Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Physical Examination Results
Yun Jiao admired the fishtail-shaped pearl for a moment, then handed it to Shen Yunlian.
"Mommy, keep this for Jiaojiao."
She was afraid she’d lose it without even realizing it.
’I’ll have to ask Fourth Brother to make me a pretty little box. Then I can put all my favorite things inside.’
Shen Yunlian took it. "Let’s not sell this pearl. It’s not round, so it probably won’t fetch a high price. We should make it into a necklace for Jiaojiao."
The pearl’s shape and color were both beautiful; she thought it was perfect for Jiaojiao.
"Alright. You hold onto it for now. It was Jiaojiao’s to begin with."
The Flame Pearl that Yun Jiao had found before was sold to build the family’s house. They weren’t in such a desperate need of money now, so they could keep this pearl for her.
No one in the family objected.
And so, Yun Jiao received her very first pearl.
But she believed that she could find many more, even prettier pearls on her own in the future.
’Then there’ll be a pile for me, a pile for Grandma, a pile for Mommy, and a pile for Auntie.’
’And if Grandpa and my brothers like them, Jiaojiao wouldn’t mind sharing some either.’
As they were talking, Yun Jiao’s two older brothers returned.
But the expressions on their faces were clearly off.
"How did it go? Did you pass?"
Yun Chenxi clenched his fists at his sides. "Our spots were taken by someone else!"
His eyes were red, his voice filled with both anger and grievance.
Yun Chendong was more level-headed. "Don’t just say things like that. We haven’t gotten to the bottom of this."
Yun Chenxi retorted, "How are we supposed to get to the bottom of it? That Sun Ao came right up to us to gloat!"
"What exactly happened?!"
Mr. Yun’s voice was grave.
The previously cheerful atmosphere instantly fell silent.
Yun Chendong held back his somewhat impulsive younger brother and recounted the day’s events to the family in a heavy voice.
It turned out that when the two of them went to get their results, they were notified that they hadn’t passed.
Unwilling to accept this, they asked the staff member to double-check, but the man was rude.
Just as they were about to leave in disappointment, Sun Ao and Kong Zhen walked up and made a string of snide remarks.
Yun Chendong said, "From what they were saying, it sounded like even if we passed the physical, we wouldn’t have been able to enlist anyway."
Yun Chenxi’s voice was laced with fury. "Those two are the sons of a factory director in our county! I saw them during the physical. I could take on both of them by myself! If we couldn’t pass, there’s no way they could have. They must have stolen our spots and then came to rub it in our faces!"
"Otherwise, why would they single us two brothers out?"
If his older brother hadn’t stopped him, he would have punched those two despicable-looking jerks.
Wang Mei was furious. "How could they do that? No, we have to report this to the leadership."
"Report it how? They must have connections to dare to do something like this. How can we go to the leadership without any proof?"
The mood in the Yun family home became gloomy.
Yun Chenxi slammed his fist on the table.
"Are we just going to let it go?"
He couldn’t accept his dream being crushed by such petty people.
While everyone was silent with grim faces, Yun Jiao suddenly spoke up, "Find Uncle Wang."
All eyes turned to her.
"Uncle Wang. That grandma."
It dawned on Yun Linhai, and he immediately knew who his daughter was talking about.
"You mean... Director Wang?"
They only knew that Wang Jianlin was a director, but not his specific position.
Yun Jiao nodded.
Yun Linhai looked troubled. "Well... to be frank, we’re basically strangers who’ve only met once. Is it really appropriate to go asking him for a favor?"
They hadn’t contacted the Wang family since that one time. After all, he was a director, and they had only coincidentally helped his elderly mother. The Wang family had even sent so many gifts when they left.
They couldn’t just shamelessly try to cozy up to him and curry favor.
Mr. Yun gritted his teeth. "For my two grandsons, I’ll swallow my pride and go ask him."
Yun Jiao said, "Jiaojiao will go too."
Yun Linhai nodded. "Right, let’s bring Jiaojiao. The director’s mother is very fond of her."
It would be easier to talk to them with Jiaojiao there.
It wasn’t like they were asking the director to do anything illegal. They just wanted him to help check whether Yun Chendong and Yun Chenxi had actually passed the assessment.
But visiting someone meant bringing a gift, and the matter of what gift to bring became a new problem.
"How about we just give some money?"
"No." Mr. Yun shook his head.
"It would be bad if it was misinterpreted."
When it came to the gift, they were in a bind. They couldn’t afford anything too expensive, and an upright director like him wouldn’t accept it anyway. But if the gift was too trivial, they’d be too embarrassed to ask for help.
Yun Linhe scratched his head. "How about this? We go out to sea early tomorrow and check that island. It’d be best if we can find something good. If not, we can see if we can find some abalone. That’s a presentable gift, and since we’d find it ourselves, it wouldn’t cost us any money."
It was a good idea, and the family unanimously agreed.
"Let’s get to bed early tonight so we can get an early start tomorrow."
"I want to go! I want to go!"
Yun Xiaowu and the other kids eagerly tried to join in.
"Not tomorrow. We’ll be in a hurry and won’t have time to look after you little rascals."
"Who needs you to look after them? I can take care of myself! Besides, more people means we can find more things, right?"
"No."
Forcefully shut down by the adults, Yun Xiaowu and the others’ wish was denied. They were indignant, but a child’s protest was useless.
With a potential solution found, everyone’s mood relaxed a little.
Their emotions had really been on a rollercoaster today.
But no matter what, they still had to eat dinner.
When the dishes were served, Yun Chendong and Yun Chenxi’s eyes widened at the sight of steamed eggs with sea urchin and stir-fried abalone.
’Are we splurging or something?!’
Seeing their reactions, Wang Mei animatedly recounted their successful trip out to sea that day.
While they were talking, Yun Jiao was already holding out her little bowl, unable to wait.
Granny Yun scooped a large spoonful of steamed egg with sea urchin for her.
She sat on her chair, her short legs swinging happily. Taking her small spoon, she scooped up a bite of the tender steamed egg. The taste made her so happy that her big eyes curved into beautiful little crescents.
Watching her, the adults’ worries seemed to melt away.
"Jiaojiao, have a bite of this abalone, and then a bite of the steamed egg."
Yun Jiao opened her little mouth to accept the piece of abalone fed to her by her Fifth Brother. Then she stuffed in a mouthful of steamed egg, making her right cheek bulge out adorably.
"Super yummy!"
She was so content.
If there was one thing about becoming human that satisfied her most, it was all the delicious food on land.
’Humans are so smart. They can turn so many things into super yummy delicacies.’
With Yun Jiao there, the meal was relatively lighthearted, and everyone temporarily forgot their worries.
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