Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 11: Tastier than Grilled Squid!

Chapter 10 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Tastier than Grilled Squid!

The next morning, after a breakfast consisting of spicy fish soup and crispy yellow pork rinds, Tianrong hired several villagers to help clear the weeds and turn the soil for planting sweet potatoes. He didn’t forget to ask his father-in-law to oversee the workers since they also needed to dig up sweet potatoes in the forest.

The grandmother and granddaughter pair from the Liu household arrived early too. The women went into the kitchen to slice pork for marinating and drying, while the three young men prepared the cart and packed lunch for the forest.

"Wouldn’t Xiaolin be better off staying with Grandpa?" Hui Song was reluctant to let his little granddaughter go.

"I need to go dig sweet potatoes with Dad so we can sell them for lots of money to support Grandpa," she nestled her plump cheek against her grandfather’s sturdy shoulder. Hui Song laughed heartily upon hearing this.

"Such a good girl, planning to work and support your old grandpa?"

"Yes, I will sell things to make lots of money to support you, Grandma, Dad, Mom, and Uncle," Xiaolin grinned broadly, seemingly adopting the childlike habits. It seems she has picked up some childish habits, hasn’t she?

No, in her previous life, she was only old in appearance and age. Her behavior was still like a child’s. Hehe.

"Alright, because you’re so determined, I’ll let you go. But take good care of yourself, and don’t stray far from your dad and uncle, understand?"

"Understood!" Hui Song, seeing his granddaughter’s determined face, couldn’t help but smile. He placed her on a specially prepared cloth-covered wooden cart.

"I’m leaving this work in your hands," Tianrong told his father-in-law.

"Don’t worry, go ahead. Take good care of my granddaughter."

The three small carts slowly moved away from the Tang household, with Xiaolin waving goodbye to her grandfather and Xiao Zhong who barked after them.

"Aren’t you going to hire people to turn the soil, A’Hao?" Tianrong asked the younger man.

"I was thinking of digging up the sweet potatoes first since we don’t have anyone to supervise the work."

"Why not ask Grandfather Ruo for help?"

"He seems to be busy finding a husband for Lua Mei. Besides helping us with the land purchase, I’ve seen him frequently visiting Jiangnan City all morning and evening."

"Is her prospective husband from the city?" Tianchen asked curiously. It’s unusual for townspeople to pay attention to villagers. Xiaolin was also curious and turned to look.

"I heard he’s a well-respected elderly landlord who wants her as a concubine. Not sure what the Lua family thinks about it." Liu Hao shrugged nonchalantly, not really concerned since it wasn’t his matter. Moreover, he didn’t quite like Lua Mei’s glances towards Tianrong. A virtuous woman shouldn’t look at another woman’s husband that way.

"And no relatives on your mother’s side who are free to help?"

"Only children, women, and the elderly live near our home," he said. His maternal family lived in the same village, Shen Lin, but they were not very close, being his mother’s stepfamily.

"Then let’s hurry up and dig up the sweet potatoes. It will probably take us two or three days," Tianrong nodded in understanding.

"I will help too," Xiaolin raised her little arms high, munching on roasted sweet potatoes non-stop.

"Really? How about this, Xiaolin, can you help me collect the sweet potatoes?" Liu Hao bent down to talk to the little girl, who nodded vigorously.

"Yes!" She grinned widely, her small teeth covered in bits of purple sweet potato. Liu Hao laughed softly at the sight.

The three young men and one little girl reached the watering hole and immediately set to work digging sweet potatoes diligently. Little Xiaolin helped by picking up the sweet potatoes that Liu Hao dug up and placing them in a basket so they could be carried up to the parked carts since they couldn’t bring the carts down.

"Are you tired, my child?" Tianrong looked at his little daughter lying exhausted on a pile of sweet potato vines.

"I am... out of energy," she panted. When will she grow up if doing a little bit of work makes her tired already?

"Ha, if you’re tired, go rest," Liu Hao wiped his hands on his trousers before picking up the little girl to lie down on a cloth laid under the shade of a tree.

"I’m also tired. I’ll sit and rest with little Xiaolin," Tianchen, feigning tiredness, walked over to sit next to his niece before grabbing a water bottle and drinking thirstily.

"The sun is so strong today. Let’s take a break, A’Hao," Tianrong suggested before they all walked to rest under the shade of a tree.

"It really is, brother. There’s no shade at all near this waterhole," Tianchen sat down, his face flushed. Normally, they didn’t work under the sun much since they relied on night fishing.

"Dad, after planting the sweet potatoes, can you take me to the beach?"

"Why do you want to go there, my child?"

"I want to walk around and see if there’s anything we can collect to eat."

"Right, I did promise Xiaolin I’d take her," Tianchen remembered and said out loud.

"Alright, my child."

"Yay!"

A week passed.

The twenty mu of land had been completely planted with sweet potatoes. On the other two mu behind the house, Xiaolin had asked her grandfather for some soybean seeds to plant on one mu, leaving the other mu vacant for now.

The Liu family’s land had also been completely planted with sweet potatoes, so today was the day little Xiaolin would get to visit the beach.

"Will we be able to eat all these sweet potatoes?" Hui Ning raised the question.

This morning, the two elders of the Hui family and the two grandmother and granddaughter of the Liu family gathered at the Tang residence to plan the handling of more than fifteen bags of sweet potatoes piled up in the Tang family’s firewood storage room.

"Maybe we should sell some," Hui Song suggested.

"We’ll have more sweet potatoes to harvest before winter," Tianchen added.

"How about making sweet potato flour?" A Little round Xiaolin chimed in, causing Tianchen and Liu Hao to immediately sit down to listen to the little niece.

"How so, little Xiaolin?"

"Um~" Xiaolin thoughtfully scratched her chin.

Normally, in her past life, they would use graters and blenders for convenience, but in this era, they might need to use a stone mill for grinding. Ordering a metal grater could take too long, so using a mill might be more practical.

"Chop the sweet potatoes, then grind them using a stone mill. After that, filter to keep just the liquid and let it sit overnight to settle. The next day, take the flour that has settled and dry it. The leftover sweet potato bits can be steamed and mixed with wheat flour to make buns."

"Oh, our little ancestor is so clever," Hui Song exclaimed as he scooped up his plump granddaughter and peppered her cheeks with kisses on both sides.

"In that case, I’ll buy a stone mill myself. Let’s not get a large one so we don’t get sore arms," Liu Hao offered, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Father, could you also contact the builder for us? I remember a friend of yours works at the lumber mill."

"Right, Father. Maybe we could get a discount," Hui Ning supported her husband’s statement before laughing at her own suggestion.

"Indeed, let’s do that. You all start chopping the sweet potatoes, and A’Hao and I will come back to help grind the flour."

"Okay!"

After that, everyone went their separate ways. Xiaolin sat on the wooden cart, with her father pushing her alongside, and Tianchen walking next to them, carrying two buckets on the cart.

After walking a bit, they reached the vast sea with a small pier on one side. There were a few villagers collecting shells on the beach. Today, Xiaolin’s goal was to collect scallops to make a sauce for use in cooking at home.

"Father, are there any rocky areas?"

"Rocky areas? I think there is a large rocky plateau. Why do you ask, Xiaolin?"

"I want to check it out. If it is what I think it is, there will be shells there that we can use to make seasoning sauce."

"Then let’s go check it out."

The small cart turned towards the left side of the beach, where fewer people were because it was just a pile of seemingly useless rocks. Villagers preferred to collect sea creatures from the right side more.

Tianchen led the way cheerfully. Anything that came from the little niece’s mind always turned out well, and if it was about food, it would be deliciously unique. This made him excited every time the little one spoke.

"What are you so happy about, Uncle?"

"I’m looking forward to tasting your cooking. But tell me, Xiaolin, what can your sauce be used for?"

"It can be used in stir-fries, Uncle, or for marinating meat. It helps tenderize the meat."

Hearing this, Tianchen’s mouth watered at the thought of the aromatic grilled pork and the stir-fried pork liver with wild onions he had enjoyed previously.

"Here we are."

Xiaolin observed a wide area filled with rocks, which were covered with scallops. Not far from there, bright green mussels were also present.

"Let’s start collecting!"

The little figure raised her arms to signal her father to set her down. She ran towards the rocks, signaling her father and uncle to see where the shells were.

"Use a knife to gently pry along the edges. Once you can lift the shell, pry the flesh out. Just the flesh, okay? I’ll be over there," the little one instructed before scampering off.

"Be careful, okay?"

Xiaolin, with a wooden sword her uncle made for her, joyfully collected the large mussels into her small basket. She planned to boil them with lemongrass, since there was no basil available, using lemongrass to eliminate the smell and enhance the aroma, to be eaten with spicy dipping sauce.

"Too bad I can’t handle the spice very well," the girl mused resignedly, but it was still better than not eating at all.

Since mussels are easier to collect than scallops, Xiaolin quickly filled her basket. She then walked back to the cart to neatly store her small basket.

"Dad, Uncle Hao, did you get many?"

"How much do you want, Xiaolin? Come and see," Tianchen beckoned.

"I don’t know how long it will last after making it. Can we still collect shells before winter, Dad?" she asked, looking at the bucket of shells they had managed to collect, about a small bowl’s worth.

"We can collect them, Xiaolin. The water only rises here at night, while during the day, the rocks will be exposed just like this."

"That’s great! Then let’s collect a bit more, okay?"

"Understood, my little lady," Tianchen teased his niece. Xiaolin giggled before wandering around to explore.

Xiaolin came across a shallow rock pool filled with seawater, teeming with tiger prawns. Her eyes widened in excitement before she loudly called out to her father, jumping up and down while waving for him incessantly.

"Father! Over here!"

Tianrong hurried over to see his little daughter beckoning from not too far away, with Tianchen following close behind, sensing that his little niece had surely found something good again.

"What did you find, Xiaolin?" Tianchen raced ahead of his brother to peer into the small pool where his niece stood. He saw a multitude of peculiar creatures scurrying about in the water.

"Is this what you found?"

"Do you know what these are, Uncle?" Xiaolin looked up at her young uncle, who appeared slightly disappointed.

"These creatures are as common as squids in our fishing nets. Oh! Maybe little Xiaolin can turn them into a delicious dish?" His excitement returned at the thought that even these odd creatures could be transformed into something delicious by his little niece.

"I think these are even tastier than squids," the little girl beamed, already thinking of grilled prawns with spicy dipping sauce.

"Great! Then I’ll go catch some for you."

Tianchen quickly rolled up his sleeves and trousers and hurried into the pool. Tian Hong, arriving later, watched his brother with confusion.

"Dad, hurry and help Uncle catch them. This is going to be delicious!"

"Is that so!"

Xiaolin watched as the two brothers diligently caught the large tiger prawns. She went back to fetch a wooden bucket, not forgetting to pour the scallops in with them, and then helped catch the prawns the two men tossed out of the water into the bucket.

The large bucket was half filled with large prawns. The two brothers from the Tang family wheeled the cart home, beaming after the prawn-catching session, paying no further attention to the scallops.

"Father, Uncle Hao, catch several fish at the waterfall, will you?"

"Of course, little Xiaolin. Uncle’s been craving grilled fish, perfect timing."

Upon reaching home, the two brothers grabbed baskets and hurried into the forest, leaving Xiaolin blinking slowly, watching them go until Hui Ning had to lift her daughter from the cart.

"Where are those two rushing off to now? They even forgot to lift their daughter off the cart," Zhang Ruo shook her head with a laugh.

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