Chapter 141 Cocoa milk is so delicious!

That afternoon, Zhou Chi video-chatted with Ning Jia again, and he said with a sorrowful expression on the screen:

"I want to graduate as soon as possible, so I won't be going back for a while. You guys stay home and have a good New Year celebration."

"Okay, Zhou Chi, you need to study hard."

Ning Jia, along with Bai Zhi and Yun Zhu, all smiled and gave Zhou Chi a "good luck" gesture while looking at their phone screens.

Zhou Chi wanted to continue, but seeing Ning Jia lower her head absentmindedly, he said with a wry smile:

"He Meng, stop pulling on my pants leg, it'll be over soon."

Bai Zhi nodded and said to He Meng, who looked anxious, "Don't worry, we'll say goodbye soon."

What? Who said it was going to end soon?

Zhou Chi's eyes widened on the screen; he still had something to say!

Seeing that Ning Jia and the little people all had expressions that said, "It's time to say goodbye," Zhou Chi was instantly heartbroken and lamented:

"So, it turns out, it doesn't matter whether I'm here or not! Fine, leave me alone, you all go live your happy lives..."

Ning Jia chuckled and immediately exposed him:

"Alright, stop acting. How many videos do you make in a day? Didn't you say you were going to focus on your studies?"

Seeing a hint of sadness flash across Zhou Chi's face, she reached out and touched his face through the screen, coaxing him:

"Sweetie, sweetie, study hard and graduate soon. We're cheering you on from home every day."

Yunzhu chimed in, "It's true, now before we eat, we pray that everything goes well for you."

Although Yunzhu only said half of what she wanted to say.

In reality, the little people prayed for many, many, many things before meals, such as everyone being healthy and safe, the little people safely getting through the winter, being happy every day, and Ning Jia making more money from her videos. Zhou Chi's smooth academic progress was just... incidental?

But there's no need to tell him that.

Seeing Zhou Chi's lips curl into a smile again, Ning Jia smiled gently, waved to He Meng who was still tugging at her trouser leg, mouthed "Coming soon," and then explained:

"The main problem is that your video came at the wrong time."

"The new collapsible bathtub I told you about last time arrived today. We were just getting ready to take a bath with it this afternoon since we had nothing else to do."

"By now, they should have finished showering and are waiting in the bathroom. They'll catch a cold if they don't soak in hot water soon."

"What?!" Upon hearing this, Zhou Chi immediately became anxious, his words tumbling out in a rush.

"Then you should go over there quickly, so they don't catch a cold."

"Okay, let's chat again when we have time."

Ning Jia waved to Zhou Chi on the screen. Seeing that Bai Zhi and the others had already run to the bathroom, she suddenly blinked and quickly made a "kissing" gesture towards Zhou Chi, causing the young man to blush unexpectedly. Then she chuckled, turned off the video, and walked quickly to the bathroom.

...

As soon as Ning Jia opened the bathroom door, she saw that it was extremely lively inside, with little figures standing everywhere in a mess.

Some of the little figures were standing on the sink, some on towels on the floor, and the last six or seven were still rinsing themselves off the soap bubbles in the basin.

When she came in, the children all started to chatter:

"Ning~Jia~When can I soak in water? I'm freezing to death."

"They're here, they're here."

Ning Jia slipped into the bathroom and quickly closed the door behind her.

Although the bathroom window was closed and the heater was on, it was still not warm enough for the little people who are afraid of the cold.

In particular, although they were not naked, they were only wearing "waterproof" grass skirts, and it was indeed quite cold.

"Sorry, sorry, I lost track of time while on the phone with Zhou Chi."

Upon hearing that it was Zhou Chi calling, the little creatures immediately quieted down considerably, but they still huddled together, shivering, truly trying to keep warm in a group.

Ning Jia immediately took out several soft, large towels and quickly wrapped the little bunch of people who were huddled together tightly. She said, "Hang in there, it'll be over soon," and then stood next to the oval-shaped bathtub that had already been cleaned. She picked up the showerhead and started filling it with hot water.

As the hot water in the tub filled up to half the height of the little people, Ning Jia squatted down and used her hands as a makeshift elevator to lower each little person into the tub.

He Meng, Bai Su, and the others felt that Ning Jia was going through too much trouble, so they tried to climb up by stretching their little hands and feet against the outside of the bathtub.

As a result, because the outer wall was covered with a lot of water vapor and became slippery, they futilely tried to climb up the tub for a long time. They managed to climb up a little bit, but then they slid back down.

"That's too dangerous, let me do it."

Ning Jia chuckled, bent down and used her large hands to scoop up the little ones who were trying to climb in by themselves, and gently placed them into the bathtub.

"Everyone, please test the water temperature first. If you feel the water is too hot, I will add some cold water."

"Okay, I got it~"

The little ones, soaking in such a large pool for the first time, felt a surge of warmth as soon as they stepped into the hot water, and soon let out a comfortable sigh—

"It's so warm~" "So comfortable!" "Yoohoo!" "So~ comfortable~"

The smallest little ones, Lolo, Shannai, Tuantuan, and Mengmeng, stood in the hot water that was almost up to their chests, curiously looking at the inside of the tall bathtub, their big eyes flashing with a hint of novelty and bewilderment.

To overcome their fear of the "big pond," the little ones held hands and formed a small circle, but none of them asked anyone in the tribe for help.

Sister Ningjia said it's a "bath tub" and there's nothing scary in the water, so it's very safe. They don't want to be cowards.

"Go Tuantuan!" "Go Luoluo too!" "Go Mengmeng!" "Go Shannai too!"

The little ones encouraged each other quietly, gradually getting used to the environment in the bathtub. They quickly relaxed in the warm water, splashing each other and playing around.

Along with this, many adults and children who were bored in the water also enthusiastically started playing water splashing games, and laughter filled the air.

Seeing that the little ones were adapting well, Ning Jia chuckled and took out a bunch of small toys for bathing.

First, there was a bunch of yellow, orange-sized inflatable duck-shaped swim rings.

When the adorable little yellow duck was placed into the bathtub, the hot water was already almost up to the little ones' necks. Ning Jia quickly taught them how to squeeze their little bodies into the duck's little swimming ring.

The little dumplings blinked their big eyes, stood in the water obediently put on their little yellow ducks, and then all exclaimed in surprise:

"Wow—" "I'm floating!" "This is so much fun!" "I've turned into a little duck!"

Little Luo Luo and Shan Nai, wearing little yellow duck swim rings, used their little hands to paddle in the hot water and slowly swam to Ning Jia. Their little faces were rosy, and they swayed happily from side to side in the water, like two cute little ducks, which almost made Ning Jia faint with cuteness.

Lolo touched her grass skirt with her little hands and suddenly giggled:

"Sister Ningjia, it turns out you really weren't lying to me."

"Of course, I never lie."

Ning Jia said casually, then asked in confusion, "Did I say something before?"

The little figure wearing a duckling pointed with a grin at the grass skirt on its body, "This is it."

Ah, Ning Jia remembered too, and couldn't help but laugh:

"I told you, grass skirts can be useful in winter too. Wouldn't it be perfect to take a bath in a grass skirt?"

"Mmm!" "Sister Ningjia is so smart!" "I love it!"

The ducklings all nodded, then splashed and swam away slowly.

...

As more and more hot water filled the large tub, the water level quickly exceeded that of a dwarf.

After Ning Jia held up the showerhead and showered the little people with "hot water," she played with them for a while longer. The hot water was now almost as high as two little people.

That should be enough; any more water and it won't be safe.

Ning Jia turned off the hot water at the right time, and the whole bathroom became warm and filled with steam, so hot that she started to sweat.

All the bath toys floated on the clear hot water.

Those little ones who didn't like the duck-shaped swim rings all got swim rings in other shapes:

Rice Sprout, wearing a small unicorn swim ring, pretended to be a spirited little pony, "running around" in the water with a "heave-ho" sound.

Bai Su and Xue Cao, wearing colorful and tempting donut-shaped swim rings, floated on the water with their other friends, who were wearing little cakes, bread rolls, and fish-shaped swim rings, whispering to each other.

The active He Meng didn't wear a small swim ring. Instead, she wore a light green grass skirt and, like a little frog, stretched out her little arms and legs, swimming back and forth in the hot water for a long time until she had had enough. Then, she popped her wet little head out of the water and climbed onto a small inflatable mattress.

Bai Su, wearing a donut-shaped swim ring, immediately took a small towel from a small basket hanging nearby and handed it over:

"Don't get cold, or you'll have to drink bitter herbal soup again."

Upon hearing this, He Meng was so frightened that she quickly took the small towel, wrapped herself up tightly, leaving only her little face exposed, and then lay down on the air mattress, looking like a cute little rice dumpling.

Recently, Ju Ye started learning medicine from Chief Cang Lan. The herbal soup she cooks is even worse than the chief's, it's a nightmare.

She never wanted to drink that awful-tasting herbal soup again.

...

After the little ones reluctantly finished their bath, they applied the special herbal ointment made by Canglan to their wrinkled skin and sighed contentedly.

Xuecao sniffed her little hands. "Luckily, this ointment doesn't smell bad, otherwise my half-day bath would have been a waste."

Bai Su chuckled, "No, Ju Ye said she added floral dew this time, so it won't smell bad."

"...It does smell a little nice."

He Meng also rolled up her sleeves, smelled her little arms, and then lay down comfortably.

The little ones, their faces flushed and limbs limp after their bath, lay scattered on the fluffy blanket spread under the big pine tree, gazing motionless at the lush pine branches and needles above them, whispering to each other, feeling light and carefree.

Just as I was enjoying myself, Ning Jia came over carrying a small milk pot:

Anyone want some chocolate milk?

What?! Chocolate milk?!

The little figures that were just lying down instantly regained their strength, their eyes widened, and they all excitedly sat up.

"I want to drink!" "I'll drink, I'll drink!" "Wow, chocolate!"

"Don't rush, take it one at a time~"

Ning Jia held up a spoon and poured a full cup of chocolate milk into each small cup. As she poured, she received soft, sweet words like "Thank you, Ning Jia," "Ning Jia, you're so kind," and "Ning Jia, I really like you," which made her smile.

Having tasted so many delicious snacks and dishes, the Lilliputians' love for chocolate remains as strong as ever, and the last time they shared this honor was with the popcorn by Daming Lake...

"Chocolate milk, it smells so good!" "It feels so warm to drink."

The little children held their warm little cups, warming their hands as they drank their perfectly warm beverages, feeling happiest of all.

Just as they were enjoying themselves, a plate full of snacks was placed under the pine tree.

Daoya, Shiying, and Hemeng's eyes lit up. They quickly swallowed the milk in their mouths and rushed over to grab some snacks.

Ning Jia smiled and tapped the little gluttons' heads:

"Don't eat too many snacks, there's a big meal coming up tonight."

Wow—"That's awesome!"

The little children's eyes widened even more, and they all showed expressions of happiness.

Tree God above, who was it that said winter was hard to endure? They are clearly so happy!

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Author's note: Winter is all about being happy! [cat emoji]