Chapter 376 - 370: An Invitation to Yunnan

Sun Yaotong arrived in mid-July.

He brought a large sum of money with him.

It had taken Sun Yaotong several months to gradually sell off all the items from Yun Jiao’s family.

"The total is twenty-three million."

"If you only want to buy the rights to use that island for a few decades, this should be enough."

This money, combined with the gold Yun Jiao’s family had, would be enough to buy a small island abroad.

Then again, that would only be enough for a small, relatively barren island.

The island Yun Jiao had her eye on was large, with a rich variety of plant and animal species. That was why even just the usage rights were much more expensive.

"Thank you, Godfather~"

Yun Jiao was very happy.

Sun Yaotong waved his hand. "Yaoyin said she loved the videos she took back with her. She’ll probably come visit you for a while, so she’ll be staying with your family for a bit."

Shen Yunlian and the others nodded. "That’s no problem at all. She’s welcome to stay anytime."

"Do you need my help with the island?"

Yun Jiao replied, "No, no, that’s okay. I’ll ask Vice Commander Lin."

’I have connections too, you know.’

"Alright. By the way, Jiaojiao, do you like jade and Jadeite?"

Yun Jiao’s eyes lit up as she nodded. "I love them!"

’She really loved that pair of Jadeite bracelets they had at home.’

Sun Yaotong said, "I’m making a trip to Yunnan in a little while to look at Jadeite. If you’re interested, I can take you with me."

"Yaoyin will be going too."

Sun Yaotong’s social standing was different from that of ordinary people. He had a broader perspective, so naturally, his philosophy on educating children was different as well.

Rather than just having them study in school, he was a firm believer that traveling a thousand miles is better than reading a thousand books.

Rote memorization, even if it helps you remember facts, is just theoretical knowledge if you haven’t seen things with your own eyes.

Therefore, he was a proponent of taking children to see and experience things for themselves.

Of course, school-based knowledge was essential, but one’s horizons also needed to be broadened.

He now thought of Yun Jiao as one of his own. Besides, she was clearly destined for great things, so a closer bond between their two families would naturally be for the best.

"I want to go."

Yun Jiao nodded, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her dad and mom.

Yun Linhai scratched his head. "Well, then... we’ll be troubling you, Brother Sun."

Sun Yaotong smiled. "It’s no trouble at all. Jiaojiao is very sensible."

"Besides, we were only able to salvage the shipwreck thanks to her."

Yun Chenbei, who had been practically invisible until now, suddenly spoke up. "Can I tag along and take a look?"

Yun Jiao looked at him. "You like Jadeite too, Brother?"

Yun Chenbei lowered his gaze. "My master told me that several types of wood are native to Yunnan. I’d like to go see them."

Part of the reason was also that he was worried about Yun Jiao; he didn’t feel comfortable with her going alone.

Of course, Yun Jiao wanted to grant her fourth brother’s wish.

So, she looked at her godfather. "Can my fourth brother come with us?"

Sun Yaotong nodded. "Of course. We’ll be taking a boat. Forget just your brother, you could bring your whole family if you wanted."

He was only joking, of course.

After they had settled things, Sun Yaotong took his leave.

Mr. Yun remarked with an appreciative sigh, "That Xiao Sun is so thoughtful in everything he does."

He has the shrewdness of a businessman, but his methods are so considerate that they never make you feel uncomfortable.

Yun Jiao was already looking forward to the trip to Yunnan. She could buy her own Jadeite then!

’But as she mentally tallied her funds, she realized that after setting aside the money for the island, she might not have enough left.’

So, Yun Jiao began scheming about where to get more money.

’Oh, right. The Bronze Tripod had been sent to the village temple. She had no idea how Daoist Qingfeng communicated with the authorities, but somehow, the Bronze Tripod got to stay.’

A major reason, of course, was that the Bronze Tripod wasn’t particularly large. Plus, only tripods privately cast by prominent families were allowed to be kept.

If it had been connected to the Royal Family, they probably wouldn’t have been able to keep it.

As for the remaining three bolts of cloth, Yun Jiao had no intention of telling anyone about them.

’They were hers. This cloth had to be hers!’

She really missed Jue Sha. Jue Sha was a material that repelled water. It looked beautiful in the water, and when you got out, you could just shake off the droplets and it would be dry. It felt a little cool against the skin, but it was incredibly comfortable to wear in the summer.

She had already determined that these three bolts of cloth were similar to Jue Sha—a sort of budget version.

But it retained the water-repellent and cooling properties.

True Jue Sha was also resistant to fire, blades, and so on. It was something Merfolk could even wear into battle.

"Dad, are you going out to sea tomorrow?"

Ever since the divine statues had settled within her, Yun Jiao felt she could now sense changes in the weather.

The weather hadn’t been good for the past few days—lots of rain and typhoons.

But the weather would be fine tomorrow.

"Tomorrow? We’ll go if it doesn’t rain."

"It won’t rain tomorrow."

Yun Jiao said with certainty.

After Yun Jiao’s accurate weather predictions over the last few days, Yun Linhai and the others had come to trust her.

"Then we’ll go tomorrow!"

As for whether it was strange, what was there to find strange? Their daughter had been a gift from the Dragon King. If she couldn’t predict the weather accurately before, it was just because she was too young.

What was so strange about her abilities growing along with her?

So that evening, they prepared everything they needed for the next day’s sea trip.

The next morning, Mr. Yun was also up bright and early.

"Is Grandpa going too?"

Yun Jiao asked, a little excited.

Mr. Yun laughed heartily. "Don’t you look down on your old grandpa. I can still help your dad and the others pull in the nets."

"You two rascals! Just try and stop me this time!"

Yun Linhe quickly chimed in with a placating laugh. "My brother and I were still learning to pilot the boat back then. It’s no problem now, though. The two of us are completely familiar with it."

’How could they dare invite the old man along if they weren’t familiar with it? If anything were to happen, regrets would be useless.’

"Let’s go."

The thought of going out to sea to fish filled the old man with energy.

Yun Linhe urged, "Hurry, hurry, before those other rascals wake up."

Yun Jiao was scooped up and hurried outside before she even had a chance to comb her hair.

She yawned.

Soon, they saw their steel-hulled boat at the dock.

It was the biggest and newest one.

As soon as he was on board, the old man, full of vigor, immediately started tidying up.

He had already been on board to see it several times, but he never got tired of the sight!

Yun Linhe went to the wheelhouse and checked the diesel fuel. There was still plenty left, and they had brought an extra barrel with them, so they weren’t worried about running out.

RUMBLE RUMBLE...

The roar of the diesel engine was a bit loud, but to the ears of Yun Linhai and the others, it was a beautiful sound.

Mr. Yun also went into the wheelhouse to watch. "This is so much easier."

"Quick, teach me how to work this thing."

Mr. Yun was old, but young at heart.

"Alright, Dad, come over here and I’ll explain..."

After learning the basics, Mr. Yun reluctantly handed the wheelhouse back to his son.

Yun Jiao sat at the bow, resting her chin on her small hands.

’I already know where I want to go!’

Once the boat stopped, Yun Jiao called out to the three men who were preparing to cast the nets, then dove into the sea.

’I have to find the killer whales and ask if they know where that giant Octopus from the other day came from.’

’What if there’s some kind of treasure hidden there?’