Chapter 14

On a Sunday afternoon, carrying some clothes for a change and some pickled vegetables for Feng Hongbing, Feng Wen and I met up and went back to school together.

When we arrived at school, it was still early, not even three o'clock. Feng Wen went to sleep in the dormitory, while I went to the classroom. I could either preview or review lessons, or even write some outlines from memory. Even if I couldn't submit them now, I could save them for a suitable time in the future.

When I got to the classroom, only a few people were sitting there. I greeted Huang Jingping, "You're here so early! So dedicated, studying vocabulary?"

"Yes, you're not late either," Huang Jingping smiled faintly.

She was wearing a sky-blue hair clip, a silk blouse, blue jeans, and white sneakers, looking very fresh. Feng Yiping couldn't help but glance at her a few more times. This time, Huang Jingping noticed and her face turned a bit red.

There was nothing much to the story after that. Feng Yiping took out a notebook and placed a dictionary beside it. He would often flip through the dictionary while writing, as he knew many characters but couldn't write them. Without the help of intelligent pinyin, he had to look up characters one by one based on their pronunciation, which was quite troublesome.

Huang Jingping glanced at him a few times, not quite understanding what he was doing, but seeing his focused expression, she didn't disturb him.

Student life was monotonous and dull, and the teachers' lives were not much better. The Liangjiahe Township Government, which had been merged, was a bit of a distance away, about ten minutes by bicycle. Liangjiahe Township had only one street, and although the township government had been merged, some institutions were still retained, such as the industry and commerce bureau, tax bureau, forestry station, supply and marketing cooperative, and the hospital. There was also a cinema, but it rarely showed movies.

As for television, cable TV had not yet been popularized, and only a few channels could be received with outdoor antennas, so there were not many programs to watch.

The school's cultural and sports facilities mainly consisted of a lonely basketball hoop, with a broken backboard, an uneven and unlined playground, so it was rarely used. The other facility was a cement table tennis table, which was more frequently used by the male and female teachers.

In addition, under the sycamore trees in front of the building, a few low tables were set up after lunch and dinner, where mainly male teachers played Chinese chess. Feng Yiping guessed they also wanted to play cards or mahjong, but due to the restrictions of being role models, those activities could only be done indoors.

After dinner, Feng Yiping washed his bowl and returned. He saw Mr. Zhu, the husband of his homeroom teacher, Ms. Wang Yumin, sitting at a small table in front of the building, a cigarette in his mouth, his pants rolled up to his knees, pondering a chess game. It seemed his chess partner was busy, so he was entertaining himself.

He quickened his pace, put away his bowl, and Feng Wen asked, "Let's go," meaning to go to the usual place to take a bath. Feng Yiping said, "You go ahead, I have something to do today," and hurried away.

He sat directly opposite Mr. Zhu, who looked up at him, puzzled.

"Mr. Zhu, I'm Feng Yiping, from Ms. Wang's class."

"Oh, Feng Yiping, I've heard you have good grades," Mr. Zhu nodded.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhu, just getting by."

"Good, humility is a virtue, it helps one progress."

"Mr. Zhu, the other teachers haven't finished eating yet, and you're free now. How about I play a game with you?"

"Play with me?" Mr. Zhu laughed, "You're good at chess too?"

"Not at all, not at all," Feng Yiping bowed formally, "I've been playing for three years, please give me some guidance, Mr. Zhu!"

This gesture made Mr. Zhu laugh, "Alright, since you asked, and I'm free anyway, I'll give you some guidance!"

Mr. Zhu insisted on giving him a chariot, a horse, and a cannon, reasoning that otherwise, he would win too easily, and it wouldn't be interesting. Feng Yiping didn't argue.

Of course, Mr. Zhu chose the black pieces, and Feng Yiping chose the red pieces, with Feng Yiping making the first move. He started by moving his elephant, which Mr. Zhu found interesting, thinking Feng Yiping was young but wanted to match his skills.

This game wasn't finished, and Mr. Zhu said, "You're good, worth my effort, let's play again." He reset the board without offering to give him any pieces.

He still let Feng Yiping make the first move. Feng Yiping said, "Mr. Zhu, if you win, it's expected, but if you let me win by chance, do you think there should be a reward?"

By this time, a few teachers and third-year students had gathered to watch, while most first-year students still kept their distance from the teachers.

Hearing Feng Yiping, a teacher chimed in, "That's right, Mr. Zhu, good grades deserve a reward!"

With so many people urging him, Mr. Zhu couldn't back down. He also had a rough idea of Feng Yiping's level, so he said, "Winning deserves a reward, but losing should have a punishment, right?"

"Of course, if I lose, I'll do my best to fulfill any request within my ability."

"Alright then," Mr. Zhu put down his pants, covering his hairy legs, "What reward do you want?"

"Hehe," Feng Yiping laughed, "I hope you can find time to give me some extra lessons, teach me drawing and music notation!"

"Why do you want to learn these things?" Mr. Zhu was a bit surprised.

"Just a hobby, can you, Mr. Zhu?"

Mr. Zhu taught music and had a cheerful, humorous personality, getting along well with the students. He often showed off his drawing skills on the blackboard during class, such as quick sketches, which earned him many fans.

"Learning more is a good thing, I'll help you, but it's up to you, okay?"

"Thank you, Mr. Zhu!"

According to the rules, it was best of three. In the first game, Feng Yiping made the first move, still starting with the elephant, playing steadily. In the end, Mr. Zhu checkmated him with a horse and a cannon.

In the second game, Feng Yiping no longer held back, starting with a cannon in the center, and his chariot and horse breaking through from the sides. Mr. Zhu was a bit careless, and Feng Yiping seized the opportunity, sacrificing a chariot to take out a chariot, a horse, and a cannon, winning the game.

At the start of the third game, Ms. Wang Yumin called from the second floor, "Old Zhu!"

Mr. Zhu stood up and left, "Feng Yiping, right? Your teacher needs me, we'll finish this game next time." Without waiting for Feng Yiping's response, he walked up the stairs and closed the door with a thud.

The students didn't dare laugh, but the teachers didn't mind, "Old Zhu, is your wife so strict? No problem, a few more minutes and we could have decided the winner, I'll explain to Ms. Wang."

Feng Yiping mixed up the pieces and stood up, "I won't take up your seats anymore."

A second-grade homeroom teacher, also a math teacher, said, "Don't go, play a couple of games with me, I can also give you extra lessons, if you have any questions in math, you can ask me."

Feng Yiping said, "Mr. Chen, it's an honor to play with you, but I really have homework to do, which I need to submit during self-study. Please understand."

Mr. Chen waved him off, letting him go. He was just joking; he had watched the last two games and knew that even if he could win against Feng Yiping, it would take some effort, and a slip could lead to a loss, just like Mr. Zhu. Losing to a student in front of everyone would be embarrassing.

When Feng Yiping left, the students followed. Someone patted his shoulder from behind, and he turned to see Feng Hongbing, "Not bad, Yiping, how did you get so good?"

"Hehe, just lucky. During the summer, I saw a chess book at my grandfather's house and learned a few moves."

"Oh, that makes sense! I'm going back to the classroom, find me if you need anything."

Feng Yiping's chess skills improved dramatically after he bought his first computer. The computer came with a few small single-player games. He could win all of them except the chess game, which he played for a week and only won once. Feeling ashamed, he bought a few chess books and practiced. After half a year, he could win more often than lose against the computer.

On the afternoon of Teachers' Day, Feng Yiping was about to go to Class 2 to find Wang Changning when he saw Mr. Zhu holding a large enamel bowl, standing under the sycamore tree in front of the classroom building, gesturing to him.

Seeing the pickled leeks in his bowl, Mr. Zhu unceremoniously took a chopstickful and chewed it, "Mm, this is good."

Feng Yiping looked at the loofah and eggs and the green beans with peppers in Mr. Zhu's bowl and wanted to say, "Let's swap," but instead said, "You eat, I have another jar."

"No need, just tasting," Mr. Zhu said, shoveling rice into his mouth, "Yiping, come to my place after dinner tomorrow, you know where it is, right?"

Feng Yiping was delighted, "I know."

"Good, see you then."

Feng Yiping understood that Mr. Zhu had agreed to take him on.

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