Chapter 39 Fried Fish Found a New Job
"Damn, there are so many mosquitoes!"
Ning Jia, her eyes blurry, frantically scratched the mosquito bites on her legs, then her arms, then her ankles. She was both sleepy and itchy, and it was absolutely miserable.
She looked up at the electric mosquito repellent device that was lit in the corner. What was going on? It had been on all along, so why were there still mosquitoes?
She knew there were many mosquitoes in the bungalow, so she had already put mosquito coils in the room and luxuriously kept them running 24 hours a day, thinking there wouldn't be any problem, but it still didn't work...
There was no other way but to unleash her ultimate weapon—medicated oil.
Ning Jia opened a small bottle of medicated oil, applied some to each mosquito bite, then wrapped herself tightly in the summer blanket and lay back down, leaving only her head sticking out.
Now, I shouldn't get bitten, right?
She was drifting off to sleep when suddenly her eyelids itched...
Good heavens, the mosquitoes started biting her face, and she even got bites on her eyelids!
Ugh, Ning Jia couldn't take it anymore, so she got up and applied another layer of medicated oil. She was practically soaked in the flavor, and the cool smell made her nose feel sore that she almost couldn't sleep.
That night, Ning Jia didn't know how she fell asleep. All she knew was that when she woke up in the morning, she had two large dark circles under her eyes, which were quite noticeable.
"Good morning, did you not sleep well last night?" Canglan asked with concern.
Ning Jia showed off her arm, which was covered in red spots. "It's all because of mosquitoes. I don't know why there are so many mosquitoes!"
"Huh?" she asked, glancing at the energetic little people in the living room. "Didn't you get bitten by mosquitoes?"
"No," the little people all shook their heads.
"Impossible, right?" Ning Jia scratched the bump on her face again. Could it be that she was the only person in this whole room with type B blood?
Cang Lan thought for a moment, "This house is not on high ground, and it just so happens to be raining, so it's natural that there are so many mosquitoes." As she spoke, she took out a straw bag from her backpack and handed it to Ning Jia, "If you don't mind, please take this with you."
"What's this?" Ning Jia picked up the straw bag and smelled it. "Are there herbs inside too?"
“Yes,” Canglan nodded, “This is the good man grass. Back in the forest, my tribe used this grass to defend against mosquitoes.”
She then pointed to the grass skirt she was wearing, "There are some kind of grass on it, so mosquitoes rarely bite."
Good human grass? Ning Jia couldn't help but think of the magical effects of devil grass. The little people's selection couldn't be wrong, so she accepted it.
Taking advantage of the fact that the weather had finally cleared up, Ning Jia sent the little people back to the park.
Xuecao and the others were still thinking about the little gift Ningjia had mentioned. Ningjia chuckled and said, "I'll bring it over after my interview."
After the little people returned to their tree homes, Ning Jia did not go back directly. Instead, she ran to the riverbank, scooped up many tiny fish from the water with a basin, and soon the glass jar she had brought was full of them.
Ning Jia temporarily kept the small fish in the water tank in the yard. After doing this, Ning Jia changed into a formal suit and went for the interview.
The company Ning Jia was interviewing with was a pet supplies company. The interviewer was the boss himself. Ning Jia had only been sitting down for a few minutes when the boss started to boast about his products. In his enthusiasm, he painted a rosy picture for Ning Jia, hoping she would join the company and create a brilliant future together!
Ning Jia remained silent throughout, outwardly agreeing but inwardly cursing. However, the pet industry was indeed a promising field, and although the salary offered was not as good as her previous company, it was still acceptable.
She couldn't stand the anxiety of not being able to find a job, so even though she felt this company wasn't very reliable, she still decided to give it a try.
With her new job secured, Ning Jia felt at ease.
After returning home, whether it was because there were fewer mosquitoes during the day or because the sachet really worked, she finally stopped getting new mosquito bites and had a nice afternoon nap.
After waking up, Ning Jia drank a cup of coffee and immediately went to the yard to scoop the small fish she had caught that morning out of the water tank.
Fortunately, they didn't seem to have any issues with adapting to the new environment and were all quite lively.
For Ning Jia, these fish wouldn't even be enough to nibble on, but for the dwarfs, they were just right.
She carefully cleaned the small fish, marinated them with salt, soy sauce, and cooking wine, then prepared a batter with eggs. She coated the marinated fish with the batter and deep-fried them. After frying them twice, the small fish turned golden and crispy, with a slender and upturned shape, somewhat like fried mushrooms.
Speaking of fried mushrooms, she remembered that the little people seemed to like eating mushrooms. Ning Jia thought for a moment, then made a note of it in the little people's recipe book and put the dish in the to-do list.
Hmm, these little fish smell pretty good.
Ning Jia initially looked down on the fish, which was smaller than a thumb, but at this moment she couldn't resist reaching out and picking one up, stuffing it into her mouth. It was indeed very crispy, so it seemed to be fried to perfection.
After frying the fish once more, she took out a kitchen paper she had redeemed with points, laid it flat, and placed the small fried fish on it to sit for a while to absorb some oil. Then she sprinkled a layer of salt and pepper evenly on top before carefully transferring them to a glass lunchbox with chopsticks.
Ning Jia was about to put the lid on the lunchbox, but she knew it would soften by the time they got to the park, so she simply left it uncovered, put it in a plastic bag, and carried it along with a large bottle of yogurt, the little people's favorite drink, before heading to the park under the blazing sun.
It was hot, after all. Although the distance was still the same, and Ning Jia tried her best to walk in the shade, she still broke out in a sweat when she arrived at the park.
Let's come in the evening next time.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead. Wait, something's not right. She has to go to work tomorrow. If she wants to come to see the little people, she can only come at night, just like before.
She couldn't help feeling a little regretful, but when she shared the freshly fried salt and pepper fish with the little people, their cheers made her smile again. She simply found a shady spot, put her hands behind her head, lay down, and watched the little people happily eating the fried fish.
"Finally got to eat salt and pepper small fish, hehe."
He Meng ate one with his left hand and one with his right, using both hands simultaneously, thoroughly enjoying himself.
She walked over to Ning Jia while eating and plopped down next to her elbow. "Hmph, I thought you'd forgotten."
In fact, she herself had almost forgotten Ning Jia's promise to make salt and pepper fish, but of course she couldn't admit it now.
Ning Jia looked up at the azure sky and the leisurely white clouds, and smiled, "When have I ever forgotten what I promised you?"
"Can I have a cream and pork floss pastry?" He Meng suddenly asked.
Ning Jia was slightly taken aback, suddenly realizing that the cream and pork floss cake was something that had happened a long time ago. The little people had tried many new foods, but "the cream and pork floss cake might have to wait a while."
"All right."
He Meng sighed with some disappointment, but she had recently eaten many delicious foods she had never tried before, and she was no longer as obsessed with cream and pork floss cakes as before.
Anyway, the salt and pepper fish was delicious, so she took another bite with satisfaction, chewing and chewing, then took another bite with satisfaction, chewing and chewing again. But the next second, Ning Jia's words almost made her choke:
"By the way, I've found a new job. Starting tomorrow, I won't have time to come see you during the day."
He Meng almost dropped the little fish in her hand!
"...Why must we be slaves?" He Meng blurted out her true feelings.
Ning Jia chuckled, "You probably don't understand. In the world of giants, without a stable job, there will be a lot of invisible pressure. Besides, it's a bit unreasonable for us to always rely on you to earn money to support ourselves."
“Aren’t we in a cooperative relationship?” He Meng retorted. “Besides, without you, we wouldn’t be able to sell those products, and we might have all gone hungry by now.”
Seeing that Ning Jia remained unmoved, He Meng kept a straight face and pretended to be indifferent, saying:
"Fine, if you want to go to work, then go. I'm going to get some yogurt."
She licked the last bit of salt and pepper on her hand, then leaped up to drink her yogurt under the big tree, and told her tribesmen the news.
Seeing this, Ning Jia also stood up from the grass and followed her to the tree.
"Hmm, there seems to be a little less yogurt today."
Ning Jia had just walked to the tree when she heard a little man say this.
She was immediately speechless: Seriously? She only "sneaked a few sips" of yogurt because of the heat, and they found out?
On second thought, it makes sense. What's a few bites for her is a huge amount for a dwarf; they'd definitely notice. So she quickly explained:
"It's so hot today, and I didn't bring any water, so I just drank some of the yogurt I brought for you guys. Sorry about that."
Since this yogurt was purchased with money from a dwarf's account, it's worth noting.
So it was Ning Jia who drank it. It's alright, it's alright, the little people waved their hands, as long as it wasn't stolen by someone else.
By now, everyone had learned about Ning Jia finding a job thanks to He Meng's announcement. Cang Lan smiled and congratulated her, saying, "I was worried about you before, but with your abilities, you're sure to find a good job."
Ning Jia looked at Cang Lan and said, "If I go to work, I will have to deliver food less often and won't have much time to sell sachets. Actually, it's better for you if I don't go to work."
Canglan stroked her chin. "Didn't you say there was plenty of money in the account, enough to last for months? What do I have to worry about?"
"Besides, even if you don't have time to come in the future, this park has some river fish, wild grass, bird eggs, insects, and sometimes mushrooms, all of which are edible. If you take the time to look for them, you can make do with something to fill your stomach. You really don't need to worry about my tribe."
As she spoke, Canglan shared an interesting anecdote from her clan:
"Because of the bet yesterday, this morning Bai Su had He Meng and the others build a stove out of stones, saying she wanted to cook like you. She caught a lot of small fish and grilled them, but the taste..."
Canglan gave a look that was hard to describe, and didn't continue speaking.
But at this moment, silence spoke louder than words. Ning Jia instantly understood, turned to look at the group who were enjoying their salt and pepper fish, and smiled:
"No wonder I always felt that the fried small fish I brought today were particularly popular. It turns out there was a control group."
"Since Bai Su and the others want to learn to cook, I'll prepare some seasonings later. Food without seasonings is indeed hard to taste good, so you can't blame them for not being skilled enough."
"You're as thoughtful as ever," Cang Lan said, then, as if remembering something, asked, "Were the previous herbal remedies effective?"
"Absolutely wonderful!"
Ning Jia took out the straw bag that Cang Lan had given her from her pocket. "I carry it with me with me every time now, and I haven't been bitten by mosquitoes since."
"That's good," Canglan said with a smile. "I had them make a little more, so you can hang it in your home to keep mosquitoes away. By the way, if you have time, you can burn the herbs in the yard to repel mosquitoes, although the smell is a bit strong."
"Okay, I understand."
Ning Jia carefully noted down the various uses of the herb, and a thought suddenly popped into her mind: if this wonderful thing were made into sachets and sold, it would definitely be very popular.
But thinking about starting work at her new company tomorrow and how busy she'd probably be, she suppressed the idea. Forget about mosquito repellent sachets, she'd have to squeeze in time to deliver even the energy-boosting sachets she'd made before.
The sun overhead had slowly moved away, and the sunlight was no longer so dazzling. Ning Jia returned to the courtyard with about a dozen mosquito repellent sachets and mosquito-repellent plants carefully made by the little people.
Before leaving, the little ones were so disappointed when they heard that Ning Jia wouldn't have time to come and play with them after she went to work that they almost cried. Ning Jia patted their little heads and comforted them, saying that it would be the weekend in a couple of days and she would be free during the day. Only then did the little ones stop being sad.
He Meng, who had been frowning, couldn't help but complain, "Why do we have to become slaves again? I feel like this time it's going to be really tough..."
Ning Jia: Ugh, ugh, ugh, children say the darndest things!
But because of He Meng's words, she also felt a little uneasy...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
