Chapter 109 Baked Apples and Fierce Eating
During dinner, Bai Su and the others gathered together, talking about their "journey out for training" while they ate.
He Meng said while chewing on a small milk biscuit:
"I wonder if the clan leader and the others have discussed it and decided where we're supposed to stay?"
Bai Su took a small bite of the steamed carrot:
"There are giants everywhere outside, they probably won't let us go too far. I guess we're probably just in the park."
Xuecao swallowed the creamy mashed potatoes in her mouth and shook her head in disagreement:
"Impossible, right? If we're just going to stay in the park, it'll be like going back to our hometown. That's not exciting at all, what kind of adventure is that?"
Bai Su picked up a small spoon, scooped up a small piece of baked apple, sniffed the aroma of the caramelized apple, and then said:
"When you go out to gain experience, you'll be all alone. It's not the same as living with everyone else."
"Besides, after this typhoon, all our tree hollows might be destroyed, and then we won't even have a place to stand..."
He Meng, Shi Ying, Xue Cao, and the others were not frightened at all. Shi Ying said nonchalantly:
"Living alone is fine, it'll be more liberating! I can do whatever I want, and I can even eat by myself..."
His face suddenly changed. "Then... what about food?"
If someone lives in a park and cannot accept outside help, then... he has to solve his own food and clothing problems.
How terrifying!
The group of friends sitting together were also terrified. Although Bai Su remained calm on the surface, she secretly ate the baked apple a little faster.
The others fell silent for a moment, then stopped chatting and buried their heads in their food, eating quickly.
Eat more, eat more, eat more—
In case I get packed up and thrown out of the house for some training tomorrow, at least I should stock up on some energy before I leave, just in case I don't have anything to eat...
Ina and the others were eating with great enthusiasm, constantly adding more rice and vegetables. The other little people, who had been slowly enjoying their meal with their eyes half-closed, couldn't help but feel a strong sense of crisis upon seeing this:
What happened?
Why are these big eaters eating even more voraciously than usual today?
They anxiously sped up their eating, constantly adding rice and vegetables, eating voraciously and piling on the food...
"Wow, was dinner that good tonight? You've almost finished eating already?"
Ning Jia walked over, looked at the pile of plates that were almost empty, and said with some doubt.
She glanced at the little children beside her, who were wolfing down their food from small plates, and then it dawned on her:
After staying home and eating only leafy greens for two days, my diet was indeed a bit bland. My stomach suddenly felt dry, so eating these dishes with sugar and oil tasted incredibly delicious.
After the little ones devoured all the food on the coffee table in a whirlwind, leaving not a single scrap, Yunzhu slowly walked over, ready to have some more: ? ? ?
Where are the dishes? Where did all those dishes go?
Holding a small plate, Yunzhu stood beside an empty plate, looking completely bewildered.
Quartz, already burping and stacking its small dishes, even came over to ask:
"Uncle Yunzhu, we don't need this plate anymore, can I take it away?"
"...Oh, this is troublesome."
When Yunzhu came to her senses, she realized something was wrong:
What? Dinner's over already?!
Bai Zhi brought over the used small dish, and seeing that he was still confused, she couldn't help but chuckle:
"In our family, if you want to eat more, you have to be quick; if you dawdle, you won't get to eat."
Yunzhu finally realized what was happening, and a hint of helplessness crossed her face:
"I'd only ever seen this kind of thing online before, like kids scrambling to get to a restaurant at school. I never imagined I'd see the same thing every day in this house. It's really..."
He was talking non-stop, completely unaware that Bai Zhi had already walked far away, when suddenly a small white round cake appeared in front of him:
"Dad, here, have this!"
Yunzhu was taken aback. Looking at Dongkui's concerned little face, her eyes welled up with tears. She couldn't help but reach out and stroke her child's curly hair, shaking her head as she said:
"Thank you, DouDou, but no need. You can keep it for yourself."
Upon suddenly hearing her nickname, Dongkui, who already considered herself an "adult," paused for a moment, her face flushing red. She scratched her head somewhat awkwardly, then insisted on stuffing the small round cake into Yunzhu's arms.
"Dad, you eat. I ate a lot while I was in the kitchen, and I can't eat anymore."
As he spoke, he let out a burp, as if to prove what he had just said.
Yunzhu had no choice but to accept the precious milk biscuit. She looked at Dongkui, who had grown up very well, with satisfaction. She wanted to tell Ningjia about cooking, but she held back.
Some things are better left unsaid in advance, so they're more likely to bring surprises.
...
After the meal, some of the children washed the dishes, some wiped the coffee table, some chatted, and some took a walk indoors. Ning Jia packed the newly made sachets into boxes and put them into cardboard boxes.
Each large and small cardboard box was marked on the outside and had sticky notes attached inside to prevent confusion.
In fact, even the packaging boxes for the sachets have subtle differences.
There is a small plant in the center of the bottom of the box. At first glance, it looks like a decoration, but it is actually stamped on with a small wooden stamp that Quartz carved himself. The stamp is in the script of the Lilliputians.
Although I don't know what they mean, each pattern is quite pretty.
Ning Jia muttered to herself, then put the last blind box into the cardboard box. Then she saw that the little people had started a small meeting.
They must be discussing the children going out to gain experience.
Starting with Bai Su, the clan currently has at least… Ning Jia did a rough calculation and was immediately shocked:
Good heavens, there are nearly a dozen people who need to be trained!
According to Zelan, due to the special circumstances, the training time has been greatly reduced from one year to seven days and seven nights, but even so, if they line up one by one... it will still take more than two months!
Ning Jia immediately understood why Cang Lan and the others were in such a hurry:
The weather isn't so hot now, and all kinds of fruits are ripe, making it the perfect time to survive outdoors. Plus, with so many people queuing up, if we wait any longer and a cold front comes, we can't let the children go out to spend the winter alone, can we?
Winter here is not like winter in the forest; such a small child alone outside could really freeze to death...
Also, I wonder how things are at the park after the typhoon?
Ning Jia secretly kept this in mind and planned to go and check on the situation the next morning.
Just then, the Lilliputians had already finished their meeting.
Seeing He Meng, Xue Cao, and Dao Ya all looking dejected, with their little heads drooping, Ning Jia couldn't help but comfort them:
"Don't worry, I'll make some food that will keep for a long time and bring you a lot, just like when we go camping."
Inagi almost burst into tears upon hearing this:
"Waaaaah, Ning Jia, the clan chief said we can't bring any food at all..."
Everyone else looked like the sky had fallen.
Snow Grass: "Waaah, I thought at least I could bring some popcorn."
Quartz: "I think I might lose weight. Oh well, goodbye to my 43g!"
He Meng let out a wail and tightly hugged Ning Jia's fingers:
"Ning Jia, I can't bear to part with the food you made!!"
Now, all the little ones rushed over and hugged them, crying and wailing.
"Ning Jia, sob sob sob, I'll miss your (cooking) sob sob..."
Luckily, Ning Jia has ten fingers, otherwise there really wouldn't be enough to hug her...
"Alright, alright, stop crying."
Ning Jia's head throbbed from their howling. With difficulty, she retracted her fingers one by one, wiping her hands with a wet wipe as she spoke:
"If we can't bring food, then we won't. But as long as we have smart brains, we can still eat our fill even in the park."
Then he looked at the most composed little peach-faced person and asked, "Right, Bai Su?"
"Um."
Bai Su nodded, seemingly having already made up her mind.
Ning Jia thought for a moment, then suddenly said:
"However, if you encounter any danger while you're out there alone, and you can't tell your family right away, wouldn't you be doomed?"
"How about we just bring a cell phone? There's no rule against it."
Bai Su shook her head in surprise, "Then... how is this different from cheating?"
The other wailing little figures nodded, their little faces serious.
"That won't do. You need to go through real trials to become a true adult."
"What if an emergency really happens?"
Bai Su thought for a moment, "The clan chief said that she would perform divination three times a day, and the sun god would tell him about the safety of the people from other tribes."
Ning Jia fell silent for a moment, recalling the previous search for Bai Zhi, and then had nothing to say.
She thought for a moment, "Since we're just killing time anyway, why don't we show everyone a wilderness survival show to get them hyped up in advance?"
Ju Ye's eyes lit up, and she immediately raised her hand and asked:
"Don't giants live in cities? Why do they also need to survive in the wild?"
"Hmm... because the city is boring and stressful, so I want to live like you, in nature, and rediscover the vitality of life..."
He Meng immediately replied, "I understand, because I have to work in the city!"
Ning Jia laughed:
"This is probably a major reason. However, even if you don't go to work, you may still have other troubles. In short, everyone is having a hard time and needs healing from nature."
Ning Jia played the very famous reality show "Man vs. Wild" for the little people.
Of course, considering that the little people couldn't understand Chinese subtitles, she found a decent-looking condensed version of the commentary on a certain website and started playing it quickly.
The moment the television screen showed images of the wilderness and forests, it attracted the attention of the other little people as well.
What was a thrilling and exciting show for Ning Jia was watched with great calm by the little people, who kept making comments as they watched:
"The bugs that just crawled over were edible, what a pity!"
"Why eat this bug? There are much tastier bugs out there."
"Actually, some insects taste even better after being roasted!"
"That's right, sprinkle some more salt!"
Ning Jia, who was standing to the side, fell silent for a moment. Unable to bear the world full of insects any longer, she quickly got up and left the living room.
...
In the kitchen, Ning Jia was texting Zhou Chi, who came to check on her every day:
Zhou Chi was sharing the amazing results of his "decluttering" at home, sending photos of his now-clean room, while Ning Jia looked at them and gave him some suggestions.
Then, somehow, the conversation turned to the Lilliputians going out to gain experience.
Ning Jia: Oh right, there's something important I forgot to tell you.
[Ning Jia: I heard there's a custom in my hometown that when children reach a certain age, they have to live away from home for a while. Recently, quite a few children have reached that age, so the family is discussing this matter...]
When she subtly mentioned it, Zhou Chi, who had been replying instantly, suddenly seemed to freeze and went silent.
Ning Jia thought the signal on his end hadn't fully recovered yet, so she patiently waited a few minutes. Then she saw Zhou Chi typing and typing and typing, and finally—
A short "!" was sent over.
They say that few words can make a big difference, and Ning Jia could already imagine the look of shock on his face right now.
[Zhou Chi: A long voice message]
Ning Jia was very farsighted; she held the phone further away before listening, and sure enough, she heard someone speaking in a tone as if the sky had fallen, even more panicked than the little people who were about to undergo trials.
[Ning Jia: Don't worry, don't worry, it's just staying at an old house near my home for a few days, nothing will happen.]
[Zhou Chi: A long voice message (stable tone)]
[Ning Jia: Don't worry about it. Besides, instead of worrying about this, you should go to class. YZ's son DK is even learning to cook!]
[Zhou Chi: What?! Striving Little Man.jpg]
After finishing her conversation with Zhou Chi, Ning Jia came out of the kitchen and saw that the video of all the bugs had finished playing. She then discussed the matter with everyone:
"We don't have much food left at home, so we'll have to keep it simple tomorrow morning and have some red bean porridge."
"Also, the typhoon will basically leave the city tonight, the alert is lifted, and everyone can go back to their rooms to sleep."
The children had no objection to having porridge for breakfast, but He Meng looked at Ning Jia and suddenly said:
"Ningjia, Ningjia, can you sleep in the living room tonight too?"
Before the words were even finished, the other little people also started shouting:
"I want to sleep in the living room too!" "I like sleeping on the sofa!" "I also want to sleep under the coffee table!"
Ning Jia couldn't help but chuckle. Indeed, having gotten used to her own small room, it was quite interesting to occasionally sleep in a "communal bed" with so many people.
The public outcry was so strong that, after a thorough cleaning, everyone wrapped themselves in blankets and lay sprawled out on the sofa and under the coffee table under the dim light.
Ning Jia glanced at the little figures who had quickly fallen asleep, smiled slightly, wrapped herself in a blanket, and slowly lay down on the other side of the sofa.
Go to bed early, go to bed early, there's a lot to do tomorrow.
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Author's Note: Happy weekend, everyone! ~~~ [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]
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