The soothing music of the guzheng was playing in the teahouse, and everyone consciously stopped making loud noises.
After ordering tea, the guests began to look at the instructions and rules of the new chess games on the table, with most people ordering military chess.
Some customers don’t understand and are unwilling to spend money to order a chess student. The waiter will give a rough explanation and the chess student will also come over to give a brief explanation.
Whenever there are female guests, Wang Sanni will come forward to receive them, greet them, arrange rooms for them, and introduce the beauty tea brewed by the teahouse.
At the beginning of noon, even the seats in the hall were full, and late guests had no choice but to leave disappointed.
Xu Lanyin stayed in her own room in the backyard. When she felt it was about time, she went to the third floor to visit the Qin family, the Min family, and the Hu family.
Qin Hongyu, Min Nan, and the other girls were so engrossed in their game of checkers that they had no time to chat with Xu Lanyin. They said with a smile, "Sister Xu, please don't bother us now. We'll talk to you later."
Qin Ru was interested in chess and was learning it seriously from a chess student.
The Min brothers were having fun playing chess, but Hu Wan and Zhu Zhuang were not interested in the game and stood by the window watching the fun.
As Xu Lanyin left Tangshe, she ran into chess fanatic Mr. Zhou, leading a young man in elegant attire upstairs. This young man looked familiar to Xu Lanyin. Shopkeeper Wu accompanied them personally, and they had also chosen a student, Ding Xiaoran.
Of the six chess players, five were chosen. The customer probably thought Ding Xiaoran was too young and wouldn't be good at chess, so only one was left, and he was chosen by Zhou Shu.
Zhou Shu thought Xu Lanyin looked familiar and said with a smile, "Last time when I was with Miss Min, she said that checkers was a game played by children. Was that you, Miss?"
Xu Lanyin knelt and saluted him, saying with a smile, "Master Zhou has a good memory." Then he said to Shopkeeper Wu, "You go and do your work. I'll take care of Master Zhou."
Zhou Shu smiled and said, "Thank you for giving me a membership card." He pointed to the young man beside him and said, "This is Mr. Chai from the Ministry of Revenue. He came to Ningzhou Prefecture on business, so I brought him here."
Lord Chai from the Ministry of Revenue, Xu Lanyin finally understood where that familiar feeling came from.
What a coincidence!
Xu Lanyin knelt down and saluted Chai Jun again, saying with a smile, "Master Chai."
This man was not only Zhao Xingchen's biological father, but also his cousin, and Gu Wangchen's immediate superior. With so many titles, Xu Lanyin was fully prepared to handle them.
Chai Jun was tall and thin, with a handsome face and a noble and lazy temperament. He smiled and thought to himself, it's a pity that such a beautiful girl like her is out in the world and opens a tea shop.
Several people entered Lanshe and the waiter brought them the tea menu.
Zhou Shu took it, looked at it, ordered two glasses of Bi Bo Piao Xue, and said, "Bring out the chess, military chess, and checkers so I can see them." He added, "Chess, as the name suggests, is a game from the West. How did you know about it? And where did military chess and checkers come from?"
Xu Lanyin had already thought of an excuse and had already communicated it to Qin and Xu Lanzhou. He smiled and said, "My brother and I have loved playing chess since we were little, and we've paid attention to every record of chess. I stumbled across chess in an old miscellaneous book and made my own to learn from, but my talent is limited and I'm not very good at it. I also saw checkers in that book; it's simple to play and suitable for children. As for military chess, I developed it based on land chess, changing a few rules. My brother likes military affairs, so he added a few characters, making it more complete and naming it military chess. However, military chess is like two armies facing each other, with unpredictable changes, so it's probably possible to devise more rules and gameplay. We're too stupid to think of any, so I hope someone with more experience can come up with some. If they do, we'll give you a teahouse membership card."
The last two sentences are both humble and an advertisement for the teahouse.
Zhou Shu laughed and said, "Miss Xu, you are too modest. You can create a new type of chess, how can you be stupid?"
Xu Lanyin quickly laughed and said, "Master Zhou, you're overpraising me. We didn't create it, we extended it."
Chai Jun, impatient with their chatter, looked around. The decor here was unique, and the faint sound of a piano could be heard, making it a pleasant sight and a relaxing experience. Furthermore, the waiter's attire was very unconventional and attractive. He had to admit that such a simple and neat outfit did make the teahouse appear cleaner, which made him feel more favorable.
He looked at Xu Lanyin a few more times. She was a smart girl who didn't play by the rules.
When the tea comes, the fragrance is everywhere.
Chai Jun said, "Bi Bo Piao Xue, it's a nice name, but it's actually scented tea leaves." Then he looked at the white petals floating on the tea soup and smiled, "The name is quite appropriate."
Zhou Shu focused all his attention on the chess pieces he had brought over. He said, "From simple to difficult, I'll show you how to play."
Xu Lanyin and Ding Xiaoran first demonstrated the simplest game of checkers.
After they took a few steps, Zhou Shu laughed out loud and said, "Although it's simple, the idea is novel and interesting, and the chess pieces are beautiful too. It's definitely suitable for children to play with."
As soon as he talked about his child, Chai Jun's face showed a bit of sadness. After nearly a year, he still hadn't gotten over the pain of losing his son.
Zhou Shu's mind was on chess, and he didn't notice his mood change. Xu Lanyin, who had been keeping an eye on Chai Jun out of the corner of her eye, did see it.
Zhou Shu called a halt to the game of checkers halfway through, saying it was too easy and he was completely uninterested.
They played military chess again.
When Zhou Shu saw the name on the chess piece and listened to the rules, he chuckled and said, "It's so apt and straightforward. It really is like two armies facing off."
Chai Jun was also attracted and said, "This is a real discussion on chess. It's quite interesting."
After Xu Lanyin and Ding Xiaoran finished their game, Chai Jun put away his amusement and said, "This military chess game may seem simple, but it's not easy to play well. It requires courage and carefulness, and it also requires the use of many military strategies. It's fun and can stimulate one's intelligence. There are indeed more ways to play... Not bad, not bad."
Zhou Shu nodded repeatedly. He thought to himself, it's a pity that Miss Xu is a girl. If she were a boy, she would have achieved great things in her life. Thinking that her brother was also involved, he asked, "How old is your brother and what is he doing?"
Xu Lanyin briefly introduced Xu Lanzhou's situation and said with a smile, "He has been fond of martial arts since he was a child. He will take the martial arts examination at the Spring Festival this year. These days, he has been studying strategy with Mr. Zhang from the Ningzhou Prefecture Academy."
Zhou Shu immediately said, "Tell him to come to the academy to see me on the 20th. I will arrange a good teacher for him and let him stay in the academy temporarily to study. He is a talented person, and I hope he can pass the exam."
Xu Lanyin smiled and thanked him. Over the past year or so, Xu Lanzhou had thoroughly mastered military chess, and he wasn't worried about Zhou Shu's suspicions. This gave Xu Lanzhou even greater hope of passing the military examination.
Finally, play chess.
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