The Little Lucky Star of an ’80S Fishing Village, Doted on by Her Five Brothers

[1980s + adored little girl + coastal foraging and fishing + everyday life in a fishing village + lighthearted comedy + food and fortune] The old Lan family of Crescent Bay had five sons, named Lan Zhao Shu, Lan Huan Shu, Lan Pan Shu, Lan Ying Shu, and Lan Wang Shu. Their meaning was obvious. At last, after wishing upon every star and waiting for the moon, they welcomed a soft and cuddly little girl. Three-and-a-half-year-old Lan Nuo Nuo could hear the seabirds announce the tides, call schools of fish to shore, and even make domineering giant crabs march into bamboo baskets in a neat line. One day, she looked at the row of older brothers in her family and said, “Dad, let’s change the boys’ names. Their names aren’t any good. Our family may favor girls, but that doesn’t mean we don’t care about boys.” So little Nuo Nuo took charge and gave all five of her brothers new names. From then on, the Lan family came home from fishing with their boat packed full and from gathering seafood with their baskets overflowing. Even their dried fish tasted fresher and more fragrant than everyone else’s. Her lazy, greedy aunts and uncles secretly followed them, hoping to learn the Lan family’s secret to getting rich. But before they could catch a single fish, seagulls chased them into a muddy pit, pecking all the way. Everyone said the Lan family was hiding a secret recipe, but Nuo Nuo hugged a little seal and explained earnestly, “There’s no secret recipe. You have to be good to the sea, and then the sea will give you food.” With a little fishing boat and a table full of fresh seafood, the Lan family set out from Crescent Bay and built a thriving life.