Chapter 195: The Bracelet

Who else but the ocean’s own daughter could ride a killer whale around in the sea?

And the photos didn’t just show a killer whale; there was also a sea turtle and a massive Whale Shark.

Seriously, who else has skills like that?!

The more Wang Yun looked, the brighter her eyes shone with excitement.

"Jiaojiao, when are you going out to sea again?"

She wanted to go see it for herself.

Yun Jiao sat off to the side, playing with Turtle Xiao Er in her arms.

"We have to wait until the weather gets warmer. Dad and the others won’t let me go out to sea right now; they’re afraid I’ll catch a cold."

Wang Yun nodded at her words and patted the little girl’s head. "That’s for the best."

"In that case, I’ll come see you when the weather warms up."

She loved all the photos, but of course, she couldn’t just take them.

Wang Yi leaned over for a look, proudly pointing to some of the pictures and declaring he had taken them.

Hearing this, Wang Yun smiled. "Oh, so you have the photos, too? Do you still have the negatives? I’d like to get a few prints made."

"I do. Help yourself, Auntie."

"Whoa, I don’t have these photos from the back. What kind of fish is this? It looks even bigger than the killer whale! Yun Jiao, you’ve met a new fish! I want to take a picture like this next time, too."

He was pointing to the photo of her on the Whale Shark’s back.

"Who’s this little boy?"

Yun Jiao replied, "A friend of mine."

After they finished looking at the photos, Yun Jiao put the album away.

Granny Yun, Shen Yunlian, and the others had already prepared a large bowl of minced Spanish mackerel filling for the dumplings.

They brought the filling out to the table, and everyone immediately gathered around to help.

Yun Jiao also picked up a dumpling wrapper and began to slowly and earnestly fold a dumpling.

She used a little too much filling; the finished dumpling was plump and round, but it was bursting open at the seam.

Yun Jiao held up the dumpling. "Mama, it won’t close."

Shen Yunlian crouched down, smiling as she opened the dumpling and removed a little of the filling.

"You put in too much. Use a little less next time."

Yun Jiao stared at the beautifully plump dumpling with its pleated edge in her mother’s hand and nodded earnestly.

Then she picked up another wrapper to try again.

She wanted to make one with a pleated edge, too.

But the result was...

Hideous.

Yun Jiao’s little brows furrowed into a frown.

As someone who cared a lot about appearances, she couldn’t stand the sight of the dumplings she’d made.

She shoved it into her third brother’s hand, pretending she wasn’t the one who made it.

Yun Chen Nan was speechless.

As they were making dumplings, school let out for the day.

After persistently making several more ugly, misshapen dumplings, Yun Jiao decisively dropped her "tools" and ran outside.

"Grandma, Mama, I’m going to meet my brothers!"

Seeing her leave, the two small dogs that had been playing in the yard immediately scrambled after her on their four little legs.

She met her brothers at the entrance to the village. When they heard that Yun Jiao had just gotten a godmother, they immediately started to protest.

Yun Xiaowu said, "What godmother? Isn’t having us enough for Jiaojiao? Why does she need a godmother?"

’If Jiaojiao’s godmother has kids, doesn’t that just mean more people trying to steal our sister?’

Yun Xiaoqi nodded. "Exactly. Jiaojiao, how can you just listen to everything Dad and the others say? You have to have your own opinions."

Yun Jiao thought, ’But I was the one who agreed to it.’

Yun Xiaowu declared, "Well, I don’t agree. I don’t approve of this new relative. I’m going to go talk to Mama and the others."

Yun Jiao said, "Don’t. It’s already been decided."

"So we can’t undo it?" asked Yun Xiaowu.

Yun Jiao fixed him with a stare, her expression seeming to say, ’What do you think?’

If it were up to Yun Xiaowu, he would have said yes, it could be undone.

But... he was afraid of making his sister angry.

He pouted. "You already have so many of us brothers. Why would you let someone else come and steal you away?"

Yun Jiao took his hand and nuzzled her face against his.

"Of course, you guys are my absolute favorites," Jiaojiao cooed. "No one else can compare."

The silly boys were quickly won over by Yun Jiao’s sweet words.

When they returned home, Yun Xiaowu and the others were still on their best behavior, greeting the guests properly.

They had to show proper manners; otherwise, they’d get a beating.

Wang Yun, in turn, gave them the gifts and red envelopes she had prepared in advance.

Having accepted the gifts, Yun Xiaowu and his brothers, now holding presents and red envelopes, broke into wide, goofy grins. There was no more talk of not wanting their sister to have a godmother.

Besides, they had taken a look around. Other than Wang Yi, whom they already knew, it seemed the family only had one daughter, who was older than Jiaojiao.

So their sister wasn’t getting more brothers, just an older sister.

That was perfectly fine, then.

The dumplings were all wrapped; now they just had to wait for Yun Linhai, Wang Jianlin, and the others to return.

They didn’t get back until it was getting dark.

They arrived just in time for a meal of steaming hot dumplings.

The few ugly dumplings Yun Jiao had made were given to the others.

She, meanwhile, was happily munching on the plump, beautifully pleated ones.

’Delicious!’

"Yun Dan and Cai Jinhua are probably headed to prison," Yun Linhai said between bites of dumplings, bringing up the matter of Cai Jinhua’s family.

"What? It’s that serious?"

Wang Jianlin explained, "Whether you call it a ghost marriage or an arranged marriage, what they did amounts to selling their own child. It was just disguised as a wedding. The authorities are currently cracking down and making an example of such cases. Both this family in your village and the man’s side will face prison time."

"The government is in the middle of a major campaign to eradicate feudal superstitions and ban arranged marriages. These people basically walked right into the line of fire."

Truth be told, cases of arranged marriage are difficult to prosecute if the children themselves don’t make a fuss or file a report.

Parents are naturally in a position of power over their children. Out of a sense of filial piety, most people would never dream of reporting their own parents, even if they were essentially "sold" in the name of marriage.

Furthermore, many people are simply ignorant of the fact that they are breaking the law, so they act without fear.

The case involving Cai Jinhua and the others wouldn’t be resolved in just a day or two.

Wang Jianlin and his party couldn’t stay here indefinitely, but he promised to keep an eye on the matter even after he returned.

With him paying attention, the local police station would naturally have to resolve the case properly.

After they finished the dumplings, Sun Yaotong pulled a few members of the Yun family aside to talk about the shipwreck.

"What shipwreck?"

Yun Linhai and the others looked completely baffled.

Sun Yaotong turned to Yun Jiao. "Jiaojiao, where’s that big bracelet of yours?"

Yun Jiao looked toward Granny Yun.

"It’s right here."

Granny Yun took out the bracelet, which was wrapped in layer after layer of handkerchiefs.

The moment the glittering gold bracelet, inlaid with beautiful gemstones, was revealed, everyone was stunned.

"Ma, where did you get this?!"

Yun Linhai and the others were astonished.

Granny Yun said gleefully, "Jiaojiao gave it to me."

Her tone was filled with unconcealable joy and pride.

’Her good little granddaughter got such a magnificent bracelet, and the first person she thought of was this old woman. How could she not be gratified and overjoyed?’

Before Yun Jiao could even say a word, Wang Yi once again unleashed his talent for oration, launching into a rapid-fire narrative.

Good heavens, it was like a professional storytelling performance, leaving the audience utterly captivated and stunned.

Yun Jiao thought, ’I certainly don’t have that kind of skill.’

’Besides, doesn’t he feel embarrassed telling such an exaggerated story in front of so many people?’

Yun Jiao touched her own cheek. ’I guess I’m just too thin-skinned.’

"Whoa, sweetie, have your ’fish connections’ expanded again? And you landed a big one this time, too."