Chapter 209: Yun Pan Di’s Mental State

Yun Jiao shoved another egg cake at him. "Eat."

’Who was he putting on that pitiful, greedy act for?’

Yun Sui glanced down and gave a silly grin.

Then he started to eat.

Yun Jiao stopped watching him and ran to see what Grandma and the others were making today.

The aroma was already wafting from the kitchen.

Yun Linhe and Grandpa didn’t get back until it was almost time for dinner.

Yun Sui’s grandfather had caught a cold and was still laid up in the clinic.

"As long as it’s treatable, that’s what matters. Let’s eat first."

"Chenbei, go see what’s keeping your master."

Yun Chenbei agreed. He wasn’t gone long before he returned with Old Man Mu, who was carrying New Year’s gifts.

Everyone exchanged pleasantries before sitting down to a lively meal of food and drinks.

Yun Sui’s presence was an unexpected addition to the meal, but this small interlude didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits.

During the meal, Granny Yun noticed that Yun Sui only dared to pick from the dishes directly in front of him, so she made a point of placing food from other dishes onto his plate.

The boy might be simple-minded, but he wasn’t disruptive. In a way, he was quite well-behaved.

After dinner, Yun Sui wanted to find his grandfather. Yun Linhai took him to the village chief’s house, and the chief’s son then took him to the clinic.

Before he left, Granny Yun packed some food for him to take, using one of Yun Jiao’s old bags.

"Jiaojiao, what do you think it looks like? You know, what our older brothers talked about—a world completely covered in white snow?"

That night, a few of the children gathered in a room, gazing out the window.

The winter night was silent, and snow was falling outside.

The snowfall was unusually heavy today.

But snow in the south never lasts long. It was too light, melting almost as soon as it touched the ground.

Yun Jiao reached her hand out the window. A snowflake drifted lightly onto her small palm, only to vanish in the blink of an eye.

"I don’t know. Our older brothers didn’t send any photos."

"I wish they had sent pictures."

Leaning against the windowsill, Yun Jiao mumbled softly, "I miss our older brothers."

’Our older brothers weren’t here for New Year’s this year. They didn’t even get to eat the dumplings Grandma and Mom made.’

The next day, Yun Jiao went with her parents to visit her master’s home, bringing along the gifts her family had prepared.

At her master’s house, she was quizzed on her studies. Afterward, the beautifully dressed little girl made her rounds and collected a pile of red envelopes.

’Her master had so many relatives, and they all gave her red envelopes!’

Yun Jiao’s smile was as bright as a small sun. She followed her master like a fluffy little tail, offering sweet greetings to everyone she met.

As soon as they left her master’s house, Yun Jiao hugged her red envelopes, tore them open, and began counting her money like the little treasure-hoarder she was.

’Her master’s relatives and friends hadn’t just given red envelopes—they were incredibly generous!’

It all added up to nearly a thousand!

’In this day and age, this red envelope money had made her rich overnight.’

Yun Linhai and Shen Yunlian were shocked as well. They never expected her to receive so many red envelopes from a single round of New Year’s visits.

Being simple, honest folk, they felt rather uneasy about it.

It even fell to little Yun Jiao to comfort them.

However, Yun Linhai was already thinking that once spring came and he went back out to sea, he would have to find something special to give to Jiaojiao’s master.

"I wonder how that little fellow Yun Sui and his grandfather are doing. Since we’re already here, let’s go check on them."

On their way home, as they passed by the town clinic, Shen Yunlian suddenly thought of Yun Sui.

Yun Linhai nodded. "Alright, let’s go see."

Unexpectedly, however, they found that Yun Sui and his grandfather had already left the clinic early that morning.

So they had no choice but to head home.

But since they had taken an interest, they decided to keep an eye on them.

He had left before he was even fully recovered.

But there was nothing to be done. Yun Sui’s family was extremely poor and couldn’t afford to keep him in the clinic.

Afterward, Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe made frequent trips to Yun Sui’s house, hoping to at least ensure the old man survived the winter.

Otherwise, the boy would truly become an orphan of the village.

After the New Year’s festivities, the flurry of relatives visiting one another gradually subsided.

The excitement died down, and life returned to its usual quiet pace.

As more time passed, Yun Jiao noticed that in the new year, more and more young people were leaving the village.

They were all heading out to find jobs.

While they were still young, they were unwilling to spend their entire lives adrift at sea, earning a living by luck and facing constant risks.

With the country’s new open economic policies, factories and shops were popping up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. It was a time when young people were full of energy and dreams for the future, eager to go out and make their own way in the world.

Strolling through the village behind her grandma, Yun Jiao would hear people discussing which family’s children had left to find work every day.

While nibbling on a piece of fruit leather, Yun Jiao overheard them talking about Cai Jinhua’s children.

"That Pandi has really found her backbone. She and her two little sisters are arguing with their grandparents every other day."

"I know, right? She’s even making that brother of hers do chores. If he doesn’t work, she flat-out refuses to feed him. And when the old folks hit her, she grabs a stick and beats Yun Zhuangzhuang, which makes those two, who are so biased toward their grandson, absolutely miserable."

"Tell me, why do you think Pandi’s personality has changed so drastically?"

"What choice did she have? She was almost sold off into a ghost marriage."

Yun Jiao listened intently. In fact, she had run into Pandi and her siblings herself.

At the time, Pandi had been holding a stick, supervising her two younger sisters and her brother as they foraged for food by the sea.

She had also seen Yun Pan Di chasing and beating Yun Zhuangzhuang while their grandparents trailed behind, screaming the most awful curses.

But Yun Pan Di paid them no mind, acting as if she couldn’t hear a thing as she relentlessly beat Yun Zhuangzhuang.

In short, ever since Cai Jinhua and Yun Dan were arrested, the two grandparents couldn’t outrun or overpower Yun Pan Di, so Yun Zhuangzhuang’s life had become a living hell.

But as far as Yun Jiao was concerned, this turn of events was a delight to witness.

’Seeing Yun Zhuangzhuang miserable made her happy. Heh heh.’

On the way home with Grandma, as luck would have it, they ran into Yun Pan Di and her family again.

"Pandi, you damn girl! You money-leeching burden! If you hit my precious grandson again, see if I don’t marry you off to some old man!"

These were not the words of a grandmother to her own granddaughter; you would be forgiven for thinking they were enemies.

There was a red handprint on Yun Pan Di’s face, and her eyes were filled with fury as she stared at the two elders.

"You just try it. If you dare, I’ll go straight to the police station and report you for trying to force an arranged marriage. And until you manage to marry me off, your precious grandson can forget about having a peaceful day!"

"And another thing! All the food you’re eating now was foraged by my sisters and me. If you dare hit me again, you can forget about eating. You can just starve right along with Yun Zhuangzhuang!"

"You... you unfilial girl! Are you trying to rebel?!"

Yun Pan Di sneered. "Have you ever treated us like your own granddaughters?"

Yun Pan Di’s current state of mind was a little unhinged, but she no longer cared what anyone thought of her. Her guiding principle was simple: if she was miserable, then the people she despised weren’t going to have a good time either.

Amid the grandparents’ dramatic wails, Yun Pan Di sent the bawling Yun Zhuangzhuang flying with a kick.

"CRY, CRY, CRY, that’s all you know how to do! You’ve cried all the good luck away! Get back inside and wash the clothes! You’re a big kid now, stop acting so useless!"

Yun Jiao let out a little "wow." The way she looked at Yun Pan Di now was completely different.

’That kind of spirit... she really admired it.’

However, there weren’t many in the village who could appreciate Yun Pan Di’s state of mind.

Most people just thought she had gone mad.