Chapter 446 - 427: Returning Home to Plant Rice

The weather was warmer on the way back than it had been when they arrived.

The sleeper car was much more comfortable, though it was boring just lying there.

Through the window, they could vaguely make out herds of sheep and cattle running outside.

It was a completely different landscape from the ocean.

"We’re finally here."

Their bodies felt stiff. Dragging their bags, big and small, off the train, everyone stretched, their joints letting out audible CRACKS.

"Jiaojiao!"

Yun Jiao heard the voice and looked over, but she couldn’t see anything.

She had good eyesight, but she was too short. At her height, her view was completely obscured by the dense crowd.

Suddenly, Yun Jiao was lifted up. Her line of sight shot upwards as she was seated on her father’s shoulders.

She instinctively wrapped her arms around her father’s head.

Now, she could see higher than anyone else.

And the people around could see her clearly, too.

Like a large doll being held up, her strange hair color, unusual eyes, and pretty little face attracted many stares.

But Yun Jiao’s eyes were fixed only on her brothers, who were squeezing through the crowd toward her.

She waved her arms.

"Brothers, I’m over here!"

Of course, Yun Xiaowu and the others saw her.

"Jiaojiao, hang on! I’ll be right there!"

But when they finally reached them, Yun Linhai immediately stuffed the luggage into the arms of his sons and nephews.

"Perfect timing. Hold these."

The Yun family’s children were all growing well. Nearly fourteen, Yun Xiaowu already had the look of a young man.

He glanced at the things in his hands, then looked at his small, soft-looking little sister and protested.

"Dad, can we trade? You carry the luggage, and let me hold my sister."

Yun Linhai immediately shut him down with his fatherly authority.

"Hold them tight. If you drop anything, see if I don’t tan your hide."

Seeing this, the others didn’t dare say that they wanted to hold their sister too.

Yun Jiao’s eyes curved into a smile. Just being with her family, even doing nothing, made her happy.

The weather here was much warmer; a single jacket was all that was needed.

Yun Xiaowu and his brothers had come by bicycle.

The bikes were only a little smaller than the heavy-duty adult models, but they were big enough for the boys now.

"Jiaojiao, you can ride on my back seat! I’m super steady on my bike now. Fifth Brother will give you a ride."

Yun Xiaoqi said, "As if the rest of us aren’t steady. Jiaojiao, don’t listen to his bragging. He just rode into a ditch last time."

"I was in a race, a race, you hear me? Of course I had to go fast."

"You rode into a ditch."

"Yun Xiaoqi, are you looking for a fight?!"

Yun Xiao Ba sneakily lifted Yun Jiao and settled her on the back seat of his bicycle.

"Here we go! Jiaojiao, hold on tight."

Yun Xiaojiu shouted, "You two, stop arguing! Brother Ba is taking Jiaojiao away!"

"AHHHH! YUN XIAO BA!"

Yun Linhai and Shen Yunlian watched the group of squabbling children with smiles on their faces.

Shen Yunlian said, "Wait, how are we supposed to get back?"

Yun Linhai exclaimed, "Those rotten kids!"

Yun Xiaojiu’s voice drifted back, "Dad, Mom, you guys can just take the bus home! Little Uncle and Auntie went to plant the rice seedlings and didn’t have time to come, and we can’t give you a ride!"

Shen Yunlian shouted, not truly angry, "Just get going, you lot!"

It was the middle of the rice-planting season. As the bicycles traveled along the paths between the fields, people could be seen everywhere, bent over and toiling in the paddies.

A cow, seeing the lively group on the path, let out a MOO in their direction. There were also chasing dogs, geese...

It all painted a picture that was perfectly ordinary, yet utterly harmonious.

As they neared Bailong Village, they started seeing more and more familiar faces.

They had to call out greetings to everyone they saw from a distance.

"Jiaojiao’s back!"

Yun Jiao replied, "Third Aunt!"

"Fourth Great-Uncle!"

"..."

Watching them ride away, the people planting rice in the paddies started to chat.

"Can you believe how capable that Jiaojiao is? She’s the one who bought her brothers all those bicycles."

"Not long ago, some people from the navy even came by. Said they were giving Yun Jiao some kind of reward, with money, too."

"Oh, right, the other day someone was asking me about Jiaojiao."

"Who was it? What did they want to know?"

"Just asking where her family lives, where she usually plays, where she’d gone... I didn’t recognize the person at all."

"That sounds a little sketchy. You didn’t tell them, did you?"

"Of course not! I chased them away."

"We should be more careful from now on. Don’t go telling any riffraff about Jiaojiao. I asked Master Qingfeng, and he said that with Jiaojiao here, our village will keep getting better and better. She’s our village’s lucky star."

"Huh? When did you ask him?"

"After Jiaojiao’s hair changed color. The village chief and the others went to ask him too. But you have to admit, ever since Jiaojiao came to our village, haven’t things been getting better and better? I heard we’re about to get a new road built."

"I heard someone came and donated the money for it."

"What? Who has that kind of money?"

"I don’t know. They didn’t seem to be from around here."

Yun Jiao was oblivious to all of this.

Right now, she was with her brothers at the edge of their family’s rice paddy.

Their family didn’t have much paddy land, and one of the fields was already half-planted with seedlings.

"Jiaojiao, don’t come in! You’ll get your clothes dirty."

But Yun Jiao didn’t listen. "If they get dirty, I’ll just wash them when we get home."

She wanted to help plant the rice seedlings, too.

When Yun Linhai and Shen Yunlian got back, they didn’t even go home first. They just rolled up their sleeves and went straight into the paddy to help.

With so many hands, they finished planting the field in no time.

When it was almost time for dinner, Shen Yunlian and Granny Yun headed back first to cook.

The rest of them moved on to plant the next paddy.

"Ugh, these stupid leeches!"

The most annoying part of working in the paddies was the leeches. The critters would latch onto your legs and suck your blood. They looked terrifying and disgusting.

Yun Jiao lifted her little calf to take a look.

Well, what do you know? Not a single one.

Even the leeches didn’t dare to get near her.

She proudly lifted her pale, little leg and waggled it in front of her brothers.

"I don’t have any! Even the leeches are afraid to get near me."

"Yeah, yeah, you’re the best."

Yun Xiaowu dabbed her face with his muddy, grimy hand.

Yun Jiao was not one to be outdone.

As the two of them horsed around, they knocked over the innocent Yun Xiaojiu who was standing nearby.

He looked completely baffled.

Then, he pulled himself out of the mud and lunged at the two of them.

"AHH!"

When the adults looked over, the children had already turned into little mud-men.

"Are you kids here to plant rice or to cause trouble? Just look at the state you’re in!"

Wang Mei picked up a stick, looking ready to teach them a lesson.

The brothers yelped and started running wildly around the paddy.

Wang Mei couldn’t catch a single one of them.

"You’re all such a handful! Get back here and finish planting this last batch so we can go home and eat!"

This time, they didn’t dare to fool around anymore. Covered in grime, they went back to planting.

They just looked at each other and snickered.

Yun Jiao laughed happily along with them, even though she was covered from head to toe in filthy mud.

When they were finished, everyone straightened up and rubbed their lower backs.

Planting the seedlings itself wasn’t tiring, but the constant bending over was really hard on the back.