Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 53: She’d Only Take Half a Day to be Sulky

Chapter 52

She’d Only Take Half a Day to be Sulky

The end result for the disobedient child was being spanked with a switch three times on her bottom. Luckily, Hui Song quickly ran over to pick up his granddaughter, arguing with his wife until Zhang Ruo had to walk away in irritation. Otherwise, the chubby girl’s end would surely have involved more switch marks on her bottom.

The stinging pain from the spanking caused Xiaolin to cry bitterly. It had been a long time since she felt the pain of being spanked. In her past as a child, she would often sneak out to play until dark. Upon returning home, her mother from her previous life would be waiting with a broomstick in front of the house. No matter how much she tried to dodge, she would still end up with marks on her bottom.

"Waaaah, it hurts, Grandpa, it hurts," cried the chubby girl with her face turning red, tears and snot nearly merging at her chin, tightly grabbing her grandfather’s shirt.

Seeing his granddaughter crying in pain, Hui Song hugged her and patted her small back to comfort her. Seeing her face turn red from crying made him feel sympathetic.

"There, there, don’t cry, my dear. Next time don’t be naughty, understand? Let’s go, hurry up and take a bath, then have your mother apply some medicine on you," he gently wiped away her tears and quickly led his granddaughter to the bathroom.

Xiaolin sobbed and cried until her eyes and mouth were swollen. After bathing, she lay on her stomach to let her mother apply medicine to her spanked bottom. Sometimes, when her mother’s fingers touched the welt from the switch, her plump body would flinch slightly because of the pain.

"Don’t do this again, okay? Do you know how worried we were?" After applying the medicine, Hui Ning pulled up her daughter’s pants to cover her white bottom and patted the head of the little girl lying sobbing on the bed.

"I’m sorry, Mom," the chubby figure snuggled closer to her mother but had to lie on her side because of the pain in her bottom.

"Don’t be angry at your grandmother, okay?"

Xiaolin didn’t respond but pouted with tears streaming down. Seeing her daughter so distressed, Hui Ning didn’t say anything more.

That evening, Xiaolin didn’t come out for dinner. Zhang Ruo only peeked in search of her granddaughter but, still feeling angry at her disobedience, didn’t go to fetch her.

Seeing his mother-in-law’s demeanor, Tianrong went to check on his daughter for a while before coming out and informing her that the little one had already fallen asleep. Zhang Ruo sighed softly.

In the early morning, Xiaolin woke up with a throbbing pain in her bottom. She pouted, gathered her blanket, and climbed down from the bed. Once down, she saw her uncle sleeping on the floor of the room. The chubby girl then snuggled next to her young uncle.

"Xiaolin, are you awake?" Tianchen, groggy, woke up and asked when he saw it was his niece.

"Um," Xiaolin buried her face in the pillow. Seeing that she seemed still sleepy, Tianchen picked up a blanket to cover her and lay down to hug her plump figure.

"Does it hurt, hmm?"

"Sob."

"No more crying, okay?" The young man hugged the chubby child, trying not to touch her wounds, gently stroking her head to soothe her back to sleep.

Xiaolin, being patted on the head, fell asleep again. When she woke up, it was already bright outside. She lay quietly, looking at the beams for a long time, until she heard the door open.

Zhang Ruo walked in with a tray of food. Seeing this, Xiaolin pretended to be asleep. The newcomer, seeing the room’s plump owner still asleep, sighed and walked back out.

Xiaolin’s lips trembled, and she turned to bury her face in the pillow and silently cried. She knew she was wrong and wasn’t angry at her grandmother. However, the sight of her grandmother reminded her of the switch coming down on her, a terrifying image that made her unwilling to face her grandmother right now.

The sun was high, but the chubby niece hadn’t left her room. Zhang Ruo walked back and forth to her granddaughter’s room several times. When she went back into the kitchen, the chubby figure walked out and disappeared behind the house. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Xiao Zhong."

Xiaolin called to the plump cow lying lazily on a straw bed. She moved to lie down and hugged Xiao Zhong. The plump cow lay still, allowing its little master to lean against it. Its tail kept lifting to swat away annoying insects.

The young plump cows in the outer pen also turned to look at the chubby little human snuggling with the long-haired cow. Today, Tianchen and Hui Song didn’t go to the construction site, so they rested at home.

Zhang Ruo, carrying a tray of rice porridge, entered her granddaughter’s room again. Seeing the empty bed, she ran out, encountering her husband at the back of the house just in time. She was about to ask when Hui Song spoke first.

"She’s at the cow pen. Give her some time," sighed Hui Song. He understood his wife but also understood his granddaughter. For such a small child, who had never been hit before, it must have been quite traumatic.

"So... can you take the porridge to her? She hasn’t eaten anything since last night," Zhang Ruo felt a lump in her throat. Yesterday, she shouldn’t have let her anger hurt her granddaughter’s feelings. She should have reasoned with her instead.

But thinking about it now, it was too late to change anything.

"Send it over," Hui Song said to his wife. He took the hot tray of porridge and walked to the cowshed, calling out to his granddaughter from outside.

"Xiaolin, come out and eat. Grandpa has brought you some food."

Hearing Hui Song calling, Xiaolin got up from the cowshed, followed by Xiao Zhong the cow.

The plump child looked up at her grandpa and hugged him around the waist. Hui Song patted his granddaughter’s head before leading her by the hand to sit under a tree in the backyard, with three cows sneakily following.

"Here, have some food. Your grandma made it for you."

Xiaolin sat quietly, the image of her grandma hitting her with a switch came to mind, causing her eyes to well up again, prompting Hui Song to hug his granddaughter.

"Your grandma was so worried, that’s why she was so angry. But she also feels very guilty about hitting you. So, don’t hurt yourself by not eating. Do you understand what I’m saying?" Hui Song soothed her, and seeing the little nod, he began to spoon-feed his granddaughter.

Realizing how hungry she was, Xiaolin ate eagerly, her cheeks moving vigorously as she chewed. Soon, the porridge was gone, and she drank a whole bowl of water, handing the empty bowl back to her grandpa.

"Let’s go see your grandma, dear." Hui Song suggested. Xiaolin didn’t speak but stood, wrapping her arms around her grandpa’s neck and buried her round face in his shoulder.

Seeing that his granddaughter was finally willing to soften, Hui Song, holding one hand with his granddaughter and the other carrying the tray with the empty bowl, glanced at the three cows that had sneaked out to graze and decided to deal with them later.

Zhang Ruo, waiting on the back porch, stood up when she saw her husband carrying their granddaughter. Hui Song called the plump child, and as she turned around and saw who was standing behind, her eyes teared up again. Zhang Ruo quickly took her granddaughter into her arms.

"Does it hurt, hmm? I’m sorry, dear."

"Ugh, waaaah!"

The plump child burst into tears again, overwhelmed by her grandmother’s apology, tears streaming down as she clung tightly to the person holding her. Even though she stopped crying, she continued to hug tightly, refusing to let go. Zhang Ruo had to keep holding her until her back and waist ached because every time she tried to put her down, the child’s tears threatened to fall again.

"Next time you want to go somewhere, just tell me and reason with me. Don’t run away like this again, understand?"

"Yes, I will," the plump child nodded vigorously, her mouth agape to accept the baked treats Zhang Ruo fed her.

Now, the grandmother and granddaughter sat playing on the back porch, the little one clinging to Zhang Ruo’s shirt hem, not willing to let go except when going to the bathroom.

"Do you want to go anywhere tomorrow?"

Zhang Ruo asked, watching her granddaughter shake her head, her bangs fluttering, then dropped the subject.

Xiaolin became even more attached to her grandmother. Wherever Zhang Ruo went, the round figure would follow closely, never letting go of her shirt hem except for bathroom breaks.

"Have you stopped being upset with grandma?" Hui Ning walked out to the backyard, heavily pregnant, her belly larger than usual, indicating a single baby, not twins, despite its size. The child within was likely to be as plump as its older sister.

"I love you, grandma," the chubby child cuddled up to her grandmother, making Zhang Ruo secretly annoyed.

"Who was it that ran away from grandma in the morning, huh?" Zhang Ruo pinched her granddaughter’s cheek playfully.

"Hehe, it was Xiaolin," the chubby kid grinned, squinting her eyes.

"And where has your husband gone? I haven’t seen him since morning," Zhang Ruo turned to ask her daughter.

"He went to the beach. Probably to help his friends dry the squid. Where’s dad by the way?”

"He’s sleeping under that tree, watching over the cow."

A shout from the front of the house made Zhang Ruo go to check, with the plump child trailing behind her unwillingly. Xiaolin greeted the familiar old man with a wide smile.

"Grandpa! Are you here to buy dried squid?" Xiaolin shifted excitedly, overjoyed.

It was the elderly merchant from Jiu Zhou City who was shouting in front of the house. When he saw the little girl greeting him, he laughed softly.

"Is your father home? I’d like to order some dried squid and dried oysters," Fan Zhe asked the chubby child.

"He went to the beach."

Just then, Tianchen, who had just finished his studies, arrived home. He respectfully greeted the old man,

"It’s perfect timing, A’Chen. Can you go call your brother? Master Fan here, wants to place an order for dried goods," Zhang Ruo told the young man. Tianchen nodded before replying,

"Of course. But let me store these items first."

"In that case, please come in, Master Fan, and have some water to quench your thirst,"

Zhang Ruo invited the guest to rest inside and served him water and snacks. Then she went out to call her husband to come and talk with the guest. Xiaolin, seeing her uncle was heading to the beach, leaped to follow him.

"Ouch! My back’s going to break," Tianchen pretended to exclaim. He reached out to scoop up the plump bottom and started walking towards the beach.

"I’m not that heavy, uncle."

"Is that so? But it feels like I’m carrying a piglet."

"I won’t share the giant shrimp with you anymore!"

"Alrighty, little miss. My apologies," the uncle and niece playfully argued all the way to the beach. Seeing his daughter willingly leaving her room, Tianchen approached,

"Why are you here, child? Aren’t you resting to heal?"

"I’m fine, because uncle will carry me all day."

"Huh!" Tianchen turned sharply to look at his niece. Xiaolin giggled before telling her father,

"Grandfather Fan is waiting to see you, father. He said he wanted to place an order for more dried goods."

"Really? In that case, I’m going to hurry back. A’Chen, don’t let your niece do anything silly," Tianrong sternly instructed his younger brother before departing quickly.

"Come on, big brother," Tianchen sighed heavily, watching his brother leave swiftly.

The young man took his niece to watch the workers meticulously processing squid, drying squid, and shucking oysters. The chubby child refused to get off her uncle’s back until Tianchen was nearly breaking his back from the weight.

Seeing her uncle beginning to tire, Xiaolin jumped down to walk by herself. The little boss strolled along the beach, hands clasped behind her back, protruding her round belly, meticulously inspecting the work.

"The oysters we collected last time can also be dried, uncle."

"Is that so? But the water hasn’t receded much today," Tianchen looked towards the sea, noting that even though the water had receded, the small rocks hadn’t emerged as they had last time.

"We can collect them when the water recedes further."

The chubby child meandered along the beach, bouncing joyfully. Having been sullen for half the day, she decided to brighten her mood a bit.

"Suddenly, the chubby child started singing, “Sorry, sorry for making you sad.” This made everyone who was working turn to look."

"Oh, Xiaolin is singing. My day’s work will be filled with joy," Tian Yi remarked. He loved it when his little niece sang.

"Sing something fun, Xiaolin," Wu Zhong added. Although drying squid was profitable, repeating the same work every day could become tedious. Having the niece sing would make the work more enjoyable.

"I’ll sing for my uncles myself, but you guys have to help me too," Xiaolin turned to her uncle.

"Help how?"

In a moment, the uncle and niece were each holding two bouquets of fluffy dandelions. Xiaolin stood in front of the drying racks, with Tianchen standing by, imitating his niece’s stance: slightly spread legs, chin up, belly out, and hands clasped behind the back.

"Uncle, dance with me," the chubby child instructed her uncle.

"Alright!"

"Hip, hip, hip-hippo, oh wow, it’s so big, it waddles as it walks, lalala lalaa," the chubby child thrust her belly forward in tune with the song, followed by swaying and shaking her hips, ending with a spin while also shaking a bunch of flowers in her hand.

Tianchen stood watching his niece with his mouth agape. He swallowed hard, imagining himself dancing; it would certainly look ridiculous. But seeing his niece, who had just recovered from her sadness, he didn’t want her to return to that state, so he willingly danced along despite his face turning beet red.

"Hippo, oh wow, it’s so big," Xiaolin started the second round of dancing. Seeing her uncle follow along made her even more excited.

The audience, witnessing the uncle and niece’s dance moves, burst into laughter and cheers. Xiaolin, energized, danced non-stop until her belly wobbled and her double chin shook.

"Grilled chickennnn,"

"The grilled chicken is getting burned, it’s going to be skewered, aagh! It’s going to be skewered, zack! Skewer the left butt, skewer the right butt, it’s really hot, really hot, really really hot!"

The chubby figure danced, flapping her wings before mimicking a chicken being skewered from the left and right. As the song neared its end, she crouched and wiggled her butt.

"The grilled chicken gets burneddd," The two, uncle and niece, danced until their faces were flushed, and sweat soaked through their clothes. Tianchen, initially embarrassed by his niece’s dance moves, found himself enjoying it after a few songs and gave it his all, matching the energy of the chubby kid.

The temporary workers almost put down their knives to join in the dance with the two, drawn by their fun and wanting to try dancing too.

"Skewer the right butt, zack! Really, really hot!~"

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