Chapter 131 Spicy Lotus Root: Contentment and Happiness

That's right, Bai Su and Xue Cao's latest social practice is to do accounting with Ning Jia.

Soon, the coffee table was covered with many large A4 sheets of paper, each of which was printed with a detailed breakdown of the family's income since they started selling sachet blind boxes.

Ning Jia has already marked the total amount of each order, so the two little ones don't need to do multiplication, they only need to do addition.

Although the numbers in this addition are a bit large, as long as you know how to write the equation and are patient and careful, there shouldn't be any problem.

If you really don't know how, Ning Jia can provide on-site guidance.

"Well, how about I go to the left and you go to the right?"

"OK."

Bai Su and Xue Cao discussed it quietly and then divided the accounts on the coffee table in half, with each person responsible for one side.

Wearing long cloth socks, the two carefully stepped onto the thin A4 paper, which felt like a giant carpet to them. Holding the loose-leaf notebook Ning Jia had prepared for them in one hand and a small pencil lead in the other, they glanced at the numbers on the paper and quickly began to calculate.

The two of them scribbled and calculated on the draft paper, muttering to themselves as they did so:

"645 + 1032 equals..." "1390 + 1500 equals..."

Standing to calculate was probably too tiring for their necks, so they both brought over an eraser and plopped down on makeshift stools. Calculating while sitting down was indeed much easier.

Meanwhile, Ning Jia, while watching the two little ones' calculation progress and checking the serial numbers of the accounts on both sides, easily calculated the sum of both sides with a simple click in Excel.

As Bai Su and Xue Cao used up more and more draft paper and wrote longer and longer numbers on the paper, sweat began to bead on their foreheads.

Seeing that they had finished one-third of the accounts so quickly, Ning Jia did not disturb them. She simply watched quietly from the side and provided logistical support when the two of them ran out of pen refills or draft paper, such as handing them pens, draft notebooks, and tissues.

When the two little ones had calculated down to the last quarter, they were so tired that they kept shaking their little arms, probably from the soreness in their hands from making so many drafts.

But neither of them stopped to rest. They simply wiped the sweat from their faces, rubbed their sore arms and hands, and continued calculating.

When they got to the end, in order to make it easier to see the numbers, they simply threw away their rubber stools and knelt down on the paper, moving forward a little after each calculation.

As the numbers she wrote grew longer and longer, Xuecao's little face was covered in sweat, but her big eyes were sparkling. Even as the difficulty of the calculations increased, she did not feel tired, because each number was followed by a big "yuan"!

In Xuecao's eyes, these are not just numbers, but precious little coins!

Even if she had to stay here for just one day, she would feel extremely happy.

Bai Su on the other side wasn't as excited as her, but a hint of surprise and satisfaction flashed in her eyes from time to time.

Although Ning Jia regularly publishes the family's income and expenditure, watching others calculate accounts is completely different from calculating them yourself.

Only by calculating each number by hand can you truly experience the immense sense of accomplishment from accumulating money little by little.

Behind each of these numbers lies everyone's daily hard work, deep thinking, and continuous learning and growth.

Therefore, these numbers are not just numbers, but also a reward for everyone here who lives their lives earnestly.

In her heart, Bai Su believed that the people in this family truly deserved such an award!

Seeing the two little ones smiling sweetly as they did their calculations, Ning Jia smiled back.

Now you know why she likes to do accounting whenever she has free time, right?

It's not just about the sense of accomplishment from seeing money keep increasing.

There's also the sense of happiness that comes from taking stock of what you've gained.

Only by periodically taking stock of your accounts, and even all the items around you, or other intangible assets, will you realize, faced with such a rich list, that you are not penniless, and that you actually possess so much wealth!

...

Ning Jia waited patiently, letting the two little ones enjoy this feeling of happiness until the last number was calculated.

"I've figured it out!" "Me too!"

Bai Su and Xue Cao announced almost one after the other, both of them blinking their bright eyes and raising their draft notebooks high towards Ning Jia, on which were written the final calculated numbers.

Bai Su calculated the total to be 161,736, while Xue Cao calculated the total to be 145,542.

Ning Jia glanced at the numbers displayed in the table, then leaned closer to look at a string of numbers written very forcefully on the small draft notebook, then smiled slightly and nodded:

"Great job! You got both sides right!"

Wow--

Bai Su and Xue Cao immediately dropped their drafts and hugged each other, cheering.

Ning Jia smiled and reminded him:

"Don't rush to celebrate. You two still have one last step to complete, which is to add these two numbers together."

Bai Su and Xue Cao were stunned for a moment, and were about to squat down to pick up the small draft notebook when they saw Ning Jia flip the A4 paper on the coffee table over and point to the blank space on the back, saying:

"Let's calculate it directly here."

The two little ones responded, each holding a small pencil, and lay down on the large white paper, quickly calculating the final result: 307278.

Wow, so much money!

This unexpectedly large sum of money brought smiles to their faces.

"Don't get too excited yet."

Ning Jia chuckled, picked up a black pen, and began explaining and calculating on the paper.

"These are just the revenues from Ning's Sachet business in recent months. We still need to deduct the costs of herbs, packaging, and express delivery, and then calculate based on 70%..."

Ning Jia quickly wrote a string of numbers at the very bottom of the blank paper:

"Finally, your net income is 203,560 yuan."

"That's a lot!"

The two were not disappointed at all; in fact, they were quite pleased and said, "It's almost the same amount of money in our account as before."

Ning Jia chuckled again, "Don't forget, this is just income, we haven't even started calculating expenses yet."

She glanced at her phone. "Since we still have some time, should we calculate our total expenses for the past few months again?"

No, no!

Xuecao immediately shook her head vigorously, her whole body filled with resistance, "I don't want to know about the money that was spent!"

Although Bai Su didn't speak, she silently took a step back and turned her peach-shaped face to the side, directly avoiding Ning Jia's encouraging gaze.

Ning Jia chuckled and didn't press the matter.

"Okay, then I'll just start calculating from there."

After deducting the expenses of the little tribe for several months, the 203,560 yuan shrank again, leaving only 184,694 yuan.

This does not include the rent paid by the dwarfs that Ning Jia later resolutely confiscated.

Unexpectedly, the amount of living expenses deducted was so large that Xuecao couldn't hold back any longer and couldn't help but sigh regretfully.

"Despite working so hard, the total number of accounts is still less than before."

"We're already very wealthy."

Ning Jia stroked her head:

"It's just that there are so many more people in the family, and we've been preparing for winter, so we've bought a lot of new things, which is why the expenses have increased. It won't be like this anymore."

"I know that!"

Xuecao, having managed the family's food inventory before, knew how quickly the ingredients were being consumed; she just...

Bai Su walked over, tugged at Xue Cao's small hand to comfort her, then glanced at the empty living room. Seeing the clansmen still sunbathing outside, she whispered to Ning Jia:

"Xuecao isn't a little money-grubber. It's because Aunt Baizhi, Uncle Yunzhu, Sister Muxi... have been feeling guilty for spending all the clan's money. Even though everyone says it's okay, they still feel it's their fault."

"If they could save up to about the same amount of money as before, they probably wouldn't think that way anymore."

Ning Jia was taken aback. She hadn't realized that Bai Zhi and the others had been carrying such a psychological burden, and she felt a pang of regret.

If she had known, she would have just made some false entries in the accounts and increased the numbers. Why did she have to be so honest?

Her eyes darted around, and she tentatively said:

"How about I contribute some more money to cover the difference..."

"No!" "No!"

Xuecao and Baisu exclaimed in unison, looking at Ningjia with a puzzled expression, "Isn't this a lie? The Little People never lie!"

"Well said!"

Ning Jia gave the two little ones two thumbs up. "I understand. I promise you I won't do that."

Although there is a kind of deception called "white lies" in the world of giants, Ning Jia felt a little ashamed when she looked into the clear eyes of the two little people.

Forget it, let's think about it some more. Let's see if we can find other ways to help the little people earn back the missing 10,000 yuan, or more accurately, 18,866 yuan.

...

Considering that the children have been experiencing some dryness and heatiness lately, we had a very refreshing and nourishing meal for lunch.

Steamed sea bass, steamed taro with minced meat, stir-fried shrimp with celery and lily bulbs, braised tofu with tomatoes, and pork rib soup with yam and goji berries.

This time, a spicy dish was added: stir-fried lotus root with chili.

The pork belly, rendered with fat, is rich yet not greasy; the lotus root, seasoned with vinegar, is crisp and tender; and the addition of a touch of savory and spicy fermented bean paste makes the whole dish incredibly fragrant and tempting.

However, as Canglan reminded her, only those who can handle spicy food should try this spicy dish.

Although the other little people were tempted by the intense spiciness, they gave up the idea of ​​stealing food after remembering their terrible experience of being burned by the spiciness. They just kept sniffing their little noses and silently continued eating while enjoying the spicy aroma.

After finishing her meal, Ning Jia uploaded the video of her cooking. Watching the little figures comfortably digesting their food, she continued to ponder how to "generate revenue" without selling sachets.

She opened WeChat and posted a photo of the spicy stir-fried lotus root she made today in her small group chat with Ning Fang and Wang Lin. After chatting for a while, she closed the chat page and saw Zhou Chi's profile picture at the bottom.

Ning Jia's gaze lingered on the image of the little man flipping a wok for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up, and she quickly typed:

Are you busy? By the way, have any of those little unused items that I left at your place been sold?

Almost simultaneously, Zhou Chi's message also arrived:

Have you finished eating? There's something I want to confirm with you.

Ning Jia paused for a moment, then quickly sent a message:

"Then you go first."

Meanwhile, Zhou Chi has also replied:

Why are you suddenly asking this? I haven't been home lately, so I'm not selling anything right now.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that.

Ning Jia was filled with regret and was about to tell Zhou Chi about it when suddenly a thought struck her:

Wait a minute, didn't the money that the little people had saved up before go to Zhou Chi? For a while afterward, this guy would bring up the matter of transferring the money back every now and then, but the little people's attitude was firm, so he stopped bringing it up.

If she were to say it now, this guy would definitely get carried away and transfer all the money he had before.

At that time, wouldn't she be blamed to death by the petty people in her family?

Thinking of this, Ning Jia used the excuse that she was just checking on the progress of her decluttering process to brush it off, and then quickly asked:

What do you need to confirm with me?

Zhou Chi didn't say anything, but sent a picture first.

Ning Jia clicked on the picture and looked at the exhibit displayed in the glass frame. For a moment, it looked very familiar. When she tapped the picture with her finger to zoom in on the details, she saw the title and author in front of the exhibit and was immediately speechless with surprise.