Chapter 8 Let's have a spring picnic in the park!

On Saturday morning, Ning Jia intended to sleep in, but ended up waking up early.

No way! I get a day off from work, I have to get some sleep! Time is money, and you can't buy a day off from work.

She tossed and turned in bed, but couldn't fall asleep and had to get up.

After finishing breakfast, Ning Jia felt a little lost and didn't know what to do.

Before she met the little people, she slept very poorly every day, and because she often worked overtime, she usually spent her weekend mornings catching up on sleep. Now that her sleep has improved, she no longer needs to catch up on sleep on weekends, and suddenly has half a day free.

The rumors she heard at the company yesterday suddenly popped into her mind:

I heard that various departments are submitting layoff lists now. I don't participate in any social gatherings, and I've even refused to work overtime several times recently...

What if your boss is really unhappy with your refusal to work overtime and puts you on the layoff list?

Ning Jia couldn't help but think of this possibility.

Don't waste time and energy on things that haven't happened yet.

She kept muttering to herself, but she still couldn't let go of the matter, so she simply opened her laptop and found her previous resume.

To cheer herself up, she made herself a cup of Blendy AGF drip coffee with a little milk. The cost was less than two yuan, but the rich aroma of the coffee quickly filled the room.

Ah, what a wonderful weekend! I'm spending it at home revising my resume; the classroom atmosphere is instantly palpable.

Ning Jia composed herself for a moment before opening her laptop and typing away at her resume. As she revised it, her mind started to wander:

The weather is so nice today, it's the perfect time for a spring outing. Since we're taking the kids to the park this afternoon, why not prepare some food and drinks and have a spring picnic?

Once the thought crossed her mind, she started itching to revise her resume, and the matter of revising it seemed less important.

Without hesitation, she stood up abruptly, turned off the computer, and went to the kitchen full of energy.

Ning Jia, wearing an apron, stood in the kitchen with her hands on her hips, deep in thought:

Hmm, the toast at home seems to be expiring soon, how about I make some sandwiches?

However, regular sandwiches are too big for the little people, so they need to be made into small ones that can be swallowed in one bite, so that the little people can hold them while eating.

There was still one sweet potato left from the last purchase. Ning Jia's gaze fell on the air fryer she'd won at the company's annual meeting, sitting in the corner. She decided to fry some sweet potato fries; the kids would probably like them. She just needed to cut the fries thin and short, otherwise…

Ning Jia imagined the little people struggling to eat normal-sized sweet potato strips as if they were holding bamboo poles, and couldn't help but smile.

Oh, and you can also make fried tofu skin. Just one sheet of tofu skin is enough to make a whole bag of fried tofu skin balls. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top, and it's incredibly crispy and fragrant.

As for drinks, bring some yogurt, or maybe some barley tea...

Ning Jia had already calculated the costs in her mind, and then she busied herself in the shared kitchen with great enthusiasm. She was quick and skillful, and soon she had finished most of the work, filling the entire kitchen with a rich aroma.

The aroma was so enticing that Ning Jia had just finished packing the cooled fries when her roommate suddenly opened the door and peeked into the kitchen.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Ning Jia turned around and explained, "I'm going on a picnic with my friends this afternoon, so I prepared some food."

"I'm so happy," my roommate said enviously. "I've been so tired lately that I don't even have the energy to go out."

Ning Jia smiled at her, hesitated for a moment, and then handed her a small bag of freshly fried sweet potato fries. "You can continue sleeping. I'll try to be as quiet as possible."

"……Thanks."

My roommate glanced at the fries in his hand, said nothing more, and quickly closed the door again.

Around 3 PM, Ning Jia checked the battery level of her electric scooter and then rode it to the small garden.

She packed all the picnic supplies in her backpack, and then simply decorated the remaining "passenger seat," which was the bicycle basket: she lined the bottom of the basket with a soft old towel as cushioning, and placed a red plastic basin on top of the old towel, which was then covered with two thick plastic bags.

But then a problem arose: Ning Jia was stunned as more than a dozen small figures suddenly emerged from the bushes.

Goodness, aren't there a lot of passengers getting on the bus?

“Chief Canglan, for safety’s sake, I suggest we only take five or six people this time,” Ning Jia emphasized. “After all, that park is quite far away, and it’s difficult to take good care of everyone if there are too many people.”

Cang Lan stroked her chin and thought for a moment, then looked at Ning Jia's bulging backpack and nodded, "Then let's go with five people."

Finally, after everyone's discussion, Canglan brought several of the most skilled and youngest members of the clan. Bai Su and He Meng were among them, and there were three other people, Ning Jia, whose faces were familiar but whose names were completely forgotten.

The little people are indeed too small, and it takes a lot of effort to see their faces clearly. Ning Jia happens to be face-blind, so unless she keeps making her presence known to her like He Meng does, it's hard for her to match the little people's names with their appearances.

This includes He Meng and Bai Su. To distinguish between them, Ning Jia secretly called He Meng "Lively Little Yellow/Fast-Footed" and Bai Su "Quiet Little White/Peach Face"...

Guoguo is called "Apple Face", Xingxing is called "Twin Ponytails", and even Canglan has a code name, "Clever Little Gray (Round Face)". The notebook is filled with many code names, of course, these little people are completely unaware of this.

"Chief Canglan, is everyone here?"

Ning Jia confirmed with Cang Lan, and seeing that she nodded, she took the plastic basket out of the cart and let the little ones jump in, even being a bit mischievous:

"Beep beep beep, your train has arrived at the station. Please board in an orderly manner and do not crowd."

The little people didn't know what a train was. When Bai Su saw the red plastic basket, she asked in surprise:

"Hey, isn't this the basket we used to hold the strawberries?"

“That’s right, that’s the one.” Ning Jia said proudly.

When buying strawberries, she noticed that these strawberry baskets looked quite sturdy, but unfortunately, they were open on all four sides and couldn't be used as bowls. Then, she had a brilliant idea: she used the baskets to hold eggs and wash vegetables, and they turned out to be quite suitable.

Hehe, everything can be used to its fullest potential, that's her, Ning Jia, the master of thrift and frugality.

Ning Jia silently boasted for a while, and one by one, all the little people "got on the bus".

"One, two, three, four, five... no more, no less, exactly five people."

After counting the number of people, Ning Jia immediately announced, "Everyone, sit tight, we're about to depart."

She opened the basket lid, carefully placed the heavy plastic "cart" filled with little figures into it, and before closing the lid, she instructed:

"You all sit here and don't move around or come out. I ride my bike fast, and if you fall off, you'll be dead."

"I'm sorry, my finances are limited, so I can only offer you a ride in this simple convertible."

Although Canglan didn't know what a convertible was, she roughly understood Ning Jia's meaning by looking at the basket cover above her head, and nodded, "Don't worry, I'm here."

"Okay, let's set off now!"

It was almost 3:30 when Ning Jia rode her electric bike at breakneck speed, braving the warm but strong spring breeze, and finally arrived at her destination a little after 4:00.

As soon as the car was parked, Ning Jia immediately opened the basket lid to check the number of passengers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Hmm, all five passengers were there, so it seemed there were no problems.

She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to lift the basket out when she realized something was wrong:

The little figures sitting in the basket had dazed eyes and pale faces. Even the most talkative He Meng was blank and completely silent...

Ning Jia immediately sensed something was wrong. "You guys... aren't you carsick, are you?"

Seeing that even the usually composed Canglan looked listless, Ning Jia didn't dare to make any rash moves. She let them breathe some fresh air first before gently poking Canglan:

"Chief Canglan, are you alright?"

"……fine."

Cang Lan let out a long sigh of relief, stretched her limbs, and her eyes gradually regained their usual calm. "Have we arrived yet?"

Ning Jia nodded. "Yes, we're at the park entrance. Anyway, there's no rush, you guys can take your time."

She pushed the cart to a shady spot, gave the little creatures some water, and found a novel on her phone to pass the time while earning red envelopes. Once everyone had recovered, she picked up the plastic basket and walked into the park.