Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 47: Heh! Or Am I in a Novel?

Chapter 46

Heh! Or Am I in a Novel?

Before going to bed, the chubby child climbed onto her father, begging him to hire a few villagers to help prepare a few vegetable plots next to the house, as she wanted to grow her own vegetables.

"I can do it for you," Tianrong assured, holding the chubby child so she wouldn’t roll off the bed.

"We’ll need to buy some land and also build a shop. I’d like to check out the seed and grain shops as well."

"Alright, alright. Let’s go to bed early so we can head to town in the morning."

Tianrong hugged his round daughter, not letting her go back to her room to sleep. Hui Ning, who came in later, smiled at the sight of the father and daughter cuddling on the bed before climbing in to sleep as well.

The next morning, Xiaolin woke up to the sound of conversation outside. She rolled out of bed and shuffled out of her room, still half-asleep, her hair as messy as a bird’s nest, dreaming of crispy pork with kale.

Zhang Ruo saw her niece and took the pale, chubby child for a bath since her son-in-law mentioned they would be taking her to town.

Wrapped tightly in a towel, Xiaolin scurried back to her room. Luckily, the Huan family hadn’t come out yet, or they would have seen a plump, white piglet wrapped in a towel.

After breakfast, Xiaolin sat by the carriage window with Huan Qingqing and the twins, excited for the trip. Knowing Tianrong was going to town, Huan Tan took the opportunity to bring his wife and son for a shopping trip as well.

The father and daughter pair headed to the governor’s manor. This time, Xiaolin didn’t talk much. She took out a white jade of good quality from her small bag and showed it to the guards, who immediately opened the gate and led the guests inside. This time, it wasn’t the same soldier as before, so there was no verbal confrontation as expected.

After a short wait in the hall, Lian Hua came in with a broad smile, greeting the city’s lady with respect.

"Make yourself at home. But what brings you here today? My husband hasn’t left for work yet; I can have someone call him over for you."

Lian Hua embraced the plump little child affectionately before she asked the question. Xiaolin looked up and saw the person next to her with a brighter and livelier face, thinking the power of oysters must have been working well. Not to mention the healthier diet, the weak body and soul were healed.

"I came to inquire about the land in front of the city gate on the south side."

"In that case, go call your brother over," Lian Hua turned and instructed a maid, who nodded and hurried off.

"Xiaolin, would you like some snacks?" Her slender hand offered some baked treats to the little one, who eagerly gobbled them up, swaying gently, pleased by the delicious sweets.

Soon after, Zhou Ming walked out in his official attire, ready to head to work. However, upon being summoned, he entered the hall first. Tianrong stood up to greet him respectfully, but the elder waved him off.

"Just a greeting is enough. We’re all family here. But what brings you here today? Any urgent matter?" Zhou Ming took a seat opposite, looking at the plump child who respectfully bowed and then clambered back onto the chair affectionately.

"I wish to inquire if the land in front of the south city gate can be purchased for setting up a shop."

"You’re interested in commerce, huh? Why not? Although the harbor area is more bustling and most people prefer buying land there."

"Yes, I plan to open two stores."

"What will you sell?"

"One for dried foods and the other for seafood."

"Oh! Sounds good."

After some time spent enjoying snacks and tea, the father and son excused themselves from Lian Hua to proceed with the land purchase at the government office with Zhou Ming.

The plump child gazed around the beautifully decorated carriage, contrasting with the simplicity of the Huan residence. If wealthy, she mused on buying a fancy carriage for her mother.

Upon arriving at the land transaction office, Zhou Ming escorted them to the entrance before parting ways. Tianrong, carrying his plump daughter for efficiency, discussed his needs with an official who then took them to see the actual land before finalizing the sale.

Xiaolin wandered around the vacant land while her father stood chatting with an official beside the carriage. Many villagers had spread out cloths to sell their wares, including tender vegetable tops and small animals they had caught. The little head quickly calculated a new idea.

"Maybe we should also do a fresh market," the plump child’s eyes sparkled with inspiration.

By establishing a market, villagers would have an orderly place to sell their goods. She envisioned organizing stalls and maintaining cleanliness, ensuring only fresh products or vegetables were sold. Clear areas for different types of goods would be delineated, with the plant section separate from the fresh produce. Setting an affordable stall rental price would surely attract many vendors.

The round figure dashed back to her father, clinging to his arm, and listened intently as the slim official explained various details.

"This area, although it’s in front of the city gate, the land prices aren’t too high," the official explained. "Most commercial activities are concentrated at the harbor, located on the northern side of the city, where land prices can reach up to thirty taels of gold per mu. But on this southern side, the selling price is around eight taels of gold per mu."

Hearing this, the plump child’s eyes widened. She only had forty-nine taels of gold saved, barely enough to buy the land and construct two shops, let alone a market.

Xiaolin frowned, pondering the situation, before remembering she hadn’t collected her share from the blacksmith shop over the past three-plus months of winter. Hopefully, the share would be enough to finance her commercial venture.

"Where would you like to buy, child?" Tianrong asked his daughter as he crouched down in front of the little white figure, who was lazily waving her hand.

"I would like to buy two mu of land on that side," she pointed across the street, "and three mu on this side."

"Why do you want to buy so much land, huh?"

Seeing her father’s puzzled look, Xiaolin moved closer to whisper her plan in his ear. She intended to establish shops on the opposite side and reserve this larger purchased area for the market. Although not all the land would be used immediately, if the business succeeded, the land’s value in this area would undoubtedly increase. It was better to buy and hold onto it now.

"Really?" Tianrong looked at his daughter in amazement, and seeing her nodding vigorously, he furrowed his brows in thought.

He had always indulged her as her requests were reasonable, but this time, it involved the family’s first venture into commerce, requiring a significant financial investment, so he pondered more deeply than usual.

Seeing her father silent and still for a while, Xiaolin began to feel anxious. She cupped her father’s face with her little hands and said,

"Trust me, please, Father. But if you’re worried, we could start with the food stall first. We can hold off on the dry food store and the market. Let’s see the response we get; if it’s good, we can begin construction then. But we still need to buy the land, okay?"

Tianrong locked eyes with his daughter, sighed, and nodded in agreement. Xiaolin, overjoyed, jumped to hug her father, who then had to lift her up. They agreed with the official and went back to the government hall to finalize the land purchase contract.

Xiaolin bounced happily down the pathway, contrasting with Tianrong, who followed behind with a pale face. He had spent a total of forty taels of gold, not including processing fees. Now, they had to discuss the construction of the shops, not knowing how much more money would be needed.

"Should we buy a cart, Father? If we have shops, we’ll need to go into town often. Or should we buy a horse carriage instead?"

"Let’s just buy a cart. And what else do you want? I’ll take you."

"I’d like to see what interesting vegetable seeds are available," Xiaolin said. "And I want to find some hot pepper seeds to buy. Shall we get the cart first so we don’t have to walk all over town? Hehe."

"Alright, then."

Tianrong took his daughter to the cattle market, which also had carts for sale as it was specifically for selling oxen for carts. Each ox looked strong and healthy, with both males and females available for selection from dozens of animals.

Xiaolin, unsure of which type of ox to choose, left the decision to her father. He selected a strong-looking young pair of oxen along with a cart, paying a total of ten taels of gold, equaling the price of one mu of land.

The plump girl sat next to her father, who was steering the cart in high spirits. Soon, they arrived at a small but neat seed shop. In addition to common vegetable seeds, the shop also sold exotic seeds from foreign lands.

"One jin of coriander seeds, please, and two taels each of kale, bok choy, long beans, cucumber, and pumpkin," said the chubby child as she entered the seed shop and took a look around before making her request to the shop owner in a clear voice.

"Oh, and three taels of tomato seeds and two jin of corn seeds as well, please," Xiaolin added, noticing there weren’t any chili seeds for sale, so she decided to purchase only these for now.

After leaving the seed shop, the father and daughter continued their search for another shop because she still hadn’t found the chili seeds she wanted.

Wandering from one shop to another until the sun was directly over their heads, Tianrong decided to stop by a roadside noodle shop.

“Uncle, two bowls of noodles and a plate of stir-fried beef, please."

"Sure, please have a seat and wait a moment."

The chubby figure was hoisted onto a chair. Xiaolin looked around the small shop curiously, noticing a few other customers. Soon, bowls of noodles topped with spring onions and strangely colored stir-fried beef were served. Tianrong fed his daughter some of the beef before starting on his noodles. The flavor was somewhat bland, but after years of hardship, he wasn’t picky.

Xiaolin, used to flavorful food, didn’t enjoy the meal as much. The stir-fried beef had a strange smell, so after eating only a few bites, she put down her chopsticks, and the rest of the noodles ended up in Tianrong’s stomach.

After leaving the noodle shop, Xiaolin asked her father to stop by the blacksmith shop because she needed to collect her share for the past three months. The quest for chili seeds would have to wait since she didn’t find the spicy variety she was looking for after visiting several seed shops.

Upon reaching the blacksmith shop, they were invited to sit and wait, served with a plate of snacks and a pot of tea. Zheng Luan greeted them warmly, smiling broadly as he approached from the back of the shop.

"How are you, little Xiaolin? All well?"

"I’m good, Uncle," she replied cheerfully.

"That’s good to hear. Here’s your share, have a look," Zheng Luan pushed a wooden box, larger than before, towards the young girl.

Xiaolin looked at her father, who nodded, allowing her to open the box.

"The business has been very good these past three months. The merchant who previously purchased from us returned to place a larger order," Zheng Luan explained as he watched the little girl with plump cheeks stare wide-eyed at the gold nuggets in the box for a long time.

"Uncle, you must be joking with me for sure," Zheng Luan heard and chuckled.

"Why would I joke about this?"

Xiaolin picked up a gold ingots and counted until her hands were tired before realizing there were a hundreds of them! Her mouth agape, she turned to look at the man in front of her and then at her father.

"Uncle means to say you sold tens of thousands of pans?"

"Hehe, yes, exactly."

"Aaah! I’m rich again!"

The chubby child jumped and clung to her father’s waist. Tianrong, taken aback by his daughter’s action, quickly grabbed her before she could fall to the ground. Reflecting on his daughter’s words, he was shocked for the second time.

His daughter had made a hundred taels of gold!

"People are that interested in buying pans?" Tianrong asked, his arms still firmly around his daughter as she wiggled happily.

"The merchant who ordered the pans not only sold them in the capital but also to traders from other regions, so they sold in large quantities. If your daughter has any other suggestions, feel free to let me know, and I will give a larger share," Zheng Luan said, his eyes squinting in a wide smile.

The chubby child had made a significant amount of money for him. After deducting the cost of iron and labor, one pan still made a considerable profit for him. Nearly ten thousand pans sold quickly turned him into a small-scale tycoon.

"Let’s also make pots, Uncle! But they must be the same type of iron because they will be used for cooking. It could be dangerous to our health otherwise," the chubby child turned back excitedly. Zheng Luan, too, got excited upon hearing this.

"Tell me all about it, little Xiaolin."

"Make pots in various sizes for different uses. Big stew pots for many people, small stew pots, pots for desserts, pots for cooking medicine. Hmm, what else..." The little hands lifted to her chin as she pondered.

"That’s all for now. Shall we make a contract right away? I will give Xiaolin three out of ten shares, as I still have to pay for materials and labor."

"Sure, use my father’s name, please."

"Why not use your name?" Tianrong looked into his daughter’s round eyes.

"Because in the future, my dad will have many people to care for, including our family and workers. So, he needs a lot of money," the chubby child replied with a grin. Touched, Tianrong hugged and kissed his daughter affectionately.

"Hehe."

"I’m truly envious of you for having such a thoughtful daughter. Sigh, I’d better go draft the contract first," Zheng Luan sighed before standing up and heading to the back of the shop, leaving the father and daughter looking after him with twinkling eyes.

"Will you start the shop immediately? So, I can take you to a contractor," Tianrong asked his daughter, who clung stubbornly to his lap, refusing to sit down properly.

"Let’s wait. I haven’t decided what kind of shop to build or how big it should be. Give me a day or two to think about it, please."

"And about the market?"

"You don’t want to start it yet, right?" The round face looked up at her father, puzzled.

"Well, since you’re already rich and have a lot of money, I’ve got nothing to say."

"Huh! Then let’s start small. Have about ten to fifteen stalls. If it goes well, we can expand the market."

"Let’s do as you say."

Soon, Zheng Luan returned with two copies of the contract. Tianrong, who could now read a bit after studying with his younger brother during the winter, took a while to read the contract. Zheng Luan didn’t mind Tianrong taking his time to read.

Xiaolin also picked up a copy of the draft contract to read. She was surprised she could understand it even though she had never studied or learned Chinese before. She had secretly read the contract last time and dared to sign it.

Perhaps a deity blessed her with this ability...

But she should have been blessed with even more!

The chubby figure mumbled internally but didn’t expect much. After all, this was real life, not a novel. How could there be a long-bearded old deity giving blessings?

"Heh! Or am I in a novel? Because I appeared here just as confused," she muttered softly, tilting her head left and right in wonder.

"What did you say, child?" Tianrong heard his daughter’s soft murmur and asked.

"Oh, nothing. Hehe."

After signing the contract and chatting with Zheng Luan for a bit more, the father and daughter left the blacksmith shop and headed towards the city gate. Huan Tan, who had been waiting there, inquired briefly before heading back to Shenlin Village, with the chubby child making a sulky face next to her father. She was determined to make crispy pork belly once they returned!

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