Chapter 176: For Fu Mingyu

"Jiaojiao, did you miss me? I’m here~"

A somewhat familiar voice rang out. Yun Jiao let out a yawn. She was sitting obediently on a small stool in the courtyard, staring blankly at the rabbit in front of her while her mother combed her hair.

Only then did she look outside, a little sluggishly.

A familiar voice, a familiar person.

Yun Jiao tilted her head, her mind still a bit foggy as she tried to process it.

’Ah... It’s Uncle Wang Hongfei.’

"Hongfei, what are you doing here?"

Wang Mei had also come out after hearing the all-too-familiar voice and saw that it was her own younger brother.

Wang Hongfei chuckled. "Morning, Sis. I’m heading out on a long trip, so I came by to visit."

As he spoke, he winked in Yun Jiao’s direction.

Yun Jiao greeted him, her voice still soft and syrupy with sleep.

Having woken up so early, three-year-old Little Yun Jiao wasn’t fully awake yet, looking dazed and a bit out of it.

Wang Hongfei: ’So cute!’

"Come on, Jiaojiao. Here’s a present I brought for you."

Wang Hongfei grinned cheekily as he held something out in front of Yun Jiao.

Yun Jiao looked down and saw a doll.

It even had golden hair.

She took it slowly. "Thank you, Uncle."

"You’re welcome. I heard this is what a lot of little girls like to play with. You can change the doll’s clothes and put its hair in little braids."

It came with two different dresses.

The doll’s arms and legs could move.

They were just a little stiff.

Yun Jiao held the plastic doll and began to study it with great interest.

She was always very curious about strange and unfamiliar things.

’I’m a little interested for now, but my enthusiasm is fleeting.’ Yun Jiao was certain, however, that Yun Xiaohua and the other little girls would definitely love it.

Wang Hongfei was very thoughtful. Not only did he buy a separate gift for Yun Jiao, but he also brought a bag of candy, a large roll of dried noodles, and two bottles of soda.

The soda, of course, was for the Yun family’s children.

"You came all this way, you didn’t have to bring so many gifts!"

Based on Yun Jiao’s observations, this was what most families said when relatives or friends came to visit with gifts.

Wang Hongfei was very talkative, and in just a few moments, he’d charmed the family’s elders until they were beaming.

Of course, his main purpose for coming today was still to find Yun Chenbei.

Unfortunately, Yun Chenbei wasn’t home at this hour; he had gone to his master’s house.

So, it fell to Yun Jiao to take him to find her fourth brother.

She carried a chubby little white dog, with another one trotting at her feet, and a cat following unhurriedly behind.

Yun Jiao expertly navigated the familiar path to Mu’s house.

The early morning was still misty. The big black dog lying by the entrance heard the sounds, its ears twitching as it lifted its head alertly.

When it saw it was Yun Jiao, it gave a token wag of its tail in welcome before slowly lying back down.

The little black puppy, however, started yapping and ran toward Big Black.

The little white dog she was holding also wagged its tail joyfully, its whole rump wiggling with an energy that sent its four short legs flailing happily.

Yun Jiao just put it down as well, and the little white dog also ran toward Big Black.

In the blink of an eye, Big Black was being harassed by the two pups.

Yun Jiao could even see a look of resignation on Big Black’s face.

"Big Black, take good care of your pups."

Yun Jiao patted Big Black’s head, her childish voice instructing him in all seriousness.

Wang Hongfei watched in amusement. "So these two pups are hers? I thought this dog was a male, it looks so fierce."

Big Black’s ears twitched, and then it snarled at Wang Hongfei.

Wang Hongfei let out a "Whoa!" and backed away a little. "What, you wanna bite me now?"

Yun Jiao spoke up for Big Black: "Big Black *is* a male dog. He’s their father."

Wang Hongfei rubbed his nose and chuckled. "That explains it. A dog this mighty and majestic must be a grand and imposing male dog."

Big Black stared at Wang Hongfei for a moment before looking away, then irritably pushed away the pup that was clinging to its ear and chewing on it.

’So annoying. I don’t want to admit these are my pups.’

Yun Jiao led Wang Hongfei into the Mu house.

"Fourth Brother."

Her short legs stepped over the threshold of the Mu house, and Yun Jiao ran straight toward the person sitting in the courtyard.

Yun Chenbei put down the carving knife in his hand, a smile appearing on his face when he saw Yun Jiao.

He looked at the person behind her, his eyes holding a trace of confusion. He pursed his lips and his brow furrowed slightly.

He didn’t say anything, unable to quite recognize him.

The moment Yun Jiao saw his expression, she knew her fourth brother wasn’t recognizing someone again.

"Fourth Brother, it’s Uncle."

She whispered, hugging her brother’s neck.

Yun Chenbei finally realized who it was, just as Wang Hongfei spoke up.

"Ha... you really don’t recognize me if I don’t speak, huh."

He knew about Yun Chenbei’s face blindness, he just hadn’t really noticed it before.

He only knew that this nephew of his didn’t talk much. Most of the time when he was at their house, he would just quietly help with chores or stare into space.

"Uncle."

Yun Chenbei said slowly.

"Heh heh, Chenbei, are the things ready?"

Yun Chenbei nodded slightly. "Not many."

He got up and went into the room to get a wooden box.

They were all things he had made in his spare time.

Little cats, little dogs, little rabbits, and chubby little birds.

They could all move.

Although they were made of wood, they were endearingly simple and cute.

He hadn’t had much time, so he’d only made a few.

Each one was only palm-sized and had been painted. From a short distance away, they looked almost real.

But they didn’t hold up to close inspection. Up close, the wood grain was clearly visible.

The things Yun Chenbei made now couldn’t yet achieve the lifelike quality of Old Man Mu’s work.

But even so, Wang Hongfei was already very satisfied.

"Not bad, not bad. Just a bit of a small batch."

Yun Chenbei said, "I also have some decorations at home made from snail shells and seashells."

Those were simpler, so he could make some in the evenings after getting home.

"No rush, I’m not leaving until tomorrow. I’ll take a look when we get back."

He grabbed Yun Chenbei and, chattering endlessly, continued to ramble on about his grand ambitions.

Yun Chenbei was quiet and reserved, only occasionally making a sound in response.

Meanwhile, Yun Jiao was squatting to one side, looking at the carving her fourth brother had just been working on, her eyes filled with pleasant surprise.

"Fourth Brother, you finished it!"

’It’s so cute.’

It was a wooden carving of a chubby baby riding a killer whale.

Although the wooden carving couldn’t achieve the lively, delicate, and beautiful look of a real person, it still bore a fifty to sixty percent resemblance to Yun Jiao.

Moreover, Yun Chenbei had leaned into the cute aesthetic, making the carved doll look a bit chubbier than Yun Jiao herself.

’It’s pretty. I love it.’

Yun Jiao felt that the one her fourth brother carved was even prettier than the doll her uncle had given her.

The only unfortunate thing was that you couldn’t change its clothes, and its hair was also carved from wood.

Wang Hongfei looked over too, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

He rubbed his hands together. "This one..."

Yun Chenbei didn’t even wait for him to finish, rejecting him with a deadpan expression. "It’s Jiaojiao’s. Not for you."

Yun Jiao nodded. "Mine."

After a moment’s thought, she added with some reluctance, "It’s a gift for Fu Mingyu."

They had already agreed on this beforehand.

’But it’s so cute, I don’t really want to give it away.’

Then again, she thought about all the things Fu Mingyu had given their family—food and other useful items.

’Well... I guess I should still give it to him.’

’I’ll just have Fourth Brother carve an even prettier one for me later.’

Wang Hongfei clutched his chest, his eyes unable to tear themselves away from the wooden carving. "Who’s Fu Mingyu?"