Chapter 146 New Year's Eve Dinner: A Bountiful Harvest

On the last day of the year, as soon as Zhou Chi got up, he opened "Ning Family Kitchen" and let the familiar voice in the video accompany him as he washed up and ate.

As he listened, he suddenly paused, turned his head to glance at the video content, and then was surprised to find—

For her last video of the year, Ning Jia surprisingly chose the unexpected topic of "how to make delicious Chinese food using local British ingredients".

Especially when Zhou Chi saw that huge piece of Yorkshire ham in the video, his pupils dilated in shock:

This looks like... a New Year's gift he sent to Ning Jia?

Upon hearing that Ning Jia was interested in British cuisine, he immediately gathered a large amount of traditional British ingredients, including ham, cheese, beef, seafood, sausages, and more, and sent several large boxes back to China.

Ning Jia seemed quite surprised when she received the ingredients, but she didn't mention them again. Zhou Chi thought she just couldn't get used to the taste, but it turns out... they're for this purpose.

When Zhou Chi was astonished to see Ning Jia seemingly miraculously transform these British ingredients by adding just a few simple, readily available ingredients from England, she created a delicious and visually appealing Chinese dish.

At this point, many netizens had already left comments under the video:

[Shocking! Did the uploader go to study in the UK?]

[Holy crap, the uploader actually wants to teach us! Waaaaah, there's hope for those of us studying abroad in the UK!]

[Students from the UK come to study!]

[Learning +1]

As Zhou Chi continued watching, and saw Ning Jia directly admit in the video that these dishes were actually developed for her boyfriend who was in the UK, the comment section exploded:

This wave of PDA came completely out of the blue!

Even if I'm forced to eat dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), I still have to praise the uploader; they're a true blessing to humanity.

Zhou Chi, the person involved, was stunned. His face turned red again and again, and his heart felt like it was soaking in a bowl of chocolate syrup, which was extremely sweet.

Oh my god, I really want the whole world to know just how many things his girlfriend has done that have made his heart flutter!

This ingenious video unsurprisingly went viral, garnering even more views than Ning Jia's previous videos.

Ning Jia's public displays of affection in the video did not cause him to lose fans; in fact, it attracted a huge influx of new fans, most of whom were from overseas IPs—those who know, know.

When Zhou Chi saw that the international student community was also frantically sharing that video and willingly consuming Ning Jia's public displays of affection, he felt secretly delighted. He even seemed to be surrounded by a halo of happiness as he walked.

This video of him expressing his love from afar is simply the best New Year's gift he has ever received, and he likes it the most, even more than the gifts from the little people!

...

The Ning family courtyard was as peaceful and tranquil as ever on the last day of the year.

Ning Jia, who got up early, was busily working in the kitchen.

The turntable on the coffee table in the living room was already piled high with bowls, plates, and trays, all covered with various kinds of food, creating a festive atmosphere like Chinese New Year.

In addition to a variety of fresh fruits, the plate also displays delicate and small candies such as peanut nougat and pear syrup candy, as well as crispy snacks such as glutinous rice strips, small twisted dough sticks, egg rolls, flavored peanuts, and sweet potato chips, along with chewy and sweet and sour candied fruits such as hawthorn strips, persimmon cakes, and dried apricots. Of course, there is also the long-awaited popcorn.

All of these were made by Ning Jia herself.

The little ones, who had struggled to get out of their little nests, were all wide awake when they saw so many dazzling snacks. They looked at this and smelled that with delight, their eyes almost dazzled by the sight.

But the most eye-catching of all the pastries is the snow-white, silvery-thread-like dragon beard candy.

"Hey, this candy looks like cotton!" "It really does, like a cloud!" "I think it looks like yarn, all clumps together..."

Guoguo curiously picked up a small, delicate piece of dragon beard candy, carefully put a little in her mouth, and then her eyes widened:

Wow, it melts in your mouth!

The other little people also came over to taste it. "Wow, it really is!" "How amazing!" "So sweet and delicious!" "It's like eating clouds from the sky!"

Canglan savored the lingering sweetness in her mouth and found the dragon beard candy quite interesting, but she didn't forget to remind her tribesmen:

"Eating these snacks is a New Year's custom for giants. Just try a little of each one. Dinner will be served soon."

Xuecao, who was about to go help in the kitchen, quickly munched on the crunchy little twisted dough sticks, saying loudly as she ate:

"Don't eat too much! Tonight's dinner is going to be a huge feast!"

Luo Luo licked the powdered sugar off her fingers and nodded seriously, "I know! Sister Ning Jia said it before."

...

As the sunlight outside the window thinned, the little people's long-awaited feast was finally ready.

The snacks on the turntable had all been removed and moved to the TV cabinet, and there was still almost not enough room for them.

The television screen above was playing a compilation of classic Spring Festival Gala programs. The hilarious skit "Eating Noodles" had just finished airing, and now a very classic dance program was playing. A woman dressed as a beautiful peacock danced gracefully, captivating the children who watched with wide eyes and exclaimed in amazement.

The windowpanes are already decorated with paper-cut window decorations made by the little people themselves, and the doors are also decorated with Spring Festival couplets written by the little people themselves. Although the characters are a bit crooked, they exude an innocent and lovely atmosphere.

Red lanterns were hung in other parts of the house, and various red decorations were pasted on. Even the oranges on the tray had small red stickers with words such as "fortune," "auspiciousness," and "great luck" on them.

The large pine tree that you can see as soon as you enter is very festive. It is decorated with various bright red Chinese knots, small lanterns and other ornaments, as well as gifts of all shapes and sizes.

In short, the house was filled with the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

Although today is not the actual Lunar New Year's Eve, Ning Jia is going back to her hometown to celebrate the Spring Festival with Ning Fang and Wang Lin. After discussing it with the kids, she decided to take advantage of the New Year's Eve to bring forward the time for celebrating the Spring Festival.

The little people completely agreed with this, and said:

"By the time the real Spring Festival arrives, everyone is in semi-hibernation. Forget about staying up all night, it's difficult to even get up in the morning."

And then, after hearing Ning Jia recount her childhood New Year's anecdotes, the little one said with some regret:

"It's a pity I didn't know you back then. I would have been so happy if we could have spent the New Year together."

Although we won't be able to see Ning Jia anymore, we can still make the food that Ning Jia ate during the Lunar New Year.

Therefore, Ning Jia started preparing early, and today she spent almost the entire day in the kitchen. All the young people came over to help and kept reminding Ning Jia to take a break.

Looking at the kitchen filled with ingredients, the little ones started chattering:

"So, it turns out that eating for the giants during the Lunar New Year is so troublesome and arduous."

Ning Jia nodded:

"Of course! So I think it's great to eat at a restaurant during the Chinese New Year. It greatly relieves the burden on people who are preparing the New Year's Eve dinner."

The little people immediately said, "Then we won't need you to cook anymore, just eat whatever you want!"

Ning Jia smiled and said, "If everyone cooks together, it won't be so hard."

...

"New Year's Eve dinner is served!"

With Ning Jia's cheerful announcement, a series of fragrant dishes made their dazzling appearance.

First up is the cold dish series, which mainly includes four dishes: cucumber salad with braised pig's ears (the braised pig's ears were generously sponsored by Ms. Ning), spinach salad with peanuts, spiced beef, and pickled plum tomatoes. There are both meat and vegetarian options, and the presentation is exquisite.

Next up is the snack series.

Crispy and light fried shrimp chips were an indispensable snack for Ning Jia during Chinese New Year when she was a child. Whenever she couldn't wait for the New Year's Eve dinner and went to the kitchen to "check on the progress," Ning Fang would casually slip her a few freshly fried shrimp chips to satisfy her craving.

It doesn't necessarily have to be shrimp chips; sometimes it's spring rolls, or maybe lotus root sandwiches, or fried meatballs, depending on when Ning Jia enters the kitchen.

At this moment, these four familiar Spring Festival snacks, interspersed with the previous four cold dishes, were placed on the outermost side of the turntable.

After that, there were steamed seafood (using ingredients sent by Zhou Chi), four-happiness meatballs symbolizing good fortune, prosperity, longevity and happiness, braised pork belly symbolizing "prosperity", garlic shrimp symbolizing "bringing in wealth and treasures", festive roasted lamb chops, osmanthus garden for family reunion and other dishes, as well as sweet and sour fish, an essential dish for the New Year symbolizing "abundance year after year".

The last item to appear was "Abundant Harvest," a super-sized, round, and plump steamed bun placed in the very center of the turntable.

This steamed bun only has a red "福" (fortune) character printed on its outside, seemingly ordinary, but the filling inside is anything but. It contains pumpkin, purple sweet potato, sweet potato, yam, red dates, chestnuts, and more, symbolizing a year of plenty and abundant harvests. This is also Ning Jia's heartfelt blessing to the little people.

To make the plating look even better, Ning Jia used the large steamed bun with abundant grains as the center and placed small steamed buns shaped like fruits and vegetables around it. These lifelike fruit and vegetable steamed buns immediately attracted the attention of the little ones.

Guoguo, who was standing by the turntable, was about to grab some shrimp chips when she saw the large and small steamed buns that had just been served. She immediately forgot about the shrimp chips, nimbly jumped onto the turntable, and ran to the large steamer containing "Abundant Harvest" and jumped inside.

"Get out quickly! Danger!"

Ning Jia was startled when she didn't expect Guo Guo to run into the steamer on her own.

She quickly leaned over and met Guoguo's gaze, who had just received a small steamed bun.

The moment their eyes met, Ning Jia suddenly froze, memories flooding back to that breezy spring evening when they first met—

The little figure holding the apple-shaped steamed bun in front of me seems to overlap with the little figure holding the big apple in the garden back then.

But the difference is that the little one's eyes are no longer filled with fear, but instead sparkle with boundless spirit.

"...Careful, it's hot!"

Ning Jia snapped back to reality in a second, reached out and grabbed Guo Guo around the waist, pulling her away from the still steaming large steamer.

"Don't do such dangerous things again. The steamer is extremely hot right after it comes off the pot. Luckily you were wearing socks, otherwise you would have burned your little feet."

Ning Jia sternly lectured Guo Guo, who then whined with a wronged expression:

"Sister Ningjia, why are you so fierce? You're hurting me."

"Sorry, sorry, I was in a rush just now..."

Ning Jia released his hand apologetically, his words abruptly stopping, a hint of confusion flashing across his face.

Why didn't she feel anything when she grabbed Guoguo just now?

"He Meng, can I pinch you?"

Ning Jia suddenly spoke to the little figure closest to her.

He Meng put down her chopsticks and, not understanding why, offered her little arm, saying, "You can pinch it."

Ning Jia actually pinched it, and even used a little force.

As she massaged him, she said in confusion, "How can this be? It really doesn't hurt at all."

He Meng: "But it hurts!"

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

Ning Jia quickly let go and rubbed He Meng's arm again, "I just wanted to verify something..."

After Ning Jia told Chief Cang Lan about her doubts, Cang Lan stroked her chin, looked at her, and said with some surprise:

"Don't you know? The contract you signed with my clan has been automatically terminated."

What? Ning Jia was stunned. Wasn't it said that once the contract was signed, it was irrevocable?

"...When did this happen?"

Canglan thought for a moment, "...It seems like it was just a while ago? I thought you had already discovered it yourself, so I didn't mention it."

What?! Ning Jia's expression was even more shocked!

Seeing Ning Jia speechless with shock, Cang Lan and Ze Lan couldn't hide their smiles, and the other little people also gave Ning Jia knowing smiles with gentle and kind eyes.

A sly glint flashed across Bai Su's peach-like face, her big eyes shining brightly as she offered to answer Ning Jia's question:

"In fact, although this contract is irrevocable, it can be dissolved on its own."

"As long as the two parties who enter into a contract truly establish an unbreakable bond... or as you giants would call it, a bond?"

"Once the two parties to a contract form a deep bond, the contract becomes dispensable and naturally loses its meaning."

So that's how it is.

Ning Jia snapped out of her shock and suddenly remembered something else:

No wonder the dwarves said, "The last giant to make a pact with them was a hundred years ago." It turns out that almost everyone eventually broke the pact naturally? ...

It meant something completely different from what she thought.

However, the word "bond" is really wonderful.

Did I not realize that at some point, so many warm and lovely little people in this world had formed bonds with me?

Ning Jia's eyes reddened, and she felt like crying again in an instant.

Yunzhu quickly waved her little hand to remind her, "You can't cry during the New Year, it's very unlucky!"

Ning Jia chuckled, and the tears that were about to well up in her eyes indeed shrank back.

Yes, such a happy moment should be filled with laughter!

The only thing missing is someone to celebrate with.

When Zhou Chi finally had some free time, the little ones were almost full and burping. Ning Jia made a video call and projected it onto the TV.

As soon as Zhou Chi's face appeared on the big and small screens, Ning Jia and the little people shouted in unison:

"Happy New Year!!"

With tears welling up in his eyes, Zhou Chi raised his glass and toasted with everyone in his family through the screen, celebrating this ordinary yet happy day.

I would also like to thank everyone for sending me a bunch of New Year's gifts.

"Brother Zhou Chi, if there's a gift you don't like, be sure to tell me, so I can give you the right one next time."

"Yes, family members should be honest with each other."

The word "family" successfully moved Zhou Chi once again, and his eyes reddened, choking out a "hmm".

...

After enjoying the lively and joyous New Year's Eve dinner, it was time for everyone's most anticipated part: unwrapping the gifts!

Everyone rushed to the big pine tree by the entrance.

In the eyes of the little people, the usually lush and beautiful pine tree looked even more breathtaking because it was adorned with New Year's gifts that everyone had carefully prepared!

This time, the gifts weren't blind boxes. Because everyone would be happy if the recipient liked the gift, so the recipient's name was written on each gift beforehand.

These were basically gifts from Ning Jia and Zhou Chi to the dwarfs. The gifts from the dwarfs to Ning Jia were too large to hang on the tree, so they had already been given to Ning Jia.

Among them was a set of exquisite and unique kitchen-themed stamps gifted by Quartz, White Perilla, and Snow Grass, which Ning Jia has already used to make a recipe journal.

There were also various scented sleep-inducing floral dews, including freesia, eupatorium, and orange leaf, specially prepared for Ning Fang and Wang Lin, as a token of the collective goodwill of the entire Little People race. This precious gift has already been sent back to Ning Jia's hometown.

Licorice, sappanwood, and winter melon also prepared kitchen-themed gifts: a very beautiful embroidered apron, two cute embroidered heat-resistant gloves, and delicate little coasters, which Ning Jia hasn't used yet.

The gifts from the other little people were also very thoughtful. Even Guoguo and Xingxing, along with the little dumplings, made a very unique and beautiful nutshell bracelet for Ningjia.

And now, it's finally time for the little people to receive their gifts.

He Meng, acting as Santa Claus to deliver gifts, carefully climbed up the big pine tree, trying hard to make out the names on each gift:

"...Bai Su?"

Bai Su didn't expect to be the first one. She quickly stood under the tree, stretched out her small hand, and nimbly caught the gift that He Meng threw down. She slowly opened it and was stunned for a moment:

Wait, it's not the journal she guessed?

What Ning Jia and Zhou Chi gave her was a box of colored pencils that were the perfect size for a dwarf.

Bai Su reached out and touched the brightly colored crayons, immediately understanding their intentions—

Even if you're not good at drawing, as long as you enjoy drawing, you can keep drawing.

Bai Su hugged the large box of colored pencils and sincerely said to Ning Jia, "Thank you for the gift! I really like it!"

Xuecao's gift wasn't too surprising, since she had asked for it herself: a pocket calculator.

Daoya's gift was a variety of seeds, including vegetable seeds and flower seeds, all of which were rare varieties that Ningjia had specially found. Daoya was absolutely delighted with them and said that when spring came, she would plant them all in the courtyard.

Quartz's gift was an upgraded set of mini woodworking tools. Because it was feared Quartz might get injured while learning woodworking on his own, a basic set of manual tools was initially ordered. Now that Quartz's woodworking skills have matured, he can start experimenting with more complex and even electric woodworking tools.

P.S.: Because this gift was overweight, I only wrote a note on it and hung it on the tree. Quartz was quite surprised when she opened it.

Licorice and sappanwood received a pile of high-quality fine fabrics, which they had requested as gifts.

This gift, of course, cannot be hung on a tree.

When Ning Jia carried that big box of fabric out of the bedroom, the two little ones were so happy that their eyes crinkled with joy.

...

One by one, the little people received their gifts, and everyone was overjoyed. Ning Jia and Zhou Chi also received sincere thanks from the little people.

"If we received a gift we didn't like, we would definitely tell you, but this time we love them all!"

"I'm so glad you like these gifts!"

Ning Jia winked at everyone as she spoke, "Actually, I also prepared a gift, which is... for everyone."

Huh, this is for everyone? What kind of gift is this?

As the little creatures waited curiously, Ning Jia took out the last large cardboard box hidden inside her bedroom:

This thing has been sitting in my room for several days, and today I can finally unpack it!

After Ningjia installed the newly bought heated table and adjusted its height to about half the height of a miniature human, she invited everyone to crawl under the small blankets to experience the warmth beneath the table.

The little people looked at each other in bewilderment. Several bold little people, such as Rice Sprout, Snow Grass, and Quartz, walked to the kotatsu without hesitation, lifted the soft blankets and lay down, only their little heads showing.

"Wow, this feels so comfortable!" "It's so warm!" "I wish I could sleep right here!"

The three of them stretched out their little hands and feet under the covers, feeling extremely comfortable!

Seeing this, the other little people no longer hesitated. One by one, like little hamsters, they hugged their full little round bellies and crawled into the kotatsu.

Bai Su cleverly poured a glass of water, placed it on the table, and then sat down beside it wrapped in a warm blanket, comfortably drinking the hot water from the small cup.

Seeing the little figures all looking content in the kotatsu, Ning Jia couldn't help but smile slightly:

"How about we hold the vigil around this kotatsu table tonight?"

The little people shouted in unison, "That's fantastic!"

...

That night, the stars shone brightly outside the window, and the living room was brightly lit. But even brighter than the lights were the smiles of Ning Jia and the little ones.

A large group of children huddled together around the kotatsu (heated table), and at Ning Jia's suggestion, they started playing Truth or Dare.

The first one is Hemeng.

Xuecao asked without any hesitation:

"When you went out to gain experience on your own, did you ever secretly cry?"

He Meng: "..."

Her face flushed red and then turned pale, and it took her a while to mumble:

"...Can I not answer?"

Ning Jia suppressed a laugh and reminded her, "If you don't answer, you'll have to drink the herbal tea made from orange leaves."

What? He Meng looked utterly dejected, and after hesitating for a long time, she finally said:

"Fine, I'll say it! I did cry, but didn't you cry when you were outside?"

Before anyone else could speak, Gan Cao scratched his head and said, "I didn't cry."

He Meng glared at him. "Of course! You've been sleeping in the tree hole the whole time, how could you have time to cry?"

Upon hearing this, everyone else laughed, and the little ones yawned as they laughed, looking extremely sleepy.

Perhaps yawning is contagious, because soon Guoguo started yawning too, as did Xingxing, Dongkui, Shiying... and even Ningjia gave a big yawn.

Canglan squinted and said:

"It's still early before the New Year, so if you're sleepy, you can take a nap here first."

The little people were all lying through their teeth: "I'm not sleepy!" "I'm really not sleepy!" "I want to keep playing!"

After everyone had fallen asleep without realizing it, Xuecao, the first to wake up, chuckled and tried to save face:

"It's all because this kotatsu table is so comfortable; it's so hypnotic to lie in it."

Ning Jia chuckled, not mentioning that she had also dozed off for a while, but simply pointed to the clock on the wall:

It's almost midnight.

What? !

Xuecao quickly shook the clansmen awake one by one, while Ningjia made a video call to Zhou Chi and turned the TV back on, projecting the countdown to the New Year's Eve gala onto the screen.

Ning Jia, Zhou Chi, and the sleepy-eyed children all shouted along with the TV:

"5, 4, 3, 2... 1!!"

"Happy New Year!"

The little figures excitedly hugged each other, Ning Jia blew a kiss to Zhou Chi through the screen, and everyone was overjoyed:

Because right now, it's already the new year!

Although everyone's faces still showed signs of sleepiness, their hearts were filled with happiness in every shape and scent:

Besides the great happiness of being with loved ones, everyone also has their own little happiness.

Ning Jia's little happiness is being able to freely research recipes in the kitchen.

Zhou Chi's happiness lies in the ordinary yet warm daily life she experiences.

Daoya's little happiness is the lush vegetable field she successfully planted.

The small joy of licorice and sappanwood is that they have designed and made many garments that are loved by the tribe.

Shi Ying's little happiness is the little wooden house that stands firm in the courtyard.

Bai Su's little happiness is that she can enjoy painting even though she's not good at it.

Xuecao's little happiness was winning the championship in the first 24-point scoring competition.

He Meng's little happiness is eating, sleeping, and practicing martial arts.

Juye's little happiness is that she studies medicine with the clan leader and has new experiments every day.

Dongkui's little happiness is that she can now cook a decent meal on her own.

Canglan's little happiness lies in the unexpected growth of the younger generation and the delicious tofu dishes.

...

As the New Year arrives, everyone smiles, feeling an abundance of happiness in their hearts, and believing with absolute certainty—

The new year will be a year of great happiness for everyone.

It definitely will be.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Although it's very hard to say goodbye, I still have to say "goodbye" to everyone. I hope this story brought you some warmth and joy. ^^

A deep bow of gratitude to all the lovely readers who made it this far! [heart][heart] And a huge thank you to all the little angels who supported and encouraged this post! [heart][heart]

May you always have your own great happiness and little joys!! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]

By the way, please add my next pre-order novel, "The Fluffy Commercial Street Management Log," to your favorites! Love you all! [doge emoji with rose in hand]

Copy of "Operating Log of the Fluffy Commercial Street":

After transmigrating into a book, Ning Rui became the owner of a desolate commercial street.

The account has a lot of money, but the problem is a lack of employees?

After the job posting was released

The first person to come for a job interview was a little tabby cat.

Ning Rui: Wait a minute—in this world, is it legal for furry people to work?

The kitten nodded. "It's legal. Just like everyone else, you have to pay social insurance and housing fund contributions."

Ning Rui: Then I'm relieved!

Before long, a rumor spread among the small animal communities in H City:

The homeless, unemployed fluffy creature should hurry to Happiness Street to find a job!

The boss is a nice person, the job is easy, and they even provide social insurance and housing fund!

The most, most, most important thing is—

The work environment is excellent, and you will absolutely not be disturbed while working!

After deciding to hire small animals, Ning Rui was still a little hesitant:

Although she is often charmed by cute animals when she watches videos.

But this is completely a case of loving dragons while fearing them in reality.

In reality, she has no affinity for small animals.

Surprisingly, this actually attracted a large number of fluffy employees!

The arrival of the fluffy creatures gradually brought life to the once quiet Happiness Street.

Ningrui has hired more human staff to take care of their busy employees.

During the interview, Ning Rui said seriously:

The first requirement for working here is that you are not allowed to harass your colleagues!

Specifically, this includes petting the other person's fur without their consent, staring at them for a long time, forcing them to act cute, making silly smiles, or suddenly making pinching sounds, etc.

The handsome young man nodded, then suddenly blushed and asked:

Does adding the boss on WeChat count as chatting?