Xu Lanyin saw that both of her brothers had gloomy faces, and Qin's sigh in the bedroom was also very clear. She comforted them, saying, "Don't worry, there is always a way out. We will always find a way."
After saying that, she rolled up her sleeves and went into the kitchen. No matter how sad she was, she still had to eat. She was the only one holding up the family at this moment.
The meal was set on the table, and Qin was helped out. They ate in silence. Xu Lanyin finished cleaning the kitchen and came into the house. The two brothers Xu Lanzhou and Xu Lanzhou lay on Qin's kang. No one spoke. Xu Lanting leaned in Qin's arms, fiddling with a wooden doll.
The doll was made during Xu Qingyan's last visit home before his death. He enjoyed carpentry, and the couple were known for their ability to manage household chores. Xu Qingyan made many of the small pieces of furniture in their home.
When Xu Lanyin saw the doll, she remembered the housekeeper in the county magistrate's mansion whom she met that day, and the various toys she bought.
Suddenly, she thought of "flying chess," "checkers," and "military chess," games suitable for teenagers, which were easy and effortless. She also thought of the various animal dolls that girls in her previous life loved.
The doll requires brightly colored material, which we don't have at home right now, and she's not very dexterous enough to cut. Checkers are difficult to make, and military chess is relatively complex. Flying chess, on the other hand, is much simpler and more colorful, which a little girl should enjoy. Most importantly, we have all the materials at home.
So we made flying chess. Of course, we couldn't draw airplanes on the chessboard, so we drew birds and gave it a new name: "Flying Bird Chess".
Xu Lanyin had just remembered a few days ago that a cousin of Xu Dashi's wife, Li's, worked as a rickshaw driver at the county government office. It seemed the driver was also Tian Carpenter's brother-in-law. He was a handyman at the government office, not a servant in the county magistrate's household. But he must have known servants there, so he asked him for an introduction.
Xu Lanyin didn't expect others to help her family just by accepting a set of chess, but she was still connected to the county magistrate's daughter.
If word got out, Gu Wangchen would be wary. If Miss Min liked the chess piece, the Min family might even give her some money, which would also help alleviate the family's difficulties.
The magistrate of Nanping County was named Min, Mincan.
Xu Lan had learned to paint in her previous life, but she didn't have the ability to use a brush to draw a bird on the small chess piece. Qin could draw but her health was not good, so she couldn't do such a delicate job, so she just wrote the name of the bird directly.
She was delighted and quickly lit the oil lamp and went to rummage in the woodshed, where her cheap father's carpentry tools were kept.
Xu Lanyin rummaged around in the warehouse for a while and actually found two boards, one and a half feet square, and several planed strips. While Xu Qingyan was at home, he was planning to make a small box for Xu Lanzhou to hold his four study items. However, before the box was finished, someone came to look for him and left early, saying they would come back to do it next time. Sadly, they never returned.
As she picked up the small wooden sticks, she unexpectedly saw a small, inconspicuous wooden sign and box tucked into the mess. The place was so cluttered, and the two objects were so small, she hadn't noticed them when she was searching. Her heart nearly leaped with excitement. Could these two items have been given by the old herbalist?
She hurriedly picked it up, it was a gift from the old man.
The small wooden plaque, one inch square, was engraved with the word "Zhou" and smelled of something special. It was a unique scent, slightly sweet, so subtle that most people couldn't detect it. She could only smell it by holding it close to her nose. She liked it better than any perfume she'd ever used in her previous life. The scent also refreshed Xu Lanyin's spirits, and she even felt as if her previous resentment had dissipated.
The smell is not only pleasant, but also soothing. She happily put it in her arms.
She examined the small wooden box again. It had even grain, a light brown color, and was round and flat, about the size of a powder compact from her past life. She opened the lid, revealing a brimming, milky ointment, glossy and emitting a faint medicinal fragrance.
Both of these little things had a smell, but it was very faint, mixed with the smell of wood, so she couldn't smell it even with her good nose.
She stuffed the ointment into her arms as well.
Two wooden boards were covered in dust. She wiped them clean, planed them smooth, and drew grids on them to make a chessboard. One would be a bird board, the other a military board. From the strips of wood, she could saw sixteen small pieces for chess pieces, and the rest would be used for military chess. As for checkers, she couldn't make any pieces.
She took out a piece of wood and a stick and used the stick to draw on the ground in the moonlight. Xu Lanzhou and his brother came out to see her. The little boy asked curiously, "Sister, what are you drawing?"
Xu Lanyin said, "Chessboard."
Xu Lanzhou pursed his lips, looked at him seriously, and didn't ask any more questions.
After several revisions, Xu Lanyin finally drew the complete chessboard of Flying Bird Chess.
She took the wooden board to the east wing and asked Xu Lanzhou to take out the brushes, ink, paints and go pieces.
Ever since Xu Lanzhou dropped out of school, he had put all these things in a box and never used them again. Following his sister's advice, he dutifully unpacked them, not worrying about wasting oil. This chessboard was the first he had ever seen, and he knew it was something special.
Of course, drawing lines on a wooden board wouldn't be easy with a brush, so she used an ink stick. Xu Lanyin used a wooden ruler to draw the lines and a Go piece to draw the small circles. After she finished, she added the colors. While she was doing this, Xu Lanzhou had to saw the Go pieces and dice; he still knew how to do these simple carpentry tasks.
After the paint dried, Xu Lanzhou had sawed off the small piece of wood and polished several sides until they were smooth.
It was already the end of the evening hour, and although Xu Lanting was still sleepy, he still stared wide-eyed at his brother and sister working.
Xu Lanyin colored the small wooden blocks red, blue, green, and yellow, and asked Xu Lanzhou to write the word "bird" on each block.
This is the chess piece.
Dice are easy to make. Use an awl to dig out different small dots on the six sides, and then fill them with colors with a brush.
This unique "Flying Bird Chess" came into being.
It was the first time that Xu Lanzhou saw such a beautiful chessboard and chess pieces, and he was amazed.
Xu Lanyin then said that this was called "Flying Bird Chess" and explained the rules of playing this chess and her encounter with the housekeeper of the county magistrate's house in the county town.
"I want to give the chess pieces to Miss Min through my sister-in-law's relatives. It's impossible for them to help us deal with Gu Wangchen, but because of this connection, Gu Wangchen always has to be cautious in his actions."
Xu Lanzhou thought this chess game was even more beautiful and fun than he had imagined. He asked, "Why have I never seen this kind of chess before?"
Xu Lanzhou had learned Go from her mother, Luboqi from her father, and played stone chess with her classmates. This kind of flying bird chess sounded very interesting, fun and easy to play, and very suitable for a young lady to play.
Xu Lanyin said shamelessly, "I came up with it."
"How is that possible!" Xu Lanzhou shook his head repeatedly. He really didn't believe it.
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