"Yes."
Vice Commander Zhao described everything he had seen.
"That’s a surprise. To be able to command killer whales," Song Group Leader said with a smile, stroking his chin.
"I’d really like to see that for myself."
"But there are plenty of strange things in this world. Some people are just born with a natural affinity for animals. That’s a true god-given talent. Anyway, I’ve got it. How are the children doing? Have we found their families?"
Before Vice Commander Zhao could speak, someone outside shouted, "Report!"
"Enter."
"Song Group Leader, one of the children rescued yesterday specifically asked to see you."
"See me?"
"Yes, and he even said your name."
Song Group Leader’s expression changed. ’Damn it, don’t tell me one of my relatives is in this group of kids.’
"Quick, take me to see him!"
When Song Group Leader saw the child’s face, he sucked in a sharp breath.
"Xiao Yu, what are you doing here?!"
And he’d been caught by human traffickers!
Fu Mingyu pressed his lips together and called out, "Uncle Song."
"Can you help me contact my grandpa? Don’t tell my dad."
Song Group Leader snapped back to reality and nodded. "Xiao Yu, are you okay? If anything happened to you, Commander Fu would tear this place apart."
Fu Mingyu looked down. "I’m fine."
"Group Leader, the boy has a high fever. The doctor said he has a slight lung infection."
"Make sure he gets better, no matter what. Also, have someone prepare some food for him."
"Yes, sir!"
After arranging things for Fu Mingyu, Song Group Leader hurried off to make a phone call.
...
Since they were going to Grandma’s house, they naturally started preparing early in the morning.
The seafood would probably die before they were even halfway there on such a long journey, so it had to be prepared in advance.
It was either dried fish, or something that had been cured or cooked.
They ultimately decided to raw-cure the Little Green Dragon, because that’s how Yun Jiao liked it.
The meat was cut into evenly sized pieces and placed in the marinade. Along with the Little Green Dragon, other things were also raw-cured, like mantis shrimp and crabs, all placed together in a single jar.
By the time they brought it to Grandma’s house, it would be perfectly marinated.
To avoid the sweltering heat, they left before the sun was up.
By the time they reached Shen Family Village, the sun had only just risen.
When they arrived at the Shen family’s home, Grandma Shen’s family was also busy harvesting corn, having been up since early morning.
During the busy farming season, the entire village worked from dawn till dusk for their family’s annual grain supply.
Shen Yunlian said to Yun Linhai, "You take the older boys to help harvest the corn. Jiaojiao, Little Nine, and I will stay home and cook."
"You know where the family’s fields are, right?"
There were no more carrying baskets at the house, so Yun Linhai just nodded. "I know."
He took the several children up the mountain empty-handed.
Shen Yunlian found the hidden house key, opened the door, and got busy.
Yun Jiao and Yun Xiaojiu went to the courtyard to pick vegetables.
Before long, smoke began to rise from the Shen family’s chimney.
Yun Jiao picked a cucumber, broke it in two, and handed one half to Brother Nine.
The two children sat on little stools, munching on the cucumber while snapping the ends off beans.
"Jiaojiao, can you teach me that song you sang last time?"
With her mouth full of cucumber, Yun Jiao spoke much more slowly. "I just sang along with that big loudspeaker."
"But I can never get it right, and I think you sing it much better."
Yun Jiao said, a little proudly, "Of course. I have a nice voice."
While they were discussing singing techniques, a commotion suddenly erupted from next door.
’Okay, what’s going on over there? I’ve got to see.’
She picked up her little stool, ran to the wall, set it down, and climbed on top to peek over, all in one smooth motion.
Yun Jiao was very careful, only letting the part of her head from her eyes up show.
Yun Xiaojiu, having picked up some of Yun Jiao’s love for gossip, followed her and moved his little stool over too.
The two kids stood on their tiptoes on the stools, their heads popping up and down as they snooped furtively.
"Mom, I know you’ve always favored Lao San. He’s the younger brother and I’m the eldest son, and fine, I’ve put up with that. But what about now? There are two pregnant women in this house. Lao San’s wife is only three months along, but my wife is about to give birth any day now.
"But making my wife wash everyone’s clothes all by herself is one thing. Couldn’t you at least give her a little more to eat? She’s heavily pregnant, rushing around with all the chores, and she hasn’t even had a sip of water yet.
"Lao San’s wife is just sleeping in her room, yet you cook eggs for her and won’t even give my wife a single bite. Do you even consider me your son?!"
"What kind of nonsense are you talking?"
In the courtyard, the old woman—the man’s mother—scowled, her brows furrowed in anger.
"What do you mean I didn’t give her anything to eat? Besides, Lao San’s wife has a stomachache. Her pregnancy is just barely stable, so we can’t be careless. Your wife’s pregnancy is perfectly stable.
"Besides, she’s already given birth to two girls. I bet this one is going to be a girl too. Why bother pampering her so much? And how tiring can washing clothes be? What makes your wife so precious?
"When I was pregnant with you, I still had to work in the fields! And now here you are, accusing your own mother for your wife’s sake. Did she put you up to this?!"
"Fine, so Lao San’s wife has a stomachache. But what about Lao San? He came back to lie down after carrying just a few baskets."
"He has a headache."
The favoritism was blatant.
Yun Jiao pouted. Suddenly, she saw that the heavily pregnant woman’s face was deathly pale, and there was blood flowing from between her legs.
But everyone was too busy arguing to notice something was wrong with her.
Yun Jiao shouted, "Stop arguing! Stop arguing! That aunty is bleeding!"
Yun Jiao’s sudden shout, surprisingly loud for her small voice, immediately drew everyone’s attention.
The man took one look at his wife and quickly scooped her up in his arms.
"Second Brother, hurry and get the midwife!"
"Eldest, go get the barefoot doctor to check on your mother."
The house next door instantly descended into chaos.
Seeing this, Yun Jiao was no longer in the mood to watch the show. She turned and jumped off the stool.
Then she discovered her mother standing right behind her, spatula in hand.
"What are you two doing?"
Yun Jiao chirped away, telling her all about what was happening next door.
Shen Yunlian sighed.
"That old woman has always favored her youngest son. The eldest son’s wife has had two daughters in a row, so the old lady is even more displeased with her."
Yun Jiao didn’t understand. "Why does everyone like boys so much? Our family isn’t like that."
In her family, everyone doted on her.
Shen Yunlian patted her little head.
"Because everyone says you raise sons to provide for you in your old age, and only sons can carry on the family line."
Yun Jiao didn’t understand. "But aren’t babies born from women? So it’s women who carry on the family line."
"You’re too young to understand all this now. In our family, we treat boys and girls the same. We love them all."
That much was true.
Although there were many children in the family, Shen Yunlian and her husband didn’t particularly favor any one of them.
Every child had been the favorite when they were little, like Yun Xiaojiu was now.
Once he got a little older, he would be treated the same as his older brothers.
As for Yun Jiao, being the only girl and the youngest child, while the adults doted on her, they never neglected the other children.
Her older brothers also consciously acted like big brothers, showing her extra affection.
Gradually, the amount of affection lavished upon her grew.
It wasn’t just one person doting on her; everyone did. As a result, there were no conflicts over unfair treatment.