Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 22: Laab with Moo Namtok and Moving House

Chapter 21

Laab with Moo Namtok and Moving House

Xiaolin supervised her uncle as he skinned two of the fatty pigs. She instructed him to boil the skins with a bit of salt before scraping off the black parts with a knife, planning to make crispy pork skin to eat.

"Will this really make something delicious, Xiaolin?" Tianchen kept working as he skeptically asked his niece.

"I’ve never heard you complain about anything being unappetizing before, uncle."

"Oh, I’ll wait to taste it first then." The young man hurriedly scraped the pork skin, cutting it into long strips as Xiaolin had instructed. After cutting, he seasoned it with salt before setting it out to dry in the sun.

"Hurry and wash the intestines, A’Hao!" Tianrong handed a bucket full of pig intestines to Liu Hao, who took it to the stream with another bucket for easier washing, as it required several rinses and doing so by the stream was quicker than going back and forth for water.

"With so much pork liver, how can we possibly eat it all?" Hui Song stood hands on hips, looking over the liver piled in the bucket.

"Boil it then dry it or perhaps smoke it. It should work," the plump child pondered aloud, pouting her lips and stroking her chin thoughtfully, causing her brows to furrow.

"Let’s give it a try."

As for the salted pork legs, Xiaolin’s mother and grandmother handled them, so the chubby girl didn’t interfere, which was just as well since she didn’t know the process.

The three children, distracted from everything else, sat around the fire watching Ling Heng grill pork necks, while the women chopped pork fat to render for oil. Grandmother Liu also joined in to help.

"How are we going to divide the salted pork legs?" Zhang Rua asked.

"A’Hao will take two legs; we’ll keep the rest," Hui Song informed his wife.

"There’s so much left. Why don’t you take another leg with you, Grandma Liu”," Hui Ning suggested to her sitting beside her.

"I only have two grandchildren; we can’t possibly eat all that, not to mention the dried food," the elderly woman waved her hand in refusal.

 

"Then, I’ll share some leg with Auntie Zhang," Zhang Rua suggested, noting that their household was also struggling. The husband and wife both have a son and a daughter. Their daughter had married a small merchant and been quiet for years. As for their son, he had to go work in the city every day.

"That would be good, yes."

"Grandpa, should we build a small stall in front of the house? I want to sell dried food. When we dig up the sweet potatoes, we’ll have a place to sell them too," the plump figure approached her grandfather, who was preparing liver for his granddaughter to cook.

"Of course, I’ll make one for you."

"We have so much pork; any part we don’t need can be sold in the village," Xiaolin advised her grandfather. "We can’t eat it all."

"Is the little merchant starting her own business now?" Tianrong teased, prompting giggles from the little girl.

"That’s a good idea," Hui Song agreed with a nod.

Everyone agreed that after lunch, Hui Song and Zhang Rua would take the remaining pork and pork bones to sell by the catty, as they were more familiar with the villagers than those who lived on the outskirts. They decided not to sell it too expensive, considering the villagers weren’t wealthy, sharing it as a communal feast.

"Let’s fry the pork ribs with garlic," suggested the plump child, pointing at the pork ribs.

Tianchen rushed to listen and was instructed by his niece to chop the ribs into pieces, marinate them with garlic and soy sauce in preparation for frying.

"It has to be delicious," the young man looked at his marinated ribs.

"It will be, because I told you so. If you do the marinating, I think it’s bound to be too salty," she squinted at Tianchen, who laughed. Luckily, she caught him just in time as he was about to pour in an entire small jar of soy sauce.

“Well, I’ve never cooked before," he said, scratching his head.

"Should I make pork bone soup? Boil it with the dried mushrooms I picked last time. It’s very delicious," she suggested.

"Let’s do it! We have so many people, make a lot of it."

Xiaolin gave her uncle a knowing look, thinking he wanted to make it because he wanted to eat it more than anything. She then went to her father, asking him to chop more ribs. Tianchen chopped them into pieces for his niece.

"Anything else we can cook?"

The chubby girl carried a bowl of ribs back to the kitchen, pondering over pork dishes beyond fried garlic ribs that everyone would enjoy: stir-fried pork liver with wild onions, grilled pork neck, grilled intestines, and pork rib soup.

That’s right! Laab!

"Yummy! Laab and Moo Nam Tok," SERPPPP, the chubby girl gulped down saliva and hurriedly asked her mother to chop the pork, then ran off to Ling Heng to get several pieces of grilled pork neck, causing the Ling brothers to watch in amazement as their necks nearly snapped.

"Done yet, dear? What will we do now?" Hui Ning asked her daughter.

"Mommy, could you pleaseroast the dried chilies?”

Hui Ning complied without hesitation. Meanwhile, Tianchen was sent to fetch onions from Hui’s garden. He chopped quickly, raising dust. Besides the dried chilies, Xiaolin also instructed her mother to slightly roast some rice.

"Then take the roasted chilies and rice to grind... er, crush them, or chop them up. Make it fine," Xiaolin instructed from atop a chair, overseeing her mother’s work.

After preparing the chili powder, chopped onions, and wild onions, the minced pork was boiled and then tossed with the prepared seasonings, flavored with fish sauce and lime juice.

"It looks appetizing, Xiaolin," Tianchen leaned on his niece’s shoulder, intrigued by the unusual dish his sister-in-law was mixing.

GULP “The lime smells so good," the round eyes focused on the colorful laab, swallowing a big gulp.

"And the grilled meat you brought?" Hui Ning turned to her daughter, only to find the two nephews fixated on the bowl in her hands.

"Slice it thinly. Then season it just like the minced pork."

Hui Ning quickly got to work as it wasn’t too complicated—just mix everything in a bowl and season.

 

At the moment the two greedy nephews had been waiting for, they grabbed chopsticks to try the new dish before looking at each other with eyes as wide as eggs, causing Hui Ning to laugh brightly.

"Really now, you two. Hurry up and take it outside."

"Sister-in-law, can I bring you some grilled intestines to make it like this one?" The young man looked at his sister-in-law with sparkling eyes. Seeing Hui Ning nod, he hurried outside.

"Yummyy," the chubby child couldn’t stop eating the laab until her mother had to pick her up by the waist and take her outside before the child ate it all by herself.

"Stay outside for now, I’ll go and cook," Hui Ning put her daughter down outside at the back of the house, playfully poking her little nose.

"But I will make pork rib soup," the chubby child pouted almost touching her nose, making Hui Ning laugh.

"Tell me, then. How do we make it?"

"Alright. Just boil the pork ribs and add crushed garlic, pepper, and the mushrooms I dried," she explained.

"The black mushrooms, right?"

Xiaolin nodded.

"And season with salt and soy sauce, right?"

"Yes."

"Understood, I’ll go make it," the woman pinched the chubby cheeks playfully before heading back into the kitchen.

Xiaolin watched her mother’s retreating figure with a sigh, still craving for more laab and Moo Nam Tok. The plump figure sighed before waddling off to watch Ling Heng grill the pork.

Initially, there was no intention to cook, but now, a variety of dishes are prepared and lined up. Hui Song generously allowed his daughter to make a large pan of stir-fried pork liver with spring onions to share with the construction workers as well.

They expressed their gratitude for a long time, as most of them had brought only simple lunches like steamed buns and pickled vegetables, with some having only a piece of flatbread and some dried, foul-smelling meat.

The delicious aroma lured in a newcomer, who called out to the household. Tianchen went out to greet him, recognizing him as Elder Liu, the village head.

"Grandpa Lua, what brings you here? Please, come in, we’re just about to have lunch," Tianrongbeckoned the elder inside. Lua Han, upon hearing this, slightly furrowed his brows. Ever since they had the means to buy land and build a new house, it appeared the family’s standard of living had significantly improved. It wasn’t common for villagers to have a lunch together like this.

"The villagers are curious about what you’ve planted across twenty properties. Seeing it flourish, they wanted me to ask about it," the elder asked apologetically, but his intent was for the villagers to have a stable livelihood, hence his intrusion. However, Tianrong didn’t mind as he had planned to share the information with the villagers anyway.

"I’ve planted sweet potatoes. I wanted to try it out first, and if the results arewell, I’ll definitely share them with you. Please reassure the villagers there’s no need to worry," Tianrong said with a smile, inviting the elder to the backyard.

"Oh, village chief. Please, come in. We have plenty of food today," Hui Song warmly greeted, causing the visitor to feel even more embarrassed about his intrusion.

"What are you all celebrating that there’s so much food?"

"We’re not celebrating anything. The young men went boar hunting," Grandma Liu emerged from the kitchen with a plate of fragrant yellow pork rinds.

"Oh, is Old Lady Liu here too?"

"Come on, enough with the chit-chats. Let’s eat first, we can talk later."

The backyard platform wasn’t big enough for everyone to sit and eat, so Hui Ning fetched straw mats for Old Lady Liu, the Ling family, her little daughter, and her brother-in-law to sit on the ground.

Liu Hao also chose to sit with them rather than listen to the adults talk. He preferred to sit with the plump little girl, flanking her on either side with Tianchen, both eagerly serving her plate full of food.

"Bringing the grilled intestines to mix in the dish like this turns out really tasty, Ning Hui," Liu Hao munched on the crispy grilled intestines.

"Right,  A’Hao? I knew it would be delicious," Tianchen continued eating non-stop.

"Everyone, please eat as much as you like, don’t be shy. Xiao Hai, Xiao Han, you too, before these two gluttons finish everything," Hui Ning teased the two young men focused only on the delicious food.

"It’s really tasty, thank you, Auntie," Ling Hai expressed, teary-eyed, for he had never tasted pork in his ten years of life, continually feeding his younger brother.

"Eat as much as you want, there’s plenty more," they were assured.

"Thank you so much, Hui Ning," Mi Hua, having gotten to know Hui Ning beforehand, thanked her sincerely. They had quickly become friendly as neither had many friends.

"Don’t mention it"

"Would it be possible for me to move here to the village?" Mi Hua broached the subject. Her husband had discussed it with her before, and although she was initially hesitant, the confrontations with Miss Niang made her uncomfortable. The villagers there were indifferent, everyone living in their own bubble.

"Of course, the land here costs ten taels of silver per acre, and building a house through village labor isn’t expensive at all," hearing this, Mi Hua looked at her husband, realizing they could afford new land and a small house by selling their old home and two acres of land.

"We must speak directly to the village chief. He is a reasonably good man, but he just can’t stand up to his wife. We need to plan carefully, or we won’t get a fair price for the land." Under Jiangnan’s laws, anyone wishing to sell their land must return it to the government until a new owner is found, so they don’t have to worry about not finding a buyer after selling.

Hui Ning remained silent, letting the couple discuss among themselves. However, someone who had been pretending to eat quietly had been eavesdropping for a while. She decided to let the adults handle it, as intervening too much might not be wise since they had just met.

After lunch, Ling Heng seized the opportunity to speak with Lua Han. The elder recommended visiting the land of interest first. If it’s in the outskirts like the Tang and Liu homes, it would be cheaper and more private. Once they had the funds, they could contact him anytime.

The elder left with two portions of pork, walking home cheerily. Not only did he enjoy a delicious meal, but he also had meat to share with his family.

"Then we’ll help you build the house. We’ll build a small clay house first, build it strong so it can get through this winter" Hui Song tapped on Ling Heng’s shoulder, understanding how terrible Niang Xin could be.

"Thank you so much. We’ve just met and you’ve been so nice to us," the young man looked at the Tang family gratefully. Even the villagers he had known since birth had never bothered to check on them, only gossiping.

"Don’t overthink it. Take some more meat home. Your kids are too skinny. If you sell your house, stay at the seaside cabin for now. Our new house isn’t finished, so we don’t have enough room," Hui Song advised the Ling family. Originally, his house had only two rooms, but after his daughter married off, he turned her room into a storage, which was now quite dilapidated.

"This is already more than enough."

"You can go back and settle your household matters first. We can talk about work later. That way, you can work without worries," Tianrong sympathized. Though he had faced hard times, the villagers didn’t abandon them, occasionally sharing wild vegetables. Because everyone was struggling.

"It might take a few days."

The Ling family left with a large piece of pork. Hui Ning suggested to Mi Hua to slice it long, marinate it with salt, and sun-dry it for a day or two, then store it in jars.

Not long into the village, they heard shrill shouting behind them and had to stop and look back. It was none other than Niang Xin.

"Oh, where have you been? Or have you all gone to find work? Soon you’ll be rich, huh? Good for you. Once you’re rich, make sure to scram out of our village," the plump figure walked up, inspecting the Ling family from head to toe.

"I just wanted to ask you something. Was it such a terrible thing for me to stop working for you?" Ling Heng, losing patience, confronted her. Since he intended to leave anyway, there was no need to converse politely with such a person any longer.

"Hmph! The fact that I hired you so that you could have food and afford things was already too much of a favor to you!”"

 

"Oh, is that so? The pay is than ten washers a day and you’d always find reasons to deduct that money from our wages. I barely made fifty washers a week. So, is it supposed to be a favor or an exploitation exactly?”" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"You!!!" Niang Xin was furious, her breaths heavy, causing her fat to jiggle.

"There’s no need to talk much. If you want us to leave, we will leave," Ling Heng said before telling his wife and children to head back home. After this, Niang Xin would surely go and make a scene with the workers at the sea. He would take this chance to talk to her husband.

Ling Heng went to speak with Niang Xin’s husband and relayed everything to him. The old man frowned, knowing his wife’s temperament well, but he didn’t think she would exploit others to this extent.

"I truly apologize on her behalf. As for you moving out, I won’t stop you, but I will compensate you. You have worked for our household for many years after all."

"Thank you very much," Ling He said, looking at the village chief with a heavy frown, noticing he seemed older than before.

He managed to sell his two plots of land and one house for twenty-two silver coins, with an additional one silver coin compensation from the village chief. He still had to wait for the paperwork to be completed the following day, so they couldn’t move immediately.

"It’s a bit sad, isn’t it? We have lived here since we were born," Mi Hua said to her husband. Both of them were orphans, and many in the village were in the same situation, having lost ancestors to the sea over decades.

"Let’s take it as a new beginning. Our lives must be better than before," Ling Heng patted his wife’s hand gently. They both looked at their sons, who, after a full meal, were sleeping soundly, feeling content.

"Let’s pack and prepare to leave. We might have to move out by tomorrow afternoon."

The couple went about packing their few belongings: old clothes, sleeping mats, and some dried food. By the next afternoon, the family of four, carrying their belongings, made their way to Shen Lin village about four li away.

Smiling happily, they all hoped for a better life ahead, finally free from their previous hardships.

‘Laab’ is a meat salad served with green papaya salad and sticky rice.

‘Moo Namtok’ is a spicy pork salad, popular in the Isaan region of Thailand.

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