Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 74: A Day Here and You’re Losing Weight

Chapter 68

A Day Here and You’re Losing Weight

The ripe bananas in the kitchen were not enough to satisfy the men’s gluttony. They grabbed knives and headed into the forest in a group, hunting for more ripe bananas to make the delicious fried bananas. Xiaolin was used to this behavior, but Jin Lian was not.

"Hehe, what’s wrong, beautiful Auntie?" Xiaolin asked, covering her mouth as she laughed at Jin Lian’s stunned expression.

"Young Miss, those bananas weren’t a small amount. How did they run out so quickly?" Jin Lian walked over to see the empty basket, not even a crumb of batter left. Earlier, she could barely keep up with frying the snacks for the eager men.

"You’ll get used to it, Auntie," Xiaolin laughed cheerfully, rubbing her little belly that had only managed to snag two pieces of the fried bananas.

After a while, the group returned from the forest with three large bunches of bananas. Jin Lian’s eyes widened, and she quickly called for her brother and husband to help make the snacks.

"If you want to eat, don’t just sit around. You have to help," the chubby child said, crossing her arms and looking at the group lounging around, waiting comfortably.

"But I just came back from cutting bananas from the trees," Huan Tan protested, looking at the little girl with a scrunched-up face.

"I’m not bothered since I’ve already had my fill," Xiaolin said, waddling away with a satisfied tummy, leaving the others blinking in confusion.

However, she hadn’t gotten far before her father came and scooped her up, carrying her back to sit at the central kitchen table. The little girl crossed her arms and pouted.

"How can I do it if you don’t teach me?" Tianrong said, sitting beside his daughter. The sight of her pouty face and chubby cheeks made him laugh out loud.

"Peel the bananas first," Xiaolin instructed. The hungry men quickly set to peeling the bananas. Huan Chong, drawn by the delicious aroma, hurried to the kitchen, forgetting his fatigue.

"Do it properly! If you press too hard, they’ll get mushy and won’t fry well."

"Yes, yes."

"That’s too thick. Press them down more."

"Can’t we leave them like this?"

"No, you can’t,"

By the time the group of hungry zombies left the kitchen, it was already lunchtime. They ignored the plethora of food prepared by the Jin family because their stomachs were too full of fried bananas to fit anything else.

But not little Xiaolin...

"Nom nom, the food is delicious!" Xiaolin said, stuffing her cheeks with food.

"Eat lots if you like it," Hong Mei, the head cook of the hill and Jin Lian’s mother, said kindly.

"Grandma, I’m hungry," said a chubby three-year-old boy who walked in and hugged Hong Mei’s leg.

"Are you hungry, little rascal? Come on, I will get you some food," she said, taking the little boy’s hand and leading him into the kitchen.

Xiaolin watched the chubby little boy adorably asking for food. She wished her younger sibling would be born soon so she would have someone to play with and dote on.

"Sister!" The little boy stopped and stared at the fair, round-cheeked girl eating her meal.

"Huh? Me?" Xiaolin looked down at the round-eyed boy. She looked around and realized she was the only girl he could call "sister."

"Yes! Can I sit and eat with you?" The boy asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Uh, sure."

As Xiaolin ate, she kept glancing at the bald-headed boy. He also ate but didn’t take his eyes off his newfound older sister. Being the only young child on the hill, he didn’t have many playmates. The closest in age were the twins, but they were often away studying in town so the little kid was excited to finally have a peer to play with.

It meant he would have a new friend.

After that, Xiaolin found herself with a little bald-headed shadow. Wherever she went, the boy followed. When she stood, sat, or lay down, he did the same.

"Xiao Jin, it’s time for your nap," a young man called out to the little bald-headed boy.

"Father, I’m playing with big sister," the boy said, smiling broadly, in contrast to Xiaolin, who almost raised her hand to her forehead in exasperation.

Playing? All you’ve been doing is following me around!

"I apologize, young miss. Xiao Jin must be excited to meet someone his age," the young man said, picking up his son.

Xiaolin could only manage a dry smile as she watched the father and son walk away. She sighed loudly and then walked, alternating with little hops, to her father who was grinding charcoal, his face darkened from the task.

"Father, what are you doing?" She asked, even though it was obvious he was grinding charcoal.

"I’m grinding some charcoal. This charcoal powder will be used to make charcoal briquettes," Tianrong replied to his daughter, excited about trying to make the expensive briquettes.

"Ohhh," the chubby child drawled.

She walked around, observing the workers grinding charcoal, another group mixing the charcoal and forming it into briquettes, while outside, workers were soaking hot charcoal in water. There were more than twenty kilns emitting smoke, not including those already opened by the workers.

She wondered how many sacks of charcoal each kiln could produce, but it certainly wasn’t a small amount of money. On the other side, there were workers pressing sugarcane and making cane sugar.

Yep, they definitely are well-off.

Thinking about it, the chubby child pouted, mimicking her tall friend. Ching Lang, who was passing by, saw her and could only look on in confusion.

"Xiaolin," the boy called out to the little girl who was mumbling to herself and often rolling her eyes skyward.

"Oh, Brother Lang, what is it?" Xiaolin turned to look at the older twin, with whom she hadn’t spoken much.

"Mother sent me to fetch you," he said simply and then turned to walk away. Xiaolin scratched her head and quickly followed him.

Xiaolin arrived at a small pavilion next to the house. Inside, Huan Qingqing, the twins, and Zhang Jing were already waiting. Noticing that everyone had neatly removed their shoes, she did the same before walking in and sitting next to the youthful-looking aunt.

"You’re here! I brought some snacks for you. Try them," Huan Qingqing said, sliding a plate of treats towards the chubby-cheeked child.

Xiaolin’s eyes sparkled at the variety of snacks on the plate, making Zhang Jing and Huan Qingqing laugh in amusement.

"There are Guihua Gao cakes, traditional pancakes, and soft cakes, as well as Saobing."

Xiaolin stared at the flower-like treats, finding them too pretty to eat, so she turned her attention to the white, soft-looking cake cut into bite-sized pieces. She picked one up and tasted it.

The chubby child’s eyes widened with delight at the chewy texture of the cake. Her round, plump body wiggled happily. Seeing this, the gluttonous Ching Long grabbed a piece and popped it into his mouth. Even though he ate these often, watching his little sister enjoy them made him want to eat them too.

"Delicious, Auntie," Xiaolin said, her cheeks puffed out with the treat. As soon as she finished, she grabbed another piece, wary that her half-brother might take it before she could.

"I’m glad you like it," Huan Qingqing said, gently stroking the little girl’s head.

The adults continued chatting about everyday matters while the children munched on the snacks, so full they weren’t interested in dinner.

As her stomach filled, Xiaolin started yawning. The chubby child happily laid down on the soft, fragrant lap of her beautiful auntie. She wriggled around to find a comfortable spot before closing her eyes.

"Look, Mother, isn’t she adorable?" Huan Qingqing laughed softly, watching the cute chubby-cheeked girl.

"She really is. You and Tan should hurry and give me a grandchild like her. I want a cute granddaughter," Zhang Jing said.

"Mother, it’s not something that can happen just because we want it to," Huan Qingqing replied, a bit exasperated.

"Alright, but try your best. It gets harder to have children as you get older."

"I will keep trying," she said to her mother then gently loosened Xiaolin’s hair buns, worried the tight style might hurt her scalp if she slept with it.

Seeing their little sister fall asleep, the twins yawned as well. They grabbed cushions to use as pillows and soon dozed off too, following their sister into dreamland.

"Look at these kids, eating and then falling asleep right away," Zhang Jing commented, though not too seriously.

"This morning, they went to the fields with Chong and came back soaking wet. They must have been playing and got tired," Huan Qingqing said.

"Alright then, make sure the little one is lying comfortably, so she doesn’t get a stiff neck."

The mother and daughter chatted quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping children.

About two hours later, the three children woke up and decided to go for a walk to the edge of the forest. The adults granted permission since the hill was adjacent to the forest and workers were everywhere.

"Where are we going?" Xiaolin asked, following the twins to the forest’s edge, still unaware of their plans.

"Let’s go collect chestnuts. Have you ever had them, Xiaolin?" Ching Long asked his chubby little sister, who shook her head in response.

"We’ll go pick some then. You just need to collect them in the basket because chestnuts have very sharp spines."

After walking in the forest for a while, Xiaolin saw a large chestnut tree. Scattered around its base were numerous spiky chestnut burrs. Ching Lang placed a basket in front of the little girl and sternly instructed her to wait and collect the chestnuts.

"Don’t go in there, okay?"

"Understood,"

The twins used their shoes to step on the spiky burrs, breaking them open, and then used sticks to extract the nuts before tossing them to the waiting Xiaolin.

"Here comes another one, Xiaolin!"

"Throw it over, big brother!"

Xiaolin ran around, collecting the chestnuts in the basket. The twins were very efficient, having done this often. The one who got tired was the chubby little girl, running back and forth until her cheeks turned red.

After gathering enough chestnuts, they left the basket and went to pick a few wild fruits before heading back to the hill. A worker was already waiting for them and took the chestnut basket, promising to tell the cook to roast them.

"The guests are looking for you, young miss,"

"Let’s go back to the house then," Ching Long said, taking Xiaolin’s hand and leading her up the hill.

Ching Lang watched his younger brother and the chubby little girl walking and chatting away. Feeling at a disadvantage due to his quiet nature, he hurried to catch up.

"Fatherr" the chubby girl ran to hug her father, who had already bathed and changed into fresh clothes.

Tianrong picked up his chubby daughter, with the Huan family members looking on fondly. Xiaolin snuggled her cheek against her father’s shoulder, feeling like she was already losing weight after just one day at the Huan household.

"Where have you been, hm?" Tianrong asked his daughter.

"We went to pick chestnuts, Father. The trees are huge!" she said, stretching her arms wide to show just how big they were.

"That big, huh? Look at your cheeks, all red. You must have run around a lot," Tianrong said, noticing her flushed, round cheeks.

"We cracked the chestnuts open and tossed them to Xiaolin to put in the basket. Sometimes we threw them close, sometimes far, so she wouldn’t step on the spiky shells," Ching Long explained eagerly.

"Good job. This way, she won’t get hurt. Now, go wash up for dinner," Zhang Jing instructed her mischievous grandsons.

Ching Long nodded and skipped away cheerfully, while Ching Lang lingered for a moment, watching the chubby little girl nestling against her father’s shoulder, before following his brother.

Tianrong took his daughter to wash up and change into fresh clothes. After her bath, the chubby girl sprawled out on the bed, feeling lazy as it wasn’t yet dinner time.

"How long are we staying, Father?" Xiaolin asked, watching her father pack their belongings in the corner of the room.

"How long do you want to stay? Or do you want to go home already?" He looked at his little girl sprawled out with her round belly prominently displayed.

"Two or three days should be enough. I’m worried about the shop and Mother," she said as she rolled around on the bed.

"Then how about we head back the day after tomorrow?" Tianrong chuckled as he looked at his daughter.

"Sounds good! We need to buy some gifts in town too,"

"Alright, let’s get your hair done so we can head to the big house."

The chubby little girl quickly got up, dressed herself, and fixed her hair before taking her father’s hand and walking to the main house.

"Oh, you two are early. Dinner isn’t quite ready yet," Huan Chong remarked as the father and daughter entered, eyeing the round-cheeked girl with particular interest.

"Every time I see your daughter, I want to take her home and raise her myself," Huan Chong laughed loudly. Xiaolin clung to her father tighter, pondering why everyone wanted to adopt her.

"You’re scaring the poor child. Come here, Xiaolin, don’t mind that old man," Zhang Jing chided her husband and beckoned the little girl over.

Xiaolin obediently walked over to Zhang Jing, who scooped her up and gave her a long, affectionate hug, planting kisses on her cheeks until they nearly crinkled. The old woman found the chubby, round girl irresistibly cute and could not resist hugging and kissing her, though she refrained from squeezing too hard to avoid hurting the child.

Huan Tan sighed as he watched his father-in-law and mother-in-law. It seemed they really wanted a granddaughter. Despite his reluctance to see his wife endure the pain of childbirth again, the thought of having a couple of chubby little girls running around did seem appealing.

"So, how long do you plan to stay?" Huan Chong asked Tianrong.

"We were hoping to stay for two or three days. We still have the restaurant to look after,"

"Feel free to stay as long as you need. Before you leave, make sure Tan gives you several watermelons to take home. The children should enjoy the sweet fruit,"

"Yes, Father,"

"The food is ready," Jin Lian announced as she walked in. Everyone then moved from the veranda to the dining hall to eat.

"Eat a lot. These are freshwater shrimp. I had someone catch them in large quantities. See if they taste as good as the sea shrimp from your home," Zhang Jing said, peeling a large shrimp and offering the tender meat to the little white-skinned girl.

Xiaolin’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the shrimp. She used a spoon to cut it into small pieces and put it in her mouth. The tender, succulent meat made her close her eyes in delight.

"It looks like it’s delicious," Huan Qingqing commented, seeing the little girl’s expression. Everyone laughed as they watched.

The chubby little girl looked around in confusion, not understanding why everyone was laughing, as she was entirely focused on the delicious shrimp in front of her.

‘Guihua Gao’ Chinese cake made of osmanthus.

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