Chapter 135: The News from Ah Wang

She had no intention of bringing her poor fourth brother along.

He had to stay here and work. He couldn’t leave even if he wanted to.

’Sorry, Fourth Brother. I’ll be sure to remember your sacrifice.’

Mr. Mu could only watch as Yun Jiao ran off, taking a cat and a dog with her.

Old Man Mu was at a loss for words.

"Was it really that bad?"

He took a big bite himself. "It’s definitely not as good as your Grandma’s cooking, but what I make is at least edible, right?"

’I’ve been eating like this for years. As long as it doesn’t kill you, it’s fine.’

Yun Chenbei silently shoveled rice into his mouth.

’Next time, I’ll just bring Master some food from home,’ he thought. ’I really don’t want to try his cooking ever again.’

Meanwhile, Yun Jiao dashed home in a flash.

The sight of Granny Yun bustling in the kitchen made her eyes well up with tears.

"Grandma."

Granny Yun said, "You’re back. What’s wrong? You look so miserable."

Yun Jiao shook her head. "It’s nothing. I just missed your cooking, Grandma."

"Your cooking is the best in the world."

’Especially after that comparison,’ she thought.

"Such a sweet talker. Okay, go get your grandpa and your dad. It’s time to eat."

As she spoke, Granny Yun popped a fragrant fish ball into Yun Jiao’s mouth.

One of Yun Jiao’s cheeks immediately puffed out.

’So good, so good! Now *this* is food fit for humans.’

Yun Jiao ran off to call her grandpa, her dad, and her brothers.

Yun Jiao’s father picked her up.

"Come on, let’s make a stop at Ah Wang’s place first."

Yun Jiao nodded. "Are we going to get paid?"

Her father nodded. "He didn’t have enough cash on him the day before yesterday, so he wrote us an IOU."

The day before yesterday, their haul had sold for 254 yuan.

The Dragon Dungeness alone went for three yuan a jin, and at twenty-three jin, it brought in 69 yuan.

Ah Wang had just bought another batch of seafood before they arrived, so he didn’t have enough cash on hand.

When they got to Yun Wang’s collection station, he was in the middle of moving his inventory.

"Brother Lin Hai, you’re here! And Jiaojiao, too."

Nestled in Yun Linhai’s arms, Yun Jiao gave a polite cry of, "Uncle Wang."

"Brother Lin Hai, here’s the money for you all."

Yun Linhai nodded and handed the IOU back to him.

The two men chatted for a bit before Yun Wang suddenly said, "Brother Lin Hai, you know of the Da Yun Restaurant in town, right?"

Yun Linhai nodded. Of course he did. Da Yun Restaurant was the largest restaurant in town.

"That guy who came by earlier and bought your gooseneck barnacles, he’s the young boss of the Da Yun Restaurant. The one in our town is just a branch; they have an even bigger one in the city."

"Next Monday, they’re hosting some kind of banquet and need a lot of rare seafood. They’re looking for big ones, preferably Little Green Dragons, Su Mei Fish... the more expensive and rarer, the better."

"The prices they’re offering are much higher than usual. If you guys have the skills to catch some, you can take it directly to the Da Yun Restaurant to sell. You’re guaranteed to make a killing."

Curled up in her dad’s arms, Yun Jiao’s ears perked up.

Yun Linhai nodded. "Got it. I’ll remember that."

He also casually pushed a certain fuzzy little head, which was wriggling with excitement, back down.

After leaving Yun Wang’s place, Yun Jiao couldn’t wait. "Dad, Dad, let’s go out to sea and catch fish!"

’Forget everything else, I can definitely catch a huge Little Green Dragon.’

’Money, money, money!’

Yun Linhai patted her head. "We’ll go home and discuss it with your grandpa and the others first."

Yun Jiao just said, "Oh," but the gears in her mind were still turning.

Back home, Yun Linhai brought the matter up with the family at the dinner table.

Granny Yun and the others immediately turned to look at Yun Jiao.

"Don’t you go doing anything dangerous!"

Clearly, the entire family knew what kind of personality Yun Jiao had.

Yun Jiao was not happy at all. She puffed out her cheeks, looking like a pouty, white steamed bun.

"What did I do? I wasn’t going to do anything dangerous."

Yun Linhai said, "When we’re out at sea, you can go in the water only if the killer whales show up. If they don’t, don’t even think about it."

They had all come to see the killer whales as Yun Jiao’s bodyguards.

"We’ve been troubling those killer whales for so long. I wonder what they like. Is there anything we can give them?"

Even though they were animals, the Yun family believed in returning a favor.

They always relied on the killer whales to protect Jiaojiao in the ocean, and they felt bad not giving them something in return.

Yun Jiao piped up, "They really liked that ball!"

"Didn’t we give them two already?"

Yun Jiao replied, "One broke, and we lost the other one."

So, both balls were gone now.

"A wooden ball won’t last if it’s always soaking in the water. It’ll break too quickly."

Yun Xiaowu suddenly shouted, "A basketball! A basketball would be great!"

Judging by his expression, he didn’t want to give it to the killer whales; he clearly wanted one for himself.

A single basketball cost several yuan.

"A rubber ball would work too," he added.

Wang Mei said, "We’re not buying it for you. What are you getting all worked up about?"

"You could just buy an extra one," he mumbled.

His ulterior motive was plain to see.

*Heh heh...*

"Are you already tired of your toy cars and guns?"

Yun Xiaowu smacked his lips. "Not really, but who ever complains about having too many toys, right?"

The words were barely out of his mouth before the back of his head got a few smacks.

Yun Xiaowu shot his mother a resentful look. ’Only my real mother would hit me that hard!’

Although Yun Xiaowu and the other kids had their own selfish motives, they did give the adults an idea.

They still had to buy a ball.

Those killer whales had protected Jiaojiao for so long. Even if a few balls were a bit expensive, they were more than willing to spend the money.

There were still three days until next Monday. As long as the weather was good and it didn’t rain on Saturday and Sunday, they could go out to sea to harvest seafood.

That afternoon, Yun Linhe and the others returned.

They also brought back some of Yun Jiao’s favorite treats, like meat-filled Baozi and fried dough twists.

The children cheered, and the meat-filled Baozi quickly disappeared, one for each kid.

"A fan!"

The whole family cheered at the sight of the brand-new electric fan.

They eagerly searched for an outlet to plug it in.

It was a floor fan with three speed settings, and they tried out every one of them.

The third setting was the most comfortable, and its breeze could reach everyone in the family.

The children crowded around the fan, letting the strong wind blow so hard it was a little difficult to breathe, but they were too happy to move away.

Yun Jiao’s hair flew everywhere in the breeze, her eyes squinted in a brilliant smile.

"Look, the head even swings back and forth!"

"It’s so cool! Hahaha..."

"We have an electric fan now! Only three other families in the whole village have one. We’re the fourth, and ours is brand new!"

Granny Yun shooed away the little ones who were crowding too close.

"Go on, shoo! Why are you all huddled so close? You’ll be sorry when you catch a cold from the draft."

Yun Xiaowu retorted, "We won’t! It’s so hot today, the breeze feels great."

"Dad, now that we have a fan, when are we getting a freezer? I want to eat popsicles."

Yun Linhai’s face turned stern. "You want a popsicle? I think you want a spanking instead!"

They had just gotten a fan, and he was already dreaming about a freezer. That little brat really needed to be taught a lesson.

"Third Brother, let me see your glasses! Let me try them on."

After being shooed away, they swarmed around Yun Chen Nan instead.

They stared in fascination at the glasses perched on Yun Chen Nan’s nose.

With glasses on, Yun Chen Nan looked like a completely different person.

He looked more refined and handsome, just like a scholar.

Yun Chen Nan refused to let them. These glasses cost a hundred and fifty yuan! His younger brothers were so clumsy; what if they broke them?