With all the pork they’d gotten that day, on top of the grain sent over by both sets of in-laws, a delighted Granny Yun cooked a meal of pure white rice.
A meal of fragrant white rice was quite a luxury in this day and age.
Granny Yun formed seven small rice balls. She had mixed the rice with soy sauce and added a bit of pork inside.
She wrapped the small rice balls in seaweed and handed them to her grandsons and granddaughter.
Even Fu Mingyu got one.
"You must be Fu Mingyu. Come on, take this and eat. I hope you don’t mind it."
’He looks like a boy from a rich family.’
Fu Mingyu shook his head. Looking at the small rice ball in his hand, he copied Yun Jiao and the others, taking a small bite.
The flavor was simple, yet it filled him with an indescribable feeling.
’It’s delicious.’
This was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten.
Despite his expressionless face, Fu Mingyu very seriously ate the rice ball, one bite at a time, until it was gone.
"Yun Xiaowu, go call your grandpa and the others back for dinner."
Yun Xiaowu nudged Yun Xiao Liu beside him. "You go."
With his mouth full of his rice ball, Yun Xiao Liu refused. "I helped Grandma prep the vegetables today, and I swept the floor and wiped the tables."
Yun Xiaowu’s eyes darted to the other children.
Yun Xiaoqi said, "I shucked the corn."
Yun Xiao Ba said, "I did the laundry."
"You only washed your own clothes! It was just a few items, and you didn’t even get them clean."
Yun Xiao Ba retorted indignantly, "I did get them clean! You just didn’t look properly, Brother."
’I’m the best at washing clothes out of all the kids, second only to the adults!’
Shen Yunlian came out. "What’s all this dawdling about?"
After finishing her rice ball, Yun Jiao said, "Fifth Brother, I’ll go with you."
Only then was Yun Xiaowu willing to move his "precious" feet.
When he saw Yun Jiao stand up, Fu Mingyu stood up too.
"Do you want to come with us?"
Fu Mingyu nodded. "Together."
All right, now there were three of them.
The tabby cat followed along as well.
When they arrived at the new house site, they saw the two buildings were nearly complete. They just needed to finish the top floor.
"Grandpa! Dad! Time to come home for dinner!"
Grandpa Yun and the others were pushing bricks with a wheelbarrow. When they heard the call, they straightened up and used the towels around their necks to wipe the sweat from their faces.
"We know!"
After getting home, the brothers Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe first had to deliver meals to the workers.
"Where’s Fourth Brother?"
Yun Jiao looked around but couldn’t find Yun Chenbei.
Lao San, Zhang Yunchennan, said, "He went over to his master’s place."
Yun Chenbei had officially become the carpenter’s apprentice, and Granny Yun often had him take some of her cooking over to his master.
By the time Yun Linhai and the others returned, Yun Chenbei was back as well.
Everyone gathered around one table. It was a bit of a squeeze with so many people, but the atmosphere was lively.
Granny Yun gave the others a simple introduction to Fu Mingyu.
"Xiao Fu, where are you from? And how did you and Jiaojiao meet?"
This wasn’t an interrogation, but the normal way people got to know each other when meeting for the first time in these parts.
Fu Mingyu said, "Yun Jiao saved my life."
"Huh?"
In an instant, everyone at the table looked up at him and Yun Jiao.
Yun Jiao nodded sheepishly. "I forgot to tell you..."
She recounted the story of how she had directed the killer whale to save him that day.
After she finished, the two brothers, Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe, fell silent.
"You didn’t tell us when you came home that day?"
Yun Jiao replied, "We caught so much yummy food, I forgot."
’How could you forget something like that? You’re so carefree.’
After giving Yun Jiao a light scolding, the Yun family’s gazes toward Fu Mingyu filled with pity.
’The poor kid fell into the hands of traffickers. He must have been so scared.’
"Does your grandfather know you’re here with us? He must be worried. And what about your parents?"
Fu Mingyu said, "My mother died when I was born, and my dad doesn’t care about me."
Yun Xiaojiu piped up, "It’s like his face is broken. He never has any expression. He doesn’t even laugh when you tickle him. His dad called him a monster."
Hiss... ’What an absolute, top-tier sob story.’
Even Yun Xiaowu patted his shoulder.
"From now on, you’re my brother!"
Granny Yun placed more food in his bowl. "Eat up, child."
’Looking at him closely,’ she thought, ’though the boy is handsome and fair-skinned, he’s far too thin and frail for his age. He doesn’t look healthy at all.’
’What kind of father is that?’
Although Fu Mingyu hadn’t said so, Granny Yun guessed there was probably a stepmother in the picture.
’Poor thing.’
It was the first time Fu Mingyu had eaten a meal surrounded by so many people. It was boisterous and lively. Even though he had known the Yun family for less than a day, he felt as if he belonged.
It wasn’t like his own home.
He had lived with his father, his stepmother, and his half-brother for years, but at every meal, he was always the unwanted outsider.
’Blood ties... don’t seem so important after all.’
After dinner, Yun Jiao, Yun Xiaowu, and a few of the other kids took Fu Mingyu outside for a walk to help digest their food.
"Come on, brother! Let’s play marbles. Jiaojiao bought these for us."
Yun Jiao slapped her forehead.
"I forgot to hand out the money!"
She ran back home to get the money from her mom.
"Grandma, this is for you! And Grandpa gets some, too."
Granny Yun and the others stared at Yun Jiao in shock.
"What are you doing? Why are you giving us money?"
Yun Jiao then gave Uncle Yun and Little Aunt ten yuan each.
Shen Yunlian explained with a smile, "It’s the money Jiaojiao got from selling the wild boar—one hundred and twenty yuan. She already gave everyone a share at her other grandma’s house. Ten yuan for adults, and one for kids."
"Oh, you silly girl! After giving so much away, how much will you have left?"
Yun Jiao continued handing out money to her brothers.
"Don’t worry! Jiaojiao can earn more. I can catch lots and lots of valuable big fish!"
"That’s still no reason to just throw money around. You’re being too extravagant."
But no one refused.
’I’ll hold onto this money for Jiaojiao,’ Granny Yun thought. ’It isn’t safe for a child to carry so much.’
After she finished giving money to all her own family members, she only had nine yuan left.
She glanced at Fu Mingyu, the unlucky, pitiful boy.
"Here’s one yuan for you, too."
She stared at Fu Mingyu.
Fu Mingyu took it. "I’ll ask my grandpa to buy you some canned fruit to eat."
Yun Jiao was satisfied now. ’Hee hee, canned fruit is more expensive! So giving him one yuan wasn’t a loss.’
"You’d better remember, then. If you dare trick me, I’ll beat you up."
She put on a fierce expression and lowered her voice to threaten him. "The last traffickers who tried to trick me ended up at the police station, and they got beaten up real bad."
But her face was so pretty that no matter what expression she made, she just looked cute, not fierce at all.
"You ran into traffickers, too?"
Yun Jiao nodded. "Mhm. They were probably from the same group that got you. But I’m smart. My brothers and I beat them until they were howling in pain, and we even scammed a bunch of chocolate off them."
She lifted her chin proudly.
"You should be smarter next time so you don’t get caught again."
Yun Jiao squeezed his skinny arm.
"You’re too skinny. It’s easy for people to pick on you."
Fu Mingyu said, "I’ll start working out."
He wasn’t lying.
He would most likely be living with his grandfather from now on. His grandfather was a military man who lived on a base and held him to a stricter standard. Physical training would be unavoidable.
Fu Mingyu played marbles with Yun Xiaowu and the others for a while. He went from being a complete novice to hitting his target with nearly every shot.
Yun Xiaowu was stunned. "How are you doing that?!"