Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 31: Great-Grandmother and Da’s Father

Chapter 30

Great-Grandmother and Da’s Father

There were a total of sixty eggs. Besides the eggs, the beautiful aunt also wanted to buy ducks. Xiaolin received another three silver ingots this time, making it a total of three! The beautiful aunt didn’t wait for the little girl to protest; she quickly left with her maids and servants who carried the basket away.

The two cousins watched with wide eyes before they started packing their cart and headed to the tavern, guided by the plump Xiaolin. Today, Grandpa Hong Chuan didn’t visit the herbal shop, so Xiaolin didn’t get to greet and say goodbye as usual.

Upon arrival, they found two old friends enjoying their drink. Tables, chairs, and a stove for grilling the squid were all ready, and the coals were already glowing red hot.

"Start grilling, please, Uncle!" The plump child supervised the grilling process to ensure the squid was cooked to perfection - juicy, not too dry to maintain its deliciousness.

The aroma attracted attention, especially from men fond of spirits who hadn’t had their meal yet. The scent of grilled food lured them out.

"What’s the little merchant selling?" An intoxicated, disheveled man asked.

"Grilled squid, Uncle. Would you like one? It’s only twoYiper skewer. It’s a sea creature that’s very difficult to catch. My father has to sail far out to sea to catch each one. And... it pairs very well with alcohol," the plump child whispered enticingly to the drunken folks.

"Really? But two brass coins per skewer is quite expensive, little girl."

Xiaolin eyed the cunning old men. They could afford to spend a hundred brass coins per jug of alcohol, drinking several jugs a day. She grinned before replying.

"I’ll let you taste one for free first. There’s also spicy dipping sauce to enhance the flavor," she nudged her uncle, who then offered a freshly grilled squid skewer on a plate.

Xiaolin picked up the plate, opened the jar of dipping sauce, and drizzled it over the grilled squid. The smell of chili, garlic, and lime made those nearby salivate.

"Here you go, try this, Uncle," she placed the plate of grilled squid in front of him.

Seeing that, the bearded man picked it up and took a bite. The chewy and crispy texture, paired with the spicy and sour dipping sauce, made him look delighted.

"Give me ten skewers, little girl!"

"Right away!"

Shortly after, a plate of grilled squid without dipping sauce was placed in front of the bearded man. He looked at the plate and then at the little merchant, puzzled.

"Why didn’t you put any dipping sauce, little merchant?"

"Well, Uncle, you’re going to continue drinking, right? Alcohol and sour food don’t mix well. Eating it could upset your stomach."

"Oh, is that so? Alright, I’ll listen to you." The man pulled out a purse and counted out twenty brass coins to give to the little merchant before taking the plate of grilled squid into the tavern.

"We made a sale, Uncle! Hehe," Xiaolin beamed, pocketing the coins in her small satchel.

"Should we also sell dried squid next time, Xiaolin? It seems like it could sell well," Tianchen was just as excited. It was his first time standing to sell something. Normally, when he caught fish to sell with his brother, they would just offer it to food stalls, not selling it directly like this.

"If we sell out of dried squid too, we won’t have any left for ourselves, Uncle."

"How about we sell in the morning and then go dry the squid in the afternoon? We’ve already sold all our sweet potatoes, so we have plenty of free time."

"That sounds great!"

The two cousins kept grilling squid without a break. Most of their customers were men who came to drink at Song Li’s tavern, with a few outsiders coming to buy but not many.

By the Shen hours (15:00-16:59), the prepared skewered squid had sold out, leaving none behind. The drunken men lamented as they enjoyed the delicious squid with their drinks, only to find it all gone in a blink.

"Bring more tomorrow, little girl. I’ll be waiting to buy," said the first bearded customer as he approached Xiaolin.

"Will do! I’ll be here early in the morning!"

The uncle and niece packed up their cart, ready to head home, not forgetting to bring along the drunken body of Hui Song. Just hearing the word ’alcohol’ got him a stern look from his wife yesterday; Tianchen didn’t even want to imagine what today’s consequences might be.

Hui Song was so drunk he could barely walk. With the cart already carrying goods and Xiaolin, the uncle and nephew decided to hire a bullock cart at the city gate. They hoisted Hui Song’s body onto the cart, and the handcart was tied to the back of the cart.

Since the distance wasn’t very far, just two shakes of a lamb’s tail in the cart and they were home. Tianchen shouted for his brother to help move Hui Song’s body to a mat in front of the house, with the cart driver lending a hand.

Xiaolin shook her head in disapproval, then dug into her purse to give twenty brass coins to the cart driver before waddling into the house, leaving Tianchen to follow with the cart. The chubby girl climbed onto the mat, arms crossed, looking at the drunk with a scowl.

"If Grandpa drinks till he’s drunk like this, Xiaolin won’t take him to the city anymore!" Seeing his daughter’s stern face, Tianrong couldn’t help but smile.

"Did Big Brother sell the sweet potatoes?" Tianchen whispered to his brother, as Xiaolin continued to grumble about their grandfather.

"Sold them all. After selling our stuff, I came back to move his. Got fifty sacks in total."

"Shall we go dry more squid tomorrow, Big Brother? Xiaolin’s small squid grilling business is doing quite well."

"I was thinking of collecting more firewood and cutting grass for Xiao Zhong," the brothers stood in thoughtful silence, their eyes on the chubby girl continuously ranting.

"I’m going to give Grandpa a spank. You’re being stubborn!"

"Xiaolin, my granddaughter, ouch!"

The brothers shook their heads at Hui Song’s state, knowing well that if their mother-in-lawsaw this, it’d be the end of peace at home. They had heard that in his youth, Hui Song was severely addicted to alcohol, to the point where his wife threatened to leave him with their child, which is why he eventually quit drinking.

"I’ll go ask Da Zhong and the others," Tianchen finally said, "Recently, there haven’t been many fish, but there’s a lot of squid. I’ll hire them to dry the squid too."

"Great idea, Big Brother! There’s a lot of Da Zhong’screw. This way, we won’t have to worry about the squid. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll take Xiaolin to collect some clams. She’s been wanting to make her sauce for a long time but never got around to it."

"Alright, take the kid out before my mother-in-law comes across us. Maybe head towards the forest edge to pick some fruits. I’ll go talk to Da Zhong."

The brothers split up, with Tianrong leaving the house, while Tianchen quickly scooped up his constantly complaining niece to take her out through the front door as well.

Not long after stepping outside, they heard the shrill voice of Zhang Ruo chasing after them, along with the groans of Hui Song getting beaten. This time, he’d probably remember the lesson for a while.

"Uncle, I’m not done nagging about Grandpa yet," the plump girl pouted, making it hard for her uncle to resist giving her cheeks a squeeze.

"Nagging won’t solve anything. Your grandpa is so drunk he’s not aware of anything. Let’s go pick out some fruits with me; the apple should be ripe by now."

"Ugh! Alright, then. I was just craving some anyway."

Eager to walk on her own, the chubby girl squirmed out of Tianchen’s arms. Hand in hand, the uncle and niece passed by Liu’s house, calling out for Liu Hao to join them.

"I’ll come too. I’ll gather some for Grandma," Liu Hao hurried to find a basket before joining them.

"Where didgreat-grandma go?" The wide-eyed girl asked, not seeing the elderlywoman at home.

"She went to hang out with her friends in the village. Let’s go, or it will get dark soon."

The trio headed towards the forest edge, with the plump girl in the middle, flanked by the two young men. Occasionally, they would lift her into the air, making her laugh and scream in delight.

Xiaolin’s eyes sparkled at the sight of ripe wild guavas hanging from the trees. The villagers were busy preparing for winter, so they weren’t paying much attention to the forest fruits.

"Let’s gather them!"

Without a basket, Tianchen removed his outer shirt to make a makeshift bag for his niece to enjoy collecting apples.

"Shall we go clam digging tomorrow after selling the goods? Xiaolin mentioned wanting to make her sauce," Tianchen suggested, and the plump girl nodded, munching on an apple.

"Let’s go!" Xiaolin exclaimed with her cheeks bulging like a chipmunk holding seeds.

"Are you going to sell grilled squid again? Can I join as well?" Liu Hao bent down to ask the chubby girl, who eagerly nodded.

"Great! Grandpa probably won’t be able to go with me tomorrow," she thought about Hui Song’s howls as Tianchen carried her out and shuddered.

I will mourn for you, Grandpa...

"Why, what happened?"

"It’s Uncle Hui. He got so drunk Xiaolin and I had to hire a cart to bring him home. Even as I was carrying the kid out, I could still hear him crying out."

"Must have been beaten by Aunt Zhang," Liu Hao commented, his face paling slightly. If he ever got married, he’d choose a gentle and quiet wife.

The young man thought to himself, unaware that in the future, a woman could change from gentle to fierce if stuck with a useless husband...

"Did you have good sales today?"

"We did great! I brought a hundred sticks of squid. At first, Uncle and Grandpa were worried they might not all sell, but they all were gone in no time!" The chubby kid winked at her uncle, making him grin and playfully bite at her plump cheek, causing Xiaolin to burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha! Uncle, stop it! It tickles! Ahh!" The plump child squirmed away, hiding behind Liu Hao.

Peeking out from behind Liu Hao, when she saw her uncle approaching again, she quickly hid. Her cheeks were flushed from laughter.

"Careful, your niece will dream about this," Liu Hao lightly complained.

"Yes, exactly. You really are clueless, uncle."

"I’ll eat your belly if you keep this up, you little chub."

“Giggled” 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

After they were satisfied with their fruit picking, the trio headed back, with the chubby kid clinging tightly to Liu Hao’s back. Tianchen, meanwhile, carried the basket.

"I’d like to try dry fish curry with seaweed," the chubby child wiggled happily on Liu Hao’s back.

"Can I join you for dinner? I’ve never tried Xiaolin’s seaweed curry."

"Of course! Let’s also call great-grandma."

They dropped Liu Hao’s basket off at his house before heading into the village together. Miss Liu had been chatting with her friends since the afternoon, one of whom was actually Zhang Ruo’s real aunt.

"Great-grandma, I’m here to pick you up!" the chubby child shouted as they approached a house, attracting attention.

"Whose kid is that? She’s adorable, isn’t she?"

"A kid from the Tang family. I once helped dig sweet potatoes at their place. Besides being cute, she’s also very clingy."

"Really? She’s raised well indeed." Xiaolin turned to see two middle-aged women standing nearby and gave them a cheeky grin.

"Who’s making all that noise? Hmm?"

A frail old woman appeared, accompanied by Liu. She squinted at the plump, white figure on her grandson’s friend’s back.

"That’s your great-granddaughter. She’s Zhang Rua’s granddaughter."

"So I see. I haven’t seen her for years. I held her a few times when she was just born."

Xiaolin, meeting the old woman’s smile, tilted her head from side to side. This person reminded her of her beloved great-grandmother from her previous world, who spoiled her and patted her head before her afternoon naps.

Tears welled up as she found someone resembling her beloved great-grandmother, who had passed away before Xiaolin turned ten.

The child cried out, leaving the adults at a loss. She wriggled down from Liu Hao’s back and hugged the old woman tightly.

"Grandma, Da missed you so much!" Her round face buried into the woman’s stomach.

The scent was the same, only missing the smell of betel nut her great-grandmother used to chew. The chubby figure clung tightly, and even the embraced old woman couldn’t pull her away.

"Why doesn’t this girl stop crying?, hmm? What’s wrong? Tell your me," the old woman gently asked, stroking the little head with her withered hand.

Hearing this, Xiaolin cried even louder, missing her great-grandmother terribly. Her great-grandmother was the only one who always indulged and spoiled her, even more so than her parents at that time. She could boldly say she loved her great-grandmother more than her own parents.

"Oh, dear, this child. Let me have a look," Zhang Ren gently pushed the plump body away and sat down, looking affectionately at the child’s flushed face. Her wrinkled hand wiped away the tears from the chubby cheeks.

"Why are you crying, child? Huh? If you’re hurting, let me know quickly now."

"Grandma," Xiaolin looked at the familiar, dearly missed face, her lips quivering. She threw her arms around the old woman’s neck and burst into tears again.

It took the adults a while to calm the chubby child down as the sky darkened.

Xiaolin clung to Zhang Ren so tightly that she had to accompany the chubby child back home. Upon arrival, she still wouldn’t let go, hugging the old woman even as her own parents watched in surprise.

"Xiaolin, let great-grandmother go now, dear. She needs to go home," Hui Ning sat beside them, speaking softly to her daughter.

Xiaolin shook her head, her hair flying about, her round face buried in the old woman’s bosom, refusing to let go.

The adults exchanged helpless looks.

"Then, please stay for dinner here, auntie. Or we could invite Uncle and Big Brother to join us here too," Zhang Ruo suggested, seeing her chubby niece wouldn’t easily let go of Zhang Ren.

"If that’s the case, could you please also call Grandpa and your Big Brother?" Zhang Ren looked up at her niece.

Since she had taken Zhang Ruo in from a young age, both her children and niece were very close to the point where Zhang Ruo even called her children Big Brother and Second Brother.

The old woman bent down to look at the plump, white figure clinging to her, not understanding why this child was so attached to her despite never having met before, aside from being held as a baby.

But it seemed she heard the child refer to herself as ’Da’. If she wasn’t too old to mishear...

Tianchen ran to call the two men from the Shi family, Shi An, and Shi Luo. Shi Luo, who never married after the woman he fancied chose a richer merchant over him, dedicated himself to working and supporting his parents instead.

"Uncle, Big Brother, you’re here." Zhang Ruo went out to greet the two as they arrived.

Xiaolin turned and saw among the newcomers one with a face strikingly similar to her father, Somsak, from her previous life, almost as if they were the same person.

SOBBBB!!

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