Chapter 461 - 441: Returning Home

Yun Jiao didn’t stay in Hong Kong City for very long.

School was about to start.

Aside from the pink Jadeite, the other jade stones needed to be made into jewelry or carved into artworks.

While in Hong Kong City, she bought quite a few things, like a television and a washing machine.

Her godfather had bought these for her and said he would have people ship them to her home in Hai City.

Yun Jiao bought some clothes for her family. There was no need for jewelry, as Sun Yaotong was having pieces made directly from the Jadeite. It was just that some of the carvings would take a longer time.

"I can’t believe school’s starting already. It feels like you barely had any time to have fun."

Sun Yaoqin, who had come to see Yun Jiao off, was reluctant to let her go.

Sun Yaotong and his wife were both busy and didn’t have time to accompany Yun Jiao back to Hai City, so they could only send someone to protect her.

Although... she probably didn’t need protection, she was still young. Having an adult along would prevent a lot of trouble.

Yun Jiao knew this herself, so she didn’t refuse.

Yun Jiao chose to return by boat. It was slower, but she liked the feeling of being out on the sea.

’If it weren’t for making the Sun family worry, I could have actually swum back even faster.’

Communication was inconvenient in this era; one could only rely on sending telegrams or writing letters.

However, Yun Jiao had discovered a type of landline telephone in Hong Kong City. One of those could be installed in the village.

If she remembered correctly, her eldest brother’s military unit and the one at the naval base also had this kind of landline—a fixed-line telephone.

Big cities and certain workplaces, especially state-owned enterprises, all had them.

But she had almost never seen a landline like this in a rural area.

Yun Jiao bought one to take back, and her godfather said he would send someone to her home to help install it.

If it could be installed, communication would be much more convenient from then on.

「After a three-day boat trip, she finally arrived at the Sea City pier.」

Yun Jiao grabbed her luggage and eagerly made her way home.

She didn’t reach Bailong Village until that afternoon.

When she was still about three hundred meters from the village entrance, a familiar barking sound carried over.

"WOOF WOOF WOOF..."

The family’s two dogs were the first to notice her return.

Yun Xiaowu and a group of children were playing at the village entrance, and the two dogs were lying under a tree, their heads facing the road as if waiting for something.

Today, the one they were waiting for had finally arrived.

Seeing the two dogs so excited, Yun Jiao’s brothers also craned their necks to look. When they saw the familiar figure, they immediately dropped their marbles and ran toward the road.

"Jiaojiao!"

The news of Yun Jiao’s return quickly spread throughout the entire village.

Everyone knew her godfather had taken her to another big city, but no one knew what for.

When Yun Jiao got home, she received an enthusiastic welcome from everyone.

She took out the gifts she had brought back.

"For Dad, Little Uncle, and Grandpa, the newest model of razors. For Mom and Little Aunt, pearl necklaces, and also these Jadeite bracelets. I chose Fulushou tricolor bracelets for you."

"This bracelet is gorgeous! How much did it cost?"

"Jiaojiao, you bought an island. You can’t have much money left. Why are you still buying us all these things?"

Yun Jiao proudly put her hands on her hips. "I didn’t buy them! This is Jadeite from raw stones I bought and cut myself. The raw stones weren’t expensive, but the quality of the Jadeite I found was excellent. I sold some of it for dozens of times the price of the original stones!"

Everyone’s eyes lit up as they looked at her. "Quick, tell us everything!"

So, Yun Jiao recounted her entire trip, taking special care to describe the pieces of Jadeite she had cut open.

Her story left the whole family thrilled and proud.

"When it comes to luck, our Jiaojiao is really something else. She’s never had a day of bad luck in her life."

Yun Jiao giggled. ’I think so too,’ she thought unreservedly.

Of course, Yun Jiao also told them about people who had ruined their families through stone gambling, and about the dangers she had faced on her trip.

Her main reason for mentioning this was to keep her brothers from getting too carried away by the thrilling parts of the story. She didn’t want them to go out and try stone gambling themselves, make huge bets, or run into trouble because they weren’t shrewd enough.

Granny Yun understood her meaning and began to lecture her sons and grandsons.

"None of you have Jiaojiao’s skill. Don’t you dare touch anything related to gambling. If you get into trouble, don’t even bother coming home."

The whole family nodded in agreement.

"We understand, Mom/Grandma."

Finally, Yun Jiao took out the whole, polished piece of pink Jadeite.

She carefully placed a display stand on the table.

The moment the sparkling pink Jadeite rested on the stand, everyone gasped.

Wang Mei exclaimed, "Oh my heavens, that’s too beautiful!"

Women have absolutely no resistance to such gorgeous Jadeite.

Forget the women; even the men were utterly captivated.

It was genuinely beautiful, to a dreamlike degree.

Yun Jiao tilted her chin up smugly. "This will become one of my favorite pieces in my collection."

’As for why not her absolute favorite... well, her previous collections also had some exceptionally beautiful pieces she adored. Plus, she would definitely find even more beautiful things to love in the future.’

’She was going to fill her entire treasury. She was still young, so there was no hurry. She could take her time.’

After admiring the pink Jadeite from every conceivable angle, they told her to put it away.

"Be careful not to break it."

"It’s a pity the house on the island isn’t built yet, and neither is the treasury. Otherwise, you could take all these things there. It feels a bit unsafe keeping them at home."

They were well aware of how many treasures were in the house, which made them increasingly on edge, afraid that word would get out and thieves would come.

Yun Jiao carried the pink Jadeite upstairs.

When she came back down, she continued handing out gifts.

There were watches for her brothers. Her third and fourth brothers received adult-sized models, while the others got children’s versions.

The straps were leather and very stylish.

"I’m also having Jade Tokens made for you. They’re being engraved with your zodiac animals, so that will take a little longer. You won’t get them for a while."

Yun Xiaowu and the others loved their new watches.

"That’s okay! We don’t mind waiting."

Shen Yunlian shot them a look.

"Your sister has given you so much. When you’re grown up and making money, don’t you dare forget about her."

"We know! We’d never forget."

Yun Xiaoqi said, "When I grow up and start a company, I’ll give a share of the dividends directly to my sister. Jiaojiao, you’ll just have to stay at home and count your money."

Yun Jiao replied, "Then I’ll be waiting for you, Brother Qi."

The family was filled with warmth and laughter.

Yun Jiao spent a few days with them at home and also went to check on the construction progress of the house on the island.

「Two days before school was due to start, a small truck arrived with the television, washing machine, and landline telephone.」

At this point, there was no longer any need for their family to be overly modest about their circumstances.

So, they went ahead and set up all the new appliances.

The village chief already had a television, so it wasn’t as if they were the only ones. Although the villagers were envious, the initial novelty had passed, so there wasn’t a huge reaction.

Theirs was, however, the very first washing machine in the village.

But what really captured everyone’s attention was the landline telephone.

Yun Jiao didn’t install the phone in her own home. Instead, she handed it over to the village.

’What a joke. Our family has too many secrets. If we put the phone in our house, everyone would come over to use it. If we refused, they’d say we were being unreasonable.’

So, to avoid that kind of situation, it was better to let the village chief manage it.

Of course, making calls on a landline in those days cost money. You were charged by the minute, and it wasn’t cheap.