Chapter 140 Snowflake crisps are too troublesome
That morning, Ning Jia had just hung the clothes out to dry and the children were still asleep when the delivery driver called to ask if Ning Jia was home.
Ten minutes later.
Ning Jia blinked in confusion, watching the other party swindle a huge pine tree into the yard, claiming it was a "pine bonsai" commissioned by a Mr. Zhou.
Ning Jia knew without a second thought that this Mr. Zhou was none other than Zhou Chi, who was currently far away in London.
I have no idea what he was thinking, buying such a huge "Christmas tree" in a pot, it's at least two meters tall, it's simply...
We've come at the perfect time!
Ning Jia felt the living room was a bit empty, so she quickly asked two craftsmen to move the tall pine tree into the living room. After a quick glance, she placed the lush pine tree in the empty space next to the living room window.
That way, the little ones will see the pine tree as soon as they come out of the second bedroom, and they'll be so happy! ^^
After the two workers left, Ning Jia glanced at the closed door to the second bedroom, then looked at the calendar on her phone, and suddenly realized:
I was so busy hibernating that I almost forgot Christmas is just a week away. And after Christmas, New Year's Day won't be far behind.
How time flies!
It should be 12 o'clock in London by now, right? Ning Jia hesitated for a moment before sending a message to Zhou Chi.
The other end replied instantly:
[An ugly dog head peeking furtively.jpg Did you receive the gift?]
Ning Jia was both amused and exasperated.
Why aren't you asleep yet, it's so late?
[Zhou Chi: Reading literature and writing a paper, I'm going to sleep soon.]
[Ning Jia: An ugly cat that gives you a look and lets you figure it out yourself.jpg]
[Zhou Chi: An ugly dog with innocent eyes.jpg]
The two didn't turn on video, each holding their phones, and despite the eight-hour time difference, they continued their pointless conversation for a while before finally getting to the point.
Ning Jia: By the way, I really like this gift [heart emoji]. I can't believe you came up with this, hahaha.
[Ning Jia: And it goes without saying that everyone in the family, young and old, will love it!]
[Zhou Chi: Hehe, this was originally bought for the whole family, but I also prepared a separate New Year's gift...]
[Ning Jia: Cat head alert.jpg Just a heads-up, don't buy any luxury brand jewelry or bags...]
[Zhou Chi: How could I possibly be that kind of person! Wouldn't it be better to just send out red envelopes with that money?]
Zhou Chi: ...I didn't really mean to send red envelopes [doge emoji]
[Ning Jia: Cat gives a thumbs up.jpg]
After chatting intimately for a while longer, they realized they had been talking for almost an hour, so they quickly stopped and ended the conversation with great restraint.
Long-distance relationships are so annoying!
Ning Jia sighed, stuffed her phone into the pocket of her cotton pajamas, and walked into her comfort zone—the kitchen—with a hint of disappointment. She quickly cheered up and began preparing breakfast and lunch for the little ones.
Now, the little people have reduced themselves to eating only two meals a day, and the amount of food they eat at each meal is much smaller than before, which is really similar to "semi-hibernation".
In other words, Ning Jia only needs to cook two meals a day, and the amount of food is halved compared to before. One of the meals, dinner, is cooked with Dong Kui and the others. The demand for the small canteen has dropped sharply, and Chef Ning has no place to use his skills for a while.
However, Ning Jia quickly adapted to this slow pace of life and spent more time in the kitchen, using her abundant inspiration to make all sorts of interesting dishes. Every time the little people woke up from their long sleep, they would eat all sorts of novel and interesting meals and snacks.
In this way, the cold winter becomes less unbearable.
The update speed of "Ning Family Canteen" has finally satisfied the netizens who have been urging for updates all day long; it's even a little frighteningly fast.
Netizens expressed their horror with comments such as, "I suspect the uploader came from a parallel world and has twice as much time as me," "I told you to update more, not to update like a rocket [doge emoji]," and "Isn't the scariest thing that the update frequency has increased, and the videos are getting better and better?!"
Some people suspected that Ning Jia might have hired a team to film the video, but this was immediately refuted by longtime fans:
"If you've ever watched Chef Ning's live stream, you wouldn't say something like that. She's strong, energetic, and full of inspiration. She can cook all day without a break. What's wrong with this amount of updates? I think it's not enough!"
Ning Jia had no time to respond to these questions. She just felt that this kind of life, where she didn't have to go to work and could cook whatever she wanted, was just too great.
If there's a downside to this lifestyle, it's that the little people's fighting power suddenly drops. Sometimes they can't finish the food she makes, but they can't waste food, so she has to spend some time packing up the leftovers and sending them all to Liu Yue's company.
Liu Yue readily accepted Ning Jia's "shared meal" initiative and was delighted. She quickly suggested that she didn't need Ning Jia to deliver the food; she would pay for the delivery herself and just hire a delivery girl.
Ning Jia readily agreed, as this would give her more time to immerse herself in the kitchen and research new recipes.
She was busy in the kitchen wearing an apron, often reminiscing about all the delicious food she had eaten since childhood. Sometimes she would exchange ideas and inspirations with Ning Fang, who was working as a culinary consultant.
Although Ning Fang knew that Ning Jia was a food blogger and doing quite well, having received several good advertisements, she finally couldn't help but ask a question that had been puzzling her for a long time that day:
"Jiajia, you always cook so much food, can you finish it all by yourself?"
Ning Jia shook her head, "Of course we can't finish it all, I gave a lot to Liu Yue."
Ning Fang, with her extensive cooking experience, immediately said, "Even if it's just you and Yueyue eating, there will still be plenty left."
Ning Jia was stunned for a moment, then simply used Zhou Chi as an excuse:
"Hehe, actually, there's more than just me and Liu Yue eating here, there's someone else too."
Ning Fang then learned that Ning Jia was in a relationship.
Ning Fang exclaimed "Oh!" and turned to say something. Wang Lin's face quickly appeared in the video frame as well.
"Wow, after all these years, Jiajia finally has someone she likes again."
The two were not surprised at all that Ning Jia was in a relationship, after all, Ning Jia had a crush on a boy since kindergarten.
Ning Fang also suddenly recalled Ning Jia's "puppy love" during junior high school:
“At the time, Arlene and I were both wondering what was so good-looking about that chubby guy. You insisted that he was both handsome and smart and that you wanted to go to the movies with him.”
Ning Jia was both amused and exasperated.
"I have face blindness. Unless someone is exceptionally good-looking, I can't remember what they look like. Aren't all good-looking people the same?"
"Besides, he has a great foundation, okay? He's quite the handsome guy now."
Ning Fang: "What about that skinny guy with glasses from before?"
Wang Lin added, "I remember there were quite a few handsome boys too, like the one in the top ten of the grade, and another one who was particularly good at English, performing an English skit on stage, with rosy lips and white teeth..."
As more and more of her dating history from her student days were revealed, Ning Jia herself was somewhat speechless:
It's all because Ning Fang is so lenient. While other parents see puppy love as a terrible thing, fearing it will affect their studies, she directly and enthusiastically discusses with me which boy in the class is the most handsome.
As a result, I actually had quite a few silly and innocent romances during my student days...
Ning Jia quickly changed the subject, talking about her current boyfriend. As she talked, she inadvertently brought up Zhou Chi's parents.
Ning Jia had no intention of revealing Zhou Chi's private matters, offering only a brief explanation before falling silent. Ning Fang and Wang Lin remained silent for a moment, then spoke in unison:
"If you're a good kid, be nice to others!"
Ning Jia was immediately shocked. "No, you guys don't trust me that much?"
"If I wanted to be kind to people, would I let you guys jump out of your way?"
Ning Fang and Wang Lin both shook their heads, saying honestly, it was indeed impossible.
Ning Jia has had many relationships since she was young, but she has always been serious and dedicated. She is a sincere girl, and I believe her current boyfriend can feel that too.
...
Zhou Chi, who received a lot of love packages in the UK, also felt that his girlfriend was especially good to him.
The weather in England was cold and damp, but Zhou Chi wasn't afraid at all. He had already wrapped himself in the ugly scarf and gloves that Ning Jia had knitted by hand, and was chewing on the beef jerky, dried fruit, snowflake crisps and other snacks that Ning Jia had made that perfectly suited his taste. He was reading documents late into the night with great enthusiasm.
On his bookshelf, there is a box of chocolates made by Ning Jia that he has always been reluctant to eat. He only picks out a small piece to taste when he is so tired that he has almost no strength left, just to give himself a little energy.
Seeing Zhou Chi's energetic demeanor every day, the other students at school were happy that he had overcome his trauma so quickly.
But, has Owen's family gone bankrupt? Why is he always wearing a tattered-looking woolen scarf?
Zhou Chi, completely oblivious to the others' confusion, carefully sewed up the pulled thread, and continued to wear the tattered scarf with obvious delight, even inadvertently telling his classmates:
This scarf was hand-knitted by his girlfriend!
His girlfriend is amazing; she's a super chef. Even though she's very busy (?), she still found time to knit him a scarf!
His classmates: Wow, congratulations! You're so lucky!
Zhou Chi, the person involved, also felt that he was a lucky person, of course, because he had the best girlfriend in the world!
A few days later, the scarf that Zhou Chi "almost welded to his neck" suddenly disappeared, and in its place was another scarf that was woven more neatly.
His classmates looked at him with pity and sympathy, assuming he had broken up with his girlfriend so quickly, and privately sighed:
They say long-distance relationships are hard to last, but Owen's ended way too quickly, it's so tragic!
Zhou Chi was completely unaware of this and continued to happily wear his new scarf. After several days of this "forced smile" in everyone's eyes, Steve, a classmate who was quite familiar with him, couldn't help but say to him:
“Owen, I know you're feeling very sad, and I feel sorry for you. But you really don't need to force a smile for us every day…”
Zhou Chi nodded in deep agreement:
"Steve, thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. I've accepted the harsh realities of a long-distance relationship."
He pointed to the new scarf around his neck and sighed:
"Long-distance relationships are so troublesome!"
"My girlfriend accidentally sent me the wrong scarf, and it took several days to finally receive the correct one. It was such a hassle!"
"My girlfriend also said that shipping to the UK is too expensive, it costs a lot of money, and she's always shocked every time she sends something..."
Steve's big blue eyes flashed with confusion; before he could even react, he was forced to eat a whole bunch of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection)...
When he came to his senses and looked at Zhou Chi's blissful face, he couldn't help but scoff inwardly:
Hmph, it's just a long-distance relationship, what's so great about it!
-----------------------
Author's Note: Zhou Chi: o(*￣▽￣*)o
We're starting to wrap things up! Love you all! [doge emoji with rose in hand]
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