Chapter 74 Pork Belly with a Huge Bird
Perhaps because the weather was much cooler, the Qixi Festival market was exceptionally lively today.
The market was held in a large ancient town-style park, which recreated the atmosphere of a market town in the Song Dynasty. Under the bridge, the water flowed gently, and the beautiful boats slowly passed by.
Because it's a Qixi Festival themed event, colorful lanterns are hung everywhere, and handsome men and beautiful women dressed as the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl stand on the "Magpie Bridge," taking photos with tourists from time to time. A band composed of traditional instruments plays ancient music on the riverbank, creating a truly ancient Qixi Festival atmosphere.
The market's theme revolves around traditional culture and intangible cultural heritage. The goods at each stall are exquisite, including paper cutting, cloth art, silk weaving, and more. There are also fun competitions such as tea ceremony, lantern riddles, poetry games, and traditional-style nail art, making the activities very interesting.
In contrast, Ning Jia's stall seemed quite ordinary. The signboard was something she had drawn on the spot, and the mosquito repellent sachets were casually hung and placed. At first glance, it didn't look as refined as the other stalls.
But stall owner Ning Jia was in a very relaxed mood.
After all, she had already made a profit by taking advantage of the Qixi Festival. This time, she was mainly setting up a stall to use up the remaining sachets at home, so she wasn't under much pressure.
After several days of hard work, Ning Jia sat behind the stall and yawned several times.
She sipped her homemade iced coffee, selling mosquito repellent sachets with a very Zen-like attitude, while thinking to herself:
Should we close up shop early this afternoon and go back to cook something nice for the little ones to treat them?
Ning Jia squinted, lost in thought, enjoying the pleasant moment, when suddenly a girl dressed in traditional Chinese clothing walked over, looked at the sachets on the stall, and asked hesitantly:
"Excuse me... are you Mr. Ning?"
Ning Jia snapped out of her daze, instantly switching to sales mode. She smiled, nodded, pointed to the words "Ning's Sachet" on the signboard, and gave a solemn bow.
"Indeed, it is I."
The girl chuckled, "It really is you! I thought I was seeing things."
She then turned and beckoned to a few companions not far away:
"Sisters, come quick! Boss Ning is setting up a stall, he has lots of sachets!"
What?
The girls, also dressed in ancient costumes, were overjoyed and quickly surrounded Ning Jia's stall.
"I ordered a limited edition Qixi Festival gift box before, and I regretted it so much. I didn't expect this...hehe."
A young woman, waving a round fan, excitedly began selecting a sachet.
Another girl took a picture of Ning Jia's booth and posted it on Xiaohongshu to show off her good luck.
After the lovely girls left satisfied, Ning Jia's stall had lost more than a dozen sachets.
I never expected to run into one of my old customers here.
It seems that Ning's sachets are quite well-known.
Ning Jia thought to herself with delight, then sat behind the stall and began a new round of waiting for her prey to come to her.
It's unclear who leaked the news, but despite not advertising Ning Jia's stall on social media, waves of people came throughout the afternoon, and the remaining sachets were all snapped up.
Looking at the empty stall, Ning Jia smiled and took out the last ten or so sachets from the cardboard box.
It's truly a stroke of luck for her; it seems she can really pack up and head home early today.
...
As darkness fell, Ning Jia, tending her stall, yawned again.
"Excuse me, are all these sachets handmade?"
A tall young man stood in front of the stall, picked up a sachet on the far side, and asked with a strange expression.
"Yes, all of these..."
Before she could even utter a "yes," Ning Jia suddenly noticed with her sharp eyes that the sachet in this person's hand seemed to be made in a... tiny bit sloppy way.
She examined the sachet carefully for a few moments, then frowned:
Not only is the bag poorly sewn, but the embroidery on it is crooked and messy—is it some kind of scribbled mess? It looks like a defective product made by one of our kids…
Oh my god, could it really be true?! Did I accidentally take the wrong one?!
Ning Jia was deeply embarrassed and said shyly:
"Handsome, I'm sorry, the sachet you're holding is a sample. Why don't you take a look at the others? They're all very cute and adorable too!"
As he spoke, he tried to quickly take the sachet, but to his surprise, he missed.
The young man held tightly to the pear, which was covered in scribbles.
"Samples are fine too. I think this sachet is quite cute. How much is it, boss?"
As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on the sachet in his hand, as if he really liked the messy appearance of the pear.
"I'm sorry, samples are not for sale."
Taking advantage of the young man's inattention, Ning Jia subtly took the ugly pear-shaped sachet, tossed it aside, and then enthusiastically began promoting it to him:
"There are many more lovely sachets."
"Handsome, would you like to take a look at this persimmon? It's round and cute, and it has a very auspicious meaning, wishing you all the best~ This butterfly is also very pretty, you can keep it for yourself or give it as a gift..."
The young man hummed in agreement a few times, but his gaze remained unconsciously fixed on the hastily made pear-shaped sachet. Seeing Ning Jia still enthusiastically promoting it, he couldn't help but say:
"Boss, I'll pay double the price for that sachet."
Seeing that Ning Jia remained silent, he continued:
"If that's not enough, three times the price, five times the price... even ten times the price will do!"
Huh, what's going on here?
Ning Jia was startled by his escalating offer and quickly waved his hand, explaining:
"Sir, you've misunderstood. It's not about the money."
“My family has been making sachets for so long, and we have always maintained high quality and quantity, with a very good reputation. How could we sell samples to customers?”
The young man seemed to be persuaded, but he wasn't giving up and discussed it with her again:
"It's okay, boss. As long as you sell it to me, I won't tell anyone."
His words made Ning Jia uneasy, and she became even more hesitant to sell it to him.
She couldn't help but look again at the hastily made pear, completely baffled:
Could it be that this pear has some adorable feature that I haven't noticed yet?
—No, it's still ugly.
Ning Jia glanced at the young man again, thinking to herself:
This handsome guy looks pretty normal, so why is his aesthetic sense so abstract that he actually fell for an ugly pear?
In short, everything is strange.
The two were deadlocked over the fate of an ugly sachet.
Seeing the somewhat strange young man staring intently at the sloppy pear with an indescribable longing in his eyes, Ning Jia also felt a little sorry for him.
"It's just a pear-shaped sachet," she advised.
"Handsome, if you really like these pear-shaped sachets, why don't you add me on WeChat? You can order one now and it'll be ready the next day. Plus, we can deliver it to your door..."
"……No."
The young man reluctantly looked away from the ugly pear and suddenly asked:
"May I take a picture of this sachet as a souvenir?"
Ning Jia: ?
"Sure, go ahead and take pictures..."
A few minutes later.
Watching the young man's departing figure, Ning Jia muttered to herself:
What a strange guest! And for some reason, he looks kind of familiar.
I guess all the handsome guys in the world look pretty much the same.
Ning Jia, who has face blindness, thought to herself.
...
"I'm back...?"
After finishing his stall, Ning Jiaxing rushed home, habitually shouted in the yard, then suddenly covered his mouth and quietly closed the gate.
I almost forgot, the little ones are also resting today, they're probably still sleeping right now.
Ning Jia held up a sugar painting bigger than her own head. The dog cautiously opened the door, glanced into the living room, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, so you're all awake."
"You're back."
Bai Su squatted under the coat rack by the door, yawned and greeted them, her usual cleverness gone, replaced by an adorable, goofy look.
Xuecao, who is usually the most talkative, squatted down next to Bai Su, resting her chin on her hand, fidgeting with her hair, and staring blankly into space.
Looking at the other little figures, they all seemed to be sleepwalking.
The little ones, just woken up, were dazed, their little heads drooping, their short legs dragging, their movements slow and stiff, completely lacking their usual agility. At first glance, they looked like a group of little figurines that had just learned to walk and were not yet very good at using their limbs.
"Chieftain, is everyone alright?"
Ning Jia walked to the sofa and asked Cang Lan, who was slumped against the cushions, with some concern.
"It's nothing, it's nothing," Cang Lan waved her hand. "These past two days... my sleep schedule has been upside down, and I've been sleeping too much. My energy... I just haven't fully recovered yet."
It's good that you're alright.
Ning Jia felt relieved. Looking at the still-dazed little ones, her eyes darted around, and she smiled as she waved the large paper bag in her hand:
"I bought some sugar paintings. They're made of sugar and they're really, really sweet! Anyone want some?"
"Eat, eat, eat!" "I'm eating, I'm eating!" "Eat!!"
Before the words were even finished, the little people instantly returned to their places and all "came back to life".
Seeing everyone perk up and run lively towards her, Ning Jia chuckled and ripped open the paper bag:
"Ta-da! Please enjoy the intangible cultural heritage food of the world of giants: sugar painting!"
Jest—
The little creatures looked up and simultaneously took a step back. "What a huge bird!"
Ning Jia laughed heartily, squatted down, and waved the giant sugar painting in her hand at them up close:
"Don't be afraid, it's a bird made of sugar, not a real bird."
Oh, it's made from food! You should have said so earlier.
The little creatures all breathed a sigh of relief and curiously crowded closer, looking up at the tall and large sugar bird:
Wow, how much sugar would it take to make such a big bird!
The little people, who had been sleeping for half a day, suddenly felt hungry at the thought of "sugar," a delicious treat they rarely got to eat, and their mouths watered eagerly.
"But how do we eat such a big, sturdy candy bird?" a little person asked, drooling.
"That's easy."
Ning Jia looked at the "phoenix" in her hand and was about to break off a piece when she remembered that she hadn't washed her hands yet. So she went to the kitchen to wash her hands and then brought over the cutting board and knife.
"This bird is called a phoenix, the most noble bird in giant legends..."
As Ning Jia explained, she placed the huge sugar painting on the cutting board, and with a swift movement, she gently tapped it with the back of the knife, breaking off the "phoenix's" wings.
Oh~~~
Seeing the phoenix with its wings broken in an instant, the little people watching couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
Ning Jia tapped it a few more times, and amidst the children's exclamations, she directly dismembered the wing into eight pieces, dividing it into many golden candy cubes.
"Come on, line up by age to get your candy!"
As Ning Jia spoke, she handed a golden "wing tip" to the youngest member, Tuantuan.
"It's a little hard, so be careful when you eat it."
"Here, this is for you."
She then handed Mengmeng a small piece of golden "wing".
The two little ones held a part of the bird's wing, smelled the sweet fragrance on it with their little noses, and hesitantly stuck out their tongues to lick it.
Wow—it's so sweet—
After the sugar phoenix was completely devoured, Ning Jia, while happily munching on the bird's head, reminded the little ones:
"Don't eat too much, there's a big meal coming up later."
"Wow, yay! yay!"
The little people licked the sweet candy and cheered.
That evening, Ning Jialong solemnly brought out the family's electric griddle and grilled two large plates of pork belly with alternating layers of fat and lean meat. She then taught the children to wrap small pieces of meat in lettuce leaves and dip them in her special refreshing sauce.
The rich oils and refreshing fibers are perfectly combined, making it rich yet not greasy, and with a delightful aroma...
Wow, this tastes amazing!
On a rare cool summer night, Ning Jia simply moved the dining table to the yard and shared a delicious meal with the children under the bright moonlight.
In the center of the table were grilled meat, lettuce, and various fruits and vegetables. The little children sat around the table, enjoying the meat and lemonade, their satisfied little faces beaming with smiles.
The little creatures ate with great relish and even began to sing some ancient ballad together.
Ning Jia sat quietly at the table listening, and suddenly understood why the little ones didn't like listening to music at all when she played it at home.
Compared to the ethereal songs of the Lilliputians, the songs she usually listened to were really too vulgar -_-||
According to Canglan, when they lived in the forest, they used to make musical instruments from flowers, grasses, and fruits. However, living in Ningjia, they simply don't have any materials to use.
Ning Jia raised her lemonade and clinked glasses with her:
"That's easy. We'll go to the park to collect samples when it gets cooler."
...
After a delightful barbecue night, a new day begins, another scorching hot day.
The little ones' desire to go back to the park immediately vanished, and they continued to enjoy the protection of the air conditioning god at home.
He Meng, the little guard who had resumed his patrol, stood on the vines by the courtyard wall with his spear, waving a small hand as he watched Ning Jia leave.
She suddenly remembered something and quickly shouted:
"Ning Jia, the clan leader asked me to tell you that everyone wants to eat tofu today!"
Ning Jia rode her electric scooter, nodded slightly to indicate that she understood, and then left the courtyard.
She had just ridden her bike out of the alley when, not far away, a black Mercedes parked on the side of the road quietly started up, and the dog followed stealthily.
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