Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 108: Uncle’s Little Sage

Chapter 102

Uncle’s Little Sage

A New Morning.

The group of gluttons gathered together to go hunting, accompanied by Weng Shui, Fu Liang, and Shi Luo. Hui Song and Tian Chen would manage the shop and restaurant in their absence.

Liu Hao, who originally intended to oversee the construction of his house, also decided to join them. Xiaolin, still sleepy, lay sprawled on the back porch, watching the men as they chatted, waiting for everyone to arrive.

"I’m here, sorry for being late," Ling Heng called out, slightly out of breath from running.

"No worries, Brother Heng. We’re just eating Aunt Zhang’s snacks," Guo Lu, the glutton, held up a piece of fried bean curd and a small cup of hot soy milk. He called Ling Heng "brother" because Ling Heng was two years older.

"I understand, new father," Chang Sen said with a laugh. When his youngest daughter was a newborn, he had to wake up every time she cried for milk.

Ling Heng laughed and joined the group by the porch. Tian Yi pointed to a plate of fried bean curd snacks and a pot of soy milk, and Ling Heng helped himself to a drink.

Xiaolin yawned widely and rested her round cheeks on her arms, watching the large group of gluttonous men. Instead of rushing into the forest to hunt at dawn, they were leisurely sipping soy milk and eating snacks. Would they catch any animals at this rate? Sigh.

"Xiaolin, wish us luck," Liu Hao said, sitting next to the round-faced child. Xiaolin glanced at him, counted the men, and spoke.

"There are twelve of you. I hope each of you catches a big, fat pig, yawnnn~," she said, yawning again before rolling over to rest her head on her Aunt Huan Qingqing’s lap, who was sitting nearby.

Huan Qingqing laughed as the white, chubby child rolled over to rest on her lap. She gently stroked Xiaolin’s head, lulling her back to sleep. The big men, feeling invigorated by the little immortal’s blessing, grabbed their weapons and began to head out of the back yard.

Xiaolin woke up again when the Ling siblings came to wake her. Groggy, she found herself lying on the porch with a thin blanket covering her. Beside her, the Ling siblings and their mother were smiling at her.

"Let’s go pick some apples at the edge of the forest," Ling Han, now a bit chubbier, suggested to Xiaolin, who was still groggy from sleep.

"Stay near the edge of the forest, don’t go deep inside," Mi Hua reminded her sons. Ling Hai nodded in agreement.

"I’ll take care of both of them, Mother," Ling Hai assured her. As the oldest, he felt responsible for looking after his younger siblings.

"Very good," Mi Hua said, patting her eldest son’s head before hurrying back into the house as she heard her youngest daughter crying, likely hungry for milk.

The three Huan boys, who were watching the villagers dig up sweet potatoes, rushed over as soon as they heard the chubby Xiaolin calling them. They greeted Ling Hai and Ling Han warmly. Often, when Xiaolin was busy, they would play at the Ling house or invite the two brothers to play with Xiao Zhong.

"Are you going to pick apples? Can I come too?" Ching Long asked. He didn’t eat much fruit, preferring delicious meals and snacks. The only fruit he regularly ate was coconut.

"Sure, let’s go,"

Xiaolin asked to put away her pillow and blanket and wash her face. Once she was ready, the children, each with a small basket, headed towards the forest edge. As they passed by children pulling wild scallions, Xiaolin invited them along. Seeing a large group going, they decided to join in. Villagers entering the forest saw a large group of children following each other.

At the forest edge, there were several wild apple trees. The fruit was small and very sour when unripe, but sweet when fully ripe. Most of the time, the children couldn’t pick the ripe ones because the adults who ventured into the forest at dawn got to them first. So, they mostly found green apples on the trees, though a few ripe ones could be found.

Xiaolin didn’t mind. She began picking greenish-yellow apples, thinking they could make chili salt to eat with the sour fruit, while the ripe ones could be left for others. The boys saw their round-faced little sister picking green apples and followed suit, trusting that Xiaolin would know how to make them tasty.

After gathering enough, the children headed back, chatting animatedly. When they reached the spot where Xiaolin’s young workers had left off pulling wild scallions, the workers waved goodbye to resume their task. Xiaolin’s group continued back to their home.

The freshly washed apples were laid out, and the five boys wondered what Xiaolin planned to do with them. When they saw the basket of apples and a small bowl of seasoning, they looked at each other in confusion.

"What’s this, Xiaolin?" Ching Lang asked, unsure if their little sister wanted them to help prepare something delicious.

"It’s chili salt, to eat with the sour apples," Xiaolin explained, her mouth watering as she picked up a small apple, took a bite, and dipped it in the chili salt. The sour taste made her eyes squint.

Seeing this, the boys cringed but also started salivating. They decided to try it. The first bite seemed odd, but by the second bite, they couldn’t stop eating until their stomachs were full, leaving only four apples in the basket.

Xiaolin began to feel a strange sensation in her stomach, and her face turned pale. She realized she might have made a mistake eating so many sour apples with chili salt. She feared they might all need to rush to the bathroom soon. She swallowed nervously and glanced at her friends, who were chatting and some lounging comfortably on the porch.

"This morning, Grandma Zhang made soy milk and fried bean curd snacks. There should be some left in the kitchen," Ching Long mentioned to Ling Hai, who nodded eagerly.

"I haven’t had fried bean curd snacks in a while. The last time was when Xiaolin and Aunt Hui Ning just started making them. They were so good."

"Yes, yes," Ling Han chimed in. Since having friends from the Huan family to play with regularly, he had become more cheerful and talkative.

Xiaolin lay watching her friends with a sense of impending doom. Suddenly, her round stomach started making strange noises, and an overwhelming force surged, ready to see the world!She jumped off the porch, clutching her rear, and sprinted to the outhouse, slamming the door behind her. The boys looked on in confusion, until they too felt their stomachs churning.

Ching Lang was the first to leap off the porch, knocking on the outhouse door where Xiaolin sat, face flushed. The other boys quickly joined, feeling the urgent need to relieve themselves. They pounded on the door and shouted, prompting Hui Ning and Huan Qingqing to come out to see what the commotion was about. Even Zhang Ruo, who was in the kitchen preparing pickling brine, came to investigate.

"Why are those kids shouting outside the outhouse?" Zhang Ruo asked, looking at her daughter and Huan Qingqing, who both shook their heads in confusion.

As the boys’ discomfort grew unbearable, and seeing that Xiaolin wasn’t coming out anytime soon, they scattered to find their own spots to relieve themselves. Ching Long dashed to the back of Xiao Zhong’s pen. Finding a suitable spot, he quickly dropped his pants and let nature take its course, feeling an urgent relief.

If Xiao Zhong knew, he would certainly have protested loudly about humans making his home smell unfamiliar, as the chosen spot was near his sleeping area.

By the time they finished, they were exhausted. The boys dragged their weary bodies back, only to find the round figure of Xiaolin lying on the porch, exposing her now much flatter belly. Ching Lang collapsed face down beside her, and the others followed suit.

"I’ve never felt my stomach so empty," Ling Hai said, laughing. The others joined in, sharing the same sentiment.

"It’s actually good. I hadn’t been able to go for two days," Ching Long said, laughing with his mouth wide open. Now he could eat even more of the delicious food they had been enjoying.

"I feel the same way. My stomach has been tight for days, but now it’s all clear," Huan Lu Wen chimed in, imagining delicious food lined up in front of him.

"My belly is so flat now," Xiaolin said weakly, rubbing her now flat stomach with her chubby hands.

Ching Lang laughed at her funny expression. She had led them to eat the sour apple, which deflated her round belly considerably. For the boys, this was a good thing, as it felt like a cleanse, but she seemed to mourn the loss of her chubby tummy, which had disappeared in just a few minutes.

“Wahhh,” Xiaolin sighed, looking at her stomach, which usually puffed up like a little mountain but was now flat.

"There, there. After you eat, your belly will come back," Ching Lang comforted her, patting her head with amusement.

At lunchtime, Xiaolin didn’t stop shoveling food into her mouth, and Zhang Ruo could only watch in bewilderment. It wasn’t just Xiaolin devouring the food as if starved, but all the boys were doing the same.

Xiaolin’s cheeks puffed up like a squirrel stuffed with seeds as she chewed her rice, her round eyes scanning for the next dish to grab. Suddenly, a small bowl of seaweed soup was placed in front of her. She turned to see Ching Lang smiling at her.

"Drink some soup. You’re eating so fast, you might choke."

"Thank you," Xiaolin mumbled with her mouth full, then swallowed and lifted the warm soup bowl to her lips.

Just then, the group of men who had gone hunting in the morning started to return, but only some of them. Xiaolin looked around and didn’t see her father, Uncle Heng, Uncle Zhong, or her other large friend, Uncle Tan. Concerned, she jumped off the porch and ran to the returning men, asking loudly with worry in her voice.

"Where is Father? Why didn’t everyone come back?" Xiaolin tugged on the hem of Tian Yi’s shirt as he and Uncle Chang Sen set down a big, fat pig.

"We caught twelve pigs! It’s thanks to your blessing, little immortal. The pigs are big and heavy, so we brought some back first and left the others to guard the rest,"

Tian Yi said excitedly, sitting down and beaming at his niece. He wanted to hug and kiss his round-cheeked little niece, but he was too dirty to want to make her dirty as well.

"Really?!" Xiaolin stood there, wide-eyed, swallowing hard. She had only wished for them to bring back plenty of pigs so they wouldn’t have to go hunting often. She didn’t expect her words to be so effective.

"Yes! My little immortal! We each got a big, fat pig. We’re set for winter!" Chang Sen, smiling broadly, squatted down to look at his round niece with sparkling eyes.

"Um... how many pigs are left?" Xiaolin blinked.

"It takes two of us to carry one pig out. We brought back four this trip, leaving eight in the forest," Tian Yi explained to the little boss lady.

"Then let’s bring carts. We have two at my house and Uncle Hao has one. Each cart can carry about two or three pigs," Xiaolin suggested.

"Great idea! That’ll save us a lot of effort. Thank you, Xiaolin," Lei San said, looking at his niece with admiration. If he could, he would have lit incense and candles to worship her.

"Please have some water and rest before going back," Xiaolin said, dashing off to fetch water for her uncles, feeling much lighter and more agile without her usual belly weight.

Villagers from the workshop gathered to look at the four large pigs laid out in the butchering area. They talked excitedly, astonished at seeing so many large pigs, especially since they were usually only able to catch wild chickens when they or their husbands went hunting.

"Can we buy some pork bones to make soup for our children at home?" A middle-aged woman asked. Fu Liang, who was drinking water, nodded in agreement.

"Of course, Auntie. You can buy meat too. We’re all from the same village, so I won’t charge much. Take some good meat home for your family,"

"Yes, indeed. These pigs are so big. We’ll mainly keep the legs and belly for salted pork, but there’s plenty left. We can’t eat it all," Weng Shui added, with others nodding in agreement.

"Thank you so much. Once you’re done butchering, we’ll come to buy some to take home," the workers said as they returned to the workshop to continue making noodles for the order from Young Master Long.

The men rested for about half an hour before heading back into the forest with carts to retrieve the remaining eight pigs. Meanwhile, Xiaolin encouraged her friends to gather hay. Her large friend had arranged for several cartloads of hay to be delivered from his home, knowing she had none prepared for Xiao Zhong. However, they still needed to gather fresh grass, which would last about a week for the animal.

Ling Hai also helped by lighting a fire to be ready for roasting the pigs. About an hour later, Xiaolin’s father and uncles returned with the remaining pigs. After resting briefly, they began roasting and butchering the pigs, cheered on by the children’s performance.

"Oh, beautiful sea~ The bright blue sky~ Look at the sailboat~ sailing in the sea, the sea~, oh the sea ~, the sea ~" Xiaolin sang and danced energetically, followed by the four younger boys. Ching Lang, blushing, joined in the dancing.

"Beautiful sandy beach, you can see the crab, see the crab, see the crab. ~ Look at the fish~" The others watched the scene with amusement, though Huan Tan and Tian Rong were mortified, nearly wanting to bury their heads in the pigs.

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