A stunning mermaid dressed in the 1980s, the whole family lined up to pamper her endlessly.

Chapter 320 (Combined Chapter)

The village chief didn't know where to sell these things.

Selling it only for the gold is clearly not a good deal.

But Yun Jiao knew that Grandpa Gu would accept these things.

After returning home, Yun Jiao remembered that she still had the large suitcase she had brought hidden away.

"Father, Uncle, let's go find the treasure."

Yun Xiaowu ran over excitedly: "What treasure? I want to find it too! Sister, take me there!"

Yun Jiao: "It's a big box. I brought it from the sea. I've hidden it. I'm going to move it back."

"Where did you find it again?"

Yun Jiao nodded and then shook her head: "It wasn't picked up outside, it was from inside the sunken ship."

Upon hearing this, Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe said, "You bunch of brats, stop fooling around. Stay home and guard the place. We'll go and bring the boxes back."

This kind of thing can't be known by others, so it has to be done secretly, and the fewer people involved, the better.

Half an hour later, the Yun brothers, Yun Linhai and Yun Jiao, successfully carried the large box home.

"Strange, this big box is still so well preserved."

Everyone stood around the wooden box and looked at it for a long time.

"And it's very heavy."

Only Yun Jiao's extraordinary strength could bring this thing up from the seabed.

Yun Chenbei tapped the wood lightly with his fingers, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"This is not ordinary wood."

Yun Linhe: "That goes without saying. Just by the feel and sound, if it weren't for the fact that it looks like wood, I would have thought it was iron."

"You've been learning from your master for so long, can you tell what kind of wood this is?"

Yun Chenbei pondered for a moment: "My master told me about a type of wood that is as hard as steel. It doesn't rot when soaked in water or buried in soil, and it can be preserved for a very long time."

"If I'm not mistaken, this box should be made of ironwood."

Hearing him say that, everyone became even more curious about what was in the box.

The box was completely sealed, appearing to have no gaps whatsoever.

How do I open this thing?

I searched for ages, but couldn't find a single keyhole.

Yun Jiao patted the box: "How about we just force it open?"

Yun Chenbei's heart skipped a beat.

"No, this wood is rare, it would be such a waste to destroy it like this."

Yun Chenbei: "How about I go and call Master?"

"This thing should be a mechanism box; Master knows about these things."

Well, that's all we can do for now.

Before leaving, Yun Chenbei reminded her, "Jiaojiao, please don't break it. This wooden box is quite valuable."

Yun Jiao said, "Okay."

Yun Chenbei walked very fast, almost running to find his master.

She was genuinely afraid that his sister would dismantle his suitcase when he returned.

Before long, Elder Mu was practically dragged there by Yun Chenbei.

"You brat, you've almost made my old bones fall apart."

Old Mu grumbled and cursed.

Yun Chenbei chuckled awkwardly, "Master, look at that, isn't it ironwood? It seems to be a mechanism box."

Yun Linhe slapped Yun Chenbei on the back of the head: "Why are you in such a hurry? Look how tired you've made your master."

Old Master Mu only has him, and now he treats Yun Chenbei almost like his own descendant, so the two families have a very good relationship.

There's no need to hide the shipwreck from him.

After drinking some water and catching his breath, Old Mu walked toward the wooden box.

He only looked around once before finding the mechanism in an inconspicuous spot, and then, no one knows how he did it, but a crack appeared in the top of the wooden box after a few moments.

"Tsk tsk... It's so airtight, the things inside must be something special."

Old Mu knew something about the things Yun Jiao had retrieved from the sea.

Because they never hid anything from him, they just didn't say anything, and he pretended not to know or ask.

Moreover, some of the boxes were made of special wood that Yun Jiao herself didn't need, so she gave most of that wood to Yun Chenbei.

He's not blind.

Amidst everyone's expectant gazes, Old Mu opened the box.

"This is... fabric?"

That's right, what's inside this box is actually fabric.

However, even after hundreds of years, the colors of those fabrics remained as vibrant as new, and they even shimmered under the light.

It looked like the shimmering light on the scales of a sea fish under the sunlight.

"hiss……"

Old Mu stared at the fabric inside: "Take it out and take a look, be careful."

"Let's do it."

Shen Yunlian and Wang Mei washed their hands before carefully taking out the fabric from inside.

A clean cloth was laid on the table, just in case this thing got dirty.

"This, this fabric feels so soft, even more delicate than human skin."

This is Shen Yunlian and Wang Mei's most direct feeling.

"And the color is so beautiful."

"It's so thin, but strangely it's not see-through at all."

There are three colors in total. One is a sea-blue color, which has a misty feel and is very mysterious.

Another type is pearly white, but under the light, it seems to have flowing patterns on it, but you can't find them if you look closely.

There is another kind of pink that is close to rouge, but cannot be described as a color. It gives people the feeling of a graceful and beautiful young girl.

"I can't figure out what this fabric is either; I need to find a professional to take a look."

"There are six bolts of cloth in total. You should put them in that box first, and open it when you find someone who can see them."

Yun Jiao really liked these fabrics, even more than her collection of pearls.

"It looks just like mermaid gauze."

Mermaids' tears turn into pearls, and they can weave seawater into a fabric called mermaid gauze.

The former is true, the latter is neither true nor false.

Merfolk can indeed weave mermaid yarn, but not from the sea; instead, they utilize many rare materials found in the ocean.

The dyeing process relies on a type of pearl.

The fabric feels similar to the texture of silk gauze, but not exactly the same.

Like... a lower-end version of mermaid silk?
"Jiaojiao actually knows about mermaid silk?"

This surprised even Old Mu.

Yun Jiao mumbled, "Um, I forgot which book I read it in."

Old Mu had no doubts, only saying, "Legend has it that mermaids' tears turn into pearls and can be woven into mermaid gauze. I must say, this cloth really does look like mermaid gauze."

Yun Jiao's eyes widened. Wait, there are merfolk in this world?!

She quickly asked, "Grandpa Mu, are there really mermaids?"

Old Mu: "I don't know about that. It's just a legendary creature. But I've always wondered, since there are legends about it, could there really have been such creatures as merfolk? They just existed much earlier than we know about them. Back then, there was nothing to record, so who's to say for sure they didn't exist?"

Yun Jiao seemed to be deep in thought.

Old Mu waved his hand: "I should go back now. Don't let anyone else know about this. Find a reliable person to take a look."

Yun Linhai and the others nodded: "Okay, okay."

I need to give some instructions to my sons at home.

Finally, the pieces of cloth were put back into the ironwood box, and the box itself was moved to Yun Jiao's room.

That night, Yun Jiao was still thinking about what Grandpa Mu had said about the merfolk even as she went to sleep.

The next day, Yun Jiao asked her father to take her to Grandpa Gu's place.

Gu Lao is an antique collector, so he naturally has some knowledge of gold artifacts as well. Yun Jiao didn't hide anything from him; aside from the shipwreck, she explained clearly where these things came from.

Old-fashioned people in this field are used to this.

“Since you have taken him away from the seabed and laid him to rest, then these things are no longer considered bad luck.”

The old man examined the gold artifacts with a magnifying glass.

"The craftsmanship is excellent, and the gemstones are also quite valuable."

"So you mean you want to use the money from exchanging these things to repair your village temple and ancestral hall, right?"

Yun Jiao nodded.

The old man stroked her hair: "Good, a good child."

"I never expected that a child under five years old would have such a magnanimous spirit."

He felt a pang of regret; why wasn't this his apprentice?

Speaking of apprentices, Gu Lao thought of what the little girl had said before, about finding him an apprentice.

Let's deal with these things first.

These items cannot be valued solely based on current gold prices; they are antiques as well.

After the final assessment, Gu Lao gave Yun Jiao a number.

"I'll take these things; I can give you 60,000."

Yun Jiao's eyes lit up: "I believe in Grandpa Gu."

This money is enough not only to repair village temples and ancestral halls, but also to rebuild or even expand them.

"But little girl."

Old Gu looked displeased: "You're such a little liar."

Yun Jiao blinked. How could she have become a little liar again? She didn't!
"Hmph, didn't you say you were going to find me an apprentice? How come, we've known each other for so long now, and there's still not a trace of an apprentice in sight."

Yun Jiao remembered.

The little girl nervously picked at her fingers.

"Well, Grandpa Gu, you've met all my brothers, so who's your favorite?"

The older brothers were studying before, and then they really forgot about it.

"Oh, so they're your older brothers."

The old man stroked the tuft of white beard on his chin.

He thought of Yun Jiao's older brothers, each with a different personality, but it was clear that they were all well-educated and had a good relationship with Yun Jiao.

Let's leave the older ones aside. As for the younger ones, the fifth one has a restless personality and can't sit still at all.

Yun Jiao's seventh brother seems quite shrewd. Knowing that his grandson wanted to see orcas, he secretly did business by saying he could help get orcas photographed.

That kid doesn't seem like the type to settle down and do antique restoration.

As for the remaining two, we haven't had enough time to observe them to see anything.

"I'll call your eighth and ninth brothers over another day so I can take a look at them."

Yun Jiao nodded, still feeling uneasy, and gave some more instructions.

"Grandpa Gu, you can't force my brothers if they don't want to."

The old man was so angry that he blew his beard and glared.

How strange! So many people want to become his apprentices, but he doesn't want to.

This little one seems to care more about her brothers' opinions.

"Okay, okay, go away. I don't have that much cash on me right now, but you can come and get it the day after tomorrow."

Since it's going to be used, cash is naturally more suitable.

Yun Jiao stuck out her tongue: "Then I'm leaving, Grandpa Gu. I'll bring you something delicious next time."

Three days passed in a flash, and Yun Jiao took the raw marinated seafood made at home to distribute.

Master, senior brothers and sisters, teacher, Grandpa Gu, Uncle Wang's family.

These ingredients were all carefully selected by Yun Jiao from the sea.

Shen Yunlian's raw marinated seafood tastes quite good.

Those who have tasted this always miss it.

"Grandpa Gu, I've brought my two older brothers with me."

Carrying a large box filled with raw marinated seafood, Yun Jiao ran ahead with her short legs moving quickly.

Yun Xiaoba and Yun Xiaojiu followed behind her.

Old Gu was examining several broken pieces of porcelain closely; there were many such broken pieces on his table.

"coming."

Old saying: "Sit on the side first."

Yun Jiao didn't stand on ceremony. After putting her things down, she ran to his side to watch him work.

"Grandpa Gu, you collect these broken porcelain shards too?"

His ancient eyes were gentle, and his movements were also very tender as he touched the porcelain shards.

Don't you think they're beautiful?

“Porcelain is fragile. In ancient times, transportation was not convenient. Merchants who wanted to sell porcelain had to travel long distances to deliver it. Even if they were very careful, some pieces would still break.”

"These porcelain pieces are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also witnesses to history."

“Porcelain is fired differently in each era. Some of the porcelain made specifically for the royal family is the most precious. Of course, everyone has different preferences, so the styles and patterns made are also different.”

Yun Jiao initially listened with great interest, but later she started glancing at her eyelids, looking utterly bored.

ancient:…………

Well, this little girl is smart, but unfortunately she's not interested in this path.

Yun Jiao's eighth brother, however, listened very attentively.

As for the other one, he also had a bored expression.

"Grandpa Gu, may I take a look at this?"

Yun Xiaoba stared at the porcelain shards.

"Look, be careful not to drop it. This is a fragment of a blue and white porcelain vase. Once it's repaired, the vase will be even more beautiful."

Yun Xiaoba really liked the painting on the porcelain shard.

Yun Xiaoba really liked the paintings on the porcelain pieces that Jiaojiao brought back before, and even tried to copy them with a small brush.

But the ones I draw myself never seem to look as good.

Unfortunately, he's the only one in the family who likes this, and there's no one else he can ask for advice.

"Grandpa Gu, why do the flowers I draw with a pen not look as good as those on porcelain?"

"Oh? What kind of pen did you use to draw it?"

Yun Xiaoba: "A pencil for writing."

"Come on, draw one for Grandpa Gu to see."

Old Gu handed him a pencil and a piece of white paper.

Yun Xiaoba was not afraid. Holding a pencil, she leaned over the table and began to draw the pattern on a piece of porcelain.

Old Gu watched from the sidelines, and it all seemed quite convincing.

He asked casually, "Has Xiao Ba studied painting?"

Yun Xiaoba was so engrossed in her own world that she couldn't hear anything from the outside world.

Yun Jiao answered for him.

"No, Eighth Brother learned it by himself from a book."

"Grandpa Gu, do you know any art teachers? My brother likes to draw, and I'd like to find him a teacher."

Old Gu found their family's way of getting along strange.

This little sister is only a few years old, yet she's always worrying about her brothers.

However, this little one is quite farsighted; I reckon none of the adults in her family have thought of this.

"Is there even a need to look for it?"

The old man smiled and said, "My expertise lies in restoring ancient paintings and porcelain, and I am naturally good at paintings."

Yun Jiao looked at him with sparkling eyes: "So, are you going to take my eighth brother as your apprentice?"

(End of this chapter)