The GORGEOUS Mermaid Who Lands in the Eighties: Nine Brothers and Endless Pampering! - Chapter 22

Later, Yun Jiao heard that Cai Jinhua had been bad-mouthing her again.
But her Auntie had totally shut her down.
Hmph. Ever since Yun Jiao didn’t share her fruit, Cai Jinhua had been holding a major grudge.
But Yun Jiao wasn’t about to let that woman spoil her day.
Yun Xiaowu and his brothers, marbles in hand, were basically the kings of Bailong Village. They had a massive group of ‘little followers’ everywhere they went.
Yun Jiao was either busy foraging for seafood (găn hăi) at the beach or playing with her older brothers—she was way too busy to even think about Cai Jinhua.
“Jiaojiao, come on! Marbles are awesome, you gotta try it.”
Yun Jiao watched her brother sprawled out on the dirt, his bum sticking in the air while he played, and shook her head.
“No, thanks.”
She was a neat-freak little thing.
“Please, just try.”
Yun Xiaowu plopped a marble into her hand.
Yun Jiao crouched down. She absolutely refused to lie on the ground like the boys.
“Use this one to hit those marbles over there. Hit ’em, and they’re yours.”
Yun Jiao looked at the red glass marble in her soft, pale hand and tossed it.
“Clack…”
“Whoa! A hit!”
“It flew so far!”
“Jiaojiao is the best!”
Her brothers instantly went wild with praise.
Yun Jiao’s small mouth curved up into a smile, her eyes shining and beautiful. Especially when she laughed—her big eyes squinted into little crescent moons, making her look so adorable that you just wanted to squeeze her.
The surrounding boys couldn’t stop staring, super envious that Yun Xiaowu’s crew had such a pretty and sweet little sister.
“Again, Jiaojiao, keep going!”
After playing marbles for a while, Yun Jiao got bored.
She was craving the sea.
“Brother, I wanna go to the sea.”
Yun Xiaowu sighed, “We can’t. Dad and Big Bro are busy building the house. We can’t go into the water unless they’re watching us.”
Yun Jiao pouted, bummed out.
When she was sad, her eyebrows drooped, her big eyes looked glossy, and her mouth turned downwards. She looked so pitiful and heartbroken.
It instantly melted her brothers’ hearts.
“Okay, okay, how about we go find Mum and Auntie? They’re heading to the shore to gather dinner, so we can still play by the beach, right?”
Fine, that would have to do.
Yun Xiaowu and the others immediately ditched their beloved marbles, gave a shout to their little friends, and took off with their sister.
The girls nearby were incredibly jealous.
“Yun Xiaowu and the others are so good to Yun Jiao.”
They were girls, too, but instead of playing, they had to haul firewood home or they’d get told off.
Of course, Yun Jiao wasn’t the only loved girl in the village, but she was definitely the most obvious case.
An adopted daughter spoiled rotten by all her brothers and adored by the grown-ups.
Without comparison, there is no pain, and the kids who weren’t favorites at home were especially jealous of her.
“Pfft, what’s the big deal? She’s still just going to get married someday.”
Yun Zhaodi thought maliciously, “Maybe Yun Xiaowu’s family is only nice to her because she’s pretty and they want to trade her for money later on!”
Her own eldest sister had been sold off like that. They called it ‘marriage,’ but even a kid like Yun Zhaodi knew the real deal.
“What kind of garbage is that? Be careful, if they hear you, you’ll be in deep trouble!”
Yun Zhaodi’s third sister snapped at her.
Yun Zhaodi rolled her eyes: “Hmph. We’ll see.”
Meanwhile, Yun Jiao sneezed.
“What’s wrong, Jiaojiao? You didn’t catch a cold, did you?”
Her brothers nervously crowded around her.
Colds were the worst: you had to get a shot—that long needle in your butt hurts like heck—and take super gross-tasting medicine.
Yun Jiao sniffed and shook her head: “No cold. Let’s hurry and find Mum.” Shen Yunlian and Wang Mei were indeed heading to the shore to gather seafood. They didn’t stop the kids from tagging along.
“Grandad, where is the boat?”
Yun Jiao trotted up to Grandpa Yun’s side, trailing him like a little shadow, looking up with her pale, clean, pretty little face, and asking sweetly.
She hadn’t forgotten that Grandpa Yun said he was going to buy a boat.
“Jiaojiao still remembers that, eh?”
Grandpa Yun was expertly pushing sand with a wheelbarrow.
“The boat is already ordered. Your dad will go check it out tomorrow, and if it looks good, he’ll pay for it and bring it home tomorrow.”
Yun Jiao nodded happily, her two little plaits bouncing with the movement.
With a boat, they could go out to sea, and she would definitely pester them until they took her.
“Jiaojiao, let’s go! We’re heading to the beach now.”
Yun Jiao immediately said goodbye to Grandad and scrambled on her short legs toward her brothers.
Yun Xiaowu held her hand.
Yun Xiaowu hummed the song he’d recently picked up: “Little little student, carrying your satchel to school…”
The school’s loudspeaker played that song every day; the whole village could hear it. The lyrics were simple and easy to remember, so most kids had learned it.
Yun Jiao hopped along, quietly singing with her brother: “Carrying your satchel to school.”
“Holy cow!” (A loud, sudden exclamation)
Yun Jiao mimicked: “Holy cow~”
Yun Xiaowu’s sudden exclamation earned him a smackdown.
Yun Xiaowu yelled: “Stop hitting me! Stop! I get it, I shouldn’t have used bad words!”
Shen Yunlian looked furious: “Yun Xiaowu, how many times do I have to tell you not to use bad words in front of your sister!”
Yun Jiao looked up at Shen Yunlian with a completely innocent look.
“No, Mum, my sister was singing just now! You have to listen, her voice is so beautiful!”
It was beautiful in a way he couldn’t describe. Honestly, it sounded way better than the school’s loudspeaker.
That’s why he couldn’t help but blurt out ‘Holy cow.’
“Jiaojiao, sing it for Mum right now.”
Yun Xiaowu looked at her, excited.
Yun Jiao sang: “The sun shines in the sky, the flowers smile at me, the little bird says ‘Good morning, good morning,’ why are you carrying your satchel…”
This time, it wasn’t just Yun Xiaowu, but Shen Yunlian, Wang Mei, and the other Yun boys who were all gobsmacked.
Logically, the voices of kids Yun Jiao’s age should all sound roughly the same—tender and childish.
When they usually heard Yun Jiao speak, they only thought her voice was a little sweeter than the other kids.
But when she sang, it was breathtakingly beautiful in a way none of them could articulate.
It had an ethereal lightness and softness, like the peaceful surface of the sea under the warm sun.
“That is truly gorgeous.”
Even Wang Mei couldn’t help but compliment her.
Yun Xiaowu puffed out his chest, as if he were the one singing.
“That’s right! Who do you think her brother is?”
Yun Jiao continued to hum.
Mermaids (Jiaoren) could cry tears that turned into pearls, and their singing was like an illusion, even capable of weaving a trance to bewitch minds.
Yun Jiao was human now, so she couldn’t weep pearls, but when she cried, her tears truly fell one by one like a string of pearls, sparkling under the sun.
Now, her singing no longer had the power to create illusions, but she was born with a voice that everyone would envy.
This was what people meant by having a gift straight from the heavens.
However, she was still young, and her voice still had that soft, milky childish quality; it hadn’t fully matured yet.
Everyone who had heard the song was hooked and wanted to hear more.
It was pretty addictive.
Yun Jiao sang one more song, but when they asked her to sing again, she crossed her little arms, angrily turned her head, and showed them her back.
She made it clear with her actions that she was angry and done singing.
Just a note that I’m not sure if the school actually played songs at this time in history. Novels often take liberties with real life, so don’t compare this completely to how things were!
(End of Chapter)