In the early morning, on the official road leading to Qianye Town, a carriage was particularly conspicuous. Because most of the vehicles and riders were heading north, that is, in the direction of the provincial capital, this carriage, which looked like the owner of an ordinary large family, was all the way to the south, and its speed was unhurried.

It's not like the car to the provincial capital, which rushes all the way. Because of the Dionysian Festival held in the provincial capital in the past two or three days, but when the wine merchants of the whole Great Yuan Kingdom gathered, plus tourists from all over the country, the provincial capital will be very lively. If you go late, it will not only be difficult to find an inn to stay in, but you will also miss the interesting and affordable programs held by the big wine merchants.

Around noon, the inconspicuous carriage arrived in Qianye Town.

Two middle-aged women got out of the carriage first, and then helped a slightly wealthy old lady out of the carriage, and then the curtain moved again, and two pink-carved girls jumped down one after another. Together with the young coachman, a group of six people entered a medium-sized house.

This mansion is located on the Qingliu River that flows through Qianye Town, and on the main gate are two quaint seal characters: Wang Zhai.

This Qianye Town was originally called Bailin Town. Later, a variety of minerals were discovered in the mountains of Bailong in the south of the town, all of which were small mines, and then many small forests around the town were cut down, various workshops and residential houses were built, the course of the Qingliu River was widened, wharves were built, and the water transportation industry also flourished.

First of all, someone joked: There is no forest in the forest, everyone saw that the woods around the town were gone, and their hearts were not good, and then the mayor and the people in the town discussed together: Looking at the prosperity of all industries in the town, it is better to have another atmospheric name, called "Qianye". Since then, this town has been called Qianye Town.

In the hall of the royal palace, the stout servant said to the old lady sitting on the throne, "Madam, if I have no other orders, I will go to the kitchen and make lunch for Madame and Mademoiselle." ”

The old lady nodded slightly: "Well, go ahead." After a few hours in the carriage, it was a little lighter. ”

After speaking, he turned to another slender woman standing on the right hand side and said, "Chunhe, you go and boil some hot water." ”

The spring lotus was blessed, and at the same time responded: "Yes, madam." Then he followed the other woman into the kitchen.

In the afternoon, two girls aged 12 or 3 were playing in the backyard by the river.

It is said to be a courtyard, but in fact, it is just a bamboo fence to enclose the east and west sides of the back of the house, and the north side by the river, and each has opened a courtyard gate. Most of the mansions in this Qianye Town are configured like this, so this royal mansion is inconspicuous.

At this time, it is the bright time of spring, and a phoenix tree near the west courtyard gate is full of phoenix flowers, and the flowers are red and purple, like a phoenix that is about to fly.

The two girls were under the tree, full of joy and eager to pick a few bouquets and enjoy them in their hands.

The more mellow girl, dressed in a pale red dress, said to another girl who was slightly shorter than her, "Yiwen, you go up to the tree and pick a few flowers." ”

Yiwen said: "Miss, people are also girls." The old lady knows about it and wants to beat me on the board. ”

"It's okay, I don't say, how would she know. You see how beautiful these flowers are. ”

Yiwen waved her hand at her young lady and said, "Miss, you know, the old lady doesn't need to look at it to know if I'm climbing a tree." ”

A gust of wind blows, the flowers rise and fall with the branches, and the petals go up and down, like a phoenix flying in the air. The two of them saw it and liked it even more, but they were confined to the family rules of the Wang family, they just looked at it and no longer mentioned the matter of picking flowers on the tree.

There was a "squeak", and the door of the west courtyard of the backyard, which was mostly hidden during the day, opened, and a boy of their age walked in.

The eyes are black and white, and they are very aura. She is thin and slightly shorter than Ewen.

When the boy entered the courtyard, he was visibly stunned, apparently not expecting to meet the two girls.

After the girl in the red dress was shocked, a hint of cunning flashed in her eyes, and she spoke first: "Who are you? Why did you enter my yard without knocking?"

The boy bowed. opened his mouth and said: "My name is Chen De, Chen Jinnan. On weekdays, I came to find Uncle Zhang, and Uncle Zhang asked me to come in without calling the door. ”

Uncle Zhang in the boy's mouth is a hired worker of the Wang family.

This house is the property of the Wang family, and on weekdays, the Wang family does not live here, so they hire Uncle Zhang to look after the house for them. When the Wang family came, he went back to his home.

The monthly salary is quite a lot. According to Uncle Zhang's words: The Wang family is very generous, and he easily earns a lot of wine money every month.

This Uncle Zhang has been in the academy for a few years, and he is also knowledgeable, and he is a member of the Zhang family, a big local family. The Wang family hired him, which also meant befriending the Zhang family.

The girl said, "You entered my yard without knocking, and you will be punished!"

Yiwen couldn't help but smile when she heard her young lady say this.

When the boy heard this, he felt that he was indeed rude, and said honestly: "What are you going to punish me?"

The girl said, "Well, you have to help us go up and pick two bouquets!"

Then, put Bai Shengsheng's finger on the phoenix tree.

This picking fruits from trees and fishing in the river is nothing more than ordinary for the boys in Qianye Town, and it is really a piece of cake. Chen De did not hesitate, took off his slightly cumbersome coat, put it on the holly bush next to him, rolled up his sleeves and climbed up the tree.

After a while, both girls had an extra bouquet of phoenix flowers in their hands, one large and one small.

Without the regret just now, the girl was in a better mood, and asked the boy with a smile: "You came to my house, is there anything wrong?"

The boy said: "My family has gone to the provincial capital, and I came to play chess with Uncle Zhang." ”

When the girl heard this, she was a little curious, and said a little tentatively: "Look at you stupid, you will also do this way?"

Because, at this age, children from ordinary families will not be exposed to Go under normal circumstances. Go was only circulated in the homes of eunuchs, scholars and wealthy merchants in the Great Yuan Kingdom, and it was a game played only by the rich and leisurely.

Being looked down upon by the girl aroused the boy's competitive spirit, and he couldn't help but raise his voice: "Why not!

At this age, girls are playing and moving. Moreover, the Wang family is not an ordinary family. The children of the Wang family, at a very young age, both male and female, are systematically cultivated in the family to cultivate their various interests and teach various arts. The way of playing is just one of them.

According to the experience of the Wang family, playing Go can develop intelligence, exercise the ability of deduction, mental arithmetic, and memory, which is helpful to the family's business.

The way of the Wang family's game is not only treated as a game, but also given a certain amount of attention. The girl has been a chess player for two years.

Chen De's words undoubtedly aroused the girl's interest. She lifted her chin slightly and said, "Do you dare to play a game with me?"

The boy who was aroused to be competitive said proudly: "Why don't you dare, who is afraid of whom, I will kill you without leaving a piece of armor." ”

When Yiwen heard this, she was unhappy for her young lady: "I look at you, wait a minute, it may be that you don't have a piece of armor." ”

Then leading the way in front, the three of them walked towards the study in high spirits.

The old lady who was reading the account book in the west wing seemed to be very clear about the affairs between the three teenagers, and she said to Chunhe: "You go to the study and light sandalwood incense for Ruoxue and them." ”

Chun Lotus took out a stick of incense from the wrapped jade box he brought with him, this incense was dark in color, black and red, and there were patterns on the surface, like the sandalwood tree pattern.

This incense is obviously more like sandalwood than all the sandalwood incense she ordered before, and it feels heavier in her hand, and this incense looks like a hint of ancient vicissitudes, and she can't help but sigh. Then he took the incense in front of him, turned to the old lady and said, "Madam, this incense is a little different. ”

The old lady glanced at it and said, "This is a month ago, the old man received the goods, according to the price given by this incense is a family heirloom collected by others, it is much more valuable than ordinary sandalwood incense." ”

It turns out that this sandalwood incense has the effect of clearing the heart and calming the mind, and the Wang family lights it on every time they practice, check accounts, discuss major events, and even play games. One is that it can form a good atmosphere, and the other is that it can indeed improve the effect.

By the time the incense was lit, the two had already played about twenty or thirty moves on the chessboard.

Because of Chen De's courtesy, the girl took the black chess first, and Chen De played the white chess behind.

Chen De's chess was learned from Uncle Zhang, and Uncle Zhang was a wild way of chess, so Chen De's chess was also a wild way. It's not as good as this Miss Wang family, who has been taught systematically.

This difference is evident in the layout. The big field and important place on the chessboard, the black chess should occupy and can occupy the basic non-leakage. White, on the other hand, is blind to a few big games and occupies a few areas that are not important in the layout.

As soon as he entered the mid-game, white was already fully defeated.

Compared with Miss Wang and Yiwen's ease-mindedness, Chen De closed his lips tightly and frowned.

In order to salvage the situation, his white chess pieces penetrated deep into the base camp of black chess, showing the momentum of a fish dying and a broken boat. Black immediately encircled and strangled the incoming white piece. Immediately there was a storm on the chessboard, and gunsmoke was everywhere.

When the two were fighting fiercely on the chessboard, in the wing room, Mrs. Wang was also asking Chunhe about Chen De's origin.

Chunhe said to Mrs. Wang: "According to Zhang Tingyuan, this Chen De's father is the deputy deacon of the stone cutting office in Qianye Town, named Chen Qile, and he is the eldest of his two sons. He studied in the town's school, excelled in his studies, and was liked by the teachers in the school. The strange thing is that when Chen Qile went out to play and reported to the provincial capital, he often took his wife and second son with him, but his second son was not as good as the eldest Chen De in all aspects. Whenever Chen Qile went out with his wife and second son, the boss and a few subordinates were often left behind, saying that they wanted them to watch the house. ”

When Chunhe said this, he paused, took a sip of tea, and then continued: "This Chen De, at this time, there is no one to control, and he plays around by himself. Once, when Zhang Tingyuan was fiddling with Go in the backyard by himself, Chen De and a few partners happened to come over to play, and he was interested, so he wanted to learn to play Go from Zhang Tingyuan. Zhang Tingyuan saw that he was still quite clever, very respectful, and willing to teach him. After coming and going, the two got acquainted, and he called Zhang Tingyuan Uncle Zhang. ”

When Mrs. Wang heard this, she said to herself: "The deacon of the stone cutting office, Chen Qile, is a little weird. ”

Chunhe, as always, stood quietly beside the old lady while she was thinking.

Chunhe also knew in his heart: the Wang family has several mines in Bailong Mountain, and there is a necessary intersection with the deacon of the stone cutting office, so it is no wonder that the old lady has to think about it.

After a while, the old lady seemed to be interested in this Chen De, turned her head to Chun He and said, "This young man seems to have a little fate with my Wang family, go and see if he is my Xue'er's opponent." ”