Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 35

Gotta wash the dishes

The more Sun Miao got to know Su Ruixi, the more she realized she was drawn to her. Not only did Su Ruixi’s appearance perfectly match Sun Miao’s aesthetic preferences, but her personality was also exactly what Sun Miao admired.

Hip-Hop Mei came by a few times, and every time she’d launch into a monologue, never stopping. Sometimes, she’d talk about Su Ruixi.

Because Su Ruixi was someone they both knew, and Hip-Hop Mei also admired her.

“Look at me, both Su-jie and I were born with golden spoons in our mouths. I just can’t be as involutionary [卷 | juǎn | excessively competitive and hardworking] as she is. Me? I’m all about lying flat [躺平 | tǎng píng | rejecting the pressure to succeed, embracing a simpler lifestyle]. If you made me go to work, I’d give up and become a total mess within three days, holed up at home no matter how much my old man nagged me.”

“Su-jie is different. She’s truly involutionary. Back in school, she was the ‘someone else’s child’ [別人家的孩子 | biérén jiā de háizi | a child used by parents to compare their own children unfavorably to] in our circle. Top of the class every year, all the way through school. Then she went abroad for two years to further her studies. And when she came back, her family wanted her to work at the family company, but she flat-out refused.”

Hip-Hop Mei put on a detached air, her eyes full of the pride Su Ruixi herself might have shown: “’I want to carve my own path,’ she said. ‘Those who can only live under the shade of their ancestors are worthless.’” She did a pretty good impression; Sun Miao could practically picture Su Ruixi’s expression.

After Hip-Hop Mei finished, Sun Miao couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t you feel like she just insulted you?”

Hip-Hop Mei waved her hand dismissively. “Nah, she’s not wrong. I am a little good-for-nothing. It’s fine, it’s all good. The world needs people like her, shining so brightly, and people like me, lying flat.”

Hip-Hop Mei seemed to have a pretty good attitude.

From her, Sun Miao learned a lot about Su Ruixi. The more she learned, the more she liked her. It wasn’t just the kind of like where you wanted to be someone’s girlfriend; it was also an appreciation and admiration for her character.

Sun Miao also knew that Su Ruixi would never freeload off her foraged vegetables. She would definitely compensate her with an equivalent amount of money.

This was a kind of consolation for Sun Miao’s foraging.

Sun Miao returned home, put the soup on to simmer, rinsed the rice and started cooking it, then began her prep work. She made almost all of the beef pancakes she planned to sell that morning before starting to make her own food.

For Sun Miao, making an extra portion for Su Ruixi really wasn’t much trouble. It just meant buying a little more groceries, since she had to eat too.

Snow peas have a mild, slightly sweet taste, and are easy to cook, but a bit of a pain to prepare. The strings on both sides need to be removed, and then they need to be thoroughly washed. Of course, many restaurants skip this step.

Sun Miao, being a stickler for cleanliness, would never omit this step. She also bought two sections of lotus root, washed, peeled, and sliced them. Sun Miao was quick and efficient, finishing these preparations in just ten minutes.

She didn’t have much time, so she could only make quick dishes.

Once the prep work was done, she started cooking. She blanched [briefly boil in water] the snow peas, adding a few drops of oil and a pinch of salt to the water to keep the vegetables bright green. Then she blanched the shrimp and put them in cold water to cool.

Next, she stir-fried the snow peas and lotus root slices separately, and finally peeled all the shrimp.

If she were just cooking for herself, Sun Miao wouldn’t have bothered with all this, but for Su Ruixi, she wanted to make an effort. That’s why she peeled the shrimp. After peeling them, she made a dipping sauce and sealed it in a ziplock bag. Finally, she fried two eggs sunny-side up, and that was it.

Sun Miao knew that Su Ruixi didn’t like strong flavors, so she barely used any oil when frying the eggs. She was skilled enough to make perfectly cooked, delicious eggs with just a tiny bit of oil.

The shrimp dish was also very simple. She’d learned it online before she transmigrated. The method was the same, but her seasoning skills were now much better, thanks to system training. The food she made now was much more delicious than before.

The method was simple and fast. Blanch the shrimp in boiling water, add a can of beer, cover, and simmer for one minute. Then remove the shrimp and put them in ice water to cool. Once cooled, peel and dip in the sauce to eat.

No need to worry about a beer taste; the beer was used to remove any fishy smell and enhance the aroma. The alcohol evaporates during cooking. Plus, the water dilutes any remaining flavor, so there’s no beer taste at all.

The ice water is also important. Boiling shrimp in plain water makes the meat loose and affects the texture. But plunging them into ice water after blanching makes the meat firm and Q-elastic, improving the texture.

As for the dipping sauce, after system training, Sun Miao’s skills were god-like. She had a masterful grasp of flavor.

The sauce itself was simple, but whether it tasted good or not depended on the skill of the maker. Soy sauce, salt, chopped green onions, a bit of minced garlic, sesame oil. If you like spicy food, add some chopped chili peppers. Sun Miao made two versions of the sauce: one with chili peppers for herself, and one without for Su Ruixi.

Sun Miao loved chili peppers. If she didn’t have chili peppers in her dipping sauce, she’d be miserable. But she was thinking of Su Ruixi, so she made two separate batches.

It wasn’t much trouble. She just set aside some of the sauce before adding the chili peppers.

This dipping sauce sounded strong, but because the shrimp meat itself was unseasoned, and you only dipped the shrimp, not marinated them, the overall taste was actually quite light. It was also low in calories, good for people on a diet.

Sun Miao made quick dishes that didn’t take much time, especially the main course and the meat dish. Peeling the shrimp shells took a little while, but everything else was very quick. She didn’t have any extra containers to give Su Ruixi, so she packed the food in disposable containers and told Su Ruixi to reheat them.

The shrimp didn’t need to be reheated. They were meant to be eaten cold with the dipping sauce. Reheating them would make them smell fishy. The other dishes could be reheated. While they wouldn’t be as good as freshly made, they would still taste decent.

Sun Miao packed them separately. If it were for herself, she would have just put everything except the shrimp into one container. Who would dig up these wild vegetables if she didn’t?

After finishing, Sun Miao rode her three-wheeled food cart to her usual spot and started cooking the beef pancakes. She only made one batch that morning and then sat down to rest. She figured she wouldn’t have many customers today.

As she expected, there were no customers until nine o’clock. Then, her first customer of the day arrived—Su Ruixi. She arrived at the same time as yesterday. Sun Miao was a little surprised: “Su-jie, are you working today too?”

“Yes,” Su Ruixi nodded, confirming Sun Miao’s guess. But in reality—she didn’t work at all.

Sun Miao handed Su Ruixi a beef pancake, then pulled out the bagged lunch from her cabinet. She had put it in a plastic bag, the containers neatly stacked. She also took out Su Ruixi’s insulated food bag, which contained the soup she had made.

Sun Miao scratched the back of her head. “I made too much food today, but there’s only enough for one meal for you. If you don’t mind, would you like to try some?”

At that moment, Sun Miao saw Su Ruixi’s eyes light up. They sparkled, and the corners of her mouth turned upwards into a smile. “Then I won’t stand on ceremony,” she said. Su Ruixi seemed less awkward than when they first met.

At first, Su Ruixi would have politely declined and only accepted after Sun Miao insisted. Now, she accepted directly. Su Ruixi took the plastic bag, slung the insulated food bag over her shoulder, and scanned the QR code to pay.

She generously scanned 100 yuan [≈ $14 USD].

Sun Miao said, “You don’t need to pay that much.” Su Ruixi replied, “It’s only right. Thank you.”

Su Ruixi chatted with Sun Miao for a bit. Like a true businesswoman, she opened with, “Business slow this morning?”

She wasn’t the most tactful. If someone else heard her say that, having not sold a single pancake all morning, they’d be devastated. But Sun Miao was prepared; she knew that with the May Day holiday, there wouldn’t be many customers.

“Yeah, it’s a holiday.”

She thought of Hip-Hop Mei. “That, uh, hip-hop friend of yours from yesterday said she was going out today and might come by to buy some pancakes to take with her.”

“If she said ‘morning,’ she probably means after ten. She can’t wake up early.”

Su Ruixi knew her friend well. After saying that, she realized it made her sound close to Hip-Hop Mei, so she added, “She’s always been like that. Everyone knows it.”

The implication was: We’re not actually that close.

Su Ruixi didn’t realize that Sun Miao already knew quite a bit about her relationship with Hip-Hop Mei. Hip-Hop Mei had been spilling the tea whenever she came by. Sun Miao understood Su Ruixi much better than Su Ruixi thought.

“I’ll wait for her then.”

Su Ruixi nodded and added, “Don’t take what she says too seriously. Sometimes she just says things without meaning them. She might not actually come.” Su Ruixi didn’t realize she was badmouthing her friend.

They chatted for a bit longer, and then Su Ruixi went upstairs with her food. Since she was already there, she decided to stay at the office and get some work done. Time would pass quickly enough. Plus, it would be too much trouble to come back down at noon and again in the evening. She might as well just stay put.

Su Ruixi completely forgot that she already had lunch and wouldn’t need to buy another beef pancake at noon. If she bought a few more now, she wouldn’t need to come down in the evening either.

She simply carried the plastic bag, the corners of her mouth lifting in a smile.

Sun Miao was such a kind person. She hadn’t even asked, and Sun Miao had packed her a meal. If only Sun Miao could always make her lunch… Su Ruixi entertained the unrealistic thought as she swiped her card to enter the office building and headed up to her floor.

In the empty office, Su Ruixi turned on the main power switch, entered her office, and sat down.

Then it hit her—today, she’d have to wash the dishes herself.

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