Chapter 196: Cooperation

A fish... network?

Sun Yaotong’s lips twitched when he heard Yun Linhai’s words.

But on second thought, it actually made perfect sense.

He cleared his throat. "I believe the dolphin that brought the bracelet didn’t come from very far. It most likely came from the nearby waters. That’s why I want to partner with you. I’ll take care of the boat and equipment, and you’ll be in charge of searching for and salvaging the shipwreck. You’re fine with diving, right?"

Yun Linhai replied, "The two of us brothers can hold our breath for six or seven minutes underwater, but the pressure down there is too great. We can’t go too deep."

Sun Yaotong said, "How about this: I’ll get you diving suits and oxygen tanks to try out. The fewer people who know about this, the better. Otherwise, things could get complicated."

Wealth tempts the heart. He was worried that if others found out, they might risk diving to the bottom of the sea without proper equipment, which could lead to fatalities.

He was even more afraid of someone lurking in the shadows, waiting to rob them after they salvaged the shipwreck’s contents. That would be dangerous too.

"As for whether you want to cooperate, that’s still up to you."

Sun Yaotong was strongly inclined to work with the Yun family.

To be honest, faced with such a potential fortune, Yun Linhai and his brother were incredibly tempted.

Yun Linhe was the bolder of the two. He slammed his hand on the table.

"Done. We’ll partner up. But this isn’t the right season for working at sea. We’ll have to wait for better weather after spring begins."

Sun Yaotong nodded. "No problem. That works out perfectly. I can use this time to prepare the boat and equipment, and you can practice your diving skills with the suits and oxygen tanks."

With the matter settled, Sun Yaotong, Wang Jianlin, and the others prepared to leave.

Sun Yaoqin was extremely reluctant to leave, clinging to Yun Jiao pitifully.

"Can’t little sister really not come home with me? I don’t want to be separated from her."

Yun Xiaowu and the other brothers: ...

They pried Yun Jiao back.

"Jiaojiao is our sister. She’s not going home with you."

"Go on now, hurry up and go."

Yun Jiao was stuck in the middle, pulled one way and then the other.

Life-is-meaningless.jpg

"Sister Qin, you go on home first. I’ll come visit you in the future."

Of course, Yun Jiao wanted to stay with her own family.

In the end, Sun Yaoqin left, still full of reluctance.

Back inside the house, everyone was still looking at the big golden bracelet.

The charm of the big golden bracelet was too captivating.

"Mom, Jiaojiao gave it to you. You should try it on."

Granny Yun chuckled. "I already tried it on, I tried it on! It looks great."

"It’s a shame it’s too flashy to wear out now. Otherwise, if you wore this and stood among that group of old ladies, you’d definitely be the sharpest-looking one."

Yun Jiao nodded in agreement.

Granny Yun said, "I’m so old, what would I do wearing this? I’ll keep it for Jiaojiao. When she grows up, she can wear it."

Yun Jiao blinked. ’So she’s saving it for me after all.’

She turned to her mother and aunt.

"When Jiaojiao finds the sunken ship, I’ll give Mom and Aunt pretty golden bracelets to wear too."

Her words made the two women of the house beam with joy.

Yun Linhe pretended to be hurt. "So Jiaojiao only thinks about her mom and auntie, and not about her dad and me, her uncle?"

Yun Jiao waved her little hand. "I’ll give them! I’ll give Dad, Uncle, Grandpa, and my brothers big gold chains!"

"PFFT..."

The image of them with big gold chains hanging around their necks was indeed quite amusing.

"Hahaha... Then we’ll have to thank Jiaojiao for that."

Of course, for now, everyone just treated this conversation as a game to amuse the three-year-old Yun Jiao. After that evening, they didn’t give it another thought.

Although the Wang family had left, they had also left behind a small problem for the Yun family.

Cai Jinhua’s family and the Zhou family had heard that Wang Jianlin had some connection to the Yuns. Seeing their family members arrested, they now came to beg for help.

Yun Dan’s parents, the two elders leading their grandchildren, along with the members of the Zhou family who hadn’t been arrested, brought their whole families to block the Yuns’ doorway early in the morning.

The good mood they were in instantly soured, as if the air had been tainted with the smell of shit.

"Yun Mu, we have so many children in our family. What are they supposed to do without their parents? You have a good relationship with that leader. Please, go talk to him and ask him to release our Dan and Jinhua."

"Mr. Yun, our family has elders to support and children to raise. We all depend on the able-bodied youth to work and provide for so many people. Do us a favor, just talk to the leader and ask him to let them go."

At this moment, Yun Linhai’s entire family felt the same stifling frustration Yun Dafu’s family must have experienced when they were being morally blackmailed.

Wang Mei, being the fiery one, stood at the door with a broom. "What relationship do we have with that leader? Even if we did, you broke the law yourselves and you expect our family to help get you out? What a joke.

"I’ve lived a long time, but today I’ve truly seen it all. Every single one of you is shameless! I’m telling you, don’t even bother asking about that leader. As for your business, don’t even think about it. No way!"

Yun Dan’s parents put on a miserable expression. "We can’t go on living! Without our son and daughter-in-law, how are two old folks like us supposed to raise so many children? It would be better if we just took the children and died."

"And we’re all from the same village! It’s just a matter of saying a few words for us, how can you be so heartless!"

The Zhou family also started wailing, "Oh, heavens! We can’t go on living..."

Granny Yun looked disgusted. "If you want to die, go die somewhere else. Don’t bring your bad luck here."

"Xiao Wu, go get the village chief!"

Mr. Yun’s face was grim. He had no intention of giving Yun Dan’s family any face now.

’What an immoral bunch of things they’ve done.’

"Communicating with the leader to get them released is impossible. They broke the law, so they must face the consequences. If you continue to make a scene like this, we’ll go straight to the police station and report you."

But these people had thrown all caution to the wind. They were already shameless to begin with, so they resorted to everything: throwing tantrums, moral blackmail, and playing the victim.

It was a matter that had nothing to do with Yun Jiao’s family, yet they were stubbornly insisting that the Yuns take care of it.

Yun Jiao hugged Big Black, her little eyes turning chilly.

’Should I let Big Black go bite someone?’

’This is so annoying.’

As if on cue, that busybody Granny Yuan showed up.

"We’re all fellow villagers. Their family is in such a pitiful state. If you can lend a hand, you should. The Bodhisattva will remember your good deed, and you’ll be able to have a good reincarnation in your next life."

Granny Yun was utterly disgusted by her.

"If you pity them so much, why don’t you go be their beast of burden? What’s the point of just running your mouth? Fine, you’re a little old, a little confused about right and wrong, a little bit of an ungrateful wretch, and a little shameless, but since you’re so full of love, go on and help them care for their elders and children! In fact, you could even go serve jail time for those criminals! And you talk about the Bodhisattva? The Bodhisattva wouldn’t even spare you a glance! You think you’re so high and mighty you can ascend to heaven?!"

Wang Mei and Shen Yunlian’s eyes went wide. In unison, they gave their mother-in-law a big thumbs-up.

’Mother-in-law, you’re so good at this, keep going!’

Granny Yun didn’t usually show off her true capabilities, but she had been a young miss from a wealthy family who had managed to survive a famine. She had her own temper and clever methods.