"Okay, so Jingze is planning to serve me for a few days now?"
"Yes, I'll serve you."
After the two finished eating, Liu Jingze did all the table cleaning and dishwashing himself, leaving Zhang Hongmei to watch.
Afterwards, Liu Jingze put the table on the kang (a heated brick bed). He set out the chess manual, and the two of them spent the entire afternoon playing chess.
Time flies by, and Zhang Hongmei has made considerable progress this afternoon, able to walk twenty steps now.
“Hongmei, I’ll start teaching you tomorrow. I see that you have a good understanding of chess and are interested in it.”
"Sure, do we need to become apprentices?" Zhang Hongmei joked with Liu Jingze.
"No need, I can only be considered your senior brother. When we go to the capital, I will introduce you to our master."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course, Master is a very good person. You'll see when you meet him."
"I'm a little nervous, especially about teachers or mentors."
"Are you still that kind of child? I think you're a child that elders really like."
"Being liked by elders doesn't mean you're not afraid, does it?"
"Hehe, alright, lie down and close your eyes to rest for a while, I'll go roll out the noodles."
"Okay, call me when you're done rolling out the noodles, I'll make the soup."
"Okay, when you're resting, massage the sides of your temples to relieve eye strain."
"Alright, Jingze's mother, you should go now."
Liu Jingze rolled his eyes at Zhang Hongmei helplessly and went to the kitchen to cook. Was he being disliked?
Liu Jingze is a man with strong arms, so he kneads the dough very firmly, resulting in exceptionally chewy noodles.
Zhang Hongmei sautéed scallions in oil, then added tomatoes and three eggs, as she loves eggs poached in tomato soup.
He ate one egg himself and gave two to Liu Jingze, and before he knew it, he had eaten too many.
The two couldn't help but look at each other and smile; foodies are all one family!
With no other option, the two of them could only wander around the house.
Afterwards, Liu Jingze boiled water, and the two washed up before going to bed.
The next day, when Zhang Hongmei got up, Liu Jingze had already fried the pancakes. They were golden brown and looked quite appetizing.
"Brother Jingze, isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to eat scallions so early in the morning?"
"It's okay. We're not going out today, we'll both eat, and neither of us will complain about the other."
"Okay, let's make another bowl of egg sauce, let's go for it."
After finishing breakfast, the two went for a half-hour walk outside, and then returned to teaching mode.
Liu Jingze is usually gentle and refined, but when he transforms into a coach, he becomes a completely different person, serious and earnest.
Liu Jingze first presented Zhang Hongmei with a puzzle, trying to get her to solve it.
Liu Jingze sat next to Zhang Hongmei, making Zhang Hongmei extremely nervous. She walked to the wrong place and heard Liu Jingze cough.
However, without realizing it, I got into the zone and stopped paying attention to anything else.
Zhang Hongmei was finally able to untangle the knots after Liu Jingze had kneaded the dough and chopped the cabbage into filling.
They quickly went down to find the oilseed cake, and Liu Jingze chopped it up before starting to mix the filling.
There were only two of us eating, so we made a total of 150 dumplings, enough for two meals.
Because of the oil added, the dumplings were quite fragrant. Zhang Hongmei was restrained and only ate fifteen. Eating too many would make her feel quite uncomfortable.
In the afternoon, Liu Jingze praised Zhang Hongmei and then gave her a more challenging puzzle than the one from the morning.
Zhang Hongmei was much better this time than in the morning. She quickly got into the zone, and her moves became increasingly tricky.
Zhang Hongmei prefers this two-handed game and finds it very enjoyable.
Zhang Hongmei was overjoyed when she solved the problem in just two hours.
"Brother Jingze, one more!"
"Alright, aren't your eyes hurting? Let's go for a walk. We'll have a delicious meal tonight. You're really engrossed in it."
"That way we won't be bored. Come on, let's go check out the food supply station. Oh no, let's not go. It's already past three o'clock, there's nothing left."
"Let's go, if there's nothing to sell, let's go take a look and treat it as exercise."
Zhang Hongmei was eventually dragged out by Liu Jingze; she couldn't stay cooped up at home all the time.
The food supply station really had nothing left, but Zhang Hongmei wasn't too disappointed. She hadn't come with any hope, so how could she be disappointed?
"Hongmei, what's for dinner? How about cornmeal porridge?"
"Sure, I'll eat anything. As long as someone cooks it for me."
On Wednesday morning, Liu Jingze made pan-fried dumplings and cabbage soup.
"Hongmei, let's just have some leftovers for lunch, along with dumplings and pancakes."
"Sure, I'll eat anything, but it feels like I'm being disrespectful to you."
“We don’t need to be so formal. We’re lucky to have enough to eat right now, especially such a fine meal. Don’t be so formal with me anymore.”
"Okay, okay, you're my older brother now, alright?"
I don't want to be your older brother, cough! Let's wait a few years and see.
Liu Jingze knew Zhang Hongmei was a clean person, so he tidied up the house. He then became restless and couldn't stand or sit still.
"Brother Jingze, can you set up another difficult situation for me? Honestly, I'm not even nervous, but you're so restless."
"That's right, I'm really a little anxious. Okay, let's play a round together, so I won't be anxious."
"Hehe, maybe I can even take this opportunity to win a game."
Zhang Hongmei's wish was not fulfilled, but she did manage to walk more than thirty steps.
Liu Jingze shook his head and chuckled, "Hongmei, it's not that I'm going easy on you, but you really have improved."
"real?"
"Of course, although I can't calm down, I can immediately get into the zone as long as I'm focused on doing something."
"Hehe, if Master knew I'd taken on such a gifted disciple for him, he'd be incredibly happy."
"Am I really that good?" Zhang Hongmei asked Liu Jingze with a playful look.
“Yes, it really is that good. In my eyes, no one can compare to you.” Liu Jingze said earnestly.
"Hehe! I actually have a lot of bad habits, but in my brother's eyes, his little sister is always so outstanding." Yes, in his past life, the brother was proud of himself and always talked about his little sister. He praised her to everyone he met.
"Hongmei, you!"
"What's wrong?" Zhang Hongmei asked, puzzled, looking at Liu Jingze's helpless and disappointed expression.
"Hey! It's alright, come on, let's play another round. This time you only have five seconds to think. Are you in?"
"Come on, how will you know if you don't try?"
Zhang Hongmei was defeated in just three minutes of the game.
"Again, I like this kind of move. It's exciting and leaves no room for regret."
"Hehe, you!" Liu Jingze looked helplessly at Zhang Hongmei, who was quite serious about her behavior.
Five more games were played under the same rules, and Zhang Hongmei was getting better and better at it. She was also becoming more and more excited. This was how chess should be played; thinking three moves ahead for every one move wasn't her style. This was the kind of thrill she wanted.
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