Chapter 34 Eating Corn is Actually a Sign of Puberty
Bai Su had been hiding quietly behind a cushion on the sofa, intending to come out after Ning Jia turned off the lights, but she didn't expect to be discovered so quickly, so she had no choice but to slowly emerge from behind the cushion.
"Bai Su, don't you sleep with your family?"
Ning Jia remembered that Bai Su's family was a large one, with a mother, aunt, and younger sister, so she wasn't alone. She couldn't help but ask curiously.
Bai Su shrugged helplessly, "I've already told them I'll be sleeping here alone tonight."
"I'm eleven years old now, and I don't want to be their baby anymore. I want to have my own independent space."
Ning Jia almost burst out laughing when she heard this. Oh, so it's puberty... That makes sense. She just didn't expect that Bai Su would be the first to act awkwardly.
This made the usually calm and intelligent little guy even more adorable.
Ning Jia nodded in understanding:
"I started sleeping alone when I was just starting elementary school... I was eight years old. It's important to have your own space so you can focus on doing your own things."
"Yes, I knew you would understand."
Bai Su smiled, cupping her peach-shaped face, and was about to lie down on the sofa to sleep when she heard Ning Jia say:
"It must be lonely sleeping on such a big sofa all by yourself. How about I get you a private room?"
A private room?
Bai Su looked at Ning Jia with suspicion. Ning Jia said "Wait a moment" and ran back to the bedroom. As if by magic, she took out a small round bamboo basket, which was already lined with sheets and blankets and had a small pillow inside.
Ning Jia placed the small bamboo basket not too far from the large bamboo basket, then gently held Bai Su in her palm and carried her to the specially made single bedroom, covering her with a white cotton handkerchief embroidered with flowers.
Ning Jia pointed to the floral embroidery on the bed sheet, "This bedding set is a floral series specially prepared for you. Goodnight."
Bai Su lay obediently in her private bedroom, rubbing her peach-shaped face against the soft, floral-patterned blanket, and thanked them with a sweet smile:
Goodnight, Ningjia.
Huh? This seems to be the first time Bai Su has called her "sister". Ning Jia's heart skipped a beat and melted into a ball of cotton candy.
...
That night, a violent storm raged outside the window, causing unease.
But the thought of so many little figures keeping her company as she fell asleep in the living room just a door away brought Ning Jia a sense of peace. She had a good night's sleep and woke up with a faint smile on her lips.
She fumbled for her phone on the bedside table, glanced at the time on the screen with dazed eyes, and then suddenly sat up:
Oh no, it's already 8 o'clock!! I'm going to be late for work...
Hmm, it seems like I don't have to go to work anymore.
Ning Jia's spirits immediately relaxed, and she softly slumped back into the quilt.
A few seconds later, she suddenly sat up again—
I almost forgot, I have to make deliveries this morning!
Ning Jia, dressed in pajamas and disheveled, pushed open the door, dazed, and was about to rush to the bathroom when she suddenly stopped, looking in surprise at the little people already working in the living room...
What's going on? Why do I feel guilty about exploiting others?
She greeted everyone somewhat sheepishly, "Good morning, everyone. Um, there's really no need to start making sachets so early."
Chief Canglan put down a piece of green ivy in his hand and explained, "Our clan rises with the sun. Now the sun rises earlier and earlier. It gets light at five in the morning. Since we have nothing else to do, we'll do something first."
"I see," Ning Jia asked curiously. "What if it's dark all day, or cloudy, with no sun?"
Canglan smiled slightly, "When people are hungry, they will always wake up."
Ning Jia laughed heartily, then suddenly felt hungry. "Clan leader, you all rest for a while, I'll go make breakfast for everyone!"
"Yay! Time for breakfast! Time for breakfast!"
The little ones playing nearby cheered, clearly they were really hungry.
Ning Jia went to the bathroom to tie her hair up, then went to the kitchen, looked at the "Little People's Recipes" on the refrigerator, opened the refrigerator, took out seven or eight eggs, washed them, put them in a pot, and started cooking them.
Next, I put a steamer basket on the pot, placed the leftover pumpkin chunks from yesterday on it, then added six or seven small, washed sweet potatoes about the thickness of a finger. After thinking for a moment, I took two ears of corn, cut them into small pieces, and added them as well. Only then did I put the lid on the pot.
Ning Jia wrote "corn" on the "Little People's Recipe" and then added a parenthesis that read "New ingredient to be verified".
At this time, there wasn't enough time to cook porridge, so Ning Jia opened the refrigerator, took out a large bottle of yogurt, poured it into a large bowl, added chopped bananas and apples, sprinkled some blueberries, stirred it with chopsticks, and took it to the living room along with a small plate.
"Have some fruit first, the food in the pot will be ready in a bit."
After Ning Jia finished speaking, she hurriedly went to the bathroom to use the toilet and wash up. When she came out of the bathroom again, the steamed food in the pot was almost ready.
The little ones were enjoying their yogurt and fruit when Ning Jia came over, carrying two plates in each hand. One plate contained eggs and corn, while the other contained pumpkin and sweet potatoes, all carefully cut into small pieces.
The colorful breakfast, just set out on the coffee table, immediately caught the little ones' attention:
"Wow, it looks so delicious!" "It smells sweet, it must taste amazing!" "Yay, it has my favorite eggs!" "Hmm, I don't think I've ever had this yellow one before."
Ning Jia pointed to the corn that had been cut into thin strips and explained, "This is corn, a type of coarse grain. I think it should be fine for you to eat."
As she spoke, she picked up a small "cob" of corn with her fingers, broke off the chewy kernels, and showed them to them. "Look, this yellow part is edible, but the white cob inside is inedible."
"Wow, this corn looks so cute! It must taste delicious!"
The little ones looked on with anticipation and couldn't wait to start tasting the corn kernels. Before they could even taste it, Ning Jia had already eaten a boiled egg, a small sweet potato, a piece of corn, and drunk some milk in a few bites before getting ready to set off.
"Ah, I almost forgot."
Ning Jia was about to leave with her bag when she saw that the sky outside was gloomy and there were signs of another downpour. She went back and poured a large bowl of hot water for the children, placed several straws beside it, and instructed Cang Lan:
"The water in this bowl is very hot. You can drink it after it cools down."
Cang Lan nodded, and seeing Ning Jia about to ride his bicycle, she couldn't help but ask, "Lord Ning Jia, the rain can start anytime soon. Is it safe for you to ride your bicycle?"
Ning Jia was stunned for a moment. Right, she had brought about 100 sachets with her. It wouldn't matter if she got wet (not really, but if the sachets got wet, the loss would be huge).
She looked up at the increasingly dense dark clouds in the sky, hesitated for a moment, but still took out her phone and opened Didi. This was money that couldn't be saved, so she shouldn't try to save it.
Taking a car is indeed much faster than riding a bike. Ning Jia quickly finished delivering the orders she had arranged in the morning. Although it cost her some money, the distance wasn't far, and she also got a coupon, so the price was acceptable.
She didn't forget to give the study room owner a newly made flower wreath ring from the Lilliputians, thanked him solemnly, and then left the study room.
"Oh, is it raining again?"
Ning Jia stood downstairs at the office building, looking at the torrential rain, thinking that the little people had food and drink at home, so they should be fine, right? Or maybe…
She searched the nearby map and was surprised to find a vegetable market very close to the study room. So she walked over with her empty bag and an umbrella. By the time she filled her bag with various ingredients and walked out of the market, the rain had stopped.
What a coincidence! Ning Jia decided not to take a taxi and went straight to the subway station. It wasn't rush hour, so she quickly found a seat, put her heavy backpack down, and picked up her phone to take a look.
There are no new orders...
She was somewhat disappointed, but then she thought about it again. The customers in the study room had placed such a frenzy of orders yesterday that each person now had at least several sachets. The market was already temporarily saturated, and she estimated that the boom of yesterday would not happen again in the short term.
One shouldn't be too greedy; earning this much is already quite good. Instead of worrying about it, think about what to eat for lunch.
"I'm back."
As soon as Ning Jia entered the living room, she saw that the little ones had stopped making sachets. Some were munching on the leftover sweet potatoes and corn from breakfast, some were chatting on the sofa, and others were running around and playing, expending their energy. Only Cang Lan, along with Bai Su and the others, were counting the batch of sachets that had been made.
“89, 90, 91…102…”
Seeing Ning Jia return, Cang Lan told her, "The sachets that I'm going to deliver this afternoon are ready, and there's plenty of time."
"Thank you for your hard work. I'll make lunch."
Ning Jia carried the heavy backpack to the kitchen. Looking at the little people's expectant faces, she suddenly had the illusion that she had opened a canteen, except that this canteen was a canteen for little people.
Having been bored for half the day, He Meng dashed to the kitchen to watch Ning Jia cook, her little mouth chattering incessantly:
"Ningjia, Ningjia, the corn this morning was so delicious! I ate so many kernels!"
"Are there any adverse reactions?"
"Of course not, I even pooped!"
"...That's awesome!"
Ning Jia didn't want to continue the topic, so she changed the subject and said, "Since you all like corn so much, I'll cook a corn dish for you all for lunch as a treat."
"Really? That's great! I'll go tell them."
He Meng excitedly said, running from the kitchen counter to the cabinet, and then jumping down from the cabinet shelf by shelf before finally stepping onto the ground.
Seeing this, Ning Jia suddenly put down the kitchen knife in her hand, turned around and went to the living room. She moved the only potted green ivy that hadn't had its leaves plucked by the little people to the kitchen cabinet, adjusted the position of its long, drooping leaves, and thought to herself that she should keep more green ivy at home when she had time, so that it would be more convenient for the little people to move around.
After the "little path" leading to the cooking station was built, He Meng never came over again.
Ning Jia glanced into the living room and saw He Meng leading several little ones to climb onto the windowsill. She assumed they were going to stand behind the glass to watch the rain, smiled, and continued cooking.
Cooking is not difficult for Ning Jia; the main challenge lies in taking into account the dietary habits of the little people.
First, meat must be excluded, because Chief Canglan said that the little people usually eat more vegetables and cannot eat a lot of meat for the time being, as it is easy to cause indigestion.
There are advantages too. If you don't buy meat (referring to fresh pork and beef from the market, not frozen meat from the supermarket), you can save on food expenses.
But fruit isn't cheap either. Instead of letting the little people eat fruit all the time, it's more cost-effective to cook some new dishes.
Hmm... how about we do these?
Ning Jia made up her mind, glanced at the time, and her hands quickened their pace...
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