Chapter 147: The Family-Oriented Big Sea Turtle

By the time Yun Jiao woke up, those people had already left.

The news that their family’s money from selling the bluefin tuna had been stolen—and that only five hundred yuan was recovered—had also spread throughout Bailong Village.

They had once again given the village something to gossip about.

In response, the family simply closed their doors and lived their lives quietly.

In the afternoon, Yun Jiao took her now-ugly little chicks, ducklings, and goslings out to find food. The tabby cat tagged along, and she brought the little sea turtle with her as well.

They were ugly, of course, because they had reached that awkward molting stage.

They weren’t as cute and fluffy as when they were little.

Yun Jiao stroked their heads. "Why do you have to grow feathers? Being fluffy is so much better."

’But that’s good too,’ she thought. ’Now that they’re ugly, I won’t feel so bad about eating them later.’

After letting the chicks find their own food on the beach, Yun Jiao tossed the little sea turtle into the sea.

"Go for a swim."

The little sea turtle paddled around in the sea for a moment before quickly returning.

It then crawled to Yun Jiao’s feet, tugged on her pant leg, and tried to pull her toward the water.

"What’s wrong?"

Yun Jiao took a few steps forward and suddenly spotted the large sea turtle in the water.

Yun Jiao’s eyes widened.

She splashed into the sea as well and took the net bag from around the large sea turtle’s neck.

"Not bad, not bad at all. You’re a good turtle."

Not a single fish was missing from the net bag, and they were all still alive.

After all, they had been submerged in seawater the entire time. As long as they didn’t leave the water, they were quite resilient.

They were just on their last breath.

The fish and the Little Green Dragon were all there.

Yun Jiao thought for a moment. "We’re going out to sea again tomorrow. I’ll go into the water, crack open some sea urchins for you to eat, and catch you some jellyfish."

Having received Yun Jiao’s promise, the large sea turtle’s gaze finally lost its resentful edge.

The little sea turtle paddled over too.

"I’ll catch some for you too."

"Let me give you guys names. I can’t just keep calling you ’sea turtle, sea turtle.’ I won’t be able to tell you apart."

"You’ll be Gui Yi."

The expression on Yun Jiao’s delicate little face was exceptionally serious, as if she were bestowing some incredible name.

Fortunately, the turtles didn’t care about things like names. It was just a label.

"You’ll be Turtle Two."

’My brothers’ nicknames are all numbers, after all.’

After happily naming the two, Yun Jiao called them by their new names several times. The two sea turtles grudgingly got used to their new monikers.

"Alright, go on into the sea. I’ll come find you again tomorrow."

The little sea turtle flapped its flippers and dived into the sea with the large one.

Yun Jiao looked at the fish and the large lobster in the net bag. ’How am I going to get these back home?’

’We just cried poor to everyone. Wouldn’t it look bad if I brought all this back?’

’Whatever. I’ll hide this stuff first and go find Dad and the others.’

By this time, the sky was already growing dark.

The area of the sea Yun Jiao had come to was almost entirely populated by sea cicadas, so very few people came here to forage.

There were plenty of sea cicadas here, but going through the hassle of shucking them wasn’t as worthwhile as looking for oyster meat.

Oyster meat was much bigger than the meat from sea cicadas.

So basically, no one ever came here.

Yun Jiao found a more secluded pile of rocks and placed the fish and the Little Green Dragon from the net bag into a tide pool.

Then, she waddled home with her chicks, ducklings, and goslings.

"Grandma."

Yun Jiao tossed a handful of grass she’d picked on the way into the rabbit hutch, herded the chicks into their coop and shut the door, then happily ran to find Granny Yun.

"Grandma, are Dad and the others back yet?"

"They’re back."

Just as Yun Jiao finished speaking, she heard her uncle and the others’ voices outside.

Yun Jiao: "Dad, Uncle."

She ran out, and before she could even say a word, someone scooped her up, lifted her high, and spun her around.

"Did our Jiaojiao miss us?"

Yun Jiao shook her head. "Uncle, Gui Yi is back."

"What? What Gui Yi?"

"The big sea turtle! And he brought back the fish and lobster I caught before."

Yun Linhe then remembered that Yun Jiao had mentioned catching some fish and a large lobster, which she’d put in a net bag carried by that big sea turtle.

"Where are they?"

He immediately perked up.

Yun Linhai’s eyes lit up too.

It was already dark now, so Yun Jiao and the others grabbed a flashlight and headed toward the shore.

When they arrived at the spot where she’d left the net bag, the contents were, sure enough, still there.

The large Little Green Dragon was a given, but the fish in the net bag also became clear under the flashlight’s beam.

"It’s a starry grouper!"

"Holy cow, those go for six or seven yuan a jin!"

There was a rather large starry grouper in the net bag, probably weighing around five jin.

The starry grouper was quite pretty. Although most of its skin was brown, the part near its belly and its fins were a beautiful shade of yellow.

"There’s a mangrove jack, too."

"Our family is really raising a good, family-oriented turtle. We have to feed it something next time we see it."

Yun Linhai and the others were beaming, not expecting this final catch today.

You had to admit, today had been quite a rollercoaster.

The sky had now turned completely dark, but this suited Yun Linhai and the others perfectly.

There probably wouldn’t be many people at Ah Wang’s place at this hour.

Yun Linhe said, "I’ll take the fish to sell them. Brother, you take Jiaojiao home."

Yun Linhai nodded.

After returning home, the electric fan was moved into the main hall, and the whole family sat together.

Yun Linhai excitedly told them about the fish Yun Jiao had caught.

Unsurprisingly, Yun Jiao once again received praise from the entire family.

"Even at the lowest price, starry grouper goes for seven yuan a jin, and the mangrove jack is about the same. I wonder how much Ah Wang will give for that Little Green Dragon."

Seafood prices were always fluctuating. The Little Green Dragon Yun Jiao had caught this time was especially large; she had specifically picked out a big one.

Yun Linhe returned, a smile on his face.

"I sold everything for a total of 183 yuan and 20 cents."

He placed the money on the table.

"Jiaojiao should have this money."

It was less than two hundred yuan, nothing compared to the money from the tuna sold that day, but everyone was happy.

For anyone who fished at sea, this was considered a pretty decent income.

"Mom, you keep this safe for Jiaojiao."

Yun Jiao’s private stash +183.2 yuan.

Yun Xiaowu rubbed his hands together. "Dad, when we go foraging on the island tomorrow, can we keep the money we earn?"

He was filled with timid hope.

Shen Yunlian smiled gently. "What does a child need to carry money for? Of course Mom will keep it for you."

Yun Xiaowu’s little face immediately fell.

’How is this any different from her taking our pocket money during the New Year?’

’She says she’s ’keeping it safe,’ but by the time we grow up, Mom will definitely have forgotten all about it and won’t give it back!’

Yun Xiaowu said, "Mom, how can you do this? I don’t even want a lot, just give me at least one yuan!"

"What would you do with one yuan?"

Yun Xiaowu: "Buy snacks and toys, of course! You have no idea how jealous everyone would be of me."

The main reason was to show off.

Yun Linhai: "What, if we don’t give you money, you won’t go?"

Yun Xiaowu pouted. "Dad, you’re just trying to trick me into not going. I won’t fall for it."

Seeing that their Fifth Brother couldn’t even get any money, Yun Xiaoqi and Yun Xiao Ba knew it was hopeless for them.

Disappointed.

’When will we ever grow up?’