Chapter 102 Flame Fruit: We're on the same page.

"Ningjia, this dried fish is so delicious!"

Daoya was happily chewing on the crumbs of the small fish when she heard Ningjia say anxiously beside her:

"Sprout the rice seedlings, hurry up and spit them out!"

"ah?"

Before she could react, she had already swallowed the food in her mouth with a gulp, and then reluctantly licked the red oil off her fingers.

Spicy. Too spicy to handle.

Ning Jia covered her face in despair:

"Hey, how did you eat that... hey..."

"ah?"

Daoya looked up blankly, and seeing Ning Jia's serious expression, she was startled.

"Ning Jia, what's wrong?"

What's the matter?

You actually picked up "small pieces of trash that fell from junk food" on the ground and ate them, so what?

What's done is done, the die is cast, what can we do now?

Ning Jia was immediately at her wits' end, looking at Dao Ya with great worry, and decisively said:

"No, we have to go find the clan chief right away!"

As he spoke, he gently picked her up, held her in his hands, hailed a taxi, and headed to Canglan's place.

...

Canglan was chatting with Zhelan when Ningjia suddenly arrived with Daoya, looking anxious. Before she could even ask anything, Ningjia exclaimed as if the sky had fallen:

"Chieftain, something terrible has happened! Daoya, she ate my snacks, the really spicy kind!"

Ning Jia was terrified. Who knew that Daoya would pick up and eat the garbage on the ground?

The little people have never even eaten chili peppers before. These little fish are so spicy, Daoya's stomach definitely can't handle them.

"Don't rush, Daoya, please sit down first."

Cang Lan remained calm, looking at the equally calm Dao Ya and the seemingly anxious Ning Jia, and for a moment she wondered who had eaten that really spicy snack...

Ning Jia kept asking:

"Inoya, are you alright? Does your mouth feel burning? Is your stomach upset?"

"...No, it smells delicious."

Daoya was still in a daze, savoring the wonderful taste of eating the small fish. Her little mouth was red and covered with red oil.

Ning Jia took a small tissue and wiped the oil from her mouth. She asked the same question again, but Daoya shook her head and said she was fine.

Cang Lan glanced at Ning Jia and said, "Let me take a look at her."

"Oh, okay."

Ning Jia shut her mouth, squatted down next to the sofa, and watched intently as Dao Ya stretched out a small hand for Cang Lan to take her pulse.

"Hmm, the pulse is very steady, nothing abnormal... I think it's probably nothing to worry about..."

Before the words were even finished, a bead of sweat suddenly appeared on Daoya's forehead, followed by another...

Canglan also sensed something was wrong, her expression turned serious, and she took the pulse again to diagnose the condition:

"Hmm...the pulse seems fairly stable, nothing seems abnormal..."

"Hmm, this pulse is off, it's erratic, and it seems like there's a sign of heart palpitations..."

"This is bad. The pulse is restless, indicating internal heat and palpitations..."

Canglan withdrew her small hand from taking her pulse and said in a serious tone:

"Judging from the pulse, the child is restless, has palpitations and is sweating, which means he has been burned by the spice."

Ning Jia, standing to the side, looked speechlessly at Dao Ya, who was sweating profusely:

Chieftain, judging from this child's current outward appearance, even without taking his pulse, one can see these problems, right?

...

"Shhh..."

At this moment, the rice sprout finally realized the power of the spiciness, her little face covered in sweat, and she cried out in discomfort:

"Help! I feel terrible! My mouth is on fire!"

Her little face was covered in sweat, her mouth was burning, her head was sweating, and she was panting like a dog with her little tongue sticking out, but it was all in vain. She was just about to roll on the ground.

"Waaaaah, I'm on fire, waaaaah..."

Canglan comforted Daoya with a few words, then quickly called Baisu over and instructed her to get some orange juice.

Ning Jia hurriedly opened the milk box, poured a capful of fresh milk, and handed it over:

"Come on, Inagi, drink this milk and you'll be fine."

"……oh."

While Daoya was drinking milk, Ningjia took the opportunity to explain to Canglan that milk can relieve the spiciness.

Just in case, so that if someone accidentally picks up her snack crumbs and gets burned by the spiciness again, I can quickly respond (just kidding).

Over there, Daoya gulped down a cup of fresh milk in one go. Although she was still hissing, her mouth was finally less burning, and the sweat on her head had finally stopped.

She lay sprawled on the sofa, wrapped in a small handkerchief, looking utterly dejected.

"Don't pick up random things to eat from now on, you hear me?"

Ning Jia held a small piece of tissue and gently wiped the sweat from her face, feeling both sorry for her and amused.

"...Let me do it."

Canglan dampened a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Daoya's body, then took her pulse and instructed her:

"Rest here in peace. Do not move around without my permission to avoid catching a cold."

ah?

Hearing that she was "confined," Daoya, who had already recovered, lay in the "cardboard box version" of the hospital room that Ning Jia had specially made for her, and pouted unhappily.

Upon seeing this, Bai Su, Xue Cao, Ju Ye, Mu Xi, and others quickly ran over to check on Dao Ya and quietly comforted her.

"Inagi, what you just did really scared us."

"Inoya, what did you eat? You look like you've been poisoned, it's terrifying!"

Snow Grass then leaned closer to the rice sprouts and sniffed them with her little nose:

"Can you smell something fragrant?"

Everyone else sniffed their noses. "It does smell a bit good, like food..."

Daoya nodded. "It should taste like the dried fish I just ate."

She licked her lips with a touch of nostalgia:

"Those dried fish are not quite the same as the fried small fish we usually eat."

"Hmm... It tastes a bit pungent at first, but it quickly becomes fragrant, incredibly fragrant!"

Rice sprouts lay on their "sickbed," describing the amazing taste of the "dried fish" to the best of their ability.

Upon hearing this, Bai Su and the others subconsciously licked their lips, completely unable to imagine how delicious this thing could be.

...

Ning Jia found it very strange.

Suddenly, many little people looked at her with a strange envy and said strange things like, "Being a giant must be so wonderful!"

Ning Jia was completely bewildered and was about to ask what was going on when Cang Lan came over and asked a strange question:

"Lord Ningjia, are there any dried fish left from what you ate earlier?"

"Oh, you mean the baby fish? There are still quite a few left."

Ning Jia nodded, somewhat embarrassed, and said:

"Don't worry, Chieftain, I won't eat this again."

“That’s not what I meant,” Canglan shook her head and smiled slightly.

"I wanted to ask, that little fish... can I have a taste?"

Hearing Cang Lan's self-righteous reason for "testing the poison on herself," Ning Jia looked dazed.

She swore on her own wallet that when Chief Canglan took Daoya's pulse just now, she definitely smelled the rich, spicy aroma of the little fish!

"Chieftain, isn't this good? Are you sure... you can handle spicy food?"

"Besides, this little fish is very unhealthy!"

"Not only is it high in salt, oil, and fat, containing a large amount of saturated fatty acids, but it also contains pigments, preservatives, additives, and a lot of capsaicin, which is very irritating to the stomach and intestines..."

Canglan stroked her chin:

"But for giants like you, this is just a common snack, isn't it?"

"That's different. Discussing toxicity without considering dosage is unscientific."

Canglan smiled and said:

"Please rest assured, I only tasted a little bit, because... the chili you mentioned seems to be somewhat similar to a kind of flame fruit that was once passed down in our tribe."

Flame Fruit?

Seeing that Ning Jia was somewhat puzzled, Cang Lan explained:

"Our people have long lived in the mountains and forests, where the scenery is beautiful and the food is abundant, like a paradise. There is only one thing that is a bit of a problem, and that is the excessive dampness..."

Cang Lan went on and on, and Ning Jia's mind flashed through certain provinces known for their spicy food. Suddenly, she understood:

"Do you mean that eating this flame fruit can dispel dampness?"

Canglan nodded:

"Although you mentioned before that chili peppers have a strong smell, I have never seen them with my own eyes and only thought that they were unique to the world of giants."

"But just now, I smelled that scent on the rice sprout. The scent was so strong that it reminded me of the Flame Fruit, which has a similar scent."

After hearing Canglan's description of the Flame Fruit, Ning Jia also found it amazing:

Who knows, that flame fruit that grows deep in the mountains might just be a different variety of the same plant family as chili peppers.

She took out her phone, intending to search for information about chili peppers for Canglan's reference, but the network was too slow, probably due to the typhoon affecting the signal, so she said:

"I understand what you mean."

"But the ingredients in these small fish are complex and not just chili peppers, so they are not a suitable subject for research."

"How about this, after the typhoon passes, I'll go to the market and buy a lot of chili peppers so you can take a closer look?"

"...Why don't we start researching it now!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out, and Xuecao puffed out her little chest with a righteous air:

"I'm willing to test the poison on myself!"

Others chimed in, shouting, "Me too!" "I do! I do!"

One of the little ones accidentally let slip, "I'd love to try dried fish!"

Ning Jia: -_-||

It turns out that their conversation had been overheard by other little people.

Because she was bored while lying in bed, Daoya vividly described the deliciousness of "spicy dried fish" to everyone, which aroused everyone's curiosity about the taste of this snack.

Faced with this group of foodies who weren't afraid of spicy food, Ning Jia and Cang Lan exchanged a speechless glance.

Canglan nodded:

"In that case, let's follow your suggestion and study chili peppers directly from now on."

"As for now," she said helplessly, glancing at her hungry tribespeople.

"You should put those dried fish away first."

Ning Jia hummed in agreement, silently correcting herself in her mind:

What dried fish? They call them spicy baby fish!

...

After lunch break, seeing the little ones gathered together again, chattering excitedly about all sorts of food, Ning Jia couldn't help but wonder:

Normally, these people might have cravings, but they've never been so obsessed with food, almost 24/7. They're practically insane.

She then thought:

Yes, during a typhoon, we can only stay at home. We can't even go to the yard, work or study, and there's no TV to watch. When everyone gets bored, they can only focus on eating, right?

It seems we still need to find something to attract the little ones' attention to food.

At this moment, Xiao Luoluo, who had just woken up, wrapped herself in a handkerchief blanket that was too big and too long for her, and dazedly got up, wanting to walk to the other end of the sofa.

Unexpectedly, Lolo's short legs tripped over the handkerchief cloak, causing her to fall flat on her face on the sofa.

Although the sofa was soft and bouncy, she was still stunned when she fell, buried her little head in a big handkerchief, and burst into tears.

Those tribespeople who were nearby rushed over to check on Xiao Luoluo. Only after seeing that she was alright did they leave with peace of mind.

Ning Jia witnessed this scene, and suddenly an idea struck her:

Yes, she was too careless!

As the autumn winds rise and the chill deepens, even though it's said that one should dress warmly in spring and lightly in autumn, she still felt a bit cold wearing a T-shirt, let alone the little people wearing very breathable grass skirts.

No wonder I've been seeing several "Sunny Dolls" at home every now and then these past few days.

When Xingxing, Guoguo, and the other little ones play on the floor, they always wrap themselves in small handkerchiefs.

Ning Jia immediately went to find the Canglan clan chief, wanting to tell him about her discovery, but found Canglan gathered with Baizhi, Yunzhu, Muxi and others, seemingly discussing something.

Upon seeing Ning Jia arrive, Yun Zhu paused in her rambling speech, then said with great delight:

"You've come at the perfect time!"

"We are discussing preparations for autumn and winter and need your help!"

Ning Jia couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this:

What a coincidence! It seems we all have the same idea.

...

It turns out that Yunzhu and her friends used to enjoy watching videos of people appreciating scenery online.

Then they were surprised to find:

It turns out that other places in the world, just as our ancestors said, are not like the forests where they lived, where spring and summer are the longest and autumn and winter are the shortest.

Winters are very long and extremely cold in many places!

Just like H City, where they are now, although it is not an extremely cold place, the winters are still quite long.

This is an absolute challenge for the little people who are used to warm climates...

Seeing Bai Zhi and the others talking fluently, sharing a lot of knowledge they had gained from the internet, Ning Jia fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said to Cang Lan:

"Chief, how about we get some cell phones for our tribe after the typhoon passes, so everyone can go online?"

Learning is too slow if Teacher Zelan teaches by herself alone. If the little ones could go online, they might be able to learn more.

Canglan seemed surprised by Ning Jia's words and hesitated for a moment:

"But this phone doesn't look cheap, and it doesn't seem very sturdy either..."

Ning Jia laughed. Although she herself used an older model of iPhone, she still said quite bluntly:

"Don't worry, I won't buy you those Apple phones. Apple batteries are no good, they're not durable, and the signal isn't very good either..."

"I will carefully select a few practical phones that are suitable for your use, and then we can all choose together."

"Also, there needs to be a set of rules for how to access the internet. We can't just do whatever we want. This stuff is very addictive, and if it's not controlled, it's easy to lose control."

Ning Jia's words struck a chord with Cang Lan, who nodded in agreement. Just as she was about to return to the main topic, Yun Zhu suddenly spoke up loudly:

"That's right, rules must be established for internet access!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him in surprise.

Yunzhu scratched her green curly hair, blushing, and blurted out:

"I was addicted to those short videos before, watching them day and night without stopping, even neglecting to sleep. In the end, my eyes almost got infected, it was terrible!"

Ning Jia thought to herself, "No wonder you know so much nonsense, turns out you used to be a middle-aged internet addict..."

Zhelan coughed, bringing the topic back on track:

"Let's talk about preparations for autumn and winter first. Weren't we just talking about clothes?"

"Oh, right!"

Ning Jia, looking eager to try, said very enthusiastically:

"If needed, I can order a batch of autumn clothes for everyone online."

As she spoke, images of exquisite and adorable doll clothes flashed through her mind, along with the cute appearance of the little people wearing those clothes.

In that instant, she suddenly understood Zhou Chi and realized why he was so obsessed with buying so many little clothes for the dwarfs.

"There's no need for that."

Yunzhu's words interrupted Ning Jia's reverie. She shook her head and pointed to Gan Cao and the others not far away:

"The clothes ordered online are beautiful, but they are always too tight here and there, with some decorations, which are very impractical. You can hardly move when you wear them."

"Since we have so much fabric and so many skillful hands at home, we might as well make it ourselves."

“I’ve seen a lot of giants’ clothes. We can just make a simple short robe and some stockings…”

Canglan and the others also felt that Yunzhu's words made sense.

The little people make their own clothes...

As Ning Jia listened, many strange images inexplicably surfaced in her mind:

One moment, the little people are dressed in simple and neat Chinese Taoist short outfits, and they are practicing martial arts in a group standing posture with great energy.

One moment, little figures are dressed in gorgeous, antique European court costumes, holding glass goblets, clinking glasses, and exchanging toasts in a very elegant manner.

One moment is...

She quickly shook her head vigorously, trying to banish these bizarre images from her mind.

Listening to Yunzhu and the others' design concepts, Ning Jia really couldn't imagine what kind of clothes the little people would make for themselves to keep warm.

But with confidence in the Lilliputians' aesthetic sense, she figured those clothes couldn't possibly be ugly.

After all, the grass skirts worn by the little people are much prettier than those in the world of giants.

...

At this moment, I'm just idling around anyway.

After Canglan and the others finished their discussion, they immediately convened a small meeting with the clansmen to inform them of the preparations for the harsh autumn and winter.

What? The weather is going to get really, really cold?

The children had absolutely no concept of what "very cold" meant, and upon hearing this, they immediately erupted into a commotion, each offering their own opinion.

"How cold will it be? Can't we even wear a grass skirt?"

"It's actually been quite cold these past few days; I even wrapped myself in a handkerchief this morning!"

"I also feel quite cold, and the grass skirt lets in the wind!"

"But Ning Jia said that it's not even autumn yet, and the weather hasn't even started to get cold."

"Wow, won't the winters after that be terribly cold?!"

Ning Jia, as a technical advisor, was allowed to attend the meeting as an observer. Seeing the children's shocked expressions, she quietly asked He Meng:

"By the way, how did you guys get through the winters before?"

He Meng thought for a moment, "When it's cold, we usually hide in tree holes, spread lots and lots of grass inside, and then go to sleep."

"He sleeps for days on end, then wakes up, eats and poops a little, and then goes back to sleep..."

"Anyway, winter is short, and it'll be over after a few long naps."

Ning Jia fell silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.

Good heavens, no wonder Canglan and the others are making such serious preparations for winter. It turns out that the little people didn't need to keep warm before; they just relied on "semi-hibernation" to get through the winter...

However, to be fair, being able to stay home and sleep all the time in cold weather is actually quite enjoyable.

He Meng shared her winter survival experience and then asked curiously:

"Ning Jia, don't you giants spend your winters like this?"

Ning Jia shook her head, "Of course not!"

He Meng asked doubtfully, "No way, could it be... you guys slept the whole winter??"

How could that be?

Thinking back to that late night last winter when she was working overtime, Ning Jia couldn't help but sigh sadly:

"Most people in the world of giants still go to work even in winter. Except for a few specific holidays, regardless of spring, summer, autumn, or winter, everyone is working, working, working..."

He Meng was shocked when she heard this:

What?! It's so cold, do we still have to go out and be slaves every day?!

Horrible, horrible, horrible! Is this the tragic world of giants? ...

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Author's note: Happy weekend, everyone! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]