Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 99: The Fortune That Is Too Terrifying

Chapter 93

The Fortune That Is Too Terrifying

That evening, while they were eating chicken rice, Xiaolin received some good news. Zhou Ming’s attendant reported that they had done a preliminary survey of the coconut grove. It was estimated to be nearly a hundred mu in size, but if the Tang family wanted to purchase the entire area, they would need to wait for the land office to conduct a precise measurement. Xiaolin looked at her Uncle Zhou with sparkling eyes.

"The forest has resources that can be harvested for profit. Even though the coconuts might not be valuable to the general villagers, cutting down the trees can still provide other benefits. Therefore, the price of the land will be higher than that of empty land,"

Zhou Ming explained to the chubby-cheeked girl who was looking up at him. If she didn’t tilt her head up, he might not have seen her neck at all, completely hidden under her chubby cheeks and flesh.

Listening intently, Xiaolin nodded. She understood that the price wouldn’t be cheap, but she hoped it wouldn’t be too expensive. Otherwise, she might go from a little rich girl to a pauper in the blink of an eye.

"In three or four days, contact the land office. Let the officials complete the land survey first. We can discuss the price there. Oh, and I probably won’t be able to sell the entire area to you, understand?"

"Yes, Uncle. Xiaolin understands. It’s better to buy the land and plant it ourselves for peace of mind," Xiaolin replied, looking up at her uncle.

Although she wanted to acquire the entire grove, she didn’t want any trouble. If she started selling coconut products in the future, people would surely want that land. If she owned it all, some might resort to dirty tactics to obtain it. She didn’t want to risk her family’s safety. Let others try to imitate her if they wished; whether they succeeded would depend on their abilities.

"Good girl," Zhou Ming said affectionately, patting her head lightly. If she were his daughter, he would have kissed her cheeks, but alas, she was someone else’s child. Sigh.

That evening, everyone bid farewell to the Tang family, their bellies full of delicious food. When the wives of the gluttonous group saw their husbands return, they scolded them for almost half an hour for frequently dining at the Tang house. They wondered how many sacks of rice the Tang family had gone through feeding these gluttons.

But those who enjoyed the delicious food didn’t care, merely listening with one ear and letting it out the other. The wives, exhausted, eventually sent their husbands to rest since they still had to go out to sea later that night.

The next morning, Xiaolin went out to water the vegetable garden with her grandfather, accompanied by her uncle and father. She took the opportunity to ask her father about buying two male slaves to help with the work and one or two female slaves to help with the household chores.

Tianrong agreed with his daughter because he also wanted his father-in-law to have some rest; just managing the shop was already tiring enough.

"Well, it’s up to you all then,"

Hui Song sighed before speaking. He insisted that he could still work, but both his son-in-law and his chubby granddaughter didn’t want him to overexert himself. They acted as if he was a frail old man, even though he was only fifty.

"Grandfather, you just need to manage the barbecue pork shop and collect the stall fees," Xiaolin giggled when she saw Hui Song’s exasperated expression.

"Oh! Am I so fortunate to be the manager of a grand shop?" Hui Song said with wide eyes, pretending to be excited to tease his granddaughter. The chubby girl laughed heartily.

"I’m just leaving the shop with you When I grow up, I’ll take it back, hehe,"

"What? I thought you were giving it to me. I don’t even get a salary; I don’t want to do it anymore," Hui Song replied, pretending to be upset. Hearing this, Xiaolin dropped the dried gourd dipper in her hand and ran to hug her grandfather’s waist.

"I will pay you, Grandfather. Five taels of gold per month,"

"Five taels of gold! Then I will become a wealthy man," Hui Song laughed loudly and lifted his granddaughter to give her a big kiss on the cheek.

"Hehe, I’m hiring you as a temporary manager, so it has to be a lot," she said.

"And how much will you pay your uncle?" Tianchen, who had been listening, perked up and asked his niece excitedly.

"Because you often sneak food from the kitchen, I will pay you only four taels of gold,"

"I do not sneak food!" Tianchen shouted, dropping his dipper and raising his voice, but neither the grandfather nor the granddaughter paid him any attention. The evidence of his growing belly spoke for itself.

Tianrong shook his head at his younger brother’s outburst before walking away to fetch more water for the vegetable garden, partly to avoid the noise of his brother’s complaints.

Later that morning, Tianchen sat sullenly on the cart with Hui Song. He was diligently working, yet his niece had offered him a lower wage than her grandfather. Xiaolin didn’t explain her reasoning, letting her uncle stew in his thoughts. She knew that once she made some delicious food, he would no longer feel sad.

To be honest, Xiaolin had planned to give both men the same wages, but she saved the extra tael of gold in a box to contribute to her uncle’s dowry when he married. By then, the saved amount would be substantial, and along with the money set aside by her father, her uncle might become quite wealthy.

Not long after Hui Song’s cart departed, the group of gluttons who had just left the day before returned. Ling Heng, Liu Hao, and Fu Liang also joined them because the men planned to go into the forest to hunt game to stock up for the winter. With so many vegetables already planted, they needed to hunt now while they had the time.

"I wish you and uncles good luck in hunting lots of wild boars," the chubby girl blessed them before they set off.

"With Xiaolin’s blessing, we’ll surely catch many wild boars," Liu Hao said, for whenever the girl wished them luck, they seemed to find the animals they sought with ease, as if the creatures were waiting for them to hunt.

The others laughed, thinking Liu Hao was just teasing the chubby girl, as they had never received her blessings directly before. Only Tianrong believed Liu Hao, as every time his daughter wished them luck, they hardly had to search for the animals.

Xiaolin waved enthusiastically as the large group departed. Today, she planned to make pork noodle soup for everyone. She would prepare a large pot of broth so that the workers at the factory could also enjoy it. However, she needed to wait for the pork first.

While the gluttonous men were butchering the wild boars, Xiaolin would use the pork bones to make the broth. In the meantime, she prepared the seasonings and broth ingredients, with the help of her grandmother, Aunt Huan Qingqing, and the three Huan boys. The adults grated coconuts to extract the milk, while the children pounded garlic to enhance the broth’s aroma.

After about four hours, the men returned carrying five plump wild boars. Some of them were still quite puzzled, as when they entered the forest, they found the boars leisurely walking in front of them. Even when the boars noticed the large group of men, they neither ran away in fear nor charged at them, as would usually be expected.

Liu Hao recounted that every time Xiaolin gave them her blessings, they hardly had to exert any effort besides killing the animals and carrying them out of the forest. It might sound unbelievable, but he insisted it was true.

The group stood in silence, but most of them began to accept it, as they had previously hunted animals for the chubby girl and experienced similar occurrences. However, encountering boars waiting to be slaughtered like this was a first for them.

Fu Liang, on the other hand, looked completely bewildered. He had hunted in the forest before but had never caught any large animals, only small rabbits or injured creatures.

Huan Tan was gritting his teeth, envious that his small friend seemed to have such a lucky charm, while he remained the same. He had to work hard, cutting wood and making charcoal for a long time before he could establish himself.

Until he could get to this point, he had to go into the forest and cut down trees for burning charcoal. He struggled so much before he could settle down as the work was all done by him alone. But then since the little companion came, she had found a lot of good stuff in the forest, not to mention the fortunes in there. At least she could have given him something.

"The heavens are too biased, bringing me here but not taking care of me," Huan Tan grumbled as he looked up at the sky, realizing it was pointless to complain.

When they returned home, Huan Tan went straight to the back of the house, where Xiaolin was lounging on a platform, her belly protruding. He lifted her and carried her to a large tree, making Xiaolin cry out loudly, startled by the sudden movement. Everyone else turned to look but, seeing that it was Huan Tan carrying her, they resumed their tasks.

"What is wrong with you?" Xiaolin exclaimed as she was placed on the ground, looking up at the tall man.

"Tell me right now why you have such good luck," Huan Tan demanded, clearly frustrated.

"I already told you, I don’t know," Xiaolin replied, crossing her arms and raising her chin defiantly.

"Have you ever dreamt of an old man with a long beard or seen any deities?" Huan Tan asked, still puzzled.

"Have you been reading too many novels? I’ve never dreamt or seen anything like that," Xiaolin retorted.

"Hmph! I just want to know why the heavens are so biased against me," Huan Tan grumbled, sitting down on the ground in frustration.

"Are you serious?" Xiaolin raised an eyebrow at him.

"I’m just curious, that’s all. Sigh!" he sighed, lying back on the ground. Xiao Zhong, who wasn’t far away, turned to look.

"Maybe it’s because I entered someone else’s body. Perhaps the heavens granted me luck to make life easier. Besides, I’m just a child. If I had to rely solely on myself, how long would it take to establish anything?" Xiaolin sat down beside him, trying to explain.

"Even so, it’s almost like you’re cheating because you wished us good luck, we found five wild boars standing right there waiting for us as soon as we entered the outer forest, without running away as they normally would. Don’t you think that’s excessive?" Huan Tan looked at the chubby girl, who was now wide-eyed with surprise.

"Is it really that effective?!" Xiaolin asked, shocked. She had no idea her words held such power.

"Didn’t your father ever tell you?" Huan Tan asked. Xiaolin shook her head, her cheeks jiggling. She always thought she was just luckier than most people, but she never realized her luck was this extraordinary.

"Tianrong and Liu Hao mentioned that every time you bless them before they go into the forest, they always encounter this kind of luck," Huan Tan said. Xiaolin swallowed hard, suddenly feeling a chill run down her spine as fear of her own abilities began to set in.

"If it’s as you say, it really is too much. But Father never told me about this,"

Xiaolin replied quietly, thinking back to the times when her father had drunkenly mentioned odd things about her, furrowing her brows. There must be many things her father suspected or experienced but never shared with her.

"Good thing they don’t think you’re someone else possessing Tang Xiaolin’s body," Huan Tan remarked, lying back on his arms and watching two birds courting on a tree branch above.

Hearing this, Xiaolin sat silently, lost in thought. Huan Tan also remained quiet, contemplating the potential dangers of such excessive luck.

If word got out, the chubby girl next to him might be in danger. Thankfully, her luck seemed to attract not just animals and plants but also good people.

After a long silence, Xiaolin sighed deeply and excused herself to prepare the noodle soup broth. Huan Tan quickly went to help the others butcher the pigs, announcing that he would make meatballs as well.

Xiaolin’s eyes lit up at this, as it would reduce her workload. She had initially planned to make simple minced pork balls due to time constraints.

About two hours later, the fragrant aroma of the broth wafted from the kitchen, causing the men butchering the pigs to stop and inhale deeply, as if the smell alone could fill their stomachs. Earlier, they were shocked when the cute little girl nonchalantly asked for pig’s blood to use in her cooking.

With a small basin filled with fresh blood, she calmly carried it into the kitchen. If it had been any other child, they might have cried at the sight. Even the three young Tang boys had retreated to play with Tianyu in the main hall.

"It smells sooo good! Grandma, please blanch the noodles and vegetables. Xiaolin is hungry. I’ll have the glass noodles," the chubby girl said, unable to resist the aroma of the brown broth simmering in the large pot.

"It does smell delicious, but when I saw you put blood in the pot, I still felt...," Huan Qingqing trailed off, raising her arm to show her goosebumps. Xiaolin laughed heartily at her reaction.

"It’s edible, Auntie. The blood is cooked,"

"Why did you add coconut milk?" Zhang Ruo asked her granddaughter, while blanching noodles and vegetables at another stove.

"I added it to thicken the broth. Without it, the cooked blood would clump into small pieces and the broth would be clear, which doesn’t look as appetizing,"

"I see," Zhang Ruo nodded, understanding as she scooped the noodles and vegetables into a bowl, followed by the fragrant broth.

Xiaolin received her bowl, added fried garlic, then topped it with pork and meatballs that had been blanched earlier. There were also unlimited pork offals available to add, finishing with a sprinkle of chopped green onions and cilantro.

The chubby girl carried her bowl of pork noodle soup outside to season it. She added fish sauce, sugar, and a bit of chili powder. Those who liked it sour could add vinegar.

"Is it ready?" Guo Lu was the first to spot his chubby niece carrying a bowl. He shouted, not waiting for an answer as he ran into the kitchen.

"You’re quick!" Tian Yi commented as he hurried after his fast-moving friend.

Chaos erupted in the Tang family’s small kitchen as ten big men crowded inside. Zhang Ruo had to shoo them out, making them line up to get their bowls of noodle soup one by one.

After the gluttonous group scattered to find their own spots to eat, Zhang Ruo called the hired workers to come and get their bowls. She also told them they could come back for seconds if they were still hungry, as she had made a large pot of broth.

Additionally, they blanched more noodles and vegetables and filled a pot with broth to take to the workers at the beach. There was no worry about not having enough dishes because the Tang family had long prepared for the increasing number of gluttonous guests, stocking up on plenty of bowls and utensils.

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