Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 77: Tang Tianyu

Chapter 71

Tang Tianyu

In the early morning, the plump little girl was woken up to take a bath before being carried by her father to sleep on a blanket laid out on the wagon. Those who woke up to see them off could only watch with sad faces as the little one continued to sleep soundly.

“Safe travels, A’Rong. I’ll come visit when I have the time,” Huan Tan said, standing to see the father and daughter off.

“Thank you, Brother Tan,” Tianrong replied with a smile to the man who had always been kind to him.

Tianrong drove the wagon loaded with many goods. During dinner the previous night, he had asked everyone not to wake up early to see them off, out of consideration for their convenience. Thus, this morning, only Huan Tan and Qing Lang were there to send them off. Qing Lang wanted to bid farewell to his little sister but didn’t want to wake her, so he could only watch the wagon as it gradually disappeared from view.

Behind them were five wagons of workers carrying charcoal. Tianrong had ordered a hundred sacks of charcoal, although he would have liked to order more to avoid troubling the workers with frequent deliveries. However, he had limited storage space, so he ordered only this amount for now.

By mid-morning, the little plump girl who had been sleeping comfortably woke up. She felt a bit groggy, as the ground she had been sleeping on was swaying. As she got up and looked around, she realized she was lying on a wagon with many things piled at the back.

“Father,” Xiaolin called out softly, her voice slightly faint from just waking up.

“Awake already? There’s a jar of water on the side; scoop some up to drink and wash your face,” Tianrong said, glancing at his still sleepy-eyed daughter.

Xiaolin opened the jar, scooped up water, and drank until she was full. Then she got up and leaned out of the wagon to wash her face. She lifted her shirt to roughly dry her face before rummaging through a basket nearby. Inside, she found a wooden box with rice and a large box of stir-fried pork with scallions, along with several mantous.

“Have you eaten yet, Father?”

“I’ve had a mantou. If you’re hungry, go ahead and eat,”

Hearing this, Xiaolin took a small bowl, served herself some rice and stir-fried pork, and ate happily. Aunt Qingqing must have gotten up in the middle of the night to prepare this for them because Xiaolin had slept through everything without noticing.

After eating, the plump girl asked to climb out and sit in front with her father. She had noticed the sounds of people talking at the back of the wagon earlier and realized that there was a large convoy following them. It reminded her that they were traveling to Jingnan City to buy charcoal.

The convoy stopped for a break once before noon and once again in the afternoon, each for an hour, allowing people and oxen to drink and eat. By the time they reached home, it was already getting dark. Tianrong invited the five workers to stay at their house, as it would be too late to reach Jiangnan City before the gates closed.

"Mother!" The chubby little girl ran to hug her mother’s big belly as soon as she got off the wagon.

“How was your trip, dear? Did you have fun?” Hui Ning hugged her daughter while gently stroking her small head.

“So much fun! I got to catch prawns in the rice fields,” the mischievous girl said, looking up at her mother.

“You mean playing in the mud,” Tianrong remarked, hearing his daughter’s voice.

“Hmph! Tonight, I will sleep with Mother,” Xiaolin declared, lifting her chin to look at her father, who widened his eyes in surprise.

“You little rascal, she’s my wife,”

“And she’s also my mother,”

“Alright, alright, you two. You’re already bickering as soon as you get home,” Zhang Ruo, who had heard the conversation, came out to see them.

“Mother, could you prepare dinner for five extra workers as well?” Tianrong asked his mother-in-law.

“Sure. Will they be staying here for the night? I’ll bring out extra pillows and blankets,”

“Yes, but I’ll take care of it myself. Please just prepare the food,” Tianrong responded. Zhang Ruo nodded and went back into the house.

Tianrong called for his younger brother, who was somewhere around the house. Upon hearing the call, Tianchen quickly ran out and was asked to bring out pillows and blankets to set up in the main hall.

“Little Xiaolin!” Tianchen scooped up his chubby niece, giving her a big hug and a kiss before carrying her into the house.

“Uncle!” Xiaolin wriggled in his arms, still wanting to hug her mother more.

“Eat lots,” Zhang Ruo said to the five workers who joined them for dinner.

Since the table was too small to accommodate everyone, the five workers decided to take their meals separately, placing their food on the floor instead. The Tang family, understanding their politeness, did not press the matter further.

“This is delicious!”

One of the workers exclaimed, unable to stop praising the food. It was their first time tasting seafood dishes, such as tom yum seafood, steamed fish with fresh vegetables and spicy dipping sauce, boiled eggs, and crispy pork cracklings. Not a single drop of soup remained in the large pot of tom yum, and the rice pot was also emptied.

"Seems like you enjoyed it a lot," Zhang Ruo remarked. The five workers smiled shyly.

"We loved it so much. We’ve never had such delicious food before."

"Hahaha, really, that much?" Hui Song laughed heartily, feeling proud of his wife’s cooking skills.

"It was really good, sir."

"Then stay for breakfast tomorrow. I’ll make some for you again,"

"Thank you very much,"

After dinner, Xiaolin was eventually carried off to bed by Tianchen. The chubby child protested because she knew her father’s trickery. She had secretly seen the two brothers exchanging money behind the house. Just before her uncle carried her into the room, she saw her father smirking.

"I want to sleep with mommy! Wahhh!"

"It’s better to sleep with Uncle. Your mother needs to sleep with your father," Tianchen said, holding his struggling niece.

"I miss mommy. I want to hug her. *SOBS*"

"Don’t you miss Uncle too? Come on, let’s go to bed."

"Nooo! I want mother!"

The next morning, the two brothers found themselves on the receiving end of Xiaolin’s cold shoulder. At the larb restaurant, Xiaolin clung to Liu Hao all day, completely ignoring the two brothers and refusing to speak to them. Despite their repeated attempts to apologize whenever they had the chance, they had no success.

Two days passed, and the chubby girl still wouldn’t speak to them. The brothers began to look emaciated and worn out as if they had been fasting for days. Initially, everyone found it amusing, but as the brothers’ condition deteriorated, the laughter turned to concern.

"Are you still mad at your father?" Hui Ning asked her daughter, who was nestled against her belly.

"I’m going to stay mad until I’m old, mother. I miss you so much. If father had just told me nicely that he missed you too, I might have let it go. But instead, he hired uncle to separate me, treating me like an outsider interfering. *SOBS*"

"Aw, don’t cry, my dear," Hui Ning soothed, feeling a bit angry at her husband for the first time.

That evening, after dinner, Tianrong found himself locked out of the bedroom by his wife. The mother and daughter pair cuddled up, leaving Tianrong to sleep with his brother. The two talked and agreed never to trick the chubby girl again.

It took a mountain of delicious treats from the city to finally coax Xiaolin into speaking with them again. The brothers nearly had to buy out an entire shop to appease the little piggy so she talked to them again.

Seeing them sprawled out behind the larb restaurant, Xiaolin couldn’t help but giggle. Who told them to prank her? The girl’s round face was lifted as she grabbed the snack and pop treats into her mouth.

"Having fun, aren’t you?" Liu Hao walked over, saw the state of the two siblings in the back of the larb restaurant and shook his head.

"It’s not my fault. Who told them to mess with me? When you play with someone’s feelings, you have to be ready for the consequences, hmph."

The brothers, hearing her words, felt as if they were being pierced by sharp knives.

"We won’t do it again," they said in unison, their voices weak.

Xiaolin’s larb restaurant thrived, selling out every day. Though it didn’t have as many customers as the seafood restaurant, the daily profits were substantial.

"This is Uncle Hao’s share, this is your share, uncle, and this is my share," the chubby child divided the money after setting aside the funds for purchasing ingredients and seasonings.

"This is the money earned since the shop opened until now. From now on, I will divide the money every day," Xiaolin decided to distribute the earnings daily instead of carrying a money pouch back home every day. She didn’t want to keep the communal funds with her.

"Thank you very much, Xiaolin," Liu Hao patted the little girl’s head before putting his share into a small cloth bag that his grandmother had sewn for him.

"And this is for you, Uncle," Xiaolin said, turning to Tianchen. She took out ten ingots from his share.

"This is to pay off the debt. You still owe ninety taels,"

Tianchen watched her small hands separate the money from the pile. Fortunately, his niece didn’t take it all as she had once threatened, or he would be the poorest person in the house.

Time passed by, from days to months. The chubby five-year-old girl turned six. Now, the little one who had once been inside her mother’s big belly was about to see the world on her elder sister’s birthday.

Xiaolin was eating longevity noodles when she saw her mother clutching her stomach and crying out in pain. Tianrong dropped his chopsticks and quickly ran out to fetch the midwife from the village.

"Dear, help me take A’Ning to the room. Hurry up," Zhang Ruo called her husband, who was sitting there looking stunned.

"Alright, alright," Hui Song came to help his wife support their daughter in the room.

Xiaolin, snapping out of her daze, quickly nudged her uncle and ran to the kitchen. She instructed him to light the stove and boil hot water, knowing they would need it. Though she didn’t know what for, she had seen it in period dramas and remembered it.

Hearing her mother’s continuous cries, the chubby girl stood there, not knowing what to do, until loud voices from outside the house caught her attention. She ran out to see what was happening.

"Prepare some hot water for me," the elderly midwife ordered Tianrong.

"Yes!"

"I’m already boiling hot water," Xiaolin informed her father, who was running to the kitchen. The elderly midwife looked at the round little girl.

"Well done," she said before walking into the room and sending Hui Song out.

After that, those waiting outside had no idea what was happening inside. They only heard Hui Ning’s cries. Whenever there was a shout for hot water, Xiaolin had her father fill a wooden basin and place it outside the room. She also prepared a basin of regular water in case those inside needed it.

Zhang Ruo came out to fetch both basins of water and disappeared back into the room, closing the door behind her. Hui Ning’s cries continued for quite a while, followed by long, piercing screams, and then the cries of a newborn.

"Waa! Waa!"

"It’s a boy!!" The midwife’s voice announced, causing everyone outside to fall silent.

"Yay!!" Xiaolin was the first to react, shouting with joy.

The chubby child jumped up and down in excitement. She hadn’t danced, wiggling her belly and bottom, for a long time, but today was a day of celebration.

"My little brother is here! Yay!"

Her little bottom wiggled with delight. Everyone who had been standing silently before now joined in the celebration, especially Tianrong, who had once said that his daughter shouldn’t dance like that, but today, he was copying her every move.

"Do it like this, Father," Xiaolin laughed brightly and demonstrated the dance moves to her father.

"Like this?" Tianrong wiggled his bottom, imitating his daughter. Hui Song saw this and choked on his saliva.

"Haha! Tianrong, you’re being ridiculous! Haha!" Hui Song laughed loudly. He refused to wiggle his bottom but instead opted for wiggling his belly.

"Xiaolin is happy, wiggle-wiggle, dancing while wiggling my butt, wiggle-wiggle," the chubby child sang, holding onto the wall and wiggling like a duck waddling into the water. Tianchen, who loved indulging his niece, also stood against the wall, dancing alongside her.

"You lot are so ridiculous," Zhang Ruo said, shaking her head in exasperation as she emerged with a bundle containing the round little baby.

"Baby brother!" Xiaolin ran to her grandmother. Zhang Ruo sat down to let her granddaughter see the baby’s face.

"Oh, chubby cheeks," Xiaolin said, feeling an instant affection for her little brother.

"He’s going to be just as chubby and round as you," Zhang Ruo said with a chuckle.

"I’ll earn enough money to take care of him myself."

"Good girl."

Xiaolin sat down properly, waiting for Zhang Ruo to pass the baby to her. When the baby was in his sister’s arms, he yawned a tiny yawn and stuck out his tongue.

"Aww, the baby is yawning too," Xiaolin said, looking at her father, who was also gazing down at the newborn.

"He looks like you, just chubbier," Tianrong said, patting his daughter’s head. When she was born, the family wasn’t as well-off as they are now, so she had been a tiny baby.

"Father, next time I want a baby sister,"

"Another one?" Tianrong laughed, seeing the determined look in his daughter’s eyes.

"Yes! I can take care of a sibling. Even ten of them!"

"Your mother is not a hen, Xiaolin," Zhang Ruo said, walking over just in time to hear the conversation, making her chuckle.

"Hehe, I’m just saying,"

Hearing this, Zhang Ruo shook her head and went back inside to help the midwife clean up her daughter and tidy up the room.

"What should we name him?" Tianchen asked. He wanted to touch his nephew’s chubby cheeks but was afraid his hands were too dirty, as newborns are so delicate.

"What do you think, Father?" Tianrong turned to his father-in-law.

"Why not let his sister name him?" Hui Song saw the sparkle in his granddaughter’s eyes and pinched her cheek gently. Xiaolin beamed with a wide smile.

"Let’s name him Tang Tianyu."

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