Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 62: Finding Things to Sell Again

Chapter 56

Finding Things to Sell Again

Lian Hua took the necklace and put it on the chubby child. She had carefully chosen a necklace with a cute flower pendant, perfect for a little one.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it very much, Auntie. Thank you so much, Uncle and Auntie," Xiaolin replied, jumping down to the floor and bowing deeply to the two elders, almost hitting the table with her head.

Lian Hua laughed affectionately. She turned to her husband, happy to have met this little girl. Although they couldn’t adopt her, they were grateful for the advice that led to the little one in her womb.

Xiaolin excitedly took out the necklace to look at it. The chubby child started wiggling and dancing, making Tianrong hold his head in his hands.

"Xiaolin is so happy, wiggle, ~ wiggle, wiggle ~," the chubby figure sang and danced to her newly created tune.

The couple, who had never seen such a dance before, sat in silence before bursting into tears of laughter.

"Xiaolin is truly adorable," Lian Hua couldn’t resist pulling the child in for a kiss on the cheek.

"Hehe Auntie."

The aunt and niece sat and played together, feeding each other snacks for a long time, while Zhou Ming and Tianrong discussed the ceremony for the next day.

Tianrong wanted a simple ceremony since he was just a commoner and didn’t know many important people. However, Zhou Ming wanted to invite many acquaintances to introduce them to Tang’s market.

"You should take your daughter home before it gets dark," Zhou Ming said after a long conversation.

"I’ll take my leave, then, Governor and Furen."

"Xiaolin, we are leaving now," the chubby child said goodbye to both elders, carrying a large bundle of snacks prepared by the servant.

"Take care, Xiaolin."

"Yes, Auntie."

Tianrong walked holding his daughter’s hand towards the city gate. Suddenly, two people rushed at them, startling the father and daughter.

"Oh my! Brother Zhong, Brother Lei, you scared us!" Tianrong let out a long sigh when he saw the familiar faces. Xiaolin clutched her neck, afraid that the bandits would steal her new gold necklace.

"Haha! Sorry, I saw your cart at the city gate and wanted to ask for a ride," Lei San laughed loudly.

"You should have said something, Brother Lei. I almost had a heart attack. What brings you to the city?"

"To buy some rice. Can’t I joke a bit?"

"That wasn’t a joke, Brother Lei."

"Alright, alright. What is Xiaolin carrying? Do you need help, Uncle?" Wu Zhong bent down to ask the chubby child who was holding the bundle tightly with one hand and clutching her neck with the other.

"Snacks, Uncle," Xiaolin sighed with relief.

"Let me carry that for you, and you can carry your daughter so we can reach the city gate quickly. It’s crowded in the evening," Wu Zhong took the bundle of snacks and Tianrong lifted his daughter.

On the way home, Wu Zhong and Lei San asked the chubby child to sing for them. Xiaolin happily obliged, wiggling her chubby figure and singing funny songs, with her uncles clapping and cheering all the way.

After dropping off the two older friends at their village, father and daughter returned home in their cart. Tianrong dropped his daughter off at the front of the house while he took the cows and cart to the back.

"What did you bring back, Xiaolin?" It was as if Tianchen already knew his niece had brought food. He was waiting on the front porch.

"Baked goods, Uncle. Auntie gave me a lot," Xiaolin handed the bundle of snacks to her uncle, who eagerly opened it and widened his eyes.

"So much! This will last us a week," he said, munching on the snacks while talking to his niece.

"Yes, it’s great to have snacks during the day. Hehe. Are you going to the market tomorrow, Uncle?" The chubby child asked, munching on another snack.

"Yes, but your auntie and sister-in-law won’t go. It’ll be too crowded and chaotic. It’s better for them to stay home."

"Okay, I agree. I’m going to take a bath now," the chubby child ran inside to get a towel. Before going outside, she asked her mother to take off her necklace and put it away for safekeeping.

The chubby, fair-skinned child sang and danced in the bathroom while soaping herself. It was soap that Aunt Huan Qingqing had left, smelling of flowers. Xiaolin wanted to make some herself but decided to wait until she had more free time.

"Nobody loves me, even the fan shakes its head at me," she sang.

"Xiaolin, dinner is ready," Hui Ning called out when she saw her daughter still in the bathroom.

"Coming!"

The chubby child quickly rinsed off the soap, wrapped herself in a towel, and ran back to her room.

"It’s time to eat, so you can go to bed early. We have to get up early tomorrow," Zhang Ruo called as she saw her granddaughter and Tianchen walk out of the room together.

They quickly took their seats, and once everyone was ready, they started eating heartily. After finishing the meal, they sat talking for a while before heading to bed.

Early the next morning, Zhang Ruo woke up her granddaughter and took her for a bath before the rooster crowed. The chubby child, still half asleep, was carried out of bed by her grandmother, letting Zhang Ruo wash her as she wished.

The cold bath water woke the child up. Her hair was tied in a bun, and she wore a beautiful pink dress, chewing on a steamed bun on the cart with her father, grandfather, and uncle.

"I’m so excited, Xiaolin. We are going to have our own family business," Tianchen talked to his little niece at the back of the cart, both of them swinging their legs.

"I told you, Uncle. Xiaolin will be rich," the chubby child took a big bite of the bun.

"I want to be rich too."

"We’ll all be rich," she declared.

They rode for a long time until their bottoms hurt before reaching the market, which was already bustling with people. Villagers carried baskets full of goods, and soldiers were setting up tables for offerings.

A large carriage arrived, and Zhou Ming got off with an old monk. The ceremony began, and Xiaolin watched the monk perform rituals and plant incense sticks everywhere. The chubby child stood wide-eyed, watching until the ceremony ended, making the two of them nearly fall asleep.

Before leaving, the old monk glanced at the chubby child in the pink dress before getting back into the governor’s carriage. The child, unaware, lay limp in Tianchen’s arms, wanting to sleep.

"What’s happening here? Is that the governor?" Villagers whispered as they walked to the city gate.

"They’re setting up a new business."

"I’ve seen construction here for a while. Is it the governor’s own business?"

"What kind of business is it?"

Xiaolin, who was almost asleep, looked curiously at the group of villagers talking loudly but turned sullen when she saw an old woman who had hurt her before. The chubby child ran to Zhou Ming, who was introducing Tianrong to some acquaintances.

Feeling something grab his waist, Zhou Ming looked down, as did the other adults.

"Uncle, isn’t Auntie coming?" Xiaolin looked up at her tall uncle.

"Your aunt isn’t coming. She was tired, so I let her rest. Have you eaten yet, Xiaolin? Let me get you something," Zhou Ming patted her head.

"I had a bun, Uncle."

"That’s not enough. Let me get you more food. Oh, by the way, this is Tianrong’s daughter," Zhou Ming introduced the child to the guests, who were a mix of black-haired and white-haired men. Xiaolin bowed deeply to them.

"She’s so cute. I wish I had a granddaughter like her," one old man said, laughing happily.

Xiaolin clung to Zhou Ming, refusing to let go. When she looked outside, she saw the old woman glaring at her, probably remembering that she was the child she had once bullied.

The old woman looked fearfully at the chubby child clinging to the governor, worried that if the child told the governor what had happened, she would be in trouble.

"Why are you standing there? Get on the cart, so we can deliver the goods," her husband called, snapping her out of her thoughts. She glanced back at the chubby child, now with a man she would never forget.

Her first love...

"Hui Song," she whispered before her husband called her again, forcing her to turn away and leave.

Hui Song took Xiaolin aside, feeding her snacks and fruits brought by her grandfather until her cheeks were full. Beside her was her gluttonous uncle. There was plenty of food and fruit provided by Uncle Zhou, and the villagers who came to sell their goods were well-fed too.

As the sun rose, the villagers took their spots at the thirty market stalls. Initially, Xiaolin’s father planned to build just over ten stalls, but being frugal, he built more to avoid hiring workers again. Xiaolin had a friend draw a market map like in the old world for easy shopping. Each stall was spacious, avoiding crowding, with wide, comfortable walkways.

"Well done, Tianrong," Zhou Ming praised as they toured the market with the Tang family, joined by curious townspeople.

Everyone said in unison that the organization was excellent. The walkways were clean, and each stall had large tables where vendors could display their goods equally. It looked tidy, unlike city markets where some had stalls and others sold on the ground. Furthermore, there was no dust to bother anyone here.

“Thank you, Governor. If the esteemed guests are interested, they can purchase items here. These are goods that villagers from outside the city bring to sell. There may not be much right now,” Tianrong said, following Zhou Ming and the guests. He bowed respectfully as he was of lower status. The guests who saw his demeanor were pleased.

“Fresh wild vegetables too? Buy some to take back,” an old man told his servant.

By the time the guests left, the sun was high in the sky. Quite a few people had come to see the new market, even though it was already late in the morning.

Xiaolin was carried to sit in the cart, waiting for her grandfather to return from hiring a cart so she could go home and continue sleeping. Her father stayed to ensure everything was in order at the market since it was the first day of opening and some things were still not settled.

“Should we sell dried squid, Xiaolin? It will take a while before the shops are completed,” Tianchen suggested, looking at two shops across the street that had only half their roofs finished.

“Our squid isn’t cheap, uncle. Will the villagers want to buy it?” The chubby girl asked, munching on a large banana.

“Many wealthy people come to buy things, Xiaolin. Look,” Tianchen pointed out to his niece.

Xiaolin took a bite of her banana and looked. Indeed, there were people dressed nicely walking around with their servants, but she still wasn’t sure if they were there to buy things or just to see Uncle Zhou open his shop.

“We should sell salt-grilled fish, uncle. Maybe someone would like to buy it for breakfast.”

“That sounds interesting. But where should we sell it?”

“In front of the market, uncle, because grilling fish inside would disturb others.”

“Alright then. Around three o’clock in the afternoon, let’s catch some fish and keep them.”

“Okay.”

Hui Song, who had returned with Guo Wen’s cart, called the two uncle and niece who were discussing and finished their agreement. Xiaolin was carried onto the cart, and they set off for Shenlin Village.

When they arrived home, Xiaolin grabbed a pillow and snuggled up to sleep in the hall. Tianchen rushed off to see his older friends, talking about selling salt-grilled fish with his niece. Liu Hao was interested but didn’t want to bother the uncle and niece, so he thought about what he could sell himself.

In the afternoon, the chubby girl woke up and stretched, yawning until tears flowed. Hui Ning, who was sitting beside her, took a damp cloth and wiped her daughter’s face.

“Mm, Mother,” the chubby girl said, cuddling on her mother’s lap.

“What is it, dear? Are you still sleepy?”

“Yes, Mother,” the chubby girl replied, rubbing her round cheeks on her mother’s soft lap.

“Both of your uncles have been waiting for a long time. Hurry and get up to have lunch,” her mother said. The chubby girl got up, kissed her mother’s cheek, and ran off to the kitchen.

After eating until her stomach was about to burst, Xiaolin went to change into old clothes and went to find her two uncles, who were chatting behind the house.

“Xiaolin, just in time. Can you help uncle think about what to sell?” Liu Hao asked, lifting the chubby girl to sit on the platform.

“Uncle wants to sell something too? Why not sell grilled fish with Xiaolin?”

“I don’t want to trouble you. If I sell something, we’d have to split the profits. If I sell with you, you’ll have one more person to share the money with.”

“Hmm, then why not sell grilled chicken, uncle?”

“Grilled chicken? Can I manage alone?” Liu Hao pondered, thinking he couldn’t handle plucking and preparing chickens alone.

“Then you sell grilled fish, and I will sell grilled chicken.”

“Is that alright?”

“Yes! But today, you must help me catch the chickens, uncle”

“Sure.”

After agreeing with each other, the three of them carried baskets and pushed the cart into the forest, with the chubby girl sitting on the cart. Xiaolin instructed Liu Hao to catch about ten fish to see if they could sell, while she would sell ten chickens.

When they reached the forest, the uncle and niece split up to catch fish, and Liu Hao went to catch chickens. If the uncle and niece did it themselves, it would be dark before they caught any chickens. Once they got what they needed, the three of them left the forest. Xiaolin didn’t forget to ask her uncle to cut some bamboo for skewering the fish and chicken to make grilling easier.

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