Felix Thorne felt his daughter was a little lucky charm sent by heaven to save him. He had too much blood on his hands, and after consulting a wise elder, he was told that only someone with immense good fortune could absolve him. Soon after, Tang Xiaonan was born.
His nightmares also miraculously became far less frequent. Felix Thorne was convinced his daughter was the lucky charm who brought him good fortune, and he doted on Tang Xiaonan endlessly. He wished he could carry her in his pocket all day just to be sure his precious daughter wouldn't trip or get bumped.
"You never used to call him Mr. Hawthorne," Felix Thorne said, a surprised look on his face.
Before, Tang Xiaonan had always called him a jinx. He had tried to correct her a few times but eventually let it go. The boy was just an outsider, and it wasn't worth upsetting Xiaonan over. 'Why the sudden change of heart today?'
Tang Xiaonan's heart skipped a beat. 'Crap, I almost forgot what a little terror the original owner of this body was. She never called Adrian Hawthorne by his name—a "hey" from her was considered polite. The rest of the time, it was usually "jinx" or "unlucky fellow."'
She hung her head and pressed a hand to her forehead, sighing silently.
'Good thing I landed in the body of a six-year-old. You can chalk up a little kid's behavior to mischief, and there's still time to fix things.'
Seeing the chubby girl act like a little adult, Felix Thorne couldn't help but smile. He gently pinched Tang Xiaonan's flat nose—his favorite game, which he grandly referred to as "fixing his daughter's nose."
'But the original owner still grew up with a flat, wide nose. She was plain, fat, and frumpy—no wonder Adrian Hawthorne could never bring himself to be gentle with her.'
'Faced with a pile of fat, Adrian Hawthorne must have really had it tough, putting up with her for all those years.'
Tang Xiaonan slapped Felix Thorne's big hand away and rubbed her itchy nose. Wiggling her chubby body, she said coaxingly, "Mr. Hawthorne saved me! He's a good person."
"Xiaonan can call him whatever she likes, as long as she's happy."
It was just a title. Felix Thorne didn't give it much thought. After teasing his daughter for a bit, he felt completely at ease. He took a piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and fed it to Tang Xiaonan.
It was a common fruit drop, orange-flavored. You could buy two for a single cent. The taste was incredibly pure, and Tang Xiaonan thought it was even more delicious than a Ford Sawyer lollipop. She licked it with great relish.
"Go clean the intestines outside. There's some other meat, too. We'll have pork and steamed eggs for dinner; Xiaonan loves it."
Felix Thorne instructed Phoebe Huxley. After the Lantern Festival, there were always many celebrations. Although it was 1978 and people still earned work points, policies had relaxed considerably. Life had become more prosperous, and for any happy occasion, it was natural to slaughter a pig. Felix Thorne was able to bring a lot of food home every day, and their house was already piled high with meat.
At the mention of pork and steamed eggs, Tang Xiaonan couldn't help but gulp. 'I love that dish, too!' In fact, she loved all meat. The pork from this era was all pure, farm-raised pig—its aroma was guaranteed to carry for miles.
Felix Thorne carried Tang Xiaonan out to the courtyard, where Phoebe Huxley was scrubbing the pig intestines. Tang Xiaonan gulped again. 'Stir-fried intestines with pickled greens, dry-pot intestines, sautéed intestines with hot peppers, braised intestines, intestines stewed with tofu…'
In an instant, she had thought of a dozen different dishes made with intestines, each one a delicacy.
Tang Xiaonan's eyes began to shine. She no longer had a single regret about transmigrating into this book. In her past life, she had maxed out her credit cards and was buried in debt, unable to even afford vegetables. Now, all of a sudden, she could go back to a life of feasting, and she was twenty years younger to boot.
'Oh, thank you, heaven!'
Tang Xiaonan surveyed her new home. The courtyard was enormous and tidy, hung full of fragrant cured meats and offal. 'This is a rich household!' Tang Xiaonan was more than satisfied with her new home. This much meat would be enough to last them for half a year.
A thought suddenly struck her, and she remembered Adrian Hawthorne. According to the book, this future arch-villain was living a pitiful existence right now. Forget about meat, he couldn't even get enough rice to eat.