Chapter 232: Chapter 232: Sounding Out the Cunning Merchant

Translator: 549690339 |

“This old man is just like a lonely old man, always looking for trouble. You should use your expertise to enlighten him. He’s acting like a menopausal woman…”

“What the hell are you talking about, old woman!” Father Yu quickly noticed that his wife was definitely not saying anything nice about him.

Mother Yu winked at Xiao Qian and then went into the kitchen to help Aunt prepare lunch.

Xiao Qian was actually quite envious of the way Father and Mother Yu interacted. They seemed to have a lively and loving relationship.

Only in such a family atmosphere would the Yu siblings cherish their familial bonds so much. Xiao Qian wondered if she and Ming Lang would be like that when they grew old.

“Little girl, do you know how to play chess?” Father Yu asked Xiao Qian.

“I know a little bit.” Xiao Qian said modestly.

“Young people, this is our national essence! Come, come to the study, I’ll teach you a few moves.”

“Thank you, uncle.”

Half an hour later, Father Yu looked annoyed, holding a chess piece, undecided. He occasionally glanced at Xiao Qian, who was sitting across from him.

Father Yu’s two most prized possessions were his magical braised pork, which he only shared with people he liked, and the redwood Luohan bed in his study. Only those he found particularly pleasing were invited to sit on it and play chess while having tea.

Now, Father Yu somewhat regretted inviting this seemingly naive girl to sit on his treasured bed. It felt like he had invited trouble.

just half an hour ago, Father Yu had promised to teach Xiao Qian the essence of Chinese chess.

Now, he found it difficult to make a move, as Xiao Qian was beating him at every turn.

Looking at the little girl sitting across from him, she seemed completely at ease, as if she wasn’t even using half of her strength.

Father Yu slammed the chess piece down, gritting his teeth.

“I don’t want to play anymore!”

He felt deceived by this little girl. How could she say that she only knew a little about chess? Her moves were precise, and she even had traps to trick Father Yu into stepping in.

Among the Old Yu Family, Father Yu’s chess skills could barely rank in the top three. The first was the friendly-faced Boss Yu, who won nine out of ten games. The second was the domineering Ming Lang, and Father Yu could occasionally win a few games by secretly grabbing some of Ming Lang’s chess pieces when he wasn’t paying attention. The third brother didn’t play, but he always managed to beat the second brother. However, Father Yu suspected that it might be intentional on Second Brother’s part.

Finding a young opponent who seemed easy to bully, Father Yu wanted to deceive Xiao Qian into a few games. But now his pride had been wounded.

Mother Yu called everyone to lunch, her laughter and Father Yu’s grumpy expression mingling in the air.

“This old man, he can’t take a loss, just like a child.”

“It’s my fault. I should have let uncle win.” Xiao Qian didn’t expect that the imposing Father Yu would be such a sore loser…

“With your skills, you can fool those old men in our community who are at your level. But don’t act so smug at home. How do you expect the kids to react? You’re not happy when they beat you, and it’s nearly impossible for them to lose to you and make you happy.”

Mother Yu’s words left Father Yu with an unpleasant expression on his face. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh.

“Ha ha, let’s hurry up and eat. After lunch, I’ll take Xiao Qian to visit Old Li. He must be home, hahaha!”

Father Yu pictured himself leading Xiao Qian to neighbor Old Li. With a casual tone, he would say, “This is the youngest and least skillful member of my family, who also learned chess from me. Care for a couple of rounds with her?” Watching Old Li get defeated by Xiao Qian would be the best revenge for his insults about Father Yu’s chess skills.

Mother Yu brutally burst Father Yu’s bubble.

“Don’t bother Xiao Qian. After lunch, she’s going shopping with me. Zhaozhao is also off this afternoon, so we three can have a girls’ day out.”

Father Yu’s expression instantly darkened, and Xiao Qian suddenly felt that Mother Yu’s perception of her husband was spot-on. Old-child or young-child. After lunch with Father and Mother Yu, Mother Yu piled food onto Xiao Qian’s plate while reciting lines similar to those Ming Lang had told her before.

“Look how thin this child is. Her face is gone!”

“Aunt, I’ve actually gained weight. I’m close to 100 pounds now.” Xiao Qian was almost 8 pounds heavier than when she started college, and half of the weight gain was due to Mother Yu’s delicious cooking.

“Young people shouldn’t always focus on losing weight. Do you think looking like a stick is attractive? I don’t like those people who always talk about dieting. Back then, we would chew on tree bark when we were starving. Look at what those young people are wasting now. They don’t eat even when they have food!”

Father Yu began to reminisce about the past, but Mother Yu shoved a chopstick full of food into his mouth to shut him up. “That’s ancient history. Besides, Xiao Qian is a bit thin, but gaining a few more pounds would be just right.” Xiao Qian smiled reluctantly, realizing that aesthetics do get passed down through generations.

When Ming Li entered the house, he almost thought he’d walked into the wrong place.

His proud and stubborn dad was sitting with Xiao Qian in the living room, chatting happily over tea. Their laughter could be heard from the door.

“Back then, we would go out at night, and the villagers would bring us food. The night was so dark we couldn’t turn on the light, and Old Li ate noisily. When the enemy planes flew away and we finally turned on the light, we saw he’d eaten the pig feed thinking it was dry food,” Father Yu was telling the story to Xiao Qian.

“You must have been very insightful at that time.” Xiao Qian’s timely praise made Father Yu laugh even more.

“Yes, I was very sharp when I was young. All my kids are like me, hahaha!” Ming Lang and his father did have similarities. They both held grudges, even over something as trivial as being called a bad chess player. Ming Lang,’ too, had a petty side.

“Xiao Qian, you’re here?” Eldest Brother greeted Xiao Qian with a smile.

Xiao Qian noticed that the smile seemed somewhat different from before. Ming Lang’s defense of her the day before had put the seemingly friendly brother on guard.

Big Brother, I have something to discuss with you.”

“Oh? How did you know I’d be home today?”

“Ming Lang told me. He said that no matter how busy you are, you always come home one day on the weekend to see your parents. I figured it’d be easier to find you here than at your company.”

“What do you want from him?” Father Yu asked curiously.

”1 have an internship assignment during the winter break. If Big Brother can provide me an opportunity, that would be great. I don’t need a salary, just some social experience.”

Ming Li looked at her with amusement, knowing that her excuse would only fool his parents. Xiao Qian, who was studying clinical psychology, would more likely intern with his mother’s medical profession than his own business.

Oh, an internship, that’s a good thing. Sure, you can talk with Big Brother about it. Young people should gain some social experience.”

Mother Yu seemed a bit disappointed. “I was hoping to go shopping with Xiao Qian.”

“There will be more chances for shopping, but Big Brother is so busy, I have to seize the opportunity to talk with him.”

Thinking that Xiao Qian was here because of the unpleasant encounter Ming Lang had yesterday with her, Ming Li didn’t expose her. He just smiled at her..