Chapter 122 New Game, Keep It Up!

Perhaps because this meal of dumplings was so hard-won, the little ones ate with extra relish, not wasting a single bit. They not only ate all the dumplings, but even the spilled filling and torn dumpling wrappers were not left uneaten, leaving everything clean.

Unlike Ning Jia, who dips her dumplings in vinegar while eating, the children are particularly sensitive to sour tastes. The bowl of vinegar on the coffee table has been sitting there for ages, and no one has bothered to scoop it up.

As Daoya munched on her dumplings, Ningjia told her that besides vinegar, there was another spicy dipping sauce that smelled especially good, making her mouth water.

The dumplings are already so delicious, but if you dip them in that spicy and oily sauce, they'll be even more fragrant!

Ning Jia chuckled when she saw Daoya's greedy little face.

"Don't rush, I've already bought a lot of chili peppers for the clan chief to study. If she finds that the clan can handle spicy food, then we can slowly try making these spicy dishes in the future."

"……Really?!"

Daoya stared wide-eyed, puffing out her cheeks as she excitedly asked.

Ning Jia nodded, then suddenly remembered something, "However, eating spicy food is a matter of personal preference. Some people can handle a lot of spice, while others can't stand even a little bit. I think... you might be the latter..."

Remembering the dried fish incident from last time, Daoya fell silent and lowered her head in disappointment.

Ning Jia patted her head and quickly said, "It's okay, it's okay. Eating a little bit of mildly spicy food should be fine."

She added, "Actually, I can't handle spicy food very well either, so I'll make a lot of mildly spicy dishes, there's definitely something for you to eat."

The rice sprout immediately raised its head again, its little face beaming with joy:

"Wow, Ning Jia, you're amazing! I knew you'd come up with a plan!"

After eating dumplings, everyone was so full they couldn't stand up. They rested for a long time, but still felt unwell, so they all went to the playground in the second bedroom.

The little ones started playing in the sand, while the two trampolines were completely occupied by adults, becoming so crowded that Canglan had to keep reminding them:

"Slow down, slow down, don't do strenuous exercise after meals..."

He Meng, who is usually very active, didn't go to the trampoline area to join in the fun. She sat on the data cable swing, swaying back and forth while letting out a soft sigh:

"Ugh! I have math class this afternoon! Today was anything but pleasant!"

On the swing next to him, Dongkui also sighed at the same time. He was also bad at arithmetic and was most afraid of arithmetic class.

The sorrow on this side of the swing quickly spread like a gust of wind to other places, and everyone sighed:

"Oh! If only we didn't have math class!"

Ning Jia, who was inserting small wooden sticks into a box of sand to make plum blossom stakes, naturally noticed this melancholy wind.

She certainly understood the pain of learning math, but—

"Is learning simple arithmetic really this painful? Is it more painful than learning to read?"

"That's for sure!"

He Meng shouted at the top of her lungs, and pitifully said:

"Ning Jia~ Could you talk to the clan leader and let me only learn to recognize characters and not learn arithmetic?"

Ning Jia smiled and patted her little head, "But learning some basic arithmetic is also very important, you'll use it in your life later."

He Meng didn't believe it. "If I can read, I'll know how to use it. But what can I do with arithmetic?"

Ning Jia recalled the scratch-off lottery tickets from before and gave her an example:

"For example, with that scratch-off prize before, if you couldn't do math, you wouldn't even know how much prize money you won."

"For example, if I take you to the supermarket in the future, there are many different prices for the same product. If you can't tell whether the products are cheap or expensive, and you end up buying the expensive ones, wouldn't you be at a disadvantage?"

He Meng paused for a moment, seemingly convinced, but her face still showed resistance to learning arithmetic.

"But I'm not the only one who doesn't like arithmetic; I think nobody wants to learn it."

"Oh? Is that so? It seems we still need to find a way to make learning more fun and engaging."

Ning Jia muttered to herself, speaking in a language He Meng couldn't understand:

The joy of learning? Learning is so painful, how can there be any joy in it?

Ning Jia smiled slightly at her:

"I was originally planning to wait until you guys had a basic grasp of arithmetic before playing this, but let's just... start playing this afternoon."

...

After their afternoon nap, the little ones, still half asleep, were scrunched up and getting ready for their arithmetic lesson when Canglan suddenly announced:

"Ning Jia just told me that she wants to use arithmetic to play games with everyone in order to stimulate their enthusiasm for learning, so we will skip the arithmetic class this afternoon and go play games instead."

What? No more math class? Ning Jia's going to lead everyone in a new game?

The little creatures, who had been drowsy just moments before, immediately snapped out of their daze and sprang to life, all rushing toward the coffee table.

Ning Jia had been waiting on the sofa for a long time, holding a small box.

Seeing that the little figures had mostly arrived, he opened the small box, took out the cards inside, and introduced them as he did so:

"The game we played this afternoon is called Skyscraper... um, let's call it Building a Skyscraper."

"As you may have seen, most of the houses in the world of giants aren't single-story bungalows like ours, but rather multi-story buildings..."

Ning Jia first explained what a "building" was, and seeing that the little people all understood, he continued:

"The rules of our game are very simple: whoever builds a five-story building first wins."

A little boy raised his hand and asked, "So how do we build this building?"

Ning Jia held up a card with a number written on it. "Look, this is the number 2, right?"

She then held up a card with a number written on it. "Look, this is the number 7, right?"

She placed the two cards side by side on the coffee table. "Look, now the two cards make up a floor."

"But it's important to note that these two cards must be number cards, and their sum must equal 9 in order to build a tower."

"At the same time, once the building is completed, it's not all over. You still have to be careful, your rivals can demolish or steal your building..."

After Ning Jia finished explaining all the rules in one go, everyone was a little confused.

It turns out that building skyscrapers involves quite a few complex methods.

The little people looked thoughtfully at the "floor" that Ning Jia had built, and hesitated for a moment when Ning Jia asked, "Who wants to play a game first?"

Ning Jia's gaze shifted to He Meng... and Ju Ye beside her winked at her:

"Juye, I remember you're good at math, want to give it a try?"

He Meng pouted angrily. Why didn't Ning Jia call her this time?

Bai Su tugged at her hand and whispered, "Weren't you listening? This game involves doing arithmetic the whole time."

What? You have to do math when playing games?

He Meng immediately pulled her little foot back after taking a step, feeling a slight headache coming on.

She glanced at Ju Ye, who had already walked up to Ning Jia, and said casually:

"Never mind, I think Juye really wants to play, so let her play first."

Bai Su pursed her lips, suppressing a smile, and followed He Meng's words:

"Yes, there are so many rules in this game, it's not too late to understand them before playing."

...

Although Ju Ye is a very clever little girl, Ning Jia has played this board game many times before, so it's a bit unfair for her to win. Therefore, it was agreed beforehand that the first game would only be a trial run.

Upon hearing this, the other little people immediately asked:

"So, once we actually start playing, what kind of rewards are there for winning?"

Ning Jia thought to herself, "You guys are quite confident. You haven't even started playing yet, and you're already thinking about winning."

However, she liked the little people's confidence, and after thinking about it:

"How about this? I'm planning to make some small cakes for afternoon tea this afternoon, and the winner can get an extra serving of cream, how about that?"

Seeing that everyone seemed to be still considering, Ning Jia added another incentive, "Today's cream will have chocolate in it."

Good heavens, did they hear that right? It's chocolate?!

The little people immediately became excited. Wow, this is chocolate! It's incredibly delicious chocolate!

Since the last chocolate cake, the entire clan has been focused on health and dieting, and they haven't tasted that heavenly delicacy again.

I really want to eat... chocolate!

He Meng's little feet started to stretch out uncontrollably again, but Bai Su had no choice but to stop them with a kick.

"Don't rush, the later you play, the greater your chances of winning."

Upon hearing "there's a chance to win," He Meng immediately resisted the urge to play the game and gently licked her lips.

The other little figures also had expressions that said, "I really want to win so I can eat chocolate."

Seeing that the little people had finally been motivated, Ning Jia smiled slightly, "Since the winners are rewarded, shouldn't the losers also be punished accordingly?"

The little people all nodded in agreement.

Ning Jia glanced at Dong Kui and suddenly said:

"I won't be home tomorrow, and it's obviously impossible for Dongkui to cook all by herself. How about this: the loser will go to the kitchen to help Dongkui for the next few days, how about that?"

She glanced meaningfully at the crowd:

"Actually, many things are not as difficult as imagined. As long as everyone works together, we can do a good job even without my involvement."

Canglan clapped her little hand approvingly:

“Ning Jia is absolutely right. Many things are not as difficult as climbing to the sky. Even something as arduous and complicated as cooking can be accomplished by our clan if more people participate.”

No one else had any objections.

After all, they had just finished making dumplings and had personally experienced the complexity and hard work involved in cooking. Even if Ning Jia hadn't said anything, no one would have left the kitchen to Dong Kui alone.

...

Once the reward and punishment mechanisms were set up, the first round of trial play officially began.

Ning Jia sat on the sofa, while Ju Ye moved slightly away, squatting on the coffee table, her little face propped up like a hamster.

"Would you like to get a stool to sit down?"

“No need,” Orange Leaf shook her head. “I think this is more convenient.”

Indeed, these cards are too big for the Dwarf race; it takes two hands to pick them up.

To this end, Ning Jia specially made many small supports out of plastic building blocks, so that after Ju Ye finished drawing the cards, she could put all the cards directly on the supports without having to hold them.

This not only saves effort, but also makes the information visually clear and easy to view.

After the first round of drawing cards ended, Ning Jia made a gesture, asking Ju Ye to play her card first.

Looking at the several large cards spread out in front of her, almost as tall as herself, Ju Ye quickly picked out four of them, picked them up one by one, and spread them out in front of her.

"5 and 4, 3 and 6... add up to 9, that's very well done."

Ning Jia glanced at the two-story building "built" by the little figure and thought it was better not to increase the difficulty too quickly, so she simply followed suit and built a two-story building in front of her.

Next came a new round of drawing cards. After that, Ju Ye added two more floors on top of the previous two. This time, Ning Jia only added one more floor.

"Hey, if this continues, won't Orange Leaf win?"

Xuecao, who had been watching from the sidelines, was quite nervous a moment ago, but now she couldn't help but scoff, "What? This game is so easy?"

Bai Su shook her head. "I don't think it's that simple. Didn't Ning Jia just mention a lot of rules? For example, you can steal the opponent's cards."

Sure enough, just as everyone was discussing how Ju Ye was bound to win, Ning Jia chuckled, placed down a card with a "1" printed on it, and then extended his devilish claws towards Ju Ye—

In a flash, he took the number card "8" from the top floor of the orange leaf and put the remaining "1" into the pile of discarded cards.

Huh? Why is there suddenly one less floor?

The audience was immediately in an uproar, and many people realized that building a house wasn't something that could be done indefinitely; they also had to be careful of having their houses raided!

This unexpected move instantly made the seemingly mundane game more interesting!

Bai Su and the others all looked surprised, while He Meng was still counting on her fingers.

"1 plus 8... 1 plus 8... equals... equals 9!"

Ah, she understood. 1+8=9, so Ning Jia was able to take one of Ju Ye's cards and demolish one of Ju Ye's floors along the way!

Moreover, and... Ning Jia even built an extra floor on his own side!

The situation instantly reversed. One floor of Juye's four-story building was demolished, leaving only three floors, while Ningjia's three-story building gained another floor, becoming four floors in an instant!

Wow, this is so exciting!

He Meng glanced at the cards on the coffee table again, secretly relieved that she only needed to add up to 9 with the two cards to build a tower; otherwise, she wouldn't have enough fingers to count them all.

...

The orange leaf, which had suddenly fallen behind, wasn't anxious at all; after all, there was no use in being anxious.

She carefully recalled Ning Jia's demolition actions and understood the pattern. Soon, in the next round, she also successfully demolished Ning Jia's building, and it was even two stories high!

Wow, that's amazing!

The little people watching couldn't help but applaud.

Ning Jia was enjoying himself; after all, a smart opponent makes the game more interesting.

Originally, I was thinking of slowing down the pace to let Juye get used to the rules a little longer, but now it seems that it is completely unnecessary. So I changed my strategy without hesitation, chuckled, and started using the item cards!

Ju Ye remained calm and composed, carefully observing and thinking, and did not allow Ning Jia to gain the upper hand.

After Ning Jia and Ju Ye went back and forth for many rounds, until all the cards were drawn, there was still no winner. However, the exciting battle made everyone very satisfied.

Ning Jia, still wanting more, looked at the little orange-haired boy who was deep in thought and asked, "Ju Ye, shall we play again next round?"

Everyone thought that Juye would nod, but to everyone's surprise, she shook her head:

"I'd like to see how other people play before I play, is that okay?"

Ning Jia nodded, "Of course you can."

Meanwhile, the other little people were still discussing:

"Building skyscrapers looks so interesting!" "Yeah, yeah, it makes me want to play too!" "Why don't you try it next round?" "Ugh, even someone as good as Ju Ye couldn't win, I wouldn't dare!"

Ning Jia glanced at everyone's expressions and smiled:

"Building this skyscraper requires arithmetic, but there's also an element of luck involved; whether you can draw the right cards is very important."

"For example, in the last round just now, neither Juye nor I drew the right number card, which is why it was a tie. If someone had been luckier and had drawn the right number card, they would have won."

Yeah, right? What if I get really lucky?

Ning Jia's words successfully convinced most people, causing the villains to show eager expressions.

"I'd like to try it, is that okay?"

Everyone looked over when they heard the voice and were somewhat surprised to find that the person who raised their hand was Gan Cao.

After all, that's licorice.

Xuecao, who was standing next to Bai Su, noticed Gancao raising her hand and suddenly raised her hand as well, saying, "Then I want to try too."

Ning Jia looked at the siblings and smiled, "Then let's play together."

Oh, I didn't know that was possible?

Bai Su explained:

"Ning Jia just said that this game is more suitable for 2-6 people. More people can play, but each person will be dealt too few cards to build up so many layers."

I see.

With everyone suddenly realizing what was happening, Ning Jia and her group had quickly formed a triangular formation:

Snow Grass stood confidently on the left side of the coffee table, her little head tilted back, while Licorice scratched her head and carefully tidied up the small block stand in front of her.

Once both of them were ready, a new round of building construction was about to begin.

"Go Xuecao!" "Xuecao will win!" "Xuecao is number one!"

These were the enthusiastic cheers from He Meng, Dao Ya, Ju Ye, and other friends, interspersed with Bai Su's calm reminders:

"Don't rush when playing your cards; think it through before you play."

Xuecao flashed a big smile, waved her little hand at her cheerleaders, and looked even more confident.

Over there, Dongkui, Sumu, and their friends weren't to be outdone. Since they were outnumbered, they even pulled Yunzhu along, and together they shouted at Gancao with all their might:

"Go, Licorice!" "Licorice Bro is the best!" "Licorice Bro will definitely win!"

Gancao blushed slightly, scratched her head a little shyly, and waved to them, indicating that she would try her best.

Ning Jia couldn't help but chuckle when she saw that such a small board game had been made such a big deal out of it.

She coughed and was about to announce the start of a new round of games when suddenly Canglan, Zelan, Baizhi and others appeared from behind and stood at the front of the crowd.

They were excited, waving their little hands, and even Muxi was pulled over to cheer them on.

Although the middle-aged group's voices weren't as loud as the younger group's, their emotions were very well conveyed, and Ning Jia could hear them clearly:

"Go Ning Jia!" "Ning Jia will win!" "Charge, Ning Jia! Don't let them eat the chocolate!" "Go Ning Jia! Make them all go to the kitchen to work!"

Ning Jia was caught off guard and froze for a few seconds before slowly raising her hand and waving to her cheerleaders. Although she tried to remain calm, her ears had already turned bright red.

They actually came to cheer themselves on!

Ning Jia was somewhat moved, clenched her fist and made a "try hard" gesture, even impulsively making a bold statement to Cang Lan and the others:

"Don't worry, leave everything to me!"

After she finished speaking, she was speechless:

It's just a board game, what's all the fuss about?