Chapter 19 Moving House: Ants Moving House
Regarding the relocation of the Little People, Cang Lan originally insisted on leading her people to migrate to Plum Blossom Park on her own, but Ning Jia felt it was completely unnecessary considering that it would take almost an hour to cycle there.
"Let me help you move them. You can give me a small tip if you want."
If it takes an hour to cycle, then it would take a normal person two hours to walk, and for the little people it would take... who knows how many hours, plus their luggage... wouldn't it take them a whole day? That sounds like such a miserable life!
Although Ning Jia is usually stingy, she can't stand seeing people make a fuss over nothing.
Moreover, after knowing the little people for so long, Ning Jia realized that the "people" Cang Lan mentioned were only about 20 people. No wonder He Meng said that the small garden was enough for them to live in. It turns out that their tribe only has so few people.
Faced with Ning Jia's question, He Meng couldn't help but say:
"Hmph, things are different now. You don't know, back in the forest, our tribe had many people, but later along the way..."
"He Meng—" Bai Su squinted at He Meng and pinched her arm to stop her from continuing.
Even so, Ning Jia instantly understood, and involuntarily imagined the arduous journey of the little people into the city. Overwhelmed with compassion, she readily said:
"It's decided then. I'll help you move. As for the moving fee, I'll give you a rock-bottom price, just give me 200."
And so, Ning Jia, at a friendly price of 200 yuan, rode his electric bike back and forth with the little people and their luggage, running around in the morning, at noon, and in the afternoon, and quickly finished the little people's moving arrangements by 4 pm.
After all, the community has already posted a notice that the small garden renovation is imminent. If things drag on, things could get complicated. If the little ones don't move out soon, and the construction workers find out and wipe them all out, that would be a horror story in Chengdu.
The move went so smoothly that the little ones, who had just gotten off the special train, were in a park full of lush greenery and fragrant flowers, and they all looked a little dazed.
"Licorice, are you alright? Are you still carsick?"
Ning Jia wondered if she had been riding too fast and had scared some of the scoundrels.
"It's not motion sickness," Gan Cao shook her head. "I'm just a little unaccustomed to it yet, and the thought of not being able to see the little garden again makes me a little sad..."
Ning Jia nodded, indicating her understanding. "After all, you've lived here for so long, it's normal to be reluctant to leave."
"Don't be reluctant, Gan Cao. You stay here to protect the safety of the tribe. The rest of you come with me."
Chief Canglan had no time to be melancholy; he was leading the young and strong men of the clan to choose a suitable new home.
Sometimes having too many choices isn't a good thing. This park is many times larger than the small garden in Ningjia Community, and there are many trees in the park. Each tree has a straight trunk and is very beautiful, with its own unique charm. Canglan and the others carefully observed each tree, and they were simply overwhelmed by the choices.
“Chief, I think this tree is good. It’s close to the river, so you can catch fish whenever you want,” He Meng suggested, pointing to a tall tree by the river.
Bai Su was the first to shake her head. "It's windy by the river and easy to be exposed, so it's not safe enough. We should go to the grassy area where we picked devil's grass before. The trees there are growing very well."
"No, no, have you forgotten about the licorice incident?" Xuecao immediately objected.
Shi Ying couldn't help but laugh. "Xue Cao, you really are Gan Cao's good older sister. If you hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten about what happened last time."
Xuecao sighed, "Why is it that my brother is always so unlucky?"
"Haha, did licorice offend the tree god? Why is it always so unlucky?"
“I also think he should pray to the tree spirit recently…”
As the conversation went on, it gradually veered off-topic, but Canglan finally made the final decision:
“I think Bai Su’s suggestion is good. As for the raptor, having learned its lesson last time, it will not come back easily. The place where danger has just occurred is the safest place.”
The others thought about it and were convinced. He Meng even patted his chest and said, "What's there to be afraid of? At worst, we'll just do it the same way as last time, and fight them one by one."
Others: ...
While Canglan led the young warriors up the big tree to find a suitable place to stay, on the other side, to avoid being discovered by the giant, Gancao was directing the other little people to hide together under a clean patch of grass.
Ning Jia, who was in charge of watching the luggage, sat by the bushes, watching short videos to earn coins, and chatting with the little people while pretending to play on her phone.
Looking at the almost entirely unfamiliar little faces, apart from Guoguo, Xingxing, and Zhelan whom she had met once before, Ning Jia's mouth never stopped:
Just kidding, it's such a rare opportunity, I have to hurry up and chat with everyone to deepen our impression of each other.
However, most of the little people are rather shy (in front of the giants), and the little person Ning Jia talks about the most is Guo Guo.
Guoguo was still immersed in the sad atmosphere of moving, unable to pull herself out. She stretched out her little arm and hugged one of Ningjia's fingers, saying sadly:
"Sister Ningjia, now that we've moved to the park, we'll be so far away from you, boohoo."
Ning Jia sighed, "Yeah, now you're all quite far away from me. I'm busy with work, so I probably won't be able to come see you every day anymore."
What? Guoguo was struck dumb, her little mouth twitched, and she was about to cry while clinging to Ningjia's finger.
Xingxing, who was standing nearby, heard this too. She tightly hugged Ningjia's other finger, her round eyes blinking as if she were about to shed a little dewdrop.
"Don't cry, don't cry."
Ning Jia realized she might have gone a bit too far, so she quickly stopped pretending and shared her joy with them:
"Actually, I have some good news for you. I'm planning to move to a place near the park."
Guoguo instantly wiped back the tears that were about to fall and asked curiously, "Huh, do giants move around often too?"
Ning Jia shook her head. "Those who own their own houses won't. It's people like me who don't own houses who keep moving around."
"That's just like us."
Just then, Canglan and the others returned.
"Chief, Chief, Sister Ningjia has moved too! And she lives very, very close to us!"
Guoguo instantly brightened up, beaming as she quickly reported the good news to Canglan.
Cang Lan was also surprised, "Lord Ning Jia, why have you moved as well?"
"I suddenly wanted a change of scenery, so I moved."
Ning Jia told Cang Lan about renting a small courtyard, and joked, "This move has cost me almost all my savings. Right now, my wallet is empty, and I'm counting on you guys to help me make money."
“Of course,” Canglan and the little people nodded in agreement. “You’ve wasted a lot of your time helping us move. Once we’re settled here, we’ll start making the devil bags.”
Ning Jia laughed and said, "There's no rush. My house is not yet habitable. It will take some time before I move in."
Hearing that the house hadn't been cleaned yet, Canglan asked, "Do you need our help?"
Ning Jia shook her head, "No need for help. But once I've officially moved in, you can come over for a visit."
"Wow, what would a giant's house be like?" Xingxing cupped her face in her hands, unable to quite imagine.
Guoguo gave her a disdainful look. "Idiot, then everything must be big!"
Ning Jia chuckled, "You'll find out when you get there."
With the move imminent, Ning Jia immediately drew up a "pre-move consumption plan" to reduce the burden, deciding not to purchase any items and only to use the daily necessities and food she already had at home.
Fortunately, she doesn't usually have many things and doesn't like to hoard. She estimates that by the end of the month, she will have used up her tissues, laundry detergent, flour, and the like.
As for clothes and shoes, there are only about twenty or thirty pieces in total, which is not a big deal.
The most troublesome thing wasn't her luggage, but the new house she was about to move into, which hadn't been cleaned yet. Ning Jia could already foresee that the deep cleaning over the next few days would be a huge undertaking.
"What? It's already past five o'clock?!"
On Saturday afternoon, Ning Jia, fully armed with a shower cap, face mask, and gloves, looked at the yard where a space had just been cleared and deeply understood what it meant for time to pass.
She worked from morning till night all day, tidying up and tidying up, throwing away several large bags of garbage. She was so tired that her body went numb, and she only managed to tidy up this small area... It's truly a long and arduous journey!
Looking at the still messy yard, Ning Jia was too exhausted to continue. At this moment, she desperately needed some positive feedback.
How about we sell some scrap first?
She looked at the cardboard boxes, iron basins, plastic bottles, glass jars, rags, building material scraps, old tires, etc., neatly packed in woven bags... Just as she was about to call a scrap dealer, her gaze fell on the old furniture piled up in the yard. She then took photos of the dilapidated bed, cupboard, and sofa, and posted them in the landlord's group chat (the group consisted of three people: Ning Jia, the old lady's daughter, and her son).
[Old furniture.jpg Can I just get rid of this bed, this wardrobe, and these two sofas?]
[Landlord's son: It's fine, but it's no use now]
Landlord's daughter: Sure.
[Landlord's daughter: You can handle the rest yourself, no need to ask us.]
In their eyes, the "family fortune" that their mother had painstakingly accumulated was all junk, and they couldn't wait for Ning Jia to get rid of it. Thinking about it this way, it's quite sad.
Having received full authorization from the other party, Ning Jia regained her enthusiasm and went all out, having the scrap collector take away the several large bags of waste she had already sorted out, along with the bed, sofa, and cabinet in the yard.
The good news is that the scrap in the yard sold for a total of 60 yuan. The bad news is that no one would accept such broken old furniture. The furniture was too big to throw in the trash can, so Ning Jia had to spend another 60 yuan to ask the old man who collects scrap to take the old furniture away.
These two factors canceled each other out, meaning all the hard work of the day went unearned, and the profits were wiped out. Ning Jia could only console herself that at least she didn't lose money.
After the old man who sold scrap rode away on his electric four-wheeler loaded with scrap, the courtyard finally had a lot of space again, and the ground that had been covered by various debris was exposed.
Ning Jia squinted at the dust on the ground, picked up the old-fashioned broom she had deliberately left behind, and swept it up quickly. After sweeping, she rinsed the ground with a hose, and the dusty ground instantly became clean and refreshing.
Looking at the other half of the yard that hadn't been cleared yet, the two sides formed a stark contrast.
First day of cleaning the new house: Results: most of the yard.
Looking at the untouched main battlefield—a two-bedroom, one-living room, one-kitchen, and one-bathroom apartment—Ning Jia had a premonition that she would be summoning that old man who collected recyclables very frequently lately…
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