Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 40: Good News!

Chapter 39

Good News!

Xiaolin and Tianchen took great care of the little sprouts. Zhang Ruo even shared some of the sprouts grown by her niece with her aunt, Zhang Ren. When she learned that her grandniece could grow vegetables in winter, she spread the word to her friends. Thus, people came to buy the vegetables every day, although only in small amounts sufficient for a single small dish.

Tianchen, seeing that selling vegetables was feasible, wanted to grow more to sell in the town. However, his niece dampened his spirits, pointing out that it was still snowing. Although the snowfall wasn’t as heavy as in the north, it still made travel difficult.

"By the time you get to town, wouldn’t you have frozen to death?"

"We can just sell them in the village," the young man suggested, hugging his plump niece and burying his face in her little belly.

"Let’s start planting and selling more when spring starts. By then, we’ll be the first to sell post-winter vegetables."

"Great idea. Then we’ll buy more tubs and even build a room for growing the vegetables!"

Hui Ning, watching the niece and uncle chatter away comfortably, couldn’t help but chuckle. It had been about two months into winter, and she found herself with little to do, feeling somewhat lethargic even though she was mostly just preparing meals. Her husband was busy discussing with friends about growing sweet potatoes and setting up a shop after winter. Her parents-in-law frequently went back to their old house, worried that the snow might collapse it.

"Is anyone there!!" A shout from the front of the house made the uncle and niece look towards the source.

The plump girl nudged her uncle to check, as he was the only man in the house. Tianchen willingly went out and came back with a visitor.

"Xiaolin, look who’s here," Tianchen stepped aside to let his niece see who had come.

"Grandpa! Are you here to pick up the dried squid?" Xiaolin tossed aside her blanket and ran to greet their significant customer with a smile. The elderly man laughed softly at her enthusiasm.

"Yes, indeed. Did you know your goods are selling very well? But I guess it’s hard to produce more at this time of year, isn’t it?"

"Yes, we can’t go out to sea in winter. But dad has prepared the squid and shells you ordered, grandpa."

"Well then, I’ll take them now. I need to deliver them to customers who’ve placed orders with me."

Tianchen and Hui Ning had to bring out the goods for the customer before taking the money and waving goodbye as the old horse carriage departed. Hui Ning invited the elderly man to stay for lunch, but he declined due to urgency.

Xiaolin gleefully looked at the gold taels in her hand, giggling before handing the money to her mother. After delivering the goods, Tianchen rushed back to help his sister-in-law with grinding soybeans, as Hui Ning had been feeling tired and often needed to nap during the day.

"Auntie, could you give me the soy pulp?" The plump girl handed him a small basket.

"What will you do with it? Aren’t you giving it to the ducks anymore?"

Xiaolin noticed that everyone enjoyed the soy milk every day, resulting in leftover soy pulp. So, she decided to have Tianchen dispose of it where the ducks could eat it, hoping for more eggs in return.

"Yes, but save some for me. I want to make fried soy pulp."

Upon hearing that there would be food, the young man quickly divided the soy pulp for his niece. To say he divided it might not be quite right, as he almost emptied it into the basket for her. Xiaolin opened a bag of wheat flour, took about a small cup of it, and mixed it into the soy pulp, added two eggs, seasoned with salt and sugar, and stirred the mixture well.

"What do we do next? Do we heat up the oil right away?" Tianchen asked excitedly.

Xiaolin thought to herself that the Tang family would definitely become plump like jackfruit this winter, as they thought about eating all day.

"Yes, but don’t use too much oil, uncle."

The plump girl then shaped the soy pulp mixture into not-too-thick patties to ensure they cooked evenly and got a bit crispy. Once the oil was hot, she had Tianchen fry them until they were golden and crispy on both sides.

As Tianchen fried the treats, he couldn’t help but swallow his saliva, thinking they must be delicious. Seeing his niece making tasty food continuously made him want to sell these to let everyone taste how delicious they were.

"They smell so good. We got about twenty pieces, uncle," the plump girl said, eyeing the beautifully golden fried soy pulp patties.

"Can I try them now?" His stomach was already rumbling, but the pieces in the pan are still not cooked yet, leaving four pieces left to fry.

"They will all be done in just a moment, uncle. I want to wait and try them with you," Tianchen was touched to tears, looking at his niece as if he wanted to gobble her up for being so sweet.

They ended up looking like little white buns...

The young man glanced at his niece and thought for a moment before turning back to flip the frying treats that were nearly burnt. If it weren’t for his niece calling him back to his senses, they would have ended up with burnt snacks instead.

"Mmm! It’s super delicious!"

The plump girl carefully held the fried treat in her hand, opened her mouth wide, and chewed contentedly, her cheeks puffing out. She was surprised at how delicious it was, considering it was just a simple fried soy pulp recipe she made up.

"It’s really good," Tianchen munched on the snack non-stop. In no time, he grabbed another piece to eat.

"You can only have four pieces, uncle. Save some for others too. I gave you the most already."

"Alright, alright," he hastily agreed, his attention wholly on the fried soy pulp treats.

"Right, uncle, boil some soy milk to have with the snacks. It should go well with them."

"That’s a great idea! I’ll go boil some soy milk then," the young man hurriedly stood up, heading to the kitchen with a snack still in his mouth.

Xiaolin shook her head as her bangs fluttered, before waddling off to wake her mother up, who was dozing off in another room, to come and enjoy the snacks together.

"Mommy, wake up. Let’s have some snacks. I made delicious fried soy pulp treats," the plump girl gently shook her mother’s arm, waking Hui Ning quite easily.

"Did you two find something else to make food with again?"

"Hehe."

Hui Ning watched her daughter’s round cheeks move as she chewed and felt an affectionate tug at her heart. The slender figure followed her daughter out to the hall, where the little one handed some snacks to her mother to try.

"These are truly delicious. You did so well, my child," Hui Ning enjoyed the snack thoroughly. She had been eating very little lately, but she finished her daughter’s snack in no time.

"You haven’t been eating much, so I will give you four pieces," the plump hands divided the snacks onto a plate for her beautiful mother.

"And how many did you get?"

"Me, Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma get three pieces each. You and Uncle get four."

Hui Ning looked at her little daughter with a heart full of warmth. Her little girl, despite being so young, was already so considerate of others. Overwhelmed, she bent down to give her daughter’s white cheek a big kiss.

"And will three pieces be enough for you, Xiaolin?"

"I’m still young, a little bit of them is enough for me. You should eat a lot to stay strong."

"Thank you so much, my dear."

Tianchen returned with a pot of hot soy milk, serving his sister-in-law first, then his niece, and finally himself. The warm soy milk with the fried soy pulp snacks made Hui Ning feel revitalized.

Again, a call came from the front of the house. This time, it was from the Ling family. Mi Hua and her youngest son came to buy vegetables. Because of the winter, they couldn’t grow vegetables, leading to constipation issues, which also led the mother and son to often come to buy vegetables.

"Xiao Han, come have some of my fried soy pulp snacks. They’re really nice. Uncle will give you a piece," Tianchen handed a snack to the boy before getting up to pour some soy milk for the mother and son to warm up.

"Fried soy pulp snack, huh?" Mi Hua inquired with interest before accepting a piece from Hui Ning.

"Yes, I asked Uncle to grind the soybeans for soy milk. The leftover pulp was mixed with flour and then fried," the plump girl excitedly presented her delicious creation.

"You’re so clever, and the snack is delicious too. Selling it would be a good idea."

Mi Hua enjoyed the snack and nodded in satisfaction, her eyes occasionally glancing at her quiet little son, who seemed to enjoy the fried soy pulp snack too.

"I’d like to sell them, but selling now might not be possible. How about we sell them at the beginning of spring along with the sprouts, Xiaolin?"

"Spring will be busy for us, Uncle. We have to prepare the soil for planting sweet potatoes, set up the shop to sell food and dried goods. There’s so much to do," the plump girl spoke while munching on the snacks.

"That’s true. Let’s take things one step at a time then."

"Xiaolin is so smart, isn’t she, Sister Hui Ning? Look at Xiao Han, he doesn’t talk much," Mi Hua patted her quiet son, who only opened up around his older brother.

Xiaolin observed Xiao Han quietly enjoying his snack, wondering what had made him so reserved.

"And where is everyone else today?"

"My mom and dad went back to check on the old house, and my brother went to discuss business with Wu Zhong and his folks," Xiaolin explained.

"I see."

After having a long chat, the Ling family mother and son left with the sprouts they came to buy. Hui Ning even gave Mi Hua another small bucket of soybeans along with the recipe for making soy milk, seeing how much the mother and son enjoyed the snacks and soy milk. Xiaolin was given the task to explain how to make the fried soybean pulp snacks.

Lunch for the day was the responsibility of Xiaolin and Tianchen because Hui Ning appeared a bit fatigued, so the two cousins suggested she rest a bit longer. Today, the young master made a dried fish soup with seaweed and a large batch of tofu that had been prepared earlier.

There was also a salted egg yolk salad, stir-fried sprouts, and a large dish of crispy squid made from squid that had been soaked in ash water since yesterday. Upon seeing the crispy squid, Xiaolin suddenly craved hot pot, but unfortunately, they couldn’t make the dipping sauce due to a lack of tomatoes and fresh chili peppers. Additionally, it was difficult to find fresh meat during the winter, so they had to forego it for now.

"Today’s food looks delicious," Tianrong said, eyeing the dishes on the table. But when he looked for his wife, she was nowhere to be found.

"Where did your sister-in-law go, Tianchen? Is she in the kitchen?"

"She is resting in the room. Xiaolin is going to wake her up."

"Why has she been napping so often lately? Is she ill?" Zhang Ruo worriedly said, furrowing her brows, concerned about her daughter who had been sleeping during the day more frequently.

"Let’s eat first, then we can call a doctor if she’s sick," Hui Song suggested. The village had a local doctor who, although he’s not highly skilled, he could still do some basic check-ups.

"I’ll go check on her," Tianrong hurried to his and his wife’s bedroom. Ever since moving to the new house, he had often teased her, which might have exhausted her and caused her illness.

The plump girl, who was cuddling her mother in bed, was startled when the door burst open. Tianrong’s tall figure stopped by the bed with a worried expression, causing the mother and daughter to look at him confusedly.

"What’s wrong?"

"Are you feeling unwell? Tell me, so I can call the doctor."

"I’m not sick, just feeling a bit tired."

"Then come and have some warm soup. After we’ve finished eating, I’ll call the doctor to check on you."

Seeing her husband’s concerned face, Hui Ning got up to follow him out, with her plump daughter clinging to her all the way.

"Is it serious?" Zhang Ruo asked her daughter.

"Nothing serious, Mother. Just feeling tired lately. I haven’t been sleeping well this past month," she replied, glancing at her husband with a significant look.

Tianrong, seeing that, chuckled softly and hurried to serve his wife and daughter some warm seaweed tofu soup.

"Do you want another child, Tianrong?" Hui Song asked his son-in-law, equally excited at the thought of cuddling a little tofu bun.

"Yes, I’d like another son to help his sister manage the shop in the future."

Xiaolin glanced at her father, thinking he probably just wanted to continue teasing her mother. Any siblings would just be a bonus. While internally protesting, her mouth kept busy crunching on the crispy squid.

"Having two or three more would be nice. I want to take care of my grandchildren, haha."

"Dad, I really can’t handle this," Hui Ning said to her father, frowning but her cheeks flushing deep pink. "I also want a sibling. I will earn a lot of money to take care of them."

"That’s good, Xiaolin. You’ll be a great older sister. Here, eat up," Hui Song said, noticing his granddaughter’s fondness for crispy squid and filling her bowl to the brim with it, obscuring the rice.

"And when will A’Chen get married?" Zhang Ruo turned to look at Tianchen, who was busy eating silently.

"Ha! I’m in no rush," Tianchen hurriedly picked up his drink to sip.

"Why the hurry? Wait until you’re eighteen, stable, and capable of earning money before thinking about marriage," Zhang Ruo advised.

"If you talk about stability, it should be older than eighteen, right? Because when you and Dad got married at his age, you had nothing either," Hui Ning replied, leaving Hui Song feeling a bit tight-chested, unable to respond, and just watching his wife enjoy her meal.

After the meal, Tianchen quickly called for the elderly doctor to check on his wife. After taking her pulse for a moment, the doctor turned with a smile to the Tang family, who were eagerly waiting.

"She’s been pregnant for about two months."

"Yay!!"

At the doctor’s words, the most thrilled person was the chubby kid, who started dancing joyously, shaking her belly and buttocks in a chaotic celebration, unsure of which dance move to perform first. Tianchen also shouted joyously, wishing for many fair-skinned children in the house.

Hui Song and Zhang Ruo joyfully shook hands, sharing in the happiness. In contrast, Tianchen stood silent and still until Hui Ning, noticing his tears, saw him approach and hug her quietly.

"Dear," Hui Ning called softly to her husband, contrasting with the backdrop of their two nieces dancing wildly in celebration.

"Oh yay, we’re going to have a baby, oh yay, a baby is coming!," the chubby kid leaned back, protruding her belly and flailing her arms, making a strange sight but one that Tianchen found endearing and imitated.

"I’m going to have a little nephew. I’m going to have a little nephew.”

Tianchen, initially crying with happiness, couldn’t help but laugh through tears at the noisy scene behind him. He hugged and kissed his wife, making her face wet with tears.

"What on earth are you two doing?" Zhang Ruo, hands on her hips, looked at the two nieces making grotesque gestures but couldn’t help laughing out loud.

"Xiaolin is going to have a sibling, yo-ho, da da da," the chubby kid clung to the door frame, squatting and kicking her butt back.

Seeing her niece’s ridiculous behavior, Zhang Ruo couldn’t stand it, covering her forehead with a throb of headache. Meanwhile, Hui Song laughed uproariously at the bizarre antics of the two nieces.

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