Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 29: The Power of Peanuts!

Chapter 28

The Power of Peanuts!

Upon returning home, Hui Song carried his granddaughter back to their new house, while he went back to weigh sweet potatoes for Guo Wen.

The chubby Xiaolin dragged a bag containing a small wooden box filled with money across the floor of their house because it was very heavy. When Tianchen came in and saw her, he curiously asked,

"What are you dragging, Xiaolin?"

"Uncle, can you help me lift this, please? I want to give it to mom."

Tianchen didn’t ask his niece further and picked up the familiar old bag, recognizing it as belonging to Hui Song, and followed his cheerful niece towards the back of the house.

Xiaolin ran to hug her mother, who was sitting with Zhang Ruo, cracking soybeans. Hui Ning turned to look at her daughter with a beaming smile and asked,

"You’re back. And what did you bring, Xiao Chen?" Asked Hui Ning as she saw her husband’s brother carrying a bag that seemed heavy.

"Not sure, it’s Xiaolin’s. As for me, I’ve come back for lunch," Tianchen also helped at Liu Hao’s house. Around noon, he came back to get his lunch.

"I’ve prepared grilled fish and stir-fried pickled vegetables with salted pork for you," Hui Ning received the bag from her brother-in-law and curiously opened it to inspect. She took out a small but remarkably heavy wooden box and looked at it questioningly. When she looked up, she saw her daughter smiling so broadly that her eyes were nearly shut.

"Open it, sweetie. Did you get anything for mommy?" Zhang Ruo spoke up upon seeing the niece’s excited demeanor.

Hui Ning opened the wooden box only to find it crammed full of gold ingots, causing her to gasp in shock. Her hands went limp, and the wooden box fell to the ground.

Thud!

The box fell, spilling gold coins all over, leaving Zhang Ruo and Tianchen in shock. Once they took a closer look, they couldn’t help but exclaim.

SCREAM! “Where did you get this from, Xiaolin?" Zhang Ruo quickly wiped her hands and grabbed her granddaughter’s shoulder.

"I made a contract to sell pans with Uncle Zheng Luan, the blacksmith. I haven’t collected my share for two months, so I got all this money.

"Xiaolin is rich now!" Tianchen ran in, scooped up his niece, and dashed around the backyard.

The chubby child’s squeals mixed with Tianchen’s boisterous shouts filled the air for a while. Then they settled down to closely examine the gold ingots with fascination.

"Thirty gold taels, really!? Xiaolin, my niece, you are so brilliant!"

"Hehe, Xiaolin will be a little millionaire now!" The young girl giggled, covering her mouth.

"Don’t forget about your uncle when you’re rich,heh?" Tianchen hugged his niece, nuzzling her cheek repeatedly, causing Xiaolin to push his face away, tickled by his stubble.

"I’ll keep it safe for now," Hui Ning decided, securing the box.

She had been surprised before when her husband brought home money from selling Ganoderma mushrooms, but now their daughter had made a trading contract with a major blacksmith and brought home such a significant amount of money, becoming a little rich girl, richer than her mother.

"I will save it to buy land and then open a food store and a dried fish shop," declared the plump child with a determined look.

"I’ll help Xiaolin."

"Before you help me, you need to learn to read and write properly," the young girl advised earnestly. "I will hire Uncle Hao to teach you and you and dad, mom. In the future, if we’re going to do business, we must be literate."

"Oh!"

Tianchen blinked rapidly, looking at his niece in disbelief. His niece had everything planned out already. Was she really just five years old? He, being ten years older, was still preoccupied with daily trivialities.

"Little Xiaolin is so well-planned. That’s great then. We won’t be bored this winter. Learning to read and write with A’Hao is a good idea," Zhang Ruo agreed, nodding.

"You must study hard, Uncle. In the future, you and dad will have to manage the family’s business. It’s not proper for me, being a girl, to be too forward. If you don’t pay attention, I will spank you!" She playfully slapped her young uncle’s arm.

Tianchen looked at his niece deeply. She was planning for others at such a young age, including him, who might not even be part of the same household in the future.

"My dear niece," he said, unable to resist pinching her plump cheeks.

Xiaolin protested and pushed his face away, but he kept on pinching her cheeks.

"Mommy, help me!"

After the playful fight between uncle and niece ended, Xiaolin’s cheeks were flushed red. Tianchen happily carried the lunch basket away, and Xiaolin followed her grandfather to chop bamboo in the forest.

Hui Song intended to make a simple duck trap. In his younger days, he frequently made traps for wild chickens. The granddaughter and grandfather walked hand in hand into the not-too-distant woods, filled with bamboo.

"Grandpa, we could just sit here and set the trap in the evening. We’ll check the trap and collect the eggs in the morning."

"Aren’t you going to take your nap back at home?"

"I’ve brought a blanket with me."

The chubby girl pulled out a fragrant-smelling sleeping mat from her small basket. She looked for a suitable spot for a midday rest under a tree with a cool breeze, set up her mat, and sat down to watch Hui Song work with wide eyes.

Hui Song scratched his head, looking at his well-prepared little granddaughter. Was she so eager to follow him just to find a place for a midday nap? Look at her now, even pulling out roasted sweet potatoes to snack on nonchalantly.

He watched his granddaughter for a moment before moving a bit farther to cut bamboo. Once done, he dragged them back to work near his granddaughter, who occasionally fed him some of her snacks.

Before Xiaolin got too sleepy, she asked to take a walk around. Her grandfather reminded her not to go too far, but the stubborn child hardly listened. As she wandered off, she forgot all about her grandfather’s warning.

The plump figure passed the bamboo grove, looked back to see Hui Song’s figure, and continued on. She reached an area full of short plants all the same kind, covering the entire area she walked into.

"Eh, this looks familiar," the chubby child mused, holding her chin thoughtfully.

"One stem with four leaves, a bit hairy."

She walked around the familiar-looking plant, tilting her head left and right, feeling more certain about its familiarity. Thus, she decided to pull it out. Despite straining until her back arched, the plant wouldn’t budge.

"Phew! I’m tired now!" Xiaolin grimaced, bending down to grasp the plant’s base before giving it another strong pull.

"Yank!"

Thud!

Pulling too hard, she fell backwards onto the ground. Luckily, she managed to pull the plant out.

Xiaolin quickly got up to inspect the plant, noticing the light-colored pods covered in dirt clinging to the roots. The plump figure jigged with joy.

"Peanuts! Eh, in Thai, they’re called ’tua lisong,’ aren’t they? Hehe," she joyously observed the plant in her hand.

"Grandpa!!"

"What is it? What happened?" Hui Song rushed over at his granddaughter’s call, axe and knife in hand.

"I found peanuts, Grandpa! Peanuts, let’s collect them together," she extended the plant she had pulled out to him, her round face beaming with a wide smile.

"Peanuts? Hmm, I think I’ve seen them being sold at the grain store," he took the plant to examine.

"Really? Are they expensive, Grandpa?"

"They’re quite pricey."

"Then let’s pull them out! We’ll keep about ten plants to grow bigger. After winter, we can plant them."

"Take the whole plant?"

"Just the seeds."

"Alright, I’ll pull them out and we can store them under the tree where you’ll be napping, yeah?," the chubby girl nodded in agreement.

Hui Song then set his knife down and started pulling out peanut plants, with his round granddaughter cheerfully singing and dancing to encourage him. He laughed and pulled until his stomach hurt.

After harvesting half of the tree, the granddaughter and grandfather carried the peanut plants back under the tree. Xiaolin took Grandpa’s basket, filled it with the peanut pods, and went back to making traps.

She planned to boil some for the family to eat, while the rest would be roasted, shelled, and stored. They could either cook them or simply re-roast and eat them as snacks.

"Are we going to sell eggs again tomorrow?"

"Yes, if we catch ducks, we’ll sell those too."

"Let’s try selling a couple of ducks and keep one for ourselves."

"Sounds good!"

As the granddaughter and grandfather left the forest, the sun was already setting. Hui Song had placed traps in five spots; they had to wait for the ducks to leave the water before setting the traps. Once everything was done, they carried a basket full of peanuts back to their little home.

"You’d been gone since the sun set over your heads and now you’ve returned when it’s dark," Zhang Ruo stood waiting at the door.

Seeing this, the granddaughter and grandfather shrank a bit. Xiaolin rushed to hug her grandmother’s waist, looking up at her with a pleading face.

"Xiaolin brought back peanuts, Grandma. They’re really tasty."

"Peanuts? Oh," Zhang Ruo’s mood lightened at the sight of her granddaughter’s round face, paying no mind to her husband who was sneaking off to another side, still burdened by guilt.

It was those three jars of liquor he brought back. He had hidden them in his son-in-law’s old house, intending to enjoy a few sips each day to cheer himself up.

"Peanuts, Grandma. I’ll wash and clean them, then we can boil them to eat after dinner," Xiaolin proposed.

"Alright, let’s go then. You haven’t bathed today, you little troublemaker."

"Hehe, I want to wash my hair too, Grandma."

"Sure, Grandma will wash it for you."

The grandmother and granddaughter walked hand in hand towards the bathroom at the back of the house, while Hui Song cleaned just enough peanuts for the evening meal, storing the rest in the dry food storage room.

After delivering the peanuts for his daughter to boil, he disappeared to the old house of his son-in-law for a while before returning with a cheerful demeanor. Seeing his wife and granddaughter coming out of the bathroom, he grabbed some clothes to take his turn bathing.

The evening meal included stir-fried shredded cabbage with eggs, dried squid soup, and stir-fried squid with basil. There was also a bowl of boiled peanuts. The greedy bunch hurried to the table, ready to eat.

Xiaolin chewed on the stir-fried squid, savoring its deliciousness. Since her experience with spicy food that left her mouth swollen, her mother had stopped making very spicy dishes. Now, the food was just spicy enough to be flavorful, which she appreciated as she couldn’t wait to grow up and enjoy more spicy foods.

Slurp! “This dried squid soup is really tasty," Hui Song enjoyed the hot soup, earning a narrowed-eye look from Zhang Ruo, who didn’t comment further.

"This stir-fried squid is so chewy. Should I get some squid from Brother Heng to cook again, big brother?"

"Good idea, let’s also grill it with some spicy dip," the brothers agreed harmoniously.

"Tomorrow, father and Xiaolin will check the traps. We might get some ducks. Bring them home to cook, okay, A’Ning?"

"What will we do with them, dear?" Hui Ning turned to ask his daughter, who was busy chewing her food.

"Let’s stew them. Just like stewing chicken, but add a bit more spices because duck has a stronger smell. Before stewing, mix lemongrass, lime, and salt, then rub it on the duck to reduce its smell. Rub it thoroughly, okay, Mom?"

Hui Ning blinked at her daughter’s comprehensive cooking instructions. The method was quite detailed, but she decided to give it a try. If it turned out delicious, it would be a new dish for the family.

After a meal where everything was devoured eagerly, the men gathered to shell and enjoy the boiled peanuts while Hui Ning and Zhang Ruo cleaned up, with the plump child trailing behind.

"Mom, can you grill some squid for me?"

"Grill what, dear? We’re out of squid."

"Not that, Mom. I mean dried squid." The chubby girl stood watching her mother clean dishes. Initially, she wanted to help but was told to stand aside.

"Sure, dear."

"Go grill the squid for Xiaolin, dear. I’ve finished here and will take care of the dishes."

The mother and daughter then walked hand in hand into the kitchen. The little one chatted cheerily with her mother, who then skewered two pieces of dried squid and grilled them over the remaining charcoal in the stove. The delicious aroma wafted outside, attracting the food gobbler to linger by the door.

"Sister-in-law, what’s that smell?"

"Dried squid being grilled, Uncle."

"Let me have some as well then!" The young man approached excitedly, prompting Hui Ning to prepare an additional piece for each of the two nephews.

The nephews took their grilled dried squid sticks out to the hall to eat. Hui Song managed to snatch one from Tianchen, leaving him sulking, while Xiaolin, seeing her father looking over, shared one with him.

"I thought you were going to sell the grilled squid?"

"I thought since everyone seemed busy with other things, it might be better to wait until after winter to sell," the little mouth chewed on the crispy dried squid.

"You could try selling some. If it does well, we can sell more after winter."

"How about I help sell it? A‘Hao’s roof’s been repaired."

"Really, Uncle?"

"Of course."

"Then, I’d like to sell too!"

"Tonight, I’ll go out on the boat with your Uncle Heng."

"I will need tables and chairs and plates for customers to sit and eat the squid."

"We could borrow from Uncle Zhang," Hui Song remembered visiting Song Li for liquor with his granddaughter earlier that day.

"The liquor store?"

"Cough!"

"What liquor?" Zhang Ruo walked into the hall, overhearing the word ’liquor’ and gave her husband a stern look.

"Oops! I’m quite sleepy now," the little one scampered off to bed alone, leaving her grandfather sitting with a forced smile.

At midnight, Hui Song was chased outside by his wife to sleep because he had eaten too many beans and nuts, leading to non-stop farting. The smell of grilled dried squid only added to the stench.

Thus, he had to take his pillow and sleep with Tianchen. The two of them ended up competing in a farting contest until dawn...

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