Chapter 76 The Mysterious Power of the Small Fried Fruit
Ning Jia, the "black-hearted female demon" who has happily returned to the "devil's den," is distributing lychees to the little people.
"One for each person, no more than one."
She raised a finger as a warning.
Because, just this morning, the little people had a really heavy breakfast!
Since using the electric griddle last night, Ning Jia's creative desire has been reignited and has become unstoppable.
She woke up excitedly early in the morning and went to the kitchen to continue "enslaving" her new toy electric griddle.
The poor electric griddle, after only a few hours of rest, was forced to be plugged in again and resume its intensive work.
Ning Jia didn't care about any of that. All she knew was that electricity was cheaper during the off-peak hours before 8 a.m., so she had to use up the electric griddle before then.
Therefore, she got up before dawn.
It's no wonder she was in a hurry. Today's breakfast, in addition to the usual steamed corn and steamed pumpkin, included a more labor-intensive main dish: Jianbing Guozi (Chinese crepe).
Ning Jia had actually wanted to make this for the little people for a long time.
However, since the dwarfs can only eat mini versions of jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes), and the crepes are quite small, she tried using a frying pan once, but the heat was really hard to control and it was easy to burn, so she gave up for the time being.
Now that Ning Jia has an electric griddle with stable heat, her hands are itching to try it again.
The process of making mini Jianbing Guozi is not exactly the same as that of making regular Jianbing Guozi, but there is basically no difference. The only difference is that the technique needs to be more refined, after all, the size difference is several times.
First, spread the mixed batter into pancakes the size of dumpling wrappers. Once the pancakes are formed, pour a little beaten egg on top, sprinkle with fragrant black sesame seeds, and once the egg has solidified, flip the "dumpling wrappers" over.
Spread a sweet homemade sauce on the other side of the pancake, cover it with a small lettuce leaf, place thinly sliced braised beef on top, add a "crispy pancake" made from small wonton wrappers, and sprinkle with tender green chopped scallions. All the ingredients are now in place.
Finally, use chopsticks to roll the small pancake left and right until it forms a plump little cylinder. Then, gently cut the pancake in half with a spatula. A pot of fragrant Jianbing Guozi is ready!
This unexpected breakfast delighted the little ones.
Although the corn and pumpkin in the morning are delicious, eating them every day gets boring, and I feel indifferent and lack enthusiasm.
But! This Jianbing Guozi is different!
This new food is round and plump, with layers upon layers of fillings. It looks delicious!
"One, two, three, four..."
He Meng happily hugged the fragrant jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe), as if it were a giant firework tube, carefully counting the ingredients inside, then her eyes widened in shock:
Wow, this biscuit has six ingredients in it, plus her favorite sweet sauce. She's so happy!
Ning Jia urged from the side, "Eat it while it's hot, or it won't be crispy anymore."
"oh."
He Meng hugged the chubby jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe), studied the direction of her lower lip, and then took a big bite—
(Chewing)
(Chewing)
He Meng slowly swallowed what was in her mouth, her face showing a look of utter shock, as if she had never seen anything like it before.
...Holy crap! What an incredible delicacy!!
One bite and it's crispy and crunchy; one bite and it's fragrant and soft; one bite and it's both sweet and savory; one bite and it's refreshing and delicious; one bite and it's so good you'll feel like you're flying!
He Meng opened her mouth wide, adjusted the jianbing guozi in front of her, and then took another big bite—
Woohoo! Mom, I feel like I'm flying!
The little one, mesmerized by the aroma of the jianbing (Chinese crepe), happily closes their eyes and munches away, as if soaring through the boundless sky with the birds.
I fly, I fly, I fly, fly, fly~
Ning Jia was rubbing her slightly sore arms when she saw He Meng eating with a happy little face, so engrossed in her food. She couldn't help but chuckle. Looking at the other little ones, they also looked happy and lost in their own world.
No, she knew that jianbing guozi was delicious, but could it be this ridiculously delicious?
Ning Jia looked suspiciously at the little people who were chewing together. While they were engrossed in their food, she secretly took a firework tube—no, half a mini jianbing guozi—and threw it into her mouth, chewing it.
Boom—all sorts of tastes, touches, and even hearing exploded in her mouth!
She chewed a few times unconsciously, her mind immediately filled with a chorus of satisfied screams:
So crispy, so fragrant, so sweet, so refreshing, so chewy, I'm so happy!
Accompanying these screams was the background music of crunching.
And paired with freshly made soy milk... Sorry, I don't have a soy milk maker at home.
Paired with freshly heated, fragrant milk, the taste... is simply divine.
Ning Jia couldn't resist sneaking another small fried fruit, but before she could put it in her mouth, the little ones discovered her:
"Ning Jia, don't steal any food!"
Ning Jia awkwardly put down the jianbing guozi, and for a moment regretted it:
I should have made more mini fried dough sticks!
It's really great to be able to eat so many different kinds of ingredients in one bite!
But thinking about the time and effort it took to make this thing, she quickly calmed down.
The mini version of Jianbing Guozi can only be made four or five times in one electric griddle. With the preparation of various ingredients, Ning Jia spent more than two hours making sure that all the little ones could enjoy this king of breakfast.
When you calculate it that way, the cost of this breakfast is actually quite high.
I'd rather try it occasionally. Getting up at four or five in the morning to make breakfast for my family is just too exhausting; I can't do it all the time.
...
The little ones, who had eaten too much this morning, showed little interest in lunch.
When Ning Jia announced that they would be having tofu for lunch, no one reacted much except for Daoya, who was still growing, who enthusiastically exclaimed, "Great!"
"Great!" Daoya thought to herself. "Juye said that tofu is very nutritious. I must eat more tofu so that I can grow tall and strong!"
Seeing that no one was responding, Ning Jia said speechlessly, "Didn't you guys say you wanted to take advantage of me?"
Why does it look like nobody wants to take advantage of this?
Could it be…? She narrowed her eyes, glancing at the little figure who was about to sneak away, “He-Meng—”
He Meng shuddered in fright and quickly pointed at Cang Lan:
"It's none of my business, the clan chief told me to say that!"
Canglan was also speechless. She clearly said in the morning that she would eat vegetarian food for lunch. When did she say she wanted to eat tofu?
Even if she was being a little lazy and lip-syncing with He Meng from the windowsill, it's still heartbreaking that the two of them didn't even have that much chemistry!
"Anyway, I've already bought the tofu. It won't keep for long anyway. I don't care if you want to eat it or not, we're having tofu for lunch today."
Ning Jia made the final decision.
Just kidding, she finally figured out the menu and bought the ingredients, she's determined to eat tofu today!
Ning Jia snorted and walked away with the air of a master chef.
Just a few minutes after arriving in the kitchen, the chef, who had been so aggressive moments before, suddenly let out a terrified scream.
The little ones were used to this and calmly lay on the sofa watching TV.
Haha, Jerry has outsmarted Tom again! What a clever little devil!
He Meng perked up, jumped up from the sofa, and dashed into the kitchen like a little rocket launcher, skillfully leaping onto the counter:
"Ningjia, Ningjia, are there bugs again?"
"...Quickly, get them away!"
Ning Jia looked nervous, her trembling finger pointing at the white rice weevils in the rice washing basket. The constantly wriggling little things gave her goosebumps all over her body.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here!"
He Meng leaped down and nimbly jumped into the basket. Squatting in the pile of snow-white rice, she caught the insects one in each hand with incredible speed and precision. In less than a minute, she had caught all the insects and thrown them into the trash can.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Ning Jia breathed a sigh of relief, while secretly making a mental note:
Although grains are prone to insects in the summer, the rice I bought this time had way too many insects, even though it was advertised as new rice. I'll definitely avoid that store again.
He Meng patted her chest and raised her little head, saying:
"It's alright, it's my duty. Call me again if there are bugs next time."
In the living room, He Meng quickly lay back on the sofa and continued watching "Tom and Jerry".
Snow Grass, with her short legs crossed, lazily asked:
"Are they little cabbage moths on the vegetable leaves again?"
"No, this time it's a rice weevil, it's so fat!" He Meng gestured with her hands.
"No wonder Ning Jia screamed so loudly; she seems particularly afraid of these soft insects..."
The children discussed Ning Jia's fear of insects as casually as if they were talking about what to eat that day, and soon went back to watching TV.
Ever since the dwarfs discovered that Ning Jia was afraid of insects, her image of being omnipotent (?) has been dethroned.
Especially after moving into the new house, which is a bungalow in the summer, it's like a double whammy, with mosquitoes running rampant and it's driving us crazy.
Although the "good human grass" effectively eliminated the mosquitoes in the house, other insects were still lurking around. Ningjia screamed every three days and was startled every two days, which the little ones found quite amusing.
So, even such a tall giant is afraid of tiny insects?
But this amusement is ultimately built on the fear of others, which is somewhat unethical.
Therefore, the little people often "sweep away and exterminate insects" around the house in their spare time, and Ning Jia gradually got used to having the little people help deal with the insects that suddenly appeared.
As time went on, Ning Jia stopped forcing herself to deal with the insects and outsourced this glorious task to the little guardian of the house.
In response, He Meng said: Hehe, finally I have a chance to use my skills, hehe~
...
The insect crisis was quickly resolved, and Ning Jia was able to cook rice successfully. Then she began to make various tofu dishes.
The electric griddle, which had just been idle, was plugged in again to work, sizzling with heat as golden tofu balls and fragrant cumin-flavored tofu sizzled on the griddle.
In addition, there are honey-glazed dried tofu, scrambled eggs with tofu, tofu with fish-fragrant cabbage, tomato tofu soup...
Although each dish was served in small portions, the preparation methods were diverse, and the tofu and dried tofu I bought in the morning were quickly devoured.
Ning Jia, who was planning to do something more, stopped with some regret, and the electric griddle that had been running non-stop could finally catch its breath.
While eating, the little ones looked at the row of tofu on the coffee table and said, "Why is it all tofu?" But in reality, they ate with great relish!
The little ones chewed and chewed and chewed, their eyes widening more and more:
Good heavens, is this the same tofu they ate before?
Is Ning Jia a god? How can she make tofu taste so many different ways? And they're all so incredibly delicious!
"How is it? Does it suit everyone's taste?" Ning Jia asked with a smile.
The little ones didn't speak, their little mouths were bulging, and they were all working hard to eat.
While engrossed in chewing on tofu balls, Shi Ying took a moment to extend a small hand and give Ning Jia a big thumbs up: Awesome!
Your like has been received!
Ning Jia smiled at him, picked up a golden-fried tofu ball from her bowl, and slowly began to eat it.
“Oh, right,” she suddenly remembered something, “after we finish eating, let’s… have another brainstorming session.”
...
3 PM.
Before the brainstorming session began, Canglan led a few little figures into the courtyard.
They bowed reverently to the golden sun in the sky, then formed a small circle and sat down cross-legged on the spot.
Although the sun was very strong and hot at that time, making their little faces flushed and sweat dripping from their foreheads, but—
The stronger and hotter the sunlight, the better the divination results.
Several tiny figures sat quietly under the blazing sun, gritting their teeth and persevering, listening to the soft chanting of Canglan, resisting the urge to wipe away their sweat.
Air conditioner, air conditioner, air conditioner...
Bai Su kept repeating this to herself, sitting motionless, clinging to the belief that she would soon be able to enjoy air conditioning.
After an unknown amount of time, Canglan's chanting finally ended, but she remained silent.
Bai Su was so hot that she couldn't stand it anymore. She opened her eyes in a daze and saw that Cang Lan opposite her had already opened her eyes and was deep in thought.
The two exchanged a glance, and Bai Su immediately asked in a low voice:
"Chieftain, is there any result?"
Canglan paused, puzzled and surprised, before saying:
"Strange, when we did the divination a couple of days ago, the Sun God said that we would soon be able to reunite with Bai Zhi and the others."
"But this time, the sun god was not so sure."
"I can sense that there seems to be a mysterious force hindering this, preventing even the sun god from giving a definite answer..."
A hint of disappointment flashed in Bai Su's eyes, and Cang Lan patted her head, "Don't worry."
She always knew that although the child had not been separated from his family, he longed to find his tribe more than anyone else.
"Perhaps the sun isn't strong enough yet. Let's try again tomorrow at noon."
Bai Su gave a soft "hmm".
...
The little people in the room were completely unaware of the divination; they were excitedly discussing in twos and threes the "blind box" that Ning Jia had mentioned.
According to Ning Jia, the plan is to make a sachet blind box, which will randomly contain a cute and silly sachet made by the Little People.
This afternoon's brainstorming session was to determine the design of the sachets for the blind box.
Ning Jia was wondering if the little ones would be as reserved as last time, and was about to say a few words of encouragement when they suddenly started chattering away, vying to share their thoughts.
Moreover, everyone's inspiration was so abundant that Ning Jia could hardly keep up with the recording speed:
Small flowers and grasses, various fruits, and favorite foods were all considered ordinary. Soon, some abstract and bizarre designs appeared...
After everyone had spoken freely, Ning Jia looked at her several pages of notes and tactfully suggested that, in order to ensure production efficiency, they could only select a maximum of ten or so styles.
This caused quite a stir!
When Canglan and the others returned, the living room was already in an uproar.
Each character had a sachet they wanted to put in the blind box, and they were all refusing to give way to each other, each claiming that their sachet was the cutest, and the scene almost got out of control...
Canglan stroked her chin, and although she wasn't quite sure what had happened, she said very skillfully:
"Everyone, stop arguing and let's draw lots to decide."
In the end, the apple sachet that Ning Jia proposed, symbolizing a safe and peaceful journey ashore, was drawn, as was the persimmon that symbolizes good fortune. Other blind box sachets included strawberry, flower, cloud, chestnut, small fish, pumpkin, and abstract designs.
Originally, Gan Cao suggested using the little people in the clan, such as Tuan Tuan and Meng Meng, as models to embroider a few sachets in the shape of little human faces, but this was unanimously rejected by everyone.
Ning Jia felt that she should try not to reveal any trace of the little people. Even though the embroidered sachet was already abstract, she was still a little uneasy.
The other members of the Lilliputians thought that if their little brains were made into such large cloth heads, they would definitely have nightmares, and it would be too pitiful to be all fuzzy and confused like that.
Ning Jia, standing to the side: You guys definitely don't know what celebrity merchandise is...
In addition, the Jianbing Guozi sachet, which He Meng strongly recommended, was also selected.
However, because this one is a bit complicated to make, we plan to make only a small number as a hidden item in the blind box series.
Once the contents of the sachet blind boxes were finalized, Ning Jia immediately ordered a batch of packaging boxes and widely publicized the news that Ning's Sachet Company would be releasing a batch of sachet blind boxes.
This time, the price of the sachet blind box is slightly higher than before, priced at 129 yuan. The contents of the set are the same as the previous Qixi Festival gift box, except that you can no longer choose the style of the sachet.
Because of the time constraints, Ning Jia didn't even mention the specific styles of sachets available.
But the guests seem to enjoy this thrill of the unknown.
When Ning Jia announced that customers who purchased five items could enter a lucky draw for a flower wreath bracelet, which had not been available for a long time, everyone placed orders immediately.
Good heavens, they must be seeing things! The prize is a flower wreath bracelet!
This is a flower wreath bracelet that's been out of stock for a while!
If you don't fight for it, is that even right?!
...
The sachet blind boxes were a huge hit, and Ning Jia was busy taking orders on her phone all afternoon.
Therefore, dinner was kept simple.
She made some vegetable and egg pancakes on an electric griddle, then cooked a pot of sweet pumpkin porridge, and that made a warm dinner.
On a small plate were small pieces of egg pancakes, and in a small, transparent wine glass was pumpkin porridge. The little people who had spent half the day making new sachets were extremely hungry, and they squinted their eyes with satisfaction as they looked at the food in front of them.
Take a big bite of the soft, fluffy egg pancake, then another big bite of the sweet and delicious porridge—it's so comforting!
After dinner, He Meng rubbed her full stomach and suddenly remembered something, complaining to Bai Su:
"I'm saying, can you please put the paper you've used for writing in the trash can properly?"
"It was just carelessly left in the yard, wrapped with small stones, and I spent ages picking it up."
Bai Su shook her head in confusion and said:
"Impossible, right? Every time we finish practicing calligraphy, we hand the paper directly to Teacher Zhelan in class."
"Could it have been Teacher Zhelan who threw it?"
“Of course not!” He Meng immediately said.
Her mother, Zhelan, is very clean, so why would she litter in the yard?
"That must have been thrown there by someone before. Oh well, I've already cleaned it up anyway."
He Meng decided not to pursue the matter further, but Bai Su narrowed her eyes, feeling that something was amiss.
When she went to the yard recently, she didn't see any calligraphy practice paper wrapped with stones...
When in doubt, consult the clan chief.
At this moment, Canglan was talking to Zelan about divination.
"I just realized what the hint the sun god gave me this afternoon meant."
"The clues to finding our clansmen should be in this courtyard, but the problem is, there's nothing unusual about it."
"Could it be related to those two persimmon trees?" Zelan guessed.
"It shouldn't be," Cang Lan shook her head firmly.
"We've been here for so long, and these are just two ordinary persimmon trees, nothing special. But the persimmons are almost ripe, and then we can finally taste them..."
Zhelan chuckled and patted her on the shoulder, "How did we end up talking about food again?"
"You always say kids are greedy, but I think you're pretty much the same."
Cang Lan helplessly spread her hands, "It's because our chef's cooking smells so good, how can you blame me?"
As the two were laughing, Bai Su suddenly arrived and relayed what He Meng had just said.
Seeing the two of them remain silent, Bai Su felt a little embarrassed. "Am I worrying for no reason again?"
Canglan and Zelan exchanged a glance:
"No, good boy, you've come at just the right time!"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, my darlings! Here's a delicious new chapter for you all! [heart emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
