Chapter 432 - 415: Package from Home (Part 2)

"You know, Jiaojiao actually looks pretty good like this."

The villagers had seen foreigners before, so they weren’t entirely unworldly.

They were also very accepting of Yun Jiao’s mixed-race heritage.

Besides, everyone already knew Yun Jiao wasn’t Yun Linhai’s biological daughter.

They just wondered what her birth parents must have looked like to have a child like Yun Jiao.

Yun Jiao was quickly surrounded. "Only her eyes and hair color changed. That face is still the Yun Jiao we know."

"Her eyes are so vividly blue, almost the color of the ocean. They’re gorgeous."

"She looks even fairer now."

"How did a simple color change make her even prettier?"

"I never thought we’d have a mixed-race kid in our village. It sounds so cosmopolitan when you say it out loud."

The rejection she’d anticipated never came. Instead, everyone found Yun Jiao’s new appearance incredibly fascinating.

The village children gathered around her as well.

"Jiaojiao, your hair is so pretty! And it’s curly."

"Your eyes are pretty, too. Can my eyes and hair change to be like yours?"

Yun Jiao shook her head. "They can’t."

The children who’d wanted to change their hair and eye color were instantly disappointed.

Yun Jiao said, "Black is very beautiful too. It’s like black gems, and black gems are very expensive."

There was a black gem at an auction that was exceptionally beautiful and sold for a very high price.

"What’s a gem?"

Yun Jiao thought for a moment. "They’re kind of like pearls. You can use them to make beautiful jewelry."

"I know what pearls are! They’re really pretty."

"Are there black pearls?"

Yun Jiao nodded. "Yes, and they’re even more expensive than the white ones."

Plus, black pearls are very rare.

"Wow, then our black hair is pretty great too!"

Yun Jiao nodded. ’Of course,’ she thought to herself, ’any color would look good on me. A whole rainbow of colors would look good.’

Now that she had revealed herself, Yun Jiao could once again move about freely and openly.

However, her appearance was still too striking. Everywhere she went, people’s eyes would inevitably land on her.

With nothing much to do, Yun Jiao went out to play with her brother and the other village kids.

But the weather was cold, so they didn’t go far.

Later, Grandma Shen, Uncle Shen, and her cousin Shen Xiuyuan all came to visit.

"Jiaojiao..."

"Whoa! Jiaojiao, what happened to your hair and eyes? Why did they change color?"

Yun Jiao had never shown this appearance to her maternal grandmother’s family before. They didn’t see each other many times a year to begin with, and this year, Grandma Shen’s family had been exceptionally busy, giving them even less time to visit the Yun family.

Yun Jiao replied, "I’m mixed-race. I just grew a little older and changed."

Shen Xiuyuan and the others didn’t quite understand but were still impressed. They just thought she looked incredibly sophisticated and cool.

Still, his younger cousin looked genuinely beautiful this way.

"Jiaojiao, have a persimmon cake. My family made them. We sold a ton this year."

Shen Xiuyuan put his hands on his hips, beaming with pride.

At the mention of their family’s persimmon cakes, Shen Kuan and Uncle Shen also broke into smiles.

They hadn’t expected the persimmon cakes to sell so well either.

Especially as the New Year approached, even more customers showed up, many of them repeat buyers who came specifically for their persimmon cakes.

They said the color was beautiful and the taste was excellent.

While the money they earned was nowhere near the profits from leasing the mountain forest, this was only the first year.

If this trend continued, they were confident they could make back their investment.

The Shen family had brought a lot of persimmon cakes with them today.

Yun Jiao helped herself to one. It was a beautiful orange-red, coated with a layer of white bloom. One bite revealed a soft, chewy texture.

’Delicious.’

Poorly made persimmon cakes were often shriveled and dark, which was rather unappetizing.

’Grandma’s persimmon cakes really are the best.’

Grandma Shen said, "I sent some to Chendong and Chenxi a while back, along with some cured meat. Those two boys are having a tough time out there on their own. I hear it’s terribly cold up north right now."

The region where they were stationed was already bitterly cold, and life as a soldier was even more exhausting and difficult.

"Mom, when spring arrives, can I go visit my big brothers?"

Shen Yunlian was tempted by the idea.

But...

"What about school?"

Yun Jiao replied while munching on her persimmon cake, "I can go to school anytime, and I can study even when I’m not there. But this might be the only chance I get to see my brothers."

’After next year, my brothers will probably be assigned to different posts.’

’While they’re both still in Xinjiang, I should definitely go see them.’

"I want to go too!"

Yun Xiaowu piped up.

Shen Yunlian shot him a look. "Stay out of this."

"We’ll talk about this later."

They would have to discuss it properly another day.

Grandma Shen said, "It would be good to go see them. If this old bag of bones could travel, I’d want to go too."

Granny Yun added, "Maybe I should go for a visit too?"

Yun Chen Nan said, "No, Grandma. The altitude there is different from here. You’d likely get altitude sickness or have trouble adjusting to the local environment. It would be a huge problem if you got sick."

Granny Yun looked disappointed; she had really wanted to see the place where her two grandsons were stationed.

"I wonder if the two of them have received the things we sent."

Meanwhile, far away in Xinjiang, Yun Chendong and Yun Chenxi had just returned from a grueling mission, shivering uncontrollably from the cold.

A layer of white frost coated their hats and eyebrows.

Their lips were chapped and peeling.

The two of them had been lucky enough to be assigned to the same military region, though they weren’t in the same battalion.

Both brothers had been sent out on missions today and had returned at the same time. Along with their comrades-in-arms, they headed straight for the mess hall.

They were starving.

"Hey, Second Bro, did you bring the mushroom sauce?"

Yun Chenxi actually managed to pull out a small, half-empty bottle of spicy mushroom sauce from the pocket of his military greatcoat.

Instantly, it wasn’t just Yun Chendong whose eyes lit up; a couple of friends nearby were staring at it too.

"Brother, scoop some out for me."

That stuff smelled amazing and really made the plain food go down easy.

Grinning to reveal their white teeth, they all broke open the steamed buns in their hands and held them out to him.

Yun Chenxi rolled his eyes.

"A whole jar of this spicy mushroom sauce, and you guys finish it in just a few days."

Yun Chendong’s own jar had been finished long ago.

"I wonder if Mom and the family sent a package."

Yun Chendong’s tone was firm. "They definitely did."

They send one every year.

The others around them watched the pair with envy.

Their family sent care packages so frequently, and they were always full of so many good things.

Just as he said that, someone called out.

"Yun Chendong, Yun Chenxi! The political instructor wants you to come get your packages!"

The two of them quickly stuffed the rest of their buns into their mouths, leaped to their feet, and rushed out the door together.

"Coming, we’re coming!"

The smiles on their faces were unstoppable.