Chapter 71: Yun Jiao Brand Mother Hen
After a nap, Yun Jiao woke up full of energy.
The sun gradually set, and after it was no longer so hot, the adults went to the mountain to work.
Yun Jiao carried two little rabbits, followed by a string of chirping, happy furballs.
Grandma Shen: “No matter how I look at it, it seems magical. They must think Jiao Jiao is their mother.”
Yun Jiao opened her round eyes wide.
Me?
I’m already a mother at such a young age?
Shen Xiuyuan and the others continued to herd sheep, while Grandpa Shen and the others were going to loosen the soil in the cornfield.
Yun Jiao, on the other hand, took the little rabbits to eat grass and led the little furballs to catch grasshoppers and earthworms to eat.
They are still too young now, so she has to find the earthworms.
Following behind Mother, she stared as she dug, and when earthworms appeared, she pulled them out and cut them into two or three pieces with a small knife.
The chicks and ducklings that were already at her feet immediately swarmed over to eat.
It’s true, at this moment, Yun Jiao really looked like a mother hen finding food for her chicks.
Yun Xiao Jiu also helped on the side.
Suddenly, Yun Jiao heard her uncle’s shout.
“Jiao Jiao, there are plums here, do you want some?”
Hearing about food, Yun Jiao immediately lifted her little head.
“Yes!”
Her answer was crisp and loud.
Yun Jiao stopped catching earthworms and darted through the cornfield towards her uncle.
Yun Xiao Jiu also followed, holding two little rabbits.
And that string of little furballs.
Some of them were running slowly or had gotten dizzy and were crying pitifully, as if calling for Yun Jiao.
Yun Jiao paused underfoot and had to run back.
“Come here quickly.”
The dizzy little fellows then quickly moved their small thin legs and hurried to catch up.
By the plum tree, Uncle Shen had already climbed up the tree.
Yun Jiao gazed longingly.
“Uncle, I want to go up too.”
She also wanted to climb trees.
But her talent for climbing trees didn’t seem very good; she had tried before and couldn’t climb up.
Uncle Shen, on the tree, threw a few plums down, which landed on the grass.
“You eat these first, it’s high up on the tree, don’t come up.”
Yun Jiao said “oh,” then squatted down, picked up those plums, wiped them casually, and put them in her mouth.
Crunch…
Slightly bitter, slightly sour, slightly sweet.
The flavors neutralized each other. The first bite was a bit jarring, and her small face wrinkled.
Her mouth probably hadn’t adjusted to the taste yet, so she’d try a few more bites.
She continued to gnaw.
These local small plums weren’t particularly delicious, but for the children in the village, they were a rare fruit.
After eating two, Yun Jiao felt that they weren’t so unpalatable anymore.
“Chirp chirp chirp…”
A circle of little furballs surrounded her feet, but they didn’t eat these plums.
Yun Jiao pulled off a handful of grass, turned over the turf, and let them find food themselves.
They went home when it was almost dark.
Without time to rest, the women busied themselves cooking.
Grandpa Shen continued to weave the grass mats he hadn’t finished.
Today’s dinner was abundant, with snake meat, rabbit meat, eggs…
Grandma Shen also made everyone honey water.
“Thanks to Jiao Jiao today, we have more meat than we did during the New Year.”
Yun Jiao: “My brothers also helped.”
She held her enamel tea mug, drinking a lot of sweet honey water, her little face looking very satisfied.
“Grandma, I want more.”
“Alright, I’ll pour you a little more.”
Although Shen Xiuyuan and Yun Xiao Wu paid a painful price today, the honey they brought back was quite a lot.
After gurgling down more than half a mug of honey water, it was time to eat.
At the dining table, everyone put a lot of meat into Yun Jiao’s bowl.
She could barely eat it all.
Finally, with a round, full belly, she let out several loud burps.
Super satisfied!
Shen Yun Lian wiped her oily little mouth and hands clean.
“Go for a walk in the courtyard to aid digestion.”
Yun Jiao obediently went to the courtyard with her brothers to stroll, and then strolled out of the courtyard and into the village.
In the unfamiliar village, the bold Yun Jiao was not afraid at all; she just followed her brothers.
Then she discovered that the Shen Family Village also had a place where everyone sat and chatted.
There was a large plane tree in the village, and many people sat here to cool off and chat.
On hot evenings, people didn’t seem to like staying cooped up at home.
In the clear moonlight, the visibility was quite good.
As they walked over, they became the focus of attention.
“Oh, Shen Xiuyuan, were you and your cousins really beaten by people from Dagou Bay? Your faces… why are they so swollen.”
“The people from Dagou Bay are shameless and domineering. The children are just as bad. Several children from our village were beaten, and I heard they even stole your rabbits?”
Shen Xiuyuan nodded without hesitation.
“That’s right, it’s exactly like that!”
A group of people immediately started denouncing the people from Dagou Bay, one after another.
It was clear how much resentment everyone had towards the people of that village.
“Isn’t this Yun Lian’s little girl? She’s so pretty, come here, Auntie, let me see.”
“This little face, how did it grow to be so good-looking? Much better looking than Yun Lian was as a child.”
“When Yun Lian was unmarried, she was the most beautiful girl in our ten miles and eight villages, and this little girl is even more beautiful than her.”
Yun Jiao instantly became the focus of attention for these aunts and old ladies.
Humans are visual creatures. Even those with a preference for sons had to admit that a good-looking child naturally made them feel a bit fond.
Of course, those who didn’t have a good relationship with Shen Yun Lian would naturally find her displeasing.
And there happened to be one such person here.
“What’s the use of being good-looking? She still married a poor man, and her face is so tanned, how can it be considered good-looking.”
Yun Xiao Wu and his brothers glared at the woman speaking.
“What are you looking at? Is it because your family is poor that you can’t be spoken about? Not only are you poor, but you also have so many children, like pigs that can breed, showing off how many you can have, without even considering if you can afford to raise them.”
Someone couldn’t stand it and said a few words to her.
“Cuimei, speak a little less. Why are you saying such things in front of the children?”
Shen Cuimei rolled her eyes: “I’m not allowed to talk about her?”
“Like a fox spirit, and now her daughter also looks like a fox spirit.”
She mumbled the last sentence, but Yun Jiao still heard it.
She asked Yun Xiao Wu: “Brother, what is a fox spirit? She said Mother is a fox spirit, and I’m also a fox spirit.”
She disagreed; she wasn’t a fox at all. She was a merfolk, a super beautiful merfolk!
Yun Xiao Wu was about to explode, but someone was faster than him.
Aunt Shen rushed forward and slapped Shen Cuimei twice on the mouth.
“Shen Cuimei, your mouth is dirty, I’ll clean it for you!”
“Aiyo, why are they fighting.”
“Stop fighting, please stop fighting.”
The surrounding people stood up to mediate, focusing on talking rather than fighting.
Some people even felt Shen Cuimei deserved it; her brainless talk was more sarcastic and mean than an old lady’s, and few people liked to listen to her.
Shen Cuimei screamed.
“Wang Wen, you’re crazy! Why did you hit me!”
Aunt Shen spat at her: “I just can’t stand your sarcastic and mean demeanor. You’re not as good-looking as my sister-in-law, your personality isn’t as good as hers, and yet you’ve been competing with her your whole life. Her husband being poor is still ten times better than your alcoholic husband!”
