Chapter 144 Grapefruit Tea to Vent One's Anger

Although the little people were all a bit listless tonight, they couldn't suppress their curiosity when they saw Ning Jia installing that strange big pillar in the living room in such a grand manner. One by one, two by two, three by four, they all slowly gathered around.

Guoguo whispered a few words to Xingxing, then tilted her little head up and asked:

"Sister Ningjia, is this a new decoration you bought? It looks... ugly!"

Xuecao subconsciously chimed in, "Exactly, this is so ugly. Is it some kind of expensive work of art?"

He Meng, who had been silent until now, couldn't hold back any longer. She jumped out with her hands on her hips and hurriedly retorted:

"You guys are so ignorant! This isn't just decoration!"

"This is... um... that big steamed bun who practices martial arts!"

Shi Ying nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, it's that steamed bun that can be used for practicing boxing! I've seen it online!"

The only two people who knew the truth, Gancao and Sumu, looked at each other and covered their faces to chuckle as they listened to their friend's nonsensical nicknames.

Bai Su, who diligently takes notes online, sighed helplessly and corrected him seriously:

"This isn't a big steamed bun, it's a sandbag."

Listening to the young people's discussion, Zelan's expression softened first, revealing a long-lost smile.

The smile seemed contagious; soon, the other little figures also smiled slightly in this familiar and relaxed atmosphere.

Ning Jia, who was installing the suspended sandbags, couldn't help but burst out laughing when she heard this adorable discussion.

"Hmm... Bai Su is right, this is not a decoration, nor is it a very expensive work of art."

She emphasized the words "not very expensive," and sure enough, upon seeing Xuecao, she instinctively breathed a sigh of relief, feeling both amused and exasperated.

It's just that we've bought a lot of things for the house lately, but those are all very useful appliances and stuff. Are we really going to lose faith in Xuecao's thriftiness just like that? -_-||

Ning Jia withdrew her gaze from Xue Cao's little face, looked at the little people whose expressions had softened considerably, and felt secretly pleased. She continued:

"This is called a hanging punching bag, which can also be understood as a large sandbag that is suspended. In the world of giants, it is mainly used to practice boxing, which is a specific form of punching. But in addition to boxing, it can also be used for daily exercise, and... to vent."

Vent your anger?

The little people all looked at Ning Jia with suspicion.

Ning Jia smiled slightly and, for the first time, took the initiative to share some interesting stories from her childhood with the little ones.

When she recounted her experience in elementary school, she said that "when I was on duty sweeping fallen leaves at school, I worked hard for half a day to finally gather a pile, and just as I was about to sweep it into the trash can, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew it all away, so I had to sweep it all over again," she went home sulking. The other children immediately burst into laughter, their faces showing a hint of surprise.

In their imagination, Ning Jia, who was once tiny, must have been a cute little dumpling.

I never expected that Ning Jia, when she was a little dumpling, had such a temper. She was a little dumpling who was easily sulky.

Ning Jia, now a mature and emotionally stable adult, recalled with a smile:

“When I was little, I was often unhappy about all sorts of little things. My mother said that always holding in my anger was very bad for my health, so she tried to find a way for me to vent my emotions.”

"Back then, there weren't nearly as many extracurricular classes as there are now. The most common ones were things like calligraphy, dance, and painting, which required patience to learn. My mom inquired around and eventually sent me to a friend's place to learn boxing from him."

"Although I didn't stick with learning to box for very long, my mom thought it was quite effective, so she bought a big punching bag and put it at home. Sometimes when we were unhappy, we would go over and punch it for a while to vent our anger."

"Then one day, we actually broke this very sturdy sandbag by hitting it... That's when I realized that people experience so many negative emotions in life, and if they aren't released in time, they'll definitely be unhappy..."

Ning Jia quickly snapped out of her thoughts and said to the little people:

"So, I want to try using the same method to let you vent your bad feelings too."

...

Half an hour later.

Ning Jia squatted beside a large punching bag, holding up her phone, giving a live broadcast of the "First Little Race Boxing Exhibition Match" to Zhou Chi, who was far away in London:

"See the row of cards pasted on the sandbag? They were all drawn by Bai Su. Oh no, one of them, which is more realistic, was drawn by Bai Zhi, but I still think the abstract ones have more feeling."

"Wow, Bai Su is really strong! That small fist looks like it could punch through a sandbag! We don't usually get to see such a precious sight!"

"He Meng is definitely amazing too. How can someone with such thin arms have so much strength?! Amazing..."

"Huh, why are all three of Bai Zhi's family attacking at once? Wow, there's strength in numbers, the sandbag almost shook just now..."

"Now on the field is Yunzhu. His strength... well, although he's not particularly strong, he has a lot of presence! And his expression is spot on!"

"Look, look! Clan Chief Canglan has entered the arena! The clan chief is as impressive as ever, and incredibly brave!"

On the other side of the screen, Zhou Chi listened with a smile to Ning Jia's animated "off-field commentary," his warm gaze fixed on the face he had longed for on the screen, while silently muttering to himself:

To make the commentary more engaging, Ning Jia has definitely started to improvise and make things up at will.

After all, they had no chance to witness the warrior prowess of the Canglan clan chief in his prime...

However, the fact that she was able to lead her people on a long journey from the forest to the city, through danger and separation, and finally to a peaceful life, has undoubtedly proven Canglan's courage and perseverance.

Watching Cang Lan, wearing makeshift "boxing gloves," punch the large sandbag hard, one punch after another, Ning Jia thought:

As the head of a clan, he usually protects his clan members with such calmness and composure, but he must be under a lot of pressure in his heart.

Chief Canglan, you've worked so hard all this time!

Ning Jia had turned off the video at some point and was silently watching the little figures throwing their fists, no longer saying a word.

The little children were enthusiastically swinging their tiny fists, hitting the large sandbag in front of them again and again. They were shouting, venting, and crying. Gradually, their emotions became a complex mix:

There was not only fear and hatred for enemies, but also longing for deceased clansmen, confusion and helplessness upon first entering the city, sadness and grief at being forced to separate from the clansmen, and despair for the future when food was scarce...

Even though Ning Jia didn't experience it firsthand, looking at the expressions on the little people's faces, she felt a strange mix of emotions at that moment.

Go ahead and fight, fight back and vent your anger!

Forget all that anger, resentment, sadness, grief, and regret! Leave only happiness and joy!

After all the little ones had lined up and played a round, even a few little dumplings had swung their fists a few times, everyone was panting and lying on the carpet, looking completely exhausted.

Although exhausted, everyone's eyes were calm and gentle. Although no one said anything, their eyes met and sparkled with tender love and promise.

Ning Jia wiped her eyes, brought out small towels to wipe everyone's sweat, and then brought over a pot of steaming hot honey grapefruit tea.

She had just poured herself a small cup of grapefruit tea when a small figure suddenly stood up and charged at the large sandbag with claws outstretched.

"This was done for that stinky cat! Waaah, we didn't do anything to it, why did you hurt that stinky cat!"

As Daoya shed tears, she repeatedly punched the sandbag, not only out of sorrow for the misery of the abused cats and dogs, but also out of resentment at the wanton bullying of the "weak" by some large animals.

He Meng blinked and jumped up from the ground, rushing over like a small cannonball and hitting the sandbag!

"This is what I did for that stinky dog! Even though that stinky dog ​​is annoying, he shouldn't be bullied so cruelly by bad people!"

Snow Grass, Quartz, White Perilla... Soon, the little children all stood up one after another, walked to the punching bag, and once again raised their tiny fists for the innocent cats and dogs that had died...

Ning Jia, standing to the side, watched this scene, and her eyes involuntarily reddened again.

...

"Ning~Jia~ don't cry~"

He Meng, whose face was flushed after being washed clean, sighed as she held up a large tissue and stuffed it into Ning Jia's palm.

"...No, leave me alone, hiccup!...I, I'll be fine after crying for a bit..."

Ning Jia started hiccuping from crying. She picked up the tissue He Meng handed her and vigorously wiped her tears. Her eyes were as red as a rabbit's.

"How could I possibly abandon you?"

He Meng shook her head helplessly, just about to get another tissue, when she saw Xue Cao, who smelled nice, coming over after taking a bath.

"Ning Jia, why are you still crying!"

Xuecao exclaimed in surprise upon arrival, but after Hemeng blinked hard, she swallowed back her sarcastic remarks and instead spoke in a gentler tone:

"Don't be so sad, we're all fine now. Thanks to you, everyone is doing well."

“Yes,” Bai Su, who had just finished washing up, also arrived. After thinking for a moment, she said:

"Everyone had a great time boxing today. It was a good way to vent our anger and feel better. But if you keep crying like this, we'll feel guilty."

Bai Su's words had an immediate effect; Ning Jia seemed to be convinced, quickly stopping her tears and saying somewhat embarrassedly:

"I'm sorry to have worried you. I just suddenly realized that you've been having a harder time than I knew, and just thinking about it makes me incredibly sad..."

Xuecao stood proudly with her hands on her hips and laughed heartily, "How could that be!"

"I'm not here to vent my anger, so of course I'm talking about things that make me unhappy. We used to have a lot of fun in the forest!"

He Meng also raised her little head and said with a proud look:

"Exactly! We little people will never be defeated by difficulties!"

After she finished speaking, she suddenly realized that what she said was inappropriate, and changed her words on the spot:

"Hmm... let's leave studying aside for now!"

With a soft "pfft," Ning Jia burst into laughter through her tears, patting He Meng's head with a smile. The other little figures surrounding her also smiled broadly.

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Author's note: Forget all your worries and be happy every day! [dog head with rose in hand]