You Don’t Have to Force Yourself to Suffer1
The customer pulled out a tissue, intending to wipe her mouth, but found the quality worryingly poor. She called out for her assistant, asking them to bring her tissues. Only after wiping her mouth did she stand up and walk towards Sun Miao.
She paid the bill, not forgetting to critique Sun Miao’s Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup: “This Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup is quite delicious, but there’s one thing I feel is substandard.”
“Go ahead.”
Sun Miao put down her phone, listening quite attentively to the customer’s opinion.
“Whether it’s the vermicelli, the duck blood, or the other duck offal, the flavors are excellent. They’re handled well, without any gaminess, yet retaining their individual textures and tastes. Although pea shoots aren’t the authentic way for a Jinling Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup, their taste is acceptable and complements the duck broth well. But the problem lies with the fried tofu puffs2 inside…”
“Fried tofu puffs are an indispensable side ingredient in Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup. Because the puffs soak up the duck broth, their flavor is okay, but the difference between them and the other ingredients is too vast. It’s like they weren’t cooked in the same pot.”
Sun Miao understood; she was aware of this issue herself.
This Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup was her own creation, and she had reached the pinnacle level in making it. No matter who else made it, it couldn’t possibly taste better than hers. This was a Jinling Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup made under the meticulous guidance of the System, complete with a cheat code3.
So, if there was a problem, Sun Miao was the first to know.
Seeing Sun Miao’s somewhat unconcerned expression, the customer grew a little angry: “Little Boss, I’m talking to you.”
“I know.” Sun Miao’s voice was light and nonchalant4, but her simple “I know” infuriated the customer even more: “You know? If you know, why don’t you…”
Sun Miao didn’t want to hear her complain. Truthfully, Sun Miao didn’t particularly like the customer standing before her. She was a bit… hmm, how to put it? Just like those people you see online who, relying on their age and experience, look down on5 young people. And she acted incredibly proud the entire time, with a kind of high and mighty air.
Sun Miao had encountered quite a few wealthy people recently, including Su Ruixi and Hip-hop Mei. Hip-hop Mei and her friends, needless to say, had no airs at all and were even a bit goofy; Su Ruixi, she was tsundere, but not arrogant. She wouldn’t look at others imperiously; she just had a tiny bit of pride.
Because she disliked her, and the customer wasn’t speaking politely either, Sun Miao didn’t even wait for her to finish before cutting her off: “The reason this bowl of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup tastes so good is that the vast majority of it is made by me. The vermicelli, I hand-rolled and dried it myself; the duck blood, from selection to final preparation, I did it all myself. The other ingredients were also personally selected and pre-processed by me.”
“But I can’t possibly start from scratch with the pea shoots and tofu puffs, right? The pea shoots were bought at the market; the reason they taste so good is their freshness.” Plus, the System’s refrigerator had preservation and humidifying capabilities that were super advanced tech, terrifyingly powerful.
“As for the tofu puffs, there’s really nothing I can do. I can only buy ready-made ones and add them to the soup. There’s definitely going to be a difference between store-bought and something I made with my own hands.”
Sun Miao stated this boldly and justifiably. In reality, the situation was exactly as she described; that was just how it was.
She had already tried tofu puffs from several suppliers before settling on this one; they were already the best available in the market. Of course, if she made them herself, they would definitely be better than the market ones, leagues better6.
Hearing Sun Miao’s explanation, the customer was somewhat astonished. She subconsciously asked, “You don’t know how to make tofu puffs?” After asking, she felt this must be the reason and had already forgiven this small flaw in the Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup in her heart.
But…
Sun Miao declared, boldly justified, “I do know how.”
The System’s teaching was comprehensive, leaving no gaps. How to make tofu puffs had, of course, been explained to Sun Miao in detail7, and Sun Miao had even practiced it several times in the System Space.
The customer’s eyes widened: “You know how? If you know how, why don’t you make them? Just this one tofu puff lowers the score of the entire Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup, do you realize that?”
“I know.”
To reiterate, Sun Miao was a master of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup. Even if you gathered all the Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup makers in Jinling together, none could make it better than her. She could proudly declare that she represented the absolute peak of Jinling Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup.
She knew the tofu puffs dragged down the score, and she knew there was still room for improvement in the soup.
But she remained boldly justified.
The customer was exasperated: “Then how can you be like this?!”
Sun Miao explained very calmly: “Because it takes a lot of time, it’s not worth it. Most importantly, making tofu puffs is extremely tiring.”
Making tofu puffs isn’t just ordinarily tiring. There’s an old saying: “Life has three hardships: poling a boat, blacksmithing, and grinding tofu.”8 The fact that tofu making, a seemingly lighter task, is grouped with the other two heavy labor jobs isn’t without reason; grinding tofu is truly exhausting. Coincidentally, the System’s instructions started right from soaking the soybeans, making the tofu grinding step unavoidable.
Not to mention, making tofu puffs involves many steps. After the tofu is made, it still needs to be deep-fried. Given her daily sales volume, if she were to make the tofu puffs herself, her hands would be covered in blisters.
Sun Miao felt tired just trying it in the System Space, and that was with an infinite stamina buff. Imagine doing it in the real world! So, Sun Miao chose to buy the tofu puffs directly, and the System agreed.
The System wanted Sun Miao to run a stall, not to make her suffer. Faced with unreasonable situations, it would also exercise its initiative to help Sun Miao adjust. Tofu puffs could be made or bought; since Sun Miao chose to buy them, the System wouldn’t interfere. It wasn’t some unreasonable9 system dead-set on tormenting its host.
If making tofu puffs absolutely had to start from scratch, then would she have to raise the ducks herself too?
Having such a reasonable System, Sun Miao felt very fortunate. Its greatest punishment was just making Sun Miao wash dishes for three days; things like electric shocks or other such punishments were completely nonexistent.
Hearing Sun Miao say “making tofu puffs is extremely tiring,” the customer fell silent for a moment, then revealed a hint of disdain and began to lecture: “Young lady10, you can’t be so afraid of hardship. Look at you, already out here running a stall, one can imagine your family’s conditions aren’t great. In this situation, you should understand hardship even more. I also endured considerable hardship back in my day to achieve what I have today… If everyone were like you, so afraid of hardship, what would become of the future?”
Sun Miao actually wanted to interrupt her from the first sentence, but the more she listened, the more familiar the words sounded. Sun Miao tilted her head slightly, studying the middle-aged woman before her for a moment, then slowly connected her to the “Director Zhang” that Su Ruixi had been complaining about today. She suddenly had an epiphany: Oh, so this is that particularly annoying bad-news client!
Realizing this, Sun Miao found everything about Director Zhang before her seemed wrong.
Only after Director Zhang finished speaking did Sun Miao begin her counterattack. As someone who came from an orphanage and had struggled and scraped by11 in society for many years, she clearly wasn’t the type to take things lying down: “This… uh, Ma’am12, first off, whether I endure hardship or not has little to do with you. I think running this stall is already enduring plenty of hardship. With my skills, if I didn’t run this stall, the loss wouldn’t be mine, but my customers’. Me being out here running this stall is basically benefiting society.”
Sun Miao was very clear about her own skills. Although she sometimes felt her prices were high, that was based on the type of items she sold, not her skill level. If they were pricing just her skill, she felt she could apply for a chef position with a monthly salary of tens of thousands.
Thinking carefully, although she made street food snacks, she knew quite a variety. With a bit of plating, competing for a head chef position wasn’t impossible.
She wouldn’t sell herself short or feel unworthy; on the contrary, she knew the score13, so her words left Director Zhang speechless.
“Secondly, in terms of value for money14, for my thirty-yuan bowl of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup, many things are already homemade, and that time cost is factored in. If I also had to make the tofu puffs myself, the time and energy spent would far exceed thirty yuan. It seems you’re also in business; you should understand very well the need to control costs.”
“Once the time and energy costs go up, I’d definitely have to raise the price. But if it’s too expensive, people won’t buy it, and if it’s too cheap, I’d feel unwilling. So, for this kind of particularly tiring task, I can just give it up directly to ensure my food offers good value for money.”
Sun Miao’s speech left Director Zhang speechless again. If she were in a five-star hotel, she could certainly nitpick15 every dish, but she was currently at a street stall! What was there to make such a fuss about16?
Sun Miao dealt Director Zhang another blow: “Most importantly, people shouldn’t force themselves to suffer when they don’t have to. Conditions are better now; I have a relatively easier method, so why must I look for trouble? Although the ready-made tofu puffs certainly aren’t as good quality as homemade, they save me hassle and effort. Besides, my main ingredients are all homemade; I only saved effort on this minor side ingredient. Furthermore, while the tofu puffs aren’t as tasty as homemade, they become delicious after soaking up the broth. There’s no need to nitpick.”
“Forcing suffering when you don’t have to isn’t called being willing to endure hardship; it’s called being brain-damaged17.”
“I saw you just now; you even complained my tissues were poor quality and had someone else deliver napkins. Ma’am, you yourself know how to enjoy comfort, yet you point your finger demanding others endure hardship?”
“People shouldn’t have such double standards.”
Sun Miao’s tirade left Director Zhang furious. She pointed at Sun Miao, sputtering “You… you…” twice, but finally just spat out, “You just wait!” and left. Sun Miao didn’t take it seriously. Even the System didn’t manage her this much; what right did an outsider have to control her?
Sun Miao also knew this Director Zhang was likely rich and powerful. She didn’t have much concept of exactly how rich Director Zhang was, having only been in this world for a month. But no matter how rich, Sun Miao didn’t care. Anyway, she was just a humble stall vendor18; worst case, she’d just move her stall elsewhere. If she couldn’t set up here, worst case, she’d just move to another city.
It’s just that if she moved to another city, she probably wouldn’t be able to see Su Ruixi anymore.
She sighed, thinking that given Director Zhang’s attitude, Su Ruixi’s current business proposal was likely doomed19. Sun Miao guessed that Su Ruixi would definitely hit a wall tomorrow too, and her mood would worsen again. Just thinking about this made Sun Miao feel a bit sympathetic.
Sun Miao muttered to herself, “I promised before to bring her food from time to time… How about… tomorrow then.”
LP: That was beautiful
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Freaking…Yeah, called it. Mc is definitely gonna be playing a major role when dealing with this old muddle headed old timer. Might as well see where this goes before dropping it.