Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 71: Xiaolin Wants to Open a Larb Restaurant

Chapter 65

Xiaolin Wants to Open a Larb Restaurant

The fierce bidding war among the customers had ended. Those who had the chance to taste the special dishes were excitedly chattering, while those who missed out resolved to bring more money next time.

Meanwhile, the chubby little girl sat with shining eyes, gazing at the pile of silver taels. Around two hundred taels were neatly arranged on the table. Little giggles escaped her from time to time.

“Hehe, maybe I should ask Uncle Zhong to catch more next time. No, no, if there’s too much, it won’t be special anymore,” Xiaolin thought, shaking her head, causing her hair to spread out.

The chubby girl happily counted the money until Tianrong brought her a plate of crab fried rice. Xiaolin scooped it into her mouth, her body swaying happily. Not only did she make a lot of money, but the food was also delicious.

“Seaweed soup, little boss,” Liu Hao said, bringing out a small bowl of soup. Xiaolin looked up and smiled at him, her chubby cheeks full of rice.

“Uncle, have you eaten yet?” Xiaolin asked after swallowing and taking a sip of the soup.

“I’ll eat a bit later. We still have a lot of customers right now.”

“Once the busy period is over, let’s open a larb restaurant,” Xiaolin said.

“A larb restaurant?” Liu Hao looked down at the fair-skinned child who was chewing her food with puffed cheeks.

“Yes! A larb restaurant with grilled pork neck, sweet liver, grilled chicken, and papaya salad. How does that sound?”

“That sounds great! It will definitely sell well,” Liu Hao said with a wide smile, imagining the delicious dishes Xiaolin described and swallowing a big gulp.

“What kind of restaurant should we set up?” Liu Hao leaned against the table, eager to hear the little girl’s ideas. He was ready to follow her lead.

“Make it an open hall like the outdoor seating here, with a small cooking area and storage room. Xiaolin wants an open space because we’ll need to grill chicken and pork,”

“Can you draw a plan for me then, Xiaolin I’ll hire some villagers to build it,”

The chubby girl nodded enthusiastically, her mouth full of a big bite of rice, her cheeks puffed out. She glanced at the front of the restaurant, noticing new customers entering, and nudged Liu Hao. He quickly went to greet them.

In the evening, the Tang family, Liu Hao, and Ling Heng rode the cart back home. The other workers were hired to be transported back to their village each day by Tianrong. In the mornings, they made their way to the restaurant on their own.

Before closing the restaurant, the mischievous little chubby girl persuaded Tianchen to buy two jin of pork, one jin of liver, and one jin of intestines. Talking about larb made her crave it, so she hurriedly dragged her gluttonous uncle to buy the ingredients before heading home.

The owner of the shop, with his long mustache, asked why they had stopped buying the innards. Xiaolin simply told him that they were preparing to open a new restaurant and assured him they would be back to buy more. He was pleased to hear this, as even though the prices were low, it was still income. He generously added an extra jin of intestines to their purchase.

When they arrived home, Tianchen and Liu Hao volunteered to chop the pork. With so many people around, Xiaolin decided to make a variety of dishes including larb, sweet liver, grilled intestines, and larb with grilled intestines.

The chubby girl ran to find charcoal and paper as soon as they got home. She approached Mi Hua to ask her to draw the restaurant layout. At first, Mi Hua wasn’t sure how to draw it, but seeing her granddaughter’s clear, bright eyes, she decided to give it a try.

“Is this okay?” Mi Hua handed the paper to her granddaughter.

Xiaolin examined the layout. She wanted her larb restaurant to resemble a roadside papaya salad stand, with an open-sided roof to let in the breeze, a cooking area, and a small back room. She planned to place the grills for the chicken and pork in the front for customers to see, making it a unique feature of the restaurant.

“Why don’t you make a proper kitchen, sweetheart? This way, anyone passing by can see everything inside,” Hui Ning asked her daughter after seeing the layout and hearing the description.

“I want it to be different. I don’t want to be like everybody else. I’m not worried about people copying us because they won’t be able to walk in and openly steal our recipes. At most, they can try to imitate the grilled pork and chicken, but they won’t know my special marinade recipes,” the chubby girl said, lifting her head proudly, showing her chubby cheeks.

“This kid” Hui Ning sighed, looking at her determined daughter.

Xiaolin put down the layout and hugged her mother, her tone turning affectionate. She leaned down to talk to her mother’s belly, where the baby was growing. Sometimes, the baby would push against the belly as if responding to her.

“When the little bun comes out, your big sister will make larb for you. But for now, little bun, be good and don’t trouble mother at night, okay?” Her chubby hands gently patted the big belly, feeling the slight movements inside.

Hui Ning chuckled softly, exchanging a warm look with Mi Hua, who was watching the scene with affection. Xiaolin continued chatting with her unborn sibling for a while until a voice called from outside. She picked up the restaurant layout and headed to the backyard.

"The pork is chopped, the liver is sliced and the blood is washed out, and Brother Heng is grilling the intestines," Tianchen reported to his niece.

"Alright, Uncle, let’s take everything into the kitchen. And here’s the design for the restaurant, Uncle Hao," Xiaolin said, handing the blueprint to her tall uncle. Liu Hao looked at it and nodded approvingly.

"Then I’ll hire the villagers to build it. The design isn’t complicated, so we don’t need to hire professional builders."

"Hiring the villagers is a good idea. It will save us some money and give them some income too,"

After discussing with Liu Hao, the chubby niece and uncle carried the ingredients into the kitchen. Xiaolin instructed Tianchen to set up the pan for sautéing the pork while she stood on a stool, chopping onions, green onions, and preparing lime, chili powder, fish sauce, and roasted rice.

Once the pork was cooked, the chubby girl seasoned it right in the pan, believing that seasoning it while it was still hot would enhance the aroma. After making the larb, she moved on to the sweet liver.

Xiaolin made sure the liver was well-cooked to ensure tenderness. In her previous life, she recalled how she disliked the undercooked liver at some papaya salad stalls.

"Let’s make grilled intestine larb too, Xiaolin," Tianchen suggested, his mouth watering at the sight of the larb and sweet liver.

"I was planning to do that, Uncle. Just waiting for the intestines to be ready," Xiaolin replied, placing the sweet liver onto a plate.

"I’ll go check to see if the intestines are done," Tianchen said, hurrying out of the kitchen. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Meanwhile, Xiaolin used chopsticks to sample the sweet liver, nodding in satisfaction.

"Mmm, so yummy!"

"Here we go. I’ll slice them up for you," Tianchen said, returning with a tray of grilled intestines.

The young man sliced the grilled intestines into bite-sized pieces. Xiaolin took half to make larb and set the other half aside to eat with spicy dipping sauce. While the uncle and niece were sneaking bites of the delicious food, Zhang Ruo walked into the kitchen.

"What are you two, uncle and niece, sneaking around eating?"

"Where did you go, Grandma?" The chubby-cheeked girl asked, her little mouth glistening with oil.

"I was watering the vegetables at the old house. Now, finish up and take everything outside, you two. Sneaking around eating, you’ll get it,"

"Heh heh,"

They both laughed sheepishly before taking the food outside. The Ling couple took some food to share with their son at home, who would be waiting for them by now.

Liu Hao also took some food back to his grandmother. She was very old, and he didn’t want her walking back and forth to the Tang house too often, even though their home was less than a mile away. The frailty of the elderly was unpredictable.

"Xiaolin, did you make something delicious for Grandpa?" Hui Song, who had just come back from watering the vegetables around the house, walked in and kissed the chubby girl’s cheek.

"Xiaolin made it for herself, Grandpa," Xiaolin said, looking up at her grandfather with wide eyes.

"Aw man, then can I have some too?" Hui Song pretended to look sad.

"Has grandpa been naughty, Grandma? If he hasn’t, I will share some with him," Xiaolin asked, looking at her grandfather mischievously and turning to Zhang Ruo.

"Your grandpa spends all day lazily lying under the tree with Xiao Zhong," Zhang Ruo told her granddaughter, while dishing out rice for everyone.

"Then maybe he shouldn’t get any,"

"Don’t be so mean to your grandpa," Hui Song quickly pulled the chubby girl into a hug.

"But Grandpa doesn’t work,"

"Neither does Xiao Zhong."

"But Xiao Zhong isn’t grown yet," the little girl replied, puffing out her cheeks as if refusing to let her grandfather criticize her little friend.

"But Xiaolin is also a little girl and still goes out to work," Hui Song said, smiling at his granddaughter’s scrunched-up face.

"But Xiaolin doesn’t want Xiao Zhong to work," she insisted, her tone firm.

"Alright, alright, both of you stop arguing. Where’s A’Rong?" Zhang Ruo intervened to prevent further bickering between the grandpa and granddaughter, looking around for her son-in-law.

"He went to check on the sweet potatoes. I saw they’ve grown quite a bit and it’s about time to turn the soil and prepare for grafting,"

"Really? Then let’s hire the villagers tomorrow. How many mus do you think we can plant?" Zhang Ruo asked.

"About ten mu. This year, many villagers are planting them, so A’Rong reduced the area. With so many plantings, the price won’t be as high as last year," Hui Song replied.

Upon hearing this, Xiaolin straightened up, wriggling with excitement, prompting Hui Song to look down at her.

"What is it, Xiaolin?"

"If we’re not planting all sweet potatoes, can Grandpa plant lots of vegetables for me? Like kale, holy basil, and chilies. We need a lot for the restaurant," Xiaolin pleaded, blinking her eyes adorably.

"Sure, sure. I will do that. Then you can’t say I’m lazy anymore," Hui Song replied, pinching his granddaughter’s cheeks playfully.

"Hehe,"

When Tianrong came in, everyone began eating. Today, with the little girl’s cooking, Hui Song had a hearty appetite, going for three servings of rice. Tianrong and Tianchen did the same. Even though the restaurant’s food was delicious, they found the chubby girl’s home-cooked meals to be even richer in flavor.

"Xiaolin’s cooking is really delicious," Hui Song said, placing his empty bowl on the table.

"Burp! Oops! It’s indeed so delicious, Uncle. Hehe," Tianchen, the glutton, burped loudly, then laughed sheepishly under his brother’s gaze.

"I’m planning to partner with Uncle Hao to open a small larb shop," she announced.

"That’s great. I think larb with sticky rice is delicious,"

"Yes, I agree,"

"Xiaolin, will you let me join as a partner too?" Tianchen hugged his chubby niece excitedly.

"I will invest the money first, but you have to pay me back,"

"Man, you’re already talking about debt before we even start making money?"

"Hehe,"

That night, Xiaolin slept with her mother while Tianrong was relegated to the floor. As her mother’s belly grew larger, she needed more space to sleep. With Xiaolin joining them, there was no room left for him. If he tried to sleep squeezed into a corner, he would wake up with aching muscles.

"Time to sleep now, you little rascal, so your mother can rest. Don’t be naughty, okay? If you’re a good girl, your big sister will buy you some tasty snacks," Xiaolin said, talking to her mother’s large belly.

Hui Ning watched her children talk with a smile, gently stroking her daughter’s head. Xiaolin, tired from the day’s activities, soon drifted off to sleep. Mother and daughter fell asleep around the same time, while Tianrong lay feeling lonely without being able to hold his wife.

Two months passed, and the Tang family restaurant, which initially thought its customer base would stabilize, saw a continuous increase in patrons. They had to extend the restaurant to the sides. The two mu of land originally designated for carriage parking had to be repurposed, and customers were directed to park at the market instead.

The new market and carriage parking area were completed, adding to the vibrancy. The market was livelier as almost all the vendors from the old market on the inside moved out to sell their goods out here. Villagers from far away, once they heard of this news, wanted to rent out the spaces as well due to the rental fees being so affordable for them.

One of these new vendors was none other than Miss Niangg...

"I thought you were the owner of this grand market, but it turns out you’re just someone the governor hired to manage it," came a sneering voice early in the morning in front of the small larb shop that hadn’t opened yet.

Xiaolin glanced over but didn’t pay much attention. She dipped her dirty rag into a bucket of water, wrung it out, and continued wiping the tables clean.

Seeing Xiaolin’s indifferent reaction, Miss Niang grew angrier. Knowing that this chubby little girl was the granddaughter of the woman who had taken Hui Song from her, her hatred only intensified.

"Hmph, your family must be quite something, hardly has anything to eat, yet they manage to feed their daughter so much she’s this chubby," the big woman continued, crossing her arms and speaking with disdain.

Xiaolin sighed deeply. She had seen this woman renting a stall to sell stale-smelling dried fish since the market was completed last month. However, the woman seemed oblivious that the grand restaurant next door belonged to Xiaolin’s family, not to mention the dried goods store that had opened just days before the market.

"When should we open the shop, Xiaolin?" Liu Hao asked as he emerged from the back of the shop.

"In a few days, Uncle. We should prepare the supplies first and order the pork from Uncle Mustache’s shop. Hehe."

"Oh, you," Liu Hao laughed, looking at the little girl.

A month ago, he had taken Xiaolin to buy pork. Despite multiple visits, they hadn’t known the butcher’s name. When Xiaolin asked, he jokingly told her to call him Uncle Mustache. Since then, Xiaolin always referred to him as Uncle Mustache.

Miss Niang, seeing that the little girl she intended to taunt daily was ignoring her completely, grew angrier until her face turned red.

"Hey! You rude little girl! I’ve been talking to you for ages. Are you deaf or what, huh?"

Xiaolin glanced at the plump woman whose face was now flushed with anger but then turned back to focus on Liu Hao. She smiled broadly and told him she was hungry. Liu Hao, thinking the shouting woman must be mentally unstable, quickly crouched down to let the chubby girl hop on his back and they headed over to the restaurant.

"You wicked child! Just like your grandmother!"

Once they were out of earshot, Xiaolin sighed and rested her chubby cheek on Liu Hao’s shoulder. Liu Hao, carrying her, sensed her repeated sighs.

"Are you alright, Xiaolin? Did that crazy woman say something to upset you?" Xiaolin burst into laughter at the word "crazy."

"She’s crazy indeed. Hehe,"

The chubby girl enjoyed a delicious plate of pad thai with large fresh shrimp. The shrimp covered the noodles completely, making it seem like the dish should be renamed shrimp with noodles instead.

The chubby little girl wiggled left and right happily before looking up as two tall figures approached her.

"Little Xiaolin," came the accented voice from the light-haired man in front of her, making Xiaolin smile fondly.

"Master Noel and Master Carlson, here for a meal?" Xiaolin looked up at the handsome men. Focusing on them closely, the soul of the woman inside the little girl couldn’t help but tremble. Her dream husband from her past life had a face and physique just like theirs.

"Yes, indeed. I really enjoyed the crispy squid sukiyaki last time," Noel said excitedly. A few days ago, the restaurant had introduced a new dish, and the little girl before him had recommended it. He loved it.

"So, would you like the sukiyaki again today?"

"Yes, I’ll have the crispy squid sukiyaki with steamed rice."

"I’ll have the seafood tom yum noodles and the seafood fried rice," Carlson ordered his favorites.

"Right away!" Xiaolin slid off her chair and walked into the kitchen to place their orders.

Recently, Xiaolin had experimented with making sukiyaki sauce. It took time to prepare pickled garlic and wait for the chilies and tomatoes to ripen. Finally, after a long wait, her sukiyaki sauce was perfected. Additionally, the flat pan she had commissioned was now in use, perfect for grilling pork and intestines to enjoy with her delicious sauce.

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