Chapter 12

Everyone nodded repeatedly — the good fortune was clearly visible. Selling the remedy was Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao’s idea, and they had made so much money from it. Life would definitely be better from now on.

Old Madam Zhou said with gratification, “Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao is no ordinary child — she’s like a phoenix fallen into a chicken coop, bringing such immense luck to our family. We all must treat her well from now on.”

Everyone quickly nodded. The uncles had already wanted a little girl in the family — now that one had arrived, of course the whole family would dote on her.

As for the aunts, they had long been flattered to the moon by Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao and liked her immensely. Naturally, they were wholeheartedly kind toward her.

Old Master Song also said, “Even if Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao didn’t bring us such great fortune, she’s still the little girl we wished for. We just didn’t expect her to be so capable, letting all of us enjoy better days with her blessings.”

The eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Zhu, added, “Indeed, Fourth Brother is really lucky. From now on, our whole family will rely on the Fourth Household to get by.”

In the past, some of the daughters-in-law had considered splitting the family. But now, with Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao — the child of fortune — that was absolutely out of the question.

Fourth Brother Song Futian scratched his head with a bashful grin. His little girl really was loved by everyone she met — so adorable and sweet. He truly was a lucky man.

Old Madam Zhou, having accomplished such a big deal today, felt extremely proud. She found everyone pleasing to the eye now.

“But about Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao, we mustn’t talk about it with outsiders. If anyone finds out and trouble comes knocking, no one will get to enjoy a good life — do you all understand?” she reminded them.

Everyone nodded earnestly. Of course they understood — when one prospers, all prosper; when one falls, all suffer.

If outsiders found out how capable Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao was and that she brought good fortune, wouldn’t they try to take her away? What would they do then?

“Alright, you all keep chatting. I’m going to see Fourth Daughter-in-law and my precious granddaughter.”

Madam Zhou had bought some sponge cake for Liu and the softest fabric for Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao, planning to make her some clothes. That fabric — even she herself had never been willing to use it before.

Liu had already heard the laughter and movement from the main room — clearly, the remedy had sold. Her Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao was truly amazing.

Just a tiny baby who couldn’t even speak yet had managed to turn the family’s fortunes around. It was truly miraculous.

She must be a little goddess reincarnated, and Liu was blessed to have her born from her womb.

“I bought you some sponge cake and even a chicken. It’s too late today, but tomorrow I’ll stew you some chicken soup.”

“I also bought the softest fabric for our eldest granddaughter, so I can make her the prettiest clothes.”

Madam Zhou smiled as she spoke and went to check on Little Sweet Treasure. Her little granddaughter was fair and chubby, soft and cuddly, with big watery eyes — simply too lovable.

Liu smiled and said, “Seeing how happy you are, it must’ve sold well.”

Old Madam Zhou nodded cheerfully and told Liu exactly how much money they had made.

“Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao brought us such good fortune. From now on, our lives will only get better — we’ll be eating and drinking well!” she said, looking at the baby with joy.

Liu felt incredibly proud — this was all her precious daughter’s doing!

Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao thought: Wow, Grandma is amazing! Really amazing — she sold everything and made so much silver. Now the whole family can eat better and have money to spend. If Grandma were in the city instead of the countryside, she could have her own shop and be a formidable businesswoman!

These continuous compliments made Old Madam Zhou’s heart melt. She had never felt so sweet or so happy in her whole life.

The feeling of being recognized and praised was so wonderful — it seemed she had never experienced it until now. Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao was the perfect name.

Sweet. Truly sweet. Sweet right into the heart.

Liu added with a smile, “Mother, you really are amazing. If you hadn’t gone with them, Third Brother and my husband might not have managed to sell the remedy. Even if they had, it wouldn’t have fetched this price.”

All this praise from mother and daughter left Madam Zhou a little embarrassed. Why had she never noticed before how pleasant her fourth daughter-in-law was? Now she seemed very agreeable.

She bent down to play with Little Sweet Treasure. “This is all thanks to, Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao. Now all Grandma wants is for her eldest granddaughter to grow up quickly. Grandma is willing to buy her anything.”

And she meant it — whatever she could buy for Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao, she would. But the baby was still too small.

Food, supplies, toys — she didn’t really need any of them yet.

Liu chatted with her for a while until Second Daughter-in-law, Madam Zhang, came by to deliver food — millet porridge, boiled eggs, and a white steamed bun.

Madam Zhang said, “Fourth Sister-in-law, don’t hold back now. Mother bought lots of fine rice and flour. Our family has money — all thanks to Little Fortune Treasure Xiao Tianbao. Eat your fill.”

To the Song family, earning this silver meant striking it rich. But Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao thought: This is only the beginning. The real fortune is yet to come.

While Liu ate, Madam Zhou and Madam Zhang returned to the main house to eat as well.

Dinner was simple — cornmeal porridge with wild vegetables, cornbread, and pickled vegetables.

But the Song family ate heartily. In these times, being able to fill one’s belly was already a blessing. Now that they had money, they could eat well — and they ate to their hearts’ content.

Madam Zhou said, “Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao said we should improve our meals. Tomorrow we’ll make mackerel dumplings and grilled fish to treat ourselves.”

The children were thrilled — the grilled fish they had yesterday was too delicious. To think they could have such food again!

And it was all thanks to their newborn little sister. Once she could walk, they’d take her out to play.

Madam Zhang said, “Sounds great. I’ve never heard of making dumplings with mackerel. No one in our village or nearby villages does it. But if the shopkeeper said it tasted good, then it must be.”

Except for the crispy hairtail remedy that had a special backing, the other three recipes had all been genuinely tasty.

Madam Zhou added, “Exactly — white flour is precious. We didn’t even eat the ones we made today. I really want to know how those dumplings taste. We’ll find out tomorrow.”

They had bought quite a bit of white flour this time, and since Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao said to improve everyone’s meals, they would. This gave everyone more motivation for life.

They had grilled fish once before, and the flavor had left a strong impression. Everyone, young and old, looked forward to it.

Early the next morning, Third Brother went to the restaurant to deliver fish, setting aside a few for today’s family meal. The daughters-in-law then gathered to clean and prepare the fish together.