Chapter 301: Please Come for Dinner

"Tell your grandpa to come eat at my house. We have a lot of family over today, and we’re inviting you to join us."

For such a little girl, Yun Jiao spoke with great authority.

Then, she led her brothers around the corner to Yun Sui’s house.

Yun Sui’s grandfather was sitting by his doorway, weaving bamboo crafts.

This was the craft he relied on to make a living.

He was too old now to go out to sea or find anything good while foraging along the shore. What’s more, when Yun Sui was younger, he didn’t even dare bring the boy near the coast.

His grandson was already a bit slow and simple-minded; if he accidentally fell into the ocean, he wouldn’t even know to call for help.

He only felt at ease about it now because Yun Sui had gotten close to Yun Jiao and her brothers and often went foraging by the sea with them. Even though Yun Sui could be a bit dense, he now knew not to get too close to the ocean.

"Grandpa."

Yun Sui came bouncing home and showed his grandpa what he’d found while foraging.

"Grandpa, fish! Let’s eat fish."

Then he remembered that Jiaojiao was there too.

"Grandpa, Jiaojiao."

The old man squinted, looking at the children who had come with his grandson.

"Oh, it’s you, Jiaojiao. Come on in, have a seat."

"Third Grand-uncle."

He was Yun Sui’s grandfather, so based on seniority, they were supposed to call him grand-uncle.

"Third Grand-uncle, come eat at our house. We have lots of family over today, please come join us!"

The old man waved his hands dismissively. "No, I can’t. You kids go on ahead."

"Oh, come on, let’s all go together."

Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoqi went right up and started pulling the old man’s arms.

"Come on, come on, Third Grand-uncle! It’ll be more fun with you there."

Third Grand-uncle protested, "But my winnowing basket! I’m not finished!"

Yun Jiao said, "I already put it inside for you."

They dragged Third Grand-uncle and Yun Sui along with them back to their house.

Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe had also returned. They weren’t surprised to see the two guests and simply gave them a warm welcome.

"Third Uncle, you’re just in time," Yun Linhai said. "Let’s have a drink together."

The meal today was sumptuous, prepared by Shen Yunlian and Wang Mei. Of course, Yun Chen Nan had roped in his good buddies, his maternal uncle, and Yun Jiao’s two older cousins to help clean all the fish and mussels.

With so many people, they sat at two separate tables. They had also invited Yun Chenbei and his master, Mr. Mu, to join them. The adults sat at one table, and the children at the other.

Yun Linhai brought out a white liquor he’d gotten from the county and urged everyone at his table to drink with him.

The children’s table was much more boisterous; their chatter never ceased as they ate.

Yun Jiao clutched her little bowl and focused on her food. When it came to eating, she was all business.

’It’s a shame Sixth Brother isn’t here,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, we could be discussing which dishes are the best and how some of the others could be improved.’

"Jiaojiao, I’ll take you to the county tomorrow. It’s Saturday."

Yun Xiaoqi eagerly raised his hand. "I want to go too!"

Yun Xiao Ba and Yun Xiaojiu, not wanting to be left out, quickly agreed.

Yun Jiao swallowed the food in her mouth before replying, "The car can’t fit that many people."

"Then we’ll take the bus, or even walk! You can go ahead, and we’ll meet you there."

Of course, their main goal was just to wander around the county town.

Yun Xiaoqi patted his pocket. He had already saved up three yuan and was just waiting for a day off to go shopping in the county.

"You’ll have to ask Dad and Mom about that," Yun Jiao said.

Yun Jiao herself didn’t mind. She’d actually be pretty happy to have her brothers with her.

After dinner, everyone helped clear the tables, and Yun Chen Nan volunteered to do the dishes.

Yun Chenbei went to help him.

Chu An and the others swept the floor.

Shen Yunlian smiled. "They’re all such good kids."

When your children are so capable and considerate, how could a parent not be proud?

Chu An said, "Auntie, when are you harvesting your corn? Let me know, and I’ll come help. I ate my fair share of your food during the college entrance exams, after all."

Chu An put his sunny disposition and sweet-talking skills to good use, charming Shen Yunlian and Wang Mei until they were both beaming.

They ended up telling him exactly when they would be harvesting the corn and rice, inviting him to come over and visit often.

After everyone had finished the cool, crisp, and sweet watermelon, it was time for the guests to leave.

Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe offered to give them rides home.

With two motorcycles and a bicycle, their family was now considered quite well-off in the village.

The motorcycles made for quick transportation, and each departing guest was sent off with a share of the seafood.

Yun Linhai dropped Chu An off first before taking his two nephews home.

Meanwhile, when Chu An arrived back home laden with bags, he was immediately surrounded by onlookers.

It just goes to show, no matter where you are, village neighbors who have known each other for years are always a gossipy bunch.

"Anzi, didn’t you go to a classmate’s house to hang out? Why’d you come back with so much stuff? And who was that who dropped you off on the motorcycle?"

"What’s in all these bags? It looks like a ton of stuff... and it smells fishy."

Chu An’s parents were curious too. When they opened the bags, they were stunned—they were filled with mussels, sea snails, and more.

"Wow, and look at this huge fish!"

Although they lived in the same county, their village was a good distance from the coast. They usually ate local freshwater fish and rarely had the chance to eat saltwater fish.

Living in a remote area deep in the mountains, they rarely went into town to shop, mainly due to the inconvenient transportation.

On sunny days, it was manageable. The road was rough, but motorcycles and bicycles could get through. Rainy days were another story. Everything turned to mud, and even motorcycles would skid and slide all over the place.

Chu An grinned broadly. "This is all from my classmate’s family. I went out on a boat with them today."

"Oh my, no wonder you’re so red!"

Only then did Chu An belatedly notice the stinging pain. He lifted his sleeve and saw the stark contrast between the skin that had been covered and the skin that hadn’t.

Even for someone like him, who was used to working outdoors and wasn’t afraid of the sun, his skin was now painfully red.

’No wonder Uncle Hai told me to rub some medicinal liniment on it when I got back.’

"Haha," he chuckled, "I didn’t expect the sun to be so strong out on the water."

’No wonder the two Yun uncles are so tan.’

"We found all this on an island," he explained.

"I found a bunch of stuff myself, and they insisted I take some home with me."

Chu An did his best to answer everyone’s questions, right up until someone asked if his classmate’s family had any eligible bachelors or bachelorettes. The questions were starting to take a weird turn.

’Why are they trying to play matchmaker?!’

Chu An’s parents quickly dragged their naive, simple-minded son back into the house.

"Anzi’s only been to his classmate’s house once, how would he know about all that? Settle down, everyone, it’s getting late."

With all this seafood, they needed to process it quickly before it spoiled and went to waste.

Looking at everything, Chu An’s family marveled at the generosity. It was far too much to give as a gift.

"Anzi," his father said, "next time it rains, we’ll go into the mountains and forage for some mushrooms. Or we can hunt some wild rabbits, dry them, and make some cured meat. You should bring them a nice gift next time you visit."

Chu An nodded. "Okay! You guys have no idea how exciting my day was..."

Chu An gesticulated wildly as he told his family about his day, especially the parts about Yun Jiao diving into the sea to catch two massive fish, each weighing over a hundred pounds, with her bare hands, and a killer whale helping to push their boat. The tale he spun was full of dramatic twists and turns.

The Chu Family began to suspect their son might have gone crazy. Was he sure he wasn’t just making things up after reading too many fantasy stories?