Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 43: Father’s Guests

Chapter 42

Father’s Guests

Zhou Ming and Lian Hua returned home with some mussels and sprouts, waving goodbye to Xiaolin, who stood chubby and cheerful until their carriage was out of sight, then waddled back into the house in high spirits.

"Whoops!"

The plump child stumbled to a halt upon seeing her parents sitting with crossed arms, giving her a stern look. She giggled nervously and darted behind Zhang Ruo, who was chuckling, peering out with her big eyes at her parents before ducking away again under their watchful gaze.

"Get out here, you little troublemaker, stop embarrassing your parents like that," Tianrong marched over to grab his rotund daughter, who sprinted away just in time.

Her round form zipped around the hall, her laughter ringing through the air, with her father in tow trying to catch her. Seeing his daughter’s joy, Tianrong joined in the chase instead.

"You’re not gonna catch me, daddy, hehe!" The chubby girl’s laughter and bouncing belly made the scene all the more joyful.

"Come here already, or I’ll spank you," Tianrong feigned sternness before swiftly catching his daughter in his long strides.

"Scream! You’re going to eat me!" The plump child squirmed in protest, but Tianrong held her tight, alternately kissing and playfully biting her cheeks and belly.

"Nom nom nom!"

"Ha! Daddy, hehe, let go of me, help, mommy!" The chubby girl was in stitches, tears of laughter streaming down her face, trying to push her father’s face away from her ticklish belly.

"A naughty child must be punished, by getting bit in the belly! Nom nom!"

"Ahh! Let me go, hehe, Mother, help!" Her pleas for her mother were mingled with laughter, her hands trying to fend off her father from her plump belly.

After a playful scolding that left Xiaolin nearly asleep from exhaustion, Tianrong carried her to bed, tucking her in and giving her a fluffy pillow to hug contentedly.

The next morning, Xiaolin found herself eyeing four strangers with wide eyes: a man in his thirties, a young-looking woman in her early twenties, and two boys with strikingly similar features to the man.

Xiaolin glanced at her father, chatting with the guests in confusion.

"Why have you come at this time? The snow hasn’t even fully melted," Tianrong asked one of the men he hadn’t seen in over a decade, one who owed him and his brother a great debt of gratitude.

"I wanted to take my wife and sons out for a trip. It’s better now before we get busy when the snow melts," the man replied with a faint smile, observing the transformation of the once scrawny boy and his dilapidated home into a prosperous man with a much-improved living standard.

"Would you like to stay at our house, Brother Tan? We have a spare room. If A’Chen stays with my daughter, we’ll have another room free. No need to rent an inn in town."

"Wouldn’t we be imposing?" the woman beside him finally spoke up.

"Not at all, our home welcomes you."

Xiaolin gazed at the good-looking couple, but what truly caught her eye was the youthful aunt’s impressive bosom, leaving the cheeky child wide-eyed and slack-jawed in astonishment.

Tianrong looked at his round daughter making a funny face, then gently nudged her. Xiaolin blinked rapidly before looking up at her father.

"This is Uncle Huan Tan and Aunt Huan Qingqing, I owe a lot to them," he introduced the guests to his daughter. Xiaolin got up to greet them but couldn’t bow much due to her belly.

"Nice to meet you, Uncle, Auntie," she greeted.

Huan Qingqing looked fondly at the chubby girl, wishing she too had a daughter. Her husband, originally desiring many children, became too fearful to have more after hearing his wife’s labor screams, drastically reducing their intimacy.

"Where’s A’Chen?" Huan Tan inquired, missing the once skinny boy.

"He’s studying at his teacher’s place. By the way, Xiaolin, could you take brother Ching Lang and Ching Long to see Xiao Zhong? I told them about him, and they’re curious," Tianrong said.

Xiaolin eyed the indistinguishable twins, nodded vigorously, and led them out the back door, with the boys following.

"Your daughter is adorable, A’Rong. Would you give her to me?" Huan Qingqing joked with Tianrong.

"Haha, Sister Qingqing, I only have one daughter."

"Didn’t you say your wife is pregnant? Just make a few more children."

Huan Tan joined in teasing Tianrong, who turned dark.

Xiaolin was leading the twins to Xiao Zhong’s pen, feeling unusually reserved because they were so stoic, not smiling or speaking. If this were the modern era, she might have mistaken them for robots.

"Xiao Zhong! Xiaolin’s here to see you!" the chubby girl shouted to call Xiao Zhong, who was comfortably lounging in his pen. Upon hearing his little owner’s voice, he quickly came running out.

Mooo

"Hehe, Xiao Zhong, Xiaolin brought guests with her," she said as the chubby cow came to nuzzle her, prompting her to scratch its chin.

The young boys looked with excitement at the unusually furry cow. Xiao Zhong, fearless of strangers, approached to sniff them.

"He is really big and fluffy, big brother" the left twin remarked.

"Yeah, very strange," the right twin agreed.

Xiaolin, dizzy from their resemblance. How could humans look this much alike?

The twins, who were once so shy at first that they did not want to be near the animal, were now running and playing with the chubby cow, bursting out laughter. Xiaolin stood there looking at them before waiting for them behind her house. That was when her round chubby belly started to growl as she was the only one in the house who woke up the latest, resulting in her not having had a single bite of her breakfast yet.

"Big brothers, I’m going to eat first, okay?"

"Mhm," one nodded, then returned to playing.

"What’s this? They laugh and shout out loud with Xiao Zhong, but treat me otherwise. Hmph!"

Feeling indignant, Xiaolin shuffled into the kitchen. With her grandparents and mother out in the village, only she and her father were home.

Seeing that today’s meal consisted only of stir-fried vegetables with oil, stewed salty pork, Xiaolin decided to cook for herself. There was still charcoal in the large stove that hadn’t completely burned out, so she took some and added it to a smaller stove she had made, along with more firewood.

"I’ll make crispy squid with basil and a runny fried egg."

Crispy squid was always stocked in the kitchen because she enjoyed eating it, and it could be stored for several days during the winter.

There was also leftover dried basil, so the chubby girl simply crushed a chili with a clove of garlic. After that, she heated oil in a pan, cracked an egg into it.

Using a spatula, she spooned hot oil over the egg until its edges were crispy but the yolk was still runny, then removed it from the pan. She added the chili and garlic, frying until fragrant, followed by the pre-cut crispy squid stored in a small jar.

Sizzle!

The sound of water meeting oil filled the kitchen, and the aroma of chili and garlic spread throughout, reaching outside, attracting the two boys who rushed to peek in the doorway.

Upon seeing that the person cooking was a five-year-old girl, they looked at each other in surprise.

"She can cook by herself," the younger whispered.

"Better than us even," the elder brother replied.

Xiao Zhong, noticing his new friends were gone, called out but seemingly unheard, returned to his pen, exhausted from playing and in desperate need of water and food.

Xiaolin seasoned the dish and added the dried basil. After it was well-cooked, she turned to scoop rice into a bowl, topped it with the crispy squid basil, followed by the runny fried egg.

She poured water into the hot pan to cool it down, preventing it from burning. Turning back, she saw two pairs of eyes staring at her, swallowing saliva.

"What is it?"

"Your cooking smells so good," Ching Long, the more gluttonous of the twins, quickly approached the chubby girl, unable to stop himself even as his brother tried to hold him back.

This little brother!

GROWL~

Ching Long chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his grumbling belly, eyes fixed on the bowl of rice in the girl’s hands.

"Would you like to have some?" She asked.

"Uh-huh, I would, yes."

"Then could you help me wash the pan? I’ll cook for you," the chubby girl offered confidently, narrowing her eyes at the stoic figure behind her.

"Sure, I’ll wash it for you."

"A’Long," a voice from behind made Ching Long pause. He turned to see his brother, still with a stoic expression.

"Don’t be rude."

"Big brother, but her food looks so delicious."

"This isn’t our home where you can ask anyone to cook for you. You should know to be considerate..."

Growl~

"Oops!" Xiaolin covered her mouth, laughing as the stoic brother tried to act tough but his stomach betrayed him with a louder growl than his younger brother’s.

Ching Lang’s face turned even more stern, but his ears reddened. He cleared his throat and stayed silent. Seeing his brother stop protesting, Ching Long hurried to pick up the unusual pan.

"There’s a water tank outside. You can wash it there. Do you like spicy food?" Xiaolin asked.

"I can handle it. Give me two chilis, please."

"Alright."

After Ching Long left, Xiaolin stood with her arms crossed, squinting at the pretentious one, waiting for him to ask her to make some for him too. But when he didn’t, she turned around to grab the chili and garlic, ignoring him.

"Could you... make some for me too?" Ching Lang said softly. Xiaolin turned sharply to look at him before nodding in agreement.

"Then come and help."

Ching Lang agreed and approached the little girl, watching her adeptly handle the ingredients. She instructed him to scoop rice into bowls to get ready.

"I’m back!" Ching Long returned with the washed pan.

"Put it on that stove," Xiaolin directed after finishing with the chili and garlic, then took two eggs.

Once the water in the pan had evaporated, she added oil, waited for it to heat up, and then fried the eggs one at a time. After adding the chili and garlic and stir-frying, she put in the crispy squid for another round. She was salivating at the sight, wanting to make it spicy, but afraid of a swollen mouth, she could only serve the dish to the two young men.

"Looks so tasty!" Ching Long exclaimed, his eyes narrowing into a smile, unlike the other who quietly observed his bowl of rice.

"Thanks," was all Ching Lang said before picking up his chopsticks and walking out of the kitchen.

Xiaolin watched him leave and grunted, feeling annoyed at the pretentiousness. She grabbed extra chopsticks for Ching Long who was just standing there looking at his bowl, and they headed outside together.

The chubby girl led them to sit at the back of the house to eat since the adults were chatting in the living room. When those inside smelled the cooking and heard noises from the kitchen, they came to peek.

"Shall we eat outside?" Tianrong saw only a pan with water left in the kitchen, presuming his daughter had cooked. They found the three kids stuffing their faces with rice, their cheeks bulging.

"Did Xiaolin cook this yourself?"

"Father," the round-cheeked girl looked up at her dad with wide eyes. Huan Qingqing laughed softly at the sight.

Xiaolin chewed her rice and watched the three adults standing there.

"What did you make? And those two sour-faced boys are eating with you?"  Huan Tan spoke up, watching his son shoveling rice into his mouth so vigorously that his face was almost buried in the bowl.

"Father, she made delicious food," Ching Long said, his mouth full of rice, continuing to eat voraciously.

Huan Qingqing shook her head gently, finding her younger son as mischievous as a monkey, while her elder son was so quiet it was almost painful. If she hadn’t given birth to them herself, she might think they only looked alike and weren’t really twins because their personalities were so different.

"What did Xiaolin make for them to eat, huh? It smells good," Huan Qingqing inquired of the chubby girl.

"Spicy crispy squid," Xiaolin replied, mentioning her favorite.

"One person frowned at the answer.

"Crispy squid?"

"Yes. It’s made from seafood that’s dried and then soaked in ash water overnight to become brown crispy squid like this."

The plump child picked up a piece of crispy squid and chewed it with delight. "Who taught you how to make this?" Huan Tan asked, catching the attention of Huan Qingqing, who turned to look at her husband with a puzzled expression as he furrowed his brows.

"I figured it out myself," the child boasted cheerfully. "Dried squid can be used in so many ways! You can fry it or grill it, and it’s delicious in soup too. I especially love dried squid soup, but I can’t eat it too often because it’s quite salty, hehe!"

The child continued to chatter away, unaware that someone was watching her curiously.

"What else can you make besides dried squid?"

"Right now, I’ve got dried squid, dried scallops, dried shrimp, and oyster sauce seasoning. Did I forget anything, Dad?" The child turned to ask her father, who chuckled softly.

"Those are the main things," Huan Tan acknowledged. "After the snow melts, I plan to open a store to sell these dried foods. Last winter, a merchant from Jiu Zhou City wanted to buy a hundred jin of them. I think it could be a good business."

"Sounds like it’s worth a try. And your daughter did all the preparation?"

"Yes," Tianrong confirmed, trusting Huan Tan completely.

In the past, Huan Tan taught him many things and even gave him some money, which Tianrong used to hire a local carpenter to build a boat. The rest he saved for household expenses.

Huan Tan walked back into the living room, followed by Tianrong and Huan Qingqing, leaving the children to continue eating outside.

"Why do you believe what she says is edible or usable?" Huan Tan pressed on, causing his wife to frown in confusion. It was unusual for her husband to show interest in anyone outside their family to this extent.

"She was very sick last year," Tianrong explained. "So ill that my wife and I thought she wouldn’t make it. But then, she suddenly recovered, as if she had never been sick. Her personality changed too. Recently, she said she dreamt about her past life and started using knowledge from that dream."

Tianrong had never believed his daughter’s claim that Xiao Zhong could talk, seeing no evidence of such interaction. However, he decided to try out her suggestions.

Many turned out to be successful, including planting sweet potatoes that brought significant income and discovering valuable herbs like red lingzhi mushrooms in the forest.

How could a child with no formal education know about such a precious herb? This made him even more convinced that his daughter’s claim of recalling a past life was true rather than her communicating with Xiao Zhong.

"Why are you willing to tell me this? After all, I am an outsider," Huan Tan asked sternly, noting that such information could endanger Tianrong’s family.

"I believe you won’t tell anyone," Tianrong said, looking at Huan Tan with deep gratitude. Huan Tan had changed his and his brother’s lives, allowing them to stand on their own. While they weren’t wealthy, they were no longer living in poverty as they had before meeting him.

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