Chapter 365 - 362: Coming to Say Goodbye

The barbecue party went on late into the night. Pretty much all the kids and adults from the village who came got a taste of the grilled food.

Most people knew not to overstay their welcome. They came to join the fun, got a bite to eat, said a few nice words with a smile, and left.

The rowdy children were taken home by their parents.

As for the thick-skinned ones who lingered, a threatening glare from the village chief was enough to make them leave.

"Sis, Yun Jiao asked me to bring this to you."

Yun Zhaodi snuck home with the barbecue. When she saw her third-oldest sister mending clothes for her by candlelight, her eyes instantly turned red.

She sniffled and stuffed the grilled meat into her sister’s hand.

"Third Sis, hurry and eat. This is delicious, but it won’t be good once it gets cold."

Pandi glanced at her. "You went to see..."

"Don’t worry, Sis. I know I was wrong before."

"I already apologized to Yun Jiao. She wasn’t even mad at me. She gave me barbecue and told me to bring a couple of skewers for you, too."

Pandi was very relieved. She had completely fallen out with their grandpa and Grandma now. The two elders were busy doting on their precious grandson.

Meanwhile, she was taking care of Zhaodi. She kept all the money she earned from selling what she gathered at the sea and spent a great deal of time trying to correct Zhaodi’s disposition.

She couldn’t manage her younger brother anymore, but she didn’t want her younger sister to continue down that path.

But because she worried so much, Pandi, who was only seventeen or eighteen, had a very weathered look in her eyes.

"Let’s eat together."

Yun Zhaodi sat down with her, and they suddenly started talking about their parents.

"Father and Mother are getting out soon. What are we going to do?"

Yun Pan Di fell silent as well.

Life was hard right now, but she felt there was hope for the future.

She didn’t have to worry about being beaten at a moment’s notice. She didn’t have to hand over all the hard-earned money from her seaside foraging to her mother. She didn’t have to give all the good food to her brother, or watch her parents’ expressions just to eat a little something.

And she certainly didn’t have to worry about being sold off like property at any moment.

Yun Zhaodi said, "It would be better if they never came back."

Life was tiring now, but the two sisters were their own masters. Although their grandpa and Grandma would curse at them, they didn’t dare get physical.

They were afraid Yun Pan Di would actually risk everything, buy a pack of rat poison, and kill the whole family.

Yun Pan Di said, "It’s okay. We’ll figure something out."

She said this to comfort her younger sister, and herself.

...

The morning after the party, Yun Jiao woke up a bit late and immediately began practicing her dancing and other skills.

Dancing required controlling one’s weight and figure. She was still young, so it was a bit early to worry about her figure, but after gorging herself last night, she had to spend extra time this morning burning it all off.

Drenched in sweat from dancing, Yun Jiao heard her mother calling her.

She caught her breath and ran downstairs.

"What is it, Mom?"

"Those people are here to see you again."

Yun Jiao let out a soft "oh." She peeked over and saw it was Daniel and his friends.

"Jiao."

The group waved enthusiastically to greet her.

"What were you doing? Why are you so sweaty?"

Yun Jiao replied, "I ate too much yesterday, so I was practicing my dance fundamentals."

"Oh! Jiao, why doesn’t your sweat stink?!"

Eva circled Yun Jiao, amazed to find that even though she was sweating so much, there was no body odor at all. Instead, there was an indescribable, refreshing scent.

It was like... the feeling of the ocean.

Yun Jiao tilted her head slightly. "I don’t know."

Eva was genuinely envious.

’These three foreigners do have a strange smell about them,’ Yun Jiao thought. ’Of course, they were all wearing perfume, which was a bit pungent.’

Out of politeness, Yun Jiao never said anything.

"We’re heading back now. We came to say goodbye."

Daniel took out a small, ornate box. Inside was a beautiful diamond necklace.

"This is for you. Thank you so much for showing us a different world."

Yun Jiao glanced at it, her eyes lighting up. ’Shiny things. I like them.’

Barry and Eva also gave her different gifts, but they were all gemstones or diamonds.

The families of all three were clearly not ordinary. Eva mentioned directly that her family owned a gemstone mine.

"If you like them, you’re welcome to visit my home next time. You can even pick out your own gems, my treat."

’Now this is right up my alley,’ Yun Jiao thought.

"Okay, I’ll definitely come find you in the future."

’Why pass up such a great deal?’

Daniel added, "And about what you said, about wanting to see my family’s plane—I’ll go back and ask my grandfather for permission. Don’t worry, he’ll definitely agree."

"I also welcome you to my home. I’ll take you for a ride on a private jet then."

Yun Jiao nodded. ’A plane that can fly up into the sky... I’m looking forward to that.’

’It seems like our country doesn’t make its own airplanes yet, does it?’

After seeing the three foreigners off, Zhao Xu showed up in the afternoon.

He was also there to see Yun Jiao, but he just spouted a bunch of nonsense.

The gist of it was that he wanted to recommend Yun Jiao for some prestigious private school over in the Harbor. He also said it was a waste for someone with her abilities to stay in a tiny fishing village, that he could fund a partnership with her to "ride the wind and break the waves" at sea, and so on...

Yun Jiao couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she listened.

’I may be young, but that doesn’t mean I’m easy to fool.’

"Not interested."

Yun Jiao refused him outright.

Zhao Xu said, "With abilities like yours, are you really content to be stuck in this little fishing village forever?"

Yun Jiao replied, "Yes, I am."

Zhao Xu: "..."

"Don’t you want to see the outside world? Don’t you want to go abroad and experience their prosperity..."

Yun Jiao shot back, "Am I dying soon? Why do I have to see the world right now?"

"When I grow up, it’s not like I’ll be poor. I can go wherever I want."

Zhao Xu: "..."

"You... you’re wasting your talent."

Yun Jiao retorted, "It’s my talent. Whether I waste it or not is none of your business."

She was getting really annoyed with this guy.

"Is there anything else?"

Her expression was a clear dismissal.

Zhao Xu was furious. "Don’t be so ungrateful!"

Yun Jiao picked up a wooden stick as thick as her arm, snapped it in half right in front of Zhao Xu, and stared at him with a chilling gaze.

"You want to test me?"

Zhao Xu fled in disgrace.

Yun Jiao snorted. "What a creep. My intuition was right after all. I had a bad feeling about him from the start."

After that, no one else came to bother her.

The next day, Vice Commander Lin came by. First, to thank her, and second, to tell her that they had deported Zhao Xu back to the Harbor.

"Zhao Xu’s family is involved in organized crime over in the Harbor. He might try to get revenge on you. Our people aren’t pushovers, but you should still be careful."

Yun Jiao was filled with regret. "If I’d known, I would’ve beaten him up."

’That punk is petty enough to hold a grudge.’

"Where does his family live?"

Vice Commander Lin: "Hm? Why are you asking?"

Yun Jiao’s young face was serious. "I want to get the details straight. If he really dares to do anything, I’ll go to his house and have a nice ’talk’ with him."

’If the talk doesn’t go well, my little fists will teach them how to behave.’

Vice Commander Lin: "..."

He had heard rumors about Yun Jiao’s monstrous strength.

"People like them might have guns. Don’t act on impulse."

Things in the Harbor were much more chaotic than over here.