Chapter 37 Scallion Oil Noodles - We Lost

"What's going on? Why are you being so secretive?"

Ning Jia was a little confused, but she obediently walked to the sofa. As soon as she sat down, she was immediately surrounded by a group of little people, each with a look of amused curiosity on their faces.

Ning Jia: Suddenly I feel a little uneasy?

"Let me explain."

Canglan looked at the clansmen around her, cleared her throat, and said, "We have been a great trouble to you these past two days, with all the cooking and accommodations you have prepared. We are truly grateful."

Before she could finish speaking, the little creatures all nodded in unison, grinning and shouting "Thank you!" to Ning Jia. Countless soft words of gratitude reached Ning Jia's ears at the same time, making her blush. She quickly waved her hand, "It was nothing, no need to be so polite."

“That won’t do,” Snow Grass said, clearly unable to contain herself any longer. “According to the rules of our little people…”

Ning Jia subconsciously replied, "You won't eat food offered with contempt?"

That's what I mean.

Canglan patted Xuecao's head, signaling her not to interrupt, and then continued, "So, we've decided to express our gratitude to you in the way that the Giants World does."

The way of the Giant World? Ning Jia was completely baffled. What did this mean?

It was rare to see Ning Jia so confused, so Cang Lan smiled and stroked her chin before quickly revealing the secret:

Simply put, it's a way of thanking you with money.

"After discussion among our clansmen, we have unanimously decided to give you 2,000 yuan as a token of our gratitude for this inconvenience. As for the exact amount, please withdraw it from our account."

She looked at Ning Jia somewhat embarrassedly as she spoke, "We're not quite sure about the rules of money in the Giants world. Is this amount appropriate? Is it a bit too little?"

"That's quite a lot! Really!"

Ning Jia hadn't recovered from the shock when she blurted out, "What? After all, who would leave two thousand yuan for a friend who's only been entertaining them for a day or two?"

She felt this was really inappropriate and was about to decline when Canglan said, "We have a small suggestion regarding this money."

"We hope you can buy yourself something you truly want, not just the food, drinks, and daily necessities you usually use, but something you genuinely want to buy for yourself, is that alright?"

Huh?

Ning Jia was a little confused. So this was how they were going to give her 2000 yuan? It was quite a novel gift, and she... well, she was tempted to accept it (just kidding).

Faced with those little faces that seemed to say, "Please accept this, please accept this," Ning Jia couldn't bear to refuse. After thinking for a moment:

"2000 is still a bit too much. How about this, I'll take 500 yuan and then buy what I want as you suggested, okay?"

...

After a heated negotiation, both parties finally reached an agreement:

Ning Jia transferred 1,000 yuan from the Little People's account for her own use and informed them how to handle the money.

Although Ning Jia couldn't think of anything else she wanted to buy besides daily necessities.

With this unresolved question and a heart full of emotion, Ning Jia embarked on her delivery journey today.

What is it that I really want to buy?

Ning Jia kept thinking about this problem on her delivery route that afternoon.

During Ning Jia's student days, Ms. Ning's restaurant business was booming, and her family was well-off. Sometimes, she didn't even have to ask for anything; Ms. Ning would deliver it to her in advance. For example, the pencil case that her best friend Liu Yue envied—Ning Jia had several different styles at the time, all of which Ms. Ning brought back from the provincial capital.

Content with a modest life and with her parents always giving in to her every whim, Ning Jia developed a lack of possessiveness towards many things from a young age. Unlike her peers, she didn't crave snacks, toys, pretty clothes, novel stationery, or trendy gadgets.

By the time Ning Jia was admitted to university, the family restaurant had already closed down, but Ms. Ning still used her last savings to ensure that Ning Jia could attend university for four years and graduate smoothly.

Just as she found her first job, Ms. Ning suddenly fell ill. She rarely recalled the hardships that followed, but from then on, she gradually transformed from a naive student who was insensitive to money into a stingy working woman.

She only used those online shopping apps occasionally to snag deals and when she urgently needed to buy daily necessities; her shopping cart was always empty. Now that she'd spent 1000 yuan, she was truly at a loss.

After delivering the goods, Ning Jia didn't go straight home. Instead, she went to a nearby shopping plaza. She sat down and had a sip of water. She then searched on Douban for posts like "What are some cost-effective things I can buy for myself?" but didn't find any satisfactory answers.

She turned off her phone and went shopping again.

1000 yuan isn't a lot, but it's not a little either. How about I buy some clothes? I don't think I've bought any clothes in a long time.

Ning Jia started looking at women's clothing from various brands, but found the styles all strange and unwearable. She wondered if she had been out of touch with fashion for too long, or if the clothes were simply unattractive. After looking for a while, she finally found one that seemed alright and was about to take it down to try it on when she glanced at the price tag and immediately put it back down.

Goodness, it's just an ordinary shirt, and you can't even get it for 1000 yuan.

Ning Jia went downstairs to the food court again, hoping to buy some desserts she hadn't bought before. She looked at several shops, but there wasn't anything she particularly wanted to eat. Either the food was pre-made, or it looked very heavy in flavor, and she had no idea what was in it. She figured it was better to just make it herself at home.

Ning Jia had almost finished browsing the huge mall, but she hadn't found anything she wanted to buy. However, she did find a nice quality shawl that would suit her perfectly. After haggling with the salesperson, she got a discount from 15% to 20%, and even got two pairs of socks to be thrown in for free, before finally paying for it.

Looking at the time again, it was already quite late. Ning Jia herself wasn't particularly hungry, but the little people at home hadn't had dinner yet.

Never mind, I'll go back first. I'll search online again when I get back and see if there's anything that will catch her eye.

Ning Jia carefully put the shawl into her backpack and was about to leave when an open counter in front of her suddenly caught her attention...

After all that trouble, Ning Jia got home close to eight o'clock, later than usual, but she felt very relaxed because she had finally spent that 1,000 yuan.

She changed her shoes at the door and had just entered the house when she noticed with her sharp eyes that there seemed to be several unfolded tissues in the corner of the wall, with some small, dark footprints on the white tissues.

It seems some petty people have learned to be clean now. But... it does use up a bit of paper.

Ning Jia smiled and walked into the living room, saying to the little figures scattered on the sofa and floor, "Sorry to keep you waiting. Are you all hungry? I'll cook now."

“No, no,” the little people shook their heads. “We ate too much at noon, and you left us a lot of food. We just ate some, and we’re not hungry at all now.”

Chief Canglan put down the plain pumpkin seeds in his hand and asked with concern, "Lord Ningjia, have you had dinner?"

"Not yet," Ning Jia shook her head. "Then I'll go make myself something to eat first. By the way, aren't you guys hungry?"

The little people all shook their heads, looking completely uninterested in the food.

It was getting late, and Ning Jia didn't want to work anymore, so she made a simple lettuce and beef noodle soup. The lettuce and braised beef were readily available, and the sauce for the noodles was scallion oil sauce made from scallions that grew in the yard. It looked dark, but it tasted especially delicious.

After finishing a bowl of noodles, Ning Jia leaned back comfortably in her chair, stretched out her arms and legs, stared at the ceiling for a while, and then got up to wash the dishes and tidy up the kitchen.

She checked the weather forecast on her phone and said to the guests in the living room, "It seems the forecast is for rain tonight. Why don't you stay another night?"

Apart from a few people muttering things like "I really want to bask in the sun" or "I miss the big tree at home," the other little people didn't have any objections. Canglan looked at Ningjia apologetically and said, "I'm really sorry to bother you again for another night."

Ning Jia's first reaction was, "It's okay, but please don't give me a thank-you gift this time."

Upon hearing this, the little ones all turned their gazes toward them:

Oh right! I forgot to ask, has the thank-you gift they gave Ning Jia been used up yet?

Ning Jia knew without asking what the little ones wanted to know most right now, and winked at them, "That 1,000 yuan has already been spent by me."

Huh?!

The little people, who had been quiet just moments before, suddenly erupted into a cacophony of questions: "How did you spend it all?", "Did you buy something delicious?", "Is it really all gone?"...

The young men remained completely silent. He Meng looked at Shi Ying, Shi Ying looked at Xue Cao, Xue Cao looked at Dao Ya, Dao Ya looked at Gan Cao, and Gan Cao, with a sullen face, looked at Bai Su reluctantly and said:

We lost!

Ning Jia, who was listening nearby, asked with great interest, "What did you lose?"

Shi Ying puffed out her cheeks, clearly unconvinced. "We lost the bet. The loser has to do something for Bai Su."

Looks like it's a 1v5, Ning Jia chuckled, but she wasn't surprised that Bai Su won. "What kind of bet did you guys make?"

Although Bai Su, the winner, had a calm expression, her voice was extremely cheerful:

“I bet them whether I would spend the money today. They all thought I was reluctant to spend it and would definitely bring it back, but I thought the opposite.”

What?

Ning Jia was speechless: "Am I really that stingy in your eyes?"

"Yes," everyone, including Bai Su, said in unison.

"Bai Su, what's wrong with you?" He Meng asked angrily. "Didn't you bet that Ning Jia would spend the money? Why are you saying that too?"

Bai Su looked at her like she was an idiot, "These two things don't conflict. It's true that Ning Jia is reluctant to spend money, but the world of giants is full of temptations. Even someone like her can't help but spend money."

Wow, impressive. Ning Jia almost wanted to give Bai Su a thumbs up for what she said. She was clearly still a child whose values ​​hadn't been impacted by consumerism, yet she already had a sense of vigilance towards consumer society. Ning Jia felt completely inferior to her.

"Alright, stop rambling. Ning Jia, tell me quickly, what did you buy?" Xue Cao asked anxiously.

"Don't worry, I'll reveal the answer shortly."

Ning Jia chuckled, picked up the backpack hanging in the entryway, and took out... a stack of cards.