Chapter 267: Uninvited Guests

After the food was ready, Ancient returned to the shop and took them out for a meal.

Yun Linhai never would have imagined that the seafood he’d given Ancient as a gift would, by a twist of fate, end up in his own mouth.

But he had to admit, the ingredients they brought were top-notch, and the chef Ancient found was excellent. The seafood was incredibly fresh.

No wonder it cost so much more than other fish.

After dinner, it was getting late, so they had to head home.

Unexpectedly, the one who didn’t want them to leave wasn’t Ancient, but his grandson, Gu Chen.

"Jiaojiao, you have to remember to come find me next time. I’ll sing other songs for you."

Ancient didn’t hesitate to smack his grandson on the forehead.

"Don’t you go teaching Jiaojiao all that nonsense."

"What are you talking about? Grandpa, you’re being totally unfair! Jiaojiao wants to learn an instrument, and she’s a good singer. I was just telling her about a music shop."

Hearing this, Ancient looked on with approval.

"While I don’t like that band this brat is involved with—that’s not singing, it’s a public nuisance—learning an instrument is good for cultivating one’s character. It’s a fine choice."

"Grandpa, I already told you, it’s not a nuisance! It’s pop-rock music. It’s really popular with young people these days."

Ancient rolled his eyes. ’I really can’t understand the things young people are into nowadays.’

He’d once tracked the boy down to some underground club, but before he even got in the door, the deafening noise, which sounded like they were tearing the place apart, was enough to make him turn right back around.

When the boy came home later, he had chased him around the house several times with a feather duster.

Yun Jiao obediently waved goodbye to the Gu family’s grandfather and grandson.

It was already late by the time she got home. Her brothers were all back from school.

Tomorrow was Saturday, so there was no school. Yun Xiaowu and the others were ecstatic.

"Jiaojiao, did you bring us any snacks?"

Yun Jiao nodded, taking out a few glutinous rice cakes coated in soybean flour and handing them over.

"I knew you were the best, Jiaojiao!"

The siblings each took a rice cake and sat in a row on the doorstep, giggling and playfully sharing bites.

Before bed, it was time for a foot soak, and Yun Xiaowu and his brothers all fought to soak their feet with her.

In the end, they formed a circle around the foot basin, which was so crowded there was barely any room left for their feet.

Yun Jiao’s feet were the prettiest. Contrasted with her brothers’ tanned skin, hers looked as smooth as peeled eggs, with a faint pink hue on her toes and joints that was simply lovely.

After the soak, a yawning Yun Jiao was picked up by her dad.

"Off we go, time for bed."

Lying in her own little bed, Yun Jiao kicked her feet up and down, rubbing the two beautiful bracelets against her small face before hugging them and blissfully drifting off to sleep.

「The next day, as planned, they went to buy piglets.」

Actually, the pigs they were buying at this time of year weren’t really piglets anymore. After all, if they wanted them ready for the New Year, it was too late to start with newborns.

So, they had arranged to buy two half-grown shoats.

Each weighed around forty to fifty pounds.

This was Yun Jiao’s first time visiting Little Aunt’s family home. Since it was a holiday, Yun Xiaowu and the others came along too.

Her great-aunt’s family raised seven or eight pigs of various sizes and also tended to several acres of farmland.

Her cousin, Wang Hongfei, wasn’t home. Only Wang Mei’s parents, Father Wang and Mrs. Wang, were there.

When they arrived, the elderly couple had just returned from the fields, each carrying a huge back-basket filled with plants for pig feed.

Wang Mei hurried over to help them with their baskets.

At the same time, she couldn’t stop complaining, "Why are the two of you raising so many pigs by yourselves? You don’t even get a break under this hot sun. If you work yourselves sick, won’t doctor’s bills cost even more money?"

The old couple listened to their daughter’s nagging.

"We’d just be sitting around idle at home anyway. If we stay busy, we can sell the pigs around the New Year. Each one will fetch a good price."

Wang Mei knew she couldn’t persuade them and could only sigh.

"Just rest for now."

When Mrs. Wang saw the gifts they had brought, she started chiding them as well.

"You’re here, and that’s enough. We’re family, why bring so many things? Take them back for the children to eat."

Of course, they had to bring gifts: flour, white sugar, and even a bottle of liquor and a large bag of milk powder—the kind specially formulated for the elderly.

Yun Linhai had bought all of it at the county department store the day before.

"We have plenty at home. These are especially for you."

Meanwhile, Yun Jiao and her brothers were curiously exploring the courtyard.

A patch of land had been cleared next to the Wang family’s old house, where common vegetables were grown.

"Great-aunt, Great-aunt, can we eat one of the cucumbers?"

Yun Jiao had her eye on the plump, juicy-looking cucumbers.

Mrs. Wang immediately nodded with a cheerful laugh. "Eat them! Pick them all and eat them."

"Thank you, Great-aunt."

After thanking her, Yun Jiao picked the large cucumbers, enough for herself and her brothers.

But there were only five in total.

Since there weren’t enough to go around, they broke them in half to share.

With one bite, the unique, refreshing fragrance of the cucumber filled their mouths, its texture crisp and tender.

Yun Jiao broke her own cucumber in half and shared it with her little aunt.

After a short rest, they went to see the pigs.

Yun Jiao slowly trailed behind the adults, nibbling on the last of her cucumber.

The smell from the pigpen was far from pleasant. No matter how diligently it was cleaned, pigs basically just ate, slept, and pooped.

And their poop was especially stinky, coming out in huge clumps.

But it also made for the best fertilizer.

Yun Jiao pinched her little nose and stood on her tiptoes outside the pigpen to peek inside.

Mrs. Wang and Father Wang were skilled at raising pigs. They all looked very healthy and were a good size.

Soon, they had selected a large white pig and a black-and-white spotted one.

However, getting the pigs back home was a problem.

Their motorcycle definitely couldn’t handle the weight.

They would have to borrow a tractor.

The group left the pigpen, talking and laughing. Mrs. Wang said she would make them sweet egg soup.

Yun Jiao was quite looking forward to it.

But just as they got back, a few people came in from outside.

"Mother, Wang Mei’s back! How come she hasn’t dropped by our place yet?"

A slightly plump woman with shrewd-looking eyes walked in.

Her eyes darted around, quickly landing on a motorcycle parked in the courtyard.

Yun Jiao’s family had ridden the motorcycle over, while the others had come by bus.

The motorcycle had caused quite a stir when it entered the village. When Liu Hong heard it was headed for her in-laws’ house, she—Wang Mei’s sister-in-law—couldn’t just sit by any longer.

And so, she had come over, bringing her two sons with her.

The two boys, who were about the same age as Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoqi, immediately started whooping and ran toward the motorcycle in the courtyard.

Seeing the newcomers, Wang Mei discreetly rolled her eyes, but since they were relatives, she put on a forced smile.

"Oh, it’s you, Sister-in-law. We only just arrived at my parents’ house, and look, you’re already here."

Liu Hong laughed. "Well now, Wang Mei, your family must be making good money! Buying a motorcycle and all. I heard about it but didn’t believe it. I can’t believe it’s really yours."