Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 65

Plum and Mint Roasted Duck

But actually, Su Ruixi hadn’t learned about it from the Hip-Hop Mei. Although the two knew each other, the Hip-Hop Mei wasn’t someone with a loose tongue; she didn’t say much about other people’s affairs. Su Ruixi found out the cause of the matter from the group chat.

There were quite a few big mouths in the group chat. With so many people around that morning, someone nosy definitely took pictures and sent them straight to the group, even asking without knowing the truth:

【What’s going on, what’s going on? Why did Little Boss Sun clash with Zhang Qiang? [Video]】

【Today’s morning was quite a drama. Zhang Qiang got blocked¹ by Little Boss Sun, she can never eat the Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup again.】

【Is that just about never eating Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup again? That’s never eating Egg Fried Rice, Malatang, Beef Pancakes, Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup, and duck products again, plus whatever other delicacies might come later!】

【Stop talking, you’re making me crave it.】

Newcomers to the group who didn’t know the truth even changed the subject: 【What, besides Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup, there’s all this too? How come I haven’t eaten any of it? I haven’t even had the duck products! Little Boss Sun’s duck products are really hard to buy!】

【Latest news, today’s duck products already sold out this morning. Get there early tomorrow.】

【You guys are going way off-topic². I just got the latest firsthand news. Zhang Qiang sent a third person, and they were still seen through by Little Boss Sun! So exciting!】

【But why exactly did she get blocked? Can someone tell me, so I don’t get blocked too! [shivering.gif]】

【Hate that I wasn’t there, I want to watch the drama³ too.】

With the video posted in the group chat and many people chiming in⁴, Su Ruixi quickly pieced together the truth of the matter. And looking at Zhang Qiang’s attitude, she probably wasn’t blocked just this morning; otherwise, she wouldn’t have accepted it so quickly, immediately turning and leaving without even asking why. Afterward, she didn’t come back herself but sent others instead.

This indicated: she had already been blocked yesterday. In other words, Sun Miao and Zhang Qiang had clashed yesterday.

What kind of person was Sun Miao? Su Ruixi knew perfectly well. Even though they hadn’t known each other long, she felt she understood Sun Miao very well. Such a gentle, kind person, always smiling – how could she clash with others so easily? Moreover, the timing was just last night; most likely⁵, it had something to do with her.

To go and offend Zhang Qiang, someone she absolutely couldn’t contend with, all for her sake – Su Ruixi didn’t know why Sun Miao would go to such lengths.

Su Ruixi was looking at these messages while sitting at her workstation. Holding her phone, reading the chat logs, her heart, for some reason, began to pound violently, even aching a little. She had realized something before: she was special to Sun Miao. But she hadn’t expected Sun Miao would do this much for her?

Why would she treat her like this? Su Ruixi didn’t know, only subconsciously feeling very happy, delighted, so much so that the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curve upwards, impossible to suppress.

Sun Miao was truly too good to her, so good that Su Ruixi felt almost dizzy at this moment. She didn’t know what she was thinking either. She had agreed with Sun Miao yesterday to meet today, but they hadn’t specified a time; even going after work would have been fine.

But Su Ruixi couldn’t hold back anymore. She couldn’t stay seated any longer. She abruptly stood up, grabbed her coat, casually picked up her lunch bag, and walked straight out. Her assistant’s workstation had a view of Su Ruixi’s office door; she instantly stood up and asked, “Director Su, what’s wrong?”

Su Ruixi had no time to explain to her assistant, just lowered her head and said, “I have something to attend to.” The heels of her high heels clicked crisply against the tiled floor. She walked quickly down to the B1 parking garage, changed her shoes, and drove off with a step on the gas. On the road, every red light felt unbearable to Su Ruixi, but she only thought: See Sun Miao quickly.

When she finally stood in front of Sun Miao, she felt somewhat at a loss, unsure what to say. The words turned over in her stomach a few times, but what came out was: “You didn’t have to do this for me.”

Sun Miao still wouldn’t admit it: “It wasn’t entirely for you…”

Su Ruixi’s gaze was too insistent, making it impossible for Sun Miao to deny it completely: “There was a little bit of that reason, but Director Zhang is really annoying. She’s a bad person, so I don’t like her either.”

Su Ruixi pressed her lips together, couldn’t hold back, and finally smiled: “It clearly was for me…” Sun Miao couldn’t help but smile along with her.

“Have you eaten yet?” Sun Miao asked, somewhat knowingly; it wasn’t even eleven o’clock yet, Su Ruixi definitely wouldn’t have eaten. As expected, Su Ruixi shook her head. Sun Miao asked again, “Did you eat breakfast then?”

“A little.”

“How about… we have lunch first?”

“Okay.”

Su Ruixi had originally planned to order a Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup, but unexpectedly, Sun Miao took out two insulated lunch boxes: “I brought you lunch.”

—What was this? Wasn’t she being treated a bit too preferentially by her?

Unconsciously, Su Ruixi wanted to probe a little more: “So, are there any duck products left today?”

She knew; the group chat had said today’s were all sold out. But Sun Miao replied, “Yes, the five-spice flavor? There’s still one portion left, do you want it?”

“Yes.”

Of course, she wanted it. This was specially saved for her. If she didn’t take it, wouldn’t she be letting down Sun Miao’s kind intentions? Su Ruixi first secured the duck products, then sat down at the small table to eat lunch with Sun Miao. When someone came over to buy Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup, the two of them simply moved to the small fold-out table attached to the food cart to eat.

Because this location was indeed quite remote, not many people came to buy lunch, so Sun Miao wasn’t too busy. When someone occasionally came over, she would pause her meal and go make Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup for them. Su Ruixi didn’t continue eating either, just put down her chopsticks and watched Sun Miao work.

When cooking, people usually give off a rather greasy impression; after all, the smell of cooking fumes is unavoidable. But on Sun Miao, Su Ruixi only saw freshness. She handled everything with ease⁶, her slender fingers holding chopsticks, turning things over in the strainer basket. The rising steam didn’t make her look flustered; instead, it softened her features.

When she finished her task and returned, Su Ruixi said, “You look quite pretty when you’re cooking.”

Sun Miao paused for a moment, then said, “Hah, it’s only like this when the weather isn’t too hot or cold. When it gets hot, the sweat drips down again and again, clothes getting wet then dry, then wet again. Then there’s no connection to being pretty.”

“Still pretty. You look very pretty when you’re focused.”

Hearing Su Ruixi say this, Sun Miao could barely suppress the smile on her lips. The two of them were eating quite happily, but Zhang Qiang, targeted by Sun Miao, felt like ants were crawling on her⁷, like she was experiencing withdrawal symptoms. If she had never tasted Sun Miao’s Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup in the first place, she definitely wouldn’t be reacting like this.

But she had eaten it.

The night before last, half a bowl. Yesterday morning, slightly more satisfied, one bowl. But last night, only a few bites. This bowl and a half plus a bit of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup turned over and over in her mind⁸, making everything else taste bland. Especially in the morning, her assistant brought her a delicious breakfast, but after one or two bites, her mind still went back to the Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup.

She refused to believe it. Would she die if she didn’t eat Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup?

As it turned out, she wouldn’t die, but the feeling of wanting to die didn’t stop for a moment. She hesitated for a long time, really hesitated for a long time, especially since every person she sent out was seen through and turned away by that little boss. This made her hesitate even more. In the end, she was still conquered by that bowl of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup.

Actually, Zhang Qiang often went to Jinling and would occasionally eat Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup there. But she always felt it tasted different from the flavor in her memory. Yet at this moment, she had tasted a Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup that was just like the one in her memory, perhaps even better. Memories from her youth troubled her, preventing her from moving on.

This was probably also why she found Sun Miao’s Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup so addictive, unable to stop.

Knowing that she couldn’t get this kind of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup even if she went to Jinling, Zhang Qiang ultimately chose to compromise. The incredibly arrogant⁹ Zhang Qiang lowered her head and went to Sun Miao’s little stall herself.

When she arrived, Su Ruixi was sitting behind the food cart, eating her lunch there.

Su Ruixi really loved eating the Plum and Mint Roasted Duck made by Sun Miao. Yesterday’s Chestnut Braised Duck had been stunning enough, but today’s Plum and Mint Roasted Duck was a knockout blow for Su Ruixi. The plums were slightly tart, the mint refreshing with a hint of coolness, the duck meat tender and melting in the mouth, especially the sauce – not oily at all. These combined into a flavor Su Ruixi had never imagined.

She even enthusiastically discussed with Sun Miao exactly how it was made. Sun Miao wasn’t secretive¹⁰ about it; anyway, the recipe could be found online. It was just that, following the recipe, very few people could make it taste as good as hers. And one that suited Su Ruixi’s palate so perfectly was truly one of a kind in heaven and earth¹¹.

Cut the duck into pieces, blanch¹² them first, then cool them in ice water. Heat oil in a wok, add star anise, cinnamon, and other spices. When the meat is almost cooked, add plums and mint leaves. Most importantly, don’t add sugar; use pomegranate juice instead. The most brilliant step in this was the mint leaves.

Fresh ones were best, but dried leaves also worked. Sun Miao had only managed to buy dried leaves at the market, but when she got home, she discovered her landlord had mint growing in a small patch cleared by the door. She asked the landlord about buying some, but the landlord told her to just pick them directly. Sun Miao was extremely grateful and tossed two pieces of stewed duck meat to the landlord’s dog.

The refreshing stimulus that fresh mint leaves could bring was incomparable to dried leaves.

After cooking, the mint’s unique refreshing quality became even more prominent. Sun Miao knew beforehand that Su Ruixi would like this Plum and Mint Roasted Duck, but she hadn’t expected her to like it this much. She even ignored the vegetables she usually favored, focusing wholeheartedly on eating the duck meat.

Indeed, Su Ruixi still preferred refreshing flavors.

The sight of Su Ruixi eating heartily gave Sun Miao a great sense of accomplishment. After all, this person¹³ looked like a particularly picky eater at first glance. To make a picky eater eat so happily was truly her own skill.

Sun Miao’s skills now included another item: making the arrogant¹⁴ Zhang Qiang bow her head and compromise. However, the moment Zhang Qiang saw Su Ruixi, the head she had managed to lower straightened up again, absolutely refusing to bow down.

---

---