Chapter 172: Settling Accounts

The swordfish weighed eighty-nine jin, and at one yuan per jin, that came to 89 yuan.

The 1,673 jin of sardines, purchased at a price of 0.1 yuan per jin, came to 167.3 yuan.

The sea snakes were five yuan each, bringing in 35 yuan. There were also 27 jin of large yellow croakers. With the current price at five yuan per jin, the croakers sold for 135 yuan. The remaining shrimp and crabs sold for an additional 48 yuan.

This one trip to sea had yielded 474.3 yuan!

After everything was sorted out, Yun Jiao took the seafood she’d set aside for them to eat and headed home with Grandpa Yun, Granny Yun, and the others.

At that moment, Yun Linhai and the others were sitting at home, eating.

They were all holding food in their mouths to eat, their arms hanging uselessly at their sides.

Yun Xiaowu and the other kids had gone foraging on the shore and had run off somewhere, still not back yet.

Seeing that they were back, Yun Linhe quickly said, "Wife, hurry and rub my arms with the medicinal wine. They’re still shaking even now."

"Got it," Wang Mei replied.

Grandpa Yun brought out the jar of medicinal wine. The four people whose arms had given out sat in the courtyard, rubbing the wine into their sore muscles and massaging them.

The two adults grimaced in pain, their faces contorting, but they at least managed to keep from crying out.

The two boys, Shen Kuan and Shen Xiuyuan, weren’t so tough. Grandpa Yun’s technique was deft and powerful. Shen Kuan managed to endure it at first but soon couldn’t stop himself from howling in pain.

Yun Chenbei was massaging Shen Xiuyuan. Being a woodworker, he had considerable strength, so Shen Xiuyuan started howling the moment he began.

"Bear with it," Grandpa Yun said. "If I don’t knead these muscles out, you won’t get any sleep tonight, and it’ll be even more painful tomorrow."

Shen Xiuyuan cried and shouted at the same time, "It hurts! It hurts so much!"

Yun Jiao found a moment to peek out from the kitchen with her puppies, her big, sparkling eyes watching the scene in the courtyard.

"Jiaojiao, are your arms okay? Do you need a massage too?"

Yun Jiao quickly shook her head. "I’m fine, I don’t need it."

Then, as if afraid she’d be grabbed next, she scurried back into the kitchen to watch Granny Yun mix the marinade for the raw seafood.

Granny Yun frowned at the jellyfish.

"Jiaojiao, can we maybe not eat this?"

Just looking at the tentacles made her skin crawl.

When Yun Jiao reached out to touch them, Granny Yun immediately slapped her hand away.

"I’m fine, Grandma."

Yun Jiao held up her chubby, perfectly unharmed little hands for Granny Yun to see. They were still fair and soft.

"You’re such a strange one."

Muttering this, Granny Yun poured the prepared marinade over them, mixed it evenly with chopsticks, and set the bowl aside.

’But,’ she thought, ’just as Shen Yunlian said, this means Jiaojiao will be even safer in the ocean. That’s actually a good thing.’

"I’d better put this up high, so your brothers don’t get their mischievous hands on it when they come back."

Yun Jiao nodded in agreement.

By the time Granny Yun started cooking, the screams from outside had finally stopped.

Shen Yunlian and Wang Mei also washed their hands and went to help with dinner.

It was almost time to eat, so Yun Jiao took the two dogs and one cat to go find her brothers.

She brought her little pouch and carried a bottle of boiled sweet rice wine, sipping it as she walked.

It was made from the leftover sweet rice wine from yesterday.

Granny Yun had even added a bit of sugar, making it sweet without being cloying. It was delicious.

The aunties and grandmas they met along the way were especially enthusiastic. Yun Jiao and the two chubby dogs were quickly surrounded.

Cat Boss nimbly dodged through the crowd, careful not to get his tail stepped on.

"Jiaojiao, can you really talk with those killer whales?"

"So you really saved the killer whales? Next time something like this happens, take your uncle along."

"Jiaojiao, we’re all from the same village. Next time you see the killer whales hunting, could you ask them to let your great-uncle’s boat get in there to cast a net or two?"

While they spoke, they also stuffed things into Yun Jiao’s hands.

Candies, peanuts and melon seeds, fried dough twists, cookies, and the like.

Yun Jiao: ???

The two chubby dogs that had been right by Yun Jiao’s side were pushed out of the circle, yelping and whining.

"Jiaojiao! Little sister..."

Fortunately, before Yun Jiao was trapped for too long, Yun Xiaowu and his friends from the village came strolling back, soaking wet, and happened to pass by.

As soon as they saw their little sister surrounded by the aunties and grandmas, they all rushed in.

"Let us through! Everyone, let us through! That’s my sister!"

"What are you all doing crowding around my sister?"

A few minutes later...

Yun Jiao was finally rescued.

Yun Xiaowu scooped her right up and took off running.

Yun Xiao Liu and Yun Xiaoqi scooped up the two chubby dogs.

"Jiaojiao, don’t forget what we talked about, okay?" a woman called after them.

After running some distance, Yun Xiaowu finally relaxed. He turned his head to stare at his little sister’s dazed and innocent expression.

"What was that all about? Why were they all crowding you like that?"

’That was a little too intense.’

Hugging her Fifth Brother’s neck, Yun Jiao said slowly, "They want me to act as a go-between with the killer whales."

’That’s the gist of it,’ she thought. ’Sounds about right.’

Yun Xiaowu: "What?"

While being held, Yun Jiao found a comfortable position to lean against her brother, and then briefly explained how the killer whales had herded their prey today and how their family had followed along to snag some fish.

After hearing the story, Yun Xiaowu’s only regret was that he was too young.

If he were older, even if his dad and the others wouldn’t let him go to sea, he would find a way to scrape together enough money to buy a wooden boat.

He would take Jiaojiao out to sea himself.

Every time Jiaojiao went to sea, it was so exciting and fun, but only being able to hear about it and not experience it firsthand was just too agonizing.

"Jiaojiao, you just wait! When I grow up and save up enough to buy my own boat, you can come with me instead of Dad and the others!"

Yun Jiao nodded. "Okay."

’Sure, let’s talk about it when you’re done with school and can actually save up for a boat.’

When the group of children returned home, the house instantly became lively.

They didn’t take the things they had gathered while foraging to sell, keeping them at home to eat.

There were also a couple of sea urchins. Tomorrow morning, they would make Yun Jiao’s favorite dish: steamed eggs with sea urchin.

At dinnertime, separate bowls of food were prepared for the two dogs and one cat and placed to the side.

The two dogs ate without even lifting their heads, gobbling up whatever was in their bowls. They weren’t picky eaters at all.

After dinner was finished and the table was cleared, they began to settle the day’s accounts.

Grandpa Yun laid the money out on the table.

"Here’s all the money from your fishing trip today. 474.3 yuan."

All told, this wasn’t as much money as Yun Jiao made from selling the rare marine treasures she found on the seabed, but to Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe, it felt much more real.

Because this was something they had hauled up with their own two hands.

Before, it always felt a bit like they were mooching off their daughter or niece. Even though the money was good, they felt uneasy and a little embarrassed.

Shen Kuan and Shen Xiuyuan’s eyes went wide.

Shen Xiuyuan exclaimed, "We earned this much in just one day? Going out to sea is so profitable!"

Shen Yunlian pinched his arm. "Does it hurt?"

"Ouch... Ow, ow, ow!" he yelped.

Shen Yunlian laughed. "It’s supposed to hurt. This four hundred-something yuan was earned by wearing out all of your arms. In your condition, none of you will be able to go back out for the next few days.

"Besides, the sea is dangerous. You were lucky that the killer whales you met today were good-tempered. If you had run into a big, ill-tempered, man-eating fish, you would have been out of luck."