Chapter 181: Watching a Movie

The people who got off the tractor scattered.

Yun Jiao’s brothers, Yun Xiaowu among them, held her hands as she followed behind their father. She watched him buy twine for the fishing nets, as well as fishing line, hooks, and other tackle.

The fishing nets back home were worn out, so they needed to buy new supplies to repair them.

From the way Yun Linhai was talking with the shop owner, it was clear they were regular customers.

Yun Jiao wandered around the shop for a bit, but finding nothing of interest, she returned to her brothers.

"Dad, we’re taking Jiaojiao across the street to buy something."

He had spotted glass marbles at a small stall across the street.

"Be careful, and don’t run off too far."

He was a ten-year-old, after all, old enough to go to school by himself, so Yun Linhai didn’t keep them on too tight a leash.

The children ran over to the stall and began picking through the goods. There were not only glass marbles, but also pogs.

Not far off, Yun Jiao saw a large building that many people were entering, and her curiosity was piqued.

"Brother, what do they do over there?"

Yun Xiaowu glanced over, his voice filled with envy. "That’s a movie theater. You can watch movies there."

Yun Xiao Liu and the others were envious too. ’A movie... They really wanted to see one.’

"When I have money, I’ll take you to see a movie with me."

Yun Xiaowu declared, patting his chest.

Yun Jiao said, "But I have money."

It was market day, and Grandma had given her thirty yuan before she left home.

To a child, this was an absolute fortune.

Yun Xiaojiu’s eyes instantly lit up. "Then can we go see a movie right now?"

Yun Xiaowu hesitated, conflicted. "Will Dad let us go?"

"Let’s go ask."

After buying new marbles and pogs, they went back to find Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe.

"Dad, Dad, we want to go see a movie!"

"Jiaojiao wants to see it too."

Based on past experience, if they only said that *they* wanted to go, they would surely get a smack.

But if they said *Jiaojiao* wanted to go, their father would be far more lenient.

Sure enough, Yun Linhai, who had raised his hand to smack Yun Xiaowu on the head, let it fall.

Yun Xiaowu pulled his little sister close and pouted. ’Dad is so biased.’

"Jiaojiao, you want to see a movie?"

Yun Jiao blinked her big eyes. "Uh-huh. Jiaojiao is curious, what’s a movie?"

"Is it better looking than the television at the village chief’s house?"

Yun Linhai patted her head fondly. "It’s a lot like a television, but there are differences. The screen for a movie is huge, so you can see everything much more clearly."

"Wow... Then Jiaojiao wants to see it."

It wasn’t that Yun Linhai was worried about the cost of the tickets; it was that he and his brother still had errands to run. They didn’t have time to waste sitting in a movie theater with Jiaojiao.

Yun Linhe suggested, "Brother, why don’t I take them to the movie? You can finish the shopping, and we’ll just meet back here when you’re done."

Yun Xiaowu immediately knew what his father was worried about. He thumped his chest loudly and made a solemn promise.

"You don’t have to! We can take Jiaojiao ourselves. We’re big kids now; we won’t get lost. And we’ll take good care of Jiaojiao."

Yun Linhai shot them a look. "You’re the ones I’m worried about!"

Yun Jiao said, "Dad, Uncle, Jiaojiao will go with her brothers."

Her father and uncle had to buy quite a few things today, and she was worried her father wouldn’t be able to carry everything by himself.

Yun Jiao’s little face was full of confidence. "Jiaojiao protect brothers."

Yun Linhai was left speechless.

’How strange,’ he thought. But he had a nagging feeling that if something really did happen, his daughter would be the one protecting his good-for-nothing sons and nephews.

"Fine, you can go by yourselves. When the movie’s over, come out and wait right at the entrance. And don’t wander off, you hear?"

Yun Jiao nodded. "Okay! Jiaojiao will be good."

Yun Linhai took them to the theater, bought their tickets, and then watched as they went inside, cheering with excitement.

Yun Jiao and her brothers were seeing an animated film: *Journey to the West*.

It was a favorite among children.

Once inside, they found their seats. They weren’t all in a row; two strangers were seated in the middle of their group, separating them. But Yun Xiaowu and his brothers were quick-witted. They negotiated a seat swap with the two people, and soon all the siblings were sitting together with Yun Jiao, perfectly content.

When the movie began, Yun Jiao was fascinated by the huge screen and the picture quality, which was so much better than television.

Once the story began, her eyes were completely glued to the screen.

As they were watching, Yun Xiaoqi suddenly whispered something to his brothers, got up, and slipped out, hunching over to stay out of sight.

When he returned, he was carrying a bag of popcorn and a bag of sunflower seeds.

"Jiaojiao."

Hearing her brother’s voice, Yun Jiao turned her head just as a piece of fragrant popcorn was popped into her mouth. Her eyes immediately lit up.

It was wonderfully crunchy.

"Heh, it’s good, right? I saw someone else eating some, so I went to check, and sure enough, they were selling it outside."

They snacked while watching the movie.

The plot was thrilling. At least for children of that time, it was exceptionally good.

They were all completely captivated.

When it was over, they were still left wanting more.

"Sun Wukong is so awesome! His Jingu Bang beats up all the demons and monsters."

Boys especially loved these kinds of fantasy stories, where the hero fought monsters all along the way.

After just one movie, they were completely obsessed with Sun Wukong, even jumping around and imitating some of his moves.

When they stepped out of the theater, they saw that a nearby stall was actually selling Jingu Bangs!

Although the staffs were just made of plastic foam, that was more than enough to entice the children who had just finished watching *Journey to the West*.

But they had no money left and could only stare with longing.

Yun Jiao patted her chest. "I have money!"

The little heiress was quite magnanimous, buying a Jingu Bang for each of her brothers, as well as the shimmering golden Tightening Spells.

"Jiaojiao."

Yun Xiao Ba suddenly gave Yun Jiao a pleading look, pointing at a set of watercolor pens on the stall and stammering.

"Could... could you buy a box of watercolor pens for me?"

He coveted them so much.

With a wave of her little hand, Yun Jiao declared, "Buy it!"

The stall owner’s smile became incredibly enthusiastic. After all, a box of watercolor pens wasn’t cheap—it cost a whole yuan.

’My, this little girl isn’t just pretty, she’s so generous too!’

’But... they must be siblings, right? So how come the little girl is the one in charge of the money?’

Holding the watercolor pens, Yun Xiao Ba’s eyes were shining.

"Jiaojiao, don’t worry. When I earn my own money, I’ll pay you back."

Yun Jiao pouted. "It’s for you, brother. You don’t have to pay me back."

Yun Xiao Ba thought for a moment. "Then I’ll go home and draw, and I’ll give you my best painting."

That was right. Yun Xiao Ba wanted the watercolor pens to draw with when he got home.

He loved to draw things in his textbooks and notebooks.

But he always had to use a pencil.

He wanted to add color to his drawings.

Their father and uncle still hadn’t arrived, so the children found a clean set of steps to sit on, tore open a bag of snacks, and began to eat together.

Suddenly, Yun Jiao saw a familiar person.

She got up and ran toward them.

"Jiaojiao, where are you going?"

"Granny."

Yun Jiao pointed at an old woman who was walking steadily forward, then trotted over and grabbed her hand.

"Granny, how did you get here? Are you by yourself?"

The old woman looked down, her eyes filled with confusion.

When she saw Yun Jiao, her eyes brightened.

"Nannan, oh, Nannan..."

Yun Xiaowu and the others came running over.

"Granny, these are my brothers."