Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 50

Selling a Favor

The duck blood cubes crumbled in her mouth, their unique texture bursting forth. The blood curd was congealed but not scattered, not loose at all, yet biting into it didn’t give that overly firm, almost unchewable feeling you get from artificial additives. Moreover, this duck blood was smooth, fresh, and tender, and most importantly, without even a hint of a metallic or bloody taste.

Hip-hop Mei’s eyes lit up. She had no idea how Sun Miao managed it, only thinking: Delicious, this is just too delicious!

Her eyes were bright and full of spirit. Next, she tackled the other side dishes, also scooping up a few strands of the vibrant green vegetable into her mouth. Hip-hop Mei was a rich second-generation kid who couldn’t tell basic foods apart¹; she truly couldn’t name this tender green vegetable. She just felt it was exceptionally green, looked incredibly tender, and tasted fresh, delicious, crisp, and tender in her mouth.

There was also a faint hint of a beany flavor.

Delicious, truly too delicious.

Before she knew it, Hip-hop Mei had finished the entire bowl of duck blood and vermicelli soup. With the added chili, the soup was both scalding hot and spicy, but because it was so incredibly tasty, she couldn’t help but eat much faster. In no time at all, she had devoured the whole large bowl, leaving only the broth base with some chili peppers floating on top.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to drink the broth, but she felt if she downed it all, her lips would definitely turn into pouty lips.

Hip-hop Mei’s gaze fell on the bag beside her, which contained the braised duck parts Sun Miao had packed earlier. She swallowed hard, her rationality barely holding her back: “Little Boss Sun, are these duck parts spicy?”

“Quite spicy. I’m not sure if you can handle eating them plain.”

Hip-hop Mei understood. These definitely needed to be paired with a drink or beer; otherwise, eating them plain wouldn’t just give her pouty lips, but sausage lips.

Hip-hop Mei looked at Yabi Mei beside her. She was still eating slowly over there. Unlike Hip-hop Mei who had wolfed everything down in one go, she ate in a slow and methodical manner, blowing on her food for a long time because it was hot. Seeing Hip-hop Mei’s gaze, Yabi Mei protectively shielded her portion. “If you want more, go buy it yourself. Don’t stare at mine.”

“What kind of person do you take me for? Would I snatch food from your bowl?”

Yabi Mei exposed her without hesitation: “You’re a treacherous little villain. When we went out a few days ago, you finished your beef pancake first and then snatched one from me.”

“It was just a ten yuan beef pancake! Look how you’re still holding a grudge over it! Big deal, I’ll pay you back now. It’s my treat today.”

“Need you to treat? Can’t I afford it?”

“You can afford it, you can afford it! I just feel terribly apologetic towards you, alright!” After saying this, Hip-hop Mei stood up, walked to the food cart, scanned the code to pay for both of them. After finishing, she didn’t leave but instead began her extreme torment of Sun Miao: “I’m not asking for a discount anymore, just sell me one more portion of the duck parts! This one portion will be gone in no time while watching TV and playing games tonight. Who is that even enough for?”

“No can do.”

Hip-hop Mei got angry: “You’re even stingy about this!”

While the two were arguing noisily, two police officers walked over. The security guard went up to meet them, first explaining the situation to the police before accompanying them over. The police officers had a friendly attitude. Seeing that Sun Miao was a young lady, their voices softened: “Young lady, this is someone’s main entrance, it’s not suitable for setting up a stall. How about we move somewhere else?”

Sun Miao shook her head, took out her various permits and documents, pulled out her phone, found the webpage the System had told her about, and showed it to the two officers: “Officers, it’s really not me trying to make things difficult for him. This place is designated for stalls, and I have the relevant permits and documents, all complete.”

After the police finished inspecting everything and saw that Sun Miao had no intention of leaving, they looked back at the security guard: “Look at this…”

The security guard was getting genuinely anxious: “But the manager will dock my pay later!” He looked at Sun Miao, his tone carrying a hint of pleading: “Young lady, just do me a kindness. Move it over a bit, or go to the opposite side. If you do that, I won’t bother you.”

If she could move, Sun Miao certainly would have already, but the System wouldn’t allow it. Besides, she was the one in the right, there was no need to compromise herself. She shook her head: “Sorry, I don’t want to move.”

The situation reached a stalemate. Sun Miao and the security guard were a classic case of each side insisting they were right²; neither could do anything about the other.

Hip-hop Mei was watching the commotion from the side, saying nothing. By this time, Yabi Mei had also finished eating. She wiped her mouth, stood up, and took out her phone to make a call. Because Sun Miao’s side was deadlocked, everyone only noticed she stepped aside to take a call; no one paid attention to what she was actually saying.

After finishing the call, she walked back over and stood next to Hip-hop Mei, watching the show together.

About two minutes later, the security guard suddenly received a call. He stepped aside to answer it, exchanged a few words with the person on the other end, then hung up, a complex expression on his face. He walked over to the two police officers and said in a low voice, “Our manager said it’s fine, she can set up her stall here. Sorry to have troubled you both…”

The police had no objections; as long as the two parties could reach an agreement, it was fine.

Although Sun Miao found it a bit strange, the matter was resolved, which was better than remaining deadlocked. During their standoff, some passersby had gathered in twos and threes, watching the commotion. Now that the police were leaving and there was no more show to watch, a few individuals came up to ask Sun Miao the price of her duck blood and vermicelli soup.

Upon hearing the price, most people found it too expensive and left. The price wasn’t actually high for a business district, one might even say it was very reasonable, but for a street stall vendor, the price seemed somewhat exaggerated.

However, a sparse few, two or three people, stayed and ordered a bowl of duck blood and vermicelli soup to try.

By the time Sun Miao finished serving them and paused for a moment, she realized the Hip-hop/Yabi duo had already left. Sun Miao guessed that Yabi Mei’s phone call had helped. She paused, unsure how to thank her. Although it might have been just a casual effort for Yabi Mei, for Sun Miao herself, it had resolved what could have been a troublesome issue.

Hip-hop Mei drove Yabi Mei away. In the car, she was still nagging her: “If you were going to help, why didn’t you do it earlier? Waiting until the police arrived before making the call, isn’t that just taking off your pants to fart—completely unnecessary?³“

Yabi Mei shot the person beside her a glare, her lips parting slightly to utter a single word: “Stupid.”

Hip-hop Mei wasn’t happy and was about to retort when she heard Yabi Mei say: “Helping when there was no trouble initially versus helping after there’s trouble and a stalemate—does that give the same impression? Only by helping her at this moment will she feel grateful to me. You don’t even understand this bit of worldly wisdom. With that pig brain of yours, don’t go ruining things for your own family in the business world.”

Hip-hop Mei pouted: “But why are you playing these mind games with Little Boss Sun?”

Yabi Mei fell silent. Hip-hop Mei kept pressing her, annoying her until she finally said: “So that when Little Boss Sun has a return appearance⁴ in the future, she’ll remember my help today and give more consideration to the things I like to eat.”

“?”

Hip-hop Mei was stunned. While waiting at a red light, she couldn’t help but look at Yabi Mei and give her a thumbs-up: “You really are something else.”

“But… will there really be a return appearance?”

“What if?”

“Well, if there is a return appearance, what do you want to eat?”

“I don’t know, I’ve only tried two things in total. Besides, Little Boss Sun has only released four food items so far. Any return appearance will probably be a while away.”

Hip-hop Mei muttered inwardly: It’s not ‘only’ four items, it’s ‘already’ four items.

For an ordinary person, mastering even one snack to the peak of perfection⁵ is difficult, let alone mastering four. But Yabi Mei’s words also gave Hip-hop Mei more anticipation: That’s right, only four so far. Knowing Little Boss Sun’s style, who knows what kind of snacks she’ll release next? Will there be even more delicious things with unique flavors!

“Then I’ll do the same thing next time.”

Hip-hop Mei was tempted too, but her fantasy was quickly shattered by Yabi Mei: “A person cannot step into the same river twice.”

After the two left, Sun Miao served those few customers, and then boredom set in again. People wouldn’t come to play golf this early in the morning, so not only Sun Miao but the entire golf course was so deserted you could catch sparrows at the door all morning. Sun Miao huddled by her small food cart, playing on her phone out of utter boredom.

At 11 AM, Sun Miao suddenly saw a familiar car drive over. She subconsciously thought it was Su Ruixi’s. She hadn’t seen the license plate clearly, nor did she remember Su Ruixi’s plate number. But based on the car model, Sun Miao felt it was likely Su Ruixi’s.

Sure enough, after the car stopped steadily, Su Ruixi got out after a moment. Seeing her attire, Sun Miao subconsciously faltered.

She was actually dressed much the same as usual, in business attire and high heels. But the message Su Ruixi had sent her earlier seemed to say she was coming to discuss business with a client. Sun Miao instinctively felt her clothes and shoes weren’t quite right.

This was a golf course. If a client scheduled a meeting here, one should wear appropriate attire. For Su Ruixi to come dressed like this, either she didn’t understand social etiquette, or she planned to leave after a short while. But regardless of the reason, it could only mean one thing—she didn’t take the client seriously.

After Su Ruixi walked up, she asked about the types of food and prices.

Sun Miao glanced at her several times, the expression of wanting to say something but stopping written all over her face. Su Ruixi frowned slightly: “Sun Miao, if you have something to say, just say it directly.”

“Susu-jie…” Sun Miao subconsciously called out the nickname hidden in her heart, only to find Su Ruixi didn’t seem to mind much and was still waiting for her to continue. Sun Miao swallowed hard. She knew that oversharing with a casual acquaintance⁶ was taboo in interpersonal relationships, but she still wanted to say it.

“Your outfit doesn’t seem to match the golf course very well… Will the client think you’re not respecting them?”

Hearing Sun Miao’s words, Su Ruixi’s brow relaxed slightly. She had thought there was a problem with her food, but Sun Miao’s words put her at ease. Moreover, she quickly realized: Sun Miao was concerned about her.

Su Ruixi raised her hand and lightly smoothed the hair at her temple before saying, “Her scheduling the meeting here is already a sign of disrespect towards me. If I actually followed her lead and dressed in casual sportswear, it would instead make her think I’m in a disadvantageous position, needing something from her.”

Hearing what Su Ruixi said, Sun Miao realized her concern was somewhat unnecessary; she had thought it all through herself.

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