Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 111: Nom Nom, Sooo Good

Chapter 105

Nom Nom, Sooo Good

The small pineapple factory started up after lunch. The task of peeling pineapples was given to Huan Tan and Tianchen. Chopping the pineapple flesh was the job of Zhang Ruo and Huan Qingqing. Zhang Ruo entrusted the pickling duties to Miss Yao, who had already prepared the brine. All that remained was to brush the scallions with brine and store them in jars.

Chubby Xiaolin was asking her mother to knead wheat flour dough and let it rest. She planned to make thick flatbreads cooked on a griddle, which she would then spread with guo jiang, a pineapple jam. Most of the pineapple would be made into fruit leather and stored in glass jars she had previously bought, to be enjoyed as a snack during the winter.

Xiaolin wasn’t sure how long the guo jiang1 would last, so she didn’t make a large batch. She only made enough to give each household a small wooden jar. If everyone liked it, she could go back and gather more pineapples to make more jam, as there were still many unripe fruits left. She planned to check on them in a few days to make a larger batch of pineapple preserves.

“Make sure to squeeze the juice out first so that the cooking time is reduced. For the guo jiang, don’t squeeze out the juice. Just put it on the stove and add syrup,”

Xiaolin instructed, looking quite serious. She had never made this before, but she knew the basic method. The syrup made from malted wheat and glutinous rice was something she hadn’t tried before, but it turned out surprisingly well.

The little boss lady, tired of supervising her temporary workers, started hopping around, her belly jiggling with each jump. She danced around her older friends, making Huan Tan dizzy.

He put his work down and sat watching the plump white figure wiggling her bottom. He sighed deeply as Xiaolin called out loudly to her mother. The dough had rested long enough, and it was time to start cooking it. By the time the flatbreads were done, the guo jiang that her grandmother was making would be ready too.

"Shape the dough into round balls and roll them out into thick sheets. Then place them on the griddle and cover it for about a few minutes. Use low heat so they don’t burn,"

She sat by the stove, poking at the coals with a stick to keep the heat from getting too intense. Despite knowing how to make delicious food, not everything she made turned out well. Some things she could eat herself, but others couldn’t stomach.

Hui Ning shook her head as she looked at her daughter. She wondered if she had misjudged her child’s gender. Xiaolin showed almost no feminine grace or sweetness typical of every young girl.

Instead, she jumped and danced around, wiggling her belly and bottom, sometimes shouting and making a ruckus like a boy. Maybe it was because she was always surrounded by boys and men.

Her beautiful face crinkled with worry and her brows furrowed deeply, making Xiaolin blink in confusion. She watched her mother’s changing expressions, not understanding them. With her chubby hands, she placed the thickly rolled dough onto the griddle, fitting three at a time. She then covered them and waited.

About a few minutes later Xiaolin lifted the lid to check on the dough. The flatbreads had risen slightly. Using a spatula, she flipped them over, her big eyes shining with pride as she saw the beautiful brown color. Now she just had to wait for the other side to cook, and then they would be ready to eat.

Over on Zhang Ruo’s side, she was stirring the fragrant guo jiang in a pan, its aroma attracting the hungry little zombies to squat nearby, waiting for the delicious treat. Seeing this, Zhang Ruo shook her head at these greedy children. Each of them had been skinny and weak before they met her granddaughter, but now each one had chubby cheeks and round bellies.

"Go play for now. It’ll be a while before it’s ready. Sitting here won’t make it cook any faster."

The greedy children looked at each other and then headed off to the big tree where Xiao Zhong and Xiao Bai were grazing. Even though they wanted to eat, there was nothing ready yet. Sitting there was only torturing themselves, so it was better to go run and play for a while.

Xiaolin opened the griddle lid again. She took out the now-cooked flatbreads and set them aside to cool. She placed new pieces of dough on the griddle and closed the lid again.

Her big eyes watched the thick, fluffy flatbreads, and when they cooled, her chubby hands picked one up just as Zhang Ruo scooped some guo jiang into a bowl and set it down. Xiaolin grinned, tore off a piece of flatbread, spooned some guo jiang on it, and took a big bite.

"Nom nom, sooo good!" The round little body swayed from side to side happily as she enjoyed the tasty treat.

Hearing his niece, Tianchen abandoned the pineapple and knife in his hands, quickly washed up, and returned to sit by her, smiling in anticipation. Xiaolin spooned some guo jiang onto another piece of flatbread and handed it to her uncle.

The young man smelled the fragrant guo jiang and the flatbread, making him swallow hard before taking a big bite. His eyes widened in surprise at how something that looked so plain could taste so good.

"This is really delicious, Xiaolin," Tianchen said to his niece, who was munching happily.

"Mmm! It really is, Uncle!"

The uncle and niece quickly finished their treats. The chubby girl tore each flatbread into halves, spooned guo jiang on them, and handed them to her grandmother, mother, her large friends, and Aunt Huan Qingqing.

Everyone agreed that it was delicious, especially her big friends who couldn’t stop eating the pineapple and kept having her feed them. Worried about the flatbreads baking on the griddle, she stuffed the remaining treats into their mouths and ran back. Huan Tan could only blink at his little friend in surprise.

Xiaolin baked nearly thirty flatbreads, knowing that the greedy group totaled almost ten people, and they certainly wouldn’t be satisfied with just one piece each. As if sensing the treats were ready, the five young boys came running back with bright, smiling faces, though their bodies were dirty, prompting Zhang Ruo to send them off to wash up.

Once they were clean, they stood eagerly by the raised platform, grinning widely. Xiaolin prepared the treats and handed each of them a piece.

"Delicious," Ling Han said, munching away with wide eyes as he looked at his chubby friend. Xiaolin smiled broadly at him and added more of the sweet guo jiang to his flatbread.

"If you’re not full, there’s more, but you only get two pieces each," Xiaolin told them, watching the boys, cheeks puffed out from eating the treats. She found Ling Han so endearing that she reached out to pinch his soft cheeks.

Ling Han blinked at his round friend, who was pinching his cheeks without letting go, but he didn’t say anything and just lifted his treat to take another bite. Xiaolin, satisfied with the cheek-pinching, finally let go and walked over to her grandmother, who was squeezing out the pineapple juice as her granddaughter had instructed.

Zhang Ruo tried stirring the pineapple until it thickened and then set the pan aside. Xiaolin instructed her grandmother to spread the thickened pineapple onto a tray, making it thin and leaving it to dry before cutting it into pieces. It was a bit difficult to spread because of the pineapple chunks, but the chubby girl didn’t mind in the pursuit of something tasty.

Once she knew how to do it, Zhang Ruo shooed the kids, now stuffed and lounging around on the platform, away to play, including her granddaughter. With nothing better to do, Xiaolin decided to visit her grandfather at the sweet potato field. At least helping the villagers pick up sweet potatoes and putting them into sacks would keep her from getting bored. She didn’t forget to bring some baked flatbread topped with guo jiang for her grandfather either.

"My granddaughter is really talented," Hui Song praised his chubby granddaughter after finishing the treat.

Xiaolin turned and beamed at her grandfather, her eyes narrowing with a smile. She plopped down on the ground to help an elder pick up the sweet potatoes he had dug up and put them into the sacks. She chattered away, telling him various stories to get closer to him. The old man laughed at the funny tales the chubby little girl shared, his mustache trembling with mirth.

"You mischievous little one, be careful when you play," the old man said to the child beside him. Xiaolin nodded vigorously, her cheeks wobbling, before a large hat was placed on her small head.

"Grandpa, the hat covers my whole face," Xiaolin said, pushing up the brim of the hat. The large, wide-brimmed hat shaded her entire body from the sun.

"Good, that way you won’t get too hot," Hui Song said, laughing as he looked at his hat that completely covered the round little girl. He then carried a sack of sweet potatoes to place outside.

By evening, the chubby white piglet had turned into a dirty, muddy boar, much to Hui Ning’s headache. Xiaolin gave her mother a sheepish smile before looking down at her outfit, which had once been a pale yellow but was now a brownish color.

"Go take a bath right now, you little rascal. Don’t forget to soak your clothes so I can wash them,"

"Heh Heh. Okay, Mother," the chubby girl replied, running off to the bathhouse, her butt swaying as she went.

Hui Ning sighed at her daughter’s state, then quickly turned to the bathhouse when she heard her piglet scream. Xiaolin always screamed whenever the cold water was poured over her. Hui Ning sighed again and shook her head before going back inside the house, as her chubby son was now crying out.

"Both you and your brother make your mother’s headache," Hui Ning said, picking up the round, chubby Tianyu and playfully nibbling on his belly. The little boy laughed loudly, feeling ticklish.

Late the next morning, Xiaolin sat on a cart with a large basket of boiled sweet potatoes behind her. She was taking them to the three monkeys, though she wasn’t sure if they were still in the coconut forest. These sweet potatoes should last for quite a while. The weather was getting colder, indicating that winter had arrived.

“Hey monkeys! Are you around here?” Xiaolin called out loudly as she arrived at the spot where she had encountered the three monkeys the previous day.

After a moment, noises came from the coconut trees. The three monkeys quickly climbed down, chattering noisily. Once they reached the ground, they stopped in front of the cart, greeting the chubby girl happily, remembering the promise she had made.

“Oh, you’re here? I brought sweet potatoes for you. Can you show me to your place? I brought a lot and will deliver it for you,” Xiaolin said, laughing at the excited monkeys hopping around.

“Are you really going, Xiaolin? What if we run into a large group of monkeys?” Tianchen asked, still haunted by the memory of running for his life. He wondered if he would survive encountering a whole troop of monkeys.

“If there were a large group, they’d be all over this place by now,” Xiaolin reassured him. “Let’s go, monkeys. Lead the way.” Xiaolin turned to talk to the three monkeys. They began walking and hopping ahead, leading the way deeper into the forest.

Tianchen swallowed hard, but he trusted his extraordinary niece’s abilities. He slowly pushed the old cart, following the three monkeys at a cautious pace. Xiaolin observed the surrounding forest, where the trees grew denser, until the monkeys stopped in front of a small cave formed by large boulders.

The monkeys chattered, and an elderly monkey emerged, accompanied by a smaller, younger one. Upon seeing the humans, the old monkey bared its teeth menacingly. Tianchen flinched and quickly lifted his plump niece, ready to flee if the old monkey attacked.

"Don’t be afraid, monkey. I’m just here to bring you some food," Xiaolin said, smiling to show she meant no harm.

The old monkey observed the humans and listened to the chatter of the three younger monkeys. Gradually, it relaxed but remained wary.

Xiaolin instructed her uncle to bring the basket of sweet potatoes for the monkeys. Tianchen hesitated, fearing the monkey might attack his niece. He waited, watching the monkeys’ behavior. When he saw they weren’t as aggressive as before, he set Xiaolin down and lowered the basket of boiled sweet potatoes.

Whoop! Whoop! The three monkeys swarmed the basket, eagerly grabbing the sweet potatoes and eating them with delight.

Xiaolin looked around their habitat. Not far away, there was a grove of banana trees, as well as persimmon trees and several mango trees, though the latter had no fruit at this time.

The chubby child eyed the mango trees with excitement, already planning to ask the monkeys for some mangoes next summer. Upon closer inspection, she noticed there were more than just a few mango trees; they were scattered throughout the area, with different varieties indicated by the shape and size of their leaves. Some were still small saplings.

"Monkeys, can I come and pick some mangoes next year? And could I take a few saplings to plant as well?" Xiaolin asked, smiling brightly at the old monkey.

The old monkey looked at the two humans, then at the sweet potato one of its young handed it. It took a bite, savoring the sweet taste, then took a second and third bite before nodding at the round little human. Xiaolin beamed with joy and suggested they leave to avoid disturbing the monkey family any further.

"Let’s stop by to pick some holy basil too, Uncle. Yesterday, we were too excited about the pineapples to gather much," Xiaolin said as she sat on the cart, heading out of the inner forest.

"Sure, but today you must make more of that flatbread with guo jiang. I didn’t get enough yesterday,"

"Of course, Uncle. I’ll make a lot for you."

"Great! I only had two pieces yesterday and it wasn’t enough," Tianchen said, sounding a bit sad, which made Xiaolin giggle.

"Today, I’ll make ten pieces just for you. How about that?"

"Perfect!"

When they reached the holy basil patch, the uncle and niece duo started picking the leaves and filling their basket. Today it was just the two of them because the Huan family had gone to the city to buy supplies, preparing to return home as winter approached.

The month they spent at the Tang house had created a bond between Xiaolin and her friends—the big brothers, Auntie Huan Qingqing who looked young, the twins, and Huan Luwen. The thought of parting made the chubby child quite sad.

‘guo jiang’ is a Chinese treat made of taro or other ingredients such as fruit depending on one’s liking. It could be used as a jam as well.

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