Chapter 4: Spiny Lobster
In the blink of an eye, Yun Jiao had been in this world for three years.
Her name in this life was also Yun Jiao, the same as when she was a merfolk.
“Jiaojiao, are you going tide pooling with us?”
Inside the dilapidated adobe house, the clean and white little girl, like a ball of snow, sat quietly on a small stool, leisurely gnawing on a dried fish in her chubby hands.
Her clothes were a little old but washed very clean. Her hair was tied into two small buns, with fluffy, airy bangs in front.
Hearing someone call her name, Yun Jiao turned her head to look.
Her eyes were large and bright, like a cat’s, with a round curve. Her pupils were as clear as glaze, and her black, curled eyelashes were as dense as little brushes.
The whole person was as exquisite as a doll, completely different from the skin color of others in the small fishing village.
Yun Jiao also followed her brothers out to bask in the sun many times, but her skin just wouldn’t tan.
“Fifth Brother, I want to go.”
Perhaps it was because Yun Xiao Wu found her, but this kid, despite being her brother, worried like a father.
When Yun Jiao was unable to care for herself, Yun Xiao Wu often changed her diapers, not to mention feeding her milk and supplementary food.
Everyone in the family teased him, saying he was raising a daughter at such a young age.
During the time she was learning to walk, he was more attentive than anyone else in teaching her.
This led Yun Jiao to be quite fond of sticking to her Fifth Brother.
Stuffing the last bit of dried fish into her mouth, Yun Jiao grabbed her own small bucket and shovel and followed behind her brothers out the door.
Eldest Brother and Second Brother went to the boat to help Father Yun and Uncle, while Third Brother and Fourth Brother, at their age, were still attending school.
Their family had many children and was poor, unable to afford schooling for so many. The boys after Yun Xiao Wu did not go to school.
However, the two who went to school had to teach their younger brothers to read after school.
The remaining boys after Yun Xiao Wu stayed at home, but the laziest, Yun Liu Liu, and the youngest, Yun Jiu Jiu, were taken by Grandmother to watch the fields.
The ones taking Yun Jiao tide pooling now were Yun Xiao Wu, Xiao Qi, and Xiao Ba, who stayed at home.
Yun Jiao, at three years old, had very short legs. To keep up with her brothers, her little legs moved with a very busy air.
When they arrived at the beach, the tide had just receded, and there were many people tide pooling.
Everyone greeted them enthusiastically, and many people greeted Yun Jiao.
People are visual creatures. Yun Jiao, so small, was exceptionally delicate and beautiful in the small fishing village, let alone the town, there wasn’t anyone this good-looking.
So she was quite popular.
“Let’s go, let’s go, we’ll go to a place with fewer people.”
Yun Jiao had no objections and followed her brothers towards a farther place.
Yun Xiao Wu glanced at her short legs and kindly asked, “Sister, are you tired? I’ll carry you.”
Yun Jiao shook her head, “I’m not tired. Brother, hold my hand.”
She extended her little chubby hand.
Yun Xiao Wu immediately grabbed it and squeezed it. His sister’s little chubby hand was soft and fragrant.
“I want some too, Sister, hold my hand too.”
Yun Xiao Qi also came closer.
Yun Jiao looked at the bucket in her little hand.
“Let Xiao Ba hold this.”
Yun Xiao Qi, without any explanation, added a task for his own younger brother.
Yun Xiao Ba was angry, “Why shouldn’t you hold the bucket and I hold Sister?”
Yun Xiao Qi said righteously, “Because you were slow, and you’re the younger brother, you should listen to your older brother.”
“Bah, you were born just a few minutes before me, what kind of brother are you!”
“A few minutes earlier still makes me your brother.”
The brothers bickered as they walked.
Suddenly, Yun Jiao stopped.
“Brother, let’s go over there.”
She pulled her hand out and pointed in a certain direction.
Her brothers let out a confused “ah.”
“There’s no path over there.”
Although they didn’t understand, the three brothers decided to indulge their sister and go take a look.
Yun Jiao, a small, milky ball, had to move her short legs swiftly to keep up with her brothers’ pace.
It looked super cute.
Anyway, the three brothers were completely charmed by their own sister.
Such a good-looking sister was theirs, hehe…
The direction Yun Jiao pointed was a rocky cliff, very high and steep, so steep that even the best climber in the village wouldn’t dare to go up.
But Yun Jiao led them around, and they actually found a cave on a cliff face near the sea surface!
The three Yun brothers’ eyes widened.
They had lived here for so long and never discovered this cave, so how did their sister know about it?!
The three brothers looked at Yun Jiao in surprise.
The little milky ball, as beautiful as a porcelain doll, said righteously, “I heard it.”
The three Yun brothers: “???”
This thing can be heard?
Others couldn’t, but she could.
Merfolk have sharp hearing, and even underwater, they can distinguish different terrains through various sounds, making it convenient for hunting.
The three Yun brothers didn’t ask, but in their hearts, they were even more convinced that their sister was a little lucky charm sent by the Dragon King.
“Shall we go in?”
A cave that had never been discovered before might contain danger, but it might also hold many treasures.
The three brothers looked at Yun Jiao in unison.
Yun Jiao nodded her little head, her tone very firm.
“Brother, let’s go in.”
“Okay, then we’ll go in. Jiaojiao, hold my hand tightly, and let’s go slowly, okay?”
The four of them held hands and walked into the cave.
It was fine at the beginning, but it got darker the further they went inside.
“I knew we should have brought a flashlight.”
The cave wasn’t large, about 1.2 meters high.
Yun Xiao Wu had to bend his waist to crawl in.
Such a small cave, in such a hidden location, no wonder no one discovered it.
“There seems to be a sound over there, in the puddle.”
This cave would be submerged during high tide. Now that the tide had receded, the entrance was exposed, but there were certainly many puddles inside the cave.
It was possible that sea fish were trapped inside.
“Please don’t be a sea snake, please don’t be…”
Sea snakes are highly poisonous, and if one suddenly appeared and bit them, it would be all over.
The few of them strained their eyes to discern what was in the water ahead.
The three Yun brothers couldn’t see clearly, but Yun Jiao’s black and white clear pupils saw it all.
She suddenly broke free from her brothers’ hands and ran forward.
“Jiaojiao!”
Amidst her brothers’ panicked shouts, Yun Jiao bent down and grabbed the thing.
“Brother, it’s a lobster.”
Yun Jiao’s childish, milky voice echoed in the cave. Her fair, chubby little hands were holding a lobster much larger than her face, and her big eyes were staring intently.
The three brothers were first worried, then surprised by the lobster in Yun Jiao’s hand.
They could still see clearly upon closer inspection.
“It’s a spiny lobster!”
A spiny lobster, also known as the Chinese spiny lobster, is quite expensive among seafood.
It costs at least 8 yuan per jin, and the larger it is, the more valuable it becomes. Lobsters weighing over three jin increase in value.
The one in Yun Jiao’s hand looked like it weighed at least two jin.
The three brothers’ faces turned red with excitement, and their breathing quickened.
This one alone was very valuable.
