Chapter 18 The Extraordinary Luck of Beef Noodles
"Chieftain, Chieftain, let me help you!"
Suddenly, He Meng emerged from the bushes, helped Cang Lan walk quickly, and disappeared in no time.
He Meng, that guy, can be quite reliable sometimes. Ning Jia sighed in admiration.
The entire Dwarf race collapsed, and now only He Meng still had any strength left.
It was a coincidence, too. If He Meng hadn't overeaten and suffered from indigestion yesterday, and hadn't been forbidden to eat by Cang Lan, she would be sick right now, just like the other little people. And it was the same in the park; every time something went wrong, it wasn't He Meng who suffered the misfortune.
Thinking about it that way, this guy really does have a special kind of luck.
Ning Jia was secretly complaining when she looked up and saw that He Meng had already returned. She couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Why are you back so soon?"
“The toilet isn’t far either,” He Meng said naturally, pointing with her tiny hand to the haystack ahead. “Look, it’s right there.”
Ning Jia paused for a moment, then said, "...Actually, it's fine if you don't tell me."
He Meng glared at her with dissatisfaction, "Didn't you ask yourself? Otherwise, who would have told you?"
Now that she already knew so much, Ning Jia decided to satisfy her curiosity further, "By the way, do you guys usually go to the toilet... in the grass?"
He Meng shook her head vigorously, "Of course not! It was pooped in the soil under the grass!"
"But since last night, everyone has been going to take a dump there, and there are still a lot of people there now."
Goodness, Ning Jia's mind went blank and imagined the scene of the little people squatting under the grass, all naked and having diarrhea. She quickly glanced a few more times in the direction of the little people's toilet, secretly memorizing the exact location to prevent herself from accidentally stepping on... well, you know.
"Since everyone is busy, I'll head back now."
Ning Jia extended her index finger and gently patted He Meng's head. "Have you been patrolling here alone these past two days? Is that alright?"
“Of course,” He Meng patted his chest confidently. “If you think I’m working too hard, why don’t you make some cream and pork floss cakes and bring them with you?”
This time she remembered the name correctly, but it was no use. Ning Jia told her with some reluctance, "I'm sorry, because of this incident, I have promised the clan leader that I will not make any more snacks for you for the time being."
Upon hearing this, He Meng was struck dumb, her mouth agape in shock, unable to utter a word.
Ning Jia comforted her, "But it's not like you can't eat it forever. Once your stomachs gradually get used to the food here, you should be able to eat snacks."
He Meng: ...
"Please take these fruits back with you. I'll be going now."
Before He Meng could start wailing and crying, Ning Jia quickly slipped out of the small garden.
The mass diarrhea incident among the little people severely disrupted Ning Jia's plans.
Seeing the purchase requests on the WeChat account "AAA Natural Sachet Boss Ning," Ning Jia could only apologize to his customers, saying that the arrival of the invigorating sachets would be delayed by a few days.
Fortunately, these users were attracted by word of mouth and have a great demand for the energy packs. They will not ask for a refund just because they have to wait a few more days.
However, the planned short holiday suddenly became free, so Ning Jia simply took on a few manuscript jobs and spent half the day at home typing on the keyboard.
She had just finished most of it when she received a message from Liu Yue:
[Airport photo.jpg Hehe, I'm ready to go! [Thumbs up]]
Ning Jia casually replied, "Have a safe trip!" Then, thinking for a moment, she added, "Don't eat just anything in Yunnan, especially mushrooms [doge emoji]"
Okay, okay, remember the rice dumplings you owe me, hmph.
After chatting with Liu Yue, Ning Jia's stomach started growling. Seeing that it was almost seven o'clock, she went to the kitchen, opened the freezer compartment, and rummaged through the bottom drawer.
Wait, where's my zongzi?
Ning Jia looked through the refrigerator again, puzzled. She hadn't wanted to eat all the zongzi at once, so she had frozen them in batches. There should still be several left...
She stood in front of the refrigerator, her brows slightly furrowed.
Well, I'm too hungry, I'll eat something else first.
She stood in front of the stove, boiled some water, and began washing the vegetables, casually tossing the withered yellow leaves into the trash can as she washed. Hmm? She suddenly turned her head and looked at the trash can—
That can't be right, can it? Did she see it wrong?
Ning Jia squatted in front of the trash can, picked up a chopstick and peeled off the top tissue paper. The long bamboo leaves and the special colorful threads made her recognize at a glance that it was a zongzi sent to her by her mother.
Her gaze immediately fell on the door of the next room, and she couldn't help but walk over and knock on the door, but no one answered.
The water in the pot was boiling vigorously, and white steam rose up. Ning Jia quickly went over to add vegetables and sliced a few pieces of braised beef. She soon finished the bowl of vegetable and beef noodles.
Just then, the door to the next room opened, and my roommate walked into the kitchen. "Sorry, I was so hungry last night that I ate your zongzi..."
Ning Jia hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's nothing, just a few zongzi. But next time, please let me know before you eat my food."
"Those rice dumplings are quite delicious. Did you make them yourself?"
Ning Jia ignored her. Her roommate sniffed and laughed, "Ning Jia, your cooking is really good. The dinner you made smelled so good. I could smell it from my room."
Seeing that she still didn't respond, her roommate cleared her throat and said, "Actually, I can't cook at all. How about you prepare dinner for me every day? It'll cost 30 yuan a day, including the cost of groceries..."
"I'm sorry, I don't have time."
Before the other party could finish speaking, Ning Jia refused outright.
At 30 a day, that's 900 a month, enough for a month's groceries. If it were the old her, she probably would have agreed.
But now... a group of cute little figures jumping among the grass flashed through her mind, and she felt no regret for her earlier rejection.
Ning Jia looked surprised, as if she hadn't expected Ning Jia to refuse. "Why did you refuse? Aren't you short of money? How about I add some more, 40 a day, no, 50 a day?"
"I already said it won't work, you should find someone else."
"Why not? It's just cooking dinner! Everyone else gets to eat dinner for free, why can't I get one even though I pay for it!..."
Free dinner? You're dreaming.
Ning Jia was about to burst out complaining. Seeing that the other person was getting emotional, she turned around and went back to her room to lock the door.
As soon as she got back to her room, she sighed: this single room was the best value for money she had found in recent years. In order to continue living here, she would just have to put up with it.
The next morning, Ning Jia was speechless when she saw the rent increase message from the landlord: "Brother, why didn't you send it earlier? I had to endure it all night for nothing!"
If the rent increases by 800 per month, then in a year it will be... She sat down and did the math for a while, then decisively went downstairs, got on her bike, and rode towards Plum Blossom Park.
"Are you looking to rent an apartment around here?" asked a real estate agent from Lianjia.
"Yes, preferably within a ten-minute walk of Plum Blossom Park, the closer the better."
“Yes, there are some,” the agent thought for a moment, “but with your budget, you probably won’t be able to rent a good place.”
"Older neighborhoods are fine, no elevator is fine, bad apartment layout is fine too, but I'm not considering sharing an apartment."
Seeing that the agent hadn't replied for a while, Ning Jia didn't waste any more time on him. "Give me a straight answer. If you can't, I'll find someone else."
"...Don't rush, let me think about it."
"There is a house that fits your budget, but it's in an old neighborhood, and it's a single-story house with a small yard."
After listening to the agent's description, Ning Jia asked in surprise, "This house isn't small, so why is it so cheap?"
The agent had a complicated story to tell: "If you're really interested, I'll take you there to have a look. It's not far anyway."
The two walked into an alley and soon arrived at the door of a house. Ning Jia subconsciously sniffed, as if she smelled... a foul odor?
"This house actually has a pretty good layout, it's square and regular, but young people don't like living in these kinds of bungalows anymore," the agent said, taking out his key to open the door.
"Holy crap—" As soon as Ning Jia entered the courtyard, she took a step back in shock. This was a rental house? This was a garbage dump!
The once spacious courtyard was now piled high with all sorts of cardboard boxes, scraps of cloth, mineral water bottles, and other trash that looked like it had been scavenged. Everything was dusty and grimy. Ning Jia immediately pulled out a mask and put it on.
The agent chuckled and explained, "The homeowner is an elderly woman in her eighties. She used to be quite clean, but her mind became unclear, and that's how her home ended up like this."
"Now that the old lady has been taken back to live with her children, the house is vacant. As long as you are willing to clean the house yourself, the rent is negotiable."
Ning Jia was speechless for a moment. If a professional team were to clean this kind of unkempt garbage house, it would cost at least several thousand yuan. The old lady's children were quite shrewd, actually coming up with the idea of passing on this cost to the tenants.
She hesitated before following the agent into the room, which was indeed a mess. Fortunately, the old lady hadn't been gone long, so the house didn't look too dirty, otherwise she would have run away on the spot.
Seeing that Ning Jia looked disgusted but hadn't run away, the agent thought things were looking good and quickly said:
"Actually, apart from being a bit old and messy, this house is still in pretty good condition overall. Let me tell you, those new houses nowadays look nice, but the materials used are actually substandard. This kind of old house is much more sturdy. The materials are all bought by our own family, and we would never cut corners."
Ning Jia touched the bricks of the courtyard wall. "This house doesn't leak, does it?"
"Don't worry, it definitely won't leak."
The agent added, "Although this is an older neighborhood, it's in the city center. There are parks and supermarkets nearby, and it's close to the market. People's Square is about a ten-minute bike ride away, and the shopping plaza is another ten-minute bike ride away..."
Seeing that the real estate agent was almost expanding to the "surrounding areas" that are an hour away by bike, Ning Jia interrupted, "Yeah, I know that, no need to say so much."
She had looked at the map before she came. The Plum Blossom Park area was a bit far from her company, but it would only take about 30 minutes by electric scooter, which was within her acceptable range.
After a barrage of flowery praise from the agent, he finally got to the point:
"Look at this house, it has two bedrooms and a living room, is fully furnished, has a convenient location, and comes with such a big yard. Renting the whole house would cost at least 60,000 to 70,000 yuan a year, but I just talked to them and they said that as long as someone is willing to clean the house themselves, it will only cost 60,000 yuan a year."
Sixty thousand? Ning Jia's previous single room, though small, only cost thirty thousand a year. Even with the rent increase, it would only be forty thousand a year. If she rented this place, it would be thirty thousand more a year, and sixty thousand more in two years. Although her income had increased recently, she didn't plan to be so extravagant...
Ning Jia silently calculated the costs in her mind, "I'll think about it some more."
Before leaving, she turned and looked at the two trees in the yard. The trees looked quite old, tall, and had lush foliage, but she didn't know...
Seeing Ning Jia's gaze fall on the persimmon tree in the yard, the real estate agent's mind lit up, and he quickly resumed his sales pitch:
"This is a persimmon tree that has been planted for many years. It doesn't need much care. Just water it once a week. When autumn comes, it will bear a lot of persimmons. It also has a good meaning, wishing everyone good luck."
Ning Jia looked away, pretending not to be interested in the tree.
...
After several rounds of back-and-forth negotiations, the agent was practically hoarse from talking, but Ning Jia still hadn't given in. As the weather got warmer, the mess in the house would be even harder to clean up, and the landlord was definitely more anxious than she was.
As it turned out, her guess was correct. The weekend after the May Day holiday, she signed a rental contract with the landlord: 40,000 yuan a year excluding utilities, no deposit required but the entire apartment had to be rented for a year.
The old lady's daughter and son came to sign the contract. They were clearly very troubled by the condition of the old house and readily agreed that Ning Jia could dispose of whatever was left in the house. They also gave her the keys in advance: "You can move in whenever you want."
Ning Jia nodded her thanks, but at that moment, what she was worried about was not that, but how the little people would move.
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