Chapter 343 - 341: Hiding the Treasure

That evening, after returning home, Yun Jiao, her dad, and her uncle took the gold to the seashore.

"Dad, you two will have to hold on tight to the killer whales’ dorsal fins in a bit."

"Once we’re a little farther out, we’ll have the Humpback Whales take us to the island."

Yun Linhe puffed out his chest. "Don’t worry, we’ll be fine."

The night air was a bit chilly, and they all shivered as they entered the water.

"Jiaojiao, are you cold?"

Yun Jiao shook her head. "I’m not cold. The killer whales are right ahead, Dad. Let’s hurry and swim over."

Carrying the heavy chests, Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe struggled to swim.

The gold might not have looked like much, but it was seriously heavy.

Yun Jiao was carrying the largest chest.

Once they handed the net bags containing the chests over to the killer whales, the two men finally breathed a sigh of relief.

’Goodness, we almost got dragged to the bottom of the sea.’

Thankfully, Yun Jiao was behind them, giving them a helpful push every now and then.

The killer whales held the net bags in their mouths; the weight was nothing to them.

"Let’s go."

Once both her father and uncle had climbed onto the killer whales’ backs, Yun Jiao signaled for the whales to swim toward the island.

After swimming for about half an hour, the Humpback Whales appeared.

Two adult Humpback Whales, at that.

It was time to switch rides.

They moved the chests onto the back of one Humpback Whale, then climbed onto the other’s back.

And just like that, they began swimming leisurely into the distance.

Humpback Whales are large, and their temperament is much calmer than that of killer whales. When they have no predators and aren’t hunting, they tend to swim quite slowly.

Of course, that was only in comparison to killer whales.

The night sea was still quite eerie, especially since there was no moon tonight.

Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe shivered. "The farther out we go, the colder it gets."

Yun Jiao looked annoyed with herself. "We should have come by boat."

Yun Linhai said, "No way. Our family’s boat is gone, and it would be suspicious to borrow one from anyone at this hour. We’re hiding treasure; it’s best if no one else knows."

Yun Linhe nodded along. "Don’t worry, your dad and I are in great shape. A little cold like this won’t be enough to take us down. ACHOO..."

He sneezed right after he finished speaking and gave an embarrassed smile.

Yun Jiao quickly patted the Humpback Whale.

"Speed up. Let’s get there, hide the gold, and get back sooner."

At Yun Jiao’s command, the Humpback Whale stopped its leisurely pace.

But the island was far away. Even after picking up speed, it took the Humpback Whale over an hour to arrive.

After that, they disembarked on the island, using a flashlight to make their way toward the lake.

The diminutive Yun Jiao led the way; her eyes could see clearly in the dark.

When she encountered venomous snakes, she simply picked them up and tossed them into the distance. She used a branch to flick away spiders, millipedes, centipedes, and the like.

With her clearing the path, the two men behind her were much safer.

After walking for a long time, they finally arrived.

"Let’s just hide this stuff at the bottom of the lake."

Yun Jiao nodded. "That’s what I was thinking, too. Dad, give me the chests. I’ll go hide them."

One by one, Yun Jiao carried the three chests and sank to the bottom of the lake. She found a cave in the reef, used her brute strength to move some of the rocks aside, and shoved the chests inside.

After several trips back and forth to stuff all three gold-filled chests inside, Yun Jiao put the rocks she had moved back in place.

She circled the spot once, making sure nothing looked out of place, before heading back up.

"Dad, Uncle, I’ve hidden it."

Yun Linhe said, "Finally, these chests of treasure are hidden. I couldn’t rest easy otherwise."

Yun Linhai urged, "Let’s go, let’s go. Hurry home. This island is very dangerous at night."

He had already heard several wild animal calls.

When he was here before, night was what he feared most.

After returning home, Yun Jiao fell into bed and went straight to sleep.

When she woke up the next day, she found that her dad and uncle had both caught a cold.

As a result, she was also forced to drink a bowl of spicy ginger soup.

It burned her throat, and her little face scrunched up in protest.

"But I don’t have a cold."

Shen Yunlian replied, "If you don’t have one, this will prevent one."

"Go with your dad to your master’s place and bring back two prescriptions."

Yun Jiao mumbled an "oh" and went with her dad to the county town.

When her master learned that the two adults in her family had colds, he gave them the medicine for free.

"Come get more anytime if it’s not enough."

Yun Linhai was speechless. "..."

’It’s better to take as little of this stuff as possible.’

Yun Jiao was kept behind for her lessons, so Yun Linhai went home first and would come back to pick her up in the afternoon.

For a long time after that, they didn’t go out to sea, helping to feed the pigs at home instead.

Yun Jiao’s life fell into a routine.

In the morning, she would study with her master for three hours, then go to her teacher’s place to study for another four or five hours, only returning home near evening.

After getting home, as long as it wasn’t raining or there wasn’t a typhoon, she would go play in the sea.

Sometimes she helped the killer whales and sea turtles she knew crack open some sea urchins to eat, or helped the Humpback Whales clean barnacles off their bodies.

She also went and retrieved a pearl from a Conch.

It wasn’t as large as the previous pearl, but it was still very beautiful.

Life went on like this. The weather grew colder, and before she knew it, the New Year was approaching.

Her older brothers were on winter break, and Yun Jiao was bundled up in thick clothes.

But she was still dressed up like a beautiful doll.

After several months, the village’s temple and ancestral hall were finally completed just before the New Year.

That day, the village chief took up a gong and banged it, CLANG CLANG, to announce the good news to the entire village.

Firecrackers were set off as well.

On that day, the whole village came to life, forming a long line to the Mazu Temple.

Yun Jiao saw that the once dilapidated Mazu Temple had become grand and magnificent. There was also a large plaza, a place for the villagers to burn incense and hold activities.

Everyone gathered together, smiles on their faces, and piously burned incense for Mazu and the other well-known local immortals.

Naturally, there were activities at the ancestral hall as well.

The festivities went on for three days and three nights.

After the celebration, the village chief called her family for a meeting to figure out what to do with the remaining money.

Yun Jiao didn’t go. There was no point in asking her to attend such a meeting; she couldn’t offer any suggestions.

Only her dad and uncle went. Her third brother was away at university, and it was still uncertain if he could come back for the New Year.

That evening, the two brothers, Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe, returned, braving the cold wind.

"Jiaojiao’s soaking her feet, huh? Let your Uncle join you."

Wang Mei rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me a break. Don’t you go infecting Jiaojiao’s feet with your stinky ones."

Yun Jiao immediately dragged the foot basin closer to herself.

’I don’t want stinky feet.’

Yun Linhe put on a hurt expression. "Jiaojiao..."

Yun Jiao pretended not to hear. ’To be honest, both Uncle’s and Dad’s feet are a little stinky when they take their shoes off.’

"Ahem, stop messing around. Let’s talk about the money."

After all, Yun Jiao was the one who had brought the money. Even though she hadn’t attended the meeting, Yun Linhai and the others still filled her in.

The construction of the Mazu Temple and the ancestral hall, including all miscellaneous expenses, cost a total of 32,800 yuan.

They were truly the most luxurious buildings in their village now.

As for the remaining money, the village chief, a few of the clan elders, and some of the more resourceful young people gathered to discuss it. They decided to create a ledger for the funds. Any future donations to the Mazu Temple or the village would be recorded and deposited into this account.

Aside from annual maintenance for the village temple, the money in this fund would be used to help some of the village’s elderly who were in extreme difficulty, as well as children from struggling families so they could attend school.

But the aid wouldn’t be given out indiscriminately.

There would be five slots for aid recipients each year. Candidates would be recommended by the villagers, and the village chief and elders would personally investigate their situations. Only those who were truly in need would receive help.

As for those whose families were struggling purely due to laziness, they would be directly excluded.