On the fifth day of the Chinese New Year, the sunshine that had not been seen for a long time finally came through the clouds, shining warmly on people.
The little donkey took Wang Danzhi, and Qian Shulan rode a bicycle alone to Fang's house in the county town.
When Wang Danzhi saw her mother coming, she hurried over to greet her.
After inviting the people in, Fang Yonglin pushed Fang Zhongjun to the door of the main hall.
Qian Shulan greeted the old man with a smile, "Uncle Fang, are you okay?"
Fang Zhongjun laughed twice, "It's fine. Please come in!"
After everyone was seated, Wang Danzhi quickly served tea and water.
Qian Shulan finally came back to life after taking a sip of hot tea.
Although it was sunny today, the temperature was several degrees below zero and it was freezing cold. There were no helmets in those days. Even though she was wearing a cotton hat, the cold wind still blew on her face, stinging her skin.
Wang Danzhi and Fang Yonglin went to the kitchen to cook. Fang Zhongjun smiled and said, "Later, I may have to trouble my niece to play a game of chess with me."
Playing chess? Qian Shulan's face turned bitter. Not only was this old man's chess skills terrible, he also loved to go back on his word. Playing chess with him was simply the biggest disaster she had ever encountered in her life.
Her face froze for a moment, and she was thinking of some excuse to refuse, when Fang Zhongjun added, "So that he won't always think he's a chess master."
Qian Shulan was stunned for a long time before she realized that there was someone else playing chess with her. "Uncle Fang, who are you talking about?"
Fang Zhongjun pointed at the donkey and said, "That's the grandfather of his blind date. His name is Jiang Chengwu. I wonder if you know him?"
Jiang Chengwu? Qian Shulan suddenly stood up from her chair and asked in surprise, "Jiang Chengwu?"
Fang Zhongjun didn't expect that she actually knew Jiang Chengwu.
She was an old rural lady who had no TV, no radio, and even fewer newspapers at home. It was really strange that she knew Jiang Chengwu. Suddenly, he remembered that she had a brother who had been a soldier, and he suddenly understood.
"It seems you heard it from Wei Han."
Qian Shulan laughed. Could she say that this person was almost a household name in later generations? Many TV dramas were written based on him.
Qian Shulan's eyes lit up. "Is he good at chess?"
Although she had heard of the name Jiang Chengwu, she was busy working whenever she had time and had not watched many serious TV series. So she really didn't know the plots of those TV series. Occasionally, she would read the free newspapers on the subway, which would introduce TV series, so she remembered them.
Fang Zhongjun nodded, "Not bad!"
There was something not quite right in the look in his eyes when he looked at her. It seemed like admiration. Could it be that this niece-in-law was treating that old guy as a hero
Then wouldn't his bullets be gone? Fang Zhongjun's heart almost sank. What was supposed to be a sure thing actually failed because of this.
He rolled his eyes and whispered to Qian Shulan, "He made a bet with me. If you can beat him, he will agree to marry his granddaughter to your grandson."
Qian Shulan frowned. Is Jiang Yingxiong so unreliable in private
Others hold martial arts competitions to find a husband, but he holds a chess competition to find a son-in-law. Isn't this too ridiculous? Shouldn't character be the most important thing when looking for a partner
Seeing her frowning and thinking, Fang Zhongjun became anxious, "Don't disbelieve me, he told me privately that he doesn't care about looks or family background, he only cares about IQ."
Qian Shulan rubbed her forehead. "If he's picking on IQ, shouldn't he let the little donkey play with him? What's the point of asking me to play chess with him?"
Fang Zhongjun was speechless. He spread his hands and said, "Who made him a good chess player? How could a little donkey be his opponent? Of course, we should ask the best chess player in the family to come."
Qian Shulan reluctantly accepted this explanation.
Before the meal was ready, the Jiang family arrived.
Qian Shulan quickly stood up, and Fang Zhongjun also called Fang Yonglin, who was busy in the kitchen, to come out to greet the guests.
Jiang Chengwu saw Qian Shulan and shook hands with her with a smile. "I heard from Brother Fang that you are good at playing chess?"
Asking this right after meeting? Qian Shulan completely believed Fang Zhongjun's words. He was really a chess fanatic. Maybe he could really do something like recruiting a son-in-law through chess.
Qian Shulan smiled and was about to ask, "I heard from Uncle Fang that..."
Before he could finish his words, Fang Zhongjun interrupted him, "You two should play one game first. We'll have plenty of time to chat later."
Jiang Chengwu was originally a chess fanatic. After he retired, he had nothing to do all day, so he fell in love with chess and asked professionals for advice. Whenever he heard of a chess player, he would go to the door to ask for advice, so his progress was very significant.
"Okay, let's play a game first. Let this lousy chess player open his eyes."
Fang Zhongjun snorted.
Qian Shulan laughed and could only play chess with Jiang Chengwu for the time being.
While the two were raining, Chen Jieying and Wang Danzhi started chatting.
Wang Danzhi is a relatively reserved person. She answers every question Chen Jieying asks.
"I heard from Shengnan that your production team's chicken farm is very large. Is that true?"
Wang Danzhi nodded, "Yes. We have expanded the scale this year. When the weather is good, we can produce more than 40,000 eggs a day."
Chen Jieying opened her mouth in surprise. More than 40,000? That's a lot. She tilted her head and asked, "How many chickens do you have?"
"Originally there were more than 60,000. All the old chickens were sold at the end of the year, and now there are more than 40,000 left."
Although Chen Jieying had never raised chickens, she knew that chickens eat grain. There wasn't much grain in the county town, let alone in the countryside. She was a little curious, "What do you feed so many chickens with?"
“We raise earthworms specifically for feeding.”
Perhaps worried that she wouldn't understand, he repeated the materials needed to raise earthworms.
Chen Jieying became more and more interested as she listened. "So chickens not only eat grains, but also earthworms? This is the first time I've heard of this."
"Of course, the yolks of eggs laid by chickens that eat earthworms will be yellower and taste better."
. . .
Jiang Shengnan took the little donkey outside to chat. Even though it was icy and snowy, the two young people didn't feel cold at all.
The little donkey thought about it again and again, and finally said, "I'm going to confess something to you."
Jiang Shengnan smiled and nodded, "What's the matter?"
"I had a partner before, and we broke up."
Jiang Shengnan vaguely remembered this incident, as if Aunt Qian was comforting her when she went back to buy eggs for the first time.
"You may not know that the reason she broke up with me was that her father thought I was with his daughter and that my intentions were not pure."
Jiang Shengnan said "Oh" and didn't react.
Did he say this had anything to do with her
Seeing that she was still confused, the little donkey said with relief, "Will your parents have any problems with us being together?"
Jiang Shengnan finally understood. She smiled and waved her hand, "You don't have to worry about this problem. Uncle Fang said that you are Aunt Qian's grandson and you are a good person."
The little donkey was stunned. Why was he accepted by the Jiang family because of his grandmother? Wasn't it because of his character that they trusted him
Although he was a little depressed, the little donkey was still relieved. After all, the other party trusted him and didn't think he had any other intentions.
"But my mother said that if we get married, we can only rely on ourselves and are not allowed to use family connections to move up."
The little donkey scratched his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "I am just an accountant. Where can I be promoted?" Chief of Finance? That's a college student who has been working for ten years.
How could he have the ability to push others out
The little donkey insisted that he should put as much rice as the bowl could hold. He didn't have the ability to do that, and even if he used his connections to get to that position, he still couldn't do it.
Jiang Shengnan nodded, "What you said makes sense!"
On Qian Shulan's side, Jiang Chengwu finally understood why Fang Zhongjun said that.
What does this mean? Why is it completely different from the routines he has encountered before
He kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and licked his dry lips. "Comrade Qian, who did you learn this move from?"
Qian Shulan moved the chess piece a bit and said, "I learned this from my elder brother."
Sometimes Qian Shulan felt unlucky for Qian Weihan, as he had unknowingly served as her shield countless times.
Jiang Chengwu looked at the chessboard for a long time. No matter where he moved, he would end up dead. He couldn't help but look up and asked, "Am I dead?"
Qian Shulan moved her mouth and said, "Not yet."
Fang Zhongjun lay on the chessboard and looked at the two old men with their heads close together. He looked for a long time but couldn't figure out where the road was.
The two old men looked at each other and saw frustration in each other's eyes.
At this moment, Fang Yonglin came in with a plate of food, and Fang Zhongjun hurriedly called him over, "Come and take a look, is there any way to play this chess game?"
Fang Yonglin didn't have the time to do that, so he said with a bitter face, "Grandpa, I still need to help light the fire, please find someone else."
Fang Zhongjun waved his hand and let him go out.
He saw Little Donkey and Jiang Shengnan coming in, and hurriedly called them over, "Come and take a look. Is there any road?"
The little donkey walked over quickly, scanned the chessboard for a while, moved a chess piece, and said helplessly, "Although the ending is still death, if you can send this horse up, it can still ease the situation for a while."
The two old men went to look. Jiang Chengwu was anxious. "Sending your own horse to be killed is no different from cutting off your own arm." He glared at the little donkey and said, "What kind of idea is this? We are comrades-in-arms. How can we let the other side lose their lives?"
He snatched the chess piece and put it back.
The little donkey shrugged and said nothing.
Qian Shulan covered her mouth and muttered to herself as she looked at the two old men.
Jiang Shengnan didn't quite understand and said with a smile, "You're going to die anyway, so just admit defeat, Grandpa."
Jiang Chengwu also glared at her, "The game hasn't even finished yet, why do you say I lost?"
Jiang Shengnan winked at the little donkey, and the two went to the yard to chat again.
In the end, Jiang Chengwu couldn't think of a solution, so he asked Qian Shulan for help helplessly, "I lost, tell me, how can I take a few more steps?"
Qian Shulan pushed a pair of Taoist priests forward and said, "Move this priest forward, and you will be able to relax a little."
"Isn't this just sending our own people to your mouth? If you fight like a traitor, who would be willing to risk their lives for you? You can easily sacrifice people, who would dare to follow you?"
Qian Shulan agreed, "This is just a game, don't take it seriously."
She smiled and looked at Jiang Chengwu, "If you think of the chessboard as a battlefield, you are totally wrong. People have emotions and actions. They make rules and break rules. They are not set in stone."
Jiang Chengwu gave her a thumbs up and said, "You are right! I just took it for granted."
As he spoke, he took out a square box from his pocket, closed his eyes, pursed his lips, hardened his heart, and handed the thing to Fang Zhongjun.
Fang Zhongjun was overjoyed. He opened the box and saw a bullet lying intact in the velvet box. He raised the corner of his mouth and said, "This is mine!"
Seeing him being so cocky, Jiang Chengwu was so angry that he turned his neck to the other side and pretended not to see it.
Qian Shulan finally understood that the two were betting. She shook her head helplessly.
The food was served quickly, and Chen Jieying and Wang Danzhi had finished their conversation. Although their personalities were very different, neither of them had bad tempers, and they got along very well.
They soon decided to be a couple.
Chen Jieying smiled and said to everyone, "Let them date for half a year first, and then in June, we can pick an auspicious day for the two children to get married."
Both young men felt a little embarrassed.
Qian Shulan was also quite satisfied. After all, she didn't quite agree with getting married right after a blind date. It would be better for them to spend some time together before marriage and get to know each other's personality before getting married.
The author has something to say: In fact, in those days, marriage was really conditional, and people would get married if they were in love. It was really hard to have a long-term relationship. Although it's a bit awkward, I think it's more in line with the actual situation.