Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 56: The Chubby Kid’s Big Reward

Chapter 55

The Chubby Kid’s Big Reward

The chubby kid clung to her father’s back and refused to let go. Whenever Tianrong moved to touch anything, a little white piggy would cling to his back everywhere he went. But as soon as the grilled chicken was ready, the little piggy immediately left her father’s back.

"Aromatic grilled chicken must be eaten with papaya salad," the chubby form waddled into the kitchen, not forgetting to have her grandmother boil water to make boiled fermented fish. She wouldn’t boil the whole jar because keeping it this way makes it last longer.

"Hehe," soon the chubby kid came out from the kitchen with the same old crushed green bean salad added with spicy fish sauce, sitting on the platform behind the house with the aromatic grilled chicken. Only sticky rice was missing, regretfully, she hadn’t soaked any in water, so she missed out on eating it with the papaya salad and grilled chicken.

"What are you eating, Xiaolin?" Tianchen, who had just returned from inviting people from the Shu house, hurried to the back of the house upon smelling the fragrance. The young man sat opposite his niece, looking at the grilled chicken and her green bean salad, and swallowed his saliva.

"Yum, delicious," chubby fingers stuffed the salad into her mouth.

"Let me have some too."

The uncle and niece shared the green bean salad and legs of grilled chicken together, saving some for others as well. Tianrong watched the two gluttons and shook his head. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Xiaolin, the rice is cooked," Zhang Ruo shouted from the kitchen.

Hearing that, the chubby kid took a big bite of grilled chicken and then descended from the platform to wash up. She stood instructing her grandmother to chop the chicken into pieces, while she herself scooped rice into small bowls, then topped it with generous pieces of chicken.

"Hmm, it’s a pity there are no cucumbers," chubby hands popped soft chicken skin into her mouth.

"Brother Hai is here," Ling Hai’s voice came from the front of the kitchen. Xiaolin then gestured for him to come in and passed the plates for him to carry out one by one. Ling Han also came to help.

Xiaolin, holding her plate with more chicken than anyone else, came out, followed by Tianchen carrying a tray with bowls of soup and dipping sauce. Since the table in the living room couldn’t accommodate everyone, the younger ones sat outside.

"Xiaolin’s Khao Maan Gai looks delicious," Liu Hao praised, and the siblings from the Ling house nodded in agreement.

"Actually, it should have coriander sprinkled on the rice and soup, and eaten with cucumbers to be the most delicious. Xiaolin likes to eat it with cucumbers," the chubby kid set down her plate and climbed onto the platform, looking at her leftover green bean salad with only juice remaining.

There was a lot left when I first entered the kitchen...

"Next time, let’s make it again, Xiaolin," Tianchen suggested, distributing the bowls of soup to everyone.

"Uh-huh, come eat, everyone. Pour the dipping sauce like this," Xiaolin nodded vigorously, spooning the sauce over the chicken laid on top of the rice. She didn’t make it too spicy, so even the kids could eat it.

Xiaolin ignored the chopsticks because they were too slow for her. She used a spoon to scoop up the rice and chicken into her mouth, chewing loudly and spooning in the soup to make it easier to swallow. Seeing the chubby girl eating deliciously, others also started to drizzle the dipping sauce and gave it a try.

"Mmm! It’s really nice, Xiaolin, you’re amazing," Ling Hai praised, looking at his little plump sister like a little goddess.

"The chicken is so tender, and both the dipping sauce and the soup are delicious. Slurp! Cough! Hot!" Tianchen, the glutton, didn’t mind the steam rising from the bowl and slurped the soup unabashedly.

"Uncle, there’s no need to rush. We still have plenty left. I made a big pot of soup, so you can add more anytime," Xiaolin turned to see the grilled leftovers placed in one corner, picked up a plate, tugged on Liu Hao’s shirt impatiently, and then led him into the kitchen.

She asked Uncle Liu to chop the chicken into pieces for easy eating and divided it into two plates, one for the adults in the house. Upon returning to the kitchen, she saw the Ling brothers standing with their soup bowls, looking puzzled, waiting for Uncle Liu to serve them soup, followed by her uncle who came in later.

"Why did it finish so quickly?"

"As soon as I took a bite, it got stuck in my throat, so I had to drink the soup right after. But the soup was so delicious that I finished it all so quickly," Tianchen laughed while speaking. Xiaolin shook her head and walked out of the kitchen with a plate of grilled chicken.

"Ah! My beloved chicken butt, yum!" The chubby kid, seeing the enticing chicken butts on the plate she was holding, promptly popped one into her mouth.

Four chickens were almost not enough for the hungry men who had to scoop soup over their rice and sit in a row at the back of the house, gnawing on chicken bones.

"These people are really embarrassing," Zhang Ren walked out and shook his head in disbelief. Madame Liu, seeing the scene, laughed along.

"It’s normal for hardworking men to eat a lot."

"But they’re gluttonous. Look at my father and son; at most, they eat three bowls of rice. But who knows how many times they’ve refilled their bowls. Sigh."

Zhang Ruo, who came out later, also laughed. She’s used to these scenes by now. Whenever there’s delicious food, the gluttonous ones always eat like this every time. A sack of rice that her son-in-law just bought a few days ago probably won’t be enough, and they’ll need to buy more.

The chubby Xiaolin herself sat back, patting her stuffed belly on the platform. Watching both the big and small men scooping rice into their mouths as if their lives depended on it, she thought she was gluttonous, but she couldn’t compare to them.

The father and son from the Shi house were the same, both scooping rice into their mouths so quickly as if they weren’t chewing before swallowing. And her gluttonous uncle was even licking his plate clean. Xiaolin shook her head at the sight.

“Sigh.”

Four days after the Khao Maan Gai war, the gluttonous men still came to ask the chubby kid to make Khao Maan Gai again. They were ready to hunt chickens for her. Xiaolin said that it was Grandma’s job, not hers, but when they asked Zhang Ruo, they were promptly chased away. However, their persistence eventually paid off, and they got to enjoy Khao Maan Gai once again.

Today, they entered the forest early. The group from the Wu household, knowing there would be delicious food, ditched their work and followed them into the forest. Zhang Ruo had a headache.

The wives from the Wu family, hearing the news, hurried to the Tang house with two or three big cups of rice each. Several children followed, and they stayed to help out. This gathering seemed like a small party, but in reality, it was because the gluttonous men wanted to eat something delicious.

"Let’s consider this a celebration before opening Tang’s business," Lei San concluded before heading into the forest.

Seeing the commotion, Xiaolin escaped into her room after watering her little wheat seedlings. Tomorrow, she would start making syrup from wheat and sticky rice for family consumption because the sugar sold in the market and the sugar cane from her tall friend were too expensive.

The chubby kid snuggled next to her mother’s big belly. She enjoyed stroking the large belly, eagerly awaiting the time when the little one inside would come out to see the world. When her younger brother was born in her previous life, she was too young. So, the image of her brother as a baby was almost none.

"Come out soon," she murmured, stroking the rounded belly.

"Wait another five months, dear," Hui Ning looked at her daughter affectionately.

"Xiaolin, Xiaolin!"

The shouts from outside made the chubby kid reluctantly leave the cozy spot next to her mother. Stepping out, she saw the Ling siblings along with another five boys and girls standing and looking at her expectantly.

"What’s up, Brother Hai, Xiao Han?"

"Last time, you added the gourd to the soup with the Khao Maan Gai, so I wanted to invite you to pick some from behind the house. They want to come too," Ling Hai said, looking at his new friends, who nodded vigorously in agreement with him.

"Okay, let’s go then," Xiaolin, along with her friends, headed towards the Ling’s house. Upon arrival, they split up to search for squash in the backyard, leaving the one growing beside the fence for Xiaolin to collect seeds when it matured.

"There’s loads here!" One of the boys shouted, waving over his little companions. They all ran over excitedly.

"Wow, there really are a lot. Let’s pick the big ones, everyone," Xiaolin’s eyes sparkled as she surveyed the small patch of squash. Probably birds had pecked at them and dropped seeds here, causing them to grow in abundance.

The kids helped each other carry two or three squashes each, not too big but the biggest they could find, and then headed back to the Tang house. The cooks, seeing this, took them to prepare further, while the bored children went off to play under a big tree. There, Xiao Jong and two chubby young bulls were grazing.

The little ones chattered excitedly about the long-haired cows. Seeing many playmates, Xiao Jong also ran around joyfully, chased by the children.

As noon approached, the group that had gone hunting for chickens returned with a large flock of chickens, carrying five or six each, totaling about fifteen chickens to prepare for the meal, given the large number of people. Including the Tang, Ling, Shi families, the Liu household, and also the Wu group, there were about thirty people.

"I’ve boiled water ready. Bring the chicken for scalding and plucking. Make sure they’re properly processed," Zhang Ruo came out to instruct the group of men chatting loudly, along with the endless chicken squawks, making for a chaotic day.

"Understood," Tian Yi carried chickens that were already dealt with to a makeshift stove made from three stones at the back of the house. He scalded the chickens and passed them to friends for plucking.

"Pluck those feathers quickly, you lazy bones."

"Lazy? How dare you say that when you couldn’t catch a single chicken," the semi-serious quarrel between Guo Lu and Lei San continued in one corner while they plucked chickens.

"A’Heng, butcher these chickens," Wu Zhong handed the chickens to Ling Heng, who had prepared a knife and chopping block.

"Hurry up with the plucking, will you?" Tian Yi, having finished scalding the chickens, urged his friends waiting to butcher the chickens.

"Why don’t you pluck them yourself if you’re in such a hurry?"

"Hey, don’t discard the organs; they’re as tasty as the chicken meat itself," Ling Heng turned to Cheng San who was about to throw the chicken innards into a bucket.

"Oh, sorry, I didn’t know."

As the bustling activities wound down, the sky began to darken. Everyone, full and satisfied, bid farewell to the Tang family and left with three to four leftover chickens each. It seemed like these men almost caught all the chickens in the forest.

Xiaolin, exhausted from the day, went to bed immediately after taking a bath and soaking sticky rice. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

The next morning, the chubby kid woke up and loudly called for her father to help chop the young wheat shoots for her. She also asked her grandmother to cook the sticky rice until it was soft and mushy. Once she had both ingredients, she let the sticky rice cool a bit before mixing it with the wheat shoots in a large container, covering it with a clean cloth, and leaving it to ferment for about six hours.

While waiting, Xiaolin went to inspect the vegetable patch, where small plants had started to sprout. Seeing his round daughter head towards the vegetable garden, Tianrong came to share some news.

"Xiaolin, our market stall is ready to open."

"Really? And when will you start selling, dad?" She wasn’t sure if there was any ceremony required here before starting a business.

"We’ll open tomorrow. The villagers have been asking almost every day when we’ll start selling."

"In that case, could you take me to Uncle Zhou’s place in the afternoon, please?"

"Of course." Tianrong didn’t ask further and, after finishing their conversation, excused himself to check on the construction work before the official opening the next day, also informing the villagers who might be waiting.

Thinking about making syrup the next day, Xiaolin realized she had forgotten the sugarcane her tall friend had given her completely. She ran to call her grandfather, who was loafing around inside the house, to help cut the sugarcane into sections and bury them in the ground.

"What is this?" Hui Song asked his granddaughter, while also digging the soil.

"It’s sugarcane, grandpa. It can be used to make sugar."

"Oh, that’s great."

The two of them worked together planting sugarcane until they were covered in dirt. After finishing, Xiaolin clung to Hui Song’s back as they returned to the house, flopping down on the porch to rest while waiting for the wheat syrup to be ready.

Once the time was up, Xiaolin asked her grandmother to help strain the fermentation liquid to separate the liquid from the mash. After obtaining about half a bucket of liquid, they set up a large pan outside the house to boil it.

"Keep stirring it, and once the water starts to reduce, keep it on a low simmer until it thickens, then it can be scooped into jars. Or you can let it cool down first."

The responsibility of simmering the syrup fell to Hui Song, while the two grandmothers sat on the porch as moral support.

After about two hours and a half, the syrup thickened nicely. Zhang Ruo and Hui Song carefully moved the pan off the stove to let the syrup cool before scooping it into jars. Xiaolin sneakily tasted it and found it to be sweet and fragrant.

"It smells so good," Zhang Ruo said to her granddaughter.

"Grandma, try using it with your cooking and see if it’s tasty. Try adding it to a stir-fry."

"Then, let’s have a vegetable stir-fry this evening."

Not long after, Tianrong returned to pick up his daughter. Xiaolin wasn’t sure what to bring as a gift for Uncle Zhou, so she asked her father to catch three plump chickens. She also grabbed some aged ginger, put it in a basket, and together they headed to the city on a cart.

Upon arrival, the governor’s servants invited the father and daughter inside, taking the chickens to the kitchen. It wasn’t long before the couple appeared, looking refreshed and radiant, their bright smiles making Xiaolin gaze in wonder.

"Greetings, governor, Furen ."

"Greetings to you as well."

"Make yourselves at home. So, what brings you here today?" Zhou Ming inquired, noting that he hadn’t seen them since they bought the land last time.

"I’ve got a favor to ask you."

"What might that be?" Zhou Ming asked seriously, wondering if the father and daughter had encountered some significant problem.

"Well, I’m about to open a market for the villagers to sell their goods and would like to invite you to officiate the opening." Xiaolin laughed nervously upon seeing the stern face in front of her.

"Is that all? Sure, I’ll prepare some offerings and also invite abbot from the mountain temple to conduct the ceremony."

"Do we really need to do all that?" Tianrong asked apprehensively, thinking they’d just set up a simple offering table.

"Opening a business should be done properly, to bless it for prosperity."

"Thank you very much."

Seeing Uncle Zhou agree, Xiaolin placed the basket of ginger on the table.

"This is for you."

"Isn’t this ginger? Did you buy it or find it in the forest?" Zhou Ming looked at them.

"We found it in the forest."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ming nodded in understanding, inspected the ginger, and instructed a servant to store it properly.

"Sweetie, didn’t you want to tell Xiaolin the good news?" Zhou Ming turned to his wife. Lian Hua, with a wide smile, took the chubby child’s hand and announced,

"I’m pregnant."

"Really?" Xiaolin exclaimed excitedly. Now, there were three pregnant women around her.

"Yes, we must thank you for the advice you gave us. The doctor said my body is stronger than before and suitable for pregnancy again." Zhou Ming shared joyfully.

"Congratulations to you both," Tianrong sincerely added.

"We owe you and Xiaolin our thanks. Here, take this as a reward," Zhou Ming said, pulling out a beautiful red pouch from his robe to hand to the child.

Xiaolin looked at her father, who nodded, and she accepted it.

"Go on, open it," Lian Hua encouraged.

Curious, Xiaolin opened the pouch, her heart pounding in anticipation. It felt too light to be a lump of gold, but inside was something that made her eyes widen,

a gold necklace as thick as an arm!!

‘Furen’ (A Chinese word for married woman, mrs., madame)

‘Tai Shu’ (Chinese grand master)

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