Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 67: The Ruthless Little Chef

Chapter 61

The Ruthless Little Chef

"Ugh!" Xiaolin turned her face away from the damp touch, but it followed persistently, making her open her eyes in annoyance.

"I’m just wiping you down to cool your temperature a bit," Zhang Ruo said, using a damp cloth to wipe her granddaughter’s face.

"Grandma... Cough!" Xiaolin called out in a hoarse voice. Hearing her own voice, she blinked, realizing something was wrong with her body.

"I... have a fever," the chubby girl whispered.

"Yes, now sip some warm water," Zhang Ruo put down the cloth in the wooden basin, helping her granddaughter sit up and bringing a cup of warm water to her small lips.

Xiaolin drank several gulps of water, feeling her throat parched as if she hadn’t drunk water for days. When she finished, she looked at her grandmother with pleading eyes.

"Do you want more?" Zhang Ruo asked, seeing the look in her granddaughter’s eyes. When Xiaolin nodded, Zhang Ruo laid her back down and went to get more water.

"Mother, what do you need?" Tianrong asked when he saw his mother-in-law enter the kitchen. Today, he didn’t go to the market, leaving Tianchen and Liu Hao to sell goods with Hui Song.

"I’m getting more warm water for Xiaolin. Can you take it to her? I’ll warm up the porridge. Is the medicine ready?"

"Yes, it is."

The mother-in-law and son-in-law switched tasks. Zhang Ruo tended to the food and medicine for her granddaughter, while Tianrong took the kettle of warm water to Xiaolin’s room.

Hui Ning sat in the main hall, craning her neck to look toward her daughter’s room. She had been forbidden from entering Xiaolin’s room because she also had a cold, and her husband and mother feared they might both get sicker if she did. So, she watched the door from a distance or sometimes stood outside it.

Xiaolin was fed porridge and medicine again. She was more conscious than the previous night and tried to eat and swallow the bitter medicine, even though she wanted to spit it out.

"Good girl," Zhang Ruo praised, gently patting her granddaughter’s head when she saw that Xiaolin wasn’t as fussy as the night before.

After about three days of bed rest, Xiaolin could walk around and eat by herself again. However, she hadn’t fully recovered and still had a lingering cough and runny nose.

Xiaolin sat with her legs dangling, quietly watching Xiao Zhong graze. She occasionally sniffled, trying to keep her runny nose in check.

"Xiaolin, what are you doing out here?" Tianchen called as he walked out to find his chubby niece. Since she fell ill, he and Liu Hao had been managing the sales with Hui Song’s guidance. Today, they returned early, and he went to look for her in the backyard.

"Uncle, how’s the sale going? Sniff," Xiaolin asked, turning her round face towards him and ending with a sniffle.

"It’s a bit tough without you, but I’m getting the hang of it. Just focus on getting better, and I’ll take care of you," Tianchen replied, patting her head. Seeing her sick reminded him of the last time she was ill.

Last time, she was unconscious for about a week, and even the doctor said she might not survive. He feared she would fall seriously ill again and not wake up. Thinking about it, he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Xiaolin looked up at him, confused.

"Don’t get that sick again, Xiaolin. It scares me," Tianchen murmured, his face buried in her unwashed hair, which smelled a bit off due to her being sick for days.

Xiaolin didn’t say anything but hugged him back, patting his back in comfort. She knew what he was afraid of because that incident brought her into this world.

"I’ll stay with you until we grow old, Uncle,"

"Good, I’ll stick around and rely on you forever."

Hearing that, Xiaolin snapped her head up to look at him, making a funny face. Tianchen burst out laughing and kissed her cheek affectionately.

"Uncle, I’ve started planting vegetables at Brother Hao’s house. Besides what you mentioned, is there anything else you want?"

"Plant onions, Chinese mustard greens, and kale too, just in case we need them," Xiaolin replied after some thought. Since she fell ill, her mind had been foggy, and she struggled to think clearly. She wondered if her few brain cells had leaked out along with her runny nose.

"Okay, I’ll take care of that. By the way, do you want some fish? I’ll catch some for you. Steamed fish with spicy dipping sauce is easy to digest. Or do you want fish soup?"

"I’d like steamed fish, please. And some boiled vegetables too. When you come back, can you take me to dig for some young galangal?"

"What do you want to use the young galangal for?" Tianchen looked down at her round cheeks, which had thinned significantly since she fell ill.

"To boil and eat it with chili paste. How about we make minced fish with it too?"

"Good idea. I’ll gather some wild vegetables for you too."

Xiaolin nodded enthusiastically as she watched her tall uncle walk away. She jumped off the platform and headed into the main hall, where her mother lay napping in one corner. Xiaolin approached, lying down beside her mother and nestling her face against her mother’s round belly.

Thud!

"Oh!" Xiaolin blinked and looked at the round belly, feeling movement inside. She placed her small hand on her mother’s belly again.

Thud, thud!

"Ah! The baby is moving!" Xiaolin exclaimed excitedly. She lay down, chatting to her mother’s belly until she grew tired and fell asleep.

Late in the afternoon, Xiaolin woke up to find herself lying alone in the room with a blanket covering her. She climbed down from the bed and toddled outside, smelling food wafting from the kitchen and hearing voices from the backyard.

"Xiaolin is awake! Come wash your face quickly," Tianchen said, spotting his niece and hurrying to guide her to wash up, also finding a cloth to wipe her face.

"Let’s go dig for some young galangal," Tianchen suggested. Xiaolin nodded eagerly and waited while her uncle gathered the necessary tools.

Hand in hand, the uncle and niece made their way to the stream. Xiaolin pointed out the young galangal shoots for her uncle to dig up, and they both sat down to peel the outer layers to reveal the tender shoots inside.

"These look tasty when they’re peeled like this, Xiaolin,"

"Has Grandma steamed the fish yet?"

"Not yet. She was busy cooking other dishes."

"We can wash the young galangal and steam it with the fish. That way, we don’t have to boil it separately."

"Good idea, little miss,"

He took Xiaolin back to the house, and they washed the young galangal together before handing it to Zhang Ruo in the kitchen. Tianchen then sat outside, watching his niece who was all chubby, now had lost a lot of weight since she fell ill. Remembering he had bought some sweets for her, he went inside and returned with a box of treats.

"Xiaolin, I’ve brought some sweets for you," he called, beckoning her over. Sitting down on the platform, he opened the box.

"What kind of sweets are these?"

"Dragon’s beard candy. It’s quite expensive, so I could only buy five pieces," Tianchen explained, showing her the white, soft-looking candy with fine threads, wrapped around crushed nuts.

Xiaolin took a bite, tasting the mild sweetness and soft texture combined with the nutty filling. She chewed thoughtfully before swallowing.

"Is it tasty?" Tianchen asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Yes, it’s delicious," Xiaolin replied, making him smile widely as he fed her another piece.

By the time dinner was ready, they had finished all the sweets. That evening’s meal included a large steamed fish with fragrant fish soup, minced fish with steamed vegetables, and young galangal. Xiaolin enjoyed the fish soup and the young galangal dipped in minced fish with great relish.

That night, Tianchen brought his pillow and slept with his little niece, cuddling her soft, warm body as they slept until morning.

Xiaolin woke up and went outside to help her father water the growing vegetables, which would soon be ready for harvest. The store hadn’t opened yet because they were still waiting for the stove and pans from the blacksmith and for her to fully recover.

"Father, can you ask the aunts to come over today? I want to teach them how to cook the dishes we’ll sell in the shop,"

"Sure, what meat will you need? I’ll prepare them,"

"Today we’ll need large freshwater fish, squid, shrimp, and mussels. I’ll teach the aunts how to make seafood tom yum, fish tom yum, and steamed fish with herbs served with spicy dipping sauce. Oh, and steamed squid with lime too,"

"Alright, we’ll do it later this morning so the food will be ready by lunchtime,"

"Sure thing."

After finishing watering the vegetables, Tianrong sent his younger brother to catch several fish while he took two buckets to the seashore to get half a bucket of squid, catch shrimp, and gather mussels for his daughter. On the way back, he also called on the wives of Wu Zhong, Guo Lu, and Lei San to come over, skipping the wives of Chang Sen and Tian Yi as they had small children to look after.

Once everyone and all the ingredients were ready, the little chef came out to inspect the ingredients and instructed the aunts who were watching attentively.

"You all know how to clean squid, so today I’ll teach you how to prepare shrimp. First, peel off the shell, then use a knife to make a cut along the back and remove the black vein," Xiaolin explained slowly, demonstrating each step.

"Don’t we remove the shrimp heads?"

"No, just cut off the sharp whiskers. I want the shrimp to stay whole," Xiaolin replied. The three women diligently peeled the shrimp, following her instructions until they were all done.

"Next is the squid. Clean them and cut them in half into rings. For the other half, score one side without cutting all the way through. We’ll use the rings for tom yum and the scored ones for steamed squid with lime,"

The ruthless little chef ensured there were no mistakes. If anyone did something wrong, she would sit beside them, pointing out the errors and correcting them. She taught the aunts thoroughly, intending for them to master the techniques on their first try. Next time, she planned to let them work on their own, only checking their work when needed.

"Next, we’ll prepare the mussels. Remove just one side of the shell, leaving the meat attached to the other. Clean them thoroughly, make sure to pull out the dark threads, and scrub the shells. When the shop opens, we’ll hire someone to prepare these ingredients, but you three need to know how to do it too,"

"Got it. Is this okay?" Aunt Wu asked, showing a chubby mussel still attached to one shell to the little girl. Xiaoling looked at it and nodded,

"Yes, that’s perfect. You’re very good at this, Auntie," Xiaolin said, smiling widely and clapping her hands. The three women chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"Next, we’ll prepare the fish. I know you all are familiar with this. For the first two fish, clean them and cut them into pieces. For the other two, just score the flesh and stuff the belly with herbs after cleaning. I’ll show you how to do it,"

The ruthless little chef supervised her aunts closely as they worked. She made sure the fish were cleaned thoroughly before being used. She nodded approvingly at the cleaned and chopped fish in the wooden basin and the whole fish laid out on a tray.

"There’s one more thing we need to prepare," Xiaolin said, bringing over two fully grown coconuts. The three women looked puzzled.

"What are these for?" Aunt Guo asked.

"These are coconuts. Let me explain: there are two types of seafood tom yum. One is clear soup, a spicy and sour broth, and the other is creamy tom yum, which includes coconut milk. First, we need to peel the coconuts," Xiaolin explained, setting the coconuts down and calling out to her uncle, who was lounging around inside. He didn’t go out to the shop today.

Tianchen came outside and was promptly tasked with peeling the coconuts. Xiaolin instructed him to do it slowly so the three aunts could watch and learn.

"Once the shell is removed, you still need to scrape off any remaining bits with a knife. Then, split it open,"

Tianchen used the knife to crack open the coconut shell, letting the water inside drain out before splitting it into two halves.

"After that, use a knife to extract the white flesh. Peel off the brown skin, chop it up, and then grind it. Thank you, Uncle. Wait for the delicious food, alright?" Xiaolin said, turning to her uncle.

"I will," Tianchen replied, walking away. The three women then began chopping and grinding the coconut flesh, separating the milk and pulp through filtering.

"We’ll use the coconut milk for the tom yum. But first, I’ll introduce the herbs we’ll need for each dish,"

The skinny little girl brought out a small bamboo tray filled with herbs and placed it in front of her aunts. She picked up each herb and explained its use.

"This is galangal. We have both young and old galangal. Young galangal, like this, can be steamed with fish and eaten with spicy dipping sauce. Old galangal should be sliced and crushed before adding to soups for fragrance, mainly in tom yum or pork bone soup,"

Xiaolin explained, her voice so lively and clear. For the next half hour, Xiaolin gave detailed explanations about each herb, making sure her aunts understood. She made them repeat what they had learned to ensure they remembered. By the time they began cooking, about two hours had passed. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The four of them moved the prepared ingredients into the kitchen. Xiaolin first taught them how to make seafood tom yum, both clear and creamy versions. Seafood tom yum was relatively simple, but fish tom yum required careful instruction to avoid making the broth fishy and the fish meat mushy.

"Remember, once you add the fish, don’t stir the broth, or it will become fishy and unappetizing. When it’s cooked, don’t stir too much, or the fish meat will fall apart,"

"Got it,"

"Next is steamed fish. It’s simple. Stuff the fish’s belly with lemongrass, layer young ginger on the bottom, place the fish on top, and add a couple of kaffir lime leaves for aroma. For steamed squid with lime, just steam the squid until cooked and then pour the spicy dipping sauce over it. While waiting for the fish to steam, let’s make the dipping sauce,"

The kitchen buzzed with the sounds of chopping, grinding, and conversation until lunchtime. The men, eager to sample the meal, gathered around, making a commotion as they tried the dishes prepared by the four cooks. The women could only shake their heads at the sight.

Our husbands used to be more civilized. Sigh.

Xiaolin paid no mind to the chaos, filling her bowl with mussels, squid, shrimp, and steamed fish topped with spicy sauce. She retreated to a quiet corner to eat in peace. Her bowl brimming with seafood, she dug in with gusto, her cheeks puffing up as she chewed. At this rate, she would soon regain her chubby little figure.

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