Chapter 151: No One Came in Vain

Yun Chen Nan explained, "We’re a family of fishermen, so I’ve made a point to learn about marine life and have asked my teacher about it. That conch is listed as a protected marine animal because its population is too low. To be on the safe side, we released it back into the sea."

Grandpa Yun nodded. "I see. It’s good to be cautious."

"Those conches... because they can produce pearls and their shells can be made into crafts favored by the wealthy, it’s true that many have been overfished."

Yun Jiao asked, "Like the hawksbill sea turtles?"

Grandpa Yun nodded. "More or less. That’s why there are fewer and fewer of them now. It’s good you released it. Even if you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have let you bring it home.

"Their numbers are too low. Everything requires balance. These creatures have their own reason for existing. Catching them in large numbers without restraint will anger the sea."

Grandpa Yun took this opportunity to teach his children and grandchildren.

"We can’t do things that are immoral or unconscionable just to make money. Think about it. If there are no regulations or restraints, and all those hawksbills and conches, big and small, are caught and killed...

"...then future generations might never see them again. And the other animals that depend on them for food will surely be affected. When that happens, won’t there be fewer and fewer fish in the sea?"

"We fishermen receive the sea’s bounty, so we must also protect the sea. That’s why when we fish, we shouldn’t try to wipe out everything in the water..."

Everyone listened intently.

Grandpa Yun might not have been formally educated, but he was a wise and very experienced old man.

They say having an elder in the family is like having a treasure, but of course, that depends on the person.

Elders like Grandpa Yun and Granny Yun were the real treasures.

"We also have coconut crabs! Grandpa, we found three coconut crabs."

Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoqi excitedly took the coconut crabs out of the burlap sack.

"Look, Grandpa! This coconut-eating crab is huge! It can even climb trees. We originally caught five, but we let the other two go because they were too small."

Yun Jiao nodded. "Grandpa, we were good, right?"

Nearby, Granny Yun chuckled and patted Yun Jiao on the head.

"Good girl, good girl. Our Jiaojiao is the best."

Grandpa Yun was also surprised as he looked at the coconut crabs. "Coconut crabs? You don’t see these much anymore either."

Yun Linhe added, "We’ve eaten these before. We haven’t seen any coconut crabs in the grove next to our village for years now, have we?"

"HUUUUUMMM~"

Just as everyone was feeling cheerful, Yun Jiao heard the call of the Whale Shark.

"The Whale Shark is here."

She stood up.

Hearing this, the others all stood up and followed Yun Jiao to see the Whale Shark.

Except for Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe, the others had only ever heard about it but had never actually seen one in person.

"WOW!!!"

They were shocked. There was no other word for it.

That Whale Shark was unbelievably beautiful and massive.

Yun Xiaowu was so excited he looked like he wanted to jump into the sea. "Is that the Whale Shark you were talking about, little sister? It’s huge! A creature that big really only eats tiny fish and shrimp?"

Yun Jiao nodded. "Let’s go feed it some oyster meat."

Thanks to everyone’s efforts, they had now shucked three whole buckets of oyster meat.

There weren’t that many pearls, though, not as many as the first time. They only found fifteen, and five of them were the tiny, unsellable kind.

Carrying the oyster meat, they excitedly headed for the boat.

Yun Jiao mimicked the Whale Shark’s call a few times, and the massive creature swam over to them.

Its enormous body circled their boat, and it even poked its head out of the water to greet Yun Jiao.

"Brothers, do you want to come touch it?"

"Of course we do!"

Yun Xiaowu and the others were beyond excited, carefully placing their hands on the Whale Shark’s huge mouth.

"AHHH... Why don’t we have a camera!"

It was such a shame they couldn’t get a picture of this!

If he didn’t get a picture, how was he supposed to brag to his friends back home? Just words wouldn’t do it. They’ve never seen a Whale Shark, so there’s no way they could imagine this.

"Mom, Little Aunt, do you want to touch it too?"

Yun Jiao made sure everyone in the family got a turn. No one’s trip would be for nothing.

The two women were also thrilled. ’What a massive fish.’

They leaned in and carefully touched the Whale Shark, too.

The excitement in their eyes was obvious.

Wang Mei exclaimed, "Oh my, this thing is huge! It’s much bigger than our boat. How much must it eat in a day? Can we even fill it up with all these oysters?"

Yun Jiao replied, "We don’t have to fill it up."

"We’re just giving it a taste."

"How do we feed it? How? I’ll do it! Let me do it!"

Yun Xiaowu wanted to feed the Whale Shark.

But so did everyone else.

A fight nearly broke out on the boat over it.

Then the boys were reined in by their two fathers.

"Let Jiaojiao do it. This is Jiaojiao’s friend. What are you all making a fuss for?"

Yun Xiaowu clutched his head where he’d been smacked. "I’m Jiaojiao’s brother! Jiaojiao’s friend is my friend!"

Yun Xiaoqi added, "That’s right!"

Yun Jiao lifted a bucket of oyster meat. This time, instead of throwing the meat into the sea like before, she patted the Whale Shark’s mouth.

"Open your mouth."

The Whale Shark obediently opened its mouth.

The huge Whale Shark’s mouth looked even more terrifying up close.

Yun Xiaojiu’s eyes went wide as saucers, and he didn’t dare get too close. "That huge mouth could swallow a few of me!"

Yun Jiao poured the oyster meat directly into its mouth.

After eating, the Whale Shark closed its mouth and slipped back into the sea.

It was very happy.

It circled their boat two more times.

The remaining two buckets were for the killer whales. The killer whale pod was large, and they had helped chase down and catch the bluefin tuna last time, so it was only natural to save more for them.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I’m going in the sea to play!"

With that, Yun Jiao jumped straight into the sea.

But this was immediately followed by several loud SPLASHES.

"We’re coming too, little sister! We want to play with the big Whale Shark too!"

’Fine, then.’

So Yun Jiao decided to let them experience what it felt like to ride a Whale Shark in the sea.

The Whale Shark had just eaten their oysters, and since it had a gentle nature, it naturally didn’t mind a few humans on its back.

The water’s buoyancy meant that a few children lying on its back wouldn’t be too heavy.

However, Yun Xiaowu and the others didn’t dare to all scramble on at once.

With Yun Jiao already in place, only two other children climbed on at a time.

"Little Nine and Little Eight, you go first."

At this moment, Yun Xiaowu was actually acting like a big brother, letting his younger brothers have the first turn.

Yun Jiao sat on the Whale Shark’s head like a driver and announced, "Let’s go!"

Yun Xiaojiu and Yun Xiao Ba felt the Whale Shark move and started whooping with excitement.

The parents on the boat watched, chuckling happily.

Yun Linhe stroked his chin. "How about we go buy a camera?"

He also thought it was a real shame not to have a photo to commemorate this moment.

"If Jiaojiao befriends other sea creatures in the future, it would be such a shame if she grows up and doesn’t even have a single photo to look back on."

Everyone else thought that made perfect sense.