Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 62

I Want to Chat With You

Su Ruixi genuinely loved the food Sun Miao made.

She wasn’t actually a big fan of nuts, and chestnuts counted among them. Especially with her stomach problems, she usually couldn’t eat much anyway, and since she didn’t like them, she basically avoided them. Mainly, nuts were too dry, and Su Ruixi disliked eating things that were too dry.

But the chestnuts Sun Miao made were different. These chestnuts were soft and sticky, with the savory flavor of being braised in soy sauce. When she bit into them, she could taste the inherent delicate fragrance and sweetness of the chestnut meat inside. They weren’t dry either; the outside was soft, while the inside had a sort of mealy texture. The chestnut meat practically melted in her mouth—it was incredibly delicious.

At the same time, the inherent crispness of the nut wasn’t completely lost; it still felt like eating a nut.

It was delicious, and Su Ruixi liked it. Initially, seeing the rich, dark sauce of the Chestnut Braised Duck, she had actually felt hesitant. But previous examples had proven themselves time and again, making her trust Sun Miao and pick up her chopsticks without hesitation. She actually wanted to eat the vegetable dishes next to it more, but since Sun Miao had mentioned the Chestnut Braised Duck first, she couldn’t possibly slight her.

Sun Miao didn’t disappoint her hopes, leaving Su Ruixi speechless with every bite.

For vegetable dishes, Sun Miao had also made Wood Ear Mushroom and Yam, and Snow Peas, both of which Su Ruixi loved. They were refreshing, light, and crisp. The only reason she ignored these two favorites and ate the Chestnut Braised Duck first was truly because Sun Miao had mentioned it first.

It was also because Sun Miao had made the slightly greasy meat dish, Chestnut Braised Duck, that she added two crisp and refreshing vegetable dishes.

After eating the chestnuts and taking a few bites of the vegetables, Su Ruixi noticed Sun Miao beside her happily eating the duck meat, which made her curious: Was it really that good?

She thought for a moment, then couldn’t resist reaching out her chopsticks to attack the duck meat.

There wasn’t a single bone in the duck meat of Sun Miao’s Chestnut Braised Duck, because she had taken them all out to make soup stock, naturally leaving no duck bones behind. The duck meat, coated in fat, glistened under the streetlight. If someone else had made it, Su Ruixi would definitely have put down her chopsticks already, unwilling to eat, because that description sounded incredibly greasy.

But Sun Miao’s duck meat wasn’t like that. Although it glistened, and the duck had been sitting for a day, when picked up with chopsticks, it was a different story. That glistening layer of oil looked clear and bright, not like the kind of congealed fat that sticks to cold duck meat and puts on a show reminiscent of Autumn in My Heart¹, making you feel greasy inside and out. Instead, it was a thin layer, like water droplets veiled with a faint sheen of oil.

It was the first time Su Ruixi discovered that duck meat coated in oil could give off such a fresh feeling.

Because of this discovery, Su Ruixi opened her mouth and ate the piece of duck meat. In that instant, a different scene seemed to appear before her eyes.

It felt as if she wasn’t at a small stall by the roadside, but sitting on a ridge between paddy fields. In the small ditch below the ridge, ducks quacked as they passed by in a line. The wind carried the cool scent of the fields, and her heart and eyes were filled with the vibrant life of the countryside.

This piece of duck meat wasn’t the least bit greasy. Instead, it had the authentic flavor of braised cooking—savory, slightly sweet. The duck meat was stewed until tender, melting in her mouth… Su Ruixi found it hard to describe just how delicious this duck meat was, but a line inexplicably surfaced in her mind: “This melody should only exist in heaven, how rarely is it heard in the mortal world.”²

Su Ruixi knew her description was a bit exaggerated, but it was truly the first time she had eaten duck meat this delicious, even changing her perspective on braised dishes slightly.

“Susu-jie, try the duck skin, it’s really good.”

Hearing Sun Miao’s recommendation, Su Ruixi didn’t hesitate and picked up a piece. Unlike the tender duck meat, the duck skin was a piece of skin attached to a little bit of fat—not much, just a tiny bit. This time, Su Ruixi didn’t dwell on the potential greasiness of the duck skin and fat, but popped it directly into her mouth.

The duck meat was stewed until tender, but unexpectedly, the duck skin was crispy, with only a hint of softness.

It was satisfyingly crisp with the first bite, carrying a touch of sweetness that tinged her mouth, which had become slightly savory from the duck meat.

The texture was somewhat like the separately served skin of Peking duck.

“Before cooking, I pan-fried the skin first, then put it back into the pot at the end to absorb some flavor, so the texture is very different. But it sat for too long, and got a bit soft from the steam in the insulated container.”

“It’s still very good now. I actually prefer it not being that crispy.”

Su Ruixi spoke honestly.

The savory, braised Chestnut Braised Duck was also a perfect match for rice; braised dishes are exceptionally good with rice. Accidentally, Su Ruixi picked out a whole clove of garlic. Uncut garlic cloves look quite similar to chestnuts after being braised. Su Ruixi had carelessly fallen into the trap.

When she first bit down, the unexpected flavor made Su Ruixi’s expression change.

Seeing her reaction, Sun Miao knew she had eaten a garlic clove. “Is it a garlic clove? Susu-jie, if you don’t like it, just spit it out.”

But Su Ruixi chewed a few times and found it surprisingly tasty.

“This garlic clove isn’t pungent, it’s even a little sweet. It’s cooked through and quite tender.”

Hearing this, Sun Miao finally relaxed.

While they ate, Sun Miao’s mouth didn’t stop moving either. Besides talking about the food, she chatted with Su Ruixi about everything under the sun, including mentioning the regular customer from earlier today. Su Ruixi listened and offered a comment: “Looks like she really likes the beef pancakes.”

“What about you?”

“Me?”

Sun Miao nodded, her ears turning an almost imperceptible shade of red. “Susu-jie, what’s your favorite dish that I make?”

Tong Yuwei liked the beef pancakes, the Little Nurse favored the egg fried rice, and Hip-hop Mei, needless to say, loved everything but especially adored the spicy and fragrant Malatang. But what Su Ruixi liked best, she didn’t know. She felt she understood Su Ruixi well, yet she didn’t know her favorite food.

Su Ruixi could see Sun Miao was serious, so she thought carefully for a good while before giving her answer: “I quite like everything you make. I love eating it all.”

She was telling the truth. Strictly speaking, none of the snacks Sun Miao made were typically on her menu. Seeing a name like Malatang, she would usually just turn and walk away, even knowing there were non-spicy options—but it was Malatang! Just hearing the name made her stomach start to ache faintly.

But she liked every single thing Sun Miao made. So, in her heart, there simply wasn’t an option of which one was better.

For some reason, although Su Ruixi was clearly talking about food, to Sun Miao’s ears, it had the same devastating impact as the words “I like you.” Sun Miao felt her face must be burning. She silently turned her head slightly to the side, thankful she and Su Ruixi were sitting side-by-side, otherwise Su Ruixi would surely have seen her blush.

In the next moment, Sun Miao shifted the topic again: “Right, Susu-jie, how did work go today? Any progress?”

Su Ruixi shook her head. “No, not much different from yesterday. She left me hanging for quite a while, so I just started handling work on the golf course. Just now, Director Zhang was furious and basically kicked me out.”

Although she spoke of frustrating things, her expression didn’t change much. She seemed to have come to terms with it, sighing, “You were right, people have to learn to accept failure. If it doesn’t work out this time, then so be it. Even though this project is important, if things don’t go as planned³, there’s nothing to be done.”

Su Ruixi looked at Sun Miao, her eyes bright. “I also have to thank you, Sun Miao. You’ve been the one comforting me these past two days. I let you see my pathetic side the other day…”

Sun Miao waved her hand. “No, I didn’t do anything at all.”

But Sun Miao was genuinely glad that Su Ruixi could think things through.

The two of them took a while to eat this meal, finishing around 6:40 PM. Sun Miao was preparing to take the lunchboxes home to wash them herself, but Su Ruixi took her own portion. “I can’t let you wash my dishes too. It’s already troublesome enough for you to bring me a portion; if I let you wash the dishes as well, I’d feel truly embarrassed.”

Su Ruixi paid and took her lunchbox. Before leaving, Sun Miao gave her the Five-Spice duck parts and asked, “Are you coming tomorrow?” Actually, she thought Su Ruixi probably wouldn’t come, since the collaboration had already been declared a failure. But Su Ruixi smiled. “Not at noon tomorrow, but I’ll come in the evening.”

Sun Miao smiled too. “Okay.”

Before Su Ruixi left, she reminded her, “You should head home quickly. The wind is getting stronger now.”

“Okay, I’ll leave right away.” Sun Miao started packing up the folding table and chairs on her side. Seeing she looked ready to leave, Su Ruixi nodded and left first. However, after Su Ruixi departed, Sun Miao unfolded the table and chairs again.

She wanted to do something for Su Ruixi, even if it was just her own wishful thinking.

Sun Miao waited, waited for that difficult customer.

Su Ruixi was right; the wind grew stronger as night fell. It blew through the trees lining the road, making rustling sounds. On the quiet road, these sounds made the surroundings seem even more desolate and added a touch of loneliness. Sun Miao zipped up her jacket. As time passed bit by bit, the mid-mountain area grew colder and colder.

Seven o’clock, Zhang Qiang still hadn’t arrived.

She glanced at her phone and continued to wait.

At half-past seven, that somewhat familiar car finally drove out from the golf course.

Zhang Qiang’s car stopped by the roadside. She got out, looking a bit awkward. “Is there any Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup left? Give me one portion.”

“It’s the last one. Eating here?”

“No, takeaway.”

It made sense. It was already late, and the wind outside was so strong; there was no need to stay and eat at Sun Miao’s little stall.

But Sun Miao definitely wasn’t going to let her leave so easily today. Sun Miao said “Oh,” then added, “Then I’m not selling it.”

“?”

A large question mark appeared above Zhang Qiang’s head. She beared it, couldn’t hold back, and blurted out, “Why?”

Sun Miao grinned widely at Zhang Qiang. “Because I want to chat with you.” Having struggled and learned the hard way⁴ in society for many years, Sun Miao understood social nuances extremely well. She launched her second offensive against Zhang Qiang: “If you eat here, I’ll add extra duck blood for you.”

Zhang Qiang didn’t understand what was wrong with the world. She, a major boss of a listed company, one of the top ten richest women, was being tempted with a few pieces of duck blood? Was she really worth so little?

Zhang Qiang sat down at the small table. She had to admit, the allure of duck blood was quite strong.

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