Chapter 5 Fruit Stand: I Want to Get a Good Night's Sleep

Just then, a familiar little figure appeared in front of the "stall." Ning Jia, as if seeing a savior, exclaimed with delight, "Guoguo, you've finally come!"

"Hehe." Guoguo touched the little white flower on her head, a little embarrassed. "I dressed up quickly, so I'm late."

"It looks great!" Ning Jia praised without reservation, and the atmosphere immediately became much more relaxed with the arrival of this familiar face.

"Oh, right, I also brought a friend." Guoguo pulled the little figure hiding behind her over and introduced him to Ning Jia.

Ning Jia glanced at Guo Guo, who chuckled and winked at her. Ning Jia then smiled gently at the two little ones, saying tenderly, "Welcome!"

Looking at the adorable little girl with her big, bright eyes, Ning Jia's heart melted. She resisted the urge to shower her with gifts and asked, "What...what would you like to exchange for?"

Guoguo held out her empty hands and shook her head. "I have nothing to exchange. It's the stars that I want to exchange."

Oh, so this cute girl with pigtails is called Xingxing (Star).

Ning Jia then turned her gaze to the little figure with big eyes and a round face, "Hello, Star, what do you want to exchange for?"

Xingxing shrank back timidly and whispered, "I...I want to switch to bananas."

Perhaps it's because there are so many bananas in the forest, but the little people seem to particularly love this fruit. Ning Jia smiled knowingly, "Okay, there are lots of bananas today, take your pick~"

Seeing that Xingxing seemed embarrassed to choose for herself, she directly took the largest banana and placed it in front of the two of them.

Xingxing didn't touch the banana immediately. Instead, she tilted her head, opened her big eyes, and said, "Big sister... can I trade you this?"

She took off a delicate little flower wreath that was wrapped around her arm, held it in her hands with some reluctance, and showed it to Ning Jia.

Guoguo then chimed in, "These flowers smell wonderful; they'll make the house smell nice."

"Really? Let me smell it."

Xingxing boldly placed the flower wreath on the grass. Ningjia curiously picked up the small wreath with her fingers, brought it close to her nose, and indeed it had a faint, pleasant fragrance.

On a whim, she put the wreath on her finger, turning it into a beautiful flower ring, and was immediately very pleased with herself.

Although this ring may seem useless, its emotional value is also important.

"This wreath is so beautiful, it must have taken a lot of thought to make it. How about I give you some apples too?"

“No need, that’s enough.” This time, Xingxing spoke up without Guoguo having to say anything.

"Alright then, welcome back next time!"

"Okay, goodbye, giant sister."

A banana was really too big for Xingxing's little body. The two little ones discussed it for a moment, each holding one end, and lifted the banana up like a log. Then, with tiny steps, they slowly walked away, making "heave-ho" sounds.

Ning Jia watched their departing figures, wondering where they lived in this garden, and how far it was from the lawn to their home.

However, He Meng and the others seem to move the fruit quite easily each time, so it should be fine, right?

Ning Jia imagined herself carrying a bundle of sugarcane, and just thinking about it made her realize how strenuous it would be. She couldn't help but admire the little people.

With the stars' patronage, Ningjia's fruit stall finally opened for business.

Since even tiny people like Xingxing dared to come and exchange for fruit, the others also emboldened themselves and slowly came over.

Someone else asked, "I don't have a flower wreath, but would herbs/sachets/floral water be okay?"

Ning Jia accepts all comers. The little people who have no concept of the market are quite honest. They would never think of trying to fool themselves with bad stuff.

Soon, the second transaction was also completed smoothly. The other party exchanged a sachet containing herbs for a banana and a few cherry tomatoes, and happily took them home.

Seeing that the giant had exchanged so many fruits for sachets, the other little people assumed that the giant really liked sachets, so everyone who came to "shop" brought several sachets with them.

A little boy traded a sachet for an apple, a little girl traded a sachet for half a honeydew melon, and other little people traded sachets for oranges and pears...

So, by the time all the food in the food containers was "sold out," Ning Jia had already collected more than a dozen small sachets...

Goodness, these sachets have become a form of hard currency.

Hmm... that works, right? I'll be using it every day anyway.

Ning Jia looked down and fiddled with the sachet, her heart inexplicably filled with joy. She even wondered if she should put a few sachets in her wardrobe. After all, the herbs that the little people picked themselves were definitely the most natural and cleanest, without that artificial fragrance smell, making them perfect for scenting clothes.

After all the fruit had been replaced, Canglan, who had been absent for a long time, finally appeared with Hemeng and Baisu.

Upon seeing the empty stall, He Meng cried out mournfully:

"Chief, there's no food left!"

Canglan showed no intention of comforting her, and instead reminded her, "What's the rush? There's still some food left over from the food you exchanged yesterday, isn't there?"

"But I want to eat an apple today," He Meng muttered softly.

Seeing He Meng looking dejected, Ning Jia couldn't help but reach out her index finger and gently pat her head. "What else do you want to eat? I'll save some for you next time."

He Meng nodded vigorously, "Then I want to eat pears!" After saying that, she praised, "Ning Jia, you are such a kind person."

Ning Jia chuckled, appearing calm on the surface, but secretly she was quite pleased with herself. After all, no one in the "World of Giants" had ever praised her like that.

After the two finished talking, Canglan came over and gave Ningjia a delicate wooden bottle with the mouth tightly sealed with grass leaves.

"Thank you for your generous gift. This is a thank-you gift on behalf of my clan—a calming flower dew. I wish you a good night's sleep."

"Thank you." Ning Jia was somewhat flattered that Cang Lan had even prepared a gift for her. "I'm not giving it to you for nothing. It's all a fair trade, so there's no need to be so polite."

Canglan shook her head. "Since my tribe came here, we have been suffering from food shortages. If it weren't for your kindness, my tribe would probably be starving again. This little gift is nothing."

Speaking of this, Ning Jia couldn't help but ask, "There really isn't much food in this little garden. There are quite a few of you. Are you going to stay here indefinitely?"

Canglan paused for a moment, then said, "It's really dangerous outside. Although there's not much food here, at least we won't be discovered by the giants."

“That’s true.” Ning Jia has been here quite a few times and has never seen anyone else. It’s definitely quite safe.

She checked the time and realized that an hour had passed without her noticing. It was almost ten o'clock, and it was time to go back.

Before leaving, she specifically asked Canglan, "You're new here, so you're probably lacking in food, clothing, and shelter. If there's anything you need, I'll bring it next time."

Canglan thought for a moment, "If possible, please bring some food. This is what we need most right now; the rest isn't urgent."

That day, Ning Jia arrived at the company early, opened the accounting app, and reviewed her recent expenses.

"It seems I've spent quite a bit of money lately buying fruit for the little people." She frowned, looking somewhat troubled.

Ning Jia's colleague, who looked half-asleep, sat down at her desk next to her and suddenly turned to look at her, exclaiming in surprise, "Jiajia, you look so radiant lately! What brand of foundation are you using?"

"Foundation? I didn't wear any makeup at all."

Ning Jia shook her head. How could she waste money on cosmetics? Coming to work clean and tidy was already the greatest respect she could give the company.

"Impossible, right?" Her colleague leaned closer and pointed to her smooth left cheek. "I remember you used to have pimples here. How come your skin looks so good lately?"

Ning Jia subconsciously touched her face. "I guess I'm sleeping better. I used to have trouble falling asleep and often had dreams at night, but these past few days I've fallen asleep soon after lying down and can wake up naturally in the morning."

"Wow, I'm so envious. I also have terrible sleep quality and I'm grumpy every morning. It's so annoying."

Ning Jia heard her colleague's words and suddenly had an idea. "Wait a minute."

She pulled a straw sachet, no bigger than a small tomato, from her canvas bag. "Put this by your bedside tonight; it can help you relax and sleep."

"Really?" My colleague took it with a hint of skepticism, sniffed it, and said, "The scent is indeed quite pleasant, but you're saying this stuff can help you sleep?"

Ning Jia couldn't give a guarantee, since she was the only one who had used the sachet so far. So she just said, "This was made by a friend of mine who studies traditional Chinese medicine. Why don't you try it first? Anyway, this sachet is a gift for you. What if it works?"

"That's true, it's rare for a stingy person to give a sachet as a gift, I can't let it go to waste," my colleague joked.

Ning Jia not only didn't blush, but also nodded proudly.

She's been with this company for two years now, and everyone knows how stingy she is. Her colleagues are used to ordering takeout and bubble tea without asking her.

At first, some people gossiped behind her back, but after Ning Jia openly admitted that her family was not well-off, no one said anything.

They're just colleagues. As long as they don't hold us back at work or cause us trouble, nothing else is a big problem.

Ning Jia had initially thought the sachet might not work so quickly, but the next day her colleague excitedly approached her and asked:

"Jiajia, do you still have that sachet? Do you still have it?"

Ning Jia didn't answer, but asked first, "What's wrong?"

My colleague's eyes lit up, and she looked much more energetic than before. "The sachet you gave me really worked! I actually fell asleep before midnight last night! And this morning my head wasn't groggy at all. It feels so great!"

"I have a friend whose insomnia is even worse than mine, and I was thinking..."

Seeing that Ning Jia remained silent, her colleague offered, "Don't worry, I know this sachet was made by your friend. I won't let her work for nothing. I'll buy it for you. How about forty forty?"

Ning Jia was taken aback. She did indeed intend to sell sachets, otherwise she wouldn't have given one to her colleague for her to "try out".

But she could exchange one piece of fruit for two or three such small sachets, and the so-called cost was at most a few dollars, yet she could sell them for forty dollars? Isn't that pure profit?!

Seeing that Ning Jia didn't speak, the colleague thought she thought the price was too low and was about to raise it, but Ning Jia nodded and said, "Okay, forty it is."

She then shared her own experience, explaining beforehand, "This sachet can only be used for a week at most; if used for longer, the effect will be less noticeable."

The colleague had no objections at all, saying, "If I can get a good night's sleep for a week, this forty yuan is totally worth it, okay?"

"I didn't expect you to have a friend who studies Traditional Chinese Medicine. That's amazing! Which TCM hospital does your friend work at? I'll try to make an appointment there next time."

"Well, she's not seeing patients right now, so she just does some health-related things on her own."

Ning Jia gave a few perfunctory replies, since her colleague had also received a sachet, and didn't think much of it.

A note from the author:

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