Chapter 123 Little Ranch's Lucky Physique

However, despite her complaints, Ning Jia played the game quite seriously amidst the enthusiastic cheers of Cang Lan and the others.

In the end, Ning Jia lived up to expectations and successfully defeated the siblings Xuecao and Gancao, winning the first round.

Licorice was alright, but Snow Grass looked like the sky had fallen, and she ran to Bai Su's arms for comfort, whimpering.

The defeat came so quickly that everyone was stunned.

"Good heavens, Xuecao is so good at math, how could she lose!"

The little guy who looked closely spoke to the snow grass:

"There's nothing I can do. Xuecao has had really bad luck this time. She hasn't even drawn many number cards. And Ningjia has a dog guarding the house, so she can't sneak in. No matter how good her math is, there's nothing she can do."

"It seems Ning Jia was right, building a skyscraper really does require luck."

"Yes, actually, Gan Cao had a pretty good run of luck just now, but he was too careless. He almost won, it really made me so anxious."

After some discussion, the little people weren't so surprised by the result. In fact, many of them eagerly raised their hands, wanting to play the next round.

Anyway, losing just means helping out in the kitchen, but if you accidentally win, what awaits you is an incredibly delicious chocolate cake!

Take a gamble! A regular little cake can be transformed into a chocolate butter cake – this is definitely worth it!

With the idea of ​​"taking a gamble", many people took to the field. Unfortunately, most of them not only did not have the good luck of Gan Cao, but also lost badly because they were too slow to react or played their cards too fast!

Even Bai Su, who came on last, lost to Ning Jia by a single floor.

The clever Juye has already figured it out: Ning Jia must know some trick to playing this game, which is why he keeps winning.

She simply gave up, saying she needed to study the game rules further and wouldn't compete with Ning Jia for the time being.

Anyway, being a health-conscious person, Ju Ye isn't that obsessed with chocolate.

In the living room, the little ones who had been so enthusiastic just moments before now all looked dejected.

Oh my god, how could this happen?

I expected someone to lose, but I never imagined they would all be wiped out. It's so tragic...

Seeing that the initially confident little guys had all wilted, Ning Jia laughed and said in a very provocative way:

"Hey, Dongkui, remember to write down the names of all the losers. There are so many people, don't forget anyone."

"Um."

With so many helpers at once, Dongkui was less anxious and more confident about cooking in the next few days.

He looked rather happy and even asked Ning Jia if they should move all the kitchen utensils to the living room, otherwise, with the small size of the dwarfs, how to carry the dishes out of the kitchen would be a big problem.

Ning Jia smiled slightly:

"Don't worry, I'll move the dining table next to the kitchen counter before I leave, so you can eat directly in the kitchen and won't have to carry the dishes back and forth."

"That's right!"

Dongkui's eyes lit up, and she asked Gancao if she could make more simple aprons. After receiving an affirmative answer, she took out her notebook and began to record the list of kitchen helpers.

"Rice sprouts, a little apron; snow grass, a little apron; sappanwood, a little apron... Soon everyone will have a little apron!"

Dongkui awkwardly tried to comfort the losers, but the little people present were not happy at all.

Their sadness wasn't about having to help in the kitchen, nor was it about not getting to eat chocolate (well... maybe a little). What saddened them was that even knowing the rules of the game, they still couldn't win...

Everyone was so immersed in the atmosphere of defeat that they couldn't pull themselves out. Seeing Ning Jia's smiling face only made them grit their teeth in resentment.

Hmph, don't underestimate newbies. They'll definitely beat Ning Jia after playing a few more times!

...

Seeing everyone sighing and preparing to leave, He Meng couldn't help but shout loudly:

"Wait a minute, I haven't played yet!"

Everyone stopped walking, losing interest, and quietly waited for Ning Jia and He Meng's final match.

He Meng's math is so bad, she definitely won't make it, right? Let's finish this quickly.

The little people were all silently urging each other to hurry up and finish the game.

To everyone's surprise, the more anxious everyone became, the slower He Meng played her cards. Each time she played a card, she would stand in front of the card and count on her fingers, thinking for a very long time, so long that the audience almost fell asleep waiting.

One of the villains couldn't help but urge, "He Meng, can you do this already? Hurry up and play your card!"

"Don't interrupt my thinking."

He Meng ignored her completely, simply tore off two small pieces of tissue paper, crumpled them up, and stuffed them into her little ears. Then, she stared blankly at the cards in front of her, even more slowly.

After she had spent a lot of time thinking, everyone was curious about what she was going to come up with. Unexpectedly, she shook her head and said:

"I'm not going to play this time."

Everyone was speechless. What's going on? We've been waiting for so long and it still hasn't come out?

Seeing that He Meng hadn't played a card for several rounds, and that many cards were piled up in front of him like stone tablets, everyone thought that He Meng didn't know how to play his cards at all and that he would probably lose soon.

Bai Su, who was watching the match intently, noticed something and whispered in Xue Cao's ear:

"Who knows, He Meng might win this round."

"What? That can't be right?"

Xuecao almost cried out, but seeing that Juye also had a "very likely" expression, she was no longer sleepy at all. With the two explaining, she stared intently and began to watch carefully.

Ning Jia was also secretly amazed. He hadn't expected that He Meng would discover one of the secrets to winning the game: "hoarding cards".

If she can hold back and not play any cards, keeping the "buildings" (number cards) in her hand, then she won't be able to dismantle He Meng's buildings. Then He Meng can seize the opportunity and build five buildings in a row, and win!

However, the game's inventors were clearly aware of this loophole, so they established a rule that players must play a card once they have a certain number of cards in their hand; otherwise, if everyone hoarded cards, the game would become unplayable.

Ning Jia thought carefully as she prepared for the challenge. She noticed that He Meng was frowning and counting on her fingers, looking like a complete novice, but she wasn't underestimating her opponent at all.

After all, a "survival" strategy might not guarantee a win, but if you add on this guy's incredible luck...

"I lost."

As Ning Jia calmly uttered these words, the entire living room fell silent.

"...I won?"

He Meng tilted her head in confusion, pointed to herself with her little finger, and asked uncertainly.

"Well, He Meng, congratulations on winning this game!"

Ning Jia said with certainty that after tidying up the cards, she took Dong Kui to the kitchen to prepare afternoon tea.

We played board games for too long this afternoon; if we stayed any later, we'd miss afternoon tea.

Meanwhile, in the living room, He Meng, still looking bewildered, was surrounded by the little children, all eager to ask her about her winning strategy.

...

"Wow, is this the chocolate cake I won?!"

He Meng looked at the large plate that Ning Jia had placed in front of her with great delight, and the mountain of chocolate cream on the cake. Her mouth was watering.

"He Meng, there's so much cream on this cake!"

After putting down the cake, Ning Jia did not leave immediately, but instead spoke to He Meng in a suggestive way.

He Meng paused for a moment, reluctantly shifting her gaze from the chocolate cream cake, and looked at Ning Jia with a puzzled expression: ?

Ning Jia shrugged and looked at He Meng. The two exchanged glances quickly for a few moments before He Meng suddenly said "Oh~", grinned at Ning Jia, and made an "OK" gesture.

Just as the others were about to start eating their soft, plum-sized cupcakes, He Meng suddenly shouted:

"Um, I have too much chocolate cream. Anyone want to share?"

At first, everyone hesitated, since it wasn't chocolate they had won themselves. But when they heard He Meng say, "It would be a waste if I couldn't finish it anyway, so why not share it with everyone?" they all rushed over.

A series of cheerful sounds echoed through the living room:

"He Meng, you're so kind!" "Thank you, He Meng!" "Waaah, I got to eat chocolate!" "Thank you, He Meng, the chocolate is so delicious!"

As He Meng held up her little spoon and scooped cream onto everyone's little cakes, most of the little people soon enjoyed the delicious chocolate cream cake.

Although the amount of cream was a little less than usual, everyone looked very satisfied!

While eating the cake without chocolate, Canglan laughed and said to Zelan and the others:

"Ning Jia really knows how to handle things."

“You see, if we had made chocolate cake for everyone from the beginning, even if everyone could have some, we might not have been this happy.”

"But after all that trouble, things are different. Although they can eat less chocolate, it's a pleasant surprise for them."

Bai Zhi said while eating the cake:

"Isn't this the same principle as blind boxes? I heard that blind boxes are not being sold for the time being, and many customers are very disappointed."

Zelan said:

"The weather is getting colder and colder. When winter really comes, we won't have much time to make sachets. We should make more stock now."

Canglan, Baizhi, Yunzhu, and the others all nodded.

Unlike the last time Ning Jia left home, when the little people's focus was on ensuring three meals a day, this time they have more plans.

...

To bid farewell to Ning Jia, the little ones, having just learned the ropes, suggested having noodles for dinner.

But this time it wasn't dry noodles, it was soup noodles.

The soup base, made by stir-frying shrimp with onions, firm tofu, mushrooms, and various vegetables, is rich in ingredients and has a delicious flavor. Served with smooth, fresh noodles in a newly replaced fist-sized white porcelain bowl, it looks incredibly tempting.

In addition, there are quite a few side dishes.

Dozens of quail eggs were used by Dongkui to make many fried eggs in a small frying pan and many poached eggs in a small saucepan, and each person could choose one of them.

Ning Jia quickly made side dishes such as stir-fried chicken with soy sauce (light version), tomato and minced meat, and stir-fried shredded potatoes, and also made braised vegetarian chicken.

The vegetarian chicken is cut into small pieces, fried, and then braised until it is soft and soaked in sauce. It is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, making it a very delicious topping.

Since making one was the same as making another, Ning Jia prepared another classic topping—pork chop. Of course, the pork chop for the little ones was cut into miniature pieces, which would be more appropriate to call "mini pork chop".

Compared to dry noodles, soup noodles have a different flavor, and everyone enjoyed this noodle feast very much.

However, when they recalled Ning Jia's words, "When saying goodbye to relatives and friends, eat noodles," many people, while eating, suddenly felt sad.

Guoguo and Xingxing were young and didn't have as much adult restraint. They wiped their mouths and pounced on Ningjia.

The two little ones hugged Ningjia's fingers. "Sister Ningjia, I'll miss you." "Me too!"

Seeing this, the other little people couldn't help but put down their chopsticks and move closer to Ning Jia.

"Ning Jia, have a safe trip." "Ning Jia, be right back." "Ning Jia, I already miss you." "Ning Jia, will you be gone for a long time this time too?"

Seeing the little creatures blinking their big eyes and looking at her with longing, Ning Jia felt a lump in her throat.

Damn it, she hates emotional scenes the most!

She quickly waved her hand, trying to appear indifferent:

"Don't do this, don't do this, it's only for a few days, I'll be back soon."

"Anyway, you guys can use mobile phones now, so you can video call me if you need anything."

He Meng immediately shook her head in disapproval:

"How can that be the same? You can't touch the person on the phone, so it's completely useless."

Others chimed in, "That's right, we want the real Ning Jia, not the cell phone Ning Jia."

"Ning Jia, I'll miss you." "Ning Jia, remember to eat well while you're away." "Ning Jia, don't worry about home." "Ning Jia..."

Seeing the group of petty people arguing amongst themselves, seemingly about to burst into tears at any moment, Ning Jia's eyes also reddened. Cang Lan quickly stepped in to comfort them:

"Alright, alright, Ning Jia is going home to see her mother. Family reunion is the most important thing. Everyone, please stop causing trouble."

Upon hearing this, Ning Jia immediately came to her senses and earnestly assured him:

"Don't worry, I'll stay home for a few days and then come back."

After all, she was hitching a ride home with Liu Yue. Given Liu Yue's workload, she might have to come back to work overtime halfway through the holiday, so she probably wouldn't stay home for long.

“Besides,” she smiled slightly, “there are many things in the household that you can do yourselves even without my involvement, so there’s no need for me to be there, right, Chief?”

Canglan smiled slightly at her:

“You are right, it is indeed time for our people to try to become independent.”

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Author's Note: Happy Saturday, my darlings! ~~~ [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]