Chapter 41 You can't have your cake and eat it too.
It's summer after all, but the sky was still quite bright in the evening.
Around 7 p.m., Ning Jia was browsing the farmers market near her new home with her bag on her back. After walking around for a while, she went to the fruit supermarket next door. With the hot weather, she doesn't usually stock up on fruits and vegetables. She just picked up a bag of fruit and a few kinds of vegetables and went home.
After a day of mental work, she felt inexplicably tired, but she still had to speed things up. She first made some noodles for dinner, then rode her bike to the park to deliver fruit to the little people.
Wow, there's fruit to eat!
Just moments ago, the grass was completely silent. Suddenly, several tiny figures appeared and gathered around Ning Jia, eager to see the large, red peaches in the bag.
"Hey, isn't this the red berries that monkeys love to eat?"
The little figure also recalled the peaches he had eaten in the forest before, saying, "I've eaten them before, they were very sour and bitter. Will this fruit taste good?"
Ning Jia laughed, "These are artificially grown peaches. They're in season now, and they're very sweet and juicy. I specially bought several kinds so you can try them."
As she spoke, she took out a peach that was white with a hint of pink. "This is a crisp peach. The flesh is very crisp and sweet. Does anyone want to eat it?"
A little person who likes crunchy apples exclaimed, "I want to eat one! I like the crunchy texture!"
"Okay, here, have a crisp peach."
After Ning Jia finished distributing the crisp peaches, she took out a round, rosy peach. "This is a nectarine. Isn't it beautiful? It tastes delicious too. The flesh is soft and juicy..."
"This is a nectarine." "This is a yellow peach." "This is a flat peach, the kind of peach that the Monkey King of the Middle Kingdom loved to eat, according to legend."
A large bag of peaches of various colors was quickly devoured by the "little monkeys." Under the dim light, most of the little people didn't rush to enjoy them, but instead put the peaches into straw baskets and slowly dragged them home.
Only Canglan, Baisu, and a few others were gathered under the tree around a peach, taking turns eating it. In no time, the huge peach was reduced to a flat pit.
Seeing the little ones eating with relish, Ning Jia, sitting under the tree, smiled slightly, feeling a little relieved of the day's fatigue.
"Lord Ningjia, you look very tired."
Canglan gracefully wiped the peach juice from her lips and said with concern, "If you're busy with work, you don't need to come over recently."
With the seasonings generously given by Ning Jia, Bai Su's little tribe kitchen project progressed smoothly. Every day, she directed He Meng and Shi Ying to catch small fish and find bird eggs, while Dao Ya and Gan Cao went to find edible wild grasses. After some effort, the tribe finally had non-toxic and harmless grilled fish and grilled eggs that were barely palatable.
Ning Jia shook her head. "It's nothing, it was just something I did on the way. Besides, I rode my bike here today, so it didn't take much effort."
"Where are Guoguo and Xingxing? Are they asleep yet?"
Ning Jia peeked around and realized she hadn't seen the little ones when they were distributing the peaches.
"He Meng took the younger ones to the riverbank. The lotus flowers are in bloom recently, and they've all gone there to play."
Canglan glanced at the sky, stroked her chin, and said to Bai Su, "It's about time we called them back."
"I'll go with Bai Su."
Ning Jia extended a hand to Bai Su, letting her stand in his palm, then gently placed her on his shoulder before heading to the riverbank with great interest.
Under the still-dark, deep gray sky, several little figures were standing on pink lotus petals, splashing water on each other and playing happily.
When Ning Jia and Bai Su arrived, Guo Guo and Xing Xing were playing and splashing around. The two little ones were standing in a large, pink lotus flower, having a great time playing in the water.
Guoguo was secretly splashed with water by Xingxing and was about to retaliate when she lost her footing and almost fell off the lotus petal, which startled Ningjia so much that she almost screamed.
Guoguo reacted quickly, immediately stretching out her two little hands and firmly grasping a large, white-pink lotus petal. The lotus petal swayed slightly, and Guoguo used the force of the sway to jump up and land steadily in the center of the lotus flower.
Ning Jia, who witnessed this scene, secretly worried for Guo Guo. "Letting them play on the lotus flowers like this, what if they fall into the water? This is too dangerous!"
“It’s alright,” Bai Su said calmly, sitting on her shoulder. “There are so many lotus flowers and leaves here that even if you fall off a lotus flower, you’ll just land on a lotus leaf and won’t fall into the water.”
Ning Jia thought the little people were really carefree, "But what if..."
“Even if they fall into the water, the children can all swim, and He Meng will be watching over them, so they'll be fine,” Bai Su said confidently.
Well, although He Meng is childish, he is very reliable when it comes to protecting his people.
Ning Jia said nothing more and continued to watch the little figures playing.
The tiny figures of the little people, so joyful and lively, complemented the red flowers and green leaves, and Ning Jia watched with great interest, not wanting to disturb the little people's rare water recreation.
At this moment, Bai Su remembered their purpose and loudly reminded them:
"It's getting dark, we can go back now."
"They're here, they're here."
He Meng herded the little people sitting in the lotus flowers like she was herding lambs, and then led them to jump from one lotus flower to another, from one lotus leaf to another. When most of the lotus flowers in the pond were swaying, He Meng had already led the children back to the shore.
He Meng herded the little ones into the grass, where they rolled around in the dried grass to dry off. Then, she had Guo Guo take them home.
After the little people left, she turned around and jumped onto a graceful pink lotus flower. She nimbly darted between the red and green blossoms and returned to the shore in the blink of an eye. Then, as if presenting a treasure, she took out a small green lotus seedpod.
"Here, have this."
He Meng had actually seen Ning Jia standing by the river a while ago. She felt that Ning Jia's eyes weren't as bright as they had been recently, so she specially picked a lotus seedpod for her to cheer her up.
"Thanks, He Meng." Ning Jia's eyes curved into crescents, as if they had gained a little more light.
"I just picked it casually for fun, I didn't pick it specifically for you." He Meng said, but her little face turned suspiciously red.
"Yes, I know. Thank you for picking the lotus pods."
Ning Jia chuckled, playing with the small lotus seedpod, and placed He Meng on her shoulder. The two little ones and the big one slowly returned to the tree under the moonlight.
By this time, all the tribespeople had gone back to sleep, leaving only the tribeswoman, Canglan, waiting for them under the tree.
When Canglan saw Ningjia arrive, she suddenly asked:
"Lord Ningjia, have you run out of orders for sachets lately? I've made quite a few with my clansmen these past few days, but these sachets lose their effectiveness if left out for too long... You see..."
Oh right, I almost forgot about that.
Ning Jia slapped her forehead, quickly took out her phone, and opened her sales account—AAA Specialist in Good Things, Boss Ning. She had been using her main work account lately, and hadn't opened this sales account for almost two days.
Upon logging into WeChat, Ning Jia's left eyelid twitched when she saw the prominent 99+ message notification. She quickly browsed through it.
These messages are mostly about orders.
It's been a while since the last delivery, and many people's energy-boosting sachets have stopped working. They want to order some new ones. Some people have also asked if we still make floral wreaths and jewelry, as they want to order custom-made ones for their wedding banquet guests...
This isn't information, it's all just small change.
Ning Jia, fearing the guests would leave before receiving a reply, plopped down on the grass and quickly replied to each message on her phone:
I haven't had time to make flower wreaths and jewelry lately, but I'll consider doing it later; I have energizing sachets in stock and can deliver them to your door in the next couple of days; I apologize that I'm temporarily not making sleep-aid sachets due to a shortage of herbs.
After replying to all of these, Ning Jia looked at a message sent by the owner of a study room and fell into deep thought:
She's been really busy lately, but she doesn't want to give up her side business of making sachets...
“Ning Jia, you don’t look well. Why don’t you go back and rest early?” Cang Lan advised. “You should prioritize your own affairs. Everything else can wait.”
Ning Jia snapped out of her daze and smiled, "It's nothing. I was just checking the customer orders. This batch of newly made sachets has already been sold out."
This is a good thing, and the little people are very happy, but seeing Ning Jia looking so tired as soon as she started work, the little people also look worried.
He Meng opened her mouth, but before she could say "Why must she become a slave?", Bai Su covered her mouth and shook her head: Going to work is Ning Jia's own choice, and the little people have no right to interfere.
But who would willingly choose to suffer? Is it really impossible not to go to work in the world of giants? Does the world of giants also have a rule that "giants must go to work every day"?
Watching Ning Jia's lifeless figure disappear into the distance, He Meng was utterly bewildered. She still preferred the energetic Ning Jia of the past.
Moreover, He Meng thought sadly, ever since Ning Jia went to work, the quality of her meals has plummeted, and it's really hard to get used to... I miss her creamy pancakes and her salt and pepper fish so much...
Not only He Meng, but the other little people were also secretly discussing: Ning Jia seemed like a different person when she was at work, and she looked so pitiful.
Ning Jia was unaware that she had become the object of the dwarfs' sympathy. She smoothly returned to her previous life as a beast of burden, and she visited the dwarfs in the park less often, keeping herself busy day and night.
That day, Ning Jia was typing rapidly at her workstation, calculating her recent income from sachets. Suddenly, she stopped typing. Wait a minute, wasn't she only on probation? How come she's already so busy?
Moreover, the probationary period salary is only 80%, and after deducting social security and other expenses, what I actually get... is less than half of the income I've made from these past few days of sachets?
This contrast makes even the scene of her working diligently seem somewhat absurd.
Ning Jia suddenly lost interest in working on the plan. She put down the mouse, played with Lucky, the pug sitting at her feet, and remembered the kind reminder the study room owner had given her.
She had actually been considering the issue of sachets for a long time. If she wanted to continue doing sachet business in the future, or even make it bigger and stronger, she would definitely have to go down the path of formalization.
But that means I won't be able to balance my current job.
The adage "you can't have your cake and eat it too" is something even children understand, but in reality, making that decision isn't so easy...
Ning Jia's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she quickly fell into deep thought...
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