Chapter 51 Apple, I'm leaving!
"I think my nose is malfunctioning."
Licorice sniffed hard, feeling like she was smelling tomatoes one minute, cucumbers the next, and eggs the next, making her completely confused.
“I have a little too,” Daoya said softly.
But no matter what smelled, Daoya's goal was very clear: she directly targeted the steamed meatballs with the most meat, grabbed the small plate, and sprinted 100 centimeters to firmly occupy the best spot next to the plate to get the food.
Hehe, the meatballs look delicious today too.
Daoya raised the small iron spoon and poked it hard, then, like eating a roasted dumpling, held it directly in her hand and put it into her mouth to eat with gusto.
Quartz, arriving a little later, wasn't to be outdone. He used a toothpick to pick up meatballs and put them into his extra-large plate, one, two, three...
If Canglan hadn't reminded him, "Don't eat it all by yourself, leave some for others too," he probably would have eaten the whole plate of meatballs.
"Mmm, meatballs..." Chew, chew, chew, "So delicious..." Chew, chew, chew, "I want more..."
Daoya was eating her third meatball with her cheeks puffed out when she suddenly noticed several little people gathered around the beef soup not far away. A sense of crisis suddenly arose in her, and she grabbed her plate and rushed towards... scrambled eggs with scallions.
Since we can't have beef soup for a while, we might as well eat more scrambled eggs!
Just as everyone was enjoying their meal with great enthusiasm, a familiar voice suddenly drifted slowly from overhead:
"Eat more, eat more, because if you eat this meal, you won't have another one."
After working hard all day, Ning Jia, like a dehydrated vegetable, held her rice bowl shakily and said weakly.
What? We're going to go hungry from now on?
The little people who were chewing suddenly stopped. They were quite sensitive to the fact that they had "no food to eat" and looked up at Ning Jia in unison.
Ning Jia was exhausted. She looked at Cang Lan and said, "Clan leader, please explain this to me."
Canglan nodded and immediately announced to the clansmen the important news that "the family's head chef is going on a long trip."
What? No one's cooking at home?
The little ones forgot all about their food, putting down their spoons/toothpicks and asking with concern:
"Ning Jia, when are you coming back?" "Are you going somewhere really, really far away?" "Are you going by electric scooter?" "It's so hot outside, can you even go out?" "Can I come with you?"...
The children's questions were varied and numerous. Canglan waved her hand, gesturing for the clansmen to stop.
“These issues are not important. Ning Jia has worked too hard today, let her rest for a while.”
Pointing to the plates of food, he said, "Everyone, hurry up and eat while it's hot, because we'll be in the middle of something for a while..."
Canglan stroked her chin, "I won't be able to eat such good food anymore."
The little people: ...
Everyone's expressions became more serious. Yes, with Ning Jia gone, they would have to return to their "hard and simple" life.
Wow, what are we waiting for? Let's eat!
After a moment of silence, the little ones suddenly realized what was happening and, as if they had been given an engine, rushed towards their favorite dishes, stuffing them into their small plates and mouths, all of them entering a frenzied eating mode.
Go for it! Eat more, or you won't have any left after this meal.
For a moment, the entire living room fell silent, save for the sounds of the little ones eating heartily.
Ning Jia stared at the scene in astonishment: although she had only been away from home for a few days, there was no need to make such a tragic way of eating.
If you keep eating like this, you're bound to get indigestion!
We need to find someone to stop them...
Her gaze shifted, and she saw Canglan sitting in front of a small mountain of dishes, clutching a small iron spoon and feeding herself spoonful after spoonful of food, completely devoid of her usual elegance. She was speechless for a moment.
Oh well, let them eat. They can always play a few football games this afternoon; they should be able to digest it...
...
The little people kept eating and eating and eating until, in the end, even the rice sprout, which had the strongest appetite for cooked rice, couldn't take it anymore. Holding its bulging little belly, it slowly lay down on the spot.
"Ugh... I can't take it anymore, I'm going to throw up if I eat any more."
Not far away, Shi Ying stared blankly at the edge of his rice bowl, burping incessantly, looking like he wanted to die.
Bai Su patted He Meng, who was slumped on the sofa, with concern. Seeing that He Meng was motionless with her eyes closed, she quickly patted her face as well.
"He Meng, don't sleep! Don't sleep..."
Xuecao let out a burp, took a few slow steps and came over, saying, "Let me do it."
With her small belly protruding, she laboriously squatted down beside He Meng's ear and said:
"Eat and sleep, fatter than a squirrel."
What?! That won't do!
He Meng suddenly opened her eyes, sat up with a jolt, then cried out in pain and lay back down.
"Hahaha," Xuecao laughed loudly, "Let you eat so much... burp..."
Not only these few, but the other little figures also had flushed faces and were lying haphazardly on the ground, clearly having eaten too much.
Ning Jia, speechless, extended a finger and helped Cang Lan, who was almost unable to walk, "Clan leader, be careful, don't fall."
Looking at the empty bowls of rice, she was speechless.
I originally planned to save some for the little ones' dinner, but I didn't expect it to be gone so quickly.
Did she underestimate the fighting power of the dwarves?
"I'll go wash the dishes."
After a short while, Shi Ying managed to stand up and led a few of the little people who could still walk to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
They were shocked to see a long row of transparent jars on the counter:
"How can there be so much food?"
Ning Jia laughed and said, "I just prepared extra food because I was worried you'd go hungry for the next few days."
As the saying goes, "If you have grain in your hands, you won't panic."
Quartz and the others stared blankly at the various kinds of food in the jar, and fell silent for a moment:
If we had known Ning Jia had prepared so much grain reserves, then all that effort they put into eating earlier was for nothing...
...
Ning Jia chuckled and, while the little people were washing dishes, wiped the coffee table clean and moved all the jars over there, giving all the little people a small visual shock.
Wow, so much delicious food!
"No way? These are all for us?"
Upon hearing that all of this food was left for them by Ning Jia, the little people gaped in shock.
"I thought that once Ning Jia left, I'd only be able to eat fruit..."
"Exactly, I knew I shouldn't have eaten so much!"
A little person even asked with concern:
"Ning Jia, what about your food rations for the trip? Aren't you going to take some with you?"
“No need,” Ning Jia shook her head. “It only takes a few hours by train to get home, it’s very fast.”
"Besides, if I'm really hungry, I can just order takeout."
"Oh~"
Although the little people didn't know what this "takeout" was, they were all very envious:
So, in the world of giants, you can eat anytime, anywhere! That's amazing!
"Sister Ningjia, we'll miss you!"
Guoguo and Xingxing rubbed their little faces against Ningjia's fingers, reluctant to part.
Just as she was feeling sad, Guoguo suddenly widened her eyes and asked, "Wait, Ningjia isn't home, so who's going to put on TV for us?"
The other little guys shook their heads, and Ning Jia was also helpless:
"We don't have a TV box at home, so we always use screen mirroring. Once I leave, we definitely can't watch it anymore."
What? !
"Waaaaah, I can't watch TV anymore..."
"Waaah, I want to see gorillas..."
The world has collapsed for the TV kid; tears are welling up in his eyes. He's truly heartbroken this time.
...
At 5 p.m., Ning Jia ate dinner early, tidied up the kitchen, checked the gas, electricity, doors and windows, and then prepared to leave.
Of course, there are more things to confirm before setting off than just the ones mentioned above.
First, there's the issue of electricity.
Ning Jia closed the doors to both bedrooms and the kitchen, turned the air conditioner to the 26-degree energy-saving mode, and said to Cang Lan with a hint of regret:
"Chief, the air conditioner at home will be left on for the next few days. I've already adjusted the temperature. If you feel hot, just lower it by one or two degrees."
Cang Lan nodded and patted Bai Su beside her, signaling her to also write down Ning Jia's words.
As for the Lilliputians' food problem, it seems there's not much to worry about.
Ning Jia used every available transparent, airtight container in the house, including various low-height glass jars, food storage containers, and so on.
At this moment, jars of all sizes are neatly arranged on the coffee table in the living room, creating a spectacular sight at a glance:
Two cans of popcorn, one can of plain pumpkin seeds, one can of roasted peanuts, one can of roasted broad beans, two cans of dried apples, two cans of dried peaches, two cans of dried pears, one can of dried kiwis, one can of raisins, one can of roasted chestnuts...
All of the above are the results of Ning Jia's hard work from morning to afternoon.
"Remember to eat fresh fruits and vegetables first, and then eat the food in the jar."
Ning Jia pointed to the two baskets on the far left of the coffee table and said.
The first basket was piled high with a large bunch of bananas, a dozen yellow peaches, several melons, and two bunches of grapes that she had just bought that morning.
A basket next to it contained many apples, apricots, plums, mangoes, a few leftover tomatoes, and a few cucumbers.
Ning Jia also pointed to several fruits that looked rather menacing, saying, "Don't rush to eat these dragon fruits. Wait until someone is constipated before eating them."
Good heavens, this is incredibly meticulous! They even considered constipation!
Canglan nodded, moved, and said:
"You're so kind. Actually, there's no need to go to so much trouble."
Ning Jia smiled slightly, "No need to be polite. Besides, I really like the feeling of everything being arranged in an orderly manner, so I don't find it troublesome at all."
She then continued with great interest:
"With so many canned foods, we can't just open any one and eat them; there's a specific order. I've written a number on each can, Chief Canglan, so I'll trouble you to... guide everyone to eat from smallest to largest according to the numbers on the cans..."
Ning Jia looked at Cang Lan, Cang Lan looked at Bai Su, and Bai Su... nodded obediently, "Is it starting from 1, 1, then 2, 3, 4, like this?"
"Yes, because the shelf life of each type of food is different."
For example—
Ning Jia pointed to a can of fried small fish with a sticky note that had a "1" on it, "Fried small fish can only be stored for 2-7 days at room temperature, that is, at normal temperature, and they will not be crispy if left for too long, so they should be eaten as soon as possible."
She then pointed to a jar of pork floss with the number "4" on it, saying, "This kind of pork floss can usually be stored for about a week, so there's no need to rush to eat it."
"For example, this dried apple has a longer shelf life, so it's best to eat it last..."
The little ones kept nodding their heads, but what they were thinking was mostly, "This meat floss looks so delicious!", "Great, we'll be able to eat fried small fish soon!", "I really want to know what dried apples taste like!"...
Bai Su subtly pointed to the clock on the wall, reminding Ning Jia to pay attention to the time.
Ning Jia completely ignored her, "Oh right, and drinking water too..."
She pointed to the two large 5L bottles of mineral water she had brought back that morning, saying, "This is fine to drink."
She had already installed the electric water pump she bought at the appliance store on top of the bucket, and then taught the children how to operate it.
"He Meng, try pressing the middle button."
"oh."
He Meng quickly climbed onto the bucket, stood on the water pump panel, and carefully stepped on the "water outlet" button. Then, with a whoosh, mineral water flowed from the tap and fell into the large bowl next to the bucket.
"Oh~~~" the little ones exclaimed in surprise, "How amazing!"
"This is mineral water, you can drink it directly. You don't usually drink much water, this 10L should be enough for you for several days."
"Never drink tap water, it will cause stomach problems."
"Oh right, there's still half a bowl of yogurt here. We have to finish it tonight, or it'll spoil."
"And the trash, all those fruit peels and stuff, put them in bags and drag them to the compost bin in the yard to throw them in..."
Ning Jia gave one instruction after another, and the little ones nodded vigorously, "We know, we know, we know..."
Canglan stroked her chin and smiled, "Don't worry, we've noted everything down."
Bai Su remained silent, only pointing her tiny finger at the clock on the wall once again.
Ning Jia hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay," she glanced at the time and said, "I'm off now. Be careful at home."
The little ones perked up and shouted:
"Okay, goodbye Ning Jia!" "Bye-bye Ning Jia!" "Have a safe trip, Ning Jia!" "Ning Jia, I'll miss you!"
Goodbye, friends!
Ning Jia was about to leave with her bag on her back when she suddenly turned back:
"If someone knocks on the door, don't panic, just pretend you didn't hear it. Also, don't open the door to your house casually, it's dangerous. Shi Ying, don't look down on He Meng, I'm talking about you..."
"Also, if anything happens, just call me through the security camera, and I'll respond when I see it..."
Bai Su couldn't hold back any longer and directly reminded her, "It's really getting late!"
Ning Jia was really long-winded today!
Ning Jia was taken aback, then realized what was happening, and whispered, "I'm leaving," before slinging her bag over her shoulder and walking out of the courtyard without looking back.
This time, he's really gone.
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