Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 267

Familiar Faces Indeed

Sun Miao said this without the slightest psychological burden anymore. She had said it so many times that she was already used to it. It was just the person who failed to buy one who stared with wide, astonished eyes. “No, but… you didn’t even sell that many portions in total?! They’re 588 a portion! Can you make it now?”

This customer had a very good point. A normal restaurant probably wouldn’t refuse to continue selling. If they were out of stock, they would go restock, even if it meant sourcing ingredients, to keep doing business. A Dapanji¹ for 588 a portion—wasn’t that a bloody profit?² Now that they had a willing buyer, shouldn’t they be rushing to prepare more?

But to the current Sun Miao, running the stall was life, and also work, and even a small hobby. After all, there was no end to making money, whereas the time spent with Su Ruixi was more important.

She had originally estimated that it would take at least two or three hours to sell out, but unexpectedly, thirty minutes after she started, everything was sold out. Faced with the customer’s question, Sun Miao answered very patiently, “Here’s the thing, the Dapanji I make uses freshly killed live chickens, and it has to be stewed. It takes at least an hour or two to get one portion done.”

Sun Miao extended a finger and tapped the small sign on her table. “Here, look. I’m an individual running a stall, so I definitely won’t have a lot of stock like a big restaurant. So, when it’s sold out, it’s gone. Thank you for your appreciation, but there’s no way for me to make another portion for you.”

The customer was still a bit unwilling to give up. He had thought 588 a portion was expensive before and didn’t jump on it right away, but seeing Sun Miao’s food get swept up by everyone else made him curious. Now, finding that he couldn’t buy it, he felt even more resentful.

He thought for a moment, then asked again, “What about tomorrow? What time will you be setting up your stall here tomorrow? I’ll pre-order a portion. I can pay a deposit first.”

At Sun Miao’s stall, there was no such thing as pre-paid deposits. Otherwise, with her two groups—the second of which was also about to be full—she probably wouldn’t even need to set up her stall; everything would be pre-ordered. She might even have to set up a lottery in the group, where you could only buy if your number was drawn.

Besides, the most important thing was that Sun Miao was only selling for one day this time.

So she shook her head. “Sorry, customer, I probably won’t be selling tomorrow.”

The customer was out of options. He could only sigh, say that it truly wasn’t meant to be, and then returned to the second floor to eat, shaking his head dejectedly. After he went back, he proclaimed to the world just how willful this little boss³ was, letting all the diners in the second-floor restaurant know.

But after he went up, he regretted it even more. Because every customer who had managed to buy Sun Miao’s Dapanji was eating with a face full of spring breeze⁴, perfectly content. Many even let out wails of despair after realizing that the overly willful little boss wouldn’t be selling Dapanji tomorrow.

“NO! HOW COULD THIS BE! IN ALL THE DAYS I’VE BEEN IN XINJIANG⁵, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE MOST DELICIOUS DAPANJI I’VE EVER EATEN! NOT JUST THAT, IT MIGHT BE THE MOST DELICIOUS THING I’VE EVER EATEN! WUWUWU, I EVEN THINK IT’S BETTER THAN ANY FOOD I’VE HAD BEFORE. WHAT WILL I DO WITHOUT DAPANJI?!”

The people who hadn’t eaten it were stunned. “There’s no need to be so dramatic, right? No matter how good it is, isn’t it still just a Dapanji?”

But those who had eaten it deeply agreed. Although they weren’t as dramatic as this person, they were all of the same opinion: this was definitely the most delicious chicken they had ever eaten in their lives. That chicken meat was so fragrant, so tender, so spicy, and had such a kick! No, just thinking about it brought back the taste from a moment ago, and they started to crave it again.

But that boss! She was just too willful!

To not even sell tomorrow! After eating such a delicious Dapanji, how could they ever eat any other Dapanji? And every piece of chicken they ate in the future would become a prop to reminisce about today’s Dapanji!

The more they thought about it, the angrier they got. Soon, someone posted about this on Xiaohongshu⁶, with the title, “I met a willful boss in Xinjiang! Damn it, how can the Dapanji she sells be so delicious?!” and it quickly went viral.

A Dapanji for 588 a portion was a really hot topic for discussion. Many people were questioning it: What kind of Dapanji could cost 588 a portion? Someone else said: 【A few days from now I’m heading to Xinjiang, is it really as delicious as the boss says? I’ll go try it too.】

【User above, you’re going to try it? Didn’t you see what the original poster said? That boss is super willful, she’s not selling tomorrow.】

【But the photos posted look so good, so tempting, I love them so much.】

The person who posted it liked to document their life, so even the photos were live shots. In the photo, natural wood-colored chopsticks held a piece of chicken, turning it left and right. The golden-colored chicken was coated in a thick sauce, looking smooth and tender at a glance. Paired with the plate of Dapanji in the background, it really made one’s mouth water.

Among Sun Miao’s customers, there were too many people who surfed the internet, and quite a few were Xiaohongshu users. Soon, some of them started to feel it: wait, this 588 price point, this willful behavior, these words of praise for the food—how come it all has the shadow of Little Boss Sun?

So someone directly forwarded the post to the group chat, setting off a second wave of exploding pot.⁷

【Alright, Little Boss Sun! On vacation in Xinjiang, are you?! I bet you it’s Little Boss Sun!】

【Seconded, this style is too familiar. If it’s not Little Boss Sun, I’ll punish myself by queuing at her stall for a month straight to spend money and get fat!】

【You really want to have your cake and eat it too without suffering any loss. If you want to eat at Miao Miao’s Mobile Food Bar, just say so. I can’t even be bothered to call you out.】

【Dapanji… so nice, so nice. How can there be a Dapanji that looks so delicious? It’s twelve o’clock at night, and looking at this Dapanji is making me crave it. No, I have to order a Dapanji to satisfy this craving.】

【Don’t do it! Really, don’t! The Dapanji from delivery might be made with frozen chicken older than you are. To make it tender, they’ll add twenty pounds of meat tenderizer for you. Is that stuff even edible?】

【Wuwuwu, then what do you suggest I do?!】

Hip-hop Mei and Yabi Mei, two night-owl maniacs, naturally saw the discussion in the group. Hip-hop Mei was smart for a rare moment. She didn’t discuss it in the group but called Yabi Mei directly. Her voice was very low, revealing a sense of composure completely different from her usual self. “You think Susu-jie will kill us both if we sneak over to Xinjiang?”

“Killing people is illegal.”

Yabi Mei’s voice was very calm. She said directly, “Besides, based on what Boss Yuan from Yuanfu Tower said last time, Little Boss Sun would probably only sell for one day. Today is already over, and that’s what the post says too. Even if you fly over tonight, you won’t get any Dapanji.”

Hip-hop Mei’s faked maturity collapsed. “THEN WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO, WUWUWU! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY DAYS IT’S BEEN SINCE I’VE EATEN SOMETHING MADE BY LITTLE BOSS SUN? FROM THE 26TH UNTIL NOW, IT’S BEEN EIGHT DAYS! A FULL EIGHT DAYS! DO YOU KNOW HOW I’VE SPENT THESE EIGHT DAYS?!”

Yabi Mei knew all too well. Almost every single day, Hip-hop Mei had been at her house, writhing like a maggot. It was the exact same situation as when Little Boss Sun had gone on vacation before and when she took a break for summer vacation.

“I suspect Little Boss Sun has put a gu⁸ on me, or poisoned me. If I go a day without eating something made by Little Boss Sun, I feel weak all over, and I lose my will to live. I know you understand me, so let’s buy tickets and just charge over there.”

Yabi Mei squinted her eyes, pondered for a moment, considering the trip and the consequences of offending Su Ruixi. After weighing the pros and cons, she finally spoke. “How about this, we’ll go over on the evening of the sixth. Little Boss Sun rarely checks the group chat, especially this late at night. She probably doesn’t know what’s happening in the group. You find some other topics to bury this one, don’t let Little Boss Sun find out.”

“And then, on that day, we’ll pretend it’s a chance encounter.”

Over the phone, Hip-hop Mei’s mouth hung open. “You really are the smart one. The structure of that melon head of yours⁹ is just different from mine, ha. Okay, let’s do that!”

Hip-hop Mei hung up the phone and started spamming other topics in the group. She also found her friends in the second group and had them help push this matter up and out of sight, to make absolutely sure Sun Miao wouldn’t discover this post. Hip-hop Mei posted things about city events or food recommendations. Yabi Mei frowned, feeling that Hip-hop Mei was really not up to the task.

She casually threw out some recent explosive celebrity melons¹⁰, and sure enough, the night owls who were still active at this hour were more interested in these things. Very quickly, that Xiaohongshu post from Xinjiang was scrolled up and out of view. The speed was so fast that it even felt beyond Hip-hop Mei’s imagination.

Only Yabi Mei’s expression was a bit off: the speed at which the topic was being buried was a bit too fast. Someone was cooperating with them, pushing the waves and adding to the billows¹¹, also wanting Little Boss Sun not to see the news.

Now why would they do that? Yabi Mei’s face was serious. She had a guess.

After Sun Miao woke up in the morning, she went to make breakfast as usual. While watching the stove, she casually scrolled through her phone. She did eat a few big celebrity melons, but since she was a person from a parallel world, she didn’t know many of this world’s celebrities. Even after so long, and being an avid internet user, she knew who the current top-streams¹² were, but the feeling of eating their melons¹³ just wasn’t as shocking as eating the melons of the celebrities from before she transmigrated.

So she scrolled a few times and then closed her phone, naturally not seeing the Xiaohongshu post from Xinjiang.

After they finished breakfast, the tour guide rang the doorbell right on time. As soon as she came in, after wishing them both a good morning, she began to praise how delicious Sun Miao’s Dapanji was. She was a local, yet she said that the Dapanji Sun Miao made was more delicious than any she had ever eaten from any other place.

Sun Miao wasn’t sure if the guide was saying this from the heart or just to flatter her, her semi-boss, but hearing someone praise her still made Sun Miao quite happy. “I’m glad you liked it.” Praise from a local, in particular, made her beam with joy.

Sun Miao and Su Ruixi had fun for two more days. Perhaps because it was the tail end of the National Day holiday, the number of people had decreased a lot. Even the camel riding place didn’t have many people. Su Ruixi even sighed, “If we’d known, we would have scheduled the camel riding for the last two days.”

But apart from the first day, the two of them had a very happy time. It was only on the evening of the sixth day that Sun Miao and Su Ruixi found it hard to smile. Because when they returned to the hotel that night to get some rest, they saw familiar faces at the front desk—and it was a whole group of them!

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