After figuring out this, Zhai Hua was able to relax totally and she fell into a deep sleep. She did not hear a single word of the remaining conversation between Shi Qing and Qiao Nan.
By the time Zhai Hua woke up from her sleep, it was already five o’clock in the afternoon. There was a fragrant smell of food in the Qiao family’s residence. Shi Qing’s voice could be heard in the distance. “Qiao Nan, hurry up. I am starving! I am still growing and developing. I have to eat a lot every day. If not, I will not grow up well.”
“Developing? Do you think you are going through another round of development? Your digestion and metabolism are too good. I have to prepare six meals a day for you! You have your snacks in the afternoon, but now you are hungry again…” Qiao Nan was close to tears at the number of times that she had to serve food for Shi Qing. She had never seen a young lady who had such a good appetite. No matter how much she ate, she would not put on weight. It was so irritating!
If Shi Qing would put on weight from eating too much, she would want to lose weight and cut down on her food intake. In that case, she did not need to prepare so many meals for her.
“Are the meals ready? I am hungry as well.” Zhai Hua yawned and walked lazily toward them. “Egg fried rice? Alright, I will make do with it.”
Shi Qing and Qiao Nan rolled their eyes. Nobody intended to invite Zhai Hua to join them to have the egg fried rice. How dared she find fault with the rice! Zhai Hua behaved like Miao Jing when she first came to her house. They were indeed mother and daughter.
“Sister Zhai Hua, you are the deputy battalion commander. People like you should have the best. The egg fried rice is mine. Maybe you can go back to the Zhai family’s residence. There will definitely be fish and meat dishes waiting for you!” Shi Qing was famished, yet she still had to share her food with Zhai Hua. Besides, since Zhai Hua seemed to disapprove of the food, Shi Qing had no wish to give her any.
Since she did not like the food, she should not have them. She already did not have enough to eat!
“A guest should suit the convenience of the host. I will have whatever the host prepared. I should not be picky. Isn’t this how a soldier should behave?” Zhai Hua was unhappy. Did Shi Qing, the little girl, intend to have all the food to herself? Even if the food was not nice, she would not let Shi Qing have them all to herself. Shi Qing had to pay for badmouthing her just now.
Shi Qing watched helplessly as half of her food was given to Zhai Hua. She glared at Zhai Hua angrily. “Why are you here? You slept the whole afternoon away at the Qiao family’s residence and now you snatch my food from me. Let me warn you. Don’t go overboard!”
“What can you do to me?” Zhai Hua acted like a hooligan. “Let me give you a piece of advice. You should dig in. If I feel hungry after finishing my food, I will have yours.”
“Crap…” Shi Qing was anxious. She had no time to waste. She devoured her rice quickly.
She had no way to get her food back if it was indeed snatched away from her.
Zhai Hua sipped some green tea after filling her stomach. She burped slightly, satisfied with the meal. “Was this the fried rice that you prepared for my mom last time? After going back home, she asked the helper to prepare it in the same way. It was a pity that the helper could not get the taste right. My mom got tired of it after trying a few times. It tastes different from the fried rice that is sold outside. Did you add preserved vegetables?”
It was obvious that the fried rice had preserved vegetables.
“Yes. I like to prepare it in this way.” Qiao Nan would prepare it according to her preferences. “I prepared the preserved vegetables by myself.”
“You are indeed virtuous.” A lot of effort was put into preparing the egg fried rice. Qiao Nan prepared everything by herself. Perhaps men would want to look for wives like Qiao Nan. “Zhai Sheng is fortunate. Old Master will reach Ping Cheng soon. It’s time to settle the engagement between the two of you.”
“This is a good piece of news. Sister Zhai Hua, it is rare that you bring good news with you when you visit the Qiao family’s residence. You left me with a bad impression after what happened last time.” Shi Qing smiled. She would welcome Sister Zhai Hua if she would bring good news with her every time she was here.
“It has been one or two years ago, yet you remember them so clearly. You are so petty.” Qiao Nan was the person who was bullied, not Shi Qing. Why did Shi Qing bear grudges against her? “Qiao Nan, I am sorry for what happened in the past.”
Zhai Hua had owed her an apology for years. Zhai Hua felt more at ease now that she had said her apology.
“Actually, I came here today for a reason. Whenever my mom is in a bad mood, she will feel better after she goes to your place. Can you have a talk with me? If not, I may fall sick from being so vexed. One should be happy when in love, so why is it that I feel so vexed?”
Qiao Nan and Shi Qing turned silent. Sister Zhai Hua was indeed here because of Wei De.
The difference was that this time, Sister Zhai Hua did not ask Qiao Nan for help. Instead, she was here to seek her advice.
Qiao Nan thought for a while. “Shi Qing, bring me the Chinese chess set that your dad gave to me. Sister Zhai Hua, I suppose you know how to play Chinese chess?”
“Of course. The old master brought me up. Even if I do not know how to play Go, I definitely know how to play Chinese chess.” Since a young age, she was ‘trained by the old master. How could she not know how to play?
“Alright. Shall we play a game of Chinese chess to clear our minds?” Qiao Nan took the Chinese chess out of the box. “Do you want to go first or shall I go first?”
“You can go first, lest you say that I bully you,” Zhai Hua said proudly.
Qiao Nan accepted it smilingly. She took out the red chess pieces and placed the chess pieces on the chess paper. Zhai Hua took out the black chess pieces. The red pieces would make the first move.
Qiao Nan started the game by moving her cannon.
Zhai Hua then moved her horse.
Qiao Nan took the offensive from the start of the game. She used the strategy of Pan Tou Ma.[1] The game started off quickly.
In the blink of an eye, Zhai Hua felt that her chess pieces seemed to be trapped.
“Who taught you how to pay the Chinese chess? Is it your dad?” Zhai Hua thought that it would be easy to defeat Qiao Nan. Even if she allowed Qiao Nan to have a huge advantage over her, Qiao Nan would not be able to defeat her, let alone letting her take the first move.
However, Qiao Nan was pretty skilled. She did not seem like a layman in Chinese chess.
“In the past, Elder Lee would play chess with me. I have some interest in it. Whenever I am free, I will borrow some books related to Chinese chess from Elder Lee.” Qiao Nan commented as she made her move.
“…” From what she knew, Qiao Nan was very busy. Apart from coping with the hectic life in high school, whenever Qiao Nan was on holiday and was free, Elder Lin would bring her around for her to hone her skills and to gain relevant experience.
Qiao Nan had been busy like a bee, yet she still had the time to learn Chinese chess and enrich herself.
Unlike Wei De…
She had told Wei De long ago that the old master loved playing Chinese chess. If he was able to play chess with the old master, he would at least be able to leave a good impression on him.
She even taught Wei De briefly about Chinese chess.
However, after learning the different moves in Chinese chess, Wei De gave up learning Chinese chess. He felt that it was too difficult and taxing on the brain, and that he could not master it.
[1] One of the offensive strategies in Chinese chess that allows the player to play by ear and change one’s strategy flexibly in order to counterattack the opponent.
