Chapter 30: The Green Bean Rice - An Insurmountable Hurdle
Ning Jia put on an apron, turned on the rice cooker, lifted the lid and glanced at the green bean rice that she had started cooking before leaving. The aroma wafted out, and her stomach started growling.
In the refrigerator is a rice-mixing sauce she carefully made with soybean paste, shiitake mushrooms, onions, dried shrimp, and other ingredients. The fragrant green bean rice mixed with the rich sauce makes for a delicious lunch.
However, this braised rice contains salted meat sent by Ms. Ning, so the little people probably can't eat it yet; we'll have to make something else.
Ning Jia thought for a moment, picked up the large scissors hanging on the wall, turned around and left the kitchen, heading straight for the styrofoam boxes in the yard.
The scallions in the styrofoam box have grown to the height of two or three little people. If they are not eaten soon, they will start to flower and become inedible. We need to use them up quickly.
With a single snip of her scissors, Ning Jia swiftly cut off the plump, tender green scallion leaves, leaving her with a large handful of long, green scallion leaves. Meanwhile, the scallions in the styrofoam box all shrank, leaving only clumps of roots.
These scallions are growing so fast! Ning Jia pinched a scallion leaf, looked at another styrofoam box, and thought, "This yard is only so big. Why don't we remove one of the styrofoam boxes and put it in a compost bin instead? That way, the kitchen waste won't be wasted."
Then her gaze turned to the water tank in the corner. Before, He Meng had been clamoring for fried small fish, so why not use this water tank to raise some fish? If she wanted to eat them, she could just scoop some out and fry them. How convenient!
Ning Jia thought about it more and more and felt that this was a good idea. The little people were coming to "visit" more and more frequently, so it was time to tidy up the courtyard.
Back in the kitchen, Ning Jia saw that the little ones had already been divided into small porcelain dishes and were all eagerly waiting for lunch. She couldn't help but smile. After steaming the pumpkin, she quickly made a plate of fragrant scrambled eggs with scallions and gave it to the little ones to satisfy their cravings.
"Wow, this time the scrambled eggs smell even better!" "So fragrant!" the little ones exclaimed in surprise.
Bai Su looked at the scallions in the egg and said, "It must be because of the addition of this herb."
Everyone exclaimed "Oh!" in sudden realization. No wonder Ning Jia planted so many scallions; it turns out this grass called scallion is so delicious.
While they were eating, Ning Jia brought over some cucumber salad. The little people had eaten cucumbers before without any problems, so they could eat them without worry.
"Huh, this cucumber is salty!" A little person took a bite of a thin slice of cucumber, savoring it, then their eyes lit up. "But it's delicious even though it's salty!"
Licorice ate more carefully, commenting as she ate, "It's not only salty, but also crisper. It's just that there's less cucumber juice, which is quite different from eating cucumber directly."
Quartz, not far away, was munching away. "I don't understand what you're talking about," he chewed, "but it smells really good and tastes delicious." "That's all that matters."
"Mmm, delicious!" "The cucumber is crunchy, so tasty!" "Just as delicious as soft scrambled eggs!"
Ning Jia, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh.
The atmosphere during the little people's meal was so joyful that she really wanted to take her bowl and sit on the sofa to eat with them. But seeing the fragrant green bean rice in her bowl, and to avoid making some of the little people envious, she resisted and sat down at the table instead.
Ah, the tender green beans paired with chewy rice, the savory aroma of salted pork, and the delicious mushroom sauce, all accompanied by a fantastic little people's mukbang video—it's just so enjoyable!
Ning Jia had only eaten half of her meal when the pumpkin in the steamer was ready, so she quickly scooped it out.
Just then, the little ones had almost finished off the cucumber salad on their plates and were still feeling a bit unsatisfied when Ning Jia announced, "Dessert is here!" This successfully made the little ones raise their heads in surprise and look at her with bright eyes.
Under the gaze of so many small eyes, Ning Jia's lips curled up wildly, and she began to distribute slices of golden pumpkin with a beaming smile.
"This is pumpkin. It's soft, sweet, and very nutritious."
The children were eating pumpkin for the first time, and they were quickly captivated by its unique sweetness, exclaiming "Wow!" all around them.
Seeing how much the little ones were enjoying their food, Ning Jia couldn't resist eating a few slices of pumpkin herself. Mmm, it was soft and had a sweet taste; it was indeed delicious.
Lunch was eaten in a pleasant and harmonious manner. The little ones were all full and comfortable, and then lay down on the soft sofa to rest.
Ning Jia brought over a basin to clear the dishes, and Shi Ying was the first to raise her hand, "Me, I want to wash the dishes!"
Ning Jia chuckled, and seeing that several more little figures had also raised their hands, she took a bunch of small porcelain plates and the little figures in a basin and placed them in the kitchen sink.
She distributed rags to the children. Shi Ying, being a skilled worker, volunteered to teach the others, so Ning Jia was happy to have some free time. She told them to "be careful" and then left the kitchen.
She was about to talk to Canglan about the straw mat when she suddenly heard the little one call out in a childish voice, "Daddy, I want to poop!"
His father, who was comfortably sprawled on the sofa, had no choice but to get up upon hearing this, and took his little hand, saying, "Come on, let's go to the yard to poop."
"It doesn't need to be so complicated, you can use the toilet at home."
Ning Jia actively promoted her meticulously crafted "little people's toilet." To accommodate the little people's habits, she even laid a lot of clean soil inside the toilet.
Tuan Tuan's father, the little boy named "Zeqi," scratched his head, looking hesitantly at Tuan Tuan who was desperately trying to poop, "How about we go to the bathroom..."
Before he could finish speaking, he heard a loud and urgent mixed male and female voice: "No!"
Ning Jia turned around in surprise and found that among the little figures slumped on the sofa, Gan Cao and Dao Ya had jumped up at some point. The sound just now must have been shouted by the two of them together.
“Uh,” Ning Jia blinked, “It’s really okay to use the toilet at home. I’ll change the soil regularly, so it’s very clean.”
Gancao and Daoya exchanged glances, and then Daoya spoke up, "That's not the point. We already told the tribespeople that if they need to defecate, they must do so in our vegetable garden."
Vegetable garden? Ning Jia paused, her gaze involuntarily drifting to the vegetable patch in the yard. Suddenly realizing something, she asked with difficulty:
"You, you mean...you all...uh, you all pooped here..."
Daoya nodded firmly, "Yes, it's in the vegetable garden."
"But didn't you tell me before that you usually relieve yourselves in the soil under the persimmon tree...?"
Seeing Ning Jia's thunderstruck expression, Daoya asked curiously:
"Ning Jia, didn't you say that pooping in the soil is like fertilizing it? I saw the experts on TV say the same thing. Since that's the case, we can't waste this benefit; we should save it for our vegetables."
……I see.
Ning Jia finally recovered from her shock, but the thought that the food she would be eating from now on would be nourished by the little people's... well, you know, made her feel uneasy.
Forget it, she looked at Tuantuan's tiny body. The poop she produced was probably not even as big as a sheep dung ball. She decided to just pretend that everything else was a sheep dung ball. Besides, you have to pay for sheep dung balls, but these are naturally free. This saved her some money.
Ning Jia analyzed the situation from a cost-saving perspective and finally got herself in good shape.
Seeing that Tuantuan was being taken to the yard by her father to poop, Ningjia finally had time to ask Canglan about important matters.
Before she could speak, Canglan said directly, "The food is ready, but it's slightly different from last time. Is that alright?"
As he spoke, he called over He Meng and a few others, and they carefully moved the straw mat, which was as big as a carpet to them, out of the empty space under the coffee table.
What? It's already done?
Ning Jia was astonished. After just one glance at the finished product, a look of amazement flashed in her eyes, and she sincerely said, "So beautiful."
Unlike ordinary straw mats woven from hay on the market, this straw mat is like an oil painting by a master, with layers of different shades of green, casually and just rightly embellished with red, pink, white, yellow and purple. The collision and gradation of colors vividly tell the viewer about the endless spring.
This isn't some kind of straw mat; this is springtime.
This straw mat is so beautiful and amazing. It is obviously made with great care. I wonder how much thought and effort the little people put into it.
Ning Jia felt a sudden pang of pain in her heart that such a beautiful work was to be sold to customers who might not appreciate it.
"It must have been very hard work to make this straw mat."
Before Cang Lan could speak, He Meng nodded without any hesitation, "Of course! Even my mother did it, she worked so hard!"
Ning Jia was taken aback. Zhe Lan, who had been resting quietly, had also participated in this work?
Looking at the still somewhat thin, gray-haired little man, she felt even more guilty. "It's my fault for not thinking things through. Let's not do this next time."
"I will no longer sell such complicated items in the future."
Zhelan shook her head, gently pressed down on He Meng's mouth which was about to open again, and said to Ning Jia:
"Don't worry, we wouldn't be so foolish as to ruin our health just to make money. It's just that you recently lost your job and keep saying you're short of money, so we're trying to earn as much as possible..."
Is that why?
Ning Jia was both surprised and touched, and in her emotion, she couldn't help but reveal the truth:
"Actually, it's not that we're short of money. I and you all have tens of thousands in our accounts. Plus the company's compensation and the government's unemployment benefits, it should be enough for about half a year if nothing unexpected happens."
More than half a year?
Having mastered "Giant Time," the little people all looked up at the clock and calendar hanging on the wall, silently calculating how long the second half of the year actually was, and then showed an incredulous expression on their faces.
"Ahem," Ning Jia could already sense the speechless feelings of the villains, and tried to save face for himself, saying, "I'm just taking precautions. With so many of us, how can we just sit around and eat our savings away?"
Canglan nodded in agreement, "That's true. In the world of giants, money is needed everywhere, so we still need to be aware of potential dangers."
“So, I think we can take a break from this kind of hard work,” Ning Jia said, explaining her plan. “The weather is getting warmer, so we can just take on occasional orders for flower garlands and jewelry. As for our main source of income, we still need to make sachets.”
Compared to other products, sachets are readily available and easy to pick, and they are not afraid of being damaged. They are also easy to make, and anyone can do it, making them much easier.
As for sales, although the previous batch of customers stopped making repeat purchases due to the approaching college entrance exams, a few new customers were introduced sporadically. Ning Jia's decision to sell zongzi sachets at the market was also intended to promote sales, but this alone is not enough to truly boost sales; other methods need to be considered.
After sending the little people back to the park, Ning Jia took a new batch of products back to the handicraft market.
It was already past 2 p.m., and under the blazing sun, the middle-aged woman who had been waiting by the stall in the morning had been waiting for a long time. When she saw Ning Jia arrive, a hint of anticipation flashed in her calm eyes.
"Boss Ning, you've finally arrived." The stall owner next door quietly pointed at the man. "People have been waiting for you for so long. I was afraid you wouldn't come."
Ning Jia thanked her and carefully placed the large cardboard box she was holding on the ground. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Seeing Ning Jia's grand display, whether it was a charade or genuinely good stuff, a crowd quickly gathered. Market management personnel also rushed over immediately.
This caused other customers to think that something big had happened at Ning Jia's stall, and they all flocked over to watch the excitement. In no time, the small stall was surrounded by a huge crowd.
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