Chapter 50 A Busy Day with Grain Reserves
The next morning, Ning Jia went to the market early and brought back a huge pile of vegetables, several times more than usual.
"Ningjia, is the food cheaper today? Why did you buy so much?"
Looking at the kitchen counter piled high with food, Xuecao couldn't help but ask.
Ning Jia shook her head silently, went to the bathroom to wash her face, and then took a batch of newly made mosquito repellent sachets and went out to deliver them again.
The weather is getting hotter, but mosquitoes aren't decreasing; in fact, they're becoming increasingly rampant. Coupled with the emergence of a certain infectious disease, people's demand for mosquito repellent is rising, and stores are almost sold out of various floral waters and mosquito coils.
Ning's Sachet's mosquito repellent sachet is natural and harmless, with outstanding effects. Once you've used it, you can't live without it. It has an excellent reputation, so there are more and more repeat customers. Lately, Ning Jia has to deliver it to the pharmacy from time to time. The little ones are working so hard making sachets that their hands are sore.
But didn't Ning Jia deliver goods yesterday morning? Why did she go again today? And take all the freshly made sachets with her?
"Strange, Ning Jia is acting a bit strange today."
Bai Su looked at the hurried figure and asked in confusion.
Xuecao chimed in, "That's right, that's right. I talked to her today, and she didn't even acknowledge me. She's not usually like this."
He Meng was lying on the coffee table, legs up, cracking sunflower seeds. "He must be in a bad mood. I think it might be a gift from the Earth God."
Is that so? That seems to make sense?
Bai Su seemed thoughtful. "Then let's not let Ning Jia cook today. I heard that when giants come to give gifts, their stomachs feel uncomfortable, so they need to rest more."
He Meng nodded, "Anyway, I'm not hungry today, I'll just eat some fruit."
Finally, he sighed:
"We're so lucky. When we came to give gifts, apart from bleeding a little, nothing happened. We didn't even have a stomachache."
Xuecao chimed in, "That's right, that's right. I heard Ningjia say that when the giants come to give gifts, they get dizzy, have diarrhea, and are very weak."
The group sighed in admiration for a while before Canglan called them away to continue making mosquito repellent sachets.
The "gift from the Earth God" mentioned by these little creatures refers to a woman's menstruation, which is also a sign of adulthood for a female dwarf.
In the eyes of the Lilliputians, this represents physical health and maturity. After menstruation begins, the body's various growth processes accelerate, making them stronger. It is a very good thing, so it is called a gift from the Earth God.
Canglan also heard about Ningjia's gift and immediately discussed with her clansmen whether to give the family's head chef a day off today.
Just as they were discussing it, Ning Jia returned, drenched in sweat, after delivering the goods.
She returned with a large pile of things, hurriedly changed out of her sweaty clothes, and was about to go into the kitchen when Canglan stopped her:
"I heard from Bai Su that if you're not feeling well today, you don't need to cook. We can just have some fruit."
Ning Jia was slightly taken aback, then shook her head and said, "I'm not feeling unwell."
Canglan advised, "I'm here to give you a gift... Oh, is this what you call menstruation? You should rest and not overwork yourself."
Ning Jia chuckled for a moment, "Thank you for your concern, but I haven't had my period yet."
Ah, Canglan was a little embarrassed: it turned out they had misunderstood...
Everyone's eyes instinctively turned to Bai Su, the "rumor spreader," whose peach-like face flushed slightly. "I just said maybe..."
But in the end, they didn't reveal the real source of the rumors—He Meng.
Ning Jia chuckled, finally revealing a hint of a smile on her face, which had been tense since morning.
Canglan keenly observed the change in her expression, hesitated for a moment, and then asked:
"Are you in a bad mood today? Was it because we were too noisy yesterday...?"
“No,” Ning Jia quickly shook her head, “It has nothing to do with you, it’s my own business.”
As he spoke, he squatted down and whispered a few words in Canglan's ear.
"I see."
Canglan nodded. "Then, you should go about your business and don't worry about us."
"Um."
Ning Jia verbally agreed, but actually plunged into the kitchen and never came out again.
...
Seeing Ning Jia already wearing an apron and bustling around in the kitchen, something seemed off. He Meng and the others started whispering among themselves again:
"It's still early before noon, why are you making lunch already?"
"That's right, that's right. Usually at this time, Ning Jia is on the sofa playing on her phone."
"It's very strange, really very strange. I can tell even with my toes that she's hiding something from us!"
The more they discussed it, the more curious they became, and the more they wanted to know the answer.
He Meng, unable to contain her curiosity, stretched out her restless hands and feet, exchanged a glance with Bai Su, and volunteered:
"Should I go check the kitchen?"
A few minutes later.
"Ning Jia, what are you making? Is this lunch?"
He Meng squatted down by the kitchen counter, cupping her face in her hands, and asked curiously.
Ning Jia said without looking up:
"This is not food we're giving you now; it's a reserve of rations."
He Meng didn't quite understand, but she still stretched her slightly numb little legs, dragged a cucumber over to use as a bench, and continued to watch:
Whatever it is, we'll know once it's made.
So He Meng watched as Ning Jia kept chopping and chopping on the cutting board, cutting apples into slices, peaches into slices, pears into slices, and washing grapes... uh, one by one.
Ning Jia was enjoying the chopping process and finding it very relaxing, but after listening to the heavy chopping sound for a while, He Meng felt that the large cleaver in Ning Jia's hand was gleaming with a sinister light, which was quite eerie, and her little brain started to make wild associations...
Just then, Ning Jia took another kiwi out of the bag and placed it on the cutting board. He Meng suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. In a daze, the fuzzy kiwi in front of her transformed into herself, waving her little hands and crying "Help! Help!" with a round belly...
"Ah, how scary!"
He Meng screamed in fright, unable to stay still for a moment longer. She jumped off the counter and ran back to the living room like a gust of wind.
Ning Jia: ...Why is this child so easily startled?
She peeled the kiwis, checked the time, and quickly sliced them. Once the countertop was covered with various fruit slices, she put down the knife, took out the air fryer, and began a new round of "baking".
That's right, Ning Jia wants to make dried fruit.
In hot weather, fresh fruit doesn't keep for long and easily spoils if not refrigerated. But dried fruit is different; as long as it's sealed in a glass jar, it can last about a week even without preservatives.
After the first batch of fruit slices was put into the air fryer, Ning Jia opened the refrigerator and took out a bag of... corn.
Corn has been particularly cheap lately; you can buy several ears for ten yuan, so she couldn't resist buying more.
However, even if you refrigerate so much corn, it can easily become stale if left for too long.
Or how about... we just make it into popcorn?
Looking at the air fryer that was already running at full capacity, Ning Jia took out her ultimate weapon: a dark, thick-bottomed iron pot.
Making popcorn is very simple; you just need to heat up a large iron pot and then add oil and corn kernels.
"Bang—" "Bang bang—"
One or two golden corn kernels bounced up in the iron pot, making a crackling sound.
Ning Jia quickly covered the pot with the lid and waited patiently until the popping sound completely disappeared. Then she opened the lid and poured out all the popped corn. After it cooled, it became fragrant and crispy popcorn.
Because there was a lot of corn, Ning Jia made several batches of popcorn in one go. She even lavishly used a small piece of butter and added a little white sugar, stirring it in the pot to make half of the popcorn caramel-flavored.
"Gurgle..."
Amidst the sweet aroma, Ning Jia's stomach suddenly rumbled.
After busying herself in the kitchen for a while, she was quite hungry. She grabbed a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing it with gusto. Then, she suddenly realized something and quickly took out her phone to check the time.
Goodness, it's already 11:30 in the morning.
...
"Sorry, lunchtime will be a little later today."
Wearing an apron, Ning Jia poked her head out of the kitchen and called out to the living room.
What? The little people who had stopped working looked up in confusion:
But there's been a lot of delicious smells coming from the kitchen. Isn't that the smell of lunch?
He Meng, who had just slipped into the kitchen through the crack in the door and then slipped back in, looked every bit like a spokesperson:
"The food Ningjia just made is for us to eat in the next few days, so it's not lunch."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but smack her lips, licking away the crumbs of food from her mouth:
Ning Jia is really something, she can eat tomorrow's food today! That popcorn is so fragrant and sweet, and it's so crunchy, it's so delicious! She wants to eat a few more.
After being glanced at by Bai Su, she remembered the information she had gathered and quickly announced:
"Oh, right, Ning Jia also said that there will be a big meal for lunch today. She will cook a lot of dishes."
As He Meng spoke, she gestured with her hand, "Lots and lots!"
"Wow--"
Upon hearing this, everyone cheered.
And this belated lunch, just as Ning Jia promised, included everything from cucumber salad to scrambled eggs with scallions, from stir-fried three-color vegetables (corn, green beans, and carrots) to stir-fried zucchini, from tomato and chicken soup to beef pudding soup...
The coffee table is filled with all sorts of delicious dishes from left to right and right to left!
In contrast, the kitchen was completely empty.
Ning Jia acted swiftly and decisively, clearing out all the inventory at home!
As for the staple food, it wasn't white rice, but mashed potatoes with a little cream, since all the potatoes at home had to be used up.
"Oh my god, is it a holiday today? How come there are so many delicious foods?"
The little children wandered in disbelief among the steaming, delicious dishes, inhaling deeply with delight, like little mice that had fallen into a rice bucket, their faces beaming with joy.
It's a holiday! It's a holiday! It's a holiday!
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