Wang Qiang stayed in the office all afternoon. Only a fool would go out in this weather. He had already asked Sha Zhu what ingredients to prepare: pheasant, mushrooms, duck or goose, pork, mutton or beef would all be fine. If he really couldn't get mutton offal or beef offal, that would be okay too.
Also, prepare pork intestines, kidneys, and liver, plus a cold dish. The minimum standard is four dishes, one soup, and one cold dish to go with drinks.
Wang Qiang looked at the items and found that there was no shortage of mutton, as he had some in his own space, but the other items were indeed difficult to obtain.
Never mind, there are still a few days left, we can talk about it later.
Wang Qiang glanced at Guo Jinshui and Shi Dakuai, who were playing chess on the table, and then at Yu Xiaobao, who was reading a newspaper next to him.
The familiar feeling... isn't this just like my old work life? It's just that now I don't have a phone to use, so I can only sit here idly flipping through a few newspapers, drinking some tea, or chatting with each other.
In the past, he would have been quite averse to gossiping, but in this day and age, there's not much entertainment without gossiping.
Wang Qiang poured out the remaining tea from the cup. He then washed the cup and brewed a new one.
"You're not doing a horse jump, are you?"
Before Wang Qiang transmigrated, he was also an amateur chess master. Seeing the two of them playing chess, he couldn't help but chime in.
Upon hearing this, Guo Jinshui indeed jumped off his horse.
"General! Haha, you're dead now!"
Seeing that he was about to lose, Shi Da Kuai said, "Wang Qiang, a true gentleman observes chess without speaking. Don't you even know that saying?"
Wang Qiang laughed heartily: "There's another saying, 'To stand by and watch someone die is to be a petty person.' You two are a pair of terrible chess players, and you're getting worse and worse at it."
Shi Da Kuai was unconvinced: "Come on, let's play a game, shall we?"
Wang Qiang shook his head: "No, there's no prize, it's not fun."
Shi Da Kuai: "Here's the deal, I have a duck at home, a genuine white-feathered duck, it's at its fattest right now. If you beat me, the duck is yours."
Upon hearing this, Wang Qiang thought, "Isn't this perfect timing? I'm just dozing off!"
"Okay, no take-backs. Lao Guo, Xiao Yu, you two are my witnesses!"
Guo Jinshui and Yu Xiaobao were also eager to watch the drama unfold.
“Okay, no problem, we’ll be the witness. The loser can’t renege on their debt.”
Guo Jinshui happily gave up his seat.
Wang Qiang sat down with his teacup in hand. Just as he was about to set up the chessboard, Shi Da Kuai stopped him.
"Wait, what if you lose?"
Wang Qiang laughed heartily: "I can't possibly lose."
"What if?"
Wang Qiang pondered for a moment: "How about this, if I lose, I'll give you 10 catties of mutton, what do you think?"
Shi Da Kuai's eyes lit up. Ten jin of mutton—that was no small sum. "Are you kidding me?"
Wang Qiang appeared nonchalant. "Of course not. I, Wang Qiang, am a man of my word. When have I ever joked?"
Shi Da Kuai was overjoyed; this was a rare treat.
Hearing about such a high stake, Guo Jinshui and Yu Xiaobao became even more interested. They each pulled up a chair and sat down to watch the game.
"We agreed that once a move is made, there's no going back."
Upon hearing this, Shi Da Kuai was already impatient. "Alright, hurry up, let's settle this in one game."
The two men set up the chessboard and began their battle.
Less than five minutes later, Shi Da Kuai was sweating profusely. He was retreating step by step, struggling to stay afloat, and if he wasn't careful, he would lose one of his horses.
Another careless move, and another cannon was gone.
In no time at all, Shi Dakui had only one chariot and one horse left on the chessboard. The rest of the chariots, horses, and cannons were gone, along with five pawns and one side pawn.
The elephant is no longer complete, and only one of the warriors remains.
Shi Da Kuai was so anxious that he broke out in a cold sweat. What could he do? If he lost, the fat duck would belong to someone else.
Unfortunately, at this crucial moment, Wang Qiang grabbed Shi Da Kuai's horse, and seeing that he couldn't escape, he became even more anxious. He only had one chariot left, while the opponent had two chariots and two horses, and all his advisors and elephants.
Guo Jinshui, a seasoned chess enthusiast, noticed this and, as he was, he loved to chime in when others were playing.
"Where are you going? If you take one step, the horse will come back to life."
Shi Da Kuai took a look and realized it was true, so he followed the steps Guo Jinshui had explained.
"Hey, Lao Guo, you can't do this! I just helped you out, and you're backing me up!"
Guo Jinshui laughed: "Didn't you say that it's despicable to stand by and watch someone die? How could I just watch him die?"
Wang Qiang laughed. Shi Da Kuai was also struggling to survive, so it wasn't a big deal that he could ease the situation this much.
"But there's another saying: when two people are playing chess, anyone who talks too much is a fool!"
The group chatted and laughed.
In the end, Shi Da Kuai was shaved bald by Wang Qiang, leaving him as a lone old general with no choice but to surrender.
He threw the chess piece onto the board: "Alright, the fat duck is yours."
Wang Qiang laughed: "Old Shi, don't be ungrateful. This duck wasn't brought here for me to eat; it's for entertaining the big boss."
"Think about it, if the big boss eats your duck, that's an honor for you."
Shi Da Kuai said with a smirk, "Honor? If you can give me a raise, I'd be willing to do it even if it's just two ducks, let alone one."
"If I go back and tell my wife, she'll scold me to death. Do you think it's easy to get a duck?"
Wang Qiang laughed and said, "Hey, this is a purchase from the factory, how could your wife not want it?"
Upon hearing this, Shi Da Kuai perked up.
He leaned closer and asked, "Is this real? Can I get paid?"
"Of course, you think you can just eat your duck for free? Logically, I won the duck, but then again, nobody wants to give it away for nothing, right?"
Shi Da Kuai nodded: "You're right. After work, you come back with me, otherwise my wife won't believe me."
Wang Qiang agreed: "No problem, let's walk together after get off work, and I'll go to your house to pick up the duck."
Guo Jinshui added, "Have you purchased anything else?"
Wang Qiang drank his water and put down his teacup: "Of course, what do you have there?"
Guo Jinshui: "A few days ago, two pigeons flew into my yard from somewhere. I took them in, thinking I would keep them for the New Year."
"However, since the big leader is here, I'll be generous and contribute what I can. I'm not greedy; I'll be content if I can get twenty pounds of flour in return."
Wang Qiang readily agreed, since he wouldn't have to pay for it himself anyway.
"Okay, Lao Guo, how about you bring the pigeons over tomorrow?"
Guo Jinshui was overjoyed when he heard this. He could exchange it for twenty catties of flour! Where else could he find such a good deal?
Several people waited until they got off work.
Wang Qiang and Shi Da Kuai rode their bikes together, with Shi Da Kuai leading the way and Wang Qiang following behind.
The snow on the road was more than a foot deep, making it impossible to ride a bike. The two of them could only push the bike for a while, and then ride for a bit when they found an easier path.
Braving the snow, they arrived at Shi Da Kuai's house.
His family also lived in a large compound, which housed seven or eight households.
When they arrived home, Shi Da Kuai's wife was baking cornbread on the stove.
Upon seeing that Shi Da Kuai had brought back someone, his expression immediately turned sour.
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