"No, we won’t keep them. What would we do with them?"
Both women disagreed.
Yun Jiao gazed at the pearl. "But they’re pretty to wear."
"Do you want one, Grandma?"
She turned, her eyes crinkling into a smile as she asked Granny Yun.
Granny Yun chuckled. "I’m much too old for pearls. What would I do with one?"
"You’re beautiful, Grandma. This pearl is so small, it’s not even good enough for you."
The little one was such a sweet-talker, making Granny Yun laugh so hard that the wrinkles around her eyes smoothed out.
Yun Jiao wasn’t wrong, though. In her youth, Granny Yun had been a great beauty.
Her family had been wealthy, but during the war in her youth, they were torn apart and lost everything.
She eventually drifted to Bailong Village, where she and Mr. Yun fell for each other. Homeless and alone, they decided to marry.
But since they were both so good-looking, it was only natural that their children were quite attractive as well.
In fact, the Yun family’s good looks were considered top-tier in all of Bailong Village.
But life in the fishing village was harsh. Now, Granny Yun’s face was lined with wrinkles, her hair was white, and her skin was tanned and weathered.
But she was a woman of great wisdom and had raised all the children in the family well.
"If you don’t want this, Grandma, then when Jiaojiao makes a lot of money, I’ll buy you a big golden bracelet!"
Everyone laughed at Jiaojiao’s grand declaration.
Granny Yun stroked Jiaojiao’s hair. "Alright, alright. In that case, Grandma will be waiting for Jiaojiao’s big golden bracelet."
Since Aunt Yun and her other aunt didn’t want the pearls, Jiaojiao didn’t insist.
’It was fine, though. She also felt these pearls were too small and not good enough for Aunt Yun and her other aunt anyway. She’d find bigger ones for them later.’
The Yun family was itching to shuck all the oysters and find the pearls inside right then and there.
But it was getting late.
"What’s the rush? Let’s keep them alive for now. It’s pitch black out here. We won’t be able to see any pearls clearly and might miss some."
Yun Xiaowu piped up, "Grandma, why don’t you turn on the electric lamp? We can shuck them inside."
"Even the lamp isn’t very good. It’s not as clear as daylight."
The lightbulbs had only just been replaced.
The old bulbs in the house had all burned out, but because they were so poor, they couldn’t bring themselves to buy new ones. They had been using candles at night.
They had only just now finally replaced them.
The elders were frugal. They used the electric lights sparingly at night, since electricity cost money, after all.
They put the oysters into large buckets to keep them alive for now. The creatures were quite resilient and could survive in seawater for three or four days without a problem.
「The next day, everyone woke up early.」
When Yun Jiao groggily got up with a yawn, the courtyard was already bustling.
"Ah! A pearl! I found a pearl!"
The faint sound of Yun Xiao Ba’s cheering could be heard.
He was immediately scolded.
"Keep your voice down! Are you afraid the neighbors can’t hear you?!"
Yun Xiao Ba’s cheering came to an abrupt halt.
Yun Jiao, wearing a loose, oversized white shirt, ran outside barefoot.
Before she even made it out the door, someone scooped her up from behind.
"Eldest Brother."
Yun Chendong grunted in acknowledgment, his calloused hand touching her little feet.
Her eldest brother’s hand was very warm, and Yun Jiao’s small foot curled slightly.
"Wear your shoes."
He held her as he found her little sandals and put them on for her.
The little sandals were pink, looked distinctly like plastic, and weren’t particularly pretty.
But Yun Jiao’s feet were lovely—plump and fair, with ankles and toes tinged a pale pink, like little works of art.
Worn on her feet, even the cheap little sandals looked a bit more expensive.
"Go on."
Yun Chendong set her down.
Jiaojiao pattered outside in her little sandals.
The moment she appeared, her older brothers’ eyes lit up, and they all called out to her.
Yun Xiaowu: "Jiaojiao, come to Fifth Brother!"
Not to be outdone, Yun Xiao Ba shouted, "Come over here, little sister! Look what I have in my hand!"
Just then, Yun Xiaojiu also found a pearl and immediately waved her over.
"Look, little sister, I found one too! Come over here!"
Just as Yun Xiaoqi opened his mouth to call out, Yun Xiaowu suddenly darted forward, scooped Jiaojiao up, and strutted back to his spot like a triumphant fighting rooster, head held high.
Why bother with words when you could just snatch her away?
Jiaojiao rested obediently in his arms, paying no mind to the overt and covert squabbles among her brothers.
’It didn’t matter who she chose, anyway. The others would just get upset.’
Yun Xiao Liu was the slyest of them all. He grabbed a small stool and moved it over, bringing his own stool along with it.
"Jiaojiao, sit here."
Right between him and Fifth Brother.
The other brothers: ... If only they’d been faster!
After Jiaojiao sat down, she joined her brothers in shucking oysters.
So far, only Yun Xiao Ba and Yun Xiaojiu had found pearls.
Granny Yun had already taken away the freshly shucked oyster meat to prepare for breakfast.
On her third oyster, Jiaojiao found another pearl.
"Jiaojiao, yours is the biggest one!"
Right after that, Yun Xiaowu found one too.
But after just a few oysters, their hands started to ache.
Yun Xiaojiu, in particular, got tired and decisively gave up, running over to Jiaojiao’s side to watch her instead.
There was a huge pile of oysters, and by the time Granny Yun and the others had finished making breakfast, they had gotten through less than a third of them.
"Time to eat! Time to eat!"
At the call for breakfast, Jiaojiao and Yun Xiao Ba were the first to bolt.
"Don’t run, you’ll fall! Wash your hands! Wash your hands first!"
Even though they had to wait for everyone to be seated before they could start eating, there were still advantages to being fast.
The two eating buddies each grabbed a piece of cucumber and sat together, crunching away. CRUNCH, CRUNCH.
Jiaojiao frowned slightly. "There are no more sea urchins. We need to go catch some."
But her father and Uncle Yun weren’t going out to sea today.
Yun Xiao Ba said, "Just wait, little sister. Once I get better at diving, I’ll go catch them with you."
With their mouths stuffed, the two discussed food, their big eyes still fixed on the dishes on the table.
True foodies, these two.
The moment everyone was gathered and Grandpa Yun called for the meal to start, the two of them eagerly snatched up the food they had already staked their claim on.
"We’ve found pearls in these oysters. One of you needs to go into the city to sell them and pick up the electric fan. We got a letter from Mr. Wang. He said to go to the department store in the city and find a Mr. Sun Jian, who will give us the fan."
The family was about to have an electric fan! Everyone was thrilled.
Yun Linhe rubbed his hands together. "I’ll go, Dad. Big Brother, are you going?"
Yun Linhai thought for a moment and shook his head. "I’ll stay. There’s too much work to do around here. You take Lao San with you and get him fitted for glasses."
Yun Chen Nan touched his own eyes, a flicker of anticipation rising in his heart.
"I wanna go! I wanna go!"
A forest of little hands shot up.
Pair after pair of sparkling eyes stared intently at Grandpa Yun.
But it was obviously impossible for so many of them to go.
None of the younger children had ever been to the city.
This time, Jiaojiao didn’t fight with her brothers. She wanted to let them have a chance to go to the city and have some fun.
"Then we’ll draw lots," Grandpa Yun declared. "Only two of the little ones can come along."
That way, it would be down to luck, and no one could complain about favoritism.
So, after breakfast, Yun Xiaowu and the others rubbed their hands in anticipation, waiting to draw lots.
Uncle Yun walked over, holding a few small wooden sticks.
"There are two short sticks in here," he announced. "Whoever draws a short one gets to go."
In the end, Yun Xiaojiu and Yun Xiaoqi were the lucky ones who drew the two short sticks. They both jumped up, cheering.
The others who didn’t get picked, like Yun Xiaowu, looked utterly dejected.