The GORGEOUS Mermaid Who Lands in the Eighties: Nine Brothers and Endless Pampering! - Chapter 20

The boy was genuinely petrified, snot and tears plastered to his face as he just stood there, completely stunned.
“What do you think you’re doing, eh?”
Seeing her own grandson being shouted at, the old woman instantly looked offended.
“A wee girl with a temper like that? Good luck finding a husband when you grow up!”
Yun Chenxi snapped back, “That’s none of your concern! You worry about turning your own grandson into a menace!”
“What sort of behavior is that? Bullying an old lady and a child!”
“And what sort of behavior is it allowing your grandson to beg? If you want handouts, go ask on the pavement!”
“You…”
“Right, that’s enough! Both of you zip it, or you’re walking the rest of the way.”
The driver finally lost his temper, and the old woman clearly didn’t want to risk being dumped on the side of the road.
Yun Chenxi rolled her eyes but settled down.
After that little palaver, Yun Jiao was quite cross. Her lovely day out had been spoiled.
Their spirits only lifted a bit when they finally got to town. Yun Linhe deliberately felt the money he was hiding, reassured by the thick wad tucked away safely.
“Come on, let’s get home.”
“I’ll carry the bags, and you, Second Brother, you can carry Jiaojiao. We’ll walk it back.”
There was no bus running to their village, and no tractors were about, so walking was their only option.
But they hadn’t eaten, and their stomachs were rumbling.
Yun Linhe quickly decided they’d stop for a big bowl of noodles first.
Yun Jiao wasn’t that hungry, having nibbled two sponge cakes on the way.
She still managed to slurp down a bowl, though.
Once they were full and ready, she walked the first half of the journey herself, her little legs pumping away. It was only for the second, long stretch that her second brother gave her a piggyback.
Arriving back at the familiar village lands, Yun Linhe and Yun Chenxi both relaxed visibly.
“Little Uncle! Second Brother! Little Sister!!!”
They hadn’t even reached the village entrance when several scallywags came thundering over, shouting their heads off, with two big yellow dogs barking right alongside them.
“You’re finally back!”
Yun Xiaowu and the lads came bombing over like a pack of rockets: “What’d you get? Let’s have a look!”
“Little Sister, why didn’t you wake me up? I could’ve come with you!”
Yun Chenxi laughed as he set Yun Jiao down.
“Dream on! No rooting through it here, you can see it all when we get home.”
When they reached the village entrance, the old ladies and aunties sitting beneath the locust tree, busy weaving their nets, peered over, their eyes practically burning holes through the shopping bags.
“Linhe, did you go all the way into the city? What did you buy then?”
Yun Linhe chuckled. “Just a few bits and bobs, that’s all.”
“Granny Wang, you carry on. We’re heading in now.”
He then hurried them along with Yun Xiaowu and the others, terrified that if they dawdled, those nosey parkers would just reach out and start pawing through their new things.
That kind of cheek happened all the time in the village.
Upon arriving home, all the Yun children clustered around Yun Linhe and Yun Chenxi, bombarding them with questions—they were no quieter than a noisy flock of ducks.
“What did you buy? Is there any food?”
“Ooh, it’s sponge cake! I want a bit, I want a bit!”
“And White Rabbit sweets! Little Uncle, how could you afford to be so generous?”
“Crikey, tinned goods!”
At Yun Xiaowu’s loud shout, everyone’s attention snapped to the two tins, their eyes shining brightly.
Yun Chenxi gave his unruly younger brother a tap on the head. “Don’t swear! How many times have I told you?”
Yun Xiaowu didn’t care about the tap. He held the tins and bounced up and down excitedly.
“Tins! Tins! This one’s proper meat, Tinned Braised Pork, and this one’s Tinned Yellow Peaches! Ha! I even get to eat the good stuff now!”
These things were expensive, especially the tinned goods, which made Grandpa and Granny Yun’s hearts absolutely sink.
“Honestly, buying all this! You great spendthrifts! How much did you waste?”
Saying this, Granny Yun gave Yun Linhe’s arm a couple of sharp taps.
Yun Linhe scratched his head. “Well, I thought since we rarely get to go to the city…” Yun Jiao said in a soft, sweet voice, “Nan, it was Jiaojiao who wanted them.”
Granny Yun: “Even so, you shouldn’t have bought quite so much! That must have cost a fortune.”
“It didn’t cost loads.”
Yun Jiao gestured with her little hand. “Loads of notes were in the pile, Little Uncle only used one for me.”
After saying that, Yun Jiao took out the box of glass marbles and shook it. A clear, tinkling sound rang out immediately.
“Brothers, marbles.”
Hearing her words, the boys immediately swarmed around her.
“Let me see! Quick, let me see!”
When the box was opened, the beautiful marbles instantly became the boys’ most treasured possessions.
“Glass marbles!”
Yun Jiao held the box full of glass marbles.
“Ten marbles for each brother. Jiaojiao will hand them out.”
She sat on a small stool, slightly smugly crossing her short legs.
“Fifth Brother stands first, Sixth Brother second, and the rest of the brothers line up by age.”
The Yun adults watched happily as Yun Jiao handed out the glass marbles.
Yun Xiaowu grinned widely, cupping his hands.
“Little Sister, I want a red one, a blue one, three patterned ones, and two white ones…”
Yun Xiaowu had first dibs, while the others stretched their necks out, panicking that their favorites would be snapped up.
Yun Jiao’s fair little hands selected the marbles. The glass spheres looked like precious jewels in her grasp.
“There you go, Fifth Brother’s.”
She did the same for the others.
When all five brothers had received theirs, she clapped her hands and went to hand out the food.
If she didn’t hand them out, Nan and the others definitely wouldn’t dare to eat them.
“Jiaojiao, don’t you have any marbles? I’ll give you three to play with.”
“I’ll give you three too,” Yun Xiaoliu chimed in.
The other few did the same.
Three marbles each from five brothers—that would mean their little sister would have more marbles than any of them.
Yun Jiao shook her head. “No, I’ll just watch my brothers play.”
This utterly touched the boys; their little sister really was the best in the whole wide world.
Clutching a handful of White Rabbit sweets, Yun Jiao started handing them out again, running all over the room.
Of course, she didn’t neglect her own appetite either, unwrapping one and popping it into her own mouth.
Today was arguably the happiest day for the Yun children; they had all kinds of delicious food and fun toys.
Once everything that needed dividing was done, Granny Yun locked the rest away, planning to let them eat a little each day.
Yun Xiaowu and his brothers ran off cheering with their marbles, most likely to show them off to the other kids in the village.
The adults gathered together and finally began to discuss the serious matter.
Yun Linhe directly brought out the money.
Seeing the huge pile of cash, the rest of the family gasped sharply, their eyes wide.
“That… that much?!”
Yun Linhe was beaming. “You bet! Who would have thought that tiny little pearl would be worth a fortune?”
“In total, we sold it for 1,500 yuan, and spent ten yuan. The rest is all here.”
The money for the return journey and the noodles came from the family’s own fund; apart from the ten yuan given to Yun Jiao, none of the pearl money had been touched.
Yun Jiao banged on the table. “Build a big, beautiful house!”
“Yes, yes, of course…”
Granny Yun wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “We’ll build a big house!”
Grandpa Yun said, “Now that you two brothers are both here, I’ll be straightforward. This money will be used to build two houses, and once the houses are built, we’ll divide the family property immediately.”
(End of Chapter)