Chapter 9: Naming

"Dad!" Zhang Miao had family backing, so when she felt slighted by her in-laws, she spoke up directly: "Who names a girl child?" And to only name that money-losing goods, why weren't her own Da Ni and Er Ni being named?

"Besides," Zhang Miao continued, stirring the pot, "Da Fu, Er Fu, and San Fu haven't been named yet. How can a little girl get named first?!"

Hearing Zhang Miao use Da Fu and Er Fu as an excuse, Fang Hongying, though unhappy, followed her lead: "If we're naming them, we should name them all together."

After saying this, she tugged at Lin Yuandong, who was stubbornly keeping quiet, and shot him a fierce glare.

"A bunch of people who don't know their place. If there's one for Xiao Ni, how could the boys be left out?" The head of the household, Lin Dawei, carried great authority. He was a man of his word, and once he decided on something, no one could stop him.

"When Xiao Ni reaches her full month, we'll take her to the village chief's house to be named. The three boys will come along to see, too."

Once Lin Dawei spoke, no matter how much dissatisfaction the others felt, they dared not say a word.

Ignoring Da Ni and Er Ni entirely, Lin Dawei acted as if those two granddaughters didn't exist. He tapped his bowl with his chopsticks: "All day long, arguing over petty gains until we can't even eat a meal in peace. Yuandong, Yuannan, you two get the gifts ready for the naming."

"Understood, Dad."

Seeing that his two sons had secured a benefit, Lin Yuandong immediately beamed and shot a smug look at Qin Yuanxi: "Second brother, it’s not that I’m lecturing you, but you really need to have a boy. A family can't go on without a male heir; in the future, there won't even be anyone to carry the funeral basin."

"No need for you to worry, Big Brother," Qin Yuanxi said, his tone much sharper as he suppressed his frustration. "Xiao Miao and I are still young; sooner or later, we will have a son."

Lin Yuannan, seeing the eldest and second families arguing endlessly, kept his mouth shut. He had been busy all day and was starving, and since it was a rare occasion to have meat, he just slurped his food happily from his bowl. After finishing, he returned to his room to hold his precious daughter.

Lin Yuannan rocked Lin Xiangrong for a while, liking her more the longer he looked, and feeling happier by the minute. He kissed her little cheek, "My daughter is truly beautiful."

Because Lin Xiangrong was favored by the two elders and had brought them many benefits recently, Lin Yuannan—who hadn't even glanced at her since she was born—rarely held her and coaxed her a little.

Lin Xiangrong gave him face by letting out a few "ah-ah" sounds, waving her lotus-root-like arms. Her small hands gripped Lin Yuannan’s collar, and her large, round, black-agate eyes stared right at him.

This "cheap dad" didn't look too bad, and Zhou Zhaodi had a gentle appearance; it seemed she wouldn't grow up to be too ugly in this life.

Lin Xiangrong blew bubbles in satisfaction. However, as a baby, she needed endless sleep, especially now that she was being rocked in someone's arms. She couldn't help but squint her eyes and drift off like a little piglet.

Time drifted by until the day of the full-month celebration.

In her infancy, Lin Xiangrong had a chubby, pink face, large round eyes that were bright and moist, and a rosy little mouth that opened and closed adorably. Because Zhou Zhaodi had eaten well during her confinement, her milk was plentiful, feeding Lin Xiangrong until she was white and plump.

"Let's go." Wang Cuilan’s old face crinkled into a smile like a chrysanthemum, her sharp and mean expression softened by the festive mood. She carried two wooden baskets containing some eggs and two rabbit kits—the offspring of the other rabbit they hadn't eaten. They had kept that mother rabbit because they discovered she was pregnant at the time.

"Ah-ah."

Oh, so it’s autumn now.

Stepping out of the courtyard for the first time and seeing the rural scenery and the autumn harvest, Lin Xiangrong finally understood how Liu Meng in the book managed to find sweet potatoes, ginseng, and a pile of wild game. After all, when she read the book, she had skimmed over these environmental descriptions.

Calculating the time, Lin Xiangrong, who had gone over the plot line several times in the last half-month, felt confident. She had even planned out when and where to harvest what.

She had figured out one thing: Wang Cuilan and Zhou Zhaodi could likely hear some of her thoughts.

She had originally worried they would treat her as some kind of evil spirit, as people were quite superstitious in this era.

However, judging by these past few days, Wang Cuilan and Zhou Zhaodi clearly saw her as a precious treasure of extraordinary origin. That worked too; whatever she did later, they would just fill in the blanks themselves.

Lin Xiangrong wanted to see more of the surroundings, but she was wrapped up tight.

[The swaddle is too tight, stuffy, stuffy, stuffy.]

Zhou Zhaodi heard the sound, and seeing there was no wind and the sun was out, she loosened the swaddle a little.

Lin Xiangrong rolled her big eyes, looking left and right with great interest.

"San Fu, don't run around, watch out for the pits," Zhou Zhaodi warned, seeing San Fu not just jumping about, but running wild.

San Fu was as stubborn as a donkey. It would have been better not to say anything, but the moment she did, he had to do the opposite. He deliberately stepped into a pit on the dirt road and twisted his ankle.

"You unlucky child, why are you running around for no reason?!"

Wang Cuilan snatched San Fu up and, with a hand as big as a palm-leaf fan, smacked his bottom twice. San Fu, who knew how to read the room, didn't dare make a sound.

Da Fu and Er Fu followed behind, whispering and giggling.

During this time, the third family had gained many benefits. Fang Hongying and Zhang Miao, their eyes red with jealousy, often bad-mouthed the third family in front of the children, leading the two boys and two girls to start ostracizing San Fu.

The village was quite large and considered a wealthy one. The book described Liu Meng’s family living in a slightly remote area, and just from the text, one could tell how big the village was.

In reality, with her tiny body, it was impossible to find Liu Meng.

The cannon-fodder female supporting character in "The Koi Little Lucky Star" died a miserable death, and Lin Xiangrong was absolutely unwilling to follow the same plot.

To avoid being affected by the plot in the future, Lin Xiangrong had racked her brains for half a month and finally decided to rewrite the Lin family's ending, making the whole family prosper more and more—ideally, surpassing Liu Meng’s family.

But that alone wouldn't be enough. Liu Meng had a powerful male lead backing her. Going head-to-head with the male lead without full preparation would lead to suffering sooner or later.

"Sigh..."

Life is hard.

Lin Xiangrong let out a sigh as if her life were ending.

"Oh my, such a tiny thing already knows how to sigh."

Zhou Zhaodi looked ahead and patted Lin Xiangrong, coaxing her: "We're almost at the village chief's house."

"Ah-ah."

[I know, Mom.]

Wang Cuilan heard the noise, loosened her grip on San Fu, and turned back to smile at Lin Xiangrong, her face beaming: "Our little Ni is so well-behaved."

Da Fu and Er Fu curled their lips.

A little money-losing goods, won't she have to marry off sooner or later?

What good is being well-behaved? Can she get more dowry to build them a house and get them wives?

"Village Chief!"

As soon as Wang Cuilan arrived at the village chief's house, she smiled obsequiously. She swung her hand, set down the two wooden baskets, and lifted the cloth on top, revealing eight eggs and two rabbit kits.

"Sister-in-law Wang, what brings you here?" The village chief walked out of the house, pulled up a stool to sit, and directed his daughter-in-law to pour water. He asked, "You even brought your grandsons and little granddaughter. What's the matter?"

"Well, we intend to name Xiao Ni. You’re a man of culture, Village Chief, and know a few characters. We don't know a single one, so we wanted to trouble you to name her." Wang Cuilan rubbed her hands together and hurriedly asked Zhou Zhaodi to bring Lin Xiangrong over for the village chief to see.

The village chief looked down: "Oh, this girl is truly bright-eyed and beautiful."

Then he asked, "Only naming the girl, not the three grandsons?"

The whole village knew this family was extremely patriarchal. The village chief asked an extra question to avoid the Lin family coming back to cause trouble in a few days; clarifying things now would save a lot of hassle!

"Yes, just for Xiao Ni." Wang Cuilan drank a bowl of warm water and grinned: "The boys have cheap names, which makes them easier to raise, but Xiao Ni is the treasure of our family, so she needs a good one."

Mainly, the three boys weren't grown up yet; it would be just right to name them when they were a bit older.

A treasure?

How strange.

A girl child was actually being treated as a treasure by the Lin family.

This reminded the old village chief of the girl in the Liu family who was called the "Lucky Star."

The village chief rolled a cigarette: "Let me think."

The old Liu family had a lucky star. That girl was truly blessed; she could talk very early, and her first words weren't calling for her grandparents or parents, but telling her father where to go in the mountains to dig for lingzhi to sell in the city.

She sold them for a lot of money, and the Liu family built two new bungalows and even renovated their pigsty. They said they were planning to fix up the land in their courtyard in a few days too.

"Xiangrong." The village chief dipped his finger in water and wrote the two characters 'Xiangrong'. He said, "Clouds remind one of clothes, and flowers remind one of her face (Xiangrong). This girl is bright and beautiful; she is worthy of this name."

Although Wang Cuilan and Zhou Zhaodi didn't understand what the village chief was reciting, they could tell it was a poem—with clouds and flowers—so it must be a good one. They were so happy they couldn't stop grinning.

After Wang Cuilan recited it carefully, she picked up Lin Xiangrong: "Xiao Ni has a name now; from now on, you are Lin Xiangrong."

"Ah-ah."

What a coincidence.

[Xiangrong, Xiao Ni likes this name.]

Being able to have the same name as in her previous life, Lin Xiangrong was naturally very happy.

(End of chapter)