Chapter 77 The compost bin might be a scam

"What? Something important was thrown in the trash?"

Upon hearing this, Ning Jia also became nervous and quickly asked:

"Which trash can? Has it already been emptied?"

He Meng placed her two little hands on her forehead, furrowed her brows, and tried her best to think:

"Ah! I remember now. I think I threw it in the compost bin."

What? !

Ning Jia looked terrified:

Why did you choose to throw your trash in that one of those clean trash cans at home?!

Since the vegetable garden was abandoned, Ning Jia had completely forgotten about the compost bin in the yard and hadn't paid attention to it for a long time. If she opened it now, the smell of fermentation inside would probably kill her instantly.

Ning Jia refused without hesitation, saying three times in a row: "No. I can't. I won't look for it."

But this time, Canglan also came to make a request:

“I know this is a difficult matter for you, but the note that He Meng found may be related to the lost clansmen, so I'm asking you for help.”

Ning Jia paused for a moment, wanting to ask whether that sun god was reliable or not, but respecting the beliefs of the little people, she nodded and said:

"Okay, then I'll help you with this."

To protect herself, Ning Jia pulled out her old N95 mask and put it on, then put on a regular mask over it.

She tied her hair up tightly, put on a shower cap, and then put on goggles to protect her entire head.

Finally, I put on rubber gloves, then put on disposable gloves over them, and I was finally fully equipped.

In the still-dark sky, a group of people, including adults and children, gathered around a compost bin in the yard, creating a stark contrast:

Ning Jia wrapped herself up tightly in a full-body summer heatstroke suit, while the little people didn't take the compost bins seriously at all, wearing ordinary grass skirts and without any equipment.

"Ning Jia, you're just too clean. It's not that scary."

He Meng puffed out her little chest and said proudly:

"If you're worried about getting dirty, wait until the lid is open, then I'll come in and find it!"

Ning Jia nodded, gave her a thumbs up, and then announced:

"Attention everyone, I'm about to begin."

Her voice, muffled by the mask, sounded inaudible to the little people.

She had to gesture with her hands before carefully opening the lid of the compost bin.

puff--

As the compost bin lid was lifted, Ning Jia loosened her grip, instinctively jumped back, and then, despite the discomfort, jumped back again.

An indescribable stench assaulted my senses!

"Damn it," Ning Jia thought to herself, silently weeping. The precious N95 mask couldn't even block the stench!

Help! She's being suffocated by the fumes!

The tiny figures standing at her feet sensed something was wrong and took a step back in unison. Zelan turned pale and almost fainted from the fumes.

"Ning Jia, it's all up to you now!"

He Meng, who had promised to find the place together, was almost overwhelmed by the stench. Covering her nose with one hand and holding onto Zhe Lan with the other, she ran faster than a rabbit.

Ning Jia: ? ? ?

We agreed to search together!

With no other option, she kept silently chanting "It doesn't smell, it doesn't smell, it doesn't smell" in her mind, trying to hold her breath, and searching through the soil with a stick.

Fortunately, He Meng hadn't thrown them for long, and the notes were on the surface of the pile of materials. However, Ning Jia stretched out her arm and tried to pry them out with a stick several times, but she couldn't get the notes out.

Ahhhh—

It's all or nothing.

She gave it her all.

Ning Jia ran a few steps away, ripped off the N95 mask from her face, took a few deep breaths of fresh air, then held her breath and came back, half-closing her eyes, and shakily reached her hand into the compost bin...

"Aaaaaaah!!!"

Ning Jia's scream echoed through the courtyard. A piece of paper covered in various unknown substances was thrown on the ground, and not far away, there was a creature slowly crawling around.

"I can't go on! I've reached my limit!"

Ning Jia ran even faster than He Meng, then squatted at the other end of the yard, her legs weak, panting heavily, refusing to go and retrieve the other slips of paper.

Cang Lan didn't insist, and bowed deeply to Ning Jia with great gratitude:

"I'm so sorry to have troubled you. I'll give you a small tip to compensate for your emotional distress."

Ning Jia quickly waved her hand, "No need, no need, just don't make me go get the note again..."

But the remaining few slips of paper are also important; they still need to be retrieved.

Finally, He Meng, who had deserted at the last minute, came with a wrinkled face. Overwhelmed with guilt, she sacrificed herself and jumped into the compost bin!

Soon, He Meng's screams echoed through the courtyard again...

What broke her was not only the stench that resembled a biological weapon, but also the several notes with identical contents.

Damn it, why write the same content so many times?!

...

"So, the person who threw the note must be a giant?"

After listening to Canglan's "translation" of the letter, Ning Jia asked a question.

Canglan nodded. "If the contents of the letter are true."

Ning Jia glanced at the hesitant expressions of some of the petty people and tactfully said:

"It's getting dark, should I go out and take a look?"

"Thank you for your help."

No sooner had Ning Jia left than some petty people couldn't help but voice their opinions:

"Chief, I find this very strange; there might be a trap."

Canglan stroked her chin and nodded in agreement:

"This matter is indeed very strange. If they are friends of my people, why not meet them directly instead of avoiding them like this?"

"Moreover, the tone of this letter, for some reason, sounds somewhat obsequious. When have you ever seen giants treat our race like this?"

"Exactly, giants would never be so humble towards us."

The little people all chimed in.

“But Ning Jia is very good to us,” a petty person said.

He Meng gave the little man a look that said, "You're an idiot."

"Ning Jia is Ning Jia, how can she be considered the same as other giants?"

"That's right, that's right."

“Besides,” He Meng muttered to herself, “Ning Jia is very strict; she doesn’t even let me eat too many sweets.”

"I was just worried you'd get an upset stomach." Bai Su glared at her.

"Ahem, alright, alright, let's get down to business."

Seeing that the topic was about to stray again, Canglan quickly spoke up to remind her and brought the topic back on track.

Suddenly, Ju Ye raised her hand and offered her new conjecture:

"Could it be... that they think Ning Jia is a bad person, which is why they secretly wrote a letter to rescue us?"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately chorused their rebuttal:

"Ning Jia is such a kind-hearted person, anyone who isn't stupid can see that, how could she be mistaken for a bad person!"

"Besides, the letter didn't say anything about rescuing us..."

"No, I mean..."

Juye tried to explain, but her soft voice was quickly drowned out by the cacophony of rebuttals from her clansmen.

The little man also had a new inspiration based on the orange leaf's guess:

"Do you think this person is really a kind person who took Bai Zhi in?"

"Could it be that the bad guy who kidnapped Bai Zhi and the others wrote this note to lure us out so he could kidnap us too?"

Was it that bad guy from before? ...

This guess made many villains shudder involuntarily. Although they had never seen the person's face, the fear they felt at the time was still fresh in their minds.

Canglan glanced at her clansmen's reactions and gently comforted them:

"Don't panic, everyone. We still don't know who the messenger is."

"Besides, even if that person comes, so what? Last time it was our clan's negligence. If you dare to come again, then we will fight to the bitter end!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" "Fight! Fight! Fight!" "Come and fight!"

The grief of being separated from their people instantly turned into anger, and the little people's emotions boiled over, shouting in unison.

...

"Knock knock knock—"

A knock suddenly sounded at the door, and the little creatures turned their heads to look, only to hear Ning Jia's voice:

"May I come in?"

Without Canglan's prompting, He Meng quickly ran over, climbed onto the door lock, and opened the door for Ning Jia.

Ning Jia first reported the results of her "reconnaissance" to the little people:

"I waited until it got dark before I quietly opened the door and went out to take a look, but there was no one outside at all."

Ning Jia began to regret her words:

"I should have just bought a new security camera. There are no cameras at the entrance, so we don't even know when these letters were delivered..."

It's true what they say: you only realize how little you have when you need monitoring.

The security cameras at the entrance have been there for so many days, and nothing happened. But now that they're gone, trouble has struck...

As she spoke, she guessed:

"By the way, could these letters not have been delivered today? Perhaps yesterday?"

"Impossible!" He Meng retorted loudly without even thinking.

“I pick up these papers in the yard every day… I’m on patrol. There weren’t any yesterday, they must have come today.”

"He Meng, are you sure this letter only appeared today?" Bai Su, who had been deep in thought, suddenly asked.

He Meng nodded vigorously, "I'm absolutely sure. I swear on my favorite Jianbing Guozi!"

Bai Su blinked, hesitated for a moment, and then told her people what she was thinking:

"I think the other party wanted to bypass Ning Jia and communicate with us directly, which is why they sent the letter."

"It's barely dark yet; the messenger won't leave so quickly. As long as we show up as promised, we can lure that person out..."

As Bai Su spoke, she raised her small hand, "I can appear alone to lower their guard, and then..."

"Just one glance is enough for me. Just one glance and I'm confident I can tell if the other person is the bad guy."

Ning Jia added:

"Even if it's not the same person as before, it doesn't necessarily mean they're a good person. We still need to be careful."

"Yes." The little people all nodded in agreement.

...

A few minutes later, the living room fell silent again. Canglan looked at the clansmen and said:

"Since everyone agrees on this plan, let's start preparing."

Ning Jia also became inexplicably nervous and reminded him:

"It hasn't been dark for long, that person should still be here. Time is precious, let's hurry up and prepare."

"Also," she gestured with her hand to shush, "everyone, don't make too much noise, so as not to be discovered."

"Okay!" "Alright!" "I understand!"

The little people all showed serious expressions unlike their usual selves and immediately began their respective tasks.

Compared to the tension of the others, Bai Su, who volunteered to be the "bait," was quite calm. The expression on her face was more of anticipation than calmness.

An expectation of being freed from the deep-seated guilt as soon as possible.

He Meng, who was acting as her "personal bodyguard," silently wiped her spear, and for the first time, a very complex expression appeared on her innocent little face.

"He Meng, if it really is that person, can you... handle it?"

Bai Su pulled her small hand and asked quietly.

"……Um."

He Meng paused for a moment, then squeezed Bai Su's hand in return, indicating that she was alright.

However, certain deliberately forgotten memories suddenly became clear in her mind. Her clear eyes flashed with panic, fear, regret, and sadness...

"He Meng, are you alright?"

Ning Jia, holding pepper spray, walked over and patted her little head:

"Work hard tonight, and I'll make you some cream pancakes tomorrow morning."

"Wow……"

He Meng blinked, gave a small cheer, and her eyes lit up like two beautiful little suns, all traces of the gloom from before gone.

“Ning Jia,” she looked up at the smiling giant and suddenly asked:

"...Will I really get to eat creamy mini pancakes?"

"Really."

Ning Jia couldn't help but rub her little head again, feeling that He Meng was especially soft and cute at this moment.

"Believe me, if you don't get to eat cream muffins tomorrow, I'll be a dog... no, a rabbit!"

That's a really cruel curse, wishing oneself to get as fat as a rabbit.

He Meng nodded in satisfaction, waved the spear, and a slight smile finally appeared on her tense little face:

"Wait a minute, watch me!"

-----------------------

Author's Note: A Little Skit I Wrote: Picking Up Trash

↓

Recently, whenever He Meng has free time, she takes a few strolls around the yard every day.

The clan chief said that the security camera at the gate was broken, so for safety reasons, she should patrol the yard more often.

But the courtyard was quiet every day, and the giant was rarely seen passing by; there was no danger at all.

He Meng was so bored that he started picking up trash in the yard to play.

It's just a matter of picking a weed or a fallen leaf; it's better than standing in the yard in a daze.

...

That morning, after enjoying the lychees Ning Jia brought back, He Meng came to patrol the yard (crossed out, she picked up trash).

After picking up a few leaves, her gaze suddenly paused:

Huh, what's this?

It looks like a crumpled piece of paper?

Curious, she picked up the crumpled paper, only to find it suddenly heavy in her hand:

It's so heavy!

With a little prying, they discovered a large rock inside!

...

Pshaw, who's so bored as to wrap stones in their own calligraphy practice paper to play with...

He Meng glanced at the "words" on the paper that she couldn't understand at all, pouted, crumpled the paper into a ball, and threw it into the compost bin.

Not long after, she found another crumpled piece of paper... and another one...

The hardworking cleaner, He Meng, grumbled as she threw all the papers into the compost bin.

Then, she looked at the clean yard with satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment welled up inside her!

Ning Jia often says things like, "Protecting the environment and hygiene is everyone's responsibility,"

I'm so serious and responsible!