Chapter 101 Little Fish Are All Trash

The next morning, Ning Jia was awakened by a faint sobbing sound.

She rubbed her eyes and slowly sat up, stretching her slightly sore neck and back. She immediately spotted a... teru teru bozu (a Japanese doll-shaped doll) sitting not far away.

No, it's not a teru teru bozu (sunny doll), it's a tiny little person wrapped in a handkerchief or blanket, with a peach-shaped face peeking out.

Seeing that Ning Jia had finally woken up, Bai Su seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and her peach-shaped face was no longer so tense.

"Ning Jia, you're finally awake."

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Ning Jia yawned, stood up and patted his wrinkled T-shirt as he asked.

"Sigh," Bai Su sighed, resting her peach-shaped face on her hand, her expression one of deep unease.

"Go look out the window, and you'll see."

What?! Could the window have been broken by the wind?!

Ning Jia suddenly woke up, startled, and quickly turned to look out the window.

At first glance, thank goodness, everyone is safe and sound!

The window isn't broken at all! The window glass is still intact, and the duct tape is still sticking to it in a crisscross pattern.

At second glance, huh? Why are there so many "teru teru bozu" dolls on the windowsill all of a sudden?

And that faint crying sound just now seemed to be coming from the window.

Ning Jia was momentarily confused. She rubbed her slightly cold arms and quickly ran over. As soon as she reached the windowsill, her eyes widened in shock:

"He Meng, Dao Ya, Gan Cao... what's wrong with all of you?!"

Tears streamed down Daoya and Gancao's little faces; they just cried and didn't say a word. Shiying was sobbing uncontrollably, her tissues completely soaked. The other little ones were also crying their eyes out, looking utterly heartbroken...

At this moment, the wind howled outside and weeping filled the air inside; the scene was utterly tragic!

Oh my god, what on earth happened?

Ning Jia was terrified and quickly asked:

"Is someone injured? Could someone have sneaked out?"

"Say something, everyone! Is anyone even paying attention to me...?"

Seeing that the children were all crying and silent, she randomly picked one who wasn't crying so badly, gently grabbed it, and brought it close, asking:

"He Meng, who's injured? Where's the clan leader? Where are Ze Lan and the others?"

"No, no one..."

He Meng, wrapped in a small handkerchief, sat on Ning Jia's lap, sobbing as she wiped the tears and snot from her face with her little hands.

Ning Jia quickly handed her a small tissue with a hint of disgust, letting her wipe her face clean.

"...No one was injured."

He Meng took a tissue and wiped her face haphazardly, then handed the empty wad of tissue to Ning Jia.

Ning Jia breathed a sigh of relief, accepted the question with a speechless expression, and continued to ask:

"Then why are you all crying here?"

"Because, because of the persimmon tree... Waaah..."

He Meng's eyes were red, and she was sobbing, almost bursting into tears again. Ning Jia patted her little head and quickly put her back on the windowsill.

Persimmon tree? What happened to the persimmon tree?

Could the persimmon tree have been blown down by the typhoon?

Impossible, I clearly took so many precautions!

Ning Jia's heart clenched. She leaned closer to the window and peered through the glass into the courtyard—

Hey, those two persimmon trees are perfectly fine!

Except for a few thinner branches that couldn't withstand the strong wind and broke off and fell to the ground, the tree was still lush and leafy, its branches and leaves swaying gently in the wind, along with the fruit on it...

Ning Jia narrowed his eyes and immediately understood!

Looking at the unripe, green persimmons scattered on the ground under the persimmon tree, she was at a loss for words. After a long pause, she finally said:

"There are still quite a lot of persimmons on this tree. Even if some are blown away, there will still be enough to eat."

Inagi immediately retorted, "If it doesn't fall, I can eat even more, waaaah..."

Quartz also said, "Those fruits worked so hard to grow, and they were finally about to ripen, but now the wind has blown them away, and they'll never ripen again TT"

Ning Jia rarely takes care of the persimmon tree in the yard herself; it is Dao Ya and Shi Ying who carefully water and fertilize it.

When the persimmon blossoms with their four diamond-shaped petals first appeared on the tree, the children eagerly awaited the day when the fruit would ripen. They waited day and night, and even braved the sweltering heat to come to the tree every day to "fertilize" it...

Ning Jia thought of all this and fell silent for a moment, no longer trying to persuade the villains. But the storm hadn't died down, and it was still dangerous to gather by the window. After much persuasion, she finally convinced everyone to go back to the living room.

At this moment, Canglan, Zelan, and others also returned.

It turned out that they had just walked around the house checking for anything unusual and hadn't noticed the movement on the living room windowsill at all.

Bai Su had already told Cang Lan about the persimmons. Cang Lan stroked her chin, but instead of comforting the clansmen who were grieving over the persimmons, she looked at the abundant supplies in the living room and asked with concern:

"Lord Ningjia, the wind outside seems to have subsided, and the rain has stopped. Has the typhoon passed?"

"Let me take a look."

Ning Jia quickly picked up her phone, first calling Ms. Ning to let her know she was safe, and then...

There's no signal.

She quickly turned the radio back on, and everyone listened to the latest news for a while, and they all understood: the typhoon hadn't passed yet.

Ning Jia went to check the bathroom again. There was still tap water, just a low flow rate, but it was still usable. There was also electricity in the living room. The announcement earlier said that it was okay to use electricity in moderation, but it was best not to use high-power appliances.

She immediately plugged her phone back in, then turned on the kettle and started boiling water.

Then he took out a large bunch of bananas from the sealed bag, broke them open one by one, and also took out the lychees, oranges and tangerines he bought yesterday, inviting everyone to have breakfast.

When the little ones saw so much fresh fruit on the coffee table, they patted their shriveled bellies and quickly gathered around.

Perhaps because they had just witnessed the persimmon tragedy, everyone cherished the fruit for breakfast all the more, not only eating it slowly and carefully, but also muttering to themselves:

"Thank you, delicious banana."

"The apple worked so hard and grew into a delicious fruit."

"You're great, orange, both sour and sweet!"

"Lychee, lychee, you are so good, fragrant, sweet and delicious!"

The little children sat on the coffee table, holding various fruits, their faces full of gratitude, eating with exceptional happiness.

...

Over there, Ning Jia had already quietly opened a bag of instant noodles.

Eating fruit first thing in the morning will definitely spike your blood sugar, so I'll stick to some delicious carbs instead. [doge emoji]

Humming a song, she put the dough and seasonings into a large bowl, poured in freshly boiled water, covered it with a yogurt carton, and weighed it down with the TV remote to let it soak...

Soon, a nostalgic aroma slowly wafted out of the bowl.

Ning Jia took a blissful inhale of the subtle spicy flavor:

Ah, yes, yes, that's the taste!

Although there are now countless varieties of instant noodles on the market, and many novel flavors have emerged, such as cilantro instant noodles, houttuynia cordata instant noodles, stinky tofu instant noodles, strawberry turkey noodles (?), etc.

But when Ning Jia was rushing to buy instant noodles at the supermarket, she didn't consider these flavors she had never tried before.

While some people were still hesitating about which flavor of instant noodles to buy, her eyes quickly locked onto the familiar bright red packaging bag on the shelf. With a 100-meter sprint, she grabbed a large bag of Master Kong braised beef noodles with a clear objective!

The so-called classic flavors are those few that everyone mentions when talking about instant noodles.

For Ning Jia, her instant noodle enlightenment came from the first time she ate Zhongcui pickled mustard greens and shredded pork noodles! But in her heart, the most delicious instant noodles are none other than Master Kong braised beef noodles!

Moreover, it must be braised! Spicy is not allowed! Sour and spicy is not allowed either!

Ning Jia timed it perfectly. With just a few dozen seconds left, she quickly peeled off the yogurt carton, threw in the diced ham, and then quickly closed the carton again.

When Ning Jia lifted the yogurt wrapper again, a fragrant steam wafted out. She happily picked up her chopsticks, carefully stirred the instant noodles in the bowl, and couldn't wait to start eating.

Hmm—

The taste is still so familiar and consistent, a delicious flavor that stays in your comfort zone. You never have to worry about making a mistake, and you always know what the next flavor will be like. It's so comforting.

Ning Jia squatted in the corner of the living room, holding a bowl of noodles and slurping them up with the perfect texture. She took a bite of ham, a bite of noodles, and occasionally sipped the soup, thoroughly enjoying her meal.

I haven't had instant noodles in a long time, and it's so delicious to have them once in a while!

It's a pity we can't turn on the stove, otherwise we could add more ingredients and the flavor would be even richer...

As Ning Jia pondered this, she picked up her bowl, took a sip of noodle soup, and looked up with a satisfied expression. Just as she was about to go to the bathroom to wash the dishes, her eyelid twitched—

She didn't know when, but suddenly several little figures squatted in front of her.

To be precise, it wasn't "a few little people." At this moment, most of the family members were squatting not far in front of her, their little faces propped up on their hands, silently swallowing their saliva, watching her and the bowl of instant noodles in her hand with longing eyes.

Ning Jia, whose number corresponds to that of the little people: ...

I never expected that even though I hid in a corner, the aroma of instant noodles would still attract the little people.

The first rice sprout to squat there had already stood up impatiently, shaking its slightly numb little feet, and asked:

"Ning Jia, are you eating Fangfang noodles?!"

Ning Jia asked curiously, "How did you know?"

Daoya pointed to the red packaging bag next to her that read "For reference only":

"I just saw you open this bag, it must be instant noodles."

Ning Jia suddenly realized:

She was so engrossed in making her instant noodles that she forgot to throw away the trash.

After all, instant noodles are so delicate that even a second more or less can subtly affect the taste, so there's definitely no time to throw away the trash.

Xuecao then stood up and jogged to her feet:

"Ning Jia, this instant noodles smell so good."

She craned her neck, jumping and peering into the bowl, only to find it empty of noodles. A wave of disappointment washed over her, but she looked at Ning Jia with renewed hope and asked:

"...Can I have a sip of the instant noodle soup?"

Upon hearing this, the other little people also opened their eyes wide, showing expressions of "wanting to try it."

"Well……"

Looking at so many pairs of eyes filled with longing, Ning Jia hesitated for a moment, but still resolutely refused:

"You can't eat this yet. It contains a lot of... um, preservatives, additives, and a lot of seasonings. It's very unhealthy!"

But the little ones didn't quite believe her, staring at her with a "then why can you eat?" look, while some of the little ones pouted in grievance.

“I’m different from you guys. I’ve been eating this stuff since I was a child. I’ve developed a resistance to it by eating poison, so I can eat as much as I want without any problems.”

Ning Jia then changed the subject:

"But you can't do that. Eating these junk foods rashly can easily cause diarrhea or even food poisoning!"

junk food?

Orange Leaf, who was squatting on the far side, lit up with a bright eye and began to ponder the new term Ning Jia had casually mentioned.

Somewhat puzzled, he asked:

"Ning Jia, are you sure you're not mistaken? How can you use the term 'junk food'?"

It's so weird, so weird.

How can useless garbage be put together with delicious food to form a word?

The other little people followed Orange Leaf's line of thought and realized it was true!

Upon hearing this, Xuecao, who had been waiting by the bowl for a long time, suddenly lost her desire for the noodle soup and loudly declared:

"It's all garbage, how can you still eat it?!"

Ning Jia, who had just eaten a bowl of "junk": ...

She briefly explained the concept of junk food to the bewildered children, and then said:

"Actually, according to this definition, popcorn is also considered junk food."

The little people were stunned by what they heard:

What? Popcorn is garbage too? Well, then...

Ning Jia quickly offered another explanation:

"Homemade popcorn is fine. It doesn't contain preservatives or additives, and it uses less sugar and oil. If you eat it occasionally, it should be okay."

The little people all breathed a sigh of relief:

They were terrified! They almost thought they'd never be able to eat popcorn again!

Bai Su then said thoughtfully:

"So, are all the snacks we usually eat junk food...?"

Seeing the children's terrified expressions again, Ning Jia thought for a moment and said tactfully:

"To put it simply, the snacks that you find particularly delicious are probably not very healthy, but—as long as you don't eat too many, they'll be fine."

Bai Su nodded:

"No wonder our snacks are always in limited quantities. It turns out it's not just to prevent us from getting indigestion, but also for this reason."

...

Having been educated about the dangers of "junk food," when Ning Jia made two large bowls of vegetable salad for lunch and placed them on the coffee table, no one immediately clamored for meat. Instead, they happily gathered around.

"Today's lunch was so healthy! I'm going to eat more!"

"Wow, great! It's health food!"

"Be healthy! Don't be trashy!"

Cut various vegetables into small pieces with a fruit knife, blanch them in hot water, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and drizzle with sesame oil. This makes a lunch for the little people that doesn't require cooking.

This vegetable salad looks colorful and very appealing. Although the taste is a bit plain, it is fresh and diverse, and it is quite delicious to eat it occasionally.

Since the small plates had all been put away, everyone sat around the big bowl like they were having a picnic, using their little hands to hold lettuce leaves, carrot chunks, cilantro leaves, and so on, and stuffing them directly into their mouths, as if they had returned to the days when they were still in the forest.

Ning Jia also found the scene quite rustic.

This time, she ate a vegetable salad for lunch, just like the little kids.

But compared to the instant noodles I ate this morning, this salad just tasted bland.

Ning Jia's eyes darted around, and while the little ones were still happily picnicking, she secretly ran to a corner and tore open a small packet... Spicy Baby Fish.

Afraid that the little ones would be tempted if they saw it, she ate especially fast this time, wolfing down the whole bag of small fish in one go.

Ah, so spicy and satisfying.

Ning Jia licked her lips, still wanting more, and was about to throw away the packaging when her gaze suddenly stopped—

"Inari, what are you doing here??"

The tiny rice sprout was squatting at Ning Jia's feet, holding a small piece of bright red stuff in its little hand and putting it in its mouth, chewing and chewing with great relish.

"Hey, what are you eating..."

Ning Jia crouched down for a closer look and was immediately horrified:

What Daoya is eating looks like crumbs that fell off when she was eating spicy baby fish earlier?