Chapter 308: Typhoon

No one in the family objected to this.

They weren’t short on money, so if she wanted to collect them, that was fine.

If they ever ran short on money, Jiaojiao could just take them to be sold.

But they were truly a rare sight.

Even rough-and-tumble men like Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe loved the pearls; they were simply gorgeous.

Wang Mei said, "Back in the day, only people like the Emperor and Empress could own something like this, right?"

"Jiaojiao, you have to keep them somewhere safe. I just don’t feel like it’s secure to leave them casually sitting in your room."

They were just sitting on the curio shelf in Yun Jiao’s room, and Wang Mei was constantly worried they would be stolen.

The village had its share of petty thieves. When the owners were away, those bastards would even bring a ladder to climb in through a second-story window.

Yun Jiao asked, "Dad, can I build an underground treasure room?"

Yun Linhai never in his wildest dreams thought his family would reach a point where they were building a treasure room.

But...

"Can we even build it in the village?"

There were no secrets to speak of in the village. Building a basement was a huge undertaking that involved breaking ground and hauling bricks and cement. The villagers would definitely gather around to watch the excitement and ask all sorts of questions.

So, it really couldn’t be built in the village.

Yun Jiao also pondered this as she held the three pearls.

"Then why don’t we build it in the Capital?"

Shen Yunlian proposed, "After all, our Jiaojiao is bound to go to the Capital someday."

A small place like Bailong Village could never contain a child like Jiaojiao.

Yun Chenbei suddenly said, "Perhaps we can ask my master about this."

He’d spent a lot of time with his master, so he knew a thing or two.

"My master’s ancestors were carpenters for the Royal Family. He’s pretty familiar with things like this."

Some nobles and members of the Royal Family loved to build treasure vaults in their homes.

"Alright. We’ll ask your master tomorrow."

When Yun Jiao went to bed, she took the pearls back to her room.

The cleaned Conch Shell looked beautiful now. It had the texture of white jade and was so large it couldn’t fit on the curio shelf at all.

So, Yun Chenbei had custom-made a new stand for it. The Conch Shell now rested on the stand at the head of her bed, looking like a large, beautiful art piece.

After entering her room, Yun Jiao placed all three pearls inside it.

The pearls, which seemed quite large in her hand, looked tiny once they were inside the Conch Shell.

Yun Jiao, who had a bit of an obsessive streak, couldn’t stand the sight. ’I have to fill this thing up,’ she thought.

’Maybe I’ll go check the shipwreck tomorrow and see if I can find anything similar to bring back?’

With that thought, Yun Jiao drifted off to sleep.

Then, in the middle of the night, a clap of thunder startled her awake.

She rubbed her eyes and saw the pitch-black sky outside. Gusts of wind howled. A flash of lightning, arriving before the thunder, illuminated the entire sky for an instant.

Yun Jiao stared blankly for a moment, then yawned.

With another rumble of thunder, she rolled over, pulled the covers over her head, and went back to sleep.

Drowsily, she thought, ’I probably won’t be able to go out to sea tomorrow.’

The rainstorm lasted until morning.

First thing in the morning, Yun Linhai and the others looked grim.

"This is terrible. With such a strong typhoon... we didn’t move our boat to the safe harbor yesterday. I wonder if it’s been blown away."

Yun Linhe, who rarely smoked, lit a cigarette but quickly extinguished it when he saw Yun Jiao enter the room.

"A typhoon this big with no warning... I bet all those small boats at the dock are in trouble."

It was still pouring cats and dogs outside.

Yun Jiao was frustrated, too. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t sensed the weather changing yesterday.

’Was it because I was too tired yesterday?’ Before other typhoons, she could always sense a slight change in the weather. It wasn’t a strong feeling, but it was enough for her to remind her dad and uncle to move the boat to the safe harbor.

The family could all see how upset the little one was. Her cheeks were puffed out, making her look like a grumpy little pufferfish.

Yun Linhai patted her head. "Don’t worry. If the boat’s gone, it’s gone."

Yun Linhe nodded. "Our new boat will be here early next year. If the wooden boat is gone, then it’s gone."

Yun Jiao just said, "Oh," but she secretly made up her mind. ’Once the typhoon passes, if the boat is really gone, I’ll go into the sea and see if I can bring it back.’

The family sat at home, not daring to open the windows or doors for fear that a gust of wind and rain would blow right in.

Out of boredom, Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe actually took out a deck of playing cards.

Yun Xiaowu cheered, "Dad, I’ll play! I know how to play Fight the Landlord!"

"Come on! Whoever loses has to get a paper strip stuck on their face."

Yun Chen Nan cut some strips from a few small, unused notebooks.

"Jiaojiao, you can do it. You stick the strip on whoever loses."

Yun Jiao’s eyes lit up. "Okay."

Once they started playing, all their worries vanished.

As long as the family was together, there was nothing to worry about.

They played until around three o’clock, and the rain outside finally began to subside.

Yun Xiaowu’s face was so covered in paper strips that you could barely see it anymore.

"Whew... Jiaojiao, you even stuck them on my eyelids! I can’t see a thing!"

Yun Jiao replied, "There was no other place to put them."

He even had them stuck on both his ears.

Yun Xiaowu played whatever cards he could, with no strategy at all, relying purely on luck.

Unfortunately for him, his luck wasn’t very good.

"The rain seems to be letting up. Should we go take a look?"

"Let’s check what it’s like outside first."

They opened the door and everyone stood in the entryway, looking out at the gray, gloomy weather.

"It’ll probably keep raining."

"Lin Hai, are you guys going to the dock to check on the boat?"

Someone wearing a raincoat shouted as they passed by the house.

Yun Linhai thought for a moment and called back, "Yeah, we’re going! You go on ahead. I’ll put on my raincoat and be right there."

Yun Linhe was going too. Seeing this, Yun Jiao went and got her own little raincoat.

"Dad, Jiaojiao is coming with you."

"What are you going for? We’ll just take a look and come right back."

Yun Jiao insisted, "I’m going. It’s not dangerous."

The water, after all, was her domain.

The look on her small face as she stared up at the two adults was incredibly stubborn.

Yun Linhai’s voice was laced with helplessness. "There’s really no winning with you. Come on, let’s go."

He bent down and scooped the little girl into his arms.

Yun Jiao wrapped her arms around his neck, her face breaking into a wide grin. "Jiaojiao was worried about Dad and Uncle, too!"

Yun Xiaowu started, "Dad, I..."

"You, be quiet and stay home. If you dare to run off, I’ll break your legs."

Yun Xiaowu: "..."

’Why?! We’re both your kids, so why the double standard!’

Yun Linhe added, "The rest of you, stay home and do your homework. Lao San, you watch over them."

Yun Chen Nan nodded. "Got it."

As the wind and rain subsided, many villagers started heading toward the dock.

When they arrived, they could hear a lot of cursing and crying.

At this sight, the hearts of Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe sank, and they hurried over to look.

"Lin He, your boat is gone too."

Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe: "..."

They had expected it, but it was still a painful blow.

Their family had used that boat for less than two years; it would have been strange if they weren’t heartbroken to see it gone just like that.