Chapter 325 - 323: A Gift and an Announcement

After breakfast the next day, Yun Jiao and the others went to Ancient’s antique shop.

Yun Xiao Ba was holding a box containing the gift they had prepared for his apprenticeship ceremony.

Just like with Yun Jiao, after the formal tea ceremony, Ancient officially accepted him as his apprentice.

He brought out two calligraphy sets.

"Here, these are for you. Since you’re just starting to learn calligraphy, you shouldn’t use anything too fancy. These sets are good enough. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, I’ll give you and Yun Jiao better ones."

"Thank you, Master."

Yun Xiao Ba’s voice was strong and resonant as he thanked him.

"Master, this is for you."

"Oh? You even brought a gift?"

Ancient chuckled and stroked his beard, then opened the box.

He stared at the contents for a few seconds, then slowly closed the lid.

As everyone watched in confusion, he murmured, ’Did I see that wrong?’

He opened it again. The porcelain shards were still lying there peacefully.

"HISS... This is... Song Ru Porcelain. And it’s real."

Having dealt with antiques for so long, he could tell at a glance that these shards were not only real, but from a piece of Song Ru Porcelain.

"Were these from a complete piece?"

Yun Jiao blinked. "I think so? They were all piled together when I found them."

"Where did you find these?"

Ancient cleared the table and carefully laid out all the porcelain shards from the box.

"I found them."

Yun Jiao answered with perfect honesty.

"What?"

The shard in Ancient’s hand trembled. After a few seconds of thought, he asked, "Did you get lucky at the Ghost Market?"

"No, I found them in the sea."

Ancient was speechless.

As if that wasn’t shocking enough, Yun Jiao continued, "There were actually a lot of these shards over there. I just brought home the ones I thought were pretty. For the broken ones, I just picked up a few with nice colors. Grandpa Gu, you like this kind of stuff, right? So I had my brother give them to you as his apprenticeship gift."

For a moment, Ancient was at a complete loss for words.

"You..."

’Could this kid have discovered an ancient shipwreck?’

But he didn’t ask. The matter was too private, and it would be impolite of him to pry.

"If you have any other broken pieces you don’t want, feel free to bring them to me. Grandpa Gu can repair them for you."

While repaired porcelain would never be as valuable as an intact original, it was still worth far more than ordinary ceramics. It was an antique, after all.

"Okay."

Yun Jiao nodded. "Okay, I’ll bring them to you next time, Grandpa Gu."

Ancient hesitated for a moment before saying, "If you find anything else in the sea and you’re not sure what it is, you can always bring it to Grandpa Gu. I’ll appraise it for you for free."

Yun Jiao nodded.

She didn’t really care whether something was an antique or not. She was all about the aesthetics.

That’s right. She was a shallow person.

For the rest of the time, Ancient suppressed his curiosity and led the two of them in their calligraphy practice.

The first day was mostly focused on the fundamentals: how to grind the ink, how to hold the brush, and the proper posture for one’s hands, shoulders, and back.

Once he felt he had taught them enough, he finally let the two children go.

After Yun Jiao and the others left, Ancient carefully packed the porcelain shards away in a box. He closed up his antique shop, and with his hands clasped behind his back, strolled off to find Yun Jiao’s master.

He had taken little Jiaojiao’s brother as his apprentice and was also teaching the girl calligraphy himself. He simply had to go and show off to that old man.

However, Ancient was also preoccupied with the thought that Yun Jiao might have discovered a shipwreck.

Of course, he wasn’t so shameless as to covet the items for himself. He was just itching with curiosity to see what treasures it might hold.

’And if there’s anything I take a liking to that the little girl doesn’t particularly want,’ he thought, ’I could always offer to buy it from her.’

’I wonder what era the shipwreck is from.’

Seven days after the money was given to the village chief, he called a meeting for everyone in Bailong Village.

As people gathered, they started asking around.

"What’s going on? They said every single household has to send someone this time."

"I don’t know. Nothing major has happened in the village lately, has it?"

"Even the Party Secretary is here. Don’t tell me someone’s family did something wrong and is about to get a public scolding."

"I have no idea. But it’s definitely not my family. We’re all honest folk."

Yun Jiao was there too, carried by her dad, with their two dogs trailing behind them.

"Lin Hai, Lin He, bring the children over here."

The village chief beamed and waved them over as soon as he saw them.

The Party Secretary’s eyes also lit up when he saw the family. He stood up to greet them, his welcome as warm as could be.

In an instant, every person gathered there turned to look at their family.

Yun Jiao was already used to this kind of attention and remained perfectly calm.

"I’ve called everyone here today for an important announcement."

Seeing that everyone had arrived, the village chief began his announcement.

"After some discussion, we have decided to expand and renovate our village’s temple and ancestral hall."

His words were like a drop of water in a sizzling pan of oil; the crowd below erupted.

"What? Village Chief, how could you decide something this major without discussing it with us first?"

"Exactly, Village Chief! Rebuilding the temple and ancestral hall will cost a fortune! Where’s the money coming from?"

"Don’t tell me we have to chip in. Village Chief, you know my family’s situation. We don’t have much to spare."

The discussion went back and forth. Everyone was willing to see the temple and ancestral hall rebuilt, of course, but the question was where the money would come from.

"Everyone, quiet down!"

The village chief’s son bellowed at the top of his lungs, and the rowdy discussion below gradually died down.

"What’s everyone in such a panic about? I’m not finished. You don’t have to pay for it."

They wouldn’t have to pay?

Now everyone was truly shocked. If they weren’t paying, how could the renovations happen?

"The reason we can rebuild and even expand our temple and ancestral hall is all thanks to Yun Linhai’s family—all thanks to Yun Jiao."

What? Yun Jiao again?

Countless pairs of eyes swiveled in unison toward Yun Jiao.

Yun Jiao shifted in her seat, trying to hide behind her brothers.

Although she was used to being the center of attention, she was still uncomfortable with these gazes that seemed to want to study her.

"Everyone knows Yun Jiao is an excellent diver. She saved Yun Tao, and she’s found several boats for families in the village. Her skills are plain for all to see."

That was true.

The village chief got to the heart of the matter.

"A few days ago, Yun Jiao came across a skeleton on the seabed. There’s no telling how many years it had been lying there, but Jiaojiao brought it ashore."

GASP...

Everyone suddenly looked at Yun Jiao as if she were a great hero.

’That little girl is truly fearless,’ they thought. ’She even dared to bring human bones to the surface.’

For people who worked on the sea, the thing they feared most was encountering the dead.

According to legend, if you came across a body at sea and didn’t give it a proper burial, you would be cursed with bad luck on future voyages.

But a body that had been in the sea for a while was not a pretty sight—it was barely watchable, let alone something you could bury.

A skeleton probably wasn’t as terrifying as a corpse bloated beyond recognition, but it was still more than enough to frighten ordinary people and give them nightmares.