Chapter 430 - 414: Just Say She’s Mixed-Race (2)

He didn’t say anything more. He just told Yun Jiao to go offer incense to Mazu and all the other immortals.

Yun Jiao nodded. Hearing Daoist Qingfeng’s words, the others immediately broke into joyous smiles.

"As long as she’s okay, as long as she’s okay."

"Daoist Qingfeng, why don’t you come to our house for a meal today? Jiaojiao suddenly changed like this, and we don’t know how to explain it to people."

Daoist Qingfeng said, "Just say she’s mixed-race. Her other heritage just wasn’t obvious before. Now that she’s grown a bit, her eyes and hair are taking after that side of her bloodline more."

He was telling the truth, but of course, this bloodline was not some Western one.

"Foreigners are just people with blond hair and blue eyes, right? And some have red hair and green eyes."

Thanks to Yun Jiao, the Yun family had actually met a few foreigners, so they could be considered worldly.

But they had never actually seen anyone with red hair and green eyes.

"It’s best not to let her be seen by anyone for a while. After some time passes, it will be easier to explain."

"Right, right. The weather is getting cold, so Jiaojiao can just stay home. If she goes out, she can avoid people. It’ll be easier to explain after some time has passed."

Yun Jiao didn’t mind, but it meant she couldn’t go to school anymore.

But that was okay; the holidays were about to start anyway.

They sat on the mountain for a while longer before heading back.

After that, Yun Jiao’s routine became very regular. She studied and trained at home, and when she wanted to go out, she would avoid people by going to the sea.

When villagers asked about Yun Jiao, Granny Yun and the others would say she was sick and recuperating at her master’s place.

And so, Yun Jiao hid from people until it was almost the New Year.

The schools all let out for the holidays.

When Yun Chen Nan and Yun Xiao Liu returned from the Capital, they too were stunned the first time they saw Yun Jiao.

"What are you staring at? Don’t you recognize your little sister just because her eye and hair color changed?"

Shen Yunlian and Wang Mei were both combing Yun Jiao’s hair.

This was a newfound pleasure for the two of them.

Yun Jiao had become even more beautiful. When she sat there obediently, she was countless times prettier than any porcelain doll.

Oh, her skin was so fair and tender, her eyes were beautiful, her eyelashes were long and curled up perfectly, and the ends of her hair even had a bit of a natural wave.

She looked incredibly pretty and cute with even the slightest bit of dressing up.

The two women of the house were now enthusiastic about creating new hairstyles for her and coordinating her outfits every day.

Yun Xiao Ba and the other boys actually wanted to join in too. It wasn’t just girls who liked such a beautiful doll; boys did too, okay?

Unfortunately, the right to dress up their little sister had been monopolized by the two women of the family.

Having just returned, Yun Chen Nan and Yun Xiao Liu were fascinated by their sister’s new appearance. They spent almost the entire day hovering around her.

When they heard that Yun Jiao couldn’t be seen in public for the time being, they were a little disappointed.

After all, having such a beautiful little sister and not being able to show her off was just too frustrating.

"Time to eat!"

With that call, the whole family gradually gathered and sat down around the stove.

The steaming hot food was the most tempting thing for those who had been away from home for a long time.

Even though Yun Xiao Liu could cook some hometown dishes himself, and occasionally made them with his master, every time he came home and ate the food his mother and the others made, he still felt it had a special, unique flavor.

"Come on, everyone’s reunited today, only the eldest and second eldest are missing. Let’s have a toast."

"Cheers!"

Everyone raised their glasses.

Those who could drink had alcohol, and those who couldn’t had soda.

The New Year was almost here again. Once the year turned, it would be 1986, and Yun Jiao would be six years old.

It snowed in Sea City just before the New Year.

It wasn’t a heavy snow, but it was enough to be a pleasant surprise, especially for the children.

Waking up at dawn and seeing the pure white snow outside, they all clamored to go out and play.

The adults couldn’t argue with them at all.

Yun Jiao and her brothers put on their gloves again. They used up all the snow in the courtyard and even brought some in from outside to build two large snowmen, each a little over a meter tall, by the entrance.

"Come back and eat breakfast!"

As was tradition, after playing in the snow for so long, they had to drink ginger soup first.

There was some rock sugar added to the ginger soup, but they worried that adding too much would reduce its medicinal properties, so they only put in a little.

It still tasted spicy, but after downing a bowl, they felt their whole bodies warm up.

"We’re slaughtering the New Year’s pig tomorrow. Jiaojiao, are you going to see people tomorrow?"

Yun Jiao thought for a moment. "I’ll go to Master’s place and come back from there early tomorrow morning."

"Alright. We’ve been telling everyone you went to your master’s for treatment anyway."

So, after the meal, Yun Jiao sat on the motorcycle, hugging her dad.

The others wrapped her completely in a woolen blanket, not even leaving her head exposed, and then tied her to Yun Linhai.

That way, she wouldn’t be battered by the wind.

Riding a motorcycle in this freezing weather was truly miserable.

’I want to buy a car,’ Yun Jiao thought.

Yun Linhai put on his gloves, and once he was ready, they set off.

The cold wind whipped against his face. By the time they reached the county town, Yun Linhai’s face was frozen stiff.

Yun Jiao was well-protected, so she wasn’t as cold.

She quickly pulled her dad and ran into her master’s clinic.

She was dressed warmly at the moment, wearing a hat and scarf. As long as she kept her head down, people couldn’t see her clearly.

So she didn’t attract any attention.

"Master."

When Elder Xu saw them, he told his other disciples to watch the clinic and led the two inside.

Her fourth senior brother, Song Chengyou, teased, "The moment our little junior sister arrives, we all fall out of favor."

Her second senior sister, Qin Xin, glanced inside.

"If I had a disciple like her, I’d treasure her too."

’Even though I don’t know what happened with Jiaojiao’s eyes and hair, she looks so, so pretty.’

’It makes me want to take her home and raise her myself.’

’And she’s so smart, learns everything quickly, and is such a sweet-talker. She’s a total little sweetheart, who wouldn’t love her?’

"Master, I need to stay here for one night. I’ll go back tomorrow."

The moment Elder Xu heard that, he knew his little disciple was planning to show herself to people with her new appearance.

’She can’t stay hidden forever.’

"Alright. Master will take you back tomorrow."

He looked at his little disciple’s appearance and sighed with emotion. He really hadn’t expected her to be of mixed heritage.

’Actually, if I think about it carefully, Yun Jiao’s eyes were always a blue that was close to black.’

’You just couldn’t tell at all without looking closely.’

’Sometimes, you could see a hint of it from the side when the sunlight hit them.’

Yun Jiao said, "My family is slaughtering the New Year’s pig tomorrow. Master, come have the celebratory meal with us."

"What about my senior brothers and sisters..."

"Nope, they can’t go."

"Didn’t you see that huge long line of people outside? It’s been like this every day recently."

Now that the weather was cold, people in Sea City often had problems with their joints.

Rheumatism, gout... the lines of people coming for medicine, massages, and acupuncture were long every day.

Most of them were elderly.

Elder Xu was a kind-hearted man. With so many people, if the clinic closed for even a day, many would have made the trip for nothing.

Yun Jiao said, "Master, let me help you."

’Acupuncture is out. I can’t diagnose patients or write prescriptions yet either. Even if I could, no one would trust me. But I can do massages.’

Massages were a bit easier to learn than the other skills. They mainly required some strength and a deft touch.

And as for Yun Jiao, strength was the one thing she didn’t lack.

"Alright. Master will take you to give the patients massages."

Yun Jiao had learned how to give massages before. At home, she would give them to her grandpa and grandma.

Her skills were certified as excellent by the entire family.

Once Yun Linhai had warmed up, he said his goodbyes, went to buy some seasonings and dried goods his wife had asked for, and then headed home.

Meanwhile, Yun Jiao, wearing a face mask and a knitted hat, entered the massage room with her master.

The people sitting inside were already old acquaintances of Elder Xu.

These elderly folks trusted traditional Chinese medicine more than Western medicine, especially acupuncture and massage. Practically all the seniors in the county vouched for the Xu family’s clinic.

They were already surprised to see Elder Xu lead a little girl in, but they were even more shocked when they saw Yun Jiao’s hair and eyes.

"What’s with this little doll’s eyes and hair?"

Elder Xu let out a little "oh." "This is my youngest disciple. She’s mixed-race. Pretty, isn’t she?"

"She’s pretty, alright, but it’s just a little... strange."