Chapter 264: Too Many Rabbits

After a trip out to sea with her dad, Yun Jiao brought back plenty of large shrimp, crabs, and delicious fish.

She was becoming more agile and faster in the water, and on top of that, she had discovered a new skill.

Singing could attract certain fish, and then she would scoop up the unlucky ones that were big, beautiful, and tasty.

After bidding the killer whale farewell, it was another day of bountiful harvests.

Besides the portion for selling and for the family to eat, most of it was meant to be given away as gifts.

When she got home, Yun Jiao ran into the kitchen, carrying a large shrimp as long as her arm.

"Mom, cook this! I want to eat this big shrimp."

With the family’s finances improving, Shen Yunlian and Wang Mei now occasionally went foraging by the sea themselves.

The two of them had discussed buying a couple of pigs to raise, and being women of action, they had already made the arrangements.

They had found two half-grown piglets at Wang Mei’s parents’ home.

"After we eat, we’ll go pick up the pigs," Wang Mei said. "Jiaojiao, do you want to come along?"

Jiaojiao had never been to her family’s village yet.

"We have a huge grove of wild locust trees over there. I heard someone started keeping bees last year, but I don’t know if there will be any honey to harvest this year."

Yun Jiao’s eyes lit up when she heard this.

"You mean sweet honey?"

Wang Mei nodded. "Of course."

Yun Jiao’s expression immediately turned serious. "I’m going. I have to go."

"But I still need to bring stuff to Master and Grandpa Gu."

"Then we’ll just get the pigs tomorrow."

Wang Mei said, "The pigs are at my mother’s place anyway, so we can go get them whenever."

"Okay! I’ll bring some tasty treats for Grandaunt tomorrow."

Yun Jiao nodded in satisfaction. After dinner, she didn’t rush off to find her master. Instead, she lay down on the recliner in the courtyard as a fan began to blow in her direction.

Her two dogs lay under the recliner, panting with their tongues lolling out.

Yun Jiao yawned. ’I’ll take a nap first.’

"You need to grow up faster."

She poked at the grapevine beside her.

Her dad had brought it back and planted it a couple of days ago; it was still just a little thing.

Yun Jiao was already fantasizing about it growing big. They could build a trellis, and the vine would crawl all over it. Then, not only would she have a shady spot underneath, but she could also eat grapes whenever she wanted.

With these thoughts in her head, she drifted off to sleep.

Amid the drone of cicadas, Yun Jiao slept soundly. When she woke up, exactly an hour had passed.

Cat Boss had snuck up at some point and was now lying beside her.

"No wonder I’m a little warm."

Muttering, Yun Jiao gave Cat Boss a little push.

The tabby cat had been getting fatter and fatter since he arrived.

He was a size bigger than before, with a thick coat of fur.

But he didn’t shed much, and Cat Boss was still just as agile as ever.

The little guy loved to pop out of nowhere and snuggle up against Yun Jiao while she slept.

Her two dogs also loved to press up against her, but now that they were grown, they were too big to fit on the small recliner.

Yun Jiao’s body had a natural coolness to it in hot weather, especially in the mornings.

That was why the furry cats and dogs loved snuggling up to her—it felt so comfortable.

Rubbing her eyes, Yun Jiao yawned and got up.

Her parents weren’t around; she figured they had gone out to work.

She didn’t leave the house to look for them. Instead, she went to open the gate to the poultry pen.

"Baozi, Tang Yuan, take them to find some food."

"WOOF, WOOF..."

Wagging their tails, the two dogs dutifully began to herd the poultry.

Dabai, the lead goose, waddled out in front, following a familiar path away from the house to forage in their usual spot.

By the time dusk fell in the afternoon, Dabai would lead the chickens and ducks waddling back home, even without the two dogs’ help.

The two dogs, meanwhile, served as a deterrent to petty thieves, as there were still people in the village who would steal chickens.

Lastly, Yun Jiao fed the family’s rabbits.

The family originally had two rabbits, one black and one white. The white one was the doe.

Sometimes, Yun Jiao would take the two rabbits with her to roam the mountain forests.

At some point, the white rabbit got pregnant.

Before they knew it, she had given birth to a whole litter of kits.

And that’s when Yun Jiao truly came to understand how fast rabbits reproduce.

There was no longer any need for Cat Boss to go hunting. They had more rabbit meat than they could eat. Way more!

Yun Jiao had grown attached to the original two rabbits while raising them and couldn’t bear to eat them, but the rest weren’t so fortunate.

As Yun Jiao was squatting in front of the cages feeding the rabbits vegetable leaves, Wang Mei and Shen Yunlian returned with baskets full of grass on their backs.

It was all food for the rabbits.

The rabbit cages had been built by Yun Chenbei. They were cleaned thoroughly every day, but even so, with so many rabbits eating, drinking, and relieving themselves around the clock, there was still an unpleasant smell.

Yun Jiao found it rather disgusting, so she rarely came to feed the rabbits anymore.

Wang Mei walked over, and just as she was about to toss the grass into a cage, her eyes fixed on something. With deft movements, she snatched up a gray rabbit.

"Good heavens, how is another one pregnant? Look at this belly! She must be ready to give birth any day now!"

Yun Jiao leaned in to feel the rabbit’s belly. It was bulging, and it felt like something was moving inside.

’Yep... there are definitely kits in there.’

"We’re running out of room in these cages."

Fortunately, the plot of land they had chosen was spacious, and the rabbit cages were kept in a separate area near the bamboo grove.

The family now had three rabbit cages, each a rectangular hutch about two meters long.

And each cage held a good ten or so rabbits.

"These little critters breed way too fast," Wang Mei said. "Tomorrow, we’ll take a few to your grandaunt’s family. There’s no way we can eat them all."

Yun Jiao nodded.

After feeding the rabbits, Yun Jiao rode her little bike, wandering around the area with Cat Boss.

When Yun Linhai got back, they took the large shrimp and the bundled crabs, borrowed a foam box filled with ice from Uncle Wang, and placed an East Star Spot and a Qingyi fish inside as well.

"Let’s go, Jiaojiao. Time to see your master and Grandpa Gu."

Yun Jiao answered obediently. Her hair was done in a pretty little braid, and she was lifted onto the back of the motorcycle.

Yun Linhai gripped the handlebars and started the engine, which rumbled to life.

As they reached the village entrance, he gave a quick greeting to the people sitting under a tree and continued on his way.

The people at the village entrance, young and old, all craned their necks to watch, envy glinting in many of their eyes.

"How much money do you think Lin Hai’s family has made? You hardly ever see Yunlian and Wang Mei out foraging by the sea these days."

"More than that, the whole family has filled out. I see those two brothers of theirs riding their motorcycles out of the village every day."

"I wonder when Chendong and his brothers are going to find wives."

In the past, Yun Linhai’s family was notoriously poor, and families with eligible daughters wouldn’t even consider their sons for marriage.

But now, their lives had visibly improved. With Yun Chendong and Yun Chenxi both in the army, their sons had suddenly become the most sought-after bachelors in the village.

Even though the boys weren’t home, people were still visiting Shen Yunlian, hoping to build a good relationship so she might put in a good word for them with her two sons.

Anyone who married into the Yun family was guaranteed a good life ahead of them.