Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 17: Little Tycoon Sells Everything

Chapter 16

Little Tycoon Sells Everything

After a leisurely nap, Hui Ning had to come fetch Xiaolin from her grandparents’ house, while Zhang Ruo was also engrossed in weeding. The round little girl, with her eyes half-closed, followed her mother back to their small house, where she was then stripped for a bath until her eyes sparkled clear.

"Did we get a lot of salt, Mother?" Xiaolin asked as she sat getting her hair dried by her mother.

"We got about half a jar. After sun drying, it became perfectly dry, so I’ve stored it in a jar already. Do you plan on making a lot of salt?"

"Yes, Mother. Aside from dried shrimp, I also want to try making dried fish."

"All right, dear. I’ll make it for you."

As her daughter’s hair began to dry, Hui Ning went to prepare dinner.

Xiaolin, with her hair not yet fully dry, strutted out of the bedroom, stopping to gaze at Xiao Zhong, whose body had ballooned like a balloon.

"Your belly looks like a pregnant cow, Xiao Zhong, haha," the little girl covered her mouth, giggling, teasing others without glancing at her own belly.

Xiao Zhong snorted unhappily, turned its head away, and waggled its tail as it headed to the backyard, ignoring the little human who lately hadn’t been playing with it much. It preferred to seek the larger human to pour milk for it.

Moo~

Xiao Zhong ran to snuggle up to Hui Song, who had just returned from dispersing the group of craftsmen. He sighed softly before going into the kitchen to fetch a milk jug for the chubby calf.

"Eating all day," he muttered, watching the calf gulp down the milk, then he went to clean the jug.

"Where’s your mother?" he asked his daughter, who was cooking in the kitchen.

"She’s weeding the vegetable garden. She’ll come back when it’s time for dinner," Hui Ning turned to answer, her hands busy chopping bok choy that would be stir-fried with eggs for dinner.

"And how’s Uncle A’Rong doing?"

"He’s brought back the first batch of dried squid. It looks good. They’re going out fishing again tonight. Besides squid, your granddaughter wants to try making dried shrimp, too."

"The shrimp we made last time?" Hui Song asked with interest. Building a house doesn’t require supervision every day, all day; just checking in occasionally is enough. Tomorrow, he also plans to help his son-in-law at the beach.

"No, these are much smaller."

"I plan to help tomorrow. When you go out to deliver the food, tell A-Rong to catch some more, so we have plenty to store."

"You don’t need to watch the craftsmen?"

"Not all day."

Hui Ning nodded and continued cooking, while Hui Song went out to chat with his granddaughter at the porch. He rarely saw her since she began her dried squid project.

"Did you take a bath? Hmm?" He lifted the little girl onto his lap and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I’ve already bathed. I’ll go to bed early today so I can go to the beach tomorrow," she leaned against her grandfather, allowing him to comb her hair. Feeling someone play with her hair made her a bit sleepy.

"That’s great. I’ll help you tomorrow. Is there anything specific you’d like me to do?"

"Really? In that case, I’ll assign the task of shelling green shells to you, Grandpa. They’re called mussels."

"The ones we ate at lunch?"  He asked and seeing her nod enthusiastically.              

"Right, we’ll boil them and then dry the meat."

"That’s a deal. I’ll take on the task you’ve assigned to me," Xiaolin giggled.

After spending a good while together, Zhang Ruo returned to the small house, and dinner was ready. Hui Ning divided the food to send to her husband and brother-in-law, then returned to dine with her parents and her little daughter.

As night fell, Xiaolin was carried off to bed by her mother. Hui Song and Zhang Ruoa also rested in their daughter’s room, while Hui Ning carried her little daughter to sleep in her uncle’s room, with Xiao Zhong following them. The elders were concerned, so they decided to stay until the man of the house finished his work.

In the morning, Xiaolin was woken by Xiao Zhong’s loud cries because the human was slow in pouring milk. It was impatiently urging Hui Song, who was carrying a jug of milk into the yard, breathing heavily in frustration at the human’s sluggishness.

"You’re being a bit demanding, aren’t you?" Hui Song lightly tapped the chubby calf on the head but still poured half a bucket of milk for it.

The chubby calf ignored him and began to drink eagerly.

Xiaolin, with her hair in disarray, came out to watch Xiao Zhong whine about its naptime being disturbed. She went over and slapped its bottom, causing Xiao Zhong to cry out unhappily.

Moo!!

Naughty human!

Xiaolin, head held high, walked to the water jar by the kitchen, where her grandfather helped her wash her face and rinse her mouth. He also tried to tie her hair in a bun, though it ended up somewhat lopsided.

After breakfast, Xiaolin, along with her mother and grandparents, set out for the beach, with an extra follower bounding along. Hui Song had to go back for the milk jug and bucket for Xiao Zhong.

Today, Tian Hong and Tianchen caught up to five big buckets of squid. Hui Song quickly helped his son-in-law, while Hui Ning hurried to continue boiling sea water. Xiaolin took her grandmother to the rocks to collect mussels.

"So, they’re attached to the rocks, I see" When Zhang Ruo saw the numerous mussels clinging to the rocks, she asked.

She used to collect shells on the beach in her youth but never paid close attention to these rocks, mistaking the green for sea plants.

"Let’s collect them, Grandma. Pick the big ones, let the small ones grow," Xiaolin tugged at her grandmother’s hand, who nodded and swapped her hat onto her granddaughter, the large hat shading the little girl completely.

With a small bamboo stick firmly in hand, she tapped and pried the large mussels off the rocks, collecting them in a bucket. Zhang Ruo watched her plump, fair figure with affection, joining in to help fill the bucket with mussels.

"What can you do with the dried mussels, Xiaolin?"

"Before we eat it, you should soak them in water, or you can blanch them and then stir-fry. But if you’re making curry, just wash them clean and put them directly into the curry," she said.

"Same goes for a dried squid?"

"Yes, but grilling it is also delicious. It might have a peculiar smell, but the taste is really good. Oh, and frying it is tasty too," she pondered what else dried squid could be used for, her round eyes moving thoughtfully.

"Ah! You can also soak them in ash water, Grandmother!" The little girl exclaimed, causing Zhang Ruo to turn around in surprise at the sparkling eyes of her granddaughter.

"Soak them in ash water?"

"Yes," she nodded vigorously before explaining, "Soak them in ash water overnight, and the dried squid will become as crispy as fresh squid."

"Really? That would be great. We won’t get bored of eating just dried food in winter. Xiaolin, you’re so knowledgeable," Zhang Ruo hugged her granddaughter tightly, making Xiaolin laugh so hard she almost teared up.

Their laughter reached the hut, making everyone there smile too. But they didn’t stop working on preparing the fresh squid, knowing that the more they prepared, the less hardship they would face in winter. If there was an excess, they could even sell some for a little extra income.

"Since recovering, Xiaolin has become much more knowledgeable and lively for her age," Hui Song commented. He hadn’t seen his granddaughter often, but he remembered her as shy and not very talkative, possibly because she lacked playmates of her own age.

"I think so too. Sometimes, she’s so insightful that even adults can’t keep up," Hui Ning replied. Sometimes, she felt her daughter was too mature for her age, speaking in a way that was different from most five-year-olds, some of whom could barely speak clearly.

"I think it’s good that she’s so bright and cheerful," Tian Hong said with a wide smile. He hadn’t spent much time with his daughter, leading to a somewhat distant relationship. But nowadays, his daughter was affectionately adorable.

"I agree you, big brother," Tianchen nodded in agreement.

The person in question was unaware of the discussion because she was too busy enjoying shelling mussels and teasing her grandmother. In no time, the little bucket was filled with plump mussels.

Zhang Ruo carried the bucket to a larger wooden bucket that was empty before returning to help her granddaughter.

"How much do we need to collect, child?" Zhang Ruoa asked her granddaughter.

"A lot! Because once we dry them, they’ll shrink to almost nothing," Xiaolin raised her little finger to show her grandmother.

"And besides mussels, squid, and shrimp, what else will you dry?"

"Next, I’ll ask Father to hunt wild boar, or go to the butcher’s shop to buy some white pork to render for lard," she cheerfully replied.

 

"Really, there’s also pork skin," she said. "We can fry it to render the fat, and the remaining cracklings can be lightly salted and stored in jars. During winter, we can eat them with porridge. But it’s better to prepare this closer to winter because if it’s made too early, it might spoil."

Xiaolin spoke in rapid succession, leaving Zhang Ruo almost unable to keep up. She watched her granddaughter with wide eyes as the little mouth continued to chatter nonstop, marveling at how such a small head could hold so much knowledge to articulate so extensively, making even the adults feel embarrassed for knowing less.

The little figure spoke until she was out of breath and then got up to walk around the rocks, leaving Zhang Ruo to collect oysters alone. Besides oyster mushrooms, she found nothing but rocks everywhere. She then walked around to another side where she found oysters clinging to the rocks.

The plump girl walked along the beach, her gaze landing on a pile of brownish-green plants washed up by the waves. Her short legs sprinted towards it, and she stood inspecting the plants with curiosity.

"Seaweed!"

Her small hands picked up the seaweed from the ground, examining its long brown stalks carefully, separating the leaves from the stem. She scrutinized it thoroughly before her eyes widened in realization.

"Is this Wakame?!" Her little head filled with images of food containing seaweed, and she swallowed hard.

"I miss the miso soup from the pink restaurant," the chubby child said, eyes shining as

she looked at the seaweed in their hand.

 

The plump child then ran back to the cottage, dragging the long seaweed behind her. Her round cheeks bounced up and down with her movements, along with her little belly.

"What have you brought now, child?"

Hui Ning saw her daughter running in with something in tow and washed her hands before standing up to see. The plump figure stood panting for a while before excitedly saying,

"Seaweed, Mother! Let’s wash it and then dry it right away!"

"Xiaolin, we’ve only managed to gather a round of dried squid, and now you’re bringing more things to dry?" she asked her daughter, laughing lightly.

Xiaolin scratched her head and gave a sheepish smile, not noticing her family busily processing squid, and Grandma Zhang collecting oysters.

"But seaweed is delicious, Mother."

"These plants are everywhere. After we’re done drying the animals, maybe Dad can collect more for you, okay?"

The little girl paused to think for a moment before nodding in agreement. Wakame thrives in cold weather, so collecting and drying it before winter wouldn’t be a problem.

"I also want to try some small fish to dry. The ones Dad catches and keeps can work, but only the small ones." She referred to all the fish her father caught, similar to mackerel, not knowing their specific names, and called them all "mackerel" for simplicity. As simple as that!

"Okay, little tycoon," Tian Hong nodded in agreement, playfully addressing his daughter.

“I will become a little tycoon."

Xiaolin strutted with her arms clasped behind her back, proudly walking into the shade of the cottage, her round belly leading the way. Her demeanor elicited laughter from everyone, especially Tian Chen, who laughed so hard he nearly choked.

"What will you sell, little tycoon? Dried squid and oysters?" Hui Song joined in with a question, amused by his granddaughter’s cute antics and itching to scoop her up for a few affectionate squeezes.

"I will open a store that sells everything," she declared.

"Oh! It’s bound to be a grand venture then."

Giggles

With a craving for seaweed, the plump child asked her father to fetch some seawater in a small bucket before she began to meticulously clean several stalks of seaweed. In the evening, she planned to ask her mother to make seaweed soup.

Several pairs of eyes watched the little girl crouched beside the bucket, her small hands busily washing and scrubbing the seaweed clean, then laying them out on a wooden tray to dry. Satisfied, she carried the tray to an empty squid drying rack.

She placed the tray on the rack and returned to the cottage to rest. She was just letting the seaweed drip dry because it would be cooked later in the evening, or perhaps even for lunch.

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