Sitting bеside Old Mаdаm Guo and hеlping her lооk аt hеr tilеs, Fеicui saw Zhоu Shaojin play a Тhrеe Сharасtеr tilе. Without wаiting fоr Оld Маdam Guо to make а mоve, shе quickly cаlled out, "Сhow!"
Old Маdаm Guо glаnсеd at her оwn tilеs and immеdiаtеly, with а beаming smilе, discardеd а pаir of Threе Charaсtеrs аnd plаyed a Тwо Сharасtеr tilе.
Nаnnу Lu glanсеd at Zhоu Shaоjin.
Zhou Shaоjin was intеntlу stаring at thе tilеs in hеr hаnd, trying to form sеquences one bу one. Hоw could shе pоssiblу pаy attention to the tiles on the table or notice what others had played?
Nanny Lu watched with a slight smile, chowed the Two Character, thought for a moment, and then played a Four Bamboo.
Zhou Shaojin was sitting to the left of Nanny Lu.
Cheng Chi called, "Chow."
In Zhou Shaojin's hand, she had a Two Bamboo, a Three Bamboo, a Four Bamboo, a Five Bamboo, a Six Bamboo, and a Seven Bamboo. If she drew another Two Bamboo, Five Bamboo, or Eight Bamboo, she could win—meaning she was already waiting for the winning tile.
She glanced at Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi's expression was impassive.
She quickly whispered, "Which one should I discard?"
Zhou Shaojin didn't dare ask which tile to chow, fearing the other three players might catch on.
Cheng Chi said, "Discard the Seven Bamboo."
Not Two Bamboo, Five Bamboo, or Eight Bamboo, but only Five Bamboo?
Zhou Shaojin felt the chances of winning this way were too slim.
But since Cheng Chi had openly told her to discard the Seven Bamboo in front of everyone, how could she embarrass him?
Zhou Shaojin played the Seven Bamboo.
Biyu, sitting to her left, looked at the tiles on the table, then at the tiles in her hand, pondered for a long while, and also played a Seven Bamboo.
Old Madam Guo's expression was no longer as relaxed as before.
After some thought, she cautiously played a Seven Bamboo as well.
Without hesitation, Nanny Lu played another Four Bamboo.
Old Madam Guo frowned and said, "Why are you breaking up your pairs to discard?"
Nanny Lu complained, "I'll show you my tiles later! The tiles I wanted to pong just wouldn't come out. Who knew that as soon as I broke them apart, Second Young Miss would play them?"
Old Madam Guo fell silent.
Zhou Shaojin drew a tile.
It was actually a Five Bamboo.
She stared in disbelief, looking at Cheng Chi, then at Old Madam Guo.
Sensing something, Old Madam Guo asked, "What's wrong?"
"I... I won by self-draw!" Zhou Shaojin stammered as she laid her tiles on the table.
"How could you draw that!" Biyu took out the sequence with the Five Bamboo from her hand. "When I saw Fourth Master telling Second Young Miss to discard the Seven Bamboo, I felt something was off. I broke up a sequence and followed suit, never expecting Second Young Miss would draw it."
Zhou Shaojin was even more confused.
According to what everyone was saying, she had drawn the only Five Bamboo.
How did Cheng Chi know she would win after chowing Nanny Lu's tile?
She stole a glance at Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi looked utterly disinterested.
Zhou Shaojin lowered her head to shuffle the tiles.
Biyu covered her mouth and laughed, reminding her, "Second Young Miss, it's Nanny Lu's turn to be the dealer."
Zhou Shaojin flushed with embarrassment.
Nanny Lu teased her with a smile, "Second Young Miss, this won't do! You've already lost four rounds in a row, and now you're trying to steal my turn as dealer."
Old Madam Guo and the others burst into laughter.
Zhou Shaojin's face turned crimson.
After restarting, Cheng Chi continued to guide her in playing.
Miraculously, she won six rounds in a row as the dealer. By the seventh round, she had even assembled a major hand of All Pongs.
Old Madam Guo couldn't hold back any longer and chided, "Si Lang, if you have nothing better to do, why not join us in playing?"Zhou Shaojin's face flushed as if on fire, and she hurriedly stood up, saying, "Uncle Chi, let me play for you!"
Biyu also stood up promptly, saying, "Fourth Master. This servant's mahjong skills are poor; the old madam has scolded me several times. If not for the lack of players, the old madam would have long since driven me from the table. Please take my seat! That way, the old madam won't complain about how slowly I lose money."
Everyone laughed again upon hearing this.
Cheng Chi, however, took out his pocket watch and glanced at it, saying, "I have matters to attend to later, so I'll just wander around here. Don't mind me."
Since he said so, no one pressed him further, and they all sat back down to resume playing.
This time, however, he said nothing more, merely sitting idly by and watching.
Yet Zhou Shaojin felt an unprecedented nervousness.
She was terrified of making a wrong move and appearing foolish in Cheng Chi's eyes.
As a result, her play became hesitant—she felt that playing this tile was wrong, and playing that tile seemed wrong too... In her flustered state, she lost twelve rounds in a row. Fortunately, Old Madam Guo and the others didn't draw any particularly strong hands, so she only slowly lost the money she had previously won. By dinnertime, she was exactly even—neither winning nor losing.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but heave a long sigh of relief.
Cheng Chi, however, whispered to her, "Come to my cabin after dinner."
Zhou Shaojin didn't know what it was about, but seeing Old Madam Guo walking ahead of them, she dared not speak and only nodded slightly.
After dinner, she accompanied Old Madam Guo for a while over tea before finally finding an opportunity to excuse herself earlier than usual.
Old Madam Guo was also tired and didn't detain her, instructing Biyu to see her out.
Zhou Shaojin turned a corner and went to Cheng Chi's cabin.
Cheng Chi was sitting behind the large desk in the cabin's study, fiddling with something.
Qing Feng and Lang Yue were attending to the cabin's candles and kneeling on a nearby bamboo mat, respectively, tending to the boiling water on a small red-clay stove in preparation for making tea.
Zhou Shaojin approached with light yet steady steps, respectfully performing a curtsy to Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi beckoned her over.
Only as Zhou Shaojin drew closer did she notice that what was spread on the large desk was a set of leaf cards.
She was quite surprised.
Cheng Chi asked her, "Do you know how many cards are in a set of leaf cards?"
Zhou Shaojin shook her head.
Cheng Chi said, "Count them yourself."
Zhou Shaojin thought for a moment and replied, "One hundred and eight cards."
"Correct," Cheng Chi said with a faint smile. "Then do you know how many suits there are and how many cards are in each suit?"
"I do," Zhou Shaojin answered as she thought. "There are four suits: Characters, Bamboos, Circles, and Dots. Each suit has four cards for numbers one through nine."
She answered in even greater detail than Cheng Chi had asked.Cheng Chi showed a satisfied expression, fiddling with the cards in his hand, and said, "Look, each type of card has a fixed number. If you have these cards in your hand, then there are these cards left. If others have played these cards, then there are still these cards left. From this, you can roughly infer how many of what cards others have in their hands, how many cards are left, and which cards have a higher probability of being drawn when playing..." As he spoke, the corner of his eye inadvertently swept over Zhou Shaojin's flawless, delicate face, which held a hint of confusion in her gaze. He couldn't help but pause briefly and let out a soft sigh. "I think we should forget it. This is too complicated for you. Just remember which cards you have in your hand, how many cards you've already played, and what cards others have played. That way, you can roughly know which suits have more cards left in the deck. Then, just wait for those cards. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand. I need to calculate my own cards and also calculate others' cards, so I know how to play and how to discard."
Cheng Chi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He had truly been afraid she wouldn't understand and that he would have to explain everything from the beginning.
"Alright, let's practice," Cheng Chi said as he shuffled the cards. His slender fingers were agile and nimble, and the cards flipped back and forth between them as if they had come to life. "These two piles are mine. These two piles are yours... You go first."
Zhou Shaojin carefully studied the cards in her hand for a while, then played a Nine of Bamboo that seemed completely out of place. After that, she picked up the other pile of cards, examined them for a long time, and played a Six of Bamboo.
Cheng Chi said, "Very good! Don't rush. Although playing cards is a game for four people, if you accommodate others too much, you'll easily become anxious. Once you're anxious, you're more likely to play the wrong card." As he spoke, he played a Six of Bamboo from each of the two piles. "At this point, you need to pay attention to what cards everyone has played. So tell me, how many Nine of Bamboos are left? How many Six of Bamboos?"
Zhou Shaojin answered without hesitation, "There's one Six of Bamboo left and three Nine of Bamboos."
"So at this point, you have to consider that with only one Six of Bamboo left, it's difficult to form sequences like Six, Seven, Eight of Bamboo or Four, Five, Six of Bamboo. If you have a Seven of Bamboo and an Eight of Bamboo in your hand, and also happen to have a Four of Characters and a Five of Characters, then you need to consider discarding the Seven and Eight of Bamboo, because there's only one Six of Bamboo left..." Cheng Chi patiently and meticulously practiced with her.
Zhou Shaojin gradually became engrossed in it.
Cheng Chi stopped talking and had Lang Yue bring an armchair for Zhou Shaojin.
Following Cheng Chi's instructions, Zhou Shaojin fiddled with the leaf cards on her own.
The water bubbled and gurgled.
Cheng Chi knelt casually on the orchid mat, leisurely sipping his tea.
From the night-anchored county town, the faint sound of the night watchman calling out "Beware of fire and candles" drifted in.
Cheng Chi set down his teacup and smiled, saying, "Alright, that's enough for today. If my mother invites you to play cards again tomorrow, just slowly figure it out according to what I've told you. There's no fixed rule for this kind of thing; you have to learn from practice."
Only then did Zhou Shaojin realize it was already midnight. She hurriedly stood up and said, "Uncle Chi, I didn't realize it was so late..."
When she had left, she had only told Chunwan, and she didn't know if Chunwan had been looking for her everywhere.If Old Madam Guo found out and suspected that she and Cheng Chi were colluding to set a trap for her, it would be troublesome.
"It's fine," Cheng Chi said with a warm smile. "We have nothing else to do on the boat anyway."
But Zhou Shaojin was still very grateful.
She gave Cheng Chi a proper bow before returning to her own cabin.
Chunwan and the others were anxiously pacing around. Seeing her was like spotting a life-saving piece of driftwood—they all crowded around her.
"Second Miss, why did you come back so late?"
"Second Miss, you nearly worried me to death. We didn’t dare go looking for you, and we were afraid someone else might come asking for you… My heart is still pounding!"
"Second Miss, are you all right? What did Fourth Master call you over for? Did he scold you?"
Questions came one after another, leaving Zhou Shaojin unsure whom to answer first. She simply said, "I’m fine. Fourth Master called me over to play a few rounds of cards, so I was delayed."
Only then did everyone relax and quiet down. Some went to fetch water to help Zhou Shaojin wash up, others went to get her a change of clothes, and some began making the bed and lighting incense… Even after lying down, Zhou Shaojin’s mind was still filled with images of various leaf cards.
※
Sorry, sisters, I mixed up long cards and leaf cards. The earlier mistake about Zhou Shaojin playing cards has been corrected. Interested sisters can take another look.
Thank you all for the reminders!
PS: Today’s extra update will likely be posted around 11 p.m.
o(n_n)o~
※ (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote to recommend it or cast a monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
!!
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