Chapter 13: Learning To Swim, Found A Conch
This dinner was so good that when everyone went to sleep that night, they were still patting their stomachs and recalling the taste.
Lying in bed, Yun Xiaowu touched his stomach and said, “I wonder when we’ll be able to eat something this good again.”
Yun Liuliu was even more craving; he was the most gluttonous person in the whole family besides Yun Jiao. Lying in bed with his belly exposed, he was already half asleep with his eyes closed, still murmuring about big meat buns.
Yun Xiaowu pushed his twin brother away with a look of disdain, then pulled Yun Jiao over.
The fragrant and soft little sister reminded him of similarly fragrant and plump big meat buns.
“Jiaojiao, sleep next to Fifth Brother. Tonight, Fifth Brother will surely dream of big meat buns.”
Yun Jiao yawned, “???”
Four people were lying in one bed. Besides the three of them, there was also Yun Xiao Jiu.
There were only so many rooms in the house, and it was fortunate that the children below Yun Xiaowu were still young, so they could still sleep by squeezing together.
But it might not be possible when they got older.
Therefore, rebuilding the house was imperative.
The adults in the family were also worried about this matter, but without money, all thoughts were in vain.
Early the next morning, Yun Jiao put on her clothes and was led by her Fifth Brother to find something to eat.
“Grandma, what are we eating today?”
They were still thinking about the fruit they had locked up yesterday.
Granny Yun tapped their heads.
“You only think about food.”
“Today we’re eating pumpkin.”
Grandma took out two eggs and handed them to Yun Jiao.
“Jiaojiao and Xiao Jiu, one each.”
Although the Yun family favored Yun Jiao a bit more, they also cherished their own children, especially the younger ones.
Yun Xiao Jiu was currently seven years old, not much older than Yun Jiao.
Eggs were limited at home, and the adults were reluctant to eat them, but every couple of days, two would be boiled for Yun Jiao and Yun Xiao Jiu to eat. Yun Jiao would also save her egg yolk to secretly give to Fifth Brother.
Perhaps because she was found by Yun Xiaowu, Yun Xiaowu treated her a bit like raising a daughter; he would always bring her the best food and toys first.
Because of this, Yun Jiao was also more dependent on Fifth Brother than her other brothers.
“Hehe, let’s go, we’ll go tide pooling again today.”
Holding a roasted sweet potato in hand, Yun Xiaowu took Yun Jiao to prepare to go to the seaside.
The adults in the family had been busy since early morning. Yun Die and Uncle went to work on someone else’s boat. Second Brother, unusually, did not go with them today. Third and Fourth Brothers went to school, while Mother Yun, Aunt, and Grandpa went to tend to the family’s fields.
“Wait.”
Second Brother Yun Chenxi called out to them.
“Today, Xiao Jiu and Jiaojiao are going to learn to swim and dive.”
Children living by the sea had to learn to swim and dive from a young age.
Xiao Jiu also started learning when he was three years old, but he still needed an adult to watch him when he went into the water.
Hearing that she was going to learn to swim, Yun Jiao’s eyes immediately lit up.
She had long wanted to go into the sea, but because she was too young, the Yun family did not dare to let her go near the seawater.
“Will Second Brother teach me?” Yun Jiao looked at him with sparkling eyes.
Among the Yun children, Second Brother and Fifth Brother were the best swimmers.
But the adults in the family were not at ease with Fifth Brother taking Yun Jiao.
So this important task fell to Second Brother Yun Chenxi.
“Okay, let’s go.”
With that, he scooped up his fragrant and soft sister.
Yun Jiao’s fair and plump little arms immediately wrapped around his neck.
Yun Xiaowu was extremely displeased.
“I can teach little sister to swim too! I swim even better than Second Brother.”
Yun Chenxi glanced at him.
“You’re just a little kid. Wait until you’re older.”
He carried Yun Jiao towards the sea, with a long string of younger brothers following behind.
This procession on the road was quite spectacular and made many people envious.
After all, in this era, having many sons represented good fortune. The Yun family had a gene for twins, and apart from Yun Xiao Jiu, almost every previous birth was twins.
If the Yun family had a daughter, even if the Yun family was poor, many matchmakers would have beaten a path to their door.
The Yun family didn’t lack boys, but other families did.
Upon reaching the seaside, Yun Chenxi sent the younger brothers off to go tide pooling and find things, while he took Yun Jiao to a suitable depth in the seawater and began teaching her to swim.
Yun Xiaowu did not leave either; he insisted on teaching as well.
“Little sister, don’t be afraid. We need to learn to hold our breath. Watch me, take a big breath and hold it, then go into the water. Don’t be scared…”
Yun Xiaowu directly snatched the job that Second Brother was about to do, and tried to push him aside.
Then he was tapped on the head by Second Brother.
“Am I teaching, or are you?”
Yun Xiaowu held his head and muttered, “Sister likes me more.”
In the gap while they were arguing, Yun Jiao had already squatted down in the water.
She didn’t need any teaching at all; she was a merfolk, naturally skilled at swimming in the sea.
Most importantly, she had now confirmed that she could actually breathe in the sea.
This was simply too surprising.
“Sister, Jiaojiao, where did you go?!”
Realizing their sister was gone, both Yun Er Ge and Xiaowu dove into the water to search for her.
“Second Brother, Fifth Brother, I’m here.”
Yun Jiao suddenly popped her head out of the seawater about three meters away, floating naturally in the sea. In her two chubby hands, she was holding something.
The two frightened brothers quickly swam over and hugged her tightly.
“You scared me to death! How did you disappear in the blink of an eye?”
A smile spread across Yun Jiao’s lips. “Brothers, look, I can swim now.”
The two brothers: . . . . . .
No, it seemed they hadn’t taught her anything yet, and she could already do it?
She really could, she had already swum so far and was now floating so skillfully in the water.
Yun Xiaowu hugged her and laughed heartily, “My sister is a genius! She’s worthy of being sent by the Turtle Prime Minister!”
Although surprised, thinking about Yun Jiao’s appearance already had a mythical aura, so Yun Er Ge accepted it.
He just warned Yun Xiaowu, “Don’t tell anyone about this. Just say we taught her, but Jiaojiao learned very quickly.”
The two younger ones nodded.
Yun Xiaowu: “I’m not that stupid.”
He was afraid that if others knew their sister was sent by the Dragon King, she might be snatched away.
“What a big shell!”
Upon reaching the shore, the two brothers finally focused their attention on what Yun Jiao was holding.
The seashell was smooth and yellowish-brown, while the exposed snail meat had brown and white striped patterns. The reason Yun Jiao held it with both hands was because the shell was too big.
It was bigger than her face.
“This must be at least three or four catties.”
Yun Xiaowu was excited, “Such a big snail, it must be worth quite a bit of money!”
Yun Chenxi took it and weighed it in his hand, “This is a coconut shell. This size is probably worth three yuan.”
That was considered valuable; many fish were only a few cents per jin.
“Not selling.”
Yun Jiao hugged the coconut shell, “Not selling.”
Three yuan was a considerable amount of money for the Yun family, as they were poor and saved money bit by bit.
“Okay, okay, not selling. Our Jiaojiao is really lucky to find such a big shell while learning to swim.”
