Hearing her daughter-in-law praise her little girl, Old Lady Su couldn’t hide the pride written all over her face.
“Mother, has Little Sister-in-law been given a name yet?” Eldest Sister-in-law Su asked.
“Your father named her. Her pet name is Tangbao, and her formal name is Su Tang.”
“Tangbao? That’s a great name! Sweet as can be, really just like a little sweet treasure…”
As Eldest Sister-in-law Su spoke, she reached out and gently poked Little Tangbao’s cheek.
Tangbao blinked her eyes, looking at the young woman and seeing her face full of warm, genuine affection, unable to help but purse her little lips.
She was originally named Tangbao to begin with.
“Aiyo, Mother, is Little Sister-in-law hungry?” Eldest Sister-in-law Su suddenly exclaimed.
Then, as if remembering something, she added, “Mother, has your milk not come in yet?”
Old Lady Su set down her bowl and touched her chest—there wasn’t the slightest feeling of fullness.
Having given birth to so many children, she naturally knew that meant her milk hadn’t come in.
Eldest Sister-in-law Su was a mother herself, so one look at Old Lady Su’s expression was enough for her to understand what was going on.
Besides, given Old Lady Su’s advanced age, even if her milk did come in, it probably wouldn’t be enough to feed her little sister-in-law anyway.
Tangbao hadn’t really felt that hungry at first, but hearing Eldest Sister-in-law Su mention it, her little belly instantly felt ravenous.
However, she also knew there was nothing to eat right now.
Involuntarily, her little mouth pouted, and a thin mist of tears filled her eyes.
Her aggrieved, pitiful little look possessed devastating lethal power.
Baby feels wronged, baby won’t cry, baby is hungry…
Old Lady Su and Eldest Sister-in-law Su’s hearts almost shattered into pieces.
Who could possibly withstand this?!
A delicate little girl like a porcelain doll, holding back her tears with an aggrieved face…
Eldest Sister-in-law Su clutched her heart and cried out, “Aiyo! I can’t take it! I can’t stand seeing this! Mother, I’m going to ask for milk for Little Sister-in-law! The daughter-in-law of Old Wang’s family is still nursing her baby, so I’ll thick-skin it and go beg for some!”
To keep her little sister-in-law from starving, what did saving face matter?
Having said that, Eldest Sister-in-law Su rushed out with a burst of energy.
Old Lady Su couldn’t eat her food anymore either; she leaned down and picked up Little Tangbao.
“Good baby, you’ll have food to eat in just a moment…”
Old Lady Su kept muttering, almost bursting into tears.
She knew she was advanced in years and physically weak, afraid she wouldn’t be able to nurse the baby well at all.
If it were a boy, mixing in a little rice paste to feed him would be fine either way, but for a daughter…
How could she bear to do that?
Wasn’t this just breaking her heart!
Just as Old Lady Su was feeling sorrowful, a burst of commotion came from outside.
More than half the village was surging toward the Su family home.
There was no helping it; the Su family procession led by Old Man Su was simply way too eye-catching and grand.
Old Man Su paved the way at the front, spirited and valiant, holding a large wooden bucket in his arms.
The wooden bucket was more than half-filled with lively, leaping fish.
Every now and then, the fish inside would leap up and splash back down, performing mid-air jumps for the crowd as if terrified that people wouldn’t notice the bucket was full of fish.
Su Erhu followed closely behind, also holding a large wooden bucket in his arms.
Similarly, the fish in his bucket performed leaps all along the way, inviting the villagers of Taohua Village to come and watch.
However, the most eye-catching sight was on top of Su Erhu—he had a big carp perched on his head, while his son, Su Erpan, rode on his shoulders.
Su Erpan’s two little legs tightly squeezed his father’s neck, while his tiny hands desperately hugged the big carp.
Further behind was Su Liuhu.
Su Liuhu wasn’t quite as exaggerated, though he carried a huge grass carp over his shoulder.
Whether from fatigue or excitement, his small face was flushed bright red, and his legs trembled slightly as he walked.
Even Su Dapan was desperately holding onto a fish weighing around a pound in his arms.
It fair to say that Daliushu Village had never seen such a miraculous sight before.
Usually, people could barely catch a fish as long as a palm in the river, yet nobody expected the Su family to catch so many fish today.
This fantastical scene caused the entire village to boil with excitement once again.
With a slap, one fish made a misstep in its performance and flopped onto the ground.
“Another one jumped out!” someone shouted at the top of their lungs.
“Quick! Catch it!”
“Got it…”
A crowd of people bent down, scrambling to catch the fish.
The villagers didn’t greedily keep the fish they caught; instead, they laughingly tossed them back into Old Man Su’s wooden bucket.
After all, with fish that big, no one had the nerve to take them for free.
“Old Man Su, your family really is about to hit it big!” an old man holding a pipe said with a chuckle.
“Where, where? It’s just good luck today.”
Though Old Man Su remained modest with his words, the smile on his face was thoroughly smug.
“How is this not hitting it big? Fish means ‘abundance year after year’—this means your family is going to have surplus grain every year,” the old man continued.
“Haha… I’ll take your auspicious words, old brother!” Old Man Su burst into hearty laughter.
After all, everyone loves hearing good wishes.
Old Man Su listened, his face glowing red as if he had grown several years younger.
“Erpan, how about giving that fish to me?” someone teased Erpan.
Erpan hugged the fish tight and shook his tiny head furiously, “No! Giving it to Little Auntie!”
His childish voice conveyed the firm belief of the entire Old Su family to everyone around.
“Aiyo, isn’t that extraordinary? How old is this little tot, and he already knows to give the best things to his Little Auntie?”
“Looks like from now on, the Old Su family’s little daughter is going to be treated like a little ancestor.”
“Well, isn’t it? The Old Su family finally got the daughter they longed for; who knows how much they’ll pamper her…”
“Pampering her is only right! Didn’t you see all those big fish brought along the moment she arrived?”
“This little daughter of the Old Su family might just be a little star of good fortune…”
“…”
The onlookers chimed in with a flurry of chatter, once again linking Tangbao with the Su family’s rise to fortune.
At the same time, they secretly wondered in their hearts why their own daughters didn’t have such good luck.
Thus, Little Tangbao’s halo as a star of good fortune was solidly confirmed amidst the leaping of big fish after big fish!
Old Man Su walked along the road, basking in the envious gazes of the crowd, feeling like he hadn’t held his head up so proudly in years.
Over the years, the Su family had produced one son after another while bad luck followed year after year, earning them sympathetic looks wherever they went.
Now, they were finally enjoying a moment of glory.