Chapter 386 - 380: Freezer

The next morning, nearly all the elders of the Yun family, minus the younger generation, went to Xie San Niang’s house.

They had met Xie San Niang and her family a few times before. While not exactly close, they were familiar with one another.

This time, everyone was wearing new clothes to witness Yun Xiaojiu’s apprenticeship ceremony.

It wasn’t too complicated. After Yun Xiaojiu knelt before Xie San Niang and served her tea, he was officially considered her apprentice.

Yun Xiaojiu also presented her with the apprenticeship gift he had prepared.

When Xie San Niang opened it, she was stunned by the white jade hairpin inside.

"This... it looks like an antique."

Her fingers caressed the hairpin; she was clearly very fond of it.

’But something so valuable...’

"Teacher, I salvaged this from a sunken ship at the bottom of the sea. I knew it would be perfect for you the moment I saw it."

"I see."

Xie San Niang had also heard about Sun Yaotong and the Yun family salvaging the shipwreck.

’In that case, I can use it without worry.’

She was also very fond of antiques like these, especially jade and Jadeite.

But she didn’t know how to appraise them and was afraid of buying grave goods.

Some grave goods were poisonous if not cleaned properly.

But there was no such concern with items salvaged from a shipwreck.

She also gave Yun Xiaojiu a gift in return.

A set of opera costumes.

However, one look was enough to tell the costume was made for an adult.

Her gaze upon the costume was tinged with nostalgia.

"I’m giving you this costume for now. When you’ve trained enough to be able to wear it, you can take it on stage."

Yun Xiaojiu kowtowed earnestly. "Thank you, Master."

Yun Jiao couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at the costume.

She had to admit, the costume was truly magnificent.

However, it was a *huadan* costume.

In opera, it was common for men with good singing voices and solid training to play *huadan* roles.

You could say that in opera, there were no men or women, only roles.

The most brilliant roles in opera were the *dan* roles.

After the apprenticeship ceremony, Yun Xiaojiu stayed behind.

Yun Jiao also stayed to practice the basics with him for a while.

But soon, screams and sobs echoed from the training room.

Watching from the side, Yun Jiao’s scalp tingled with fear.

’Now I truly understood just how lenient Teacher had been with me!’

Her Brother Nine, who had seemed so flexible when he practiced with her before, had no problem with splits or leg lifts.

But now, as their teacher pressed down on him to stretch his body, he was practically being folded in half!

Yun Xiaojiu burst into tears, wailing miserably.

Yun Jiao couldn’t bear to watch from the side, but Xie San Niang was cold and merciless.

"Hold on. This is just the beginning. You have much more to learn."

Yun Jiao: ’Thank goodness I didn’t become her apprentice!’

’Poor Brother Nine.’

When it was over, Yun Xiaojiu’s eyes were brimming with tears.

Yun Jiao shot him a pitying glance.

"Brother Nine, I have to go now. I’m heading to my Master’s place."

Yun Xiaojiu nodded, sniffing. "Okay, you can go. Just remember to come pick me up."

Crying was one thing, but he didn’t say anything about quitting or giving up on his training.

Yun Jiao nodded, then scurried away under her teacher’s gaze.

Arriving at her master’s place, Yun Jiao began her day of studies.

Meanwhile, Ancient was both thrilled and distressed after receiving the artifacts sent by his apprentice and the apprentice’s parents.

After inspecting them one by one, he sighed. "These will be a bit difficult to restore, especially the ancient books."

"I’ll do my best."

"But this is a huge undertaking. I can’t do it alone. I’ll have to call a few people to help."

Yun Linhe quickly said, "Please, take your time."

"Um, if we wanted to sell some antiques, would you be interested in buying?"

"Of course!"

He said with a broad smile, "Besides, my son is in this line of work. Just bring anything you want to sell to me. You’re all my apprentice’s family, so I’ll definitely give you a fair price."

’To be honest, I’m quite envious of my apprentice.’

’He has a capable younger sister who can salvage shipwrecks from the seafloor.’

’Finding shipwrecks in the ocean is no easy task. Those grave robbers can figure out the general location of tombs based on their knowledge of feng shui and geography.’

’But at sea, shipwrecks are random. In such a vast ocean, finding one is purely a matter of luck unless you know the exact location.’

’This apprentice of mine has a sister to completely back him up whenever he wants to study antiques.’

In the afternoon, Yun Jiao left her master’s place and went to find Brother Nine.

Yun Xiaojiu was currently in a vocal lesson.

When the day’s lessons were over, his legs were trembling so much that Yun Jiao practically had to support him as he walked.

Yun Xiao Ba also came over from his master’s place.

Yun Xiao Ba said, "Jiaojiao, Master said he’s going to take those things to the Capital to restore them with a few friends. I might have to go with him."

"Do you want to come along for fun?"

Yun Jiao shook her head. "I don’t think so. I have to start learning my medicinal herbs. I’ll be busy."

Yun Xiaojiu said nothing. He was too exhausted to even speak.

Yun Xiao Ba clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Bro, you have it rough."

Yun Xiaojiu hummed and grunted in agreement. ’Isn’t that the truth? And it’s only the first day.’

When Yun Linhai and the others came to pick them up, he fell asleep almost the moment he got in the vehicle.

He didn’t even wake up when they got home.

"Jiaojiao, come quick! Our family bought a freezer!"

Yun Xiaowu heard the sound of the motorcycle and ran out, pulling Yun Jiao along to see the freezer.

There were already popsicles frozen inside.

The molds were made from bamboo tubes, and the popsicles were really just frozen sugar water.

"Dad, you guys went and bought a freezer today?!"

This was a wonderful surprise. From now on, they could eat ice-cold treats.

Yun Linhai said, "We have a lot of things at home that need to be kept fresh, so it’s good to have a freezer."

"Hurry and open it to see if the popsicles are ready."

Amidst the children’s eager anticipation, an adult took out the few bamboo tubes.

They were ready!

The sugar water inside was frozen solid.

Yun Linhai and the others used a knife to split the bamboo tubes open, revealing a cylindrical sugar-water popsicle.

The kids held them in their hands, their faces beaming with joy.

Licking one while sitting under the electric fan was pure bliss.

Yun Xiaowu announced, "I’m going out to play!"

Playing was just an excuse; showing off was the real reason.

Yun Xiaoqi shouted, "Wait, I’m going too!"

After running to the main gate, the two of them ran back and flanked Yun Jiao, each grabbing one of her arms.

"Jiaojiao, come with us."

Yun Jiao protested, "But I want to stay by the fan!"

"Aiya, the fan will still be there. You can enjoy it when we get back."

Yun Xiaowu yelped, "Ouch, a mosquito bit me!"

’It’s almost evening, what’s the point of going out to show off?’

Yun Xiaowu had a lot of pull, though. He had basically become the king of the village kids.

He’d just stand at someone’s gate and give a shout, and kids would immediately come running out.

They moved with the speed of monkeys scrambling down a mountain.

"Whoa... Yun Xiaowu, you guys bought popsicles? But why do they look so weird?"

Yun Xiaowu said smugly, "We didn’t buy them. My family bought a freezer, and we made these popsicles ourselves."

As soon as he said that, he was met with the envious gazes of the other children.

Yun Xiaowu instantly felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him.

Yun Jiao licked her sweet popsicle and followed behind her Fifth Brother, watching as he called out one friend after another to show off.

He was like the moon surrounded by stars.