Chapter 45 Dragon Fruit La la la la

After these days of interaction, Ning Jia has become quite familiar with the little people's unique thought processes.

At that moment, she noticed the little ones were looking at her with such adoration. After a moment of surprise, she quickly guessed what they were imagining, and burst out laughing so hard she could hardly breathe.

"Hahaha, hahaha...you, you've misunderstood..."

"The beef we're eating today wasn't hunted by me on the grasslands!"

Seeing the little ones' bewildered expressions, Ning Jia explained with a smile:

"The meat we usually eat is bought at the market, and it's not even from bison; it's from a relative of bison... that is, from domesticated cattle..."

He Meng subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief: She knew it! If Ning Jia could beat a wild buffalo, then she could beat a tiger!

The other little ones seemed to understand but not quite: so money is so powerful, it can not only buy fruit, but also meat.

While the little ones were still digesting the new knowledge, Ning Jia pressed her advantage, pointing to the milk in the small dish and saying:

"Actually, this milk is also produced by cows. Don't be fooled by how big cows are; they eat grass and produce milk, which is really amazing."

He Meng thought for a moment, "I don't think that's right. Such a powerful cow is going to give its milk and meat to the giants, so the giants must be the most powerful."

“Strictly speaking, it should be our culture that is more advanced,” Ning Jia said. “A long time ago, we couldn’t eat beef often, but our ancestors found a way to domesticate cattle and other animals, and thus, animal husbandry came into being…”

She rambled on for a while, then noticed that He Meng and the little ones looked a bit confused, so she quickly stopped talking:

"In short, the power of civilization is far greater than the power of an individual, and that is what is truly powerful."

"Oh~"

The little ones nodded as if they understood, but not quite. So this thing called civilization is so amazing.

Canglan and Zhelan, who were sitting next to the sofa, had obviously heard what was said. Canglan smiled at Zhelan and said, "It seems that letting the children watch TV is not a bad thing."

“However,” she glanced up at the clock on the wall, “isn’t it almost time?”

At Canglan's prompting, Ningjia quickly grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, which was met with a chorus of groans.

"I want to watch TV!" Guoguo threw a tantrum on the sofa. "TV, TV, TV!"

Xingxing blinked her big, watery eyes and, pulling Tuantuan along, tried her best to be cute towards Ningjia: "Sister Ningjia~~"

“No,” Ning Jia said firmly, and then casually hid the TV remote in the drawer.

"You agreed to watch TV for 40 minutes, but it's been almost an hour now. You should be grateful!"

Ning Jia actually wanted to watch TV while working, but she said righteously, "Watching too much TV is harmful to people and will turn you into couch potatoes."

What?! Watching TV for too long will turn you into a potato?!

The children's eyes immediately fell on the potato in Ning Jia's hand. When they saw her place the potato on the cutting board and skillfully cut it into eight pieces, they couldn't help but shrink back.

I don't want to become a potato! I don't want to be cut into pieces, and I definitely don't want to be eaten!

Tuantuan was so scared that she cried on the spot. Guoguo and Xingxing trembled all over and hugged each other tightly in fear. The others were also trembling with fear until Ningjia explained that "couch potato" was just a metaphor and that this potato was not the real potato. Only then did they come to their senses.

Tsk, I can't talk too much to you illiterate little people, lest you always startle me.

Ning Jia finally managed to coax the little ones into shutting up and focused on chopping potatoes. After chopping the potatoes, she peeled the tomatoes, chopped them into chunks, and then went to the yard to cut some scallions...

Just then, a faint aroma wafted from the kitchen, indicating that the beef was almost done stewing. Ning Jia perked up and carried the chopped vegetables into the kitchen.

...

"Dinner's ready!"

As evening fell, Ning Jia emerged from the kitchen carrying a plate of... white rice, announcing to the little ones:

"There was only one dish for dinner tonight, but it was delicious!"

"This dish isn't just plain white rice, is it?" Daoya, who was already starving, asked.

"Of course not, it's just that this dish goes especially well with white rice, so we serve the rice first."

As Ning Jia spoke, she used a rice spoon to place a small ball of fluffed rice into each of the small dishes.

As if by magic, she pulled out a... slender little iron spoon and handed one to each person.

This small iron spoon is about the same size as the spoon we used to eat sour plum powder when we were kids. Ning Jia searched online for a long time before finally finding it. It's about the same size as a large soup spoon for the little people, but it's good enough for eating.

After everything was ready, Ning Jia placed a heat-resistant mat in the center of the coffee table before carefully carrying over the large clay pot.

As soon as the lid was opened, a rich aroma wafted out, and the little people couldn't help but swallow. They all looked up at the tall casserole, but couldn't see anything, and became very anxious.

Ning Jia chuckled, quickly ladled out a large bowl, and placed it in front of the little people:

"This is the main course for tonight: beef stew with tomatoes and potatoes!"

Wow~ It looks delicious!

Under the expectant gazes of the little ones, Ning Jia held up a spoon and poured the steaming hot dish over each person's rice:

"Eat it while it's hot, it won't taste good when it's cold."

The rice and dishes were steaming hot, making them impossible to eat with one's hands. Daoya looked at the small iron spoon in her hand and quickly understood what was going on. She picked up the spoon, scooped up a piece of tomato, blew on it to cool it down, and then put it in her mouth.

Oh~~ So that's how you eat it?

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on and started using the new tableware. The small iron spoons and porcelain plates clinked gently together, creating the symphony of dinner.

"Mmm~" "Wow~" "Mmm~"

The little people didn't bother to talk; they all buried themselves in their food.

The bright red tomatoes exude an enticing sweet and sour aroma, the beef, cut into small pieces, is stewed until tender yet still chewy, the plump potatoes are soft, sweet, and melt in your mouth, and then there's the broth! It has the sweet and sour taste of tomatoes and the meaty aroma of beef, paired with white rice, it's simply a taste bud killer, making it irresistible!

"Ning Jia, I want more!" Dao Ya quickly held up her empty plate and asked for more rice.

"Me too!" "Me too!" "I want more soup!" "I want more potatoes!" "I want beef!"...

"Don't rush, don't rush..."

Ning Jia's large spoon moved left and right, feeding people in all directions, keeping her very busy.

She had been worried that the little people wouldn't be used to eating meat, but it turned out she had been overthinking it, and the corners of her mouth remained upturned.

The entire casserole of tomato beef was devoured, and even Ning Jia didn't get to eat more than a few pieces. In the end, she could only use the last bit of broth to soak her rice.

After cleaning up the dishes with the little people, Ning Jia added "Tomato Beef and Potatoes" to the little people's cookbook, which had been upgraded to a notebook, and was in a very good mood.

The first battle was a success. It seems we can cook more meat dishes for the little ones in the future.

...

The next day, Ning Jia, still full of enthusiasm, was pondering whether to make chicken wings or chicken legs for lunch when she noticed the little ones looking dejected and unhappy. She asked curiously:

"What's wrong with everyone? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

"It's not that I didn't sleep well."

Cang Lan looked distressed and pointed to her lower abdomen. "Perhaps we ate too much meat last night and have some indigestion. Everyone is constipated this morning."

"What?" Ning Jia was stunned. "Are you alright? Do you want to rest for a bit?"

Compared to severe diarrhea, the pain of not being able to poop is less, but it's still very uncomfortable if you can't poop for a long time.

Ning Jia's mind raced. "How about I go buy some dragon fruit today? This fruit can relieve constipation."

Cang Lan had never heard of "dragon fruit" and knew nothing about its medicinal effects, but since she had no suitable herbs on hand, she had no choice but to try anything and trust Ning Jia's words. "Then I'll have to trouble you."

"Don't worry, I've got it covered."

Ning Jia then took out a large bottle of yogurt and poured a full dish for each of the little ones. "Yogurt also helps with digestion. Drinking some will make things go more smoothly."

Is it true or false? The little people were skeptical.

When Ning Jia returned with a large bag of dragon fruit, the yogurt on the coffee table had been finished. The little ones were all running around, some jumping and hopping, some climbing up and down, some rolling around on the floor, and some running around...

"Is everyone... all better now?"

Seeing how energetic the little ones were, Ning Jia assumed that the constipation problem had been solved.

Canglan shook her head quietly, "No."

"But I suspect that constipation is also related to prolonged sitting, so I suggest that everyone move around and clear their meridians, which may help."

It was obvious that the exercise was not very effective; the dwarfs' outdoor toilets remained deserted, with not a single person in sight.

"My stomach is so bloated!" "Me too!" "Have you pooped?" "No, what about you?" "Ugh, me neither!" "I really want to poop!"...

The little ones were exhausted from running around and collapsed on the sofa, panting. They shared their pooping experiences with each other, and all of them looked at their bulging bellies with despair, feeling that the situation was not optimistic.

"Don't panic, everyone, the laxative is here."

Ning Jia placed a large plate of sliced ​​dragon fruit on the coffee table and gestured for people to eat.

Whether it was the dragon fruit that worked or the result of all the combined efforts, not long after, a little person suddenly clutched his stomach, hurriedly ran out of the room through the small door, and rushed towards the vegetable garden in the yard.

Then came the second, the third, the fourth... The small vegetable garden was soon overflowing with people.

The outdoor toilet number two under the persimmon tree was also full of little people, all blushing and pulling hard on the wild grass under the tree.

"Oh no, what do I do... there are no seats available!"

A few little ones who arrived late looked at the two toilets, which were both full, with miserable faces and their little bottoms tucked in, looking around, not knowing where to go.