Chapter 39 (1/2)

Following that, Yu Hai explained what had happened the last time they went to gather seafood. From beginning to end, he described how he resuscitated the royal prince and transported him over the treacherous reefs.  After hearing this, Old Yu's eyes had finally lifted from the ground and he slowly nodded his head. ”Good, everything you said is correct. Saving a drowning person is the duty of us fishermen. It is fortunate that the n.o.bles remembered this event. We certainly aren't the type of people to demand a reward for doing something good. In the future, we shouldn't bring this up again.”

She didn't expect her grandfather to have this type of wisdom. Yu Xiaocao felt she had a whole new understanding of the normally silent and taciturn old man, who had the voice of highest authority in their household.

Yu Dashan's expression finally turned clear and his face perceptibly relaxed, ”Second Younger Brother, I never would have thought you would have the kind of good luck to save a prince while gathering seafood from the beach. Although we're not the type of people to demand a reward from n.o.bles, we also shouldn't reject their good intentions, right? Quickly open it and see what good thing the prince gave you!”

Old Yu also glanced over at the cloth-wrapped object in Yu Xiaocao's hands.

This was the token of grat.i.tude that the royal prince's Head Steward gave to father, what does it have to do with you guys? Yu Xiaocao felt incredibly resentful but was helpless in this situation. Anything good that was seen by people outside their branch would never be left for them alone.

She inwardly sighed as she opened the wrappings on the small, yet heavy object. Inside were ten ingots of s.h.i.+ny silver neatly stacked together and a single jade pendant. Judging from the appearance, this token of grat.i.tude had been hastily put together. Although the texture of the jade pendant wasn't bad, it clearly wasn't a top-notch piece of jade. It was likely something that was usually used to reward servants and the like.

”The aristocrats are truly generous n.o.bles, look, they easily give out a couple hundred taels of silver. And this jade pendant must be worth at least around a hundred and eighty taels!” Yu Dashan clicked his tongue in wonder. ”Looks like we have enough money to pay Third Brother's studies for ten years!”

Yu Dashan felt faint looking at the glittering silver and the quality jade pendant. None of these were things that people in their household would normally ever see.

Yu Xiaocao sneered slightly. This money was given in exchange for her father risking life and limb to save someone from the hostile seas, okay? How is it that in the eyes of these people that the money had suddenly become Younger Uncle's schooling fees for the next ten years?

Old Yu reached out a large, calloused hand and gently caressed the translucent and white jade pendant. He glanced at his second son and then made a decision, ”This jade pendant is not something one can merely be bought with money. In the future, no matter how poor we are, we cannot sell this. It shall become a family heirloom, pa.s.sed down the oldest legitimate descendants of the Yu family, and serve as a memento for future generations to come.”

Yu Dashan's face froze. The Yu Family's oldest legitimate descendants? That didn't include him! Everyone in the family knew that even though he, Yu Dashan, had changed his surname, wasn't a blood and flesh relation to the Yu Family.

Madam Zhang was Old Yu's second wife and was the maternal cousin of Yu Hai's deceased mother. Back when Madam Zhang was newly widowed, she had been driven away from her husband's family. Out of kindness, Yu Hai's mother took her in. Later on, Yu Hai's mother pa.s.sed away from an illness and thus, Old Yu took Madam Zhang as his second wife.

The eldest son, Yu Dashan, was the son from Madam Zhang's first marriage and was only two months older than Yu Hai.

Oldest legitimate descendants? To put it another way, didn't it mean that Yu Hai was the oldest in the Yu family? In the end, wouldn't this mean that the beautiful jade pendant would end up in his second brother's hands?

Yu Dashan wholeheartedly didn't want that to happen but he wasn't in a position to object. Anything was better than the jade pendant being owned by Yu Hai, who he didn't have any blood relations to. However, he knew the circ.u.mstances were not in his favor. Even his tiger of a mother, Madam Zhang, couldn't change the old man's mind when he made a decision.  Yu Xiaocao felt her heart settle down after hearing this. The Yu Family's oldest legitimate descendants—that would be her eldest brother! Luckily, this good deed wasn't done in vain! At least her branch would have a jade pendant in the end.

However, the hundred taels of silver had slipped out of her grasp. If she had only been faster, she could have purloined a couple ingots. Yu Xiaocao cried inwardly: a hundred taels of silver is a lot of money!

Once they all arrived home, Yu Xiaocao saw that all of the s.h.i.+ny silver had disappeared into her cheap grandmother's purse and felt forlorn again. Madam Liu noticed her daughter's listlessness and couldn't help but feel Xiaocao's forehead out of worry that she was getting sick again.

The past three months were the most comfortable stretch of time that Madam Liu had experienced in the previous seven to eight years. Even though her workload had not decreased and she still got yelled at every day, her normally sickly daughter wasn't ill even once in the past couple of months. In fact, she was able to run and play like the other village children and even learned medicine from Doctor You.

In fact, they were always able to eat enough to fill their stomachs even though it wasn't always the type of food they craved. Furthermore, the children had also learned how to set traps and occasionally caught a couple of animals. They would cook the game outside and have a great feast, but they were filial and never forgot to surrept.i.tiously give some roasted meat to her and their father.

Seeing that her children's cheeks were rosy and that their once skinny bodies filling during bathtime, Madam Liu felt like their lives had finally turned around for the better.

”Dashan's wife and Dahai's wife, there was frost on the ground this morning. We should harvest the sweet potatoes tomorrow to store in the cellar.” After receiving the hundred taels of silver, Madam Zhang finally had a smile on her face.

Yu Hai doted on his wife, so he put down his bowl full of rice and interjected, ”How about us men don't go out to sea and instead harvest the sweet potatoes instead?”

After hearing his suggestion, Madam Zhang's expression immediately darkened, ”We only have three plots of poor and rocky land. I could harvest them all myself in my younger days. What's the point in postponing the true business of fis.h.i.+ng out in sea? You need to take advantage of the days you can go out before it gets too cold.”

Yu Xiaocao glanced at her miserly grandmother and thought 'This old lady really does love money! A hundred taels of silver would last us for an entire year even if we didn't continue to go out to the sea to catch fis.h.!.+ She's pretty much the female version of Ebenezer Scrooge [1]!'