Chapter 239: A Solution

There was no rush to find the remaining houses.

First, they had to figure out how to deal with that group from the Chen Family.

Yun Jiao and her fourth brother went to the three-courtyard house to take pictures and grab a bite to eat on the way.

’I’ve discovered that these old alleyways have some really delicious things for sale,’ she thought.

Except for the fermented mung bean milk!

Meanwhile, Yun Linhai, Mr. Mu, and the others were at home discussing a solution.

"Candied haws! Get your candied haws here~"

A street vendor hawked his wares in the alley, carrying a straw target bristling with bright red, shiny candied haws.

Yun Jiao grabbed her fourth brother and chased after him.

"I want some candied haws."

’These look so delicious.’

"Alright, little one. How many skewers do you want?"

Yun Jiao: "I want a whole bunch."

"What?"

A few minutes later, the candied haw vendor was gleefully counting his money while Yun Chenbei, now shouldering the entire straw target of candied haws, headed to the Liu family’s house with his sister.

"Grandpa Liu, is Granny Liu home?"

Yun Jiao licked the sugar coating on her candied haw and knocked politely on the door.

She knocked twice, but no one came to answer. Yun Jiao clamped the candied haw stick in her mouth, sized up the height of the wall, and was just about to try climbing over when the door opened.

A flash of regret appeared in Yun Jiao’s eyes.

’I wanted to see if I could make it over,’ she thought.

Old Liu glanced at the two of them. "Come in."

"Grandpa Liu, have a candied haw! They’re sweet and sour and super tasty."

Yun Jiao followed behind the old man, pointing at the candied haws her fourth brother was carrying.

Old Liu refused. "No, thank you. That’s for kids. An old man like me can’t eat that stuff."

"Did all your teeth fall out? Then you really can’t eat them."

"Your teeth are the ones that fell out! Mine are perfectly fine. I can keep eating for another ten-plus years!"

Bickering like this, the old man and the little girl entered the residence.

Granny Liu was sitting upright at the stone table under the jujube tree, her movements fluid and graceful as she prepared tea.

Just watching her was a delight.

Yun Jiao walked over as if she owned the place and sat down on the stone stool beside her.

"Granny Liu, can you eat candied haws? I bought a lot, so here’s one for you. You can have more after you finish."

Yun Chenbei set down the target of candied haws, propping it up.

Granny Liu smiled. "Thank you, Jiaojiao, but I won’t have any."

"Oh, what are you doing then, Granny?"

"Making tea."

"Here, have a taste."

She handed Yun Jiao a teacup. The tea inside smelled fragrant.

The temperature was just right, so Yun Jiao picked it up and downed it in one gulp.

Then she smacked her lips.

"Hmph. Like an ox chewing on a peony!"

Yun Jiao looked all around. "Where? Where? Where’s the ox? Granny, do you raise oxen here?"

At that, Granny Liu and Yun Chenbei couldn’t help but laugh.

Yun Chenbei explained, "It’s an expression. There’s no ox."

"Then what does it mean? I’m not an ox either."

She grumbled, dissatisfied.

Granny Liu said, "Now, now. Jiaojiao is still just a child."

She said gently to Yun Jiao, "Jiaojiao, don’t drink tea so quickly. You have to go slow to appreciate its flavor."

The old woman taught her from the side, and Yun Jiao learned earnestly.

It was Yun Jiao’s first time drinking tea, and she wasn’t quite used to the slightly bitter flavor.

Her first reaction was that it wasn’t as good as sugar water.

But after drinking two more cups with Granny Liu, she truly did taste the sweet aftertaste she had mentioned.

"Once you get used to drinking tea, you’ll only grow to like it more and more."

She went into a room and brought out half a canister of tea leaves.

"This half-canister of tea leaves is for you."

Yun Jiao took it, and when she opened it, the tea leaves inside exuded a rich aroma.

She didn’t refuse. "Thank you, Granny Liu."

"Granny Liu, can my fourth brother and I look around?"

"Of course, you can."

After getting permission, Yun Chenbei took Yun Jiao wandering all around the courtyard house, taking pictures from time to time.

Once they had taken enough pictures of the buildings, Yun Jiao pestered the two elders into taking a group photo with them, as well as some photos of just the two of them.

After the photos were done, Yun Jiao left two skewers of candied haws behind and skipped away with her fourth brother.

Yun Chenbei chased after her, his voice filled with resignation. "Jiaojiao, stop eating! That’s already your fifth skewer. You’ll ruin your teeth if you eat too many."

Yun Jiao retorted, "No, I won’t! My teeth are great. I could bite through a brick!"

They first went to a photo studio and asked the owner to help develop the pictures.

Then, Yun Jiao dragged a very reluctant Yun Chenbei out to go shopping.

Yun Chenbei: ’Can’t distinguish faces, don’t want to talk, don’t want to go out...’

"What’s this?"

Yun Jiao stood in front of a stinky tofu snack stall, pinching her nose.

’Do humans eat poop?’ she wondered.

The owner immediately started his sales pitch: "Hey, kiddo, want a serving? It’s stinky tofu! Smells bad, but tastes great."

Yun Jiao saw other people buying it and hesitated.

’Curious, curious, curious...’

In the end, her curiosity won, and she bought a serving.

And thoughtfully offered the first bite to her brother.

Yun Chenbei: "..."

Yun Jiao held up the stinky tofu and shot her brother an urgent look, silently telling him to hurry up and eat.

Yun Chenbei: ’I don’t want to eat it.’

"Brother~"

Poor Yun Chenbei finally gave in to her repeated cries of "Brother."

’It’s... actually not bad?’

"It’s okay. Not bad."

Only then did Yun Jiao pop a piece into her mouth.

It certainly didn’t smell good, but with one bite, the flavor of the juicy, bursting stinky tofu was surprisingly delicious.

Shaking her head in delight, Yun Jiao ate until her cheeks were puffed out, then moved on to the next stall.

"What’s this?"

"Rolling donkeys. Want some, little one?"

Yun Jiao nodded. "Yes, yes, yes..."

They continued on their way, strolling and eating.

Whether it was pastries, snacks, or hot food, she had to try it all.

If she thought something was delicious, she would buy an extra portion to take back with her.

And so... by the end of their trip, Yun Chenbei and Yun Jiao returned home laden with bags big and small.

"Whoa, why’d you bring back so much stuff? Can you even finish it all?"

Yun Xiao Liu was the happiest of all. As soon as Yun Jiao put the things down, he gave her a big bear hug.

"Sis, why didn’t you take me with you to buy food!"

Yun Jiao let out a burp, feeling a bit stuffed.

"Next time. I’ll take you next time, Sixth Brother."

Yun Xiao Liu nodded emphatically, then eagerly went to dig into the food.

Yun Jiao ambled over to where the adults were.

Elder Wu had also arrived and was currently giving them some advice.

"You aren’t planning to live here for the time being, are you?"

They definitely weren’t planning to live here for now. As fishermen who had lived by the sea their whole lives, they couldn’t imagine getting used to suddenly leaving the ocean to live in the Capital.

Yun Linhai and the others still wanted to buy a big boat and go out fishing at sea.

’The family has money now, but that’s all Jiaojiao’s money. What does it have to do with us?’

’Jiaojiao has already bought them a house; who could be shameless enough to spend her money as if it were their own?’

"In that case, you might as well rent the house out."

"Rent it out?"

Elder Wu nodded. "You have to choose your tenants carefully. First, they must be capable of handling those freeloaders from the Chen Family. They also need to be of good character. Otherwise, what if you rent it to bad people and they ruin the house?"

"Yes, yes, that’s true. But how do we choose the right people?"

Elder Wu said, "Simple. Rent it to military veterans. While you can’t guarantee every single one of them will be a good person, veterans who have been trained in the military are definitely a cut above the rest."