Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 67

Food is Memory

Zhang Qiang paused, clearly not expecting Sun Miao to say something like that right off the bat, even describing the image Zhang Qiang held of herself. She frowned slightly. “Pre-defining someone’s image is, in itself, a very…” She wanted to say ‘stupid’ thing, but considering she still needed something from the other person, she swallowed the rest of her words.

“Director Zhang, when you were young and people gave you a hard time, didn’t you feel awful?”

Of course, she did. Those were hardships she had endured; naturally, she felt awful.

She just didn’t know why Sun Miao was bringing this up.

“I felt awful too.” Sun Miao looked at her, meeting Zhang Qiang’s eyes directly. Her five words left Zhang Qiang speechless.

Sun Miao hadn’t endured any less hardship than anyone else. Although Zhang Qiang acted arrogantly regarding Su Ruixi’s matter, she had always felt somewhat subdued in front of Sun Miao. This was because Sun Miao fit her subconscious image – a young woman brave enough and daring enough to endure hardship. She even saw a shadow of her former self in Sun Miao.

Zhang Qiang was also very observant. She could see the thick, old calluses on Sun Miao’s hands. Whether on the tiger’s mouth¹ or her knuckles, they showed the traces of her daily toil. Her clothes were simple, her hair tied back meticulously², ordinary yet shining with the light of arduous struggle.

Zhang Qiang actually admired young people like this.

That’s why she was even more infuriated when she heard Sun Miao say she couldn’t endure hardship, yet she was left speechless after being countered. Because Sun Miao—she truly had endured hardship.

“I used to think, if only someone could come and help me.” Sun Miao’s tone was light, but her voice was crisp. “No such person came to help me, but actually, such people were everywhere.”

Sun Miao’s past was indeed difficult, but she had also met many kind people, like the orphanage director. She was a bit strict but genuinely a good person. Sun Miao felt incredibly fortunate not to have encountered the dark type of orphanage director often depicted in novels and movies.

When she was younger, the orphanage system wasn’t perfect, and some directors like that did exist. Thankfully, hers wasn’t one of them. The director raised her to adulthood and even gave her some living expenses before she left the orphanage, ensuring she wouldn’t find herself short of funds³.

Later, the roommate she shared an apartment with was also a good person. Sun Miao wasn’t someone who hid her orientation, and her roommate knew but never treated her differently, truly considering her a good friend.

Sun Miao had encountered bad people in her life too; just a couple of days ago, when she started making Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup, a tenant in the same courtyard reported her to the landlord… But Sun Miao still felt that there were more good people in the world.

“Director Zhang, I believe you were the same back then, having shared similar experiences. But you didn’t become a kind person to others; instead, you became a malicious person who makes things difficult for people. If you went back in time and met yourself like this during your hardest times, wouldn’t you feel hatred?”

Zhang Qiang listened for a while before finally speaking up, unable to hold back any longer: “But Su Ruixi, she’s different…”

Sun Miao knew it was jealousy.

People harbor such jealousy, seeing others born with a silver spoon⁴ who still strike out on their own and achieve so much. Moreover, Zhang Qiang, being in a high position, knew very well that even if Su Ruixi didn’t want to rely on her family, many people still fawned over her because of her family background.

Though claiming to be self-reliant⁵, it was hard for Su Ruixi to completely sever ties with her background.

That simply wasn’t realistic.

Sun Miao thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “Let me treat you to a bowl of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup, but just this once. After this, I won’t sell you anything else.”

“Why?”

Zhang Qiang’s question was asking why Sun Miao wanted to treat her to the soup, and also why she wouldn’t sell her anything else.

Sun Miao didn’t answer, merely pointing to the chair and small table where Su Ruixi had just sat, indicating for her to come over. Zhang Qiang didn’t know what Sun Miao was thinking, but she sat down anyway. Sun Miao asked her to wait a moment, then closed her eyes.

She was actually communicating with the System: “Tongzi⁶, can you replicate the recipe for the kind of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup Zhang Qiang used to have?”

【Easy peasy.】

The System took ten seconds to transmit it to Sun Miao, and Sun Miao took another dozen or so seconds to digest it. As a master of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup, Sun Miao only needed that much time to grasp the method for making other versions.

Once she grasped it, Sun Miao started immediately. She didn’t even ask Zhang Qiang about any dietary restrictions before starting to cook. In just five minutes, a bowl of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup was ready. This time, Sun Miao didn’t even add pea shoots, placing it directly in front of Zhang Qiang.

Actually, watching Sun Miao cook, Zhang Qiang felt a flicker of disorientation. So this is what it looked like from behind. For some reason, Sun Miao’s figure overlapped somewhat with that of her mother in her childhood, but Zhang Qiang quickly distinguished reality from illusion.

When the Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup arrived in front of her, she didn’t speak, just picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

Her feelings were complicated right now, but the first mouthful of duck blood and vermicelli stunned her. This wasn’t the taste of Sun Miao’s Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup; it was the taste from her memory.

Back then, she earned little money. After a long day’s work, her only solace was the small stall downstairs from the Tongzilou⁷ where they lived, selling Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup. Public safety wasn’t good then, and as a young girl struggling alone outside, she was constantly on edge⁸.

Zhang Qiang remembered one time her money was stolen. She sat numbly downstairs by the Tongzilou for a long time until the female owner of the Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup stall called out, “Girl, having Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup today?”

Zhang Qiang felt helpless. “I… I don’t have money.”

“I know. It’s on me today, come on.”

This bowl of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup tasted exactly like that time. In that instant, Zhang Qiang felt choked up. She didn’t cry, but her heart soured. She didn’t know when she had started becoming the kind of person she hated most.

What she was doing now, how was it any different from those who had given her a hard time back then?

Regardless of Su Ruixi’s status, what she herself had done was something only a malicious person would do.

If the stall owner who gave her that bowl of soup back then knew what she had done today, would she regret helping her?

“I… was wrong…”

Zhang Qiang silently finished the bowl of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup. She sat there blankly for a long time, as if transported back to that evening. She sighed, left a “Thank you,” and walked away. She knew that no matter what she said, Sun Miao wouldn’t sell her anything anymore.

But being able to have this bowl of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup was already incredibly precious to her.

People can be trapped by things unattainable in their youth, but they can also find warmth in the kindness received during those years.

Watching Zhang Qiang’s departing figure, Sun Miao thought that Zhang Qiang probably wouldn’t go out of her way to trouble others anymore. But Zhang Qiang still had to accept her punishment, to taste failure. In short, Zhang Qiang remained on her blacklist.

The System, however, was completely baffled: 【Huh? What’s going on? Why did she suddenly apologize?】

Sun Miao tidied up her small table, wiping it with extra effort, trying to get it spotlessly clean, but still seemed dissatisfied. She discussed with the System: “Get me a new table and chair later. She sat on this one; Susu-jie definitely won’t be happy sitting here again.”

【Okay, but answer me first?】

Sun Miao sat down on the chair, smoothing her hair. The wind was still strong, but not as strong as last night. She didn’t answer directly, instead saying, “Because food is memory.”

Sun Miao really liked this phrase. Food isn’t just food; it’s also the memory of human life. Humans can find so much through food. The food of every region has its specific origins, and Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup is no exception.

This dish contains duck offal; in the past, it was actually something only poor people ate. Moreover, the offal wasn’t processed well back then, always carrying a gamey smell. The biggest challenge for Sun Miao just now was figuring out how to reintroduce that gamey smell.

But that Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup was cheap and steaming hot. Just one bite could evoke images of an unremarkable little stall, a warmly smiling owner, and rising steam. Within that hazy steam, the past slowly surfaced.

It wasn’t Sun Miao who awakened that sliver of guilt in Zhang Qiang’s heart, but the self hidden deep within her memories.

The System didn’t understand: 【What memory? What’s going on?】

Sun Miao smiled. “See, you just don’t understand the human heart.”

【…】 The System felt like it had been scolded again.

Just then, Sun Miao’s phone chimed. She lost interest in dealing with the System and instead opened her phone to check.

It was a message from Su Ruixi. This somewhat tsundere woman told her: I’ll come eat again tonight.

Sun Miao couldn’t stop smiling. She stared at the message as if trying to bore a hole through it. She knew Su Ruixi was actually worried about her, afraid Zhang Qiang had given her trouble, which was why she said this. She probably wanted to ask, “Are you okay? What happened?” but because of her pride and awkwardness, she didn’t say it like that, instead saying she’d come again tonight.

Ah, this little bit of pride, this slight awkwardness, this way of not saying what she means, it’s really so cute.

Sun Miao’s heart felt soft. She replied to Su Ruixi: Okay.

There were still three days left before this stint of setting up the stall ended. Sun Miao stretched lazily. She was already looking forward to what she would sell next time, and anticipating what kind of satisfied smile Su Ruixi would show when she ate something delicious again.

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Over there, Su Ruixi, having received Sun Miao’s reply, was also very happy. Although only a single word, “Okay,” was on the screen, Su Ruixi knew Sun Miao must be fine now. Just seeing the word Sun Miao sent made her imagine Sun Miao’s tone.

She must be spirited, optimistic, her voice light and soft, saying “Okay” to her.

Thinking of this, the corners of Su Ruixi’s mouth couldn’t help but curl upwards.

Su Ruixi also vaguely realized something—that Sun Miao was special to her too. She admired Sun Miao very much, and she liked her. When they first met, she just thought the egg fried rice Sun Miao made was delicious. Later, the incident with the young nurse made her realize what kind of person Sun Miao was.

Up until now, the more she interacted with Sun Miao, the more she realized how rare Sun Miao was.

Are they considered friends like this?

As Su Ruixi was thinking this, her assistant knocked on the door. Su Ruixi told the person to come in. Because the collaboration was cancelled, their company was incredibly busy now. As Su Ruixi’s personal assistant, she was also running off her feet⁹. When she came in, she saw Su Ruixi smiling.

Huh? So annoying! She announced the cancellation last night, snuck off at noon today, and now she’s smiling!

Damn it! I really want to quit!

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