Chapter 49 Chess and the Chinese
There were fruits, snacks and drinks, enough for them to consume during their whole day stay here.
Then Dora took two slices of bread to feed the wild ducks, and Zhang Wei took out the chess pieces.
"Can you play?" Paris asked.
Zhang Wei shook her head. "That's exactly what I wanted to ask you. I can't do that. I found it at the flea market on Friday."
"I only know a little bit, but my mom knows it, so let mom teach us!"
Seeing the two children looking at her expectantly, Kate readily agreed: "Paris had too much homework before, and I didn't play with him often because I was afraid of adding more homework. Since you are interested, I will teach you well."
Since she wanted to teach Zhang Wei who knew nothing, Aunt Kate started with the most basic understanding of chess, and then moved on to positioning and castling.
Aunt Kate was very considerate. She would even use other sentences to explain the professional terms in case Zhang Wei didn't understand. Paris was also very considerate and didn't rush him to understand what he knew.
After teaching for most of the day, it was finally time to practice actual moves. The two players placed the chess pieces, with Zhang Wei playing with white pieces first. They both played very slowly. Zhang Wei's strategy was very simple. Before moving any piece, he would make sure that every piece would not be checked.
It sounds simple, but it is very troublesome to put it into action, because she has to consider the path of each chess piece and then place the chess pieces in a safe enough position. In short, it is mainly based on defense.
The game progressed slower and slower, but her defensive strategy was still effective. When she was thinking about her next move, a fat hand came in from the side, quickly took the chess piece in her hand, pressed it to a position, and then captured Paris's chess piece.
Zhang Wei turned around and saw a sturdy Asian boy standing behind her. He looked like a chubby classmate from her elementary school who came from a well-off family and always had plenty of snacks.
He looked a bit smug at this moment: "Chess, how difficult can it be!"
Perhaps only Zhang Wei could understand this sentence. He spoke standard Mandarin, and perhaps Paris could understand half of it.
Seeing everyone staring at him, he wasn't embarrassed at all. He smiled and raised his hand, patted his head, and said to himself, "I forgot that foreigners don't understand Chinese." He then waved to Zhang Wei and greeted her in stiff English:
"Hello, everyone!"
Zhang Wei swore that she had never met such a friendly child in her country. The child was chubby and cute, and looked to be about 10 years old.
In fact, foreigners are quite sensitive to the invasion of their personal space. Fortunately, he looked really small, and even the usually kind Aunt Kate frowned.
"Vera, he is so rude. We can play again." Paris was also a little unhappy.
"Paris, he has no ill intentions. He just doesn't understand the behavioral habits here." Zhang Wei explained to him patiently.
Xiaopang seemed unaware of the others' displeasure. He pointed at the chessboard and said to Zhang Wei carefully, "I, help, you," one word at a time.
Zhang Wei then said to him in Chinese: "Thank you, no thanks, I'm learning."
Xiaopang's eyes immediately lit up, and he said, "That's what I told you! I've been walking around here and I see you look Chinese, and so does he," and then he pointed at Paris and continued:
"He doesn't look like one up close. He looks like a little foreign devil."
Paris probably also heard that he didn't say anything nice, so he tried to speak in the Chinese words he knew:
"I'm not! You, impolite"
Xiaopang immediately asked Zhang Wei, "What did this little foreigner say?"
"It's impolite. He said you are impolite." Zhang Wei temporarily acted as a part-time translator.
Xiaopang felt aggrieved: "I didn't do anything! Why is it a question of politeness? I'm the most polite person. I greet everyone I see."
Zhang Wei: I can see that.
Seeing that he couldn't read people's expressions, Zhang Wei reminded him, "Don't yell, he can understand."
"Oh, I see. He can listen but not speak, just like my dad. When he came here, he could listen but not speak."
Then he asked her like a curious baby: "Then how come you can listen and speak?"
It was true that Zhang Wei hadn't communicated with anyone in Chinese for a long time, but he didn't mind chatting with him.
“I just came here last year.”
Zhang Wei replied with one sentence and he asked three questions:
"You were brought here by your parents, too? Do you go to a foreign school? Are there any Chinese schools here?"
Kate didn't interfere when she saw they were chatting, but Paris really seemed to dislike him. She was arranging the chess pieces she had just moved back to the way they were at the beginning, trying to get Zhang Wei's attention.
Dora, who was reading a book nearby, was also attracted and felt very curious when she saw Zhang Wei talking to a strange boy in a language that was unfamiliar to her.
Zhang Wei replied: "I guess so. I go to a school for foreigners. There may be a Chinese school. I'm not sure about that. But why are you here alone?" Not everywhere in Country A is safe.
"Oh, don't mention it. My dad originally wanted to take me to the park, but then something unexpected happened at the company, so it was inconvenient for him to take me with him, so he asked me to wait for him here."
"Then your father will be really relieved," Zhang Wei sighed.
Xiaopang waved his hand: "What's the big deal! I've been alone a lot since I was a kid. I dare to go anywhere. Even though there are a lot of foreigners here, I still ran into you, didn't I? I always say that there are Chinese people everywhere in the world!"
When Zhang Wei heard this, he felt that this boy was a talent, not afraid of the stage and was very brave.
He seemed to be worried about his studies, and asked again, "Are you studying in the same school as this foreign kid?"
Zhang Wei nodded.
"Then I'll go to your school too! I'll have a companion there too. Tell me the name of the school and I'll ask my dad to sign me up!"
Xiaopang confidently wrote down the name of the school that Zhang Wei mentioned, feeling that he had finally solved a top priority and found a school with companions for himself.
He even dislikes Zhang Wei for being too young!
"You're so little, I definitely can't be in the same class with you. I'm in the third grade, what grade is that little foreigner in?"
"He's in the third grade."
"Hiss, okay, we are half fellow villagers." He still felt it was acceptable.
It was impossible for Zhang Wei to ignore her friend's feelings. After chatting for a few words, she continued to practice chess with Paris. This time, Xiaopang finally maintained his gentlemanly demeanor and did not say or move the chess pieces recklessly.
But he ate in a very familiar manner. Dora was a little curious about him and offered him food. Xiaopang then spoke to Dora using the few words he could speak.
Words like "OK" and "good" were thrown out for free, making Dora smile.
In this way, this fat guy whose Chinese name is Zhou Chi and English name is Jeff spent almost the entire day with Zhang Wei and the others.
"Lin Yueqian, don't go here!"
But in such a short time, Paris lost his English name.
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