The GORGEOUS Mermaid Who Lands in the Eighties: Nine Brothers and Endless Pampering! - Chapter 17

The entire family gathered, gazing joyfully at the stunning flame pearl in Yun Jiao’s tiny hand. It was absolutely magnificent. Grandma Yun quickly gave a stern warning to everyone: “You must not breathe a word about Jiao Jiao’s flame pearl to anyone. If you do, our family will be targeted, and we could have a thief knocking on our door any day now.”
“This pearl is Jiao Jiao’s, and no one is to be greedy over it. If any of you are ever lucky enough to find a coconut pearl in a conch or something, that’s completely yours. Whether you sell it for cash or hide it away, I, this old woman, won’t get involved.”
Grandpa Yun nodded in agreement, and no one else had any objections.
“Jiao Jiao, would Gran look after this pearl for you? When you’re a bit older, we’ll get a beautiful necklace made for you to wear.”
Honestly, Grandma Yun was terrified to let Yun Jiao keep hold of the flame pearl. Given Yun Jiao’s habit of trying to put everything she saw in her mouth, she might try to swallow it.
A pearl that big? If it got lodged in her throat, it would be an absolute catastrophe.
Yun Jiao loved the beautiful pearl in her hand, too.
Mermaids naturally adore anything shiny and pretty. In her previous life, she had loved hunting the sea for beautiful pearls, gems, and shells to decorate her lair.
But now, she held the flame pearl out. “Grandad, big house, please. Jiao Jiao wants a pretty room.”
That was the plan: she intended to sell the pearl for money and build a house. She wanted a little lair of her own.
Their current house was too small, and the roof even leaked when it rained.
She could always find more beautiful pearls and gems later.
The family could see how much Yun Jiao loved the flame pearl, and Grandma Yun stroked her head gently.
“This flame pearl is just too lovely. Finding it even once is an unbelievable stroke of luck. Our Jiao Jiao should keep it to herself. Building a house is the adults’ job, sweetheart, so don’t you worry about it. We promise to save a room just for you.”
Yun Jiao insisted in her sweet, baby voice, “Sell for money. Jiao Jiao will find pretty pearls again later.”
Her tender, childlike voice held a surprisingly determined, authoritative edge.
After thinking it over, Grandpa Yun decided against being sentimental.
“All right, Grandad will take it then! Once it’s sold, we’ll immediately build a brand new, big house for our Jiao Jiao!”
Yun Jiao’s eyes curved into a bright smile, and she immediately fixed her gaze on the stir-fried conch meat.
“Eat.”
“Hahaha… Jiao Jiao, you really are such a little foodie, aren’t you?”
The whole family burst into happy laughter.
The stir-fried conch meat was ready, and Yun Jiao tucked in happily, eating so much that her little belly stretched out into a perfect sphere by the end of the meal.
Yun Xiaowu immediately took her out for a walk to help her digest.
Strolling from their home to the village entrance, they found many of the elderly villagers playing with their boisterous grandchildren after dinner.
As soon as Yun Jiao and Yun Xiaowu appeared, the old folks at the village entrance stared intently at them.
Yun Jiao was well used to it.
She didn’t know what their strange custom was; it wasn’t just her, but anyone who passed by would be scrutinized. They’d even drag over outsiders and question them relentlessly, as if trying to uncover details of their ancestors going back eighteen generations.
“Xiaowu, Jiao Jiao, come here, come and sit with Granny Wang.”
Yun Xiaowu fetched two small stools, chose a spot for his sister to settle, and then plopped down beside her.
His sister didn’t enjoy running around and playing wildly with her peers; instead, she preferred to sit under the big locust tree at the village entrance and listen to the elderly villagers and women gossip.
The random words she occasionally used back home were all things she’d picked up here.
“Xiaowu, did you manage to find King Razor Clams again today?”
Yun Xiaowu nodded.
“Where did you find them?”
Yun Xiaowu told them the spot: “Just a bit further up from where we usually learn to swim. But even if you go now, you won’t dig any up. That whole patch is pretty much cleared out. Lots of people were already digging there when we left.”
One Granny slapped her thigh, “Why on earth didn’t I go out foraging today?”
“Your family’s luck is truly getting better and better.”
“I hear your family is buying a boat?” That’s how it was in the village—secrets simply didn’t exist.
Yun Xiaowu nodded, “That’s right. Grandad says we’re buying a wooden boat.”
His eyes were fixed on a group of children playing house nearby, and he was getting restless.
“Granny Wang, could you keep an eye on Jiao Jiao for a bit? I’m going to go play.”
“Go on then, go on. Our Jiao Jiao is a good girl; she doesn’t need looking after.”
After Yun Xiaowu left, a few of the more intrusive people asked Yun Jiao how much her family was selling their seafood for.
Yun Jiao replied simply, “Don’t know.”
Whatever they asked, she just said she didn’t know.
She genuinely didn’t care about those things, so she really had no clue.
“Why are you bothering a child with these questions?”
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With that, they changed the subject and talked about other things.
Who had luck fishing and what they caught yesterday.
Whose chicken had gone missing, and whose corn had been pinched—they knew every detail.
Yun Jiao sat properly on her little stool, listening to them talk, just as she had since she learned to walk.
These gossiping Grannies and women played a crucial part in how quickly she learned the language of the humans in this world.
When she’d heard enough, Yun Jiao picked up her small stool to find Yun Xiaowu.
“Fifth Brother, time to go home.”
At that moment, Yun Xiaowu dropped the rather clumsy pistol he’d made out of mud, stood up, and washed his hands.
“Comrades, you carry on the fight against the enemy spies. I’m taking my little sister home first.”
Having said that, he held Yun Jiao’s snow-white, clean little hand with one hand, and carried the stool with the other, heading for home.
That evening, Yun Linhai, Yun Linhe, and Yun Chendong came back, and when they heard about the pearl, the three men were equally stunned.
Hearing that they intended to sell the pearl, Yun Chenxi suggested, “What if we get ripped off in our town? Why don’t we go to the city to sell it?”
Everyone agreed that was a sensible idea. In the town, they might bump into people they knew, and if news of them selling a pearl got out, their life at home would certainly not be peaceful.
Yun Xiaowu and the others immediately clamoured, “We’re going to the city? Does that mean we get to ride the public bus? I want to go, I want to go!”
“Absolutely not!”
Uncle Yun snapped, “We’re going to deal with serious business. If we take you a lot of tearaway rascals, how are we supposed to concentrate? If you wander off, where are we going to find you?”
The young boys in the family were completely unreliable when let loose. In the village, it was fine—everyone knew the kids, and they could find their way home.
The city was huge, with so many people. If they truly got lost, they wouldn’t be found, and they might even be targeted by kidnappers.
The brothers were furious and, to make sure they got to go to the city, they immediately threw themselves on the ground, rolling around and kicking up a fuss.
Grandpa Yun’s head started throbbing from the noise, “As soon as we’ve saved enough money for the house, we’ll send these little brats off to school to get some education.”
Yun Xiaowu sniffled, “Fine, we’ll go. The school’s got loads of people and it’s fun. My sister is coming with me.”
“Why would we take Jiao Jiao? If Jiao Jiao is going to study, she’ll have to wait another couple of years.”
There were no proper nurseries back then; children usually started primary school at six or seven. Children of that age knew the way home, so the elders worried less.
Going to the city with them was completely out of the question, and throwing a tantrum wasn’t going to work either.
In the end, the ones who threw the tantrum were all given a talking-to by their parents, who threatened them with shoes and sticks, before they finally quietened down.
I was busy with family matters today, so the update was delayed until now, but here it is!
(End of Chapter)