The Emperor is Above

Chapter 16: Dark and Thin Old Man
"Is this Niu Niu's grandfather?" Qing Yi couldn't help feeling surprised.

The place you live in changes your mood and the food you eat changes your body. If a person is in a high position for a long time, he will be affected by the environment.

From Niu Niu's clothes, words, actions, and the precious crystals she carried with her, it was clear that she had a noble background.

Qing Yi guessed in her heart that her grandfather's identity was not simple, perhaps it was related to the change in attitude of Mao Sheng and Zuo Gongyu during the annual tribute ceremony, which was why he had such a good attitude towards Niu Niu.

However, the dark and thin old man in front of him did not have the slightest temperament of a nobleman. His face was full of the look of wind and frost. He was short and thin, without a single jade ornament on his body. He was only wearing a simple green winter suit with a sheepskin coat on the outside.

"It turns out that this guy is my girl's new friend!"

The dark and thin old man glanced casually, and Qing Yi felt his eyelids twitching and his spirit trembling. He immediately realized that the old man was not simple. He was definitely a strong man, at least far more stressful than the pressure brought by Maosheng, a seventh-rank lower-armor soldier.

"No, no, the new friend Niu Niu is talking about is Xiaobai. It's my new friend!" Niu Niu shook her little head like a rattle, held the little white fox high up, and corrected with a serious look on her face.

"Haha, what are you talking about, kid!"

The dark and thin old man was amused by Niuniu and smiled. His dark and thin face was full of wrinkles. He taught her seriously,

"The little fox's owner is the big brother in front of you. Since you are good friends with the little fox, of course you are also a new friend to this big brother."

"Oh - I know, Grandpa!"

Niuniu nodded, turned to look at Qing Yi, and said crisply, "Big brother, from now on we are also good friends. You invited me to your house to play, and you must come to my house when you come to the capital in the future."

“That’s natural!”

Qing Yi first responded to Niuniu with a smile, then bowed to the old man and said with a smile, "So the old man is a distinguished person from the capital. Niuniu is really a good child."

"Haha, I was just an old man who guarded the gate. How could I be a noble person? I don't deserve it!" The old man couldn't help laughing. His voice was particularly hearty and loud, attracting the attention of passers-by.

"Old man, my home is in Huaiqiu, fifteen miles southeast. If you have some free time, why not come and stay at my home for a while?"

Qing Yi clearly felt the goodwill conveyed by the old man. He was at least a fifth-grade warrior and came from the capital. Zuo Gongyu and Mao Sheng must have recognized his presence, so they did not dare to cooperate with Kou Rui in murdering him.

At this time, Daniu, Xizi, Huaimu and Chai Yong had piled all the New Year goods they had bought onto the sled, and the villagers who had bought the goodies also arrived one after another.

"In Huaiqiuli!"

The thin old man's eyes showed reminiscence, and he said slowly, "I went there 20 years ago. It wasn't called Huaiqiuli at that time. But I have something to do at home today, so I have to go back early. I can only apologize to you, little brother."

"grandfather--"

Niu Niu held the little white fox in her arms and couldn't help but cry out coquettishly, with a look of reluctance on her face.

"Hmm? What did grandpa teach you? A gentleman does not take away what others like. Since the little white fox doesn't want to follow you, you can't force it!"

The skinny old man patiently squatted down and advised, "After the New Year, grandpa will bring you to visit the little white fox. Niuniu, do you think this is okay?"

"Oh well--"

Niuniu still looked reluctant, but she still agreed obediently, "I want to send the little white fox to the car before going home."

Qing Yi became more and more fond of this dark and thin old man. Although he didn't know his identity and background, he was definitely a man of great cultivation, status, and financial resources.

Despite his status, he does not use his power to bully others. He behaves like an old man next door in every way. He has brought up his granddaughter Niuniu to be so well-behaved and sensible that people love her for her.

"Xiao Baibai, I'm going home soon. I'm giving you all these stone marrow amethyst queen honey. I'll come to see you after the New Year!" Niuniu reluctantly put the little fox on the sled. "Huh?"

The skinny old man couldn't help but let out a surprised sound. He squatted beside the sled and carefully checked it and knocked on it a few times. Then he stood up and asked,

"Boy, your vehicle is really weird. It has no wheels and is so huge that it can carry tens of thousands of pounds of cargo. I wonder how many miles it can travel in a day?"

"Old man, you have good taste!"

Qing Yi came forward and smiled and replied, "This vehicle is called a sled, and it is a vehicle specially designed for traveling on snowy ground in winter. If the wood is good, it can carry 20,000 kilograms without any problem.

As for how many miles you can travel in a day, it depends on the strength of the animals pulling the sled. My sled is pulled by four reindeer, and when I came to Maoqiuting, I could travel fifteen miles in half an hour, which was very easy. "

The dark and thin old man pondered and said, "You can walk fifteen miles in half an hour, and thirty miles in one hour. Even if you take a quarter of an hour to rest, walking six hours a day is enough to walk one hundred and eighty miles!

If we use the best camels as animal power, a sled carrying 20,000 kilograms of baggage can increase the efficiency of winter transportation tenfold."

When the dark-skinned old man saw the skis under the feet of Daniu and the others, his eyes were filled with more and more surprises: "Okay, okay, you are Qing Yi from Huaiqiu, right? Boy, you have done a great deed, and you should wait for good news at home."

"A contribution? Good news?" Qing Yi was a little confused, but the old man had already picked up Niu Niu and disappeared into the crowd.

Instead, Tu Shigu's eyes rolled around, and he slapped his head and said, "I understand what happened. After the autumn moon this year, 80,000 cavalrymen from Xianyu went south to besiege the border town in the northern border.

Yaqing Huo Yun was ordered to lead the army north to fight, but the snow this winter was much heavier than in previous years, making it difficult for carriages and horses to travel, resulting in difficulties in transporting many supplies. Now that we have your sled, it will be a great help."

"So that's how it is!" Qing Yi couldn't help but touch his chin, maybe it really could bring a lot of benefits.

"What a pity, what a pity!"

Tu Shigu couldn't help shaking his head and said,

"We are just commoners. We can't directly present the sleigh to the king, and we didn't fight with the army. If we don't have military merits, we won't get much credit."

"I didn't expect to gain any benefits when I made this sled. I just wanted it to be convenient and useful. Now that I have the help of this old man, I have nothing to be dissatisfied with for the unexpected benefits I have received." Qing Yi was very open-minded about this matter and didn't care about temporary gains and losses.

"Yes, yes, yes. We don't care about the gains and losses at the moment, so let's set off quickly!"

Tu Shigu didn't consider himself an outsider at all. He jumped onto the sled with his round body and said, "I'm anxious to see those wild wolves in your house. Don't ruin the good things."

During the next half hour on the sled, Qing Yi regretted meeting Tun Shigu. This guy was a born chatterbox and never stopped talking for a moment.

Brother, I will copy your sleigh later, Brother, your skis are great, Brother, why haven’t they arrived yet, babble, babble...
Finally, amidst the laughter of Daniu and Xizi, Qing Yi couldn't help but say, "Brother Shi Gu, if you don't shut up, I'm going to kick you down!"

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything anymore. I won't say any more--" Tun Shigu also felt a little embarrassed, but fortunately, the locust hill was already in sight at this time.

"Tsk tsk tsk, brother, your house is really shabby and simple, but these four big locust trees are really thick. The trunks are at least five meters high and two meters in diameter!"

Arriving at the entrance gate of the Sophora japonica hill, Tuan Shigu jumped off the sled and saw the four Sophora japonica trees in Yi's house. He couldn't help himself.
"You can ask someone to cut them down and dry them someday, and I can build you a new house. I guarantee your wife will be satisfied when you get married."

Qing Yi really couldn't bear to watch any longer. This fat guy's talent for seeking death had reached the extreme, and he even dared to provoke four powerful dragon claw locust tree spirits.

Tun Shigu didn't know that he had caused trouble yet. He was still looking around with curiosity in his eyes. In the blink of an eye, he fell flat on his face on the flat and clean street as expected.

However, Tu Shigu didn't bother to brush off the dirt on his body, and couldn't help but yell, "Who the hell is destroying such a good thing?"

(End of this chapter)