiao Sun, we really don’t need to go squeeze with people during the National Day holiday. No matter where you go, it’s bound to be crowded. Why don’t you stay and run your stall during National Day, and then wait until it’s over for some off-peak travel⁷? Wouldn’t that be great? Taking ten thousand steps back⁸, can’t we just not go?”

The customers did make a good point. If it were just Sun Miao alone, she might have listened and obediently run her stall, taking advantage of the long Shiyi holiday to make a huge profit. But there was also Su Ruixi. She was usually very busy, and it was a rare holiday for her. It wouldn’t be right to make Su Ruixi adjust her schedule later to accommodate her.

Besides, this year’s Shiyi and Mid-Autumn Festival⁹ were together. It was the first time in her life she would enjoy a reunion night with her family, and she didn’t want anyone to ruin it.

Faced with her customers’ persuasion, Sun Miao just smiled without saying a word. Her attitude was so firm that the customers lost the heart to persuade her further.

Over the next two days, the student crowd also began to swarm over, queuing up specifically to buy Bridgehead Pork Ribs. The Group Owner, in particular, did just as she had said she would. Since she was already a third-year student with few classes and correspondingly more free time, she was able to come to Sun Miao’s little stall on a weekday afternoon to line up for an order of Bridgehead Pork Ribs.

But the massive customer explosion happened on the 23rd, which was a Saturday. The moment Sun Miao drove over, she considered turning around and fleeing. She knew it was Saturday and that there would probably be more people, so she had prepared 150 portions, half more than on a typical day.

Even if she couldn’t give every customer a snack, it was at least a gesture toward everyone. But the ridiculous thing was, with just a rough glance, Sun Miao felt there were more than a hundred people in line.

A hundred people all squeezed together forming a long dragon¹⁰ might not sound like much, but a single look was enough to see that long line, which had already turned a corner at the traffic light and gone to the other side. Sun Miao took a deep breath. If she hadn’t spotted the conspicuous hip-hop and yabi duo, she would have thought she’d come to the wrong place.

Sun Miao had just stopped and hadn’t even pushed the cart onto the sidewalk when she was pulled up by the customers all at once. Sun Miao’s food cart was quite large. Even with the system’s black technology making the whole cart relatively light, it was still inevitably a bit tiring to push it up when it was full of things. But the regular customers kindly spared Sun Miao this trouble; they were super proactive and super fast!

By the time Sun Miao’s food cart was pushed onto the crosswalk, the line began to move.

Their grand formation inevitably attracted the attention of passersby, and many people came over to take a look. Many others saw Sun Miao’s sign, “Miaomiao’s Mobile Food Bar,” and knew what her situation was. The previous interviews with the internet celebrity streamer Lizi and the local TV station had truly made Sun Miao a hit, and more and more local people had come to know of her little stall.

While Sun Miao’s oil was heating up, someone even came over and asked her, “Boss, does this stall of yours sell Huaihua Fen¹¹? I’ve never had it before, let me line up and give it a try.”

Sun Miao was wearing a food-grade mask. Hearing the unfamiliar voice, she shook her head. “I’m not selling Huaihua Fen anymore. This time it’s Bridgehead Pork Ribs, 25 yuan for a 150-gram portion. But I suggest you don’t line up. If you get in line now, you probably won’t get a turn.”

Today, Sun Miao also enjoyed a long-lost treatment: the Chengguan¹² came for a direct inspection. Perhaps because there were so many people here, the Chengguan office found out and came over to have a look. They went straight to Sun Miao, and after she showed them the relevant permits, the Chengguan officer still seemed to hesitate before speaking. “Let’s leave a bit earlier after we sell out. This is the side of the road, and with so many people coming and going, it’s not very good.”

“Okay, I’ll leave as soon as I sell out. I won’t linger.”

In fact, it was impossible for her to linger even if she wanted to, because there were simply too many people. Sun Miao thought about it carefully. It seemed that, since some unknown point in time, whenever she set up her stall, she would just start working nonstop, without the breaks she used to have where she could rest for a while and wait for the next wave of customers.

Especially now, Sun Miao felt like she needed to grow eight arms just to barely handle the customers in front of her.

She was also somewhat thankful: It’s a good thing Kaixin and her family came yesterday. If they had come today, they probably would have been scared away by this scene.

She was busy for over two hours before she finally sold out all 150 portions. With her own announcement of “Sold out,” Sun Miao felt like she let out a huge sigh of relief. After packing everything up and returning home, she saw Su Ruixi watching TV. On the verge of tears, she threw herself over, carrying the scent of fried pork ribs, and rushed into Su Ruixi’s arms.

“What’s wrong?”

Sun Miao thought for a moment, but couldn’t help but start acting spoiled. “Wuwuwu, I’m so tired.”

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