Chapter 248: Visiting the Grandparents

They escorted the men as far as the Humpback Whale could go before leaving on the cruise ship.

Before they left, Yun Jiao put her little hands on her hips and said, "Mister, tell them that if they don’t work hard when they get back, I won’t take them out to have fun next time."

The translator’s eyes crinkled into a smile. "No problem. I’ll be sure to pass your message along."

Vice Commander Lin also walked over and handed her a hundred yuan.

"Thank you for your help, Comrade Yun."

Yun Jiao took the money, her eyes curving into crescents as she flashed her little white teeth. "You’re welcome."

After saying goodbye, Yun Jiao turned the Humpback Whale around and headed for home.

"Bye-bye, big fella! I’ll come play with you again next time."

Clutching two tiger groupers, a dripping-wet Yun Jiao returned to the stretch of beach where she tended to her geese.

"WOOF WOOF..."

The sound of barking filled the air as her family’s two dogs came trotting toward her, baskets in their mouths and tails wagging.

Behind the two dogs, Yun Sui was also running at top speed.

"Boss!"

Grinning foolishly and clutching a large white goose egg, Yun Sui ran up to Yun Jiao and greeted her as his boss.

Yun Jiao puffed out her chest proudly.

"It’s you, Yun Sui. Come on, your boss is going to treat you to something good."

’I caught two big tiger groupers for a special meal, after all.’

"Wow, so many eggs."

The baskets the dogs carried were filled with eggs: chicken eggs, duck eggs, and goose eggs.

The two dogs watched over the family’s poultry, following them around and picking up eggs to put in the baskets as soon as they were laid.

They were quite the capable pair.

The goose eggs, however, were too big. The dogs couldn’t open their mouths wide enough and were afraid of breaking them if they tried too hard, so Yun Sui had to help collect those.

From a high perch on a nearby reef, Cat Boss imperiously surveyed the scene. If any of the chickens, ducks, geese, the two dogs, or even Yun Sui got too close to the water’s edge, it would swoop in to herd them back.

When Yun Jiao returned, it padded over with a flick of its tail, its soft body weaving and rubbing against her legs.

"Let’s go home."

It was already late by the time she was heading back.

’First, I’ll have Cat Boss go back and see if the villagers who were visiting have left yet.’

’Good news: they’re gone.’

’Bad news: Dad and Mom are looking for me.’

Yun Jiao rubbed her backside. ’I have been out for a little too long, huh.’

’I’m not going to get a spanking, am I?’

Sniffling, an idea sparked in Yun Jiao’s mind. She brandished the two large fish and ran for home.

"I’m home!"

Hearing her voice, Wang Mei and Shen Yunlian, who had been busy inside, hurried out with spatulas still in hand.

Yun Jiao saw the hint of anger on her mom’s face and, fearing the spatula might land on her any second, quickly tried to divert her attention.

"Mom, guess who I met today!"

Shen Yunlian glared at her. "I don’t care who you met! You didn’t even come home for lunch. Where did you run off to? We were looking all over for you."

Yun Jiao felt a pang of guilt. ’I just got too excited and lost track of time playing in the ocean.’

"Mom, I wasn’t hungry. I ate lots of yummy things!"

"I met some soldiers!"

At the mention of soldiers, their attention was indeed diverted.

"Hm? What happened?"

Yun Jiao quickly told them the story of how she had met the foreigners and the soldiers.

She then presented the hundred yuan with a proud flourish.

Seeing this, both Shen Yunlian and Wang Mei’s eyes crinkled with laughter.

"Our Jiaojiao is so amazing!"

"Sigh, things aren’t easy for our country right now. We have to wait on those foreigners hand and foot just to learn a bit of technology."

"Isn’t that the truth. Jiaojiao, you did a good thing today."

Yun Jiao beamed. ’Mom’s not angry anymore, so I definitely won’t get a spanking now.’

She didn’t get a spanking, but she did get a light tap on the forehead.

"Don’t be out for so long next time. At the very least, come home and let us know first."

It was one thing to know she was strong and could breathe in the ocean, but they couldn’t help but worry about her all the same.

Yun Jiao nodded, saying she understood.

When her brothers got home from school, Yun Jiao was in the mood for something different, so she got Yun Sui and her brothers to grill fish with her.

The adults ended up helping out as well.

The family wasn’t short on money now, so they didn’t bat an eye at cooking up two big fish.

After their trip to the Capital, they had certainly learned to loosen the purse strings a little.

When it was time to eat, Yun Jiao asked expectantly, "Dad, are we going out to sea tomorrow?"

Yun Linhai picked up a large piece of fish with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth. Most sea fish have few bones, or the bones they do have are large, which makes them especially convenient and satisfying to eat.

That first bite was pure bliss.

"We’re not going out to sea tomorrow. We’re going to your grandma’s house."

’That’s right,’ she thought. ’We’ve been back for a few days now. It’s time to pay Grandma’s family a visit.’

"Okay! I even bought presents for my cousin and uncles."

The gifts were from the Capital, including a model of Tiananmen—she had bought the best one they had.

After dinner, people still strolled over to their house to chat.

’It’s been several days, but everyone’s excitement about the Capital still hasn’t faded.’

They looked at the photographs over and over, never seeming to get tired of them.

When Yun Sui left, they sent him home with plenty of fish for his grandfather.

The boy might be a bit simple, but he was a dutiful grandson.

The next day, Yun Jiao wore a backpack stuffed with gifts for Grandpa and Grandma Shen and the rest of their family.

Her brothers had school, so it was just Yun Jiao, her dad, and her mom.

Yun Linhai was taking them on his motorcycle. There was no smooth, main road to Grandpa Shen’s house, only a rather rugged path.

Yun Linhai was bold, if not particularly skilled. He had only been learning to ride the motorcycle for a few days, yet he already dared to take his wife and daughter on the narrow path.

"Careful, careful! I told you not to ride the motorcycle! You’ve only been learning for a few days and you’re already trying to take this path?"

Yun Linhai struggled to keep the bike steady, flinching as his wife smacked him.

"I just thought I was ready! It only took me a few days to learn how to pilot the boat on my own."

Men always have boundless confidence in themselves when it comes to learning things like driving cars or piloting boats.

Sandwiched between her dad and mom, Yun Jiao let out a yawn.

’Are we almost there yet?’

Although her dad’s motorcycle skills were a bit lacking—he’d nearly tipped them into a rice paddy—the machine was undeniably fast.

A trip that would have taken two hours on foot took only about half an hour by motorcycle, even with her dad’s terrible riding. They were almost there.

"We’re here, we’re here! I see Dad!"

They hadn’t actually reached the house yet, but in a field not far from the path, Grandpa and Grandma Shen were busy working.

"Dad! Dad, we’re here!"

Yun Linhai could barely contain his excitement.

’Look at my sweet ride!’

Hearing the voices, Grandpa Shen and the others straightened up and looked in their direction.

"It’s Aunt, Uncle, and Jiaojiao!"

Shen Xiuyuan’s voice cracked with surprise and excitement.

"Uncle, Uncle, is that your bike?!"

"Mom, Dad, Auntie and the others came on a motorcycle! That’s a motorcycle!"

Shen Xiuyuan was so excited he jumped up and down like a monkey before scrambling out of the field.

Grandpa Shen shouted, "Be careful! I’ll tan your hide if you step on my rice seedlings."

They also started to make their way out of the field.