Jin Xiaoqi endured it with great difficulty. He finally waited until Fu Yu drove the donkey cart away before he shamelessly approached the grandfather and granddaughter again and said, "Xincí, can you let Uncle Jin have a look at the crossbow in your hand?"
Fu Xincí habitually glanced at her grandfather before obediently handing the crossbow in her hand to Jin Xiaoqi.
As Jin Xiaoqi took the crossbow with both hands, his first reaction was that he had finally seen the world today.
Fu Xincí didn't look at Jin Xiaoqi's expression and turned away with a nonchalant air.
In her heart, however, she was furiously complaining: This was the masterpiece of Uncle Sun and Uncle Xu. Uncle Xu had even reinforced it with his metal ability. If Jin Xiaoqi didn't drool, she would lose.
Grandpa Meng, however, directly confronted Jin Xiaoqi's face, which was almost drooling.
He thought to himself: Is it that serious?
If Jin Xiaoqi knew what Grandpa Meng was thinking, he would have impolitely told him: Is it that serious? He had already forgotten his father right now.
It had been a long while, and Jin Xiaoqi still hadn't seen enough.
Fu Xincí stole a glance and saw Jin Xiaoqi holding her crossbow, turning it over and over, looking at it endlessly.
She was secretly relieved that it was winter. If it were summer, her crossbow might have returned as a smelly crossbow.
Jin Xiaoqi: He couldn't be blamed for not seeing enough. The design of this crossbow was simply beyond human imagination. Both its appearance and material were perfect.
He even thought that if the Northern Frontier had a crossbow team like this, the Tatars would absolutely not dare to set foot on Ming territory.
However, these were not things he, a minor flag officer, could accomplish.
Alright, he would wait for the squadron leader to return.
Also, this crossbow belonged to Fu Yatou. He would have to ask the little girl if she was willing.
It was half an hour later when Fu Xincí got her crossbow back.
...
Today, Zhang Xiaonao and Li Sanpang were exhausted.
Seven horses, and then Jin Xiaoqi felt he had gone too far and personally took over to finish off the remaining horses. By the time they were all processed, the moon was already high in the sky.
Fortunately, the people from the two villages were still full of energy with the horse meat to support them.
Finally, it was Jin Xiaoqi who made the decision. The garrison kept three horses' worth of meat, and Old Man Wang's house and Second Master Meng's house each received one horse's worth of meat.
The remaining three horses' worth of meat was divided equally among the people of the two villages based on headcount.
With this, every family could get a basin of horse meat, making the people of both villages beam with joy.
The next morning, when Fu Xincí saw the frozen horse meat in her yard, she learned from her adopted father about the scene of people from both villages carrying horse meat home in the middle of the night.
Fu Xincí didn't feel envious. She hadn't seen it.
Last night, she had been sharing her experiences of shooting Tatars during the day with her little friends in the space.
The notes were passed around very quickly, and her little friends kept asking questions. Her fingers were sore from writing, but she still hadn't satisfied their curiosity.
Later, she also wrote on a note that she hadn't had practical combat or practiced for a long time, and her accuracy had decreased significantly. She had shot more than ten crossbow bolts, only hitting the ten-ring four times.
Uncle Sun saw the content of the note and took it to heart. He then spoke with Uncle Xu to discuss it.
"Old Xu, when we made that crossbow for Xincí, our ability levels were both second level. Now that our ability levels are close to fourth level, let's make a new crossbow for Xincí."
"I was thinking the same thing. However, the two of us should focus on upgrading in the next few days. Wouldn't it be even better if we both reached fourth level and then jointly made a new crossbow for Xincí?"
"Ah, you've thought it through. The two of us will work hard to upgrade these two days."
"Mm-hmm."
After the few companions heard them finish speaking, they didn't say anything. The captain then sent over many high-level crystal cores for them to upgrade.
Fu Xincí was unaware of the plans of Uncle Sun, Uncle Xu, and the companions. Today, she once again ascended the boulder with Qi He.
In the past two days, people had been fleeing to the Eagle's Beak Cliff garrison with their families in tow. From the survivors they had rescued, they also learned that the number of Tatars coming to Liaodong this year was greater than in previous years.
Grandpa Meng pondered for a moment and then thought of something. "Perhaps the place where the Tatars live this year is also like ours, experiencing a drought that occurs once in ten years."
Grandpa Meng didn't expect that he was right.
The climate in the Tatars' living areas was even harsher than in Liaodong, and they were experiencing a decade-long drought.
The grasslands had withered, and many cattle and sheep had died. After winter set in, there was even less food they could find.
Therefore, they had gathered people from several tribes to invade Liaodong together.
Jin Xiaoqi and Qi He, after hearing the survivors' words, didn't say anything verbally, but in their hearts, they were more concerned about the soldiers in the Eagle's Beak Cliff garrison.
Today, their first team had already handed over to the second team, and the other team members had gone home to rest. However, Qi He stood at the mountain pass, unwilling to leave.
"Brother Qi, let's go back."
"Sister Fu, you and Grandpa Meng go back first. I'll stay here a bit longer."
Fu Xincí looked at the corners of Qi He's mouth, which were obviously chapped, and after a few words to her grandfather, she said she would stay to talk with Brother Qi.
Grandpa Meng nodded helplessly and also instructed his granddaughter to be careful and not act rashly.
Grandpa Meng had a premonition that his bold and reckless granddaughter always dared to do things that others wouldn't.
Meng Qishan, Meng Yutang, and Meng Yuluo also wanted to stay but were sent back by Fu Xincí.
Looking at Qi He's lonely back as he stood at the mountain pass, Fu Xincí also felt a pang of sadness.
She could understand Qi He's feelings. Uncle Qi was his only relative, and he didn't want anything to happen to Uncle Qi.
She really wanted to take Qi He to find Uncle Qi and the others, but she didn't know where Uncle Qi and the others were.
After much thought, she suddenly thought of Xiaobai and, without further ado, brought Xiaobai out of the space.
"Squeak squeak." Xiaobai, lying in Fu Xincí's pocket, began to protest. In this cold weather, why did you bring this Bai out?
"Xiaobai, stop fussing, we have something serious to discuss."
"Squeak squeak." Humans have serious matters? Xiaobai looked at the human with great surprise.
"Xiaobai, listen carefully to me. I'm asking you now, answer me honestly, are you familiar with those eagles on the cliff?"
"Squeak squeak." Human, we're not playing games like this. Playing with eagles, are you tired of my life?
"You're afraid of eagles?" Fu Xincí asked, and only then realized she might have asked the wrong question.
"Squeak squeak." Are you afraid of Tatars?
"I'm not afraid of Tatars."
"Squeak squeak." Impossible, humans are bragging.
"I can also brag about camels."
"What's a camel? Is it tasty?"