Chapter 35 Don't come any closer while we're having a big meal!

After finalizing the menu, Ning Jia quickly began her frantic cooking spree in the kitchen.

Before long, waves of aroma wafted in, drifting from the kitchen into the living room, causing the little ones to stop what they were doing and frantically sniff the air.

"Wow, what's this delicious food? It smells so good, it's like happiness!"

"It's sweet and fragrant, I really want to eat it!"

"It should be corn, right? He Meng just said that there would be corn dishes today."

"Yohoo~ It's corn! I love corn the most~"

"It smells so good! I want to eat anything Ning Jia makes, no matter what it is!"

The little creatures were engrossed in the aroma of the food, whispering amongst themselves. But Ning Jia, caught in the eye of the culinary storm, couldn't enjoy it at all, because her sense of smell had been completely lost…

For some reason, she was in an exceptionally good mood today and ended up cooking a lot more food than she intended.

At this moment, the aromas of all the dishes in the kitchen assaulted her, surrounding her completely. The fragrance of the stir-fried vegetables was particularly overwhelming, almost suffocating her. Gradually, the expression on her face changed from initial bliss to numbness.

This loss of smell is said to be called "cooking syndrome," which is essentially olfactory fatigue.

Because of the constant smell of food, the brain mistakenly judges that the body is constantly eating and has already ingested enough food. Therefore, it automatically reduces the person's appetite, and naturally, they have little appetite for the food prepared in front of them.

As the dishes were placed on the counter, Ning Jia thought to herself, "There are so many dishes today, I need to have the servants tidy up the coffee table first to make room..."

She opened the kitchen door, put on her apron, and walked into the living room. She had just begun to say, "Everyone, please..." when her eyes widened in shock at what she saw before her; she nearly burst out laughing.

Several tiny mud figures, their bodies filthy and faces covered in mud so thick that their features were obscured, were playfully frolicking on the clean, shiny floor, leaving black footprints with each step, quickly turning the floor into a muddy mess.

Not far away were a few little mud figures. They seemed to have just climbed down from the windowsill, jumped onto the floor, and started running around as if they were racing to see who could run faster, leaving behind a trail of dark little footprints...

Ning Jia: ...

Her heart trembled, and she forced herself to remain calm as she glanced at the windowsill again before abruptly looking away.

Unexpectedly, the mud left on the windowsill was even more substantial...

The once pristine white windowsill was ravaged, covered in black grime, almost as if smeared with a layer of filth. This sight caused Ning Jia's blood pressure to nearly spike on the spot...

Don't be angry with them, they definitely didn't mean it. Don't be angry with them, they definitely didn't mean it. Don't be angry with them, they definitely didn't mean it...

Ning Jia silently repeated the words six times in her mind, took a deep breath, and then, barely suppressing her anger, asked:

"Where did you go out to? Why are you all covered in dirt?"

"I didn't do anything special, just played in the water in the yard for a while, hehe, playing in the water was so much fun~"

The taller little clay figure in the lead spoke naturally. It was only when she opened her mouth that Ning Jia realized that this little figure, who looked like an eel, was actually He Meng.

Playing in the water? Ning Jia glanced outside. The rain had indeed stopped pouring and was now just a light drizzle. Going out to play in the water... didn't seem like a bad idea? For a moment, she didn't know what to say.

He Meng was completely oblivious to Ning Jia's unusual behavior, and with a relaxed demeanor, she hopped to Ning Jia's feet in a few steps. "Ning Jia, I'm so hungry! Is dinner ready?"

Ning Jia was so frightened that she quickly shrank back, taking a step back as fast as lightning, keeping her distance from the "dangerous" little mud monkey. "Don't come any closer!"

He Meng, who was being disliked, looked completely bewildered and even a little aggrieved.

She snorted, about to complain, when suddenly a familiar female voice rang out:

"I'm sorry to have troubled you again."

Canglan arrived at some point and glared at Hemeng helplessly. "Wash yourself clean first, then come and wipe the floor clean."

"No need, no need, I'll wipe the floor later." Ning Jia was afraid that some people would make it dirtier if they wiped it. She quickly waved her hand.

"Lunch is ready. Why don't we let the children wash up and eat first?"

"Oh," He Meng heard this and was about to walk forward when Ning Jia stopped her loudly, "Just stand there and don't move! Don't move! Wait for me!"

Her stern, tense expression startled the little people, who all stood obediently in place, too afraid to move.

Ning Jia quickly went to the bathroom to grab a basin, but when she came out, she realized it was a washbasin, so she quickly went back and changed it into a foot basin.

Hmph, those smelly little mud monkeys don't deserve to use my fragrant washbasin.

"Come in, everyone, I'll take you to take a shower."

Ning Jia returned to the living room with a cold face, placed the blue foot basin on the ground, and the children all said "Oh" and didn't make a fuss. They obediently jumped into the basin one by one.

Standing in the basin, He Meng wiped the mud off her face and stared intently at Ning Jia's expression. Seeing that Ning Jia still had a stern face and didn't dare to be as noisy as usual, the other little ones also obediently sat down in the basin, one after another, and lowered their heads to play with their little toes with their mischievous little dirty hands.

Seeing how cooperative the little figures were, Ning Jia's anger had actually subsided considerably. However, since she rarely lost her temper, she wasn't sure when it would be best to calm down, so she kept a straight face until she moved a basin of small clay figures into the bathroom shower.

It's been raining for the past few days, and the solar water heater ran out of hot water long ago. Ningjia switched the valve, turned on the gas water heater, and adjusted the temperature to lukewarm before picking up the showerhead and filling the basin with water.

The little ones had only ever seen "waterfalls" from kitchen faucets and water from pipes in the yard before, and this was the first time they had seen such an interesting water sprayer. They all forgot to be well-behaved and suddenly stood up from the warm water, ran to the basin, and stared at the water sprayer with curiosity.

"Wow, it looks like it's raining," Xingxing exclaimed softly, blinking her big eyes.

Faced with several pairs of bright eyes, Ning Jia couldn't hold back any longer. Her serious expression crumbled in an instant, and her voice softened. "First, wash off the mud. I'll give you a little rain performance."

"Yay! Yay! It's raining!"

The little ones, soaking in the warm water, cheered and busily scrubbed the mud off their bodies with their tiny hands. Because they were still wearing grass skirts, they carefully parted the dry grass to wash their little bellies, short legs, and so on. Before long, the clear water in the basin turned black.

"Tsk, that's really dirty."

Ning Jia complained, but she still patiently changed the water, then brought soap and a foaming net, and after creating a lot of foam, she applied a little white foam to each of the little figures.

"This is soap, for bathing, you can't eat it."

The little ones nodded, cupped a few bubbles in their tiny hands, blew on them, and the bubbles floated to the surface of the water.

"Wow, it's so pretty!" "Hehe, this is so much fun!" "Ningjia, Ningjia, I want to bubble again!"

The children were having a great time, and gradually they got clean. Ningjia changed the water and noticed that the little mud figures were gone, replaced by clean, adorable little ones. Suddenly, she felt playful and, taking advantage of their inattention, raised the showerhead high, then chuckled.

"Watch out, it's going to rain heavily!"

It was as if warm water had fallen from the sky, splashing the little people all over their faces and heads. They wiped the water off their faces, giggled, and shouted, "Fun! Fun!" as they frolicked and played in the basin.

"—Um, shouldn't we have lunch by now?"

Bai Su had somehow climbed onto the bathroom sink and calmly reminded him.

Oh, I almost forgot. Ning Jia quickly grabbed a few tissues, let the little ones roll around on them a few times, and then used a hairdryer to dry them for a few minutes to make sure each little one was dry before rushing to the kitchen.

"Friends, dinner's ready! Let's tidy up the coffee table!"

Ning Jia shouted from the kitchen, and the little ones in the living room immediately stopped what they were doing and quickly gathered up their personal items scattered on the coffee table—straw bags, flower wreaths, pebbles, a seed, etc.—and put them in the storage space under the coffee table.

"The dishes today are plentiful!"

Ning Jia, with the air of a master chef, announced, and then brought over a plate and placed it on the coffee table.

The plate was colorful and looked very appealing. She smiled and introduced it to everyone: "This is pine nut corn."

The little ones gathered around, and looking at the fragrant dishes, they all exclaimed "Wow!"

Next up was "broccoli and mushroom stir-fry," the colors of which looked very appetizing. One little one exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, it's mushrooms!"

Then there's "Cucumber Salad" (without chili peppers), "Salted Peanuts", "Three Treasures of the Earth" (without green peppers and fried), "Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes" (with sugar)... Of course, all of the above dishes are low in oil and salt, and there's no need to add soy sauce.

Each dish drew countless "wows" from the little people, which pleased Ning Jia greatly and swept away the fatigue from working for most of the day.

A row of various dishes were arranged in a U-shape on the coffee table, with a small spoon and toothpicks next to each plate for the little ones to help themselves.

The little people, one after another, were surrounded by the fragrant and delicious food, and were overjoyed, but also conflicted. With so many delicious things to eat, which one should they eat first?

Ning Jia smiled, clearly someone who had never eaten at a buffet before, and suggested, "You can try a little of everything to taste, and once you've decided which dish you like, you can take more."

That makes sense. The little ones suddenly understood, and one by one they began to scramble to put food on their plates. Canglan didn't rush to serve the food, but instead reminded them:

"Don't take too much at once, so as not to waste it."

Ning Jia wasn't worried about that, since the porcelain plates used by the little people for eating were just vinegar dishes, and no matter how much they tried to fill them, the capacity was very limited.

The little people were quite worried: there were so many delicious dishes, but the plate was only so small, it wouldn't be able to hold them all.

At this point, some clever and resourceful people begin to put their intelligence to use.

The growing rice sprouts stood directly next to the plate, tasting each bite, chewing and chewing, then moving to another dish after a few bites. After several rounds, they ate until they were stuffed without needing any more food.

With the strength of Quartz, he asked Ning Jia for a larger rice bowl, filled it up, and pushed it forward with all his might, bringing back a full load of dishes in one go. He then sat down at the dining area on the other side of the coffee table, very satisfied, and began to eat.

The quick-witted Bai Su, along with He Meng, Xue Cao, and Gan Cao, agreed that each person would put a different dish on their plate, effectively saving time in selecting and serving the food. Soon, they gathered together to share the delicious meal.

The most creative one was Guoguo. She stood in front of the pine nut corn for a while, hesitated, and then suddenly her eyes lit up. She picked up a thin toothpick and skewered the golden corn kernels, red carrot chunks, and bright green cucumber chunks onto the toothpick. Finally, she added a pine nut, and she had a plate of pine nut corn in her hand!

Ning Jia, carrying a bowl of rice to serve some dishes, happened to see this scene and couldn't help but give her a thumbs up:

"Guoguo, you're so clever! You actually thought of eating these dishes like skewers."

To make it easier for the little people to eat, Ningjia cut each dish into small cubes, which are actually quite suitable for skewering and eating.

Guoguo, pleased with the praise, took a bite of the corn kernel on the toothpick and asked in confusion, "Sister Ningjia, what are skewers?"

"Skewers are different foods skewered together and eaten in a special dipping sauce..."

"Oh, that's just like me now."

Seeing Guoguo's lack of interest, Ning Jia smiled and shook her head, thinking to herself, "Kid, you have no idea what the charm of skewers is!"