Chapter 405 - 399: Giving Gifts

"Mom, this is for you to wear. It’s a gift from Jiaojiao."

Shen Yunlian took out a golden bracelet.

Grandma Shen immediately waved her hand at the sight of it. "What would I do wearing this? No, I can’t..."

’This is gold!’

"Jiaojiao, you should keep this for yourself. Grandma can’t possibly wear this bracelet."

Yun Jiao tilted her head. "You don’t like it, Grandma?"

"I do like it. How could I not?"

’It’s gold! Who doesn’t like gold?’

"This is just too valuable. Grandma can’t accept it."

Yun Jiao pushed it directly into her hands.

"It’s not that valuable. Just take it, Grandma. I have plenty more at home. Mom has one, Auntie has one, Grandma has one too, so you need to have one as well."

Shen Yunlian rolled up her sleeve to show Grandma Shen the golden bracelet on her own wrist.

"Our Jiaojiao is so capable and filial. She gave all the women in the family these golden bracelets, plus earrings, necklaces, and whatnot. The men got gifts too, but theirs were gold figurines of their zodiac animals."

"Oh my, how much gold must that have cost?"

"Even if you’re rich, you shouldn’t spend money like this."

As a little heiress, Yun Jiao was exceptionally generous.

"Don’t worry, Grandma. I have a lot more."

Grandma Shen said, "You can’t say things like that outside. Be careful or people will get ideas."

Yun Jiao moved closer to Grandma Shen and grinned. She was already beautiful, and her smile was simply irresistible.

"I know, Grandma. I’m not that foolish."

"Besides, if anyone really does have bad intentions, I’ll knock all their teeth out."

Her words made Grandma Shen laugh. "Still, I really can’t wear this golden bracelet. I’m just an old woman from the countryside. If I wear something so valuable, won’t I just be asking to get robbed?"

"You know Ergou’s mom from the next village, right? His older brother set up a clothing stall in the city and made some money. He bought his mom a golden bracelet, a really thin one.

She wore that bracelet and showed it off everywhere, even parading it all the way to our village. But just a few days later, we heard she got robbed. Someone knocked her out from behind, and she had to be taken to the hospital. They still haven’t found who stole that golden bracelet."

Hearing this, Shen Yunlian and the others gasped. "That’s completely lawless."

Grandma Shen nodded. "Exactly. After Ergou’s mom woke up, she was wailing and cursing everyone in sight. But what could she do? She didn’t even get a clear look at who stole her golden bracelet."

Yun Linhai said, "That is dangerous, then. Mom, you should just find a place to hide the bracelet. If you need money later, you can just sell it. It’s nice just to have it at home and look at it in secret."

Shen Yunlian nodded. It really wasn’t safe to wear the bracelet out.

But they had no intention of taking it back.

"Why would you give us such an expensive gift?"

Although that’s what she said, Grandma Shen had a smile on her face.

Her children were filial, and her granddaughter was so filial too. Of course, she was overjoyed.

Yun Jiao said, "Auntie gets one too."

She took out another bracelet and pressed it into Aunt Shen’s hand.

Aunt Shen was startled. "No, no, I can’t possibly accept this."

Yun Jiao pushed it on her anyway.

"If you don’t like the golden bracelet, Auntie, what about this jadeite one or this jade one? See which one you like."

The jadeite bracelet was a beautiful "floating flower" type. Its quality was near-glassy, with snowflake-like flecks of blue-green floating inside.

The jade bracelet was a delicate, fine-textured white.

Compared to golden bracelets, Yun Jiao preferred jadeite and jade.

Of course, Yun Jiao also liked certain beautifully crafted golden bracelets.

She had several in her own collection.

Aunt Shen’s jaw dropped.

How long had it been since they’d last seen her? Little Yun Jiao’s level of wealth was beyond her comprehension.

"Well, in that case, I’ll take the golden bracelet."

’The other two look even more expensive.’

Of course, the most important thing was that the golden bracelet was durable; it wouldn’t break if she dropped it.

The other two, however, were another story. She’d be heartbroken if one of them fell and shattered.

Yun Jiao nodded and turned to give out the gifts for her grandpa and uncle.

Grandpa Shen’s gift was a pipe made of sandalwood, which was not only beautiful but also carried a fragrant scent.

Uncle Shen received a large thumb ring made of jadeite, a solid imperial green.

Her two older cousins each received a golden figurine of their zodiac animal.

Each was the size of a small child’s fist.

Shen Xiuyuan stared at the object in his hand, his eyes wide.

"Am I rich now?!"

The next second, his mother ruthlessly confiscated it.

"You’re still young. I can’t let you take this out and waste it. Mom will hold onto it for you, and I’ll give it to you when you’re getting married."

Shen Xiuyuan: ...

"What about Big Brother’s?"

Aunt Shen replied, "I’m holding onto your big brother’s too."

Shen Kuan didn’t object. He was afraid of losing such a large item himself.

This time, Shen Xiuyuan had nothing to say.

Yun Jiao giggled. Her own mother had also taken her brothers’ gifts, saying she was saving them as their marriage funds.

In truth, the main reason was that they were afraid the kids would sell the items and start spending money lavishly. That was a habit they couldn’t allow to form.

All the adults in the family agreed with this, and they usually controlled the children’s allowances.

Yun Jiao’s was restricted too.

Of course, these were just the gifts from Yun Jiao. The gifts from the others were still in the three-wheeler.

Outside, a crowd had gathered around the three-wheeler. Two dogs and a cat were vigilantly guarding the goods.

"Hey, that cat looks familiar."

"How could it not? That’s the ferocious tabby cat that used to be in our village. Didn’t it leave with Old Niu’s granddaughter? It hasn’t even been that long, and look how fat it’s gotten."

Having been called fat, Cat Boss flashed its claws at the speaker.

The person quickly said, "Did that cat understand what we said? I feel like it wants to scratch me."

"Looks like it does want to leave a couple of claw marks on your face."

Yun Linhai and the others came out, greeting everyone with a smile.

"Ah Lian’s family, what kind of good stuff did you bring this time?"

"What do you guys do to make so much money? Any good jobs you can recommend? We all watched Ah Lian grow up. Neighbors should help each other out, hehe..."

How shameless.

Everyone was thinking it, but they all perked up their ears to listen.

Yun Linhai laughed it off. "What jobs? We’re a family of fishermen. We just got lucky and caught a tuna a while back, sold it for a few thousand, and then a thief stole some of it. This stuff is all just fish and shrimp we caught ourselves from the sea. It didn’t cost much."

As he spoke, he openly showed them the contents of the tricycle’s cargo bed.

One foam box was filled with ice, and inside were three large frozen yellow croakers, along with some smaller ones and seafood like lobster.

Another back-basket contained things like dried kelp, dried mantis shrimp, shredded squid, and smoked fish.

"See? We got it all from the sea ourselves. It’s convenient since we have a boat. We just got lucky and caught this much."

The crowd took a look. Even though he put it that way, they were still envious.

After all, this was all meat. And those big lobsters looked expensive just from their size.

It was an incredibly generous load of gifts.