Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 254

I’ll Bring It Next Time

The 23rd and 24th fell on the weekend, making them the two busiest days. The last day, the 25th, was actually a bit more relaxed. While running her stall that day, Sun Miao would occasionally tell her regulars, “I’m starting my Shiyi¹ break tomorrow. I won’t be back until after the holiday. There’s a notice in the group chat, too—remember to check it.”

Actually, Hip-hop Mei had already made a big fuss about this, so everyone knew. But since Sun Miao hadn’t explicitly said it before, everyone could play dumb and live in snail shells². Now that Sun Miao had burst their bubble, the regulars weren’t happy. “Ah! Don’t say things like that! No!”

There were also some kinder customers who said, “Well, have a nice holiday. Can you sell mooncakes³ when you get back?”

“The Mid-Autumn Festival will be over by the time I get back. You still want to eat mooncakes then?”

“It’s fine, just treat it as eating out-of-season mooncakes.”

“We’ll see, we’ll see.”

Sun Miao didn’t agree directly; after all, what she sold at the stall was under the System’s control. However, she was looking forward to the System assigning her a mooncakes task, ideally before the Mid-Autumn Festival passed, so she could make some for Su Ruixi.

The System knew exactly what Sun Miao was thinking and scolded her in her mind: [You said you wanted to learn roast lamb skewers before! Now you’re fixated on mooncakes? Don’t go too far!]

“Teach me, please. Who knows, this might be the first and last Mid-Autumn Festival we spend together.”

The System had no choice, but it didn’t want to teach her step-by-step. By the time the festival arrived, this fellow would definitely be on a plane heading to the desert with her lover. So, it simply tossed her a “Complete Guide to Making Mooncakes” and told her to teach herself.

The System wasn’t entirely heartless; it left the System Space open for Sun Miao so she could enter it to study.

Taking advantage of the time after the Bridgehead Pork Ribs⁴ sales ended and before Su Ruixi’s holiday started, Sun Miao went into the System Space to learn how to make mooncakes. Since the System left it open, she wasn’t locked inside for a month or two like before.

She could control the time herself—go in to study for a week, then come out for a breather. Time felt exceptionally long to her. Usually, she would go in, learn one or two varieties, come out, make some to share with the neighbors, and prepare some for Shen Yiqiu and Father Su.

After all, they were Su Ruixi’s parents. As Su Ruixi’s lover and their junior, it was only right to send gifts to the elders during the holidays. However, they lived too far away, and Sun Miao didn’t have a license or know how to drive, so she had to ask Shen Yiqiu in the group chat to come and pick them up.

Shen Yiqiu didn’t mind at all, but Father Su kept chattering away: “We don’t usually live in the suburbs, only when we’re off. Little Sun doesn’t care about us at all, doesn’t even ask Xixi. We’re right here in the city; if nothing else, she could take the subway. Instead, she makes you make a special trip.”

Shen Yiqiu rolled her eyes at him. “Then shut up. I’ll go myself.”

Shen Yiqiu had calculated perfectly; she could snag a free dinner while she was at it. So, when Su Ruixi came home from work on the 26th, she saw her own mother sitting at the dining table waiting for her. Su Ruixi paused for a second, put down her bag, changed her shoes, and entered the room. She wanted to ask what was going on, but her attention was immediately captured by the food on the table.

It was—Su-style mooncakes.

To be precise, Su-style savory meat mooncakes.

Su-style mooncakes are distinct from most others. The biggest differences: they are served hot, filled with meat, and made of flaky pastry. This is far from the conventional idea of a mooncakes, but they are truly delicious. Especially the moment they come out of the pan—simply a delicacy on earth.

Su Ruixi loved this type of mooncakes. The exterior is crispy and flakes off at a bite. It looks a bit oily, but feels dry to the touch. One bite reveals layers upon layers of flaky pastry, followed by the salty-sweet meat filling inside.

The best part is when the lard inside mixes with the meat juices and drips down, dampening the pastry slightly without making it fall apart. Instead, the pastry absorbs the broth, making the flavor even richer.

In the Jiangzhehu⁵ region, many people eat Su-style mooncakes, but for the most authentic and famous ones, Gusu⁶ is the best. The ones made in the city they lived in weren’t great; they were always trying to innovate. Su Ruixi had previously seen pickled fish mooncakes and crayfish mooncakes.

She stayed far away from those things, but the Hip-hop and Yabi⁷ duo had actually bought and tried them. Hip-hop Mei even called her to complain about how terrible they tasted. Su Ruixi listened for thirty seconds before hanging up on Hip-hop Mei’s wailing.

What a waste of her time.

Now seeing the mooncakes in front of her, Su Ruixi only had one thought: I want to eat this, it’s going to be delicious. However, Sun Miao must have bought some random pots again. Su-style mooncakes couldn’t be made in a regular pan; they required special equipment.

She had bought them once before and saw a huge rotating pan at the entrance of the specialty store. The pan was massive, looking a bit like the ones used for pan-fried baozi⁸, capable of producing many at once.

Su Ruixi didn’t know that with Sun Miao’s skill, using an oven yielded the same result.

Shen Yiqiu quickly beckoned Su Ruixi: “Xixi, go wash your hands quickly. These meat mooncakes won’t be good if they get cold.”

Shen Yiqiu was telling the truth. Su-style mooncakes are best when hot and fresh out of the pan. Once they cool, they really aren’t as good. The hot lard inside congeals into lumps, the refreshing sensation vanishes, and the crispy exterior collapses and softens, losing the texture it had when fresh.

Su Ruixi went to the small bar counter to wash her hands before sitting down.

Neither mother nor daughter made a sound. They waited for Sun Miao to bring out the other dishes and sit down before reaching for the Su-style mooncakes in perfect unison. The mooncakes had just come out of the oven and were still a bit hot to the touch. But in that moment, neither of them let go.

Su Ruixi, being young and fearless, took a bite straight away. At that moment, a “sha sha” sound echoed in her mouth. The pastry layers flaked off, falling right into Su Ruixi’s waiting mouth.

The flaky pastry was fragrant. The outermost layer was as thin as paper, shattering at a touch, but the deeper layers closer to the meat filling became softer and thicker. The innermost part, soaked in meat juices, lost its crispiness but gained a dense, savory deliciousness.

One bite went all the way through, bringing a bit of the meat filling with it.

The filling was salty-sweet.

This flavor profile is a “killer move” in the mooncakes world. Amidst a sea of sweet and cloyingly sugary mooncakes, this one cuts right through; no one can refuse it. At least, Su Ruixi couldn’t. She never liked the gift box mooncakes the company purchased.

Previously, she would just buy a few meat mooncakes to have a bite and call it a celebration. But now, with Sun Miao, she felt mooncakes were much tastier. She could eat meat mooncakes at home every day!

Su Ruixi wasn’t the only one thinking this; beside her, Shen Yiqiu was eating with grease on her lips. After the mother and daughter had each eaten two, Sun Miao stopped them. “Susu-jie, Auntie, don’t just eat mooncakes. Have some other dishes, or you’ll get full on mooncakes.”

At this moment, the thoughts in the mother and daughter’s minds were surprisingly identical: Stingy! We only ate two mooncakes!

But Sun Miao was right; there were so many good dishes. Especially for Shen Yiqiu, the spread was exceptional. Although many non-spicy dishes were made to accommodate Su Ruixi, Sun Miao had prepared two Guizhou dishes specifically for her. To her delight, there was even her favorite—stir-fried larou⁹ with zhe’ergen!

Sun Miao added, “Next time you come, I’ll make some Sichuan food for you. It’s all spicy, so you should like it. Or do you still want Guizhou cuisine? I’ll look up some other recipes; eating the same thing all the time is boring.”

Shen Yiqiu had no complaints whatsoever and beamed, “It’s all good, it’s all good.”

This was Su Ruixi’s biological mother, but seeing her like this, Su Ruixi almost couldn’t hold back an eye roll. Especially after they finished eating, faced with the leftovers on the table, her mother turned into a Clean Plate Ambassador¹⁰, asking for plastic bags and packing up the leftovers furiously.

To make matters worse, Sun Miao had prepared other things, like beef sauce. Sun Miao had made it for Su Ruixi before. It was so spicy it made her eyes red; a dab the size of a fingernail took her days to finish. That was back before they were even dating.

And now, her mom was taking a whole jar. Just looking at the bright, glossy color of the beef sauce made Su Ruixi’s heart ache a little.

It was spicy—too spicy for Su Ruixi. But the fact that she had endured the heat to finish it back then proved it was truly delicious. Although she had more choices now and didn’t eat the beef sauce anymore, seeing such a large jar being given away by Sun Miao still stung.

Besides the beef sauce, there were Sun Miao’s homemade pickled radishes. These weren’t spicy; they were sour and incredibly appetizing. In the morning, Sun Miao would chop some up and toss them with sesame oil to go with porridge, and Su Ruixi could down two bowls.

Sun Miao gave Shen Yiqiu two whole jars. Su Ruixi gasped when she saw it. She could only comfort herself: It’s okay, that’s my own mom. Besides, Miaomiao pickled a lot, there’s enough to eat. It doesn’t matter.

But it wasn’t over. Sun Miao also prepared a large box of Su-style mooncakes. A rough glance suggested there were about thirty of them. Su Ruixi couldn’t hold it in anymore. She stood behind Sun Miao with her arms crossed, watching her pack them up and listening to her enthusiastically instruct her mother.

“Auntie, these meat mooncakes aren’t as good cold as they are fresh out of the pot, but you can use¹¹ an oven or air fryer to reheat them. Don’t do it for too long, or the meat will get tough. And don’t use a microwave; the moisture will make the crust collapse.”

Shen Yiqiu agreed, then looked up and saw her daughter standing behind Sun Miao like a spirit behind the back¹².

Shen Yiqiu was startled. “What are you standing there for?”

“Watching you empty my family fortune.”

Su Ruixi’s comment made both Sun Miao and Shen Yiqiu laugh helplessly, especially Shen Yiqiu. “I just eat a little bit of your food, and that’s emptying your family assets?”

Su Ruixi looked at the pile of large and small bags at Shen Yiqiu’s feet and said with certainty, “Come a few more times, and it’ll definitely be empty.” This daughter, who clearly favored her partner over her mother, added, “Look at you. Every time you come, you don’t even know to bring some fruit.”

“I’ll bring it, I’ll bring it! Next time I’ll bring it!”

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