Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 117: The Little Rascal

Chapter 111

The Little Rascal

The sun was fading more quickly now, and the seafood required additional days to dry. It wouldn’t be long before they would have to stop drying them altogether. As they ate their roasted sweet potatoes, Long Licheng made the most of his time by discussing business with the plump little homeowner.

He requested an additional two hundred jin of each dried food item. Xiaolin agreed but mentioned that the noodles would take time to make, and the dried seafood would only be available for this batch, as she needed to reserve some for her shop. Long Licheng nodded in understanding.

"Next year, I’ll set aside more for you, but you’ll need to place your order well in advance," Xiaolin said, brushing crumbs off her chubby cheeks.

"Sounds good. I’ll see how my customers respond. If it goes well, I might order from you year-round,"

"That would be great," Xiaolin beamed, her eyes narrowing with delight. Long Licheng laughed at the sight, wishing his little sister were as sweet and well-behaved as Xiaolin. His sister was so mischievous that their mother was always at her wit’s end.

"Let’s go weed the vegetable patch! Whoever collects the biggest pile of weeds gets to request any dish for lunch," Xiaolin declared, leading the group to the vegetable garden. The young men eagerly followed, already thinking about what they wanted to eat.

"Anything at all, Xiaolin?" Zhou Mingwang asked excitedly, rushing to walk beside his little sister.

"Yes, but it has to be something I can make right away. If it takes too long, like a stew or something, I won’t make it. I’d be starving by the time it’s ready," Xiaolin said, rubbing her round belly, making her brother laugh.

"Then can I ask you to make it for tomorrow instead? That way, you won’t have to go hungry,"

Zhou Mingwang suggested, looking hopeful. Xiaolin tapped her cheek thoughtfully before nodding. Zhou Mingwang shouted in joy and jumped in the air.

"You’re that happy?" Xiaolin laughed, taking a small stool and sitting by the vegetable patch to start weeding.

"Of course! I want to eat chicken rice. Can you make it for me tomorrow?" Zhou Mingwang asked, sitting down beside her.

"I like it too. It’s a shame they don’t have it in the capital. When I eat at your house, the food feels so greasy," Long Licheng chimed in. The Zhou brothers nodded in agreement.

"Then, when I grow up, should I open a chicken rice shop in the capital?" Xiaolin said playfully. However, the three young men immediately sat up straight and looked at her with anticipation, making the chubby girl blink in surprise as she looked at them.

"That’s a great idea! I’ll help you find the land," Long Licheng said.

"I’ll help you sell the food," Zhou Minglu offered.

"Me too!" Zhou Mingwang added.

Chubby Xiaolin could only scratch her head as she watched the three young men weed the garden in high spirits. Though she had plans to do business in the capital, she had never considered opening a chicken rice shop. Her thoughts were focused on seafood and barbecue restaurants.

As for the dried food store, if the Longs still wanted to do business with her, she would not open another shop to compete with them. After all, the Longs were locals and she did not know how influential they were.

However, the idea of a chicken rice shop did seem appealing. Besides chicken rice, she could also sell braised bitter melon chicken noodle soup, another favorite dish of hers that she hadn’t been able to source ingredients for. It was bound to be a big hit! Her eyes sparkled with excitement at the thought of finding the perfect bitter melon!

Just wait ten years! She would become the richest merchant!

The young merchants diligently pulled weeds, sometimes showing each other strange plants and occasionally tossing worms at each other.

The instigator of this mischief was, of course, the little rascal herself, Xiaolin. She picked up a fat, green worm and showed it off to her brothers, causing them to scatter and scream like frightened girls. Xiaolin laughed in delight and chased after them with the worm, their screams echoing through the field.

"Aaah! Get it away, Xiaolin!" Zhou Mingwang, who had the shortest legs, was being closely pursued by the chubby girl whose belly jiggled as she laughed heartily.

"It’s cute! Where are you running to? Hahaha?"

Hearing this, Zhou Mingwang glanced back at the fat worm in Xiaolin’s hand for a moment before shivering with disgust. Cute? How on earth is it cute?! He screamed internally and ran even faster.

Meanwhile, Zhou Minglu and Long Licheng tried to maintain their composure, avoiding looking at the worm. They brushed the dirt and grass off their clothes and walked back to sit on the small wooden stools with exaggerated elegance, which only made Xiaolin more determined to tease them.

Noticing the sweat on their temples and the slight pallor of their faces, Chubby Xiaolin playfully put her arms behind her back and strutted over to the two boys, whose hands were still trembling as they pretended to weed the garden. Xiaolin chuckled mischievously, narrowing her eyes as she approached and extended her hand between the two.

"Ahhh!" Zhou Minglu screamed like a girl and leapt over the vegetable patch, disappearing from the garden in an instant, making Xiaolin laugh so hard her stomach hurt.

"Hahaha! You scream just like a girl!" Xiaolin said, catching her breath from laughing. She turned to talk to Long Licheng, who sat silently. When there was no response, she bent down to look at him.

Poke Poke

She tapped his shoulder with her small finger. Long Licheng sat quietly, weeding, but sweat soaked through his back and dripped down his hairline.

Xiaolin giggled to herself and walked away to discard the worm far from the garden. She then returned to sit across from Long Licheng, who was still pretending not to be scared. She pulled out small weeds, occasionally bursting into giggles as she recalled her brothers’ screams and frantic running.

"Brother Lu, Brother Huan, you can come out now. I’ve thrown the worm away," Xiaolin called out, spotting the two brothers peeking from behind the storage room.

"Did you really throw it away?" Zhou Minglu asked cautiously, still shivering from the sight of the fat green worm that was too close for comfort.

"I did! If you don’t believe me, ask Young Master Long," Xiaolin said, stifling a giggle.

"She did," Long Licheng replied.

Long Licheng confirmed, still sitting stiffly and sweating, trying not to show his fear. He couldn’t afford to admit he was scared of a tiny worm; it would disgrace his grandfather, the great general. He exhaled quietly when Xiaolin turned to laugh with her friends, remembering how he had tensed up and held his breath when she brought the worm close to his face.

"Hehe, how can a man be afraid of a worm?"

"They’re disgusting! How could you even touch it, Xiaolin?" Zhou Mingwang grumbled, his face scrunched up in disgust.

"Yes, Xiaolin, don’t touch worms again. As a lady, you shouldn’t touch such ugly things," Zhou Minglu added.

"How about this one then?" Xiaolin mischievously picked up a long earthworm, as the soil at her home was well-fertilized and watered, making it soft and full of worms.

"Aaah!"

"Wahhh!"

This time, all three boys ran away almost instantly, leaving Xiaolin holding her stomach with laughter.

In the end, the little prankster was punished by her grandmother, Zhang Ruo, who made her stand holding a small wooden basin filled with water. Zhang Ruo stood with her arms crossed, watching her granddaughter’s sulking face while glancing at the three young men. They looked disheveled, their hair messy and their clothes wet and dirty from their frantic escape.

"You’ll hold that until lunchtime," Zhang Ruo declared, making the chubby girl pout so hard her lips nearly touched her nose.

"Grandmother, please,"

"Don’t grandmother me. How could you play such tricks on these young masters? Did I teach you to be naughty? Or did your parents?" Zhang Ruo scolded. Xiaolin shook her head vigorously, her double chin prominently showing as she lowered her head in remorse.

"You’ll stay here for one hour. I’m going to cook," Zhang Ruo sighed and shook her head at her mischievous granddaughter before heading to the kitchen.

Xiaolin stood holding the wooden basin, pouting and muttering to herself. By the time lunch came around, her legs were aching, and she had to endure the delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen. Her round stomach growled incessantly, making this the most torturous punishment she had ever experienced!

When it was finally time to eat, Xiaolin could barely move her legs. She grabbed her chopsticks and quickly started shoveling food into her mouth, barely chewing. The three boys, exhausted from their earlier chase, ate just as hungrily. Zhang Ruo had prepared a variety of dishes, ensuring no one would leave the table hungry. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Slurp... Delicious!"

Xiaolin loudly sipped her favorite seaweed soup, making Zhang Ruo shake her head. This winter, she was determined to make her granddaughter learn proper table manners. This kid learned too much from the men.

"The food at the Tang household is always delicious," Zhou Minglu said, flattering Zhang Ruo, who laughed.

"Then eat up, young master. There’s plenty," Zhang Ruo said, sliding a dish of salted pork with pickled vegetables towards him.

"Thank you,"

Xiaolin narrowed her eyes, biting into a piece of fried pork with such force that Long Licheng, sitting beside her, flinched. He watched her warily, fearing she might pull another prank.

In the afternoon, Xiaolin led the boys to the beach to see if her uncles were still drying squid. The boys followed willingly, knowing there wouldn’t be any worms or earthworms on the beach and hoping for more tasty treats. By the time they reached the beach, their lunch was nearly digested. Xiaolin’s sharp eyes spotted smoke rising from a shack, and she ran towards it, her belly jiggling as she went.

"Uncle! What are you cooking?" the chubby girl shouted, clinging to her Uncle Wu Zhong’s back.

"Ah, little Xiaolin! We’re grilling some shrimp. They got caught in the nets and trapped in the rock pools," Wu Zhong said, holding up a skewer of grilled shrimp for her to see. The sight made Xiaolin’s mouth water.

"I want to make shrimp rad na,"

"Then go ahead, Xiaolin. Just tell us what you need, like always," Uncle Guo Lu said, eager to eat whatever his talented niece prepared.

"Rad na needs noodles, right? What kind of noodles do you want, Xiaolin? I’ll run to your house and get them,"

"Oh, the young masters are here too?" Tian Yi greeted the three young boys, who returned the greeting respectfully.

"We came to play with Xiaolin,"

"Have you had lunch yet? We’re about to cook something delicious," Wu Zhong asked, ready to prepare more if needed.

"We ate at the Tang household, but we can eat more," Zhou Mingwang replied with a broad smile, prompting his brother to nudge him, though he continued to grin widely.

"Let’s make a big pot then, for everyone," Xiaolin suggested, resting her chubby cheek on Uncle Wu Zhong’s shoulder.

"Good idea, I’ll get the noodles and some vegetables," Lei Shan said, grabbing a basket and heading out.

"Let’s prepare the shrimp and squid, A’Sen and A’Yi," Guo Lu said, inviting his two friends to help, leaving Wu Zhong with the kids.

The three boys took their places, grilling shrimp skewers over the hot coals. Meanwhile, Xiaolin, not needing to exert herself, clung to her Uncle Wu Zhong’s back, singing sweet songs for him. Wu Zhong was pleased to hear his niece’s cheerful singing, and the three boys also enjoyed her unique and melodious tunes, which were in a language unfamiliar to them but delightful nonetheless.

After some time, Wu Zhong noticed his friends returning, so he started another fire and placed a large wok on it. Xiaolin, her lips now glistening with shrimp oil, stood by her uncle, overseeing the cooking process. She instructed him as he stir-fried the noodles to perfection, then prepared the shrimp and squid, seasoning them to taste. They added water and vegetables, cooked until done, and finally thickened the mixture with cornstarch, completing the delicious Rad Na.

The workers, who had been savoring the delicious aroma for a while, quickly brought their plates and lined up neatly as soon as they heard the call.

"Did my great-grandfather come to shuck oysters today?" Xiaolin asked as she sat on the porch of the shack with her plate.

"No, he hasn’t come. There hasn’t been much sun in the past few days. We uncles have just been catching squid and shrimp to supply the restaurant. The squid we’re drying now has been out for several days. After this batch, we won’t be drying anymore," Chang Sen replied to his niece.

Xiaolin nodded thoughtfully, considering that the only tasks left were her grandmother’s daily oyster sauce preparations and making tofu skin to sell at the dry goods shop. Perhaps she could hire her uncles to shuck oysters and make oyster sauce for sale as well.

"Nom Nom. That’s a good idea," the chubby girl said to herself, taking a bite of food and nodding in agreement with her thoughts.

"Have you started selling rad na?" Zhou Mingwang asked. He loved the dish for its balanced flavor and the tender meat and vegetables.

"We sell it at the seafood restaurant. Do you like it?" Xiaolin asked, seeing him nod enthusiastically.

"You should open a seafood restaurant in the capital too," he suggested, making Xiaolin laugh. It seemed that Brother Huan was becoming more like her uncle, wanting to sell everything he liked.

"I will definitely open a seafood restaurant. You all have to help me."

"Of course!"

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