“Wow, so great, so great! ‘Little Grey,’ from now on, your name will be ‘Little Grey,’ got it?”
In the backyard of the inn, a young girl excitedly hugged the neck of a grey-black donkey and said with enthusiasm. The donkey seemed to understand her words and responded with a couple of brays.
Hearing the donkey’s brays, the girl became even more delighted and gave the donkey a kiss on the head. She continued to hug the donkey’s neck, rubbing against it while saying, “You understand what I’m saying, Little Grey. You’re so smart, Little Grey…”
Watching the girl happily talking to the donkey, the two sisters, Han Rubing and Han Rushuang, and the inn’s waiter standing nearby all had a big drop of cold sweat on their foreheads.
Yes, the girl hugging the donkey and talking to herself was none other than our Meng Xiaoyu. Why was Meng Xiaoyu so happy? The reason was that in her seventeen years of life, she had never seen a real donkey. Although she had seen them on TV, it never felt real. So now, with a living donkey standing in front of her, how could Meng Xiaoyu not be happy? Moreover, this donkey would be her first mount in this world, which held extraordinary significance. Given all this, how could Meng Xiaoyu not be overjoyed?
“Is this girl okay? Why is she so happy hugging that donkey?” the inn’s waiter thought as he looked at Meng Xiaoyu.
Han Rubing watched Meng Xiaoyu’s joyful expression and shook her head slightly, thinking, “Is a donkey really worth getting this excited over? Although she had been talking about buying a mount for the past few days, why a donkey and not a horse?”
Han Rushuang remained expressionless, but she thought, “She just kissed that donkey.”
After Meng Xiaoyu finished her affectionate moment with her mount, she turned to the waiter and smiled, “Thank you, Brother Waiter. I really like Little Grey.”
Hearing Meng Xiaoyu call him “Brother Waiter” and seeing how cute and pretty she was, the waiter felt a bit elated and quickly replied, “No need to thank me. It’s my duty. As long as you’re satisfied, Miss.”
“Yes, I’m very satisfied. Brother Waiter, have you prepared the other things? If so, could you help me put them on Little Grey?” Meng Xiaoyu continued to smile happily.
“Of course, I’ll help you put them on right away,” the waiter replied immediately.
“Thank you, Brother Waiter,” Meng Xiaoyu said sweetly as she watched the waiter start putting the items she had bought on Little Grey.
One has to admit, our little Meng is a very polite child. However, her politeness seemed to have annoyed two other people. Seeing Han Rubing’s fox-like smile and Han Rushuang’s even colder expression, it was clear.
“The little one smiles so sweetly. Why have I never seen her smile at me like that? Seems like she needs some discipline,” Han Rubing thought with a fox-like smile. (Actually, Meng does smile sweetly at you too. Don’t falsely accuse her…)
“She kissed a donkey and smiled so sweetly at a waiter,” Han Rushuang thought with a cold face and a slight frown. (It’s just a kiss to a donkey and a smile to a waiter. Is it really worth getting so worked up over?)
“Why did you ask the waiter to buy a donkey instead of a horse? And what did you ask him to put on Little Grey?” Han Rubing asked with a smile.
Meng Xiaoyu replied, “Oh, because I can’t ride a horse, so I bought a donkey. The waiter is putting on a saddle, a harness, and some other small equipment for Little Grey.”
Just as Meng Xiaoyu finished speaking to Han Rubing, the waiter said to her, “Miss, it’s all done. Please take a look and see if you’re satisfied.”
Hearing the waiter’s words, Meng Xiaoyu turned to look at Little Grey. She saw that Little Grey had a blue embroidered blanket on its back. The blanket had two layers, with the inner layer being shorter and having two straps that went under Little Grey’s belly to secure it. The outer layer was longer, covering the inner layer and the straps. Little Grey also had a red string with a copper bell around its neck, which would ring crisply whenever Little Grey moved or shook its head. Its tail was adorned with a large red silk tassel.
Seeing Little Grey fully equipped, Meng Xiaoyu’s smile grew even bigger. She turned to the waiter and said, “I’m very satisfied. Thank you, Brother Waiter.”
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu’s happy smile, the waiter quickly responded, “As long as you’re satisfied, Miss. It’s my duty.”
Meng Xiaoyu then paid the waiter for Little Grey and its equipment, and even gave him a few extra pieces of silver as a tip before setting off with Han Rubing and Han Rushuang.
Why did only Meng Xiaoyu buy Little Grey as a mount while Han Rubing and Han Rushuang didn’t? Actually, Meng Xiaoyu had initially bought two more donkeys, but the sisters refused.
Why, you ask? Of course, because the sisters felt that as the grand masters of the Chaoyue Palace, riding donkeys would be too undignified, so they firmly rejected the idea.
Why didn’t Meng Xiaoyu buy a horse? According to Meng Xiaoyu’s official response: “A horse? Are you out of your mind? Didn’t I say I can’t ride a horse? And if they rode horses while I rode a donkey, wouldn’t that make me look bad? Plus, horses are much faster than donkeys. How would Little Grey keep up? Do you want to exhaust Little Grey?”
So in the end, Han Rubing and Han Rushuang continued to walk while Meng Xiaoyu rode Little Grey behind them.
