The GORGEOUS Mermaid Who Lands in the Eighties: Nine Brothers and Endless Pampering! - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Little Azure Dragon
Three years had passed in the blink of an eye since Yun Jiao arrived in this world.
Her name in this life was still Yun Jiao, the same as when she was a mermaid.
“Jiaojiao, we’re off to the beachcombing. Are you coming with us?”
Inside the rundown, mud-brick house, the clean and fair little girl, like a fluffy snowball, sat quietly on a small stool, slowly chewing a small piece of dried fish held in her plump little hand.
Her clothes were a little worn, but they’d been washed spotless. Her hair was tied into two little buns, with a light, airy fringe across her forehead.
Hearing her name, Yun Jiao turned her head.
Her eyes were wide and bright, rounded like a cat’s, with pupils as clear as glazed glass, framed by thick, black, curly eyelashes that looked like tiny brushes.
She was so exquisitely beautiful she looked like a little collector’s doll, standing in stark contrast to the skin tones of the other residents in the small fishing village.
Yun Jiao often ran out to sunbathe with her older brothers, but her skin simply refused to tan.
“Fifth Brother, I want to go.”
Maybe it was because Fifth Brother Yun was the one who’d found and brought her back, but the boy, despite only being her brother, had the worry of a father for her.
When Yun Jiao was too young to look after herself, Fifth Brother Yun had changed her nappies many times, let alone feeding her milk and weaning foods.
The family often joked that he was raising a daughter at such a young age.
When she was learning to walk, he was more dedicated to teaching her than anyone else.
Because of this, Yun Jiao grew quite attached to her Fifth Brother.
Stuffing the last bit of dried fish into her mouth, Yun Jiao grabbed her small bucket and shovel and trotted out right behind her brothers.
First Brother and Second Brother had gone with old Mr. Yun and their uncle to help on the boat, and Third Brother and Fourth Brother were still in school.
Their family had many children and little money, so they couldn’t afford to send all the boys to school. The male children after Fifth Brother Yun hadn’t had any schooling.
However, the two who did attend school had to teach their younger brothers how to read when they got home.
The rest of the boys after Fifth Brother Yun were home, though the laziest, Sixth Brother Yun, and the youngest, Ninth Brother Yun, had been taken by their Granny to watch over the fields.
The boys taking Yun Jiao to the beach were those left at home: Fifth Brother Yun, Seventh Brother, and Eighth Brother.
Three-year-old Yun Jiao had very short legs. To keep up with her brothers, her little legs were in a perpetual, busy blur of motion, which looked incredibly adorable.
When they reached the beach, the tide had just gone out, and many people were already beachcombing.
Everyone they saw greeted them warmly, and particularly many people greeted Yun Jiao.
People are drawn to beauty, and little Yun Jiao stood out strikingly in the small fishing village with her delicate features. Honestly, even in the nearby town, you wouldn’t find anyone so lovely.
So, she was quite popular.
“Come on, let’s head to somewhere less crowded.”
Yun Jiao agreed, and followed her brothers to a spot further down the beach.
Fifth Brother Yun glanced at her short legs and asked thoughtfully, “Are you tired, little sister? I’ll carry you.”
Yun Jiao shook her head. “I’m not tired, brother. Hold my hand.”
She held out her plump little hand.
Fifth Brother Yun instantly grabbed it and gave it a squeeze. His little sister’s plump hand was soft and smelled lovely.
“Me too! Little sister, hold my hand too!”
Seventh Brother Yun rushed over as well.
Yun Jiao looked at the bucket in her small hand.
“Give this to the Eighth Brother to hold.”
Seventh Brother Yun didn’t wait for permission and unceremoniously passed a chore to his younger brother.
Eighth Brother Yun fumed. “Why do I have to hold the bucket while you get to hold my sister’s hand?”
Seventh Brother Yun was self-righteous. “Because you were too slow! Besides, you’re the younger brother, you have to listen to your older brother.”
“Pah! You were only born a few minutes before me! That doesn’t make you my proper older brother!”
“Even a few minutes makes me your big brother.”
The brothers walked along, bickering the whole time.
Suddenly, Yun Jiao stopped dead.
“Brothers, let’s go over there.”
She pulled her hand free and pointed in a certain direction.
Her brothers gave a bewildered “Eh?”
“There’s no path over there, though.”
Though puzzled, the three brothers decided to indulge their sister and went to take a look.
Yun Jiao, a milky little ball of fluff, had to quickly toddle her short legs to keep up with her brothers’ pace. She was overwhelmingly cute.
All three brothers were completely smitten with how cute their little sister was.
This beautiful little sister belonged to their family, hehe…
The direction Yun Jiao pointed to was a reef cliff face, very high and steep. Even the village’s best climbers wouldn’t dare go near it.
But after Yun Jiao led them around, they spotted a cave entrance right near the surface of the sea!
The three Yun brothers stared with wide eyes.
They had lived here for so long and never discovered this cave. How could their little sister possibly know about it?!
The three brothers looked at Yun Jiao in astonishment.
The small, porcelain-doll-like tot declared confidently, “I heard it.”
The three Yun brothers: “???”
Can this thing be heard?
Others might not be able to, but she could.
Mermaids have sharp hearing; even under the sea, they can distinguish different terrain through sounds, which helps them hunt.
The three Yun brothers didn’t question it. In their hearts, they were more convinced than ever that their sister was a little fortune-bringer sent straight from the Dragon King.
“Shall we go in?”
An undiscovered cliff cave might hold dangers, but it could also promise a great bounty.
The three brothers simultaneously looked at Yun Jiao.
Yun Jiao nodded her small head, her tone resolute.
“Brothers, go in.”
“Alright, we’ll go in then. Jiaojiao, hold your brother’s hand tightly and we’ll take it slow, okay?”
The four of them held hands and headed into the cave.
The start was fine, but the further they went, the darker it became.
“We should have brought a torch.”
The cave wasn’t large; it was about 1.2 meters (about four feet) high.
Fifth Brother Yun even had to bend over to squeeze in.
Being such a small cave in such a hidden spot, it was no wonder no one had found it.
“I think I hear something over there, in the rock pool.”
This cave would be submerged during high tide. Now that the tide was out, the entrance was exposed, but there were certainly many rock pools inside.
Perhaps sea fish were trapped there.
“Please don’t be a sea snake, please don’t be…”
Sea snakes are highly venomous, and a sudden bite would be the end of them.
The boys strained their eyes to make out the thing in the water ahead.
The three Yun brothers couldn’t see clearly, but Yun Jiao’s black and white eyes saw it perfectly.
She suddenly slipped free of her brothers’ hands and darted forward.
“Jiaojiao!”
Amidst her brothers’ panicked shouts, Yun Jiao bent down and grabbed the thing.
“Brothers, it’s a big lobster.”
Yun Jiao’s tender, milky voice echoed in the cave. Her pale, plump little hand grasped a huge lobster, much bigger than her own face, and her large eyes stared at it intently.
The three brothers were first panicked, then absolutely overjoyed by the huge lobster in Yun Jiao’s hand.
Up close, they could see it clearly.
“It’s a Little Azure Dragon!”
The ‘Little Azure Dragon’ (Chinese Spiny Lobster), is a highly prized and expensive seafood item.
They sell for at least 8 Yuan a jin (about 0.5kg), and the bigger they are, the more valuable they become, with those over three jin fetching an even higher price.
The one Yun Jiao was holding looked to weigh at least two jin (a kilo).
The three brothers were so excited their faces flushed and their breathing became ragged.
This one lobster alone was worth a fortune!
(End of Chapter)