Running a Food Stall to Support My Deceptive Omega - Chapter 17

The smile on Mu Jinyu’s face vanished instantly. She lunged toward her stall and circled it in disbelief, even checking the neighboring stalls, but her small tables and stools were nowhere to be found.

This was bad!

A sense of dread welled up inside her. Could they have been stolen?!

The pushcarts along the entire night market street were left out freely and no one ever touched them; why would someone steal tables and stools?

Mu Jinyu stood by her stall, watching the trickle of people passing by on the street. Her mind went blank, and for a moment, she didn’t know what to do. This was only her second day of business, and to encounter such a serious crisis was a heavy blow.

She was on the verge of tears.

The owner of the snack stall next door walked past her carrying some supplies. Seeing Mu Jinyu standing there dazed, he glanced at her several times. After setting his things down and tidying up his stall, he looked at her hesitantly.

“Mu… Boss Mu, are you alright? You don’t look well.”

Mu Jinyu’s face was indeed deathly pale. It took several calls from the pastry stall owner before she finally snapped out of it and looked at him. “What?”

The pastry stall owner didn’t mind her distraction and asked again, “You look very pale. Did something happen?”

“I…”

As soon as she spoke, Mu Jinyu noticed her voice was trembling. Forcing back her sadness, she took a deep breath and said with a bitter smile, “My tables and stools were stolen.”

“What?” The pastry stall owner cried out, even more shocked than Mu Jinyu. “Stolen? Oh, you… why didn’t you take your things home?”

“I thought since everyone leaves their pushcarts here, it would be fine to leave my things too. Who would have thought someone would actually steal them?”

Mu Jinyu was now filled with deep regret. She could have moved everything back in just a few extra trips, but in a moment of poor judgment, she had left them in the night market.

The pastry stall owner sighed along with her. “The pushcarts belong to the authorities, and there are people specifically assigned to watch over them, so of course they won’t go missing.”

“But your things are your own. The officials won’t look after them for you. If they’re gone, they’re gone.”

“Sigh, you really… Stop looking for them now. Set up your stall first; it’s almost time to open.”

For some reason, the tone of the stall owner made Mu Jinyu feel slightly uncomfortable. However, she figured she was just in a bad mood because of the theft and that it was likely a misunderstanding, so she didn’t dwell on it.

The urgent priority was solving the lack of seating. She was selling noodles; she couldn’t exactly expect customers to stand and eat while holding a hot bowl.

She said to the pastry stall owner, “I have some business to attend to. Manager Zhang, could I trouble you to watch my stall for a moment? I’ll be back shortly.”

The pastry owner’s surname was Zhang, a Qianyuan man around fifty years old. There were many Qianyuan people running stalls in the night market, but he was the only one selling pastries. However, his business wasn’t very good. It was hard to tell if it was a problem with the man or the pastries themselves.

Being asked for a favor, Manager Zhang’s expression seemed to freeze for a split second, but he quickly nodded vigorously and agreed.

Seeing his consent, Mu Jinyu thanked him again and began tucking her supplies under the pushcart as much as possible. Any less important items that wouldn’t fit were placed on the cart’s countertop.

Once finished, she raced toward the woodshop without stopping.

While she was still several paces away from the shop, she began shouting at the top of her lungs, “Boss! Boss! Make me three more tables!”

Mu Jinyu’s voice was so loud that several shop owners along the street looked up. Because she had just patronized the woodshop yesterday, the owner recognized her the moment she looked up.

Seeing Mu Jinyu running and clearly in a hurry, the woodshop owner asked, “The same as yesterday?”

Even before Mu Jinyu could answer, the owner had already picked up the same type of wood used yesterday and prepared to cut it.

“Yes, yes!” Mu Jinyu panted as she ran into the shop, adding, “I also need a few stools. Use the same wood as yesterday.”

The owner was already moving swiftly, cutting the wood into sections for the tables. Hearing Mu Jinyu’s request, she gestured with her chin toward a corner of the shop.

“There are a few ready-made stools over there. See if they’re suitable. If they are, I’ll only charge you for the cost of the wood.”

This was Mu Jinyu’s second time supporting her business, so she didn’t mind giving her a small discount.

Mu Jinyu hurried over and picked up a small stool to inspect it. It was almost identical to the stools she had before—perfect.

“Great, I’ll take all of these. Boss, please calculate the total; I’ll pay you now.”

“Please make the tables as fast as you can. I need them for tonight!”

The woodshop owner knew she was in a hurry, but she hadn’t expected it to be this urgent. Hearing that the tables were needed tonight, the owner’s eyes widened. She then rolled up her sleeves, looking ready to tackle the task.

“Fine! I’ll make sure they’re done for you tonight!”

After the owner told her the price, she took a deep breath and began sawing the wood with wide, powerful strokes.

Mu Jinyu paid the fee and added two extra copper coins, asking the owner to help deliver the tables to stall number seventy in the night market. With that settled, she sprinted back toward the night market.

Fortunately, she had arrived early today and discovered the theft early as well. It was currently five in the afternoon, and the real rush wouldn’t start until around eight. In those three hours, even if the woodshop owner couldn’t finish all the tables, one or two would surely be ready.

As she ran, Mu Jinyu felt a mix of distress and relief. She was still too inexperienced; she should have anticipated these things, yet she had overlooked them. Being your own boss was different—losing property really stung.

Now, she only had one copper coin left. If she didn’t make money tonight, she would be left with nothing.

Back at her stall, Mu Jinyu thanked Manager Zhang and grabbed her water bucket to fetch water. After getting the water and setting out her pots and bowls, everything was ready. It was now past the hour of the Rooster (after 6:00 PM).

A few scattered customers began to trickle into the night market.

Mu Jinyu took a deep breath, exhaling all her frustration and gloom to face the passersby in her best state. Just as she finished boiling the fish head and bone broth, the young woman and the man from the previous night arrived one after the other.

Smelling the fresh, delicious scent of the fish soup, the young woman couldn’t help but smile, her mood lifting with excitement.

Mu Jinyu smiled back and told them, “Today we have small and large bowls. The taste is the same, just different portions.”

The woman said loudly, “Give me a large bowl.”

The man asked cautiously, “Are the prices for the small and large bowls different?”

Mu Jinyu replied, “The small bowl is cheaper, only six copper coins.”

A satisfied smile appeared on the man’s face. “Then give me a small bowl.” He wasn’t about to spend a lot of money on noodles he was sure wouldn’t taste good.

After ordering, they looked behind the stall, intending to pick a seat, but they realized there were no tables.

The woman, being more outgoing, said directly, “Boss, hurry and bring the tables out.”

Since the question hit the mark, Mu Jinyu could only give an embarrassed smile. “The tables are gone. I’m afraid you’ll have to sit on stools and eat; I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Upon hearing this, the man said rudely, “Doing business without even a table? I won’t—”

“Oh, are you going to say you won’t eat again?” the woman interrupted him. “You’re so dramatic. Why are you like this? It takes all kinds of people to make a world, I suppose.”

Having been called out, the man sputtered “You… you…” a few times but didn’t continue. The two of them walked behind the stall and sat down on stools far apart from each other, clearly disliking one another.

Since it wasn’t busy yet, Mu Jinyu quickly cooked the noodles and handed the bowls to them. She couldn’t help but feel nervous.

One of them was incredibly excited for her noodles, while the other was incredibly dismissive. She wasn’t sure if the noodles would suit their tastes. If they didn’t, wouldn’t she lose two customers? Would she have to face their direct criticism?

Mu Jinyu clenched her hands nervously as she watched them take their first bite.

Both of them paused at the same time. Their expressions shifted unpredictably, making Mu Jinyu feel a sense of despair. Did they both dislike it?

Mu Jinyu’s recently recovered mood plummeted again. Today was truly terrible—not only were her things stolen, but her noodles tasted bad too.

Her hands shook, and just as she was about to apologize to her customers, the woman let out a scream.

“Oh my god, Boss!!! These noodles are too delicious!”

Her voice was so thunderous that people walking on the street stopped instinctively, staring at her in shock. The woman was completely oblivious, continuing to chatter away about how amazing Mu Jinyu was and how incredible the noodles tasted.

The man beside her said nothing. He silently finished his noodles, left his money, and slipped away. He was afraid that if he stayed a second longer, he would be caught and mocked. Because these noodles were indeed… delicious!

Having just finished the noodles, the man wiped his mouth, nearly drooling at the memory.

Seeing how much the woman loved her cooking, the apology Mu Jinyu had been prepared to give turned into a smile of relief. Her low mood vanished instantly.

With the woman’s enthusiastic praise acting as an endorsement, Mu Jinyu sold several bowls of noodles in a row over the next hour. The business didn’t stop.

At the fourth mark of the hour of the Dog (around 8:00 PM), the woodshop owner arrived at the stall carrying four tables on her shoulders. Seeing how busy Mu Jinyu was, she just gave a quick greeting and helped set the tables behind the stall.

With tables available, Mu Jinyu’s business reached a new level. It was bustling and full of energy; she was so busy she could hardly keep up. Bowls were washed and used, then washed and used again.

This time she was well-prepared, selling all the way until the early morning when the officials in charge of the night market came to clear the street.

When an official saw someone using this stall, he stepped forward and barked, “Who are you? The owner of this stall wasn’t you before.”

Mu Jinyu was busy scooping the last bowl of noodles from the pot and answered naturally, “The previous owner of this stall was my mother. Now I am running it.”

The official looked her up and down. “Since this stall is in use, the cleaning fee cannot be skipped. It is one hundred copper coins per month.”

Mu Jinyu: “???”

Not to mention she had never heard of a cleaning fee before, one hundred coins a month was not a small amount. Stalls with poor business wouldn’t be able to afford it at all. Furthermore, she didn’t even know where the trash was supposed to be taken.

Mu Jinyu asked politely, “Does someone come specifically to clean up the waste every day?”

Seeing that she dared to ask questions, the official let out a sharp sound and whipped out a wooden club from his waist, slamming it onto Mu Jinyu’s pushcart with a loud BANG!