Chapter 391 - 385: Daily Life at Home

About fifty or so oysters were tangled in a single net.

These oysters were quite large, all plump with meat.

’I’ll take them back with me.’

As lunchtime approached, the number of people on the beach gradually dwindled.

When Yun Jiao got home, she heard her brothers chattering excitedly, showing off the great things they had found.

"Jiaojiao, look! I found such a big coconut snail! I just don’t know if there’s a pearl inside."

Yun Xiaojiu ran over happily, clutching the large coconut snail.

"If there’s a pearl, it’s yours."

Yun Jiao gave him a hug. "You’re the best, Brother Nine."

"Jiaojiao, I found something good too! Look, such a big Blue Gourd Seed Spot."

Yun Xiaowu ran over as well.

"Jiaojiao, look at this huge conch I found! The shell is so pretty. We can eat the meat and give you the shell to play with."

Yun Jiao was surrounded by her brothers, who presented their finds to her as if they were treasures.

Yun Jiao took out her own find as well.

"Look, what’s this?"

Yun Chen Nan and the others glanced over, then their eyes widened.

"Ambergris!"

"Jiaojiao, you found another one!"

Yun Jiao had sold a piece of ambergris before, so the Yun family was all too familiar with it.

The piece of ambergris before them was much smaller than the last one, only about half the size of a basketball.

But even a small piece like this could sell for a lot of money.

Yun Jiao then recounted the story of how she had found this piece of ambergris.

The Yun family was speechless.

While marveling at Yun Jiao’s good luck, they were also thankful that so few people could recognize it.

Otherwise, a "rock" like this could have caused a great deal of trouble.

"We have to hide this well. Don’t tell anyone about its existence."

After Yun Jiao put the ambergris away safely, she started pestering everyone for a barbecue.

When Daniel and his group had come for a barbecue before, they had brought grilling tools and hadn’t taken them when they left.

"I want grilled oysters and scallops."

Yun Xiaowu and the others were also incredibly enthusiastic. Barbecues were always lively and delicious.

"We’ll go wash the oysters and scallops."

"Dad, hurry up and prepare the small yellow croakers. Those are delicious too."

"And squid! We have to have squid."

Everyone got busy. The women were in charge of the seasonings, preparing minced garlic, chili peppers, and cellophane noodles.

The men washed the oysters and scallops, set up the grill, and started the fire.

Many hands make light work. Everyone was a person of action, and soon, everything was ready.

They grilled the oysters and scallops first, since the fish was still marinating.

Even the kids could handle grilling these.

Yun Linhe went to the small convenience store and bought a few bottles of beer and some soft drinks.

The adults sat together drinking beer while the kids drank soda.

The courtyard was filled with laughter.

In the afternoon, the sky completely cleared up.

Yun Jiao and the others didn’t go back to the beach. Instead, they stayed home to process the squid.

They hadn’t sold the squid they’d gathered.

Granny Yun knew how to make shredded squid in various delicious flavors.

Moreover, if preserved properly, it could last a long time, making it the perfect snack to have around the house.

There was a lot of squid, so the whole family pitched in.

"That couple, Cai Jinhua and her husband, are probably getting out soon, right? What will Pandi and Zhaodi do then?"

Granny Yun sighed. "Today, I saw Zhaodi’s grandparents threatening the two sisters, telling them to hand over the money from selling seafood. They said if they didn’t, Cai Jinhua and her husband would deal with them when they got out."

Wang Mei said, "Life has only just started to get a little better for those two sisters. I reckon when Cai Jinhua gets back, she’ll marry Pandi off right away."

Even though the couple had gone to prison for "re-education," they didn’t believe for a second that the two had changed for the better.

But they were outsiders. They felt sorry for the girls, but there wasn’t much they could do to help.

’It would be so upsetting to see Yun Zhaodi go back to how she used to be,’ Yun Jiao worried.

Chatting while they worked, it took them a long time, but they finally finished processing all the squid.

But it still needed to be dried.

Their family had a small shed specifically for drying chili peppers.

They took the squid inside to dry, and it would be ready to take out the next day.

By the time they finished everything, it was already around ten o’clock at night.

Yun Jiao and her brothers gathered to soak their feet.

Her fair, soft little feet were a stark contrast to her brothers’ slightly darker, larger ones.

"Jiaojiao’s feet are the prettiest, and mine are the second prettiest."

Yun Xiaojiu proudly lifted his foot. His skin was just a shade darker than Yun Jiao’s.

"Hah... what do you know? A boy’s feet are supposed to be big and dark. Look at mine."

"Ew... Fifth Brother, your feet stink! I’m not sharing a basin with you next time."

Yun Jiao nodded. ’Exactly! I don’t want my feet to start stinking too.’

"Nonsense! Your feet are the ones that stink."

As they argued, Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoqi started hitting each other.

It eventually escalated into kicking.

Yun Chen Nan quickly came over, scooped Yun Jiao up, and carried her away.

Yun Xiao Ba was caught in the crossfire, getting a splash of foot-soaking water in his mouth. "PFFT... PTUI, PTUI, PTUI! You two are disgusting!"

The others also scurried away.

Wang Mei came over with a broom. Seeing the water splashed all over the floor, she whacked each of the two culprits with the bristles.

"When you’re done, you’d better wipe this floor clean."

The two of them finally settled down.

"You’re not going anywhere tomorrow. You’re going to stay right here at home and do your homework. Yun Xiaowu, how much of your winter break homework have you done?"

Yun Xiaowu scratched his head. "Well, school doesn’t start for a few more days."

Yun Jiao said, "Fifth Brother, have you forgotten what it was like trying to finish your summer homework at the last minute?"

Yun Xiaowu thought, ’I know, I know, but until it’s the last two days before registration, I’m still not going to do it.’

’Sigh... Why does something as torturous as winter and summer break homework even exist? A break is a break. Aren’t we supposed to be having fun?’

"What’s the point of assigning summer homework anyway? Besides the few good students, who actually does the problems seriously? We all just copy them. It’s useless, aside from adding misery to my happy vacation."

Yun Xiaoqi nodded.

’If you can copy it, why do it yourself?’

Yun Chen Nan smiled and pushed up the glasses on his nose. "I’ll help you with your homework tomorrow."

"AHHHH!!! Third Brother, are you a demon?!"

The next day, the boys were plunged into a sea of practice problems.

Of course, from time to time, Yun Chen Nan’s exasperated roars could be heard.

Even a top student tutoring a total slacker would lose his temper.

"Yun Xiaowu!"

Yun Jiao cleaned out her ears. She was used to it.

She went back to eating the shredded squid.

The shredded squid was ready. It was very chewy and fragrant.

After lunch, Su Huan arrived.

Yun Xiaojiu and the others immediately cheered up.

"Dad! Mom! We’re going to the shore with Su Huan!"

Su Huan now came over every few days, always to go to the shore to find things to sell.

Knowing his family’s situation, and with the sea being so vast, no one would chase a child away.

"Jiaojiao, are you going?"

Yun Jiao thought about how the typhoon had washed up so much stuff here. ’What about on the surrounding islands?’

"I’m going! Let’s go check out the islands."

Grabbing a few handfuls of shredded squid and putting them in her snack bag, Yun Jiao was about to head out with her brothers.

Yun Linhai said, "Wait, I’ll take you."

He wanted to go check out the islands too.

Mr. Yun came over with his hands behind his back. "I think I’ll go have a look around too."