Chapter 32: Chapter 32: A Pet Sea Turtle
The sea turtle quickly made its case: ’I hunt... for myself.’
’Good. As long as it can feed itself, that’s all that matters.’
With a bright smile, Yun Jiao said to her brothers, "We can bring it with us every day when we go beachcombing."
’Phew, that was close. They almost put me back in the ocean.’
"Hey, why is there such a big sea turtle here?"
The turtle had hidden behind a reef when the crowd arrived earlier. It only hurried out now that it saw Yun Jiao and her brothers were leaving.
A few people who hadn’t left yet saw Yun Jiao with the giant sea turtle.
Yun Xiaowu’s chin was so high it nearly touched the sky. "From now on, this sea turtle is our family’s pet!"
"’A pet?’ Where are you going to keep it? And does it even listen to you?"
Eager to show off, Yun Xiaowu immediately pulled his little sister forward.
"Jiaojiao, go ahead and walk for them."
Yun Jiao obliged her brother, shuffling forward slowly on her chubby little legs.
The sea turtle propped itself up on its flippers on the sand and really did follow her.
Everyone watching was dumbfounded.
Yun Jiao’s brothers stuck their chins out even higher with pride.
"See? This turtle really likes my sister, and it’s obedient!"
The onlookers were amazed and asked Yun Jiao to try walking a few more steps.
Though the sea turtle moved slowly, it was definitely following right behind her.
"That’s amazing! Can a sea turtle really recognize people?"
"Does it follow all of you?"
Yun Xiaowu and the others shook their heads. "No, the turtle only follows my sister."
"Do you know this turtle?"
"We cleaned barnacles off of it before."
"Why does it follow your sister?"
Yun Xiaowu said confidently, "Probably because my sister smells nicer. Jiaojiao is so pretty, animals have good taste too."
Yun Jiao said, "Brother, let’s go home."
’Stop bragging. I’m hungry.’
Yun Xiaowu hurried to catch up. "This turtle crawls a little slow. Why don’t we carry it?"
The turtle was large, but it was nothing compared to the killer whale. The brothers could manage to lift it.
"Grandma, look! We brought back a giant sea turtle!"
Panting as they carried the turtle, they ran back home and quickly set it down.
Granny Yun was cooking. She came out and was shocked at the sight.
"Why did you bring a sea turtle home?"
"Hehe, the turtle wanted to follow us on its own."
"No, it wanted to follow our sister."
Granny Yun circled the turtle. "You can’t eat this turtle."
At least, the people of Bailong Village didn’t eat sea turtles.
Not only were there legends about the Turtle Minister, but sea turtles were also known as a long-lived species.
Long-lived turtles were believed to have spirits. The villagers fished and killed fish to survive, but a lesson passed down through generations was to never kill wantonly or provoke spiritual creatures.
"Grandma, we won’t eat it. Do you have a big basin? We can raise it."
Granny Yun muttered, "How can we afford to raise it? It’s so big. We should put it back in the sea."
Yun Jiao expertly found some dried shrimp, popped one in her mouth, and trotted over on her short little legs.
"Grandma, it’s scared."
Granny Yun was confused. She looked at the big sea turtle, which was sitting in the room, perfectly calm and composed.
’What’s it scared of?’
Yun Jiao glanced at the large sea turtle, held out a dried shrimp in her fair, chubby little hand, and the turtle unceremoniously took it and swallowed it in one bite.
As the turtle ate, she muttered at its side, as if trying to brainwash it, "Since you ate this, you have to repay me with a big fish."
Then she explained to Granny Yun, "It led us to the killer whale, but we let the killer whale go home. It’s afraid the killer whale will beat it up if it goes back in the ocean."
Yun Xiaowu scratched his head. "Huh? Didn’t it lead us there to *save* that killer whale?"
From the way the scene had played out, those who couldn’t understand the turtle’s language had seen it as an act of mutual assistance between sea creatures. They’d even concocted a moving tale of brotherly love in their minds.
But in reality...
Yun Jiao made a circling motion with her small hands. "The killer whale is playful. It likes to spin the turtle around and around."
Yun Xiaowu and the others were speechless. Okay, they understood now.
"Wait a minute, how do you know that?"
Yun Jiao stopped talking and just stared at them with her big, innocent eyes.
Faced with that innocent, pitiful look, no one dared to ask again.
Yun Jiao broke into a happy laugh. Her fair little face, still chubby with baby fat, was soft and squishy. Her big, round eyes curved into clear little crescent moons, making her look irresistibly soft.
’So squishable.’
Yun Xiaowu couldn’t resist at all. He reached out and pinched his unbelievably cute sister’s little cheek.
’So precious!’
Yun Jiao’s smile vanished in an instant. She turned her head, trying to dodge his hand.
But on the other side was Yun Xiao Liu.
He, too, reached out a hand and slowly poked the soft baby fat on Yun Jiao’s cheek.
His poke created a little dimple.
"I want to pinch them too! Sister, why is your face so soft?"
The other brothers also gathered around.
Yun Jiao covered her face and quickly ran away.
’No way. Once my brothers start pinching, they don’t stop for a long time.’
Before she turned one and couldn’t resist at all, her brothers loved to touch her little face, her chubby hands, and her chubby little feet whenever they saw her.
They’d touch her face so much she couldn’t even control her drooling.
’I’m not letting them touch me anymore.’
Granny Yun laughed and called out, "Don’t run too far! I cooked some whelk meat today."
Upon hearing this, Yun Jiao immediately changed direction and ran toward Granny Yun.
"Grandma~"
Her soft, sweet voice was as endearing as could be.
Granny Yun couldn’t resist and picked Yun Jiao up.
"Come on, our Jiaojiao can be the first to taste one and see if it’s ready."
Yun Jiao happily swung her short little legs.
"Put me down. Jiaojiao will walk by herself."
’Granny Yun was getting old, after all, and she was quite heavy now. It would be tiring for her to be held for too long.’
After being put down, she followed at Granny Yun’s heels like a little tail.
Granny Yun put the cooked whelks into a basin.
"These are the smaller ones I picked out from that sack of whelks you all collected. Go on, eat."
As she spoke, she placed a small whelk in Yun Jiao’s hand.
She also put a small dish of dipping sauce in front of her.
This dipping sauce was Granny Yun’s own creation. Anything they boiled at home could be eaten with this sauce.
It made the already delicious seafood even richer in flavor.
Yun Jiao really liked the dipping sauce Grandma made.
"Brothers, have a bite."
Yun Xiaowu and the others didn’t eat. "There’s so little meat. If we eat it, you won’t have any left. You eat it. Besides, there’s more for us to eat during dinner."
The Yun family brothers weren’t the least bit jealous that Yun Jiao got to eat the good food first.
The elders in the family were a bit partial to Yun Jiao, but the brothers had also enjoyed being the favored ones when they were young. It was just how things were. After all, with limited resources at home, the elders could only show a little more favoritism and care toward the youngest.
Besides, Yun Jiao, in turn, was very good to them, her older brothers.
After Yun Linhai and the others returned, they delivered the workers’ meals to the new house that was being built, and the whole family sat down to eat together.
Yun Linhai took out the money from selling the whelks and the large yellow croaker that day and handed it to Granny Yun.
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