Free Web NovelChapter 286: Chapter 286: Playing Mahjong
Lin Shan went into the house to change into his cotton-padded pants, then came out and had lunch with everyone.
With so many people, the meal was a lively affair. Lin Shan ate and drank with the young men, telling them stories about the village, and everyone listened with great interest.
Chen Fengjiao gazed at Lin Shan, her eyes shining and her face a picture of tenderness.
Gu’er watched her mother. ’No matter what,’ she thought, ’Mom’s love for Dad is real.’
After the meal, everyone was still in high spirits. No one left, and they all continued chatting in the Lin family’s living room.
Chen Fengjiao sat there, her gaze shifting from Lin Shan to, every so often, Sun Jiaming and Li Zhi.
Lin Sui’er was on her best behavior, not daring to sit next to Li Zhi. For one, she was afraid of Dingzi; for another, she was afraid of Lin Shan.
Gu’er had to suppress a laugh. ’Mom must be dying for them to leave so she can have a proper chat with Dad. They haven’t seen each other in so long; she must miss him terribly.’
’That Li Zhi is so clueless. He can’t take a hint at all. Judging by how enthusiastically he’s talking, he probably won’t be leaving anytime soon.’
"Mom, do we have a mahjong set at home?"
Gu’er couldn’t stand it any longer. Her own mother’s expression was starting to look downright pitiful.
"Huh? Did you say mahjong? No, we don’t have a set. I don’t play. Your Aunt Wang upstairs has one, though. Why? You want to play? Do you even know how?"
Chen Fengjiao didn’t understand what Gu’er was getting at.
In fact, Gu’er regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth. She did know how to play. Huang Mingyu had been an excellent player, and Gu’er had learned the rules just by listening to her talk about it all the time. People also frequently played at Zhang Juan’s house, and while she was there watching the children, she would occasionally watch a few hands, so she knew the basics. But then she remembered her past life—how Little Yue’er had died because Huang Mingyu was too engrossed in a game to watch her properly. A wave of hatred for mahjong washed over her.
"Go upstairs and ask Aunt Wang to lend us her mahjong set," Lin Shan said to Chen Fengjiao. "It’s the New Year. Let the young ones have some fun."
Lin Shan understood Gu’er’s intention, but he couldn’t help but wonder, ’What’s with that flicker of sadness in her eyes?’
"Oh, I’ll go right now," Chen Fengjiao said, muttering to herself, "I wonder if it’s bad luck to borrow things during the New Year."
Gu’er started to get up, but Lin Sui’er was faster. "I’ll go with Mom," she said.
Since she was already going, Gu’er sat back down.
"How’s business at your shop?" Lin Shan asked Gu’er.
"It’s been amazing!" Li Zhi jumped in to answer. "You have no idea, we made a killing over the holiday."
Gu’er nodded in agreement. Business had been booming before the New Year; a few items had even sold out completely.
"As long as business is good, that’s what matters. Keep up the good work."
Lin Shan nodded, impressed. ’I didn’t expect these kids to actually make a real go of it.’
"I’ve got the mahjong set!" Chen Fengjiao announced as she came through the door. "Aunt Wang was teasing me, saying I’ve learned how to play now. She even said she’ll call me to fill a spot in her game one day."
"Great, we can play a few rounds," Gu’er said, taking the mahjong set. "Dad, you just got back. You should go lie down and rest. Mom, why don’t you go see if Dad’s leg is bothering him."
It finally dawned on Chen Fengjiao that Gu’er was giving her and Lin Shan some time alone. A faint blush crept onto her cheeks, but she was delighted. She truly did have so much she wanted to talk to Lin Shan about.
"Leave it to my daughter to look after her old man. She knows I’m tired," Lin Shan said. "Alright, I’ll go lie down for a while. You all have fun."
Once Lin Shan and Chen Fengjiao had gone to their room, Gu’er and the others set the mahjong tiles on the table. Lin Sui’er promptly moved a stool and sat right next to Li Zhi, who immediately tensed up. He couldn’t very well tell her to move, however.
Lin Zheng sat down between Gu’er and Dingzi.
"Hey, do you even know how to play mahjong?" Li Zhi asked Dingzi.
Dingzi stared at him, nodded, and said, "No."
"Then why are you nodding?!"
Li Zhi was rendered speechless.
"I don’t," Dingzi said, nodding again.
Gu’er burst out laughing.
"I don’t know how, either," Sun Jiaming said with a smile. "Gu’er, why don’t you teach us?" He smiled, but inside he was puzzled. ’Gu’er never came across mahjong in the village, so when did she learn to play? And earlier, when she suggested it, the look in her eyes was so sad it hurt. Is there some story there?’
"I-I’m not that good either," Gu’er stammered. "I’ve just watched people play. I can tell you what I know."
In truth, Gu’er wasn’t an expert herself. freewёbnoνel.com
"Alright, alright, you’re looking at a master here," Li Zhi declared grandly. "Let me show you guys how it’s done."
"Teach me too! Then next time I can play with you, Brother Li," Lin Sui’er said, looking at Li Zhi with stars in her eyes.
Li Zhi nearly deflated on the spot, but he still explained the rules to everyone.
Since Sun Jiaming and Dingzi were complete novices, the game went very slowly, and Li Zhi was winning consistently at the start.
After they had played for a while, Dingzi pushed his tiles forward and simply stared at Li Zhi without a word.
"What’s up? You don’t want to play anymore?" Li Zhi taunted. "Is it because I won a little money from you? You don’t have to be a sore loser about it."
Dingzi remained silent, just continuing to stare at Li Zhi.
"Li Zhi, Dingzi won," Gu’er said. Only then did Li Zhi look at Dingzi’s tiles.
"Y-You... You won on the single last tile, and with a middle-wait too! That’s a huge hand. All my winnings for the day have just been wiped out."
Li Zhi glared at Dingzi.
Without a word, Dingzi held out his hand. Resigned, Li Zhi paid up.
After that, everyone started winning hands here and there. As beginner’s luck would have it, by the time dinner rolled around, Li Zhi was the one who had lost the most. He was so mad he was grinding his teeth, looking like he wanted to bite someone.
After dinner at the Lin family’s home, everyone said their goodbyes. Gu’er didn’t stay over either. ’It’s Dad’s first day back,’ she reasoned, ’I should give Mom some time with him.’
Li Zhi dropped Gu’er and Sun Jiaming off at the Sun family’s house. It was the New Year, after all, and Gu’er didn’t want to be home alone.
The first day of the Lunar New Year passed just like that. The second day arrived, which was traditionally the day for married women to visit their parents. However, Chen Fengjiao’s family didn’t live nearby, and with Lin Shan no longer working in the city, she had no plans to make the trip back to her maiden home.
Li Hua was also hesitant. She wanted to visit her own family, but after hearing Gu’er’s story yesterday about the trip to pick up Lin Shan, she knew the road to the village was treacherous. Her own injury had only just healed; it would be terrible if something else happened on the way. So, she took Gu’er’s advice and decided against going.
Gu’er was debating whether to spend the day at the Sun Family’s house or the Lin Family’s house. To her surprise, Lin Shan showed up at the door, with Chen Fengjiao, Lin Sui’er, and Lin Zheng in tow.
"Shan, what are you doing here?" Grandma Sun exclaimed. "Gu’er told me your leg was injured. Are you alright?"
"I’m fine now. I came to see you, Auntie, and to check on our big sister," Lin Shan said, taking Grandma Sun’s hand and studying her complexion. "Feng Jiao’s family isn’t from around here, and I don’t have many relatives left myself. You’re our elder, so we talked it over and decided to spend the day with you. I hope you don’t mind us showing up to freeload a meal."
"How could I ever? I’m so happy you’ve come! It means you don’t think of me as a stranger. Quick, come in and sit down, sit down."
Grandma Sun was so happy she kept wiping tears from her eyes. Her own son hadn’t come for the New Year, yet here was Lin Shan. How could she not be moved?
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