Chapter 342 - 340: A Joyful Gathering

She shot her master a rather resentful look.

’Everything was going so well, we were so happy. Master, why did you have to go and ruin the mood?’

’What kid likes being quizzed by their teacher and having their homework checked?’

Seeing her expression, Elder Xu burst out laughing.

"Oh, you. Alright, I won’t ask anymore. Take today off. Come find me tomorrow, it’s time to teach you how to memorize the acupuncture points."

What Yun Jiao had to do now was pure rote memorization. Traditional Chinese medicine had a deep and storied history, but unfortunately, many of its legacies were destroyed during the wars.

Fortunately, Elder Xu had been perceptive. When he sensed something was wrong, he had hidden his family’s treasured books in a secret cellar that only he knew about.

He was able to live in peace thanks to some influential people he had treated in the past. Otherwise, with his status, he would have been arrested as well.

However, because of this, he was relocated from the bustling Capital to this remote region.

Most of the people here believed in Mazu, and the strength of their faith was enough to make even those people wary. Coupled with the remote location, the struggles here weren’t as intense as in other places.

After everything was over, he opened a small clinic here instead of returning to the Capital.

He felt this place was quite nice. As for the Capital, he would leave it for the younger generation to make their way.

But I digress. The point is, Elder Xu had a well-preserved collection of ancient texts on traditional Chinese medicine, which naturally meant there were many books to memorize.

Thankfully, Yun Jiao had an excellent memory. Otherwise, just memorizing the books would have taken her five or six years.

Yun Jiao nodded. "Alright, Master, I’m going to my teacher’s place now."

Elder Xu nodded. "Come back early. You can have lunch here."

"Okay."

Yun Jiao brought her teacher a rather large piece of Mao Changyu fish fillet.

Xie San Niang was even stricter than Elder Xu. The moment they met, she checked to see if Yun Jiao had been slacking off during their time apart.

Of course, she hadn’t.

Even on the island, Yun Jiao practiced her fundamentals every day.

It was good for her body, and she enjoyed the pleasant feeling of sweating after a workout, so she hadn’t slacked off.

After her inspection, Xie San Niang nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad. Keep it up."

"Have you decided which instrument you want to learn first?"

Yun Jiao was learning to dance and sing, so of course, she had to learn instruments as well.

And she was expected to learn several at once. She had finally gotten the hang of the vocal basics.

"I have! I want to learn the flute!"

"Why?"

"Because it looks pretty."

She could already picture herself standing by the sea, playing the flute, while killer whales or dolphins danced in the water to her music. She imagined how shocked and full of admiration the onlookers would be.

To put it simply, she wanted to look cool.

Of course, Yun Jiao didn’t know that term yet.

"Or a xiao would be fine too. Both are easy to carry around, so I can take them out whenever I want. The guqin, guzheng, and guitar are all too big. It would be inconvenient to carry them."

’It wouldn’t help me look like a profound master.’

Xie San Niang was speechless.

’Whatever,’ she thought. ’As long as she’s willing to learn.’

Yun Jiao studied with her teacher for two hours, then ran over to Ancient’s place.

Her Brother Ba not only had to learn calligraphy but also had to systematically study painting.

When she arrived, Brother Ba was painting, so she simply grabbed a piece of paper and practiced her calligraphy to the side.

Ancient appeared from somewhere with a small bottle of wine.

"Jiaojiao, you’re here. Your master sent someone to invite me over for a meal. Said you brought something good over?"

Yun Jiao immediately corrected him, "We didn’t give it to him, he bought it."

Ancient snorted. "What, you think this old man can’t afford it? Why didn’t you ask me?"

Yun Jiao thought, ’Can you not argue about everything?’

"I promised Master back on my birthday."

Ancient said, "Your master really is a sly old fox."

Yun Jiao thought, ’I can’t hear you. I can’t hear anything at all.’

The two old men often bickered like this. As a junior, she wasn’t about to get involved.

"That’s enough for today," he said. "Let’s go. Time to go get a good meal out of that old man."

Yun Jiao and Yun Xiao Ba immediately cleared the table, then trailed behind him like two little tails.

"Grandpa Gu, what are you holding?"

Yun Jiao asked curiously.

"Wine."

"This is the good stuff, my own prized collection. It’s a shame you two are too young to drink it."

Yun Jiao muttered to herself, ’Why do all adults like wine?’

’Oh, and cigarettes.’

「Elder Xu’s House」

A huge table was laden with dishes.

The sight made Yun Jiao’s mouth water.

Ancient walked in, carrying his bottle of wine with his hands behind his back.

"Well now, what’s all this? What’s so good that you were so eager to call me over?"

Elder Xu glanced at him. "Don’t you already know?"

Elder Xu’s house was quite large, and he had a cook who prepared the daily meals for him and his disciples.

This spread was clearly her work as well.

Although they were all simple, home-style dishes, without the flashy presentation of big restaurants, they were delicious.

"I can’t possibly finish such a big fish by myself. If you weren’t Brother Ba’s master, I wouldn’t have invited you."

Ancient held up his wine. "Then you wouldn’t get to taste my prized collection, either."

The two old men started bickering again.

Before long, Yun Jiao’s teacher, Xie San Niang, also arrived, along with Yun Jiao’s two senior brothers and her senior sister.

Everyone knew each other well, so there was no awkwardness. They all began to eat and drink heartily.

The moment the wine jar was opened, a rich, fragrant aroma filled the air, and Yun Jiao’s nostrils twitched.

She didn’t know how the wine tasted, but it certainly smelled wonderful.

So, with a fish ball stuffed in her mouth, she watched with longing eyes as Grandpa Gu filled all the adults’ little cups with the fragrant wine.

Even Xie San Niang got some, though not very much.

She had to protect her voice, so she usually avoided spicy food, tobacco, and alcohol.

But a small drink once in a while was fine.

At the table, only Yun Jiao and Yun Xiao Ba didn’t get any.

Perhaps because her stare was so intense, Ancient chuckled.

"What, Little Yun Jiao, you want to try some too?"

Yun Jiao nodded.

"It smells really nice."

"Hahaha... Well said! This wine is indeed fragrant."

He dipped his chopsticks in the wine. "Here, have a taste."

Yun Jiao licked it with her tongue and smacked her lips, but she couldn’t taste anything.

"It’s too little, Grandpa Gu. Give me a tiny bit more, I couldn’t taste it."

"That won’t do. Children can’t drink wine. You can drink it when you’re older."

Yun Jiao gave a dejected "oh."

Although she didn’t get to drink any wine, the table full of delicious food quickly cheered her up.

Sometimes, Yun Jiao was really quite easy to please.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they chatted for a while, and Ancient finally found out what treasure the old man had acquired that day.

"Aha! You got such a good thing and didn’t even let me have a look. I don’t care! Even if it’s gone, you have to let me see. Take me there now."

Gazing at the massive Yellowlip Fish maw, Ancient tsk-tsked in amazement.

"Little one, next time you find a treasure like this, consider this old man, alright?"

Yun Jiao nodded. "Okay, next time I find one, I’ll save it for you."

Only then did Ancient nod in satisfaction.

Ancient seemed carefree and brash, but he was actually very considerate.

He didn’t pressure Yun Jiao by asking her to definitely find one for him.

Yellowlip Fish were rare. The kid probably had a hard time finding this one. If he, upon seeing it, immediately demanded she find one for him, what a shameless old coot he would be.

But asking the kid to save one for him if she was lucky enough to find another—that was acceptable.