Chapter 190: Speaking Out

The village chief couldn’t be bothered to argue with those two. The most urgent task was to find the girl.

So he left Cai Jinhua’s family behind and went to investigate with the search party himself.

Meanwhile, Cai Jinhua’s son started wailing that he was hungry and wanted to eat.

The two, who treated their son like a precious treasure, immediately scooped him up and left, without a single thought for Yun Laide.

"Sigh, what rotten luck, being born into a family like that."

"I know, right? And Yun Laide’s grandparents still haven’t even shown their faces."

"Heh... those two are at home making food for their precious grandson. They’ve never cared about what happens to their granddaughter."

In the past, people just thought they were a little biased, favoring their son over their daughters. But that kind of sexism was common not only in rural areas but also in many parts of the big cities, so no one thought it was a huge problem. After all, it was another family’s business.

But selling their own daughter off for a ghost marriage? That was truly going too far.

What kind of biological parents were they? You could call them a stepmother and stepfather, and no one would bat an eye.

But... just as Cai Jinhua had said, it was their family’s private matter.

The girl was her daughter, after all. Outsiders like them could condemn and spit on their actions, but they couldn’t actually interfere.

It was all up to fate...

With no more drama to watch, the crowd naturally dispersed.

Yun Jiao took her pets and went home with Grandma.

Granny Yun sighed wistfully. "How will Pandi and her sisters manage from now on? What kind of parents acts like that?"

"Don’t be upset, Grandma."

Yun Jiao stood on her tiptoes and patted Granny Yun’s back to soothe her.

"I’m not angry. I’m just lamenting their terrible fate."

Back home, Granny Yun started making dinner.

Yun Jiao went back to practicing her handwriting. When she got tired, she went out to the courtyard to play with her animals.

Yun Jiao held the small, fully carved wooden figure, planning to ask her dad to take her to the post office tomorrow to mail it to Fu Mingyu.

First, she’d ask Fifth Brother, who was already in school, to help her write a letter.

By dinnertime, Yun Linhai and the others had returned.

At the dinner table, everyone was discussing the situation with Yun Laide.

"That Laidi girl... I reckon..."

Yun Jiao furrowed her little brow, hesitating for a moment before timidly raising her hand.

"I know where Sister Laidi is."

Instantly, every pair of eyes at the table swiveled to stare at her.

Yun Jiao squirmed uncomfortably, feeling a pang of guilt.

"Sister Laidi left the village. She said she was going somewhere far away to find a job and make money."

"What? You saw Laidi, and she left the village? Jiaojiao, why didn’t you say anything? Everyone’s been so worried..."

Yun Jiao poked at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks. "I was afraid you’d all go looking for her."

The adults looked at one another, speechless.

"But Jiaojiao, she’s a girl who’s never left the village before. It’s dangerous for her out there."

Yun Jiao tilted her head, her voice full of confusion. "But Sister Laidi was in danger at home, too."

That shut them up completely.

She had a point, after all.

Yun Jiao said seriously, "Sister Laidi might be in danger out there, but she might also find a job to support herself."

"At home, it’s just danger, danger, and more danger."

Having said her piece, she nodded to herself, feeling quite pleased with her logic.

Everyone: "..."

"But... but she didn’t have any money..."

Yun Jiao puffed out her little chest slightly. "I gave her some. Five yuan, in fact."

She smacked her lips. "It was all the money I had on me."

Silence spread across the dinner table. Apparently, she was quite proud of herself.

"I, for one, think Jiaojiao did the right thing."

After a moment, Granny Yun spoke up.

"It may be dangerous out there, but it also comes with opportunities."

"If she stays here, she’ll live under Cai Jinhua’s shadow for the rest of her life. Even if this incident gets resolved, her future won’t be easy. She’d always have to worry about that family marrying her off again for a high bride price to God knows who. Rather than live like that, it’s better to go out and fight for a chance."

Wang Mei slapped the table. "You’re right, Mom. Laidi and her sisters must have had the worst luck imaginable to be born into that family. Jiaojiao, you did the right thing, too."

Yun Jiao puffed up with pride.

’See? I knew I did a good deed.’

Grandpa Yun added a warning. "Regarding this matter, once you walk out that door, you all keep your mouths shut for me. Act like you don’t know a thing."

Everyone at the table nodded vigorously.

"As for the village, if the chief asks you to help search, just play dumb and go along with it. I need to have a word with him about this."

If she can’t be found, the search will eventually be called off.

With the ocean, it was common for the dead to vanish without a trace.

They lived by the sea, but the sea was also merciless.

Grandpa Yun went to see the village chief. No one knew what was said, but in the end, the chief didn’t tell anyone that Laidi had left the village. Instead, he organized the search party for two more days.

Sure enough, rumors soon began to spread that Yun Laide had likely perished at sea.

The sea wasn’t like a river. If you fell in, there was no telling where the waves might carry you.

And plenty of fish in the sea were vicious, carnivorous things.

So, if someone truly fell into the sea, you’d be lucky to even find their bones.

The groom’s family heard the news and came to cause another scene, demanding the bride price be returned immediately.

Cai Jinhua and Yun Dan were hardly willing to return the money; they’d already spent some of it.

They threw a shameless fit, refusing to pay, and then went to make a scene at the village chief’s house.

Oh, the look on the village chief’s face! Yun Jiao went to watch that day, and it was absolutely livid.

In the end, it was the chief’s wife, son, and daughter-in-law who had to chase the shameless bunch away.

But Yun Jiao had a feeling that family wouldn’t just let it go.

But instead of focusing on the drama from Cai Jinhua’s family, Yun Jiao’s household was currently in high spirits.

Because Yun Chen Nan was back.

It was rare for him to come home, so Yun Chen Nan, currently the family’s only high school student, received a warm welcome from everyone.

Yun Chen Nan was the same age as Yun Chenbei, but he was already a senior in high school.

He was such a good student that ever since starting high school, his progress had far outpaced his teachers’ lessons, and he was mostly self-taught.

He’d skipped grades along the way, and now, at only sixteen, he was already a high school senior.

He would be taking the college entrance exams next year.

The only downside for Yun Jiao was that her Third Brother always insisted on checking her homework, which made her want to cry.

"Not bad. Your handwriting has improved."

Praised, Yun Jiao puffed out her little chest.

’Of course it has!’ she thought. ’I’ve been practicing so hard for so long.’

"I want to write a letter to my big brother. Third Brother, you can write the parts I don’t know how to."

Yun Chen Nan nodded in agreement.

After finishing the homework her Third Brother had assigned, Yun Jiao went outside to play, carrying the little hawksbill turtle, two dogs, and a cat. She was in the middle of stacking the two puppies on top of each other and was about to add the turtle to the pile when a car pulled up to their house.

It was a proper car, which immediately attracted a crowd of idle villagers.

The weather had turned cold, so people weren’t going out to sea or working the fields. This meant there were plenty of idle hands around.

Hearing the noise, her family also came outside.

Yun Jiao thought, ’This car looks a little familiar.’

It was more than a little familiar. Soon, familiar faces emerged from the car.

Wang Jianlin had arrived with his wife and son, his mother, and the family of his newly-adopted sister.

Whoa, what a huge entourage.

The moment he saw them, Wang Yi broke into a wide grin and waved at Yun Jiao.

"Long time no see, Yun Jiao!"

He was as cheerful and happy as a puppy wagging its tail.