Chapter 108 Purple Cabbage Ingredients Are Limited

Huh?

They're no longer in the forest, so are Bai Su and the others still going out to train?

Ning Jia's heart tightened involuntarily:

"But the outside world is dangerous everywhere. Maybe we should stop training for now."

"Can't we make it up later?"

Zelan shook his head seriously:

“In our clan, people reach adulthood at eleven. If we don’t go out and gain experience now, Bai Su will be almost twelve years old. We can’t delay any longer.”

Ning Jia was speechless for a moment. Seeing that the whispers among the children had subsided, she quickly tapped her phone again and continued playing the movie.

The melodious music began softly, and the little witch Kiki rode her broomstick and flew into the sky. The little people watched intently, forgetting to eat the snacks in their hands.

He Meng then belatedly shook his head:

“This Qiqi is definitely not from our clan. I’ve never seen anyone who can fly.”

"Oh, I want to fly too, it looks so fun!"

Bai Su gently patted her, signaling her to watch the movie attentively, but in her heart she was actually very envious of Qi Qi's flying.

After watching the movie, the little ones all breathed a long sigh of relief, seemingly still immersed in the story, and exclaimed:

Watching movies can be quite fun!

Although there were (many?) parts I didn't quite understand, I could still grasp the general story, and it was quite enjoyable!

Watching a movie when you have some free time is actually not bad.

After everyone fully affirmed the entertainment activity of watching movies, they quickly began to discuss the movie's plot in a heated manner.

The topics that the little people are most interested in discussing are as follows:

The first issue concerns the question of Little Witch Kiki's training outside and her clan's training.

The second question concerns how to fly like Kiki the Little Witch.

Thirdly, there's the question of how delicious the bread in the movie was.

As for Kiki's friend, the magical kitten Gigi who can chat with Kiki, everyone tacitly ignored him.

The expedition was a major event for the clan, and Chief Canglan said that it would be discussed later in a clan meeting, so no one continued to talk about it.

Only a few young men who might be going to gain experience were slightly uneasy about this.

As for bread, Ning Jia also said that she would make some for everyone to try when she has time.

So, only one problem remains to be solved: flight.

Ning Jia's answer to this was very simple:

"Although giants can't fly, we can fly with the help of tools, just like the spaceship in the movie. But the real flying tools, namely airplanes, are much more powerful than that spaceship and can fly to all parts of the world."

Seeing the children's blank expressions, she immediately searched for videos about airplanes and showed them to them, which elicited gasps of amazement:

Wow~ It can actually fly that high?!

"That's amazing! It can fly even higher than a big bird!"

He Meng stared longingly at the large airplane in the video and asked Doraemon Ningjia beside her:

"Ningjia, Ningjia, can we ride on this plane too?"

Ning Jia was stunned for a moment. She had no confidence at all that she could get the little people through the airport security check smoothly, and could only shake her head regretfully.

"People and luggage are checked before boarding the plane, so..."

Seeing He Meng's disappointed expression, she rolled her eyes:

"Although we can't fly on big airplanes for the time being, we can make paper airplanes and play with them at home."

Ning Jia found some thicker paper and demonstrated to the children how to fold paper airplanes. Then, she held the airplane in her hand and sent it flying with a "whoosh."

"See, isn't this kind of fun too?"

He Meng learned very quickly this time. Facing a large piece of paper, she would pull the edge of the paper up and down, like folding clothes. In no time, she folded a paper airplane that was almost the size of herself.

Wow, what a huge airplane!

The little ones stared in amazement at He Meng's folded airplane, their eyes filled with admiration.

Ning Jia leaned closer to take a look and saw He Meng proudly holding the nose of the paper airplane, trying her best to throw it forward like Ning Jia, but she couldn't get it to move at all...

Ning Jia gave her a tip: "Stand on a higher spot, then you can throw it out."

He then hailed a taxi for her and placed her on the high windowsill.

He Meng, holding the nose of the paper airplane on the windowsill, used all her strength and threw it down with a "ha!"

The large plane circled in the air a few times before landing on the ground.

"Wow, it really flew!"

The little children, each carrying their own paper airplane, climbed onto the windowsill and began various test flights.

In no time, paper airplanes of all sizes were scattered everywhere under the windowsill.

Seeing that they were having a great time, Ning Jia smiled slightly and went to "unseal" the kitchen.

...

Before long, the children discovered that the paper airplane couldn't fly very high; even with all their might, it could only fly a little further at most.

They all threw the paper airplanes aside.

After Ning Jia took out all the utensils from the kitchen, she returned to the living room and saw:

Wait, where are the two pairs of chopsticks she put on the cabinet? How come there's only a bowl left?

Upon closer inspection, good heavens! Guoguo and the other little ones were riding on long chopsticks under their tiny bodies, with a clump of dry grass stuck to the back of the chopsticks, pretending to be brooms...

Watching Guoguo ride her "chopstick broom" while shouting "Fly, fly, fly!", Ning Jia couldn't help but feel annoyed.

The child is obsessed with flying.

When the adults discovered what had happened, they apologetically dragged the children away to be disciplined. Ning Jia, meanwhile, stared at the few pieces of chopsticks covered in tall grass left behind, lost in thought.

Or, when I can go out tomorrow, I can go to the two-dollar supermarket.

We need to let the children truly experience the feeling of "flying".

Just then, He Meng appeared out of nowhere, fawningly fawning over Ning Jia:

"Ning Jia, is there a big meal tonight?"

"Um, if you need any help in the kitchen, you can call me."

"Oh right!" Ning Jia slapped her forehead and quickly went back to the kitchen to prepare a meal.

Dongkui and Hemeng eagerly climbed onto the preparation table, looking like they were waiting for a task.

Ning Jia stood still after putting on her apron.

She appeared calm and collected, but inwardly she was sweating bullets.

Uh, I forgot we're out of meat and eggs. And now we can't go out to buy groceries, so all the menus I usually whip up are useless today...

But he had promised everyone that he would cook a big meal.

Ning Jia thought for a moment, scribbling and drawing in her notebook, before finally coming to her senses and saying to the two long-waiting kitchen helpers:

"Sorry, it'll start right away."

The next second, He Meng, who had received the task, was already happily standing in the sink, holding the vegetable basin with one hand and a small brush in the other, ready to wash the round potatoes.

Looking at her carefree demeanor, Dongkui sighed inwardly, her heart filled with worry.

There are no eggs left at home, no meat, and it seems like there aren't many vegetables left either. Is it still possible to cook a decent meal?

Ning Jia suddenly reached out and touched Dong Kui's curly hair:

"Don't worry, even if all you have left at home is rice, flour, and oil, I can still put together a whole meal."

Is it true or false?

Dongkui stared wide-eyed, momentarily unable to believe it.

Ning Jia said with a smile:

"A true chef can make delicious food regardless of the environment or ingredients."

"if only……"

She quickly pulled out her phone and waved it, saying, "You can use the internet; the all-knowing netizens can tell you anything."

Winter mallow: ...

...

Compared to the clattering and clanging sounds of cooking in the kitchen, the living room was much quieter.

In a deserted corner, large cardboard boxes were stacked upon large cardboard boxes, and small cardboard boxes were piled upon small cardboard boxes, all filled with neatly packaged blind boxes of sachets. They were just waiting for the courier service to resume so they could be shipped out immediately.

The adults and children have all returned to their jobs and continued making sachets.

Licorice and sappanwood continued sewing the little skirts; after all, the skirt they owed Bai Su wasn't finished yet. And there were still skirts they owed He Meng and Shi Ying…

As for the one for my older sister Xuecao, let's wait and see.

The little figures whose "flying brooms" were confiscated then started playing the game of "radish squat" together.

But Guoguo's reaction was too fast, and the other little characters were too slow to keep up, which reduced the game's playability.

Xingxing wisely withdrew early and was eliminated, while Tuantuan and Mengmeng, who were very addicted to playing, kept playing and losing, and kept losing and playing, until they were so miserable that they almost cried on the spot.

Xingxing gently touched the two little ones' tearful faces, then ran over to whisper something to Guoguo. Guoguo listened and nodded.

"How about we play hide-and-seek instead?"

"Okay, okay."

The two little ones stopped crying and started laughing. They hid and played happily in the large living room.

Not far away, Bai Zhi was standing in a corner, holding a small piece of cardboard in her hand, with a few pieces of white paper attached to it with a paperclip.

Looking at the children's happy smiling faces, she held a small pencil lead wrapped in tape and started drawing, thinking as she drew:

I just finished drawing a picture of the tribe dancing yesterday. Canglan and Zelan both said it looked quite realistic, but unfortunately it was drawn in pencil and lacked some color.

It seems I need to ask Ning Jia to buy some more colored pencils.

...

More than an hour had passed before we knew it.

And just as Ning Jia had promised, the coffee table was indeed filled with all sorts of dishes.

Dongkui, who had been worried before, was now completely convinced and couldn't wait to become Ning Jia's apprentice and embark on the path of learning cooking.

Meanwhile, the little people, immersed in work and games, couldn't help but pat their empty bellies, drawn by the aroma of delicious food.

Everyone very conscientiously lined up to wipe their little hands with wet wipes, and then couldn't wait to jump onto the coffee table to enjoy tonight's feast.

To be honest, we haven't bought any groceries for the past few days. We only have so much food, and it's all been eaten up. Everyone is very curious about how Ning Jia managed to "conjure up" such a large meal with so few ingredients.

Ningjia was still in the kitchen making the final dessert, while Hemeng and Dongkui had already left the kitchen and were acting as temporary "waiters," introducing today's dishes to the tribespeople.

He Meng puffed out her little chest with great confidence and tried hard to recall the names of the dishes:

"Hmm...this is milk foam..."

She almost stumbled over the first dish, but Dongkui whispered a reminder from the side, and she suddenly realized what she was doing and continued:

"These are milk-based steamed buns! They're made with milk and flour, and with a little sugar added. They smell so good!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned their attention to the small, coin-sized round cakes on the plate. They noticed that the edges of the cakes weren't smooth, but rather had a very neat serrated edge, and couldn't help but marvel at them.

"Ning Jia put so much effort into it, even going to the trouble of making these little cakes into the shape of leaves. She really worked hard."

A little man said:

"Actually, there's no need to go through all that trouble. This pancake smells so good. Even if it were shaped like that, I would still love to eat it."

"That's right, Ning Jia is just too meticulous. She makes such a small cake with such care."

He Meng and Dong Kui both fell silent for a moment, without saying a word.

I can't exactly tell the tribespeople that these little cakes were actually made by pressing the dough into this shape one by one using beer bottle caps given to me by Ningjia.

When some tribespeople couldn't resist picking up a small milk biscuit and eating it, Dongkui immediately coughed, quickly pointed to the small bowl next to her, and continued:

"This is... uh, creamy mashed potatoes!"

"It's made by steaming potatoes and adding milk. It has a delicate texture, melts in your mouth, and tastes sweet and fragrant. It's completely different from the potatoes you usually eat."

Before the words were finished, another little person came forward with a small plate and scooped up some mashed potatoes with a spoon.

Seeing this, the two quickly switched to double speed and continued speaking rapidly:

"These are sweet potato and sesame balls, made from sweet potatoes and sesame seeds. They're crispy, sweet, and incredibly delicious!"

"This is yogurt purple, a purple cabbage roll. It's made by wrapping other vegetables and chopped nuts in cabbage leaves, and adding lots of yogurt. It tastes really refreshing, a bit like ice cream!"

"This is a peanut with aged vinegar (?), it's made from peanuts, and it also has onions, it's especially delicious!"

"This is a four-color steamed vegetable dish, with carrots, purple cabbage, potatoes, and uh, onions... cut into strips, coated in flour and steamed for a short while, then drizzled with sesame oil and vinegar... The texture is both soft and crisp, with a uniquely refreshing and delicious taste..."

"This is...especially delicious!"

He Meng and Dong Kui went on and on about each dish, talking until their throats were dry. It took them a while to finish introducing all the dishes. When they looked around, they saw that many of the tribespeople were already enjoying their food.

The two were silent for a moment, then quickly grabbed small plates and went their separate ways to choose the dishes they wanted to eat.

It had been a long time since we had eaten such exquisite dishes, and everyone's faces showed happiness. They buried their heads and ate heartily, even more so than when they ate big fish and meat dishes before.

Canglan carefully held a purple cabbage roll, took a big bite, savored it, and then said to Baizhi:

“I think cooking every day is too tiring. It would be better to alternate between fruit one day, vegetable salad the next, and a main dish the following day. This way, it will be easier for Ning Jia.”

Bai Zhi nodded in agreement, “Indeed, after all, there are dozens of people in our clan, so cooking a meal is no easy task.”

As they were chatting, Ning Jia came over with a plate and gently placed a small dish between them, on which sat a sliced, steaming apple.

"Caramelized baked apple, chieftain, you can all share one, but be careful, it's hot."

Upon hearing Cang Lan's idea of ​​"starting the fire the next day," Ning Jia smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, I can manage. Besides, I won't be the only one cooking in the future; we might need to hire a new chef."

Upon hearing this, Canglan and the others all looked at Dongkui, who was engrossed in eating.

"You're planning to let that child..."

Ning Jia also glanced at Dong Kui, but did not deny it.

"Well, I was thinking that he's been an apprentice for so long and has learned how to handle most ingredients. It's time for him to put his skills into practice himself."

Yunzhu immediately said, "That's good. It will save us from not being able to get a meal when we go out to train."

Zhelan said helplessly, "What are you saying? Did we not eat before we came to Ningjia?"

"Raw food never tastes as good as cooked food. After eating Ning Jia's cooking, I never want to eat anything I ate before again..."

He was about to say it when he quickly changed his mind, "White food."

Speaking of this, Yunzhu suddenly asked:

"By the way, did Zhou Chi let us know he's safe today? Is everything alright at home?"

Before Ning Jia could speak, Bai Zhi nodded and said, "I already let you know I was safe. You just happened to be away at the time."

Yunzhu was relieved.

"That's good, that's good. It was really worrying to see him home alone."

Ning Jia couldn't help but chuckle.

Yunzhu, you... the moment you mention bad food, you immediately think of someone, it's like a conditioned reflex. Could it be any more obvious?

She hesitated for a moment, but still didn't mention that Zhou Chi was planning to enroll in a cooking class. What if...?

Seeing that Canglan and the others had already changed the subject while eating, talking about "sending the children out to gain experience," Ning Jia immediately asked:

"Have you decided on the specific location and date? Should I go out and scout it out first?"

Canglan had finished her purple cabbage roll and waved her little hand, saying:

"No need, no need, we've already chosen the location."

"As for the time, we will decide after we consult with the Sun God."