Chapter 210: A Matter of Convenience

The weather gradually warmed, and everyone once again started going out early and returning late to forage on the shore.

What made Yun Jiao happiest of all was that the chickens, ducks, and geese at home had finally started laying eggs!

That morning, while brushing her teeth, Yun Jiao heard a commotion from the chicken coop that sounded different from usual, so she went to see what was happening.

She was stunned by what she saw.

The big fat hen she was raising squatted in its nest. When it lifted its rear, a round, warm egg lay underneath.

Yun Jiao immediately cried out in excitement.

"Grandma! Mom! The hen I’m raising laid an egg!"

She scrambled into the coop, grabbed the still-warm egg, and ran back to the house, her joy plain to see.

Granny Yun took one look and exclaimed, "It’s about time they started laying! And this first egg is so big!"

Usually, the first egg is much smaller—about the size of a ping-pong ball.

But the egg in Yun Jiao’s hand was a couple of sizes larger than a ping-pong ball.

"This just goes to show how well our Jiaojiao raised them."

Yun Jiao grinned, lifting her little chin. She was so proud.

"From now on, Jiaojiao’s chickens, ducks, and geese will all start laying eggs, so keep a close eye on the nests. When you take the ducks and geese out to forage, be careful—they like to lay their eggs outside."

Yun Jiao nodded eagerly.

After breakfast, she ran back to the chicken coop and watched expectantly.

After the first hen laid an egg, it was as if a signal had been given, and the other hens started laying eggs one after another.

That morning alone, Yun Jiao collected five chicken eggs and one goose egg.

The ducks hadn’t laid any eggs yet.

Cradling the eggs in her arms, little Yun Jiao looked exceptionally satisfied.

Yun Xiaowu and the others, who had been furiously scribbling to finish their winter vacation homework, all came over to have a look.

"Does this mean we’ll have lots of eggs to eat from now on?"

"That’s great! Grandma, we want to eat eggs every day from now on!"

Granny Yun was speechless.

’In your dreams,’ she thought.

Having collected the eggs, Yun Jiao was in exceptionally high spirits today.

Stick in hand, she led her two puppies—who had already grown taller than her calves—and marched out majestically to herd the chickens, ducks, and geese.

She also carried a basket and a bucket.

What if the ducks laid their eggs while they were eating on the tidal flats?

"Grandma, I’m going to take the ducks out!"

After calling out to Granny Yun, Yun Jiao led her procession and ambled toward the seashore.

It had been a while, and an excited Yun Jiao ran all over the beach.

She would have been even happier if she could have taken off her shoes and run around barefoot,

but unfortunately, she wasn’t allowed in the sea yet. She’d get a spanking otherwise.

She took out her shovel and began to dig, dig, dig on the vast beach.

"A Cat Eye Snail."

"What a big shell. It’s empty."

Yun Jiao picked up the shell, which was much larger than her palm, and gave it a shake. She thought it was empty, but to her surprise, a hermit crab crawled out.

Her eyes instantly lit up.

’These are delicious.’

She tossed it into her bucket, looked around, and found a deserted spot to squat down and start digging.

"Ewww... What is this thing? It’s so ugly."

Yun Jiao’s little face scrunched up as she pulled out a fleshy "worm" that looked like an earthworm and was as thick as an adult’s finger.

"A sea worm?"

’Looks like it is.’

Though they looked a bit gross, they were very nutritious, and it seemed Uncle Wang bought them too.

’So I’d better keep digging.’

As Yun Jiao was squatting on the ground, huffing and puffing as she dug, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching.

She glanced over, her eyes wary.

It was Yun Sui.

"What are you doing here?"

Seeing it was him, Yun Jiao shot him a look and went back to her work.

"Here, Jiaojiao."

Yun Sui grinned foolishly, handing over the thing he was holding.

It was a crab, and it had his hand in its pincer, though he didn’t seem to mind the pain.

"You’re so silly. Doesn’t that hurt? Who taught you to grab a crab like that?"

Yun Jiao muttered as she carefully removed the crab for him.

Yun Sui was actually quite clean today.

He was wearing hand-me-downs from Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiao Liu.

Yun Xiaoqi and the younger kids all had new clothes of their own and certainly wouldn’t inherit their older brothers’ patched-up garments. However, Granny Yun and the others were too frugal to just throw them away.

Giving them to Yun Sui to wear was the perfect solution.

His hair was still cut short, and since he was often brought home for baths, he looked much tidier than before.

"Yun Sui, come over here and dig for these."

Yun Sui was a funny one. Even though she’d beaten him up before, he always came looking for her.

And he always brought her things.

Sometimes it was pretty little stones, and other times roasted sweet potatoes and such.

This time, he’d brought a crab.

What’s more, he listened to everything Yun Jiao said.

For instance, when she told him to dig, he dug.

Yun Sui might be skinny and a bit simple, but he was strong.

With no shovel of his own, he grabbed a wooden stick, squatted to the side, and started digging with all his might.

The two puppies also started furiously digging at the sand with their paws.

With two kids and two dogs working together, it didn’t take long for them to dig up a small pile of sea worms.

"It broke."

Yun Sui pouted, showing the broken stick to Yun Jiao.

Then he tossed the stick aside and started digging with his bare hands.

’That posture... he’s totally copying the two dogs!’

Yun Jiao couldn’t bear to watch. "Here, use this."

"I’m going to see if I can find anything else."

"Oh."

Yun Sui watched Yun Jiao walk away with a longing look in his eyes before he started digging furiously with the shovel.

Yun Jiao went to check on her flock and was delighted to find that the ducks had started laying eggs too!

They were pale green and slightly larger than chicken eggs.

Their oval shapes stood out clearly on the tidal flats.

Two duck eggs.

She picked them up gleefully, and after walking a short distance, she found another goose egg.

"Hehehe..."

Cradling the eggs, Yun Jiao beamed with delight.

"If only I could find some sea urchins," she murmured. "Steamed eggs with sea urchin is delicious."

Smacking her lips, Yun Jiao decided to go look for some.

「Ten minutes later...」

She didn’t find any sea urchins, but she returned dragging a large sea turtle behind her.

"Gui Yi, where did you run off to? You’ve gotten so much bigger!"

The large sea turtle, dragged by its hind flipper, remained placidly still, carving a long trail in the mud of the tidal flat.

Gui Yi’s emotional state was remarkably stable.

"In a bit, we’ll go somewhere else, and you can find sea urchins for me. I want to eat steamed eggs with sea urchin."

She was dragging Gui Yi back toward the spot where they were digging for sea worms when she heard a commotion, punctuated by the barking of her two dogs.

Yun Jiao’s brow furrowed. ’What’s going on?’

"You little brat! These tidal flats don’t belong to your family. How dare you hog this spot and not let me dig for sea worms?"

"You unwanted little mutt, get the hell away from me! Your luck’s not bad, eh? Are these the sea worms you dug in this bucket? Well, they’re mine now. It’s not like a fool like you knows how to sell them anyway."

"Fuck! Where did these dogs come from? Get the hell away from me, or I’ll stew you into soup!"

Yun Sui hugged the bucket tightly, refusing to let the man take it.

Baozi and Tang Yuan circled the man, snarling and barking.

The man grew furious and kicked Yun Sui several times.

The little boy grunted in pain but stubbornly refused to let go.

The man rolled up his sleeves. "You little mutt, I’m going to beat you to death today!"

He raised his hand high, about to bring it down across Yun Sui’s face.

Running over, Yun Jiao used the large sea turtle in her hands as a weapon, lifting it over her head and hurling it forward.

"And away you go!"

Gui Yi, flying through the air: !!!

’AHHHHH!!!’

Yun Jiao: ’Sorry. It was just convenient.’