Although she knew this was very likely a conspiracy aimed at her, Yun Jiao wasn’t the least bit panicked.
’A plot you already know about isn’t really a plot at all~’
She leisurely stood up from under the pumpkin leaves, her skin a little itchy from their prickly hairs.
She scratched her face.
"Let’s go, let’s go. Time to go home."
The little girl skipped along happily, humming a tune as she went to find her grandma.
The little furballs behind her had to swing their tiny legs into a blur just to keep up.
"Grandma, have you picked enough? Are we going home?"
Her own basket was already filled with plenty of things.
Cucumbers, eggplants, and string beans were packed to the brim.
But it didn’t feel heavy when she picked it up.
She was quite strong, after all.
"Alright, alright."
Granny Yun had also filled a large back basket with vegetables, and she seemed to struggle immensely as she tried to lift it. Yun Jiao circled her anxiously, stomping her feet.
"Why did you pick so much?"
"It’s so heavy! Grandma, give me a pumpkin."
"Grandma, can you even get up?"
From the look on her face, you could tell she desperately wished she could carry it for her.
Unfortunately, her tiny, toddler-sized body was no help; the basket was almost as tall as she was.
Granny Yun struggled to her feet. "Hah! You’re looking down on your grandma, aren’t you? When I was young, I could carry buckets of manure back and forth several times a day. This is nothing. It was just a little difficult to get up, but see? I’m up now."
She really was a stubborn old woman who refused to admit defeat.
Yun Jiao followed behind, using one hand to help support the basket a little.
She said in her childish voice, "But you said that was when you were young."
"Hmph! Your grandma can still do it now!"
The two of them chatted as they walked home, one in front of the other. Behind Yun Jiao, the fluffy yellow furballs waddled along at a leisurely pace, wiggling their little bottoms.
If they came across a bug, they’d peck at it; otherwise, they didn’t eat.
They were mostly full already.
Yun Jiao didn’t mention the traffickers to her grandma. She was old and couldn’t handle the shock. It would be better to wait until she got home and tell her dad and the others.
When they got home, Granny Yun immediately got busy.
Yun Jiao sat on a small stool, helping to snap the ends off the string beans and peel the yellowed leaves from the scallions.
Every so often, she would turn her head to talk to the giant sea turtle, who was sitting nearby as still as a meditating monk.
"Old turtle, you need to toughen up! Don’t be afraid of the killer whale!"
She was counting on the killer whale to take her out to play, so the big sea turtle couldn’t keep being so scared.
If the sea turtle could roll its eyes, it would have given Yun Jiao a few good ones right about now.
Its shell might be hard, but getting spun in circles by a killer whale made it dizzy!
’Why don’t you go try it for yourself!’
Yun Jiao announced, "Next time we go out to sea, I’m going to play with the killer whale."
The giant sea turtle lay there, not wanting to bother with this fickle little cub.
Just thinking about it was exhausting. It had originally led people to deal with the killer whale, but in the end, the killer whale was fine, and it had even gained a rival for affection!
As Yun Jiao chattered on, Shen Yunlian and the others returned from their foraging trip at the sea.
They’d found two fish today, a black sea bream and a mackerel, neither of which was very big or valuable.
The family wasn’t short on money now, and with the workers at the new house to feed, they decided to keep the two fish for themselves.
The other seafood was kept as well.
Yun Xiaowu found a few small bait fish and shrimp and ran over.
"Mr. Turtle, time to eat."
The sea turtle opened its mouth and unceremoniously swallowed them down.
Shen Yunlian stayed to help with dinner, while Wang Mei tidied up and went to help at the new house, taking Yun Xiaowu and the others with her.
"Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, Xiaoqi, Little Eight, come with me to pick up bricks."
They were all half-grown kids, so naturally, they had to help with the family’s work.
"We know."
The children’s replies were listless, their reluctance to work written all over their faces.
What kid doesn’t want to play?
Yun Xiaojiu stayed behind because he was younger, sitting side-by-side with Yun Jiao and listening to her talk.
Of course, he did most of the talking himself, and it was all the kind of gossip Yun Jiao loved to hear.
Yun Xiaojiu said, "Sister, Aunt Song (Widow Song) hit Uncle Da Nai! Aunt Jin Hua went to settle the score with Aunt Song, and the two of them started fighting. Uncle Da Nai tried to break it up, and they tore his clothes. Now Aunt Song says she’s going to accuse him of being a hooligan."
Yun Jiao let out a perfectly timed "Wow!" ’I can’t believe there was a sequel,’ she thought. ’Why wasn’t I there to see it? It must have been amazing.’
Human fights were so much fun. All that hair-pulling, face-scratching, and clothes-grabbing had no real killing power. To Yun Jiao’s eyes, it looked just like they were playing.
Of course, maybe the physical damage wasn’t great, but the humiliation was off the charts. In any case, the ones getting hit never seemed to take it well.
Yun Xiaojiu continued, "Ma Po’s grandson stole a chicken."
"I know about that one. I heard Aunt Chun talking about it."
Yun Xiaojiu’s cheeks puffed up. "That old hag is so unreasonable! She bad-mouthed you."
Yun Jiao thought, ’Now *that* I didn’t know.’
She wasn’t happy anymore.
"On what grounds?!"
She was even angrier now.
Yun Xiaojiu nodded. "I know, right? That wicked old woman! It was her fault for not raising her grandson right, letting him go around pilfering. And then she blamed Jiaojiao for leading the chicks to the mudflats."
Yun Jiao fumed, "Shameless!"
’So infuriating.’
Yun Xiaojiu said, "Mhm, I told Fifth Brother and the others. After dinner, we’re going to Ma Po’s house to throw poop."
Yun Jiao replied, "...No, that’s stinky."
She was a Little Mermaid who liked to be clean.
"You don’t have to go."
Yun Jiao said, "No, I have to go."
’Why shouldn’t I get my own revenge?’
"Then you don’t have to pick up the poop."
Yun Jiao’s little face scrunched up. "But... if you guys smell like poop, I’m going to find you disgusting."
"We’ll wrap it in something, and we’ll wash our hands and take a bath as soon as we’re done."
’Fine.’
In that case, she absolutely had to go watch.
Yun Jiao chatted with Yun Xiaojiu while snapping vegetables. In a moment of distraction, she popped what was in her hand into her mouth. By the time she realized what she’d done, her mischievous little mouth had already bitten off the stem of a chili pepper.
Yun Jiao thought, ’This damned muscle memory.’
Yun Xiaojiu was horrified. "Sister, you put a chili in your mouth!"
And it was one of those small, red, extra-spicy ones.
Yun Jiao: QAQ
"Quick, go drink some water!"
"Grandma! Mom! Jiaojiao ate a chili!"
Yun Xiaojiu grabbed Yun Jiao’s hand and ran toward the kitchen.
Granny Yun slapped her thigh. "You troublesome little girl! How could you just eat random things again? And a chili, of all things!"
Yun Jiao’s eyes were watering from the spice. She spoke while sucking in breaths of air.
"*Sniffle*... My mouth felt a little bland, so I wanted to eat something."
And then I just popped it in my mouth without thinking.
Shen Yunlian poured water for her, amused. "There, is your mouth not bland anymore?"
It wasn’t bland anymore. It was burning with a stinging pain.
Yun Jiao’s already rosy lips turned an even brighter red from the chili, and with her teary eyes, she looked incredibly pitiful.
But Shen Yunlian and the others were genuinely caught between feeling sorry for her and laughing.
After a frantic rescue effort involving drinking water and gnawing on a cucumber, she finally felt much better.
Yun Jiao used to be curious about everything, and chili peppers were no exception.
The year she had just turned two, having not yet experienced the power of a chili, she took advantage of the adults’ distraction and stuffed one into her mouth.
The spice made her burst into an earth-shattering wail on the spot.
She hadn’t eaten a raw chili like that since.
She never expected that a moment of carelessness today would lead her to eat another one.