The Richest Daughter is Three and a Half Years Old

The flight they had originally booked was only four hours long. Normally they would have landed at the airport before 2 PM. But now, after they changed their clothes, they were about to go eat dinner. As there was still no news about the plane, the fates of the passengers became bleaker and bleaker.

Even if this matter was deliberately concealed, it would have been impossible to hide for long. After all there were many passengers on the plane and when their family members did not receive any information, the news would quickly spread. In order to appease these people, the airline said that once the plane is contacted, the airline will not try to suppress this matter.

But as there had still been no news, it appears that there most likely the plane has encountered an accident.

Wen FanChu froze for a while, before he came back to his senses and said: “We are fine. It’s good. It’s good that we listened to MiaoMiao and changed the destination.”

If MiaoMiao didn’t suddenly want to soak in the hot springs and wanted to take Wen FuChen’s private plane, then the fates of the five of them would be unknown.

Fu Rou said a few more words and asked Wen FanChu to pass the phone to MiaoMiao.

MiaoMiao’s hands were small, so she needed to use two hands to hold Wen FanChu’s phone. She put the phone next to her ear and said: “Mommy, MiaoMiao has been good. I have been listening to Big Brother and Sister-in-Law.”

“Good, good. Mommy knows MiaoMiao has been obedient. Because MiaoMiao is away for the next few days, you need to remember to pay attention to safety, okay? If you need anything remember to tell Big Brother and Sister-in-Law.” Fu Rou started to remind MiaoMiao all over again.

Once she thought that her daughter had almost left her for good, her heart felt very uneasy. As her daughter was currently not by her side, she could only use her words to remind her.

“Yes, yes. MiaoMiao knows.” MiaoMiao had forgotten that Fu Rou wouldn’t be able to see her and was quickly nodding her little head.

Jiang FangFang noticed that Wen FanChu seemed a little off and stood beside him and asked: “Husband, What’s wrong?” Why did he turn all weird after answering the phone?

“Wife you should take a look at the trending searches, Aunt said that the plane we were originally going to take has lost contact and there has still been no news.” Wen FanChu said.

Jiang FangFang was stunned for a moment before she recovered and quickly opened up WeiBo [1] to check. On the trending page there were keywords relating to the missing flight. After she clicked on it and opened the app they bought the tickets on, she found out that the flight numbers matched.

Jiang FangFang broke out in a cold sweat, her two legs felt weak, and she sat down on the couch.

“Mommy?” Xiong Da noticed his mother didn’t seem right, and looked at her worriedly.

Xiong Er puzzledly scratched his head, he was a bit confused.

Children were not very clear about the concept of death, but the adults understood. They had experienced a lot more, and especially for rich people, they were very afraid of death.

As Jiang FangFang thought about how she nearly lost her life at such a young age, she almost couldn’t breathe.

She was born in a rich family and was the apple of their eye [2], she had met Wen FanChu during university and not long after they graduated they got married. After marriage, the relationship between husband and wife had always been good. Her parents were also very satisfied with Wen FanChu and loved their grandchildren a lot.

If they had just passed away, just like that. The two elders might have died from heart break.

Jiang FangFang took a few deep breaths. On the other side, MiaoMiao also hung up the phone. She obediently returned the phone to Wen FanChu, “Big Brother, MiaoMiao is done talking.”

“Okay.” Wen FanChu’s voice was still trembling a bit, when he looked at MiaoMiao he had a strange feeling.

The fact that they found out Wen FuChen’s body had a problem, was a result of MiaoMiao suggesting that he went for a physical examination. This was known to the entire family. Fu Rou complained multiple times that Wen FuChen did not care enough about his body, if it was not for MiaoMiao who made him do a physical examination in advance, they might not have found out for quite a while.

Wen FuChen has said that after a month he would have gone for a physical examination, but whether or not he would actually have had time to go after a month was pretty hard to say. After all, the year before he had delayed his physical examination for two months after the scheduled time, before he finally managed to go.

This time, MiaoMiao threw a tantrum about changing the vacation destination and saved their lives.

It has happened twice already, could it really be a coincidence?

Wen FanChu knelt down and looked at his little sister and said: “MiaoMiao, tell big brother, did you really want to come soak in the hot springs?”

Originally Wen FanChu felt that it was strange that MiaoMiao wanted to change the vacation destination. She didn’t bring it up earlier, but only just when they were about to go get their boarding passes. And to even persuade Xiong Da and Xiong Er, she had lied to say that the hot springs would have Ultraman. How would there be any Ultraman?

At first he thought it was just MiaoMiao being spoiled. After all little sister was always held as the jewel in her parents hands. Of course Uncle and Aunt were strict about his little sister’s education, to prevent her from becoming spoiled and arrogant, but she was still the apple of their eye. As long as it was not bad for her health, they would try to satisfy her as much as possible.

So when MiaoMiao threw a tantrum about wanting to change the destination, he did not think much and agreed. After all, every year they would go on vacation a few times. If they didn’t go to the small foreign town this time, they could always go next time. Its just, he never would have thought, that this change in decision would directly save the lives of the five of them.

MiaoMiao first froze for a second before she guiltily lowered her little head and said: “When MiaoMiao was watching cartoons, she wanted to soak in the hot springs. MiaoMiao didn’t really want to trick Xiong Da and Xiong Er, but I was scared they wouldn’t like it. MiaoMiao knows she was wrong.”

Wen FanChu watched for a while and still felt that his little sister was still hiding something from him. But this wasn’t a bad thing, in fact it was actually a very good thing.

He messed up MiaoMiao’s hair, “Big brother is not blaming MiaoMiao. MiaoMiao did good this time. When we go back, big brother will buy you a barbie set.”

MiaoMiao’s eyes immediately brighted up and said: “MiaoMiao also wants lots of doll clothes”

“Okay, I’ll buy it all for you.” Wen FanChu laughed and pinched her chubby cheeks.

MiaoMiao did not have many toys. Fu Rou was worried that she would become addicted to her toys and not have the heart to study, so the number of toys she had was deliberately controlled.

The children these days were under a lot of pressure. As long as their family had the means, they would push the children to study more, so that when they start elementary school they would have a head start compared to the other children. As MiaoMiao was the only daughter of Wen FuChen, she would need to inherit her father’s company in the future, so she had to start learning from a young age.

It didn’t matter if it was Wen FuChen or Fu Rou, they both hoped that she would become an excellent successor. So most of her toys were educational flashcards, so that she could learn as she plays. The only time she could relax was when she used the iPad to watch cartoons.

Once she heard there would be a doll, her heart thought, since its a gift from big brother, Mommy definitely won’t throw it away. So she can ask for a bit more.

Her big brother seems to have a lot of money!

MiaoMiao, who had absolutely no idea that her father actually even more rich, secretly thought; In the future should she ask her big brother to buy her dolls?

The other girls in her class all had dolls. Everyday they would help the dolls brush their hair and change their clothes. MiaoMiao wanted one too!

[1] WeiBo is a social media site. It’s similar to Facebook.

[2] 掌上明珠: This is an idiom that literally means “the pearl in one’s palm” which figuratively means a beloved daughter. I replaced it with “apple of their eye” as I think its a decent substitute, but if you have any better suggestions please let me know. I’m not very good with idioms and metaphors.

Joey’s Corner:
Oooooh. Her big brother is getting suspicious.  I wonder if the fact that MiaoMiao has a system would become known by her family. Or if they would just think that MiaoMiao has some kind of weird power. I’m curious to see how they would reason about how MiaoMiao can basically see the future in a way.

After changing their clothes, Wen FanChu and Jiang FangFang took the three children to KFS.

To MiaoMiao, disregarding the price, KFC’s junk food [1] is already a super great meal. Especially the fried chicken legs and fried chicken wings. It is truly delicious!

After MiaoMiao washed her hands, she started eating. Because she cannot eat spicy, all the spicy ones were given to Xiong Da and Xiong Er to polish off. The non-spicy ones she would all try.

You have to know that her parents would rarely bring her to KFC. Her mother would say, our family is too poor, we cannot eat KFC. From this perspective it really does seem like her big brother is definitely the richer one.

When they returned to the hotel that night, MiaoMiao changed into her cute pyjamas and sat on the bed. She wore little yellow socks that matched the colour of her pyjamas. She asked Xiong Da and Xiong Er: “Xiong Da, Xiong Er, do you guys go to KFC often?”

Xiong Da thought for a moment, “Roughly once a week, maybe.”

MiaoMiao was immediately jealous, “That’s so nice, I can only eat it once a month.” Indeed, it seems like Xiong Da and Xiong Er’s family is very rich!

Xiong Er never would have thought that his little aunt would be this pitiful. His face was filled with sympathy and lived up to MiaoMiao’s expectations by saying the words she wanted to hear the most: “Then in the future, if we go out to eat, then we’ll bring Little Aunt too. If Mom and Dad, or Second Grandpa and Second Grandma [2] don’t allow it, we’ll bring some back for Little Aunt!”

MiaoMiao’s eyes lit up and since she was scared that Xiong Er would regret it, she immediately nodded her little head and said: “Okay Okay!”

Afterwards, she thought about the money problem, and embarassedly twiddled her fingertips, “Would it be too wasteful of Big Brother and Sister in Law’s money? KFC’s food is expensive isn’t it? My mommy said our family cannot afford it.”

Xiong Da, Xiong Er: “… … ???” What the? How can you not afford it?

Xiong Da said: “I remember, that we had asked Mom in the past. Each time is roughly just over a hundred dollars [3].”

“Yes, it’s not expensive.” Xiong Er nodded his head, “Maybe it is because the money is different? I remember that Mom said before, that different countries use different kinds of money. Even though the number is the same, the worth is different? So even though it is just over a hundred, but it is in fact really expensive in that kind of money?”

“Maybe it really is like that. Maybe after converting it into the money we use, it might be a thousand, or even ten thousand [4] each time.” Xiong Da solemnly nodded while he furrowed his brow.

Once MiaoMiao heard, over a thousand, over ten thousand, she was immediately dumbfounded. She held up her two hands and started counting her fingers, “one, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… …?”

Heavens! KFC was actually this expensive?

MiaoMiao thought for a moment and decided to ask: “Xiong Da and Xiong Er, how much pocket money do you guys get each day?”

The three children are usually given some pocket money. Inside the kindergarten there is a small kiosk, the children would occasionally go to buy snacks, so they would all bring some pocket money to kindergarten.

Xiong Da said: “Each day we would have 50 dollars.”

MiaoMiao looked at them enviously and said: “So lucky, each day I only get twenty dollars. Mommy said, our family doesn’t have much extra money, so I should spend less money.”

Xiong Da looked at MiaoMiao for a moment and didn’t say anything.

He remembered that his Dad hasa said before, that his Dad’s wages are given by Second Grandpa. The person paying the wages, should probably be the one who has more money right? So Second Grandpa’s family should be richer than theirs. Why is Little Aunt saying their family doesn’t have much money?

Xiong Da was suspects that the reason his Little Aunt is only given twenty dollars each day is because she only has ten fingers and ten toes. Second Grandma is probably worried that if she gives more than twenty dollars, then when she buy things at the little kiosk, she would end up losing money. So this is why she is only given so little.

“Little Aunt, you need to study hard. Our pocket money was increased as a result of our studies progressing. Your Chinese and English is already so good, maybe if your Mathematics improves too, then maybe your pocket money will grow.” Xiong Da blinked his eyes and hinted at his Little Aunt.

Xiong Er sat on the side confused, their pocket money increased because their results improved? Why is it that he remembers that their results were always the same? But their pocket money did increase.

Even though he was doubtful, because Xiong Er didn’t want to let his Little Aunt know that he knew less than his big brother, he decided to not say anything.

As a result, MiaoMiao believed it, and earnestly nodded her head, “okay, I will work hard on math!” Her goal is that after her math results improve, she’ll ask her mom to give her fifty dollars a day for pocket money!

The Author has things to say: Due to the reactions of many readers in the comments of this chapter saying that if the parents use “lack of money” to educate their children, it can cause children to have low self esteem and a feeling of inferiority. So here is an explanation.

Parents saying that the family has no money will not lead to children having low self-esteem. What would really cause children to have low self-esteem is if the family really has no money. These are not the same concepts, so do not confuse them.

To take the author themselves as an example. When I was a child, my father’s business was not doing well. At that time my mom directly talked about my father’s situation. Afterwards I always thought that my family was poor. But in reality this situation only lasted for a section of time. But afterwards, my mom forgot to tell me that our family’s financial situation had already improved. It was not until I reached university did I know that my family’s conditions had already gotten better. So as I grew up, I always thought that my family was very poor.

However, in the eyes of my classmates, I was considered to be quite rich. Because I had a rural household registration and my house had many rooms, so when I was small and invited classmates to my house, they all thought my house was very big. In junior high, each week I would spend 40-50 dollars at the bookstore buying romance novels. This was 10 years ago. 10 years ago, a junior high student that could spend 40-50 dollars buying romance novels was not seen very often. At least my classmates were not willing to spend this money.

So when I was small, I always thought: My family doesn’t have much money, but it seems like my classmates are even poorer than my family?

So even though I truly believed that my family had no money, but what my classmates had I also had, what my classmates didn’t have, my parents would still give me. So I never felt inferior.

For a child to have low self-esteem or feel inferior, then it should be due to the fact that they feel inferior to their classmates on all conditions that would cause them to think: Why is it that all the other children can have these things, but our family cannot afford it?

To put it bluntly, it is making comparisons, and they have lost.

MiaoMiao’s situation is similar to when I was a child. If you think about it in real life, aa little girl whose mother says that our family has no money. But if she wants pretty clothing and dresses, her parents will still buy it all for her. They will never hesitate to spend money. The family lives in a 400 square metres luxury apartment, and ever since she was young, she had her own room. And the furniture in the room was all customized for her. All she needs to go to the kindergarten and play with the other children there.

If you compare these conditions with other people, its not much worse than other people, other than the pocket money.

If you knew that your conditions were about the same as the other children and then found out how much pocket money they were given. If you knew that each month your pocket money is 2000, while your classmates have 5000, would you really feel inferior due to this?

If you change the perspective, if a pair of parents do not want their child to feel inferior so they never say that their family has no money, but in reality they really don’t have much money. Then if the child wants new clothes, they can’t afford it. If the child wants to eat KFC, they can’t afford it. The other children have phones and watches and in the entire class he is the only one without. Then even if the parents did not use their mouths to say it, the child themselves would still be able to feel it. He is different from the other children. If the other children want something, they will get it, but his family cannot afford it. This is how a low self-esteem and a feeling of inferiority can arise.

So it depends on whether or not the parents can meet the needs of the child’s environment and not based on purely what they say.

[1] 垃圾食品 (la ji shi pin) literally garbage food. I just felt like I had to make a comment about this cause I forgot that junk food is translated as garbage food in Chinese.

[2] Second Grandpa and Second Grandma refer to MiaoMiao’s parents. Since MiaoMiao’s parents adopted Wen FanChu, it makes them the twin’s Grandparents, while MiaoMiao’s grandparents would be considered their great-grandparents. The age differences is tripping me up a bit.

[3] 100 RMB is approximately equal to $16 USD. Since this is just over a hundred dollars, it’ll roughly be about $20 USD.

[4] A lot of Asian languages divide up their numbers differently. Instead of going one hundred, one thousand, one hundred thousand, one million. Its mainly divided up using one hundred, one thousand, and ten thousands. So if I want to say one hundred thousand, I would literally say ten ten thousands, and one million would be one hundred ten thousands. I am really bad at thinking about numbers in this way. I don’t understand why they picked 10 thousand to be their dividing number…

Joey’s Corner:
I hope it is clear that the “The Author has something to say” is from the author of the novel itself and not from me. That was a very very long author’s note. I do prefer to translate these author’s notes and little theatres. I like the feeling of interaction and the comedy they can bring.

Poor MiaoMiao, hopefully her math improves so she can get more pocket money and not have to rely on counting her fingers and toes anymore!