The GORGEOUS Mermaid Who Lands in the Eighties: Nine Brothers and Endless Pampering! - Chapter 7

This time, the Yun Jiao family’s total haul came to 225 yuan and 96 cents.
Yun Wang generously rounded it up to 226 yuan for them.
For just beach foraging, this was already a staggering amount of cash—even better than some families who owned boats and went fishing. After all, a fishing trip was always a gamble.
The Yun boys were ecstatic, cheering and hopping with excitement.
Grandpa Yun immediately scooped up his sweet granddaughter: “Our Jiao Jiao and her brothers are definitely lucky charms.”
Surrounded by her family’s endless praise, Yun Jiao tilted her small chin and beamed.
As everyone around them watched with envy and jealousy, Yun Awang handed the old man twenty-two ten-yuan notes, plus six yuan in loose change.
“Come on, Grandpa’s going to buy you a fizzy drink, and your favorite sweets.”
They might be poor, but having earned such a huge sum from the children’s hard work, they had to treat them to something good.
As they walked away, the onlookers couldn’t help but marvel.
“Old Man Yun’s family absolutely dotes on that girl, Yun Jiao. Honestly, you wouldn’t know she wasn’t their own.”
“Wouldn’t you know? Look at their boys—they’re all scrawny, and their clothes are threadbare. But Yun Jiao? She’s wearing new outfits! I heard Lin Hai’s wife even got out the best bolt of cloth they were saving, just to make her clothes.”
“Why lavish so much attention on a girl who isn’t even bl00d? What’s the point of it?”
“But do you reckon Yun Jiao might genuinely be a lucky charm? Ever since Lin Hai’s family took her in, their life seems to be looking up.”
The Yun Mu family had always been the poorest in the village, and now they were splashing out on fizzy drinks and sweets for the kids.
“Pah, what kind of lucky charm is that?” a sharp, spiteful voice cut in. “You’re just listening to the Yun Lin Hai family’s boasting. She’s just a drain on money; only they would treasure her. If you want real fortune, it has to be a boy! My Zhuangzi, he’s the one who brings good luck. Look how big and healthy he is! Which child in the whole village is chunkier than my Zhuangzhuang?”
No one had to look to know that Cai Jinhua was speaking.
If the Yun Mu family was famous for their many sons, the Yun Dana family was famous for their many daughters. Crucially, Yun Dana’s wife, the speaker, was determined. They had no twin gene, yet she kept getting pregnant, seemingly set on having a son. After five girls, she finally had a boy, and they treasured him above all else.
Everyone present sneered internally at her remarks.
Yun Zhuangzhuang was simply overweight from being overfed by his family. He was nowhere near Yun Jiao’s level—dark, chubby, ill-tempered. A lucky charm? That was an insult to the phrase.
However, no one bothered to engage. Cai Jinhua’s son, Yun Zhuangzhuang, was her precious lifeline, and anyone who dared criticize him was guaranteed a massive row. They simply didn’t have the time for Cai Jinhua’s antics.
Seeing that she had no takers, Cai Jinhua continued to brag to herself.
It wasn’t until the crowd had completely dispersed that she grabbed the young girl next to her by the ear and muttered angrily.
“You witless child! Hurry up and take these crabs to sell! Are you waiting until they go off before you eat them? You lazy thing! Make sure you use your tears wisely and get Old Man Yun to give you a bit more cash, or don’t expect any dinner tonight.”
Yun Zhaodi, having her ear pinched, quickly agreed and didn’t dare fight back. She could only watch the direction Yun Jiao had gone, her eyes filling with jealousy and resentment.
Why did she have to be so unlucky as to be born into this family? If only she were the sister of Yun Xiao Wu and his brothers.
On the other side, Yun Jiao and her group arrived home from the shop, where the three women of the house were busy preparing dinner.
With so many mouths to feed, the consumption of food was naturally high. If they hadn’t lived by the coast with its abundant seafood, even foraging daily wouldn’t have been enough to sustain such a large family of hungry boys.
Yun Jiao sat in the courtyard with her brothers, hugging the sweets and handing them out one by one.
“Jiao Jiao, you have your own,” the older boys insisted. Even though they eyed the sweets eagerly, they refused to take their little sister’s share.
Yun Jiao was stubborn. “Eat together,” she demanded, forcefully pushing the sweets into their hands.
“The fizzy drink, drink it together too.”
She might be a bit of a gourmand, but she didn’t believe in eating alone. Not only did her brothers have to drink, but so did the elders. After her brothers took a sip, she clutched the remaining bottle and toddled on her short legs to find Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, and Mum.
They were kind to her, so Yun Jiao would be kind to them.
The adults were utterly charmed by the sight of the tiny child holding up the fizzy drink bottle, urging them to take a drink.
“Grandpa, drink.”
The old man’s face crinkled up in a big grin.
“Yes, yes, yes, Grandpa will drink. Our Jiao Jiao is the most thoughtful girl.”
Yun Jiao’s lips curved into a smile; she loved hearing her family praise her. In her past life as a Jiao Ren (a type of mermaid), they were independent. She would have had to leave her parents around the age of ten to hunt and live alone. Before then, all her time was dedicated to training and hunting lessons.
She truly enjoyed this warm, cherished feeling of being surrounded by family.
“Grandma, drink too.”
The beautiful, snow-white little bundle zipped back and forth between the elders.
There weren’t enough sweets for the adults, so they didn’t have any, but the sweet taste still lingered in her mouth, and she liked it.
Dinner was ready, and the large family gathered around the table. The small Green Dragon was being saved for later that evening, waiting for the Yun Lin Hai and Yun Lin He brothers to return before it was cooked.
“Here, Jiao Jiao, eat more.”
The family always gave Yun Jiao the best portions first. Every single one of them seemed worried that she wouldn’t eat enough.
Yun Jiao’s mouth was full, her soft cheeks puffed up, making her look like a tiny, squishy hamster desperately storing food. “Grandpa, Grandma, brothers, you all eat, too.” Her voice was sweet and milky, but her tone was absolutely sincere.
“Hahaha… Alright, we’ll eat ourselves,” they chuckled.
The entire Yun Mu family loved hearing her voice. It was genuinely beautiful—soft, sweet, and with an airy quality. Every word she spoke was a delight to the ears.
After dinner, Yun Xiao Wu and the others headed out to show off today’s big catch to their friends. Yun Jiao, meanwhile, went for her afternoon nap.
In the small courtyard, the two oldest family members were taking stock of their finances.
Grandpa Yun puffed on his pipe: “Including today’s money, the family’s total savings is now six hundred yuan.”
This money had been saved through careful living. With so many people, annual expenses for food, daily needs, and social obligations took a huge chunk out of their earnings. The fact that they had saved this much was a credit to the women of the house, who were so good at managing the budget.
Grandpa Yun turned to his wife: “I want to buy a boat.”
Grandma Yun looked at their small savings, frowning: “But with that little bit of money, we can only afford a second-hand wooden boat.”
“I know,” Grandpa Yun replied. “I’ve made enquiries. A family in the next village bought a bigger boat and is selling their old wooden one. It’s eight meters long. It won’t let us go far out to sea, but it’s still far better than scrabbling around on the beach, and better than back-breaking work for meagre wages.”
Grandma Yun sighed: “If your mind is made up, then find the time to take the boys to have a look.”
Suddenly, she remembered something and quickly wiped a tear: “It’s all my fault for being such a burden on this family. If it wasn’t for having to pay for my medicine…”
“Don’t talk like that!” Grandpa Yun scolded. “You are their mother. We can always earn the money back, but if you were gone, Lin Hai and Lin He would lose their mother, and the little ones would lose their grandma.”
He would lose his wife.
Grandpa Yun patted her hand: “The children are all grown up. There’s no rush to earn money.”
Grandma Yun nodded.
After the two elders agreed, they decided to discuss it with the rest of the family soon. Buying a boat was a significant decision, and even for a small wooden one, the whole family had to be consulted.