Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 271 The one Grandpa couldn't kill three times... Immortal Old Joe? [Seeking monthly votes]

As soon as he dialed the number, he heard a notification that the number was not in service. Clearly, this was another person who only accepted calls from the whitelist, something Zhou Yi was used to.

He switched to his grandfather's phone number and dialed again, and this time it worked normally.

Soon, a man's voice, with a Shanxi accent and sounding somewhat aged, came from the other end of the phone:

"Grandma Ji said you were old (deceased), so why can you still make phone calls? Has mobile network coverage been achieved in the underworld?"

Zhouyi: "..."

Are all the jokes from your older generation this outrageous?

He cleared his throat and said:
"Hello, I am Zhou Yi. My grandfather passed away three months ago. Before he left, he told me to repair the temple and to come to you if we lack building materials. We are now short three ridge tiles. Do you have any spares?"

Upon hearing this, the other party suddenly became polite:

"No problem, no problem. Baby, you must be having a tough time living in Yunwu Mountain. Uh, I'll ship it to you in a bit, and I'll also bring you a few bottles of my homemade aged vinegar. I guarantee you'll want more after you eat it."

Zhou Yi felt embarrassed to take advantage of the elderly:

"I'm so sorry, let me add you on WeChat and transfer the money to you."

"Don't give me money, just add me as a friend."

The other party provided their WeChat ID, which was then searched using the I Ching, revealing the old man's WeChat ID:
【Old Qiao's Authentic Shanxi Glazed Tiles】

After adding each other as friends, the two started communicating via WeChat.

“My full name is Qiao Yuejin, you can just call me Lao Qiao. I’ve never been good at anything in my life except making glazed tiles and brewing aged vinegar… Which palace is missing tiles? Different palaces use different tiles.”

As soon as we added each other as friends, Qiao Yuejin sent a long string of voice messages.

After reading his grandfather's notes last time, Zhou Yi thought this building materials supplier would be difficult to deal with, and he was prepared to deal with the cold-faced old man. He didn't expect the other party to be so enthusiastic, which touched him deeply.
"It's the Temple of the God of Wealth. Now, only the Temple of the God of Wealth is not yet finished."

Qiao Yue continued to reply via voice message:
"Your grandfather was pretty harsh on you. He's only building the Temple of the God of Wealth now. He must have been worried about money a lot these past two years, right?"

The Book of Changes: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Is there any necessary connection between this?

I was indeed short of money a while ago. Although things are a bit better now, I still don't have much money. I've only just barely scraped by a million. I can't compare to those big shots online who always say they're "in the US and just got off the plane."

Qiao Yuejin continued:
“It’s good for young people to suffer a little. When I was your age, I spent all my time in the kiln. When I was sleepy, I would drink a mouthful of aged vinegar to keep myself awake… The vinegar I brew is special. Don’t be disgusted, kid, try some.”

Zhou Yi replied:
"Once the aged vinegar arrives, I'll make a bowl of hand-pulled noodles and stir-fry some pork as a sauce."

These words really hit a nerve with Qiao Yuejin:
"Your baby is nice, I like him. Just say the word if you need anything, don't be shy."

After ending the chat, Zhou Yi put down his phone and was about to continue playing when he suddenly felt something was wrong... Even if Lao Qiao highly praised his vinegar, there was no need for him to keep urging me to eat it, right?

With the intention of gathering information, Zhou Yi sent a message to Old Lady Ji:
"Grandma, do you know a glazed tile maker surnamed Qiao from Shanxi?"

Grandma Ji replied very quickly:
"Yes, I know him. He had a good relationship with your grandfather. He was a master at firing glazed tiles. He was the one who fired the glazed tiles used in the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum."

Wow, this guy is a real expert! No wonder Grandpa recommended him; there's no such thing as a mediocre person in that little notebook.

Having confirmed that Old Joe was a big shot, Zhou Yi was about to end the chat when Old Lady Ji sent another message:
"If he gives you vinegar, never eat it. I once ate it and I was in a daze for several days."

The Book of Changes: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Did this guy add ether to the vinegar?
Grandpa, being a righteous person, although he manipulated Uncle Ming's fate, shouldn't be entangled with such a person. Could it be that Old Qiao is a bunch of old leeks that Grandpa painstakingly kept behind?
As a successor of the Taoist ritual implement making tradition, Grandma Ji knows many people in the industry, but they are all just casual acquaintances.

Zhou Yi chatted for a while longer, but when he realized he couldn't get any answers, he ended the chat and sent a message to Uncle Ming, asking if he knew Old Qiao, who made glazed tiles.

As it turned out, Uncle Ming had even worse connections; he had never heard of him, only knowing that there was an old man named Su in Shanxi who made glazed tiles.

They sounded like business partners, so Zhou Yi ended the chat and simply called the blind man.

Comparatively speaking, the blind man clearly knows more. Whether Old Joe is a leek left by his grandfather or not, it will be clear as soon as he asks.

Upon hearing the name Qiao Yuejin, the blind man on the other end of the phone immediately grinned:
"This guy is a real pain. Your grandfather tried to kill him three times but failed. He's known in the underworld as Immortal Joe."

Zhou Yi was immediately confused.
"Grandma Ji said he had a very good relationship with my grandfather, but is that exactly how good?"

You old folks always manage to come up with new and interesting ideas.

The blind man said:

"That old man is always throwing around vinegar, but no one else can tolerate his vinegar; whoever does will be in trouble." It seems Old Lady Ji isn't the only one caught in this trap… Zhou Yi asked:
"What?"

The blind man was quite familiar with Immortal Joe, so he started telling the story from the beginning:
"In the 1990s, Sun Dianying's son was elected as the president of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum Foundation. He proposed to rebuild the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum and asked Lao Qiao to help fire a lot of glazed tiles. This guy gained a lot of merit because of this. The aged vinegar he made also has merit. If we people who do not accumulate merit eat it, it will cause a series of bad luck... Hey? You kid are accumulating merit. You can jump into that aged vinegar and it will be fine."

Zhou Yi was shocked. Not only did Lao Qiao gain merit from the reconstruction of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, but more importantly, Sun Dianying's son was actually the chairman of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum Foundation.
The blind man felt that Zhou Yi's reaction was a bit too strong:

"My father uprooted the Manchu Qing dynasty, and now my son has built a tomb for the ancestors of the Chinese people. It's just the right time to use the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum to shield the Manchu Qing forces from their metaphysical retaliation. It's a good thing."

The Book of Changes asks:

"My grandfather was chasing after Old Joe because those vinegars contained good karma, and eating them caused him bad luck?"

"Yes, he was chased three times, but Old Qiao managed to escape each time. That's when your grandfather realized something was wrong. He borrowed my abacus and deduced that Old Qiao had accumulated merit, which was also in those old vinegars."

People with good deeds cannot be killed, and are very difficult to kill... Is this why my grandfather asked me to cultivate good deeds?
Zhou Yi couldn't figure out his grandfather's plan, but he found the old vinegar with merit to be quite interesting. He thought that people who didn't cultivate merit could have a couple of sips of it later, which would be absolutely delightful.

As they were talking, the blind man suddenly changed the subject:
"It's been almost twenty years, and you still haven't returned the abacus to me. Have you seen it?"

Zhou Yi denied it:

"No, I've recently figured out how to use the bronze mirror... My grandfather's magical artifacts are stored in many places, I have to find them slowly. I'll tell you when I see the abacus."

The blind man seemed to have given up hope and deliberately changed the subject:
"You've added Old Joe as a friend, right? On the day you receive the aged vinegar, remember to post one or two unlucky updates, pretending you've been infected, and then take the opportunity to ask for more aged vinegar."

Zhouyi: "..."

You've lost all your eyesight and you're still trying to trick other older comrades? Is that appropriate?

However, at that time, you can casually mention your bad luck, then praise the deliciousness of the aged vinegar and give Lao Qiao a five-star review.

If he's in a good mood and sends some aged vinegar... that's just an experienced chef showing concern for a young person, not something he's trying to manipulate.

Just as he was about to hang up the phone, the blind man brought up Xishan Cemetery again:

"The place is filled with a peaceful atmosphere now. Several wealthy families are planning to move their parents' graves there. You might take on a series of odd jobs soon, but don't ask for too low a price, or your grandfather's peers will laugh at you."

Zhou Yi agreed:
"Okay, I will charge the highest rate."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi walked out of the room and saw that Wu Meiniang was covered in sweat, so he quickly told her to stop.
"Stop working, wipe your sweat and take a break. Building a palace isn't something that can be done overnight, no need to rush... What do you want to eat for lunch today? I'll make it for you."

Wu Zetian said:
"I would like to go to town to eat some handmade cold noodles, may I ask for permission, Immortal Master?"

"Of course, change your clothes later, and I'll drive you to town for lunch."

Wu Zetian shook her head:
"Stop driving, let's ride the motorcycle instead. I like riding this."

Soon, she put her arm around Zhou Yi's waist and sped down the mountain. The two ate liangpi (cold skin noodles) and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), and each drank a cup of Mixue Bingcheng (a type of ice cream). Then they returned to the mountain and tidied up the tiles in the God of Wealth Temple.

On the other side, in the world of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty, inside the gunpowder workshop of the Military Equipment Bureau.

Emperor Huizong held the gunpowder granules made by the Chinese medicine granulation machine in his hand. He felt that they were not only firm, but also had a metallic sheen. He said as if he were possessed by Li Huowang:

"Hey, it's done!"

Ever since Li Qingzhao brought the pellet mill over, he couldn't wait to mix some black powder and even wet it according to the requirements in "The Evolution of Gunpowder".

After being kneaded by the machine, the black powder becomes uniform and dense granules.

After being left to dry for two days, it is now completely dry and ready for an explosion test.

He took a metal cup slightly smaller than his fist, first added some iron filings, then poured in the prepared black powder granules. Once everything was ready, he screwed on a specially made wooden handle and pressed it as tightly as possible.

There is a small hole in the middle of the wooden handle, into which the gunpowder fuse is inserted, close to the black powder particles. At the end is a crudely made fuse.

These are hand grenades that Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) painstakingly handcrafted day and night. In terms of appearance, they are not even as good as the border region-made grenades that Li Yunlong disliked.

But Zhao Ji was very excited. After assembling the grenade, he even wanted to hold it in his arms for a while.

The Military Equipment Supervision Bureau reminds you:
"Gunpowder is prone to misfire when squeezed. If an accident occurs, I will not be able to explain it to His Majesty. You should throw it away quickly."

If a prince is blown up so badly that he can't even be scooped up with a shovel, wouldn't that be like having too many members of his clan?

Zhao Ji laughed heartily:
"Don't worry, I made this grenade myself, it's impossible for it to betray its owner!"

After saying that, he yanked the detonating wire, grabbed the grenade, and flung it into the "test zone" dozens of meters away, timing the explosion with a stopwatch...

(End of this chapter)