Never Eating Zhe’ergen Again
The Langya Potatoes1 with Zhe’ergen2 that Su Ruixi had been craving was finally served, but even Sun Miao found the smell a little repulsive. She had a keen sense of smell, even sharper than Su Ruixi’s, and the raw aroma of the Zhe’ergen, undisguised by chili peppers, was an assault on her nostrils. It was just plain unpleasant.
Sun Miao had always suspected that people who liked Zhe’ergen must have some kind of peculiar quirk. Why else would anyone enjoy eating something like that?
The moment the scent hit her, Su Ruixi was seized by a flicker of regret. It only intensified when she saw Sun Miao standing a full meter away. She opened her mouth, but couldn’t find any words.
Su Ruixi swallowed hard. This was the first time Sun Miao’s cooking had ever made her mouth water from sheer nervousness rather than hunger.
Do I really have to eat this? she thought. It’s not like you have to challenge yourself with every single thing you’ve never tried. Maybe some things in life are just meant to be missed.
But Su Ruixi was proud and stubborn.
So when Sun Miao said, “Susu-jie, if you really can’t, then don’t. Just forget it,” her fighting spirit was instantly ignited.
“I’ll eat it. Why couldn’t I? I can do this.”
With that one sentence, she had thoroughly trapped herself.
Sun Miao, ever so thoughtful, had prepared two bamboo skewers for her. Su Ruixi hesitated for a moment before picking one up. She faced the plate of Langya Potatoes and, with the grim courage of a martyr3, stabbed a piece. She even deliberately chose one far from the Zhe’ergen, selecting a piece that seemed relatively uncontaminated.
That sneaky Miaomiao! She diced the Zhe’ergen into tiny pieces. How am I supposed to avoid it now?!
Su Ruixi had no idea that this was the only way to prepare Zhe’ergen in Langya Potatoes properly—diced, so that those who loved it could get more with every bite.
She lifted the piece of potato and brought it closer to inspect, then immediately pulled it away. The smell was just too overwhelming. A fishy odor mingled with an earthy one, wafting continuously from the single piece of potato and making her feel dizzy4.
Su Ruixi finally had to admit it, deep down in her heart: she had been rash. She’d had several chances to back out, but her own personality had led her to this point.
This was one of Su Ruixi’s core flaws—an obsession with money and a stubborn pride. This very same combination had led to her being bullied on the golf course before. If she hadn’t been so money-focused, things would never have escalated that way.
At work, Su Ruixi’s temperament had changed a lot. It was a classic case of falling into a moat and growing a bit wiser5; she knew when to give up and never forced herself or her partners into a difficult position. In her daily life, however, she was as stubborn as ever. And when it came to food, she never seemed to learn her lesson.
Su Ruixi instinctively held her breath. Deciding that since she’d started, she had to see it through6, she opened her mouth and shoved the potato inside. The very next second, she wanted to spit it out. Her revulsion for Zhe’ergen had completely overpowered her love for potatoes. She even clamped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from gagging.
A long pain is worse than a short one7. Su Ruixi’s throat bobbed. She chewed twice and forced herself to swallow.
The consequence of this was that she almost choked.
Actually, she was choking. Her throat felt blocked, and she couldn’t speak. Seeing her state, Sun Miao immediately grabbed a glass of water and held it to her lips. Su Ruixi took small sips, leaning on Sun Miao’s steady hand. After about half a glass, she finally started to feel better.
Once the choking subsided and her composure returned, Su Ruixi spoke, her voice thick with grievance.
“Why does something so disgusting exist in this world? It smells awful, it’s fishy… it’s a plant! How can a plant taste like that? I wanted to puke the second it was in my mouth. I’ve never hated a plant so much in my life.”
Her tone grew more agitated as she went on, turning into an accusation. “How is this possible? Who on earth found this and decided to use it as a seasoning! If I ever ate this without knowing what it was, I swear I would have burst open my mouth and cursed them out8! It’s outrageous! I’m going to pull up all the Zhe’ergen in the world!”
Su Ruixi sniffled. Sun Miao could only pull her into a hug and offer a few words of comfort. “But a lot of people really like it. Your mom, Auntie Shen, loves it. You’ll make her sad talking like that.”
Su Ruixi didn’t give a damn if her mom was sad or not. All she could think was that Zhe’ergen truly deserved to die. Her mind then leaped to another culinary criminal. “I don’t care! Zhe’ergen is the most vile thing on this planet! And Xiangcai9, too! It shouldn’t exist either! Why the hell is it called ‘fragrant vegetable’ when it clearly stinks!”
“…”
At this, Sun Miao could only laugh nervously, because—well, she actually quite liked Xiangcai. She’d add a bit when she had the chance, truly believing it made food taste better. But her Susu-jie, she really despised that kind of thing.
In short, Su Ruixi’s experiment ended in total failure. It was safe to assume she would never, ever mention eating Zhe’ergen again for the rest of her life.
That was fine. After all, Sun Miao didn’t much like Zhe’ergen either.
After lunch, Sun Miao tidied up at home for a bit before heading out with her little food cart. When she arrived at her spot, she saw that today’s crowd was a veritable mountain of people, a sea of people. The Hip-hop Yabi Duo had once again lost their first-place spot in line. The culprits, with their youthful faces and familiar expressions, were clearly the student party.
It was Saturday, so an invasion of students was to be expected. But there were so many of them that the student army swallowed up Sun Miao’s regular customers, making them difficult to spot in the crowd.
The student at the front of the line ordered two servings of Langya Potatoes and waited for Sun Miao to make them. Five or six more students passed before it was finally the Hip-hop Yabi Duo’s turn. Behind them, mercifully, was another regular. As soon as she saw Sun Miao, Hip-hop Mei started to complain. “Seriously? These students are trying way too hard! How did they get here so early?! I came extra early today because I knew Saturday would be busy. Who knew they’d be even earlier than me!”
The regular behind her chimed in. “Getting students to show up this early on a weekend… Little Boss Sun, your snacks are seriously magnetic.”
A student farther back overheard them and shouted, “We can’t get up for our 8 AM classes, but if it’s for lining up to buy food, that’s a different story! Hey, you wanna bet? I could stand here all night just for a bite of Langya Potatoes.”
Hip-hop Mei wasn’t about to take that. Though she had graduated a year or two ago, her temperament was still identical to a college student’s. She immediately spun around and shot back, “What are you yelling about! You guys can only come on your days off. I’m different. I can come every single day!”
“…” Sun Miao fell into a brief silence, mainly because the student’s comment had stunned her. That’s a bit much, really, she thought. I don’t even open my stall until the afternoon. There’s no need to wait here since morning.
The students and the regulars continued to bicker, but there was no real heat to it; it was more like playful banter. Sun Miao listened without intervening. Only when their chatter grew too loud and began to disturb passersby would she look up and quiet them down.
She didn’t need to raise her voice or say much. A few soft words were all it took for the customers to settle down. The powerful threat of being blacklisted hung over them, and they really didn’t dare to cross the line.
A rarer customer also appeared today—Shen Yiqiu.
Perhaps it was because of Su Ruixi’s lunchtime rant about Zhe’ergen, but Sun Miao felt a slight pang of guilt upon seeing her. Still, Sun Miao managed to muster a bright, sunny smile. “Auntie, you’re here!”
“Mhm, I’ll have one order of Langya Potatoes.”
Shen Yiqiu and Su Ruixi were truly mother and daughter; their love for potatoes was identical. They were both certified potato heads. Back when Sun Miao was selling Yangyu cakes10, she would even wake up early every day just for a taste. Even if the Langya Potatoes wasn’t made in the authentic Gui Province11 style, as long as it was a potato, she loved it.
She was especially tempted after seeing in the group chat that Sun Miao offered customized seasoning and that someone had already tried ordering it with lots and lots of Zhe’ergen.
Shen Yiqiu could have just called Sun Miao to her home or dropped by for a free meal. But she wasn’t the type to trouble others and knew Sun Miao was busy with her stall. So, she simply came early to wait in line and buy a serving for herself.
Besides, Shen Yiqiu didn’t mind waiting in line here. Like the other regulars, she enjoyed the warm, human atmosphere around Sun Miao’s little stall. Today, watching the students chattering away—a constant jiliguala12—reminded her of the students at the school where she taught, and she felt her spirits lift, making her feel much younger.
She knew she had been waiting for a while, but she was perfectly happy. When she finally reached the front, she froze for a second, realizing that the customers ahead of her had all been served while she was lost in the conversations behind her.
As she stepped forward, her eyes were already locked on the container of Zhe’ergen. In this, mother and daughter were complete opposites. Su Ruixi’s absolute hatred for it had been on full display at lunch, while Shen Yiqiu’s love for it was just as unconcealed.
After placing her order, she swallowed and added, “Can you put a lot of Zhe’ergen in for me? Lots and lots. And more chili, too… lots of that as well!”
Sun Miao agreed, but she didn’t add that much extra chili. When Shen Yiqiu was younger, she could probably handle extreme spice—eating chili with plain rice would have been something she could do with ease13—but at her age now, that much spice would surely upset her stomach.
This wasn’t special treatment just because she was Su Ruixi’s mother. Sun Miao would make the same choice for any of her regulars. You couldn’t just give customers whatever they asked for; their grasp of their own tastes was likely not as deep as Sun Miao’s understanding of them.
Shen Yiqiu saw Sun Miao stop after two spoonfuls and grew a little anxious. “Little Sun, I can handle spicy. Give me some more.”
“Auntie, don’t worry,” Sun Miao said gently. “Try this first. Go sit down and eat, and if you still think it’s not enough, come back and I’ll add more. Trust me, you’ll definitely like this level of spice. Any more and it’ll just start to taste bitter.”
In the end, Shen Yiqiu chose to trust her. She had nothing else planned for the day anyway, so she sat down at a nearby table, ready to dig in.
The author has something to say:
Su Ruixi & Shen Yiqiu: Zhe’ergen is the most disgusting (delicious) thing in the world!
Su Ruixi & Shen Yiqiu: ???
(Miscalculated, this will be finished the day after tomorrow OTL14)
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