Chapter 20 Ugh, ugh, ugh, there's no food left!

Thanks to her hard get off work over the weekend, Ning Jia finally finished cleaning her new home.

The courtyard was now spacious, the windows were clear, and the natural wood furniture showed its true colors. Most of the clutter that had been piled up everywhere had been cleared away, leaving only some brand-new bowls, plates, handkerchiefs, towels, and the like, because Ning Jia had a vague feeling that these little things might come in handy in the future.

In the final cleaning stage, Ning Jia stood fully armed in the kitchen, wiping the greasy range hood with an old rag dipped in scouring powder.

The older generation is really frugal. Even though it's a brand new range hood from a major brand, they stubbornly refused to turn it on, leaving the kitchen covered in grease. They used up two bottles of grease-removing powder to restore the kitchen to its cleanliness and shine. Luckily, the grease-removing powder is cheap and comes in large quantities, otherwise it would have been a huge loss.

Not only the range hood, but also the washing machine, refrigerator, and air conditioner in the house were all quite new, with almost no signs of use, but Ning Jia still cleaned and disinfected all of these appliances.

As for the old appliances, they were practically useless, so she sold them all. Add to that the old kitchen utensils and newspapers she collected… the old man collecting recyclables had another full cart. Before leaving, he muttered, “You’re like a bottomless pit, never-ending…”

Ning Jia shrugged, "You can't blame me for this. It's because the previous owner loved to hoard things. I've been cleaning up for almost a week now."

The old man gave her a thumbs up, "You're a really hardworking girl. This house used to be a mess and uninhabitable, but now it's completely transformed, like magic."

Ning Jia laughed and said, "Isn't this to save money? If we weren't poor, who would do this hard work?"

The old man said, "You're educated and hardworking, so being poor is only temporary. I think your better days are yet to come."

Ning Jia smiled slightly, "Thank you, sir. I appreciate your kind words."

Everything was ready, but on Saturday morning, someone who was supposed to be packing up to move inexplicably appeared in the park.

Ning Jia, who appeared suddenly, was not there to deliver food to the dwarfs. She brought nothing with her and immediately lay down lazily on the grass, gazing blankly at the azure sky.

She had been busy moving and earning extra money these days and completely forgot her colleague's reminder. It wasn't until she received the official notification from HR that she realized she had been "optimized" out of the company.

Why should she get the chance? Even though she hasn't been working overtime lately, her work hasn't suffered at all, and her efficiency is high. The client is extremely satisfied. Even if there were to be optimization, it wouldn't be her turn. This messed up world…

Damn it, if I'd known I'd be laid off, I wouldn't have so readily paid a year's rent. Now my savings are practically gone, my only assets are my last month's salary and the n+1 bonus I don't even know when I'll get it...

Now, forget about saving money; she's even lost her main source of income. Her savings plan has been forced to a halt!

So annoying, so annoying, so annoying~ Although going to work is annoying too, being broke is even more annoying than not having money.

Ning Jia looked up at the sky and sighed, her brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a random fly.

"Sister Ningjia, don't be sad."

Suddenly, her trouser leg felt heavy. Looking down, she saw that Little Star had appeared out of nowhere, with two cute little pigtails swaying and one little hand grabbing Ning Jia's cotton pants.

"What's wrong, Star?"

Ning Jia forced a smile at her, and then saw the little girl grab her trouser leg and slowly climb onto her calf to stand firmly. With one little hand behind her back, she carefully maintained her balance, wobbling and taking quite a while to reach Ning Jia's thigh.

Xingxing tilted her little head up to look at Ningjia, blinked her big eyes, and suddenly stretched out her little hand that was hidden behind her back, "Sister, here, have this!"

Her mysterious look amused Ning Jia. The little one had been hiding for a long time, probably unaware that from Ning Jia's vantage point, she had already seen the coin-sized wreath in her hand.

"Wow--"

Ning Jia feigned surprise and even extended her palm so that she could place the wreath in her hand. She carefully examined the little person's thoughtful gift for a while: although the wreath was not large, it was very colorful and was woven from several kinds of small flowers. The color scheme was elegant and gentle, with a texture like an oil painting.

"Thank you, little star, I like it very much."

Ning Jia wore the colorful flower wreath as a ring on her finger and dangled it from side to side for Xingxing to see.

Xingxing mustered up her courage to give the gift, but then became shy again, blushing and giggling as Ning Jia gently patted her head with her finger.

"Hmph, traitor! Didn't we agree to send them all together?"

Guoguo, who arrived a little late, carefully carried several small flower wreaths. Xingxing, seeing this, suddenly realized, "Ah, I forgot."

"I'm sorry," Xingxing apologized sheepishly.

"Hmph, I forgive you." Guoguo ordered her around with a sense of entitlement, "Come and help me."

"Oh." Xingxing quickly climbed off Ningjia's lap, ran over, and took the two flower wreaths from Guoguo's arms.

Ning Jia obediently spread her right hand and placed it beside her leg, watching with great interest as the two little people busied themselves. Listening to the two adorable children chatting away, her heart melted.

I really want to give each of them a candy. Sweet little people are perfect for eating sweet candy, but unfortunately, they can't eat these snacks yet.

Xingxing counted the flower wreaths, looking incredulous. "Wow, Guoguo, you made so many!"

Guoguo gave her a "you're an idiot" look. "This flower wreath can be worn on your finger. Sister Ningjia has ten fingers, so we need to prepare ten. Hurry up, there are more over there."

Hearing that Guoguo had prepared ten flower wreaths for herself, Ning Jia was immediately taken aback. "You don't need that many, Guoguo, don't tire yourself out."

Guoguo stood on tiptoe and placed the flower wreaths in Ningjia's hands one by one. "But making flower wreaths is very simple. I can make a lot in a day!"

Seeing that Ning Jia didn't quite believe her, Xingxing nodded, "You can make a lot, but I only made one yesterday because I went chasing butterflies..."

As she talked, Xingxing felt that she was being very unreasonable, especially when she saw that Guoguo's flower wreath was even prettier than her own. She broke down and sat on the ground, wiping away her tears with her little hands.

"Don't cry, don't cry, your flower wreath is very pretty."

Ning Jia quickly stretched out her big hand and showed it to the little one, "Look how good it looks when worn, you could even sell it."

“Uh, no,” Ning Jia quickly changed her tune, not wanting the children to be “contaminated” by her values. “What I mean is, if this wreath were placed in the world of giants, many people would definitely like it.”

Unexpectedly, Guoguo suddenly became excited, "Wow, does that mean we can make lots and lots of money!"

"Before, when we were making sachets, the clan chief wouldn't let us make them together, but now we can make flower wreaths to sell!"

Xingxing nodded cutely beside her, "Yes, make flower wreaths and sell them!"

Ning Jia looked up at the sky speechlessly: ...Okay, it's too late.

Unexpectedly, these two children were corrupted by the evil capitalism so quickly.

Ning Jia was trying to figure out how to dissuade the two little ones from selling flower wreaths, but unexpectedly, Guo Guo went straight to Cang Lan:

"Sister Ningjia is unemployed, and she's so sad. To cheer her up, we should help her earn more money!"

She added with great concern, "We must work hard so that Ningjia won't even have enough to eat."

Ning Jia, who was listening nearby, once again wondered if the little people had some misunderstanding about her stinginess. "Actually, it's not that bad, really..."

But Guoguo completely ignored her words, her little face tense and serious. "Sister Ningjia, don't be stubborn, I understand."

Ning Jia sighed helplessly: No, child, you really don't understand...

What? Ning Jia can't go to work? Upon hearing this, the other little people's eyes widened, and they quickly gathered around, chattering excitedly:

"I think not having to go to work is great." "It is great, but then there won't be that... salary, right?" "What's salary?" "Salary is money for food." "Oh no, that's terrible! Ning Jia is going to go hungry!" "Oh my god, going hungry is so miserable..."

Ning Jia, suddenly labeled as someone with a tragic fate, was both amused and exasperated, but the distress of being laid off dissipated considerably.

She suddenly sat up on the grass, patted the grass blades off her arms, wiped away her frown, and returned to her usual self.

The little people are right. She has food and shelter now; she's just unemployed, not starving to death on the streets. She can always find another job. If this place won't keep her, there are plenty of other places that will.

Cang Lan was also somewhat surprised by Ning Jia's unemployment. She walked to Ning Jia's side and asked with concern, "Lord Ning Jia, are you doing alright?"

Ning Jia shook her head and whispered to her, "Actually, I still have some savings. The company will also provide some compensation for layoffs. Even if I don't go to work, it will be enough to live on for a while."

Canglan nodded as if she understood, and then whispered, "If you need money, you can take the money in my clan's account."

"How can this be allowed?" Ning Jia refused decisively. Even if she was broke, she couldn't embezzle the living expenses of those petty people!

Canglan stroked her chin. "I've already discussed it with my clansmen. Consider it a loan to you for temporary use."

“That won’t work either.” Ning Jia shook her head vigorously. “If it really comes to that, I can still deliver food or packages. I won’t really starve to death.”

In short, she would never use the money of the dwarves!

Seeing Ning Jia's resolute attitude, Cang Lan was quite surprised, and the look in her eyes changed slightly.

Canglan beckoned Guoguo over, then called over the other tribespeople. They all deliberately went to a corner where Ningjia couldn't see them, gathered together, and whispered something. Then Guoguo, like a little squirrel, hopped and skipped back to report the good news to Ningjia:

"Sister Ningjia, the clansmen all agree."

Huh? You agreed to what? Ning Jia was completely bewildered.

"We'll make flower wreaths together and sell them for money!" Guoguo grinned, spinning around happily. "Now I can earn money too~~~"

"If you make money selling flower wreaths, you'll have food to eat."

It seems the servants are genuinely afraid she'll starve; they've even increased their workload. Ning Jia suddenly felt a warm glow in her heart.

She gently raised her right hand and looked at the beautiful wreath on her index finger. She wondered what method the little people had used, but the wreath had not withered or fallen apart at all; it was exactly the same as when it was first given to her.

Under the bright sunlight, Ning Jia raised her right hand, squinted at the flower wreath ring on her hand, and suddenly her mind started to wander: This flower wreath business... doesn't seem like it's not impossible to do?

Just then, Canglan and the others returned. Canglan first told them about the tribespeople's willingness to make flower wreaths, and then asked Ningjia:

"Lord Ning Jia, in the world of giants, can this wreath really be sold?"

"I think we can give it a try."

Ning Jia showed them the wreath on her finger, saying, "Look, if this wreath were sold as jewelry, like a ring, people would probably buy it."

"Besides rings, we can make them bigger, like a floral wreath bracelet, or smaller, like a floral wreath necklace..."

Ning Jia spoke excitedly, while the little people listened in a daze: So this is how the world of giants plays?

Seeing everyone's excited expressions, Ning Jia simply searched for some pictures of flower jewelry on her phone and began explaining them to them:

"Look, for example, this real flower ring is made by applying glue to create the real flower, so it can be preserved permanently."

"Wow--"

Although it wasn't the first time the little people had seen a mobile phone, they were always amazed by the pictures that appeared on it, and the giant's ingenuity also broadened their horizons.

Seeing that some of the little figures, like He Meng, were already a bit confused, Ning Jia quickly changed the subject, "Ahem, let's not do anything complicated for now. Let's just do some flower wreaths as usual and try it out."

Now that we've moved to the park, wildflowers are everywhere, so we don't have to worry about the materials needed to make flower wreaths. But to our surprise, the real challenge lies in the picking process.

A strong wind blew through the woods, and Guoguo struggled to take her short steps in the wind, dodging left and right, but still got her face covered in willow catkins carried by the wind.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~" She puffed out her cheeks and blew and blew with all her might, finally managing to blow away the willow catkins, but soon her face was covered in them again.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! These willow catkins are so annoying!"

On the other side, He Meng, holding a spear, waved it left and right while mocking, "You little fool, I told you not to come out and pick flowers. There are so many willow catkins, only someone with my skills can avoid them."

Before she could finish speaking, a clump of willow catkins flew into He Meng's mouth at an extremely tricky angle, feinting.

He Meng: ...

She stood frozen in the wind, mouth agape, then erupted a deafening chorus of "Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!" "Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"