Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 19: Xiaolin and the Coconut Garden

Chapter 18

Xiaolin and the Coconut Garden

Xiaolin muttered to herself, feeling a tear well up from the pain in her arm. She looked up defiantly at the frowning, intimidating face of the woman. The little girl, furious to the point of distorting her face, met the woman’s glare without fear, which only angered the woman further.

"So, you must be one of those kids from the Shenlin village, huh? What, are you coming here to spy and see how we dry our fish so you can sell better than us, huh!?" Niang Xin scolded loudly, drawing the attention of bystanders.

Xiaolin, undeterred and not willing to show weakness despite the pain that made her teary-eyed, clenched her lips tightly, refusing to cry out even half a word.

"Looking at me like that, do you want to get whipped or something?"

"Grandma Niang! That’s my sister!" Ling Hai rushed over swiftly, almost tripping over himself. He quickly freed the woman’s hand and pulled the little girl behind him for protection.

"Sister? Do you think I’m blind or deaf? Your family doesn’t have a daughter. And look at you and this kid; like a noble’s child next to a beggar!" Niang Xin pointed accusingly, but Ling Hai stood silently, letting her vent without responding.

Xiaolin, seeing this, was filled with even more anger, ready to retort, but before she could speak, a lean man hurried over, panting.

"Auntie Niang, what’s going on?" The young man looked worriedly at his son before noticing Xiaolin peeking out from behind him. He frowned slightly before turning to face NiangXin’s shrieking complaints.

"Look at your lying son! Claiming this girl is his sister. Look at yourselves!" Miss Niang fumed, her face turning red with anger over a simple misunderstanding. She thought the girl had strayed here by accident, not realizing her own unnecessary rage.

"I sincerely apologize. I will discipline him. And this girl is indeed the daughter of a friend of mine. Xiao Hai calls her his sister."

"Hmph, I’ll let it slide since you work for me." Niang stomped off, her plump figure shaking the sand as she went. If it weren’t for the young man being an essential worker for her family, she would have scolded these kids just like she did with the children of those concubines. Hmph!

The young man sighed in relief as Niang walked away. He turned back to see his son inspecting the little girl carefully, noticing a large bruise on her arm, which was evident against her fair skin.

"Why did you wander so far? Are you hurt?" Ling Hai asked the girl gently, touching the bruise lightly.

"Uh-huh," Xiaolin swallowed her sobs, looking between Ling Hai and the tall man beside him, noticing their resemblance.

"Right, this is my father, Ling Heng. Dad, this is Xiaolin, the sister I’ve told you about."

"Xiaolin, is that right? You shouldn’t wander so far alone." Ling Heng looked at the girl with tears ready to fall but biting her lip to hold them back, surprised by her resilience.

Most kids, when scolded by Niang, would cry out in fear, ending up with nightmares, one of them being Ling Hai. However, because Niang regularly berated him, he no longer cried.

"I just wandered off too far," Xiaolin sniffled loudly before wiping her tears with her sleeve.

"Let’s hurry back; your parents must be worried. I’ll walk you home," Ling Hai offered, and Xiaolin, nodding vigorously, followed the father and son duo.

Meanwhile, the Tang family was frantically searching for their little girl among the large rocks, thinking she might have gone there to look for shells or seaweed, but they couldn’t find her anywhere.

"Honey," Hui Ning’s heart sank. She called out to her husband, her voice trembling.

"You stay here with mother. I’ll go look for her," Tianrong assured, taking her hand. He glanced at his mother-in-law, sitting pale-faced in the little cabin with his father-in-law.

"Xiaolin!" Tianchen was the first to spot the little niece. He quickly ran over, lifted her up, hugged her tightly, and showered her round cheeks with kisses.

"Where did you go? Do you know how worried everyone was?"

"I’m sorry," Xiaolin sobbed, burying her face in the young man’s shoulder, crying pitifully.

"Xiaolin," the parents rushed over to surround the little girl.

"Where have you been, child?" Hui Ning asked, shaking, before picking up the little girl who stretched her arms wide for a hug.

"I’m sorry," the little girl buried herself in her mother’s shoulder, feeling guilty for making everyone worry.

Tianrong came over to pat his daughter on the head, inspecting her body before noticing a large bruise on her left arm. He furrowed his brows and lifted her sleeve and pant leg to check.

"What happened here? Are these handprints on your arm?" Tianrong asked, tension in his voice. Hui Ning and Tianchen also came to look, followed by Hui Song supporting his wife.

"She wandered off to the beach of our village, unfortunately running into the village chief’s wife," Ling Heng explained, causing the Tang and Hui families to look at him. The young man bowed to the elders before continuing.

"Niang Xin has temper issues. We heard her shouting, so my son and I rushed over."

"Niang Xin?" Zhang Ruo asked. When the unfamiliar young man nodded, she turned to her husband with a fierce look.

"What does this have to do with me?" Hui Song blinked innocently upon seeing his wife’s fiery gaze.

"Hmph!"

"Xiaolin, tell me what happened," Hui Ning gently prodded, patting her daughter’s head.

"I was just playing and wandered off too far. When I looked up, I was in front of a large drying rack for fish. As I was about to walk back, that lady came up, scolded me, and squeezed my arm until it hurt," Xiaolin said in a weak voice.

"Oh, dear," Hui Ning looked sympathetically at her daughter’s tear-streaked chubby cheeks.

Tianrong exhaled deeply, filled with anger but realizing he had no power to confront that old woman for the sake of a small bruise, especially since his daughter had trespassed. He sighed again before turning to the stranger standing by.

"Are you Xiao Hai’s father?"

"Yes, my name is Ling Heng, Xiao Hai’s father. I want to thank you all for letting him bring some fish home." The young man showed a sincere smile.

"It’s nothing, really. But why don’t you take some of the fish you catch to eat if you’re at the drying racks?"

"I don’t own a boat. I just prepare and dry the fish for Miss Niang. As for the sea creatures near the beach, we can’t catch them because she claims everything at the village’s beach belongs to her family."

"Bad habits from young to old," Zhang Ruo commented with a sigh, causing others to look back in confusion.

"Well, you can come fish on this side and take some home to eat. Our village doesn’t have many boats going out, and those who do get fish from the sea rarely bother with fishing or collecting shells on the beach," Hui Song coughed before speaking up, glancing at his wife who was fuming.

"Thank you so much, Uncle," Ling Heng bowed before turning to look at his son, who was still staring at the little girl non-stop.

"Right now, Xiaolin needs help. How about we hire Elder Brother Heng?" Tianchen said with a wide smile.

"If we have more help, Sister-in-law can stay with Xiaolin at home, so she won’t wander off to that side again."

"Hmm, you rarely say anything sensible," Tianrong teased his younger brother, causing him to make a face.

Ling Heng gave his son a look. Apart from having a bad attitude, Niang Xin liked to take advantage of others. They worked from dawn till dusk but only got a meager wage of ten brass coins. On days his son couldn’t help, they’d deduct three more coins, and if Niang Xin wasn’t satisfied with the work, she’d dock their pay even further. It was rare for them to receive full payment.

Ling Hai nodded to his father, believing that the Tang family would treat them fairly, given their kindness to strangers. They might even share some dried fish for us to take back and eat.

But telling Niang Xin might complicate their lives in the village, though it’s better than not having enough money for food.

"Yes, I’ll work here, but I need to speak with Niang Xin first," Ling Heng said, looking troubled, which the Tang family understood, especially Zhang Ruo and Hui Song.

"Whenever you’re ready, you can come over, bringing Xiao Hai and Xiao Han. I’ll pay ten brass coins per person for them and twenty for you."

Hearing this, the father and son were astonished, earning more in one day than they would in a week working for Niang Xin.

"T-Thank you so much."

"I also thank you and Xiao Hai for helping my daughter," Tianrong returned the smile of gratitude.

After the Ling father and son left with a basket of boiled razor clams, initially hesitant, they admitted the dark hairs in the clams were irritating to the throat. Hearing this, the Tang family looked at each other before Hui Ning corrected their eating method. The Lings then looked embarrassed but laughed it off.

Xiaolin smiled mischievously, realizing she had forgotten to warn them. She wondered how much trouble they had eating the clams. Her sullen expression made Hui Ning think she was still frightened, so she took her to rest in the cottage.

"Let me see your arm again," Hui Ning laid her daughter down on the bedding and lifted her sleeve, pausing at the sight of dark finger marks.

"Does it hurt, dear?" she gently rubbed her daughter’s head. Xiaolin shook her head, her hair bouncing, and snuggled into her mother’s lap.

"Don’t go wandering off alone again, understand? You’re still too young to look after yourself. What if someone had taken you?" Her slender finger tapped the little nose and wiped away her tears.

"I understand, mother," Xiaolin buried her round face into her mother’s stomach.

"Mother" After a moment, Xiaolin flipped over to look up at her mother with wide eyes. Hui Ning raised an eyebrow in query.

"Are things expensive in the city market?"

"Very expensive, since Jiangnan is a port city. But the land on the southern outskirts isn’t as expensive, maybe a bit more than our village’s land."

"The southern side, is that where we enter the city?" She remembered seeing stalls selling vegetables, fish, or wild goods sporadically set up by villagers.

"Yes, it’s not very popular with city folks, so it’s quite cheap. Most prefer land near the docks." Her slender hand stroked her daughter’s hair, watching her cheeks move with her mouth in amusement.

"Why do you ask?"

"I want to open a dried food store and a restaurant. I want to make seafood tom yum hot pot."

"Seafood tom yum hot pot?" Hui Ning pondered, frowning at the thought of her daughter serving customers boiled seawater.

"Hehehe, why are you making that face, mother?" Xiaolin giggled at her mother’s grimace.

"What’s a seafood tom yum hot pot?"

"It’s a spicy soup with seafood in it, mother. I’ll add squid, shrimp, and clams, or fish if anyone wants. But first, I need lots of spicy peppers."

"Hmm, we only have two pepper plants at home. Not sure if they’ll survive the winter. And you’ll sell just that?"

"I’ll sell grilled squid, shrimp, fish, and boiled clams with spicy dipping sauce. I’ll sell everything I can think of."

"You’re very greedy, my child," Hui Ning teased her daughter, then playfully bit her plump belly, causing Xiaolin to laugh loudly and squirm away.

Their cheerful laughter provided some relief to those working outside, glad the little one wasn’t haunted by her encounter.

Tiring from the play, Xiaolin led her mother towards another part of the beach. She wanted to make a thick tom yum but cow’s milk was expensive. Getting milk from the cow that Xiao Zhong regularly drank from seemed too distasteful.

Because she wanted to make it for sale, Xiaolin decided to use coconut milk instead, but first, she needed to find a coconut tree. Many stories often depicted coconut trees near the sea, so she asked her mother to help her look for one.

"What kind of tree are you looking for, dear?"

"Coconut trees, mother. They’re different from ordinary trees. They have big green or brown fruits."

Hui Ning thought for a moment. She hadn’t walked along the beach much herself, only when she was a child to catch fish or collect shells with her mother to eat at home.

"The tall ones without branches?"

"Yes! Have you seen them, mother?" Xiaolin shook her mother’s hand excitedly. Although they hadn’t found any kaffir lime trees yet, they could make do for now. Next time when Uncle went to dry fish, she would ask to join him.

"They are over there, dear. Let me take you to see them." Hui Ning pointed ahead and picked up her daughter because they had a considerable distance to cover.

After a long walk that nearly broke Hui Ning’s back, they reached a coconut grove that looked like a coconut plantation, with nothing but coconut trees as if someone had planted them. The round little piggy was set down on the ground, her eyes glittering at the sight of the coconut trees as if they were gold, not even glancing back at her mother rubbing her sore back.

"Mother! This is a treasure trove!"

"What kind of treasure, dear?" She watched her daughter hopping excitedly.

"These fruits can be made into oil, mother. And they can be used in many dishes and desserts," the plump figure trotted and picked up a ripe coconut.

"Is that so? Then, how about we collect some to cook today? What about making the tom yum you mentioned?" Hui Ning was as excited as her daughter since she loved cooking.

"That’s a great idea, mother!"            

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