Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 37: Xiaolin’s Bitterness

Chapter 36:

Xiaolin’s Bitterness

Lian Hua laughed when she heard the little one’s question. The child must have thought she bought the ducks to cook and eat. But no, she couldn’t bring herself to eat them because they were from this chubby-cheeked little one. So, she had the servants in the manor take good care of them. Now, they had grown quite fat and even laid eggs for cooking.

"I kept them as pets. Would you like to go see them?"

Xiaolin looked up into the sparkling eyes of the person in front of her and fell silent. The Auntie must want to show off the fat ducks. Not wanting to disappoint her, Xiaolin agreed.

The servants working along the path they walked past all turned to look with interest. Normally, the lady of the house was kind but not one to talk much. Yet, today, she was accompanied by a chubby little child and kept introducing her home to the child non-stop.

"Right behind this here, there’s also a lotus pond, but I don’t let them play in the water because sometimes we use the pond area for our events. So, I had someone build a coop behind the manor and then had a large water trough made for them to play in instead."

Xiaolin could only nod along with the beautiful Aunt. It seemed she was quite lonely, engaging so enthusiastically with a stranger. With her husband busy every day and their children away for studies, life must feel very lonely indeed.

But why doesn’t Auntie have another child? Both Auntie and Uncle aren’t old at all.

Pondering all the way, Xiaolin listened to the homeowner’s numerous introductions about the house - the trees, flowers, how many rooms there are, how many servants, and what pets they have. From what she gathered, it seemed Uncle didn’t have any descendants, contrary to what she had learned about ancient families usually having many wives and children.

"Here we are. Look, they’re in the water."

Xiaolin followed the direction of the slender pointing finger and saw the two fat ducks leisurely playing in the water. They seemed to have a better life than her, growing significantly fatter in just a few days.

"Are those ducks or pigs?"

Lian Hua covered her mouth and laughed at the child’s question. "Silly, those are ducks."

"If they were humans,they would definitely be fatter than me."

"You don’t need to be any fatter. You are just perfect as you are, with a little belly and chubby cheeks, very cute," Lian Hua gently pinched the chubby cheeks on both sides before leading the little one back to the front of the manor.

Lian Hua took the little one to sit and chat at the pavilion, sharing various stories. Xiaolin just nodded along, listening sporadically because the beautiful auntie had too much to say, sometimes barely keeping up.

Sitting until almost dozing off, they were saved by a heavenly announcement from a servant that lunch was ready. Seeing the little one’s bright, eager eyes, Lian Hua hurriedly led her back to the house, worried the little one might be hungry but too polite to say.

Arriving at the dining room, the men were already seated. Xiaolin was placed beside the beautiful aunt, the little glutton hurriedly surveying the various dishes laid out but turned pale upon seeing them.

"Since we have guests today, we’ve prepared quite a feast. Please, honey, introduce the dishes to our guests," said Zhou Ming, excited to have company at the table.

"This dish is red braised pork, chestnut pork stew, chicken marinated in red wine, steamed fish with preserved plums, sautéed cabbage in oil, and pork belly stewed in soy sauce," explained Lian Hua.

The Tang brothers seemed pleased with the meaty dishes, surely made by the skilled cooks of the large manor and bound to be delicious. Unlike Xiaolin, who felt queasy just looking at them.

It was all fat and grease!

"Please, eat as much as you like, no need to be shy. Last time I was treated to delicious food at your home, today you can try ours. Oh, and later, tell the cook to prepare some dishes for our guests to take home," Zhou Ming instructed a serene servant standing not too far away.

"Uh, governor," Tianrong wanted to object. Despite having conversed for a while, the man before them was still the mayor of Jiangnan, and he didn’t dare to get too familiar.

"Don’t say no. It’s my pleasure. Let’s eat. Xiaolin, eat up," encouraged Zhou Ming.

Xiaolin could only offer a dry smile, eyeing the greasy dishes warily. Although she loved to eat, facing several plates of juicy pork was too much, and she preferred to concede.

But it seemed the person beside her didn’t understand...

Xiaolin mourned for herself as she saw Lian Hua picking food from various dishes and piling it onto her plate like a small mountain. The plump child had to take a deep breath to muster the courage before she picked up the greasy stewed pork and put it in her mouth.

The first bite was delicious...but as she ate more, she felt so nauseated she wanted to spit it out.

"You’re a child; you need to eat a lot. Here, eat some fish, and chicken too," Lian Hua enjoyed picking food for the little one, not noticing the child beside her was almost turning green.

"Very delicious indeed," Tianchen also enjoyed the meal, continuously bringing food to his mouth. Seeing his brother’s embarrassing behavior, Tianrong nudged him, but the young boy seemed oblivious.

Zhou Ming, seeing the two brothers, laughed heartily. He used his chopsticks to pick more food for them, filling their plates. Tianrong, seeing the tempting dishes, could no longer maintain his manners, fearing his younger brother would finish everything first.

In the end, Xiaolin couldn’t finish her meal. Both the rice and the shared dishes remained almost half untouched. Lian Hua felt very sad because she wanted the little one to enjoy the manor’s food, but it turned out the child couldn’t finish her meal.

"Didn’t you like the food?"

"It was delicious, but I had too many snacks and got full," Xiaolin, seeing the sad face across from her, quickly flashed a comforting smile and firmly grasped the delicate hand.

"The food at your house is so delicious. I’ve never had anything like this before," hearing the child’s compliments, Lian Hua felt much better, forgetting her previous sadness completely.

"Is that so? That’s good then. Would you want to visit Auntie more often?"

"After this, I might not be able to come to town anymore, especially if it snows, it will be difficult to walk."

"In that case, I’ll have the manor’s carriage pick you up."

"Honey,"

hearing her husband’s voice, Lian Hua looked sad. Meeting the plump little girl, she had become so indulgent that she forgot everything else. The child must have felt quite uncomfortable because sometimes she noticed the little one’s struggling face too.

"Then, may I visit Xiaolin at your home sometime?" she asked, holding the small hands with hopeful eyes.

"Of course, I would be happy to welcome you," Xiaolin assured her.

Lian Hua stood, sending off the little one with a heavy heart, watching the plump child on the cart waving goodbye. The cart slowly disappeared into the crowd.

"Let’s just make a child of our own," Zhou Ming consoled, wrapping an arm around his wife.

"We have been trying for many years, haven’t we?" She replied.

"Well, let’s buy some good supplements and try again."

After watching the Tang family leave, they both headed back into the manor.

Meanwhile, the little cart filled with food boxes made its way into a grain shop. Xiaolin wanted to order some green bean seeds and some pea seeds to try sprouting them.

"Green beans are ten brass coins per jin, and peas are thirty brasscoins per jin."

Hearing the prices, Xiaolin was puzzled; why were green beans so cheap? Did people here not eat green beans?

"And how about soybeans?"

"Soybeans are ten brass coins per jin."

"What?!" Xiaolin exclaimed so loudly that the shopkeeper and Tianrong were startled.

Eventually, Xiaolin ordered a small sack of green beans and a small sack of peas, each fifty catties, paying a total of two taels of silver. She also stopped by to buy two small sacks of water spinach seeds at one tael per sack because it was the winter season when it’s not possible to grow vegetables, so the seed prices were significantly lower.

Tianchen had to hire a cart at the city gate, which turned out to be Guo Wen’s. Xiaolin moved from the pushcart to sit at the edge of Guo Wen’s cart alongside her uncle before leaving the city. They also bought four large earthenware basins.

Though described as large, each basin was only about 6 shi wide (60 cm.) She planned to use each basin for sprouting green beans, soybeans, pea sprouts, and water spinach sprouts.

Hoping they would sprout...

Upon returning home, Xiaolin had her uncle soak the soybeans, green beans, and water spinach seeds, one jin each, to be left overnight, hoping to increase the germination rate.

The tricky part was sprouting the peas, or "dou miao," because she had never tried sprouting them herself before. However, Xiaolin took a handful of pea seeds and soaked them in water. She planned to try sprouting them in soil first; if that didn’t work, she would try another method.

After soaking the seeds, the plump child strutted off to peel an orange from the kitchen to alleviate the greasiness from the braised pork belly in red sauce and soy sauce pork belly, which made her feel too oily. Fortunately, there were steamed fish to eat, or she might have regurgitated the food.

"Uncle, let’s go pick some ripe coconuts. Take a knife with you too," said the child after finishing her orange, immediately finding work for her uncle to prevent him from getting a belly.

"We’ve just come back, Xiaolin," Tianchen replied lazily, lying sprawled in the middle of the hall.

At this time, there wasn’t a soul at home; everyone must have gone to the beach. Even her father was snoring loudly next to his brother.

"Let’s go quickly. I will show you how to plant vegetables without soil," Tianchen perked up upon hearing this, curious about how one could plant vegetables without soil. But he knew if his niece said it, she must have a way.

The young man tried to wake his brother, but despite shaking him until his head rattled, he wouldn’t wake up. So, the two set off to the coconut garden by themselves.

Once there, Xiaolin selected over a dozen good ripe coconuts to take home. She also sorted out the spoiled or nearly rotten ones into a pile.

"And what will we do with these?" Tianchen looked at the large pile of ripe coconuts, some of which were pierced by animals, some were shriveled, and some had small sprouts, but their plants were wilted.

"I will use their shells to plant vegetables," she explained.

"Plant vegetables with coconut shells?"

"Yes, Uncle, come quickly. I’m going to teach you how to crack coconuts." She beckoned her uncle to come and sit down.

She instructed him to hold the coconut in one hand and a knife in the hand he was more comfortable with. Use the knife’s tip to carve into the top part of the coconut and then twist the knife to pry the shell off from the sides, continuing around the coconut.

"Then, split it in the middle, aligning with the mark made on the top. It will make it easier to crackle," Tianchen got the picture and decided to give it a try.

Xiaolin clapped her hands and bounced around when she saw her uncle successfully follow her instructions perfectly. The young girl praised him, making the young man beam with pride.

"You’ve done really well!"

"Of course, I’m the best."

"Hehe."

Once he got the hang of it, Tianchen quickly peeled the coconut shells with little Xiaolin cheering him on enthusiastically from the side.

"Go Uncle! Fight till the end! Leave your mark and fight till the end!"

The chubby child danced around until her belly shook, causing Tianchen to burst into laughter.

"So, I have to fight till the end just to peel coconuts?"

"Hehe, it’s just a song, Uncle. Hurry up, go Uncle!"

"Ha ha ha!"

It was exhausting to finish, not for the peeler but for the dancer. The uncle-niece duo then filled the cart with the peeled coconut shells along with the ripe coconuts they had gathered earlier.

Xiaolin lay down exhausted on the pile of ripe coconuts, with her uncle pushing the cart back home.

"Tired, aren’t you? All that dancing, you’ll slim down soon." Tianchen looked at his niece, who was lying exhausted, her chubby cheeks flushed from exertion.

"I don’t want to slim down; I want to be a strong little pig."

The young man shook his head at his niece’s words, thinking she would want to be slim and beautiful when she grew up. But for now, her chubby form was the cutest.

Upon returning home, they could still hear Tianrong’s loud snores. The uncle-niece duo pushed the cart to the back of the house to start soaking the coconut husks in water.

"Why do we have to soak them?" He was curious and non-stop with his questions.

"Because next, we will have to chop them finely. Soaking them makes it easier to chop," explained Xiaolin. Understanding her explanation, he then saw Liu Hao, tall and lean, calling out with a book in his hand.

"Oh, it’s Uncle Hao," Xiaolin turned to see the tall young man. She had forgotten that her uncle had to study.

"What are the two of you doing?" Liu Hao sat down to observe them extracting the coconut fibers. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"It’s part of our vegetable planting project."

"Planting vegetables in winter?"

"Yes, but we can start slow. Uncle, go prepare for your studies; I will take a nap in the meantime."

"Alright then." The two men settled on the back porch, and Xiaolin washed her hands before heading inside, as her father’s snoring was too loud. She wouldn’t be able to sleep outside.

After changing out of her outdoor clothes and preparing them for washing, she climbed into bed, pulled the blanket over herself, and fell into a deep sleep.

She woke up to her mother’s call for dinner. In the end, the coconut husk project would have to wait until tomorrow. For now, she’d start with the sprouting beans and water spinach. The pea sprouts were still in the experimental phase.

"Mommy, can you make me some fried rice, please?" She asked, feeling nauseated by the sight of the greasy braised pork leg and turned to her mother with a pleading look.

"Fried rice?"

"I’ll tell you how," Xiaolin offered.

The mother and daughter headed to the kitchen, where Xiaolin instructed her mother to crush some garlic and then fry it until fragrant, followed by adding two duck eggs, crushing them until cooked. They added cooked rice into the pan, seasoned it with soy sauce and oyster sauce, and stirred until everything was well mixed. The dish was ready.

The chubby girl carried a plate of fried rice topped with a runny sunny-side-up egg, which her mother made extra, fearing her daughter wouldn’t be full. The three greedy men watched the plate of fragrant fried rice with wide eyes, but their anticipation was cut short by Zhang Ruo’s cough.

"Greedy much? Aren’t you going to eat the braised pork leg?"

"We will, we will."

The three men picked up the braised pork with their chopsticks but their eyes kept darting to the plate of fragrant fried rice, watching the chubby girl scoop up the rice and chew contentedly, her cheeks puffing out.

"Mmm! Delicious!"

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