Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 42: This Child Has Completely Burned Her Parents!
Chapter 41
This Child Has Completely Burned Her Parents! 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
Xiaolin sat on a cart, her body puffed up due to wearing three layers of winter clothes her mother had forced on her. Her round face looked around, seeing the snow-covered ground and rooftops. It was fortunate that the snow had stopped falling; now they just had to wait for it to melt. Several plans they had made were ready to be initiated.
"What are you doing at the sea, Xiaolin? Aren’t you cold?" Zhou Ming, walking beside her with an attendant and another soldier following, asked the plump, rosy-cheeked little girl.
"I want to see it. I’ve never seen the sea in winter."
"Is that so?"
Zhou Ming didn’t ask further. He himself had never explored this area on his own, only sending soldiers to distribute dry food during the winter. Thankfully, there were no snowstorms this year; otherwise, the villagers would have faced greater hardships. The city’s supplies were also insufficient for mass distribution due to a famine caused by floods.
Reaching the beach after a short walk, Tianrong taught Zhou Ming’s men how to pick oysters. He mentioned that oysters are best eaten fresh as they won’t be as good or tasty if kept for too long. Therefore, they shouldn’t take too many back but just enough for consumption before returning for more.
"Do people also build huts to live by the sea?" Zhou Ming inquired upon seeing two huts close together.
"Those are temporary shelters me and my friends built for when we return from the sea. They’re also used as a place with shades to hide from the sun during the day while we’re drying the fish," Tianrong explained.
"Does your village also produce dried fish? I’ve heard that Hai Pin village does it as well. I thought it was the only one," Zhou Ming said, having read about the occupations of the villagers living in Jiangnan territory, which mainly mentioned just one village excelling in dried fish production.
"People in Shenlin village don’t go out to sea much. Most of us rely on selling wild vegetables, farming, or working in the city," Tianrong replied.
Zhou Ming nodded in understanding. Previously, he had discussed with Tianrong about expanding sweet potato cultivation, agreeing it would provide the villagers with a stable occupation and increase their income.
"If our town could also grow rice, that would be great. It would make rice less expensive."
Xiaolin looked back and forth between her father and Zhou Ming, almost twisting her neck. She thought he also wanted to support the villagers in having a livelihood, but since Jiangnan was a port city generating significant income for the town and region, it surely had more issues to manage.
"You also support villagers in growing crops that can be sold to other towns, right uncle?"
"What can be grown, Xiaolin? Can you tell Uncle?" Zhou Ming bent down to look at the thoughtful plump child, finding her quite adorable. It seemed he needed to hurry back and start working on having a daughter of his own.
"I don’t know much, but growing corn would be good. Selling both fresh corn and corn flour," Xiaolin suggested.
Zhou Ming nodded. He shouldn’t really be asking a five-year-old for such information; what was he thinking?
Xiaolin, sitting and being bored in the cart, asked to go for a walk. Tianrong cautioned his daughter not to wander too far, to which she agreed before strolling along the beach.
The plump child aimlessly kicked at seashells, feeling bored, until she heard voices. A group of four villagers, men and women, were cleaning a fish drying rack. She recognized some of them, having seen them buy things at her house.
"Isn’t that you, Xiaolin? Why are you here alone?" One of the women noticed the little round girl and called out. Xiaolin looked around and saw several men working nearby, assuming one might be Tianrong, her father.
"Hello, uncle, auntie. What are you up to?" Xiaolin approached when she saw they were villagers like her.
"We’re cleaning the fish drying racks. When the weather gets a bit warmer, my husband will go out to sea," the woman explained before inviting the little girl to sit under a small shelter they had made for shade.
"What’s your name, auntie? I don’t know your name yet," Xiaolin asked adorably, prompting a smile from the woman.
"My name is Zhuang Fei. That’s my husband, Fu Liang, over there. Our eldest son, Fu Long, is ten, and our youngest daughter, Fu Lan, is six," she introduced her family.
Xiaolin looked at Fu Lan, a skinny girl with a pretty face and big eyes. With proper nutrition and care, she would definitely be very cute.
"Sister Lan," Xiaolin approached Fu Lan, who was shy.
"Uh-huh," Fu Lan looked at the round-cheeked girl, finding her cheeks irresistibly soft, and couldn’t help but pinch them twice before realizing her hands might be dirty and quickly pulled away.
"Soft cheeks," she liked the little girl’s soft cheeks a lot but thought her hands were dirty, so she hastily cleaned them.
Fu Long also secretly observed the plump little girl, thinking his sister would be nice if she were plump and rosy like her.
"And Xiaolin, didn’t your father say anything about you wandering off this far?"
Fu Liang asked, knowing Tianrong’s group but not being very close. He had to go out to sea with his wife and didn’t feel comfortable seeing her talking to other men every day, so they had moved their fish drying racks a bit away from the village’s main dock.
"I’ve told my father already. Sister Lan, shall we go for a walk?" Xiaolin took Fu Lan’s small hand, smiling broadly to make friends with the shy girl.
Fu Lan, seeing the cute face, blushed and nodded slightly, but she turned to her brother, wanting him to come along since she usually spent her time with him, cooking for her while their parents were out at sea every night.
Fu Long, seeing his sister happy to have a new friend, agreed. He told his father he would look after the two, which his father permitted. Xiaolin asked him to bring a small bucket in case they found something interesting at the beach.
Xiaolin noticed a small rock pool nearby and led the siblings to explore it. There were also mussels around, seeming to be more abundant than near her hut.
"Sister Lan, have you ever had these before?" Xiaolin pointed to the vibrant green mussels clustering on the rocks. Fu Lan shook her head.
"Can they be eaten?"
"You can eat them. You boil them and eat the flesh, or you can use the meat for other dishes too. Just make sure to remove the black hairs on them before eating them, though. Don’t eat those," Xiaolin said, remembering when she advised the Ling family to collect and eat them, but forgot to tell them to remove the hairs, she couldn’t help but smirk at the memory.
Fu Long stood quietly, observing. He had seen his father’s friends, including the round child, collecting these shells in large amounts to dry, but not knowing what they did with them afterward, he hadn’t dared to try them. Now, he realized they might have dried them to preserve as winter food.
"We eat them at my house too. They’re delicious with spicy dip," Xiaolin added.
"And the ones dried in large amounts, are they stored as winter provisions?" Fu Long decided to ask. Xiaolin glanced at the tall, thin boy and nodded.
"Partly, yes. But I also prepare them to sell."
"You can sell them too?"
"Yes. After the snow melts, I’ll open a dried food stall. If you’re interested, you can come to my house. I’ll show you how to dry them and buy them from you," Xiaolin said. She intended to sell anyway and wanted to help villagers have a livelihood and earn money for their families, so she was eager to invite the Fu family to produce goods to sell to her.
"Are you serious?" Fu Long’s eyes sparkled. If what the little girl said was true, it meant he could help his parents earn money.
"Absolutely. But you have to know the precise drying method first, so the product doesn’t spoil."
"I’ll talk to my parents and then I’ll come to see you," the boy responded. His demeanor was usually calm and stoic, but his excitement couldn’t be hidden. Xiaolin nodded in agreement, then turned and smiled at Fu Lan before inviting her to collect mussels.
"Pick the big ones. The small ones have less meat. Let them grow," the chubby girl advised the siblings, tapping gently with a stick to detach the mussels from the rocks.
Meanwhile, her father and Zhou Ming’s group approached the children gathered around the rock pool. Zhou Ming looked puzzled at what the children were doing.
"Xiaolin, what are you up to? Want some mussels?" Tianrong called out to his daughter, then glanced at the two children with her. He recognized them as the children of Fu Liang who had a drying rack nearby.
"Greetings, Uncle Tian," Fu Long bowed to Tianrong, not forgetting to bow to the finely dressed stranger standing beside Tianrong.
"I brought my new brother and sister to collect mussels, daddy. Do you want some? I’ll collect them for you," the chubby girl beamed, one hand holding a large mussel while the other clenched a stick tightly.
"Get a bit of them then. We can prepare them for dinner tonight. But I wonder, are you interested in these mussels? They make delicious dishes," Tianrong turned to ask Zhou Ming, who thought the food at the Tang household was delicious. Therefore, these mussels would likely be just as tasty, considering Tianrong recommended them.
"Then you all go collect some, and if you want to eat them too, collect a bit more," Zhou Ming turned to address his servers standing behind him.
"Understood, Master."
Fu Long stood watching the tall man in expensive clothes with curiosity. He must be quite influential to be able to command soldiers at his will. The Tang family is impressive for being able to acquaint and converse closely with such high-ranking individuals.
When Zhou Ming noticed he was being scrutinized, he turned to look and saw it was just a thin boy, but his demeanor seemed quite sharp. It’s unlikely that an ordinary villager would have the resources to send their child to study in the city. That didn’t mean this kid wasn’t capable, did it?
Zhou Ming found the boy intriguing. He appreciated talented people and, if possible, wanted to nurture them or provide them with education. That way, Jiangnan City would have more talented individuals to contribute to its development.
The adult and the child locked eyes for a moment, with the chubby girl looking back and forth between the two until she decided to step in and tug at Fu Long’s sleeve. The boy snapped out of it and turned to the round-faced, wide-eyed girl looking at him.
"Let’s go collect some shells, big brother."
Xiaolin quickly pulled the boy away to continue collecting shells. Even though Uncle Zhuang was kind, he might not be so to everyone. So, it was better to take Fu Long away, just to be safe from standing and staring at the lord of Jiangnan City like that; they might get in trouble.
The good-natured governor of the chubby girl’s city chuckled softly. He could see that Xiaolin was trying to pull the boy away. She was a child who knew too much, making him want to take her home, but the girl’s father was standing right beside him.
After they were satisfied with their shell collection, Xiaolin excused herself and the Fu siblings. She was lifted onto a cart and they all returned to the little house. Along the way, she explained to Zhou Ming and his attendants how to cook with mussels. The chubby girl was lively and talkative the entire journey, showing no signs of fatigue.
But when she mentioned that she would make pickled vegetable noodles with the mussels for them, Zhou Ming didn’t want to leave. He requested to stay for dinner to taste the pickled vegetable noodles prepared by the talented Xiaolin, as Tienchen said they were delicious.
Xiaolin was pleased and promised to cook enough for the two spouses’ attendants as well, which included one attendant, two soldiers, and one of Lian Hua’s maids. The mussels collected by the attendant were all handed over to Xiaolin for cooking.
"Xiaolin can cook too? Truly talented," Lian Hua remarked upon hearing that the plump child was proficient in many skills from a young age, making her feel even more fond of her.
While her husband was at the beach, she sat chatting with Hui Ning and Zhang Ruo. The mother and daughter recounted the chubby girl’s mischievous deeds, especially her tendency to play pranks on her father, uncle, and grandfather, making Lian Hua laugh until she cried. She too wished to see the little girl’s funny dance and how adorable it could be.
"Uncle, let’s go knead the noodle dough together. As for the soup, I’ll have to rely on the beautiful grandmother over here. It’s better if we start cooking now so uncle and aunt won’t have to go home too late," the sweet-talking child said, also giving Zhang Ruo a charming look, making her want to spank her mischievous niece a couple of times.
"Where did this child learn to make faces and gestures like this, huh?" she pinched her niece’s cheek playfully.
"Hehe, I learned it from daddy."
"Just kidding!" Tianrong, who was drinking water, choked and turned red-faced. Hui Ning glanced at her husband with a teasing look.
"Dad always looks at mom like that," the chubby child squinted mischievously, imitating her father’s expression perfectly, making Tianrong cough to clear his throat.
"When have I ever done that?"
"All the time! And after that, you would take mom into the room... uh oh!"
Tianrong quickly got up to silence his cheeky daughter before carrying the chubby troublemaker into the kitchen. Xiaolin struggled in her father’s arms but still managed to laugh merrily, leaving Hui Ning to shy away from the guests’ curious glances.
This child has completely burned her parents!
Tianrong lectured his daughter for a while, but to no avail. She disregarded him and went to her uncle, asking him to mix flour with eggs for kneading. Seeing her niece’s antics, Zhang Ruo couldn’t help but laugh.
"Mother, look at her. Sigh," Tianrong shook his head at his daughter’s behavior.
"Why do you have to be so flamboyant then? Go check on A’Ning, will you? Leaving her with the guests, she must be turning red from embarrassment. And where has your grandfather-in-law gone?"
"No clue, I haven’t seen him since I got back."
Zhang Ruo nodded, and once her son-in-law left, she turned to ask her granddaughter what they should do first. Xiaolin suggested cleaning the mussels, boiling them, and then removing their black hairs.
"Boil the soup now, grandmother. Once done, cut the pickled vegetables into strips so it’s easier to pick up. Don’t forget to add the crispy squid as well, please."
After instructing her grandmother, the chubby child dashed to the storage room, took out some beansprouts that hadn’t fully grown, cleaned them thoroughly, and returned to the kitchen.
"The water is boiling, child."
"Put in the pickled vegetables and their juice. The juice is already sour, so just season with a little fish sauce and sugar. Then, add the beansprouts," she instructed, placing a tray of bean sprouts for Zhang Ruo before moving to watch Tianchen slicing the noodles.
"The water is ready for the noodles, little niece."
"Right away, uncle," Tianchen hurried to set up the stove for boiling the noodles once the water was hot.
Xiaolin fetched some cold water for Tianchen to rinse the noodles, preventing them from sticking together. Once she had the noodles ready, she arranged them in bowls.
"Put the mussels and crispy squid into the soup. Once it boils, pour it into the noodle bowls, grandmother."
"Aren’t we adding boiled eggs too, Xiaolin?" Tianchen asked, recalling that the last time they had spicy noodle soup with eggs, it was a perfect match.
"If you want them then boil some eggs. Save some for me too, please," Tianchen heard and took some eggs to boil for everyone.
Once the food was ready, it was brought outside. Everyone looked curiously at the orange-hued noodle soup filled with mussels, squid, and beansprouts in their bowls. After tasting, they found the slightly sweet and sour flavor delightful.
"Yum, this is delicious. You are really skilled," Lian Hua tasted and praised happily.
"Eat as much as you like."
"And where has your father gone, A’Ning? Others would have rushed over to eat by now."
Hui Ning shook her head, clueless as well. Meanwhile, Hui Song was blissfully cuddling the last jar of wine he had hidden in his son-in-law’s old house.
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