Chapter 227: The Train

When the killer whale group arrived, Yun Jiao told them the news, and the creatures immediately started bickering.

The gist of it was they didn’t want her to leave.

The killer whales’ tails even stopped wagging happily.

Yun Jiao had to soothe them for quite a while before they reluctantly calmed down.

After bidding a reluctant farewell to the killer whales, she returned home. She had just reached her front door when a cheering Yun Xiaowu swept her up and spun her around in circles.

A slightly bewildered expression appeared on her delicate little face. ’What’s going on?’

The moment her feet touched the ground, someone planted a kiss on Yun Jiao’s soft, chubby cheek.

Yun Jiao struggled. "Brother, don’t kiss me! Your slobber!"

She wiped her face with a slightly disgusted look in her eyes.

Yun Xiaowu grinned foolishly. "Oh, little sis, your big brother loves you so much! It’s a good thing we have you, or they would’ve left us behind again."

’I get it,’ she thought. ’He’s happy because he found out about the trip to the Capital.’

The next second, she was swept up and spun around again.

The tiny girl was completely airborne.

This time, it was Yun Xiao Liu. "Jiaojiao, you’re the best! I bet the Capital has tons of delicious food. I’ll take you to try everything when we get there."

She had just landed when Yun Xiaoqi picked her up.

Yun Jiao: ...

The expression on her face gradually went numb.

After them, Yun Xiao Ba and Yun Xiaojiu both took a turn picking her up.

The next day, Yun Xiaowu and his brothers didn’t go to school.

The family elders warned them repeatedly not to tell anyone. They even threatened that if word got out, they wouldn’t be allowed to go to the Capital. Only then did the boys, all sporting dark circles under their eyes, reluctantly settle down.

The dark circles were because they had been too excited to sleep a wink the previous night. They hadn’t even left for the Capital, but they were already planning where to go, what to eat, what to buy, and what riding a train would be like.

Amidst their ceaseless chatter, Yun Jiao, on the other hand, had drifted into a deep sleep.

Her biological clock was very precise; when it was bedtime, she automatically powered down.

As a result, her little face was fair and rosy this morning, and she was completely refreshed and energetic.

But Yun Xiaowu and his brothers, despite their dark circles, didn’t go to sleep. They only behaved for a short while before shifting their attention to the family’s motorcycle.

"Dad, can you teach us how to ride the motorcycle?"

Yun Linhai said irritably, "I don’t even know how to ride it myself, and you’re already eyeing it!"

Yun Xiaowu replied, "You can learn by trying. Let me try."

Yun Linhai roared, "I’m busy! You little brats better behave! If you break that motorcycle, I’ll tan your hides!"

After yelling at his sons and nephews, who were acting like a troop of mischievous monkeys, he glanced over at his daughter. She was quietly playing with two little dogs and eating a snack by herself.

’Daughters really are better,’ he thought.

’She can be naughty sometimes, but most of the time she’s a sweet, caring girl.’

They had to get everything settled and arranged today.

They were busy all day. Yun Jiao was well-behaved throughout, content to hold the cats’ and dogs’ ears and instruct them to take good care of themselves.

She even ran to the coop to tell the family’s ducks and geese to be good and keep laying eggs.

The poultry was left in the care of Second Granny’s family, with whom they were on good terms.

Because of this, Second Granny knew about their trip to the Capital.

"I never would have thought... Of the three brothers, it’s your Yun Mu’s family that turned out to be the most successful."

Second Granny grasped Granny Yun’s hand and sighed. "It’s a pity your Second Brother is no longer with us. Otherwise, even if he couldn’t go to the Capital himself, he would have been so happy just to see the pictures you take."

"Don’t you worry. Leave your chickens, ducks, and geese to me. I may not be good at much else, but I know how to look after farm animals. I guarantee they’ll be in the same shape when you get back as they are when you leave."

Afterward, Second Granny asked many more questions about their trip to the Capital.

Granny Yun promised to bring her back some local specialties from the Capital.

Second Granny offered to pay, but Granny Yun refused.

After they finished packing and made sure nothing was forgotten, everyone was buzzing with excitement that night.

Yun Jiao yawned and fell asleep, but in the darkness of the night, the occupants of the other rooms were still whispering to each other.

Early the next morning, Mr. Mu came to get them.

The train was scheduled for around three o’clock, but they had to get to the provincial capital’s station ahead of time, as their county didn’t have one.

So, around five o’clock, the group set off for the provincial capital by car, as arranged by Mr. Mu and Old Wu.

Since there were so many of them, Old Wu had simply chartered a bus.

"Grandpa Mu, Grandpa Wu."

Knowing that their trip to the Capital depended on these two elders, Yun Xiaowu and his brothers were uncharacteristically well-behaved, following Yun Jiao’s lead and sweetly calling out, "Grandpa Mu, Grandpa Wu."

The two old men beamed and nodded in return.

"Grandpa Wu, you live in the Capital, right? Can you tell us about it?"

In that particular era, both children and adults were curious about the Capital, but for the adults, it was more a place of deep yearning.

"The Capital..." Elder Wu began. "Ah, that’s a very bustling city. I wonder if you’ve learned about Tiananmen or the Forbidden City in your schoolbooks..."

As Elder Wu spoke, Yun Jiao, sitting on her mother’s lap, also pricked up her ears and listened intently.

The bus swayed along. During the latter half of the journey, those who had stayed up late with excitement the night before dozed off, leaning against their seatbacks.

"We’re here."

The swaying bus came to a stop. At the driver’s announcement, the sleeping passengers gradually began to wake.

By now, the sky was bright.

It was after ten o’clock; they had been on the bus for over four hours.

Their butts were sore from all the sitting.

Yun Jiao stood up, her little brow furrowed as she rubbed her bottom.

Yun Xiaowu and his brothers were clearly much hardier. Though their rears were also sore, they just stood up, shook out their legs, and bounced around a few times, quickly returning to their energetic selves.

Yun Jiao thought, ’If I were in the ocean, I could be that lively too!’

A pair of big hands lifted her up, and Yun Jiao leaned softly against her dad’s shoulder and yawned.

Now that someone was carrying her, she didn’t have to tire her legs out.

"It’s still early," someone said. "Let’s get something to eat first. The food on the train is nowhere near as good as what you get in a restaurant."

After finding a restaurant and having a meal, they finally arrived at the train station.

The station was packed with people, making it feel quite crowded.

Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoqi were like a pair of curious puppies, practically wagging their tails as they craned their necks to look everywhere.

If an adult hadn’t been holding onto them, they would have wandered off and gotten lost in no time.

Yun Linhai, holding his daughter with one arm, used his free hand to give Yun Xiaowu a sharp flick on the forehead, making him cry out in pain.

"Ow! Dad, what was that for?!"

"So you *can* feel pain! Your mother can barely hold on to you!"

"What if you get separated in this crowd? Stop gawking at everything!"

Yun Xiaowu grumbled, rubbing his forehead.

"Couldn’t you have just told me? Why’d you have to hit me..."

Old Wu called out to them, "The train’s here! Get ready to board!"

The green-skinned train chugged into the station. This wasn’t Yun Jiao’s first time seeing a train—she’d seen one when her two oldest brothers left to join the army.

Still, the sight of it was awe-inspiring.

’Humans are truly amazing creatures,’ she mused. ’They’re so small, and their strength is nothing compared to Merfolk or other powerful beings, yet they can create so many incredible things with just their hands and their minds.’

The moment the train stopped, the crowd immediately surged forward, trying to squeeze inside.

A conductor shouted hoarsely from the side, trying to maintain order, but to little effect.