Zhui Xu

Chapter 2: Poetry and Chess

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time flies.

In the blink of an eye, it has been three months since I came to this ancient times, and the time has gradually shifted from spring to midsummer. Gardens, rockeries, pavilions, courtyards, streets, and painting boats, Ning Yi also gradually became familiar with this ancient world, but many times, he would always feel bored.

Probably because I was used to being busy in the past, and now there is no computer, no work, nothing to do, and I always feel itchy. The Su family was happy to see his boredom. After all, the reason for letting him into the marriage was to give Su Tan'er a reason to stay in her own home and not get married, and for this reason, it was best not to be too restless. Of course, in general, he is still enjoying all this boring, walking around every day, looking at the ancient customs, looking at the ancient ladies, thinking about some messy things in his mind, most of which he sees something Think about how many times you can increase your profits and how to make money if you do things yourself.

Being the boss for too long, he was stunned... He laughed and scolded himself like this, so these things just thought about it, and then settled back into the depths of his mind.

Compared to his leisure, his titular wife, Su Tan'er, was obviously very busy. However, no matter how busy she is, she will basically go home to eat on time. In this sense, ancient times have the benefits of ancient times. Women cannot be as casual as men in any case. To take a step back, ancient work The sense of rhythm is not as overwhelming as it is in modern times. Every day, carrying a computer, flying planes here and there, and processing a lot of information at any time, in an era where information flow is not fast, such a workaholic cannot be produced. You can find time to rest, because you have given an order, and there is no response there.

Probably thinking of himself as a real old and solid man, sitting together for dinner every day, it is always her who stirs up the topic, exchanges information, and activates the atmosphere. He has also developed the ability to speak casually without making people feel perfunctory, which is much higher than Su Tan'er, so every time they eat together, Ning Yi will think of the two people in the movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith".

After dinner, if it rains, everyone is mostly in their own rooms. Su Taner reads a book, plays the piano occasionally, and does embroidery for women red. The usual business deductions, making assumptions for the stock market, etc., and then feel boring - unless there is an urgent matter, Su Tan'er will also go out in a carriage. If the weather is good, Ning Yi will basically go out to hang out, and Su Tan'er will also go to see the shops and workshops in the city, and the two parted ways.

The maid named Xiaochan has been following him, and she has become a maid dedicated to serving him for a few months. This is also Su Tan'er's arrangement. It can be seen that Xiaochan intends to have a good relationship with him. When packing things in the room She always nags to say something, the parents are short, or where did the young lady go today, what did she do? For this young lady, I can see that she admires and likes it very much, Su Taner is to the servant It's really good. And Ning Yi's response was probably a nod and a smile. This little girl is always behind him when he goes out, and sometimes he will feel bad about it. When he is tired from walking, he will sit in a nearby teahouse and eat some snacks. The little girl will also take out broken pieces from the delicate purse. The money to pay the bill made him feel that the ancient second ancestor probably lived like this.

It's similar in modern times. He doesn't have to swipe his card when he goes out to buy things... Well, it seems that he hasn't really gone out to buy things for many years.

He likes to watch people play chess by the Qinhuai River recently.

There is a street by the river that is not too lively. It is on the outskirts of the city. The location is a little out of the way. There are no big shops. There are many small traders who carry the burden on the road, and there are not many pedestrians. There is often a tree under the river. There was an old man setting a chessboard there. Occasionally, a few old men would watch there, and occasionally some scholars would come over. There was a tea stall next to it. That time, he and Xiaochan were tired from walking and rested here while drinking tea. While looking at it casually, the two old men who played chess were both very good at chess. He thought that it was the ancient times, and any two old men could play so well. Since then, I have often come here. An old man is fixed, and his opponents often change, but after watching for a long time, they are probably acquaintances, and their chess skills are generally very high.

This kind of mental work is probably one of the few entertainments he can find here. In fact, the Qinhuai River was recognized as the most prosperous and extravagant area at that time. There were various paintings and prostitutes in groups. At night, it became a nightless day. He walked every day and often heard about some romantic affairs. Everything has to be measured. Since he is in the Su family, he is probably insulated from this kind of entertainment. However, in his last life, he had already read all kinds of extravagant things, so naturally he would not be very interested now.

The next day, the weather was a bit cloudy, but it seemed that it was still raining early. He and Xiaochan went to the tea stall, and two old men were there. After about a while, a man who looked like a family member came over and met a The old man said a few words, the old man nodded: "Qin Gong, there is an urgent matter at home, this game of chess..."

"There is no winner or loser right now, how about a draw?"

"So good..."

The two of them chatted a few words, then an old man left, the old man at the chess booth began to collect money, Ning Yi drank the tea in his hand and stood up: "No need to watch, Xiaochan will pay the bill. "

Xiaochan was taking out her purse, and the old man at the back said, "This son has been here to watch chess recently. I want to come here to have a lot of experience in this game. Would you like to have a game with the old hand?" No opponents, just grab someone.

"Uh..." Ning Yi was stunned, looking at the sky, "It's normal... Okay."

He sat down opposite the old man, and when he helped collect the chess, naturally there were also things like "Where is the son from?" Ning Yi answered a few words casually. You're welcome, just put the pieces on it.

"Uh, this is the beginning..." The old man glanced at him, then just frowned and followed.

In this way, you and I have played about a dozen moves. The old man frowned even more and said in confusion: "Young master's chess skills, dare to ask who you learned from?"

"I figured it out from the chess manual."

"Oh, no wonder..."

After this sentence, the old man didn't say any more. The two played chess silently under the tree by the river. Xiaochan sat on the side and occasionally looked up at the sky. She really didn't understand Go, but she felt that the more the old man played, the easier it was to play. The more he thought about it, the deeper the wrinkles became. He looked up at Ning Yi from time to time, or shook his head occasionally. On the chessboard, Bai Zi was so powerful that Hei Zi was gradually killed.

About an hour later, the old man cast his son to admit defeat, raised his head and looked at Ning Yi seriously for a moment, but Ning Yi still seemed to think that everything was interesting: "Young master's chess skills... Come on, is there something..." The old man considered the words, Ning Yi packed up the pieces, but smiled: "Playing chess to win is like two armies facing each other, how can there be a difference in means?"

"Playing chess is the study of a gentleman..."

"The old man thinks that playing chess can tell a person's character." Ning Yi said casually, taking the pieces back one by one, "Is that right?"

The old man was stunned for a while, pondered for a while, then shook his head and smiled, stretched out his hand to clean up the pieces: "It's not very accurate."

After tidying up the chessboard, Ning Yi and Xiaochan headed back towards the Su Mansion, seeing that the sky was overcast and raining. Along the way, Xiaochan looked at him with a bit of surprise and couldn't help asking, "Master won?"

"Ah, I'm afraid it won't be easy to watch chess in the future."

"Why?"

"Don't you think he thinks I'm a bad guy?"

"You think your uncle is a bad guy when you play chess?" The little girl glanced back, "It must be because the uncle won against him and he is angry... My husband is really small."

Naturally, these words are just casual words. The old man is also a well-mannered person. Naturally, he will not be angry about this kind of thing. It’s just that Go is very measured at this time. Even if the stalker loses his demeanor, he will not use it indiscriminately, but for Ning Yi, the game of chess is just a simple game of brain power, coupled with the imbalance of the amount of information between the two sides, although the old man also has a very high chess ability , or was defeated by Ning Yi's small tricks one after another, which can be regarded as a small satisfaction in Ning Yi's heart that modern people bully ancient people.

When I got home that day, Su Tan'er was also returning from the outside. The little maid named Xing'er was beckoning a few people to move fabrics to the lady's room, which were probably new and colorful. Seeing them come back, Juan'er upstairs brought a big wooden box down: "Uncle, uncle, miss I heard that uncle likes to play chess. I saw it on the street today and bought it for Uncle." Actually, it was someone else. The gift Su Tan'er didn't need, but what she took back was a box with Go. Ning Yi was startled: "In this way, thank the lady for me."

"Thank you, uncle." The little girl smiled and ran upstairs again. Ning Yi shook her head and brought the Go back to her room. There was no one she knew, so who would she play with

Juan'er went back to the room. Several people who were carrying the goods had already left the yard. She learned the voice of Ning Yi: "Miss, the uncle said 'Thank you for my lady'." Then Su Tan'er, who was reading the account book, took it easy. Knocked on the forehead, the master and servant grew up together. Although they talk about honor and inferiority, they have always had sister-like intimacy. However, when Su Tan'er is busy, it is not easy to drive too much. Just kidding, after reading the account book, Su Tan'er took a closer look at the cloth. At this time, Chan'er and Xing'er also came in. Seeing Chan'er, she smiled: "I went out with my uncle to watch chess again today?"

"Yeah." Chan'er shook her head, "I don't understand."

"I don't like Go either." Su Tan'er shook her head, and went out and went home from a busy morning. At this time, she was able to rest for a while. She picked up a piece of rice paper on the table and asked with a frown. Chan'er: "Is this really a poem written by my uncle?"

The rice paper was brought over by Chan'er in the morning. At this time, she looked at it and confirmed, "Yeah, I saw what my uncle wrote, and I'm practicing calligraphy."

Su Tan'er frowned and glanced at it a few more times before she put it down. Chan'er brought this poem in a hurry in the morning, and then Su Tan'er was ready to go out and ran around for half the morning before she had time to read it when she came back. Xing'er had not seen it yet. Seeing that the young lady had a rich expression, she came to take a look with interest. In fact, the three maids had all learned poetry and arithmetic, but when they held them in their hands, they also wrinkled their faces into buns.

"Three lotus roots floating in the blue pond... The raft can have thoughts, dewdrops... Wet sand walls, twilight and dawn are silent... What do you mean?"

In the room on the other side, Ning Yi was standing at the table sorting out the rice paper manuscripts, ready to throw away or burn them. Laughing: "It's strange that you can understand..."

Then, a thunderstorm came.

The heavy rain in summer is violent. With the sound of the sky, the sky is dark as if it is evening, but in such weather, the window is opened and looking at the garden mansion outside in the heavy rain, it is quite leisurely. It meant that, from this side, you could occasionally see Su Tan'er and a few little maids walking in the opposite room. After a while, when Chan'er came over with some colored fabrics, Ning Yi was opening the box of Go at the desk to read: "Uncle, the lady said that this is new silk, and asked the maid to measure it for Uncle and make clothes. Uncle, let's see which color you like."

"casual."

"You can't make new clothes casually." The little girl muttered, and picked up a soft ruler to measure Ning Yi's height and length. Ning Yi looked at the heavy rain outside, and then looked at the little girl beside him.

"Anything in the afternoon?"

"It's nothing."

"Let's play chess."

"The maid can't play chess."

"If you don't play Go, I will teach you to play Gobang."

"Gobang?" The little girl looked up at him with a confused look in her eyes, never heard of this kind of chess...

As a result, in this small courtyard, which has always been quiet, in the afternoon, the cheers of a little girl can often be heard. Although it is quiet and calm on weekdays, Su Tan'er is eighteen years old, and the three children around her are The maids are only 14 or 15 years old, and when something interesting happens, it is inevitable that they will get carried away. In the room on the other side, Su Taner was sitting in front of the window reading a book, Xing’er and Juan’er two little girls were sitting in a row on the small bench for embroidery, and occasionally heard the sound of rain on the opposite side, “I win, I win. The cheers made me look up curiously. After repeating this a few times, Myolie was pierced by a needle, and she sucked her fingertips in her mouth and looked over there suspiciously.

"Chan'er, what's the matter..."