Chapter 375 - 369: A Magnificent Day for the Temple

Everyone focused on searching, and every so often, cries of surprise and happy laughter could be heard.

They had come out late, so they couldn’t forage for long before they had to head back. Otherwise, it would get dark.

Back at the pier, they first went home to change their clothes.

Su Huan changed into a set of Yun Xiaojiu’s clothes.

Then they went to sell their seafood.

Yun Jiao and the others set aside a portion of what they had gathered for their family to eat, and only took the rest to sell.

Su Huan took everything he had gathered to sell.

Since he had been brought along by Yun Jiao and the others, Su Huan was given a fair price for all his seafood.

However, he wasn’t familiar with marine life, so he didn’t find much. Gathering some of the creatures required a certain knack.

Even so, he still earned four yuan and eighty cents.

For Su Huan, this was more than enough to be satisfied.

He etched the Yun family’s kindness into his heart, secretly vowing to repay them if he ever had the chance.

When Su Huan left, he carried a large box of garlic crawfish with him.

The sight of the steaming, fragrant garlic crawfish made Su Huan want to cry.

"Take this home and eat it with your grandma. The sauce is delicious over rice, too."

Su Huan nodded emphatically. "Okay!"

Yun Linhai gave Su Huan a ride home, because he had heard from his youngest son how Su Huan had helped him.

That evening, when Yun Linhai returned home, he saw his wife and sister-in-law chasing several of the kids, trying to spank them.

Yun Jiao was watching the drama unfold from the sidelines.

"OW, OW, OW! We were wrong!"

"You’ve got some nerve! How dare you hide this from us and ask Jiaojiao to go to your parent-teacher conference? Are you trying to defy the heavens?!"

After hearing the full story, Yun Linhai also grabbed the sole of a shoe and joined in, whacking whichever kid he could catch.

For a moment, the house was filled with shrieks and wails.

In the end, Yun Xiaowu and the others, clutching their bottoms, obediently confessed everything.

So, Yun Linhai and the others still had to make a trip to the school tomorrow.

It was arguably a good thing, after all. Those kinds of hoodlums deserved a beating.

Even if they had been called in as parents and found out what happened, they might have said a word or two, but they wouldn’t have blamed the kids for doing the wrong thing. In fact, they would have probably tried to find those guys to settle the score themselves.

But these little brats just kept coming up with one terrible idea after another.

They thoroughly deserved the beating they got!

Early the next morning, Yun Linhe and the others went to the school.

Yun Jiao didn’t go with them. She went to the county to see her master.

As Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe came out of the dean’s office, they were immediately pulled aside by several teachers who wanted to greet them.

They were all asking about Yun Jiao, praising how exceptional she was and asking when she would come back to school, saying she was more than welcome.

The principal even came over, asking when Yun Jiao would start her schooling and imploring them to choose his school. He even offered to waive her tuition.

By the time Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe left the school, they felt like they were walking on air.

"Jiaojiao was only at the school yesterday, right?"

Yun Linhe asked.

Yun Linhai nodded. That was right.

But she was only here for a single day. ’How does it seem like the entire school already knows about her?’

’As expected, our Jiaojiao’s brilliance is impossible to hide.’

Once they wrapped their heads around it, the two men broke into wide, toothy grins.

"I mean, how is our Jiaojiao so smart and popular? She hasn’t even started school yet and they’re already clamoring for her."

Yun Linhe replied, "Tell me about it."

Thinking about all the praise from the teachers, the two of them were simply bursting with pride.

They told everyone else after getting home.

Naturally, the other elders of the Yun family were also overjoyed.

However, they really did need to start thinking about Jiaojiao’s schooling.

No matter how brilliant, a child still has to go to school.

Meanwhile, Yun Jiao was miserably brewing medicinal herbs.

She had been sitting there for two hours, watching over three stoves as the medicine brewed. She felt like the bitter, pungent smell of the herbs was seeping into her very being.

"Master, I don’t want to brew herbs anymore."

Elder Xu was not far away, drying herbs in the sun.

The entire courtyard was filled with a medicinal scent.

When faint, the smell of medicinal herbs isn’t unpleasant; it can even seem unique.

But when the scent becomes heavy, it’s just bitter.

"We’re just getting started."

Elder Xu said languidly, "Brewing traditional medicine is the most fundamental step. There are specific requirements for what kind of heat to use and how long to brew each herb. A minute more or less can affect the medicine’s properties."

The old man spoke in a slow, unhurried manner, which made Yun Jiao a little drowsy.

"Wake up. Turn the pot on stove number three down to a low simmer."

Although Yun Jiao didn’t want to stay amidst the unpleasant, bitter medicinal smell any longer, she still did everything she was supposed to.

Elder Xu was quite satisfied. ’This little girl is a fast learner.’

When her father arrived to pick her up, Yun Jiao couldn’t wait to escape.

"I’ll come again next time, Master!"

Yun Linhai hugged his daughter, who reeked of medicine. "Why do you smell so strongly of herbs?"

Yun Jiao immediately started pouring out her grievances.

Yun Linhai patted her head. "You’ve worked hard, my girl."

"My girl, we’re sending you to school next semester."

This was what everyone had discussed and agreed upon.

Yun Jiao let out a listless "Oh." "Then I’m going to be really busy."

Little Yu sighed. ’My life is so hard.’

Shen Yunlian smiled and patted her head. "You can start directly in the first grade. If it’s something you’ve already learned, it’s fine if you don’t pay attention."

"Then can I just come home?"

"No, you can’t."

Yun Jiao pouted.

"Then can I be in the same class as Fifth Brother and the others? Or Brother Nine’s class would be fine, too."

At Yun Jiao’s age, even starting in the first grade was already skipping a grade.

But with her level of knowledge, sending her to preschool would be a waste of time.

If she weren’t so young, she could have easily kept up with Yun Xiaowu and his classmates.

Her weak point was the sciences, but that was only in comparison to her strength in the humanities.

"Once the next semester starts, you can try it out for a while, and we’ll see how it goes."

When Yun Xiaowu and the others came home from school, Su Huan was with them again.

This time, it wasn’t for beachcombing, but mainly to learn how to swim.

Of course, being able to go beachcombing as well would be for the best.

For the next few days, Su Huan came over almost every afternoon after school to learn to swim and beachcomb, and then he would walk back home by himself.

Although going back and forth was a hassle, he didn’t find it tiring at all.

It was much easier than scavenging through trash, and he earned more money this way.

Of course, he knew this was all thanks to the Yun family.

Especially on Saturdays and Sundays, when Yun Jiao would take them to play on different islands.

「In the blink of an eye, it was July, the hottest time of the year.」

Yun Xiaowu and the others were about to start their summer vacation.

The statues for their village temple were finally completed, thanks to the hard work of Mr. Mu, Yun Chenbei, and everyone else who helped.

The statues were carved from wood, following the drawings provided by Daoist Qingfeng, and the results were incredibly lifelike.

When they were placed in the temple, everyone gathered excitedly to watch and offer incense.

The village chief’s eyes filled with tears. He had never imagined their village temple would one day be so magnificent.

"Light the firecrackers!"

The celebration was so lively that people from the neighboring village came over to join in the fun.

The village chief and party secretary from the neighboring village were red-eyed with envy.