#236 - Preemptive and Postponement
"Let's play a game ~"
These words immediately reminded Wei Changtian of those rocking horse rides shaped like Pleasant Goat that were placed on the side of the road in his previous life.
Of course, there wouldn't be any rocking horse rides in this era, nor would there be any streetwalkers soliciting customers.
The one who said this was a rat-faced old man squatting on the ground, with a chessboard in front of him, along with several opened wooden boxes containing some gold and silver jewelry.
He seemed to be the kind of chess player who played against others.
If he lost, he would give some silver, and if he won, he could take a piece of jewelry, something like that.
...
Speaking of Go, Wei Changtian's level was limited to a few extracurricular interest classes he took when he was in elementary school under the coercion of his mother, Wei. Later, because the time of the Go class conflicted with the right brain development class, he "reluctantly gave up" and never went again.
Wei Changtian didn't know whether his right brain had been successfully developed, but he was very clear about his Go level.
So, it's better not to embarrass himself.
He glanced at the old man and prepared to leave.
However, at this moment, Wei Changtian noticed that Youjia's gaze seemed to be fixed on a certain place.
Following her gaze, it was a hairpin with a ruby in the shape of a peach blossom.
After a slight hesitation, he walked to the old man, squatted down in front of him, and casually picked up the hairpin.
"How much silver for this hairpin?"
"Hehe, young master, I'm not selling this hairpin."
The old man narrowed his eyes and pointed to the chessboard: "Three coins of silver for a game. If you can win a game, you can take the hairpin."
"I don't play chess."
Wei Changtian said impatiently, "Ten taels, is that enough?"
"Young master, I only win, I don't sell. This is my rule."
The old man was unmoved: "If you want it, you must play chess."
...
What bullshit rule.
Wei Changtian was displeased and stood up to leave: "A game of chess will take at least half an hour. I don't have that kind of time."
"Young master, this is not Go..."
The old man didn't stop him, but corrected him: "It's Five-in-a-Row chess."
Huh?
Five-in-a-Row?
"Come on!"
"Watching the excitement" is human nature—an external manifestation of curiosity.
Therefore, seeing Wei Changtian, a richly dressed young master, playing chess with the old man, many people quickly gathered around.
The small chess stall was surrounded by layers of people, but the game had not yet begun.
"Why should you go first?"
Wei Changtian was still squatting in front of the chessboard, while Youjia squatted next to him, with a curious expression on her face.
"Hehe."
Faced with the question, the old man remained unmoved and threw out that sentence again: "This is my rule."
"Bullshit rule, the first move has all the advantages, this is simply unfair."
"Young master, you only spent three coins of silver but you can win my golden hairpin, isn't that equally unfair?"
"Humph."
Hearing the old man insist on going first, Wei Changtian had already guessed that he should also know the "Five-in-a-Row First-Move Winning Method".
So you're using this trick to cheat money.
"Pa!"
He curled his lips and casually threw out a silver note.
"This is a hundred taels, which is far more than the value of this hairpin. Can I go first now?"
"This..."
A hundred taels, such a huge sum of money in front of him, the old man was stunned for a moment.
The onlookers, however, didn't mind the excitement and immediately booed:
"Old Zhangtou! You've set up this chess stall for so many years, you always go first. What's wrong with letting him go first once now?!"
"That's right! This is a hundred taels! If you win, you won't have to set up this chess stall anymore!"
"You're lucky to meet this young master today!"
"Did you step on dog shit when you went out this morning?"
"Hahahaha!"
...
There were all kinds of jeers, but most people were persuading the old man to let Wei Changtian go first once.
But the old man seemed not to hear these people's words. He looked at Wei Changtian, and after a long silence, he suddenly handed over the silver note and the hairpin together.
"Young master, this hairpin... is yours."
"Let's not play chess."
"Huh?"
Wei Changtian was stunned, and soon understood what the old man meant.
The other party should have guessed that he would win with the first move, and wanted to use this method to prevent him from exposing his "fraud".
"If you don't play, then don't play."
Wei Changtian took the hairpin and the silver note, and slowly stood up.
Cutting off someone's wealth is like killing their parents.
Since the hairpin was already in hand, he wouldn't bother to "expose the scam" to these onlookers. He handed the hairpin to Youjia and prepared to leave.
But at this moment, the old man suddenly said behind him:
"Young master, my home is in Luoguo Alley, with an old willow tree in front of the door."
"If you have time tomorrow, you can come and find me."
Fifteen minutes later.
Inside an elegant room in a certain teahouse, Wei Changtian and Youjia sat opposite each other.
Wei Changtian heard the old man's last words, but he didn't take them to heart.
Tomorrow he still has to negotiate with the Xu family, how can he have time to find such an old man?
If it were a beautiful young woman or something, he might be able to squeeze out some time...
Wei Changtian had already put this matter behind him, but Youjia was very interested in what had just happened.
She looked at the hairpin in the box with great affection for a while, then looked up and asked:
"Young master, why did you and the old man insist on going first?"
"This..."
Wei Changtian was too lazy to explain what the "Five-in-a-Row Winning Method" was, so he perfunctorily said: "Playing chess is like planning things, the one who seizes the initiative is naturally more likely to win."
"Oh."
Youjia nodded as if she understood, and whispered again: "But isn't there also the tactic of striking after the opponent moves?"
Striking after the opponent moves?
Wei Changtian thought to himself that he was now preparing to use Youjia to strike at Ning Yongnian after he moved, but he explained a little more on his lips.
"The strong can strike after the opponent moves, the weak can only strike first."
"Is that so?"
Youjia frowned and thought for a while, but it seemed that she didn't understand the meaning of this sentence.
But whether she understood or not, Wei Changtian was ready to get to the point.
"Miss You, we have now arrived in Jizhou, and you must have guessed what I am here to do."
"Now the situation in Da Ning is in great chaos, and the struggle between the Liu and Wei families has reached the point of life and death."
"And if I want to defeat the Liu family as soon as possible, I must borrow the power of the Xu family."
"But this also means..."
Wei Changtian paused here, looked at Youjia, and said word by word:
"The Wei family will sooner or later become a thorn in Ning Yongnian's side, a thorn in his flesh."
...
This teahouse has a good location. Outside the window, a faint cyan river quietly runs horizontally, and in the distance, you can vaguely see ink-painted mountain shadows outside the city.
Wooden buildings with banners hanging on the river bank stand side by side, and small stalls and burdens are lined up on the street and bridge.
In the middle of the bluestone street, people are surging, and in the voices of hawking and bargaining, satisfied smiles bloom on the faces of pedestrians who have bought and sold goods, and there is no sign of a great war imminent.
Compared to the noise outside the window, the inside of the window is silent for a long time.
Ning Yongnian.
Hearing this name again, Youjia seemed to have some kind of premonition.
She lowered her head and was silent for a long, long time, then squeezed out a smile with all her strength, and looked at Wei Changtian and asked softly:
"Young master, what do you want me to do?"
