Chapter 800 - 275: I’ll Make Him Kneel on the Washboard

"A true gentleman watches a game in silence," Old Man Huang said, protective of his charge. The girl had helped him save face, so of course he was going to side with her.

"He’s not a gentle—" Old Qin cut himself off. Qin Mei was a woman, but Jing Si was a man. He aimed his criticism at Old Man Huang instead. "You old chess fiend, don’t you have a double standard? When you were playing, you were thrilled to have that girl as your advisor. But now that Jing Si is my advisor, you have a problem with it? What, so the magistrates can commit arson while the common folk can’t even light their lamps?"

Old Man Huang’s face flushed with embarrassment. He looked to Qin Mei. "Girl?"

"Don’t worry. He’s just one advisor. Nothing to fear." Qin Mei shot Jie Jingchen a provocative glance, as if to say, ’Bring it on. Let the marital warfare begin.’

Seeing how confident Qin Mei was, Old Man Huang grew worried. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Girl, don’t underestimate him. Jing Si’s chess skills are superb."

"Don’t worry. If he wins, I’ll make him kneel on the washboard," Qin Mei said imperiously.

The old men were speechless.

’What does kneeling on a washboard mean?’

Jie Jingchen was speechless.

The moment Qin Mei said this, Jie Jingchen’s survival instinct went into overdrive. He silently shuffled over to stand behind Qin Mei.

Old Qin’s eyes widened, his murky gaze filled with resentment. ’I’ve been abandoned by Jing Si! So much for team spirit! So disloyal! You should’ve just stayed out of it from the beginning if this was your plan. You got involved, let me taste a hint of victory, and now you’re just deserting me?’

’Abandoning me is one thing, but now you’re standing on the opposite side? What is this, some kind of tactic? Are you a mole sent by the opposition to mess with me?’

’Talk about burning your bridges... He’s tearing the bridge down before we’ve even crossed the river!’

"Jing Si, be my advisor," Old Qin pleaded, swallowing his pride, his eyes filled with sincerity.

"Sorry, Grandpa Qin, but I’d rather not kneel on a washboard," Jie Jingchen replied, politely declining.

Old Qin looked baffled. It took him a moment to process, but then he asked, "She tells you to kneel on a washboard, and you’re just going to do it?"

"Grandpa Qin, she’s my wife," Jie Jingchen replied, a smile dancing in his eyes.

The old men were stunned for a moment before roaring with laughter—not at Jie Jingchen, but at Old Qin.

Old Qin felt the frustration of having bitten off more than he could chew. Playing chess against a young girl... If he won, there was no glory in it. If he lost, it was a complete loss of face.

He and Qin Mei had started a game, but somewhere along the way, it had turned into him fighting an entire legion by himself. Qin Mei had a whole troop of advisors behind her, and they were all shamelessly discussing the game. Qin Mei, for her part, humbly solicited their opinions, took everyone’s suggestions, and then deliberated on them at length.

"I’m done. This is ridiculous." Old Qin’s temper finally flared. Anyone in his shoes would have found it unbearable.

"Old Qin, don’t! You haven’t finished the game yet," Old Li urged. Among their group of old men, Old Qin was the most skilled at chess. He’d even given himself the nickname "the Ever-Victorious General." The others were all secretly indignant but never dared to say a word, because Old Qin’s skill truly did trump everyone else’s. They simply couldn’t compare.

"We play chess to cultivate our character! Just look at you all! What happened to the spirit of ’a true gentleman watches a game in silence’? Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves?" Old Qin lambasted them from his moral high ground.

The other old men, all being men who valued their dignity, immediately looked ashamed.

Qin Mei’s eyes narrowed into crescents, her smile so wide it nearly hid them completely. She felt not a single shred of shame. Old Man Huang and Old Qin had been playing a perfectly good game when she forced her way in and corrupted the other spectators. ’Is that my fault? Nah.’

Jie Jingchen covered his face. Grandpa Qin was glaring at his wife, practically seething.

"Alright, alright, Grandpa Qin is right. Chess is for cultivating our character. We must have good sportsmanship and not let it spoil the mood. How about this? I’ll concede this round," Qin Mei said, looking ever so magnanimous.

Jie Jingchen watched his wife with a sense of helplessness. Her words had successfully fanned the flames of Grandpa Qin’s fury to an even greater height. ’Honey, are you sure you’re not just pouring oil on the fire?’

Grandpa Qin was so angry his mustache was practically quivering. Qin Mei’s words may not have been very harmful, but the insult factor was off the charts.

The game ruined, Old Qin stormed off in a rage.

"Old Qin, no matter how angry you get, you can’t take it out on my chess set!" Old Man Huang hollered.

The other old men also began to depart. It was dinnertime, so everyone headed home to eat.

Old Man Huang started putting away the chess pieces, grumbling and cursing as he went. Jie Jingchen helped him clean up.

Old Man Huang looked at Jie Jingchen, his expression turning kind. "Jing Si, let’s you and I play a game."

Jie Jingchen paused, putting the piece he’d just picked up into the box. "Grandpa Huang, my wife is hungry. I have to get home and make dinner."

"Cooking takes time. Let your wife go home and make it. You stay and play a game with me," Old Man Huang said.

"My wife doesn’t know how to cook," Jie Jingchen said.

"Your wife doesn’t know how to cook?" Old Man Huang was surprised. His cloudy eyes locked onto Qin Mei, who simply flashed him a wide grin, not looking the least bit ashamed that she couldn’t cook.

Qin Mei was the Jie family’s daughter-in-law, not his. Besides, he wasn’t some old gossip who went around talking behind people’s backs.

"How about this? You go home and cook, and your wife can play a game with me," Old Man Huang suggested.

Qin Mei froze for a second. She was surprised that Grandpa Huang hadn’t made a huge deal about her not knowing how to cook or launched into a long-winded lecture.

’After all, in this era, women were expected to manage the household. Laundry and cooking were considered essential skills.’

"Well..." Jie Jingchen didn’t want to decide for her. He looked at Qin Mei, a question in his eyes.

Qin Mei stood up and stretched lazily. "Grandpa Huang, I can’t play with you. Jie Jingchen does the cooking, and I tend the fire. A man and a woman working together makes the chores fly by."

"Alright, then." Old Man Huang didn’t insist, just waved a hand at them.

"Grandpa Huang, we’ll be going now," Jie Jingchen said, taking Qin Mei’s hand to leave.

"Goodbye, Grandpa Huang!" Qin Mei called, turning her head to wave at him with a smile.

Old Man Huang watched the two of them go, muttering to himself, "She’s a good girl, very warm-hearted. You really can’t believe the rumors."

Jie Jingchen pedaled toward the Jie residence with Qin Mei riding on the back of the bicycle.

"You know how to play chess?"

Wrapping her arms around Jie Jingchen’s waist, Qin Mei looked up at the back of his head and boasted, "I don’t just ’know how to play chess.’ I’m a master of the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting."

"Really?" Jie Jingchen was genuinely surprised. ’How on earth did the Qin family raise her? I thought she was supposed to be someone who’d slipped through the cracks of the literacy program. But it turns out she’s incredibly knowledgeable and multi-talented, with exceptional medical skills, fluent German, and now chess expertise...’

"Of course not," Qin Mei said, pinching his waist.

The thought of Qin Mei’s design sketches made him sigh. The less said about those, the better. Jie Jingchen stated matter-of-factly, "Your drawing isn’t up to par."

"But you understood them, didn’t you?" Qin Mei retorted, unconvinced. ’My drawings are a complete mess, yet he can still decipher them. He’s the capable one here.’

Jie Jingchen didn’t respond. ’Heaven only knows how I managed to understand them,’ he thought.

The courtyard gate was locked, proving no one was home. Jie Jingchen took out his key and opened it. Qin Mei slipped into the house while Jie Jingchen parked the bicycle and took the net bag with their groceries into the kitchen.

Half an hour later, her stomach rumbling, Qin Mei leaned against the kitchen doorframe. "Jie Jingsi, is dinner ready yet?"

"Almost," Jie Jingchen replied. He had just finished steaming the rice and was about to stir-fry the vegetables.

"Jie Jingsi, make it spicy," Qin Mei took the opportunity to say.

"Okay," Jie Jingchen said.

"Make it extra spicy," Qin Mei pushed.

"Okay," Jie Jingchen said.

He agreed to that too, so Qin Mei pushed it even further, staring at Jie Jingchen with a grave expression. "Make it absurdly spicy."

"Okay," Jie Jingchen still said.

Now Qin Mei was displeased. ’He’s just humoring me,’ she thought. ’He’s definitely just humoring me.’

Half an hour later, two dishes and a soup were on the table: one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and egg drop soup.

Qin Mei sat at the dinner table, sulking as she glared at Jie Jingchen. ’Spicy this, extra spicy that, absurdly spicy my foot.’ There wasn’t even the shadow of a chili pepper to be seen. For someone like Qin Mei, for whom a meal wasn’t a meal without spice, it was a wonder she had any appetite at all for something so bland.

"Meimei, it was too much of a rush today. I promise I’ll make it for you tomorrow," Jie Jingchen said, placing a piece of lean meat in Qin Mei’s bowl.

Qin Mei opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she kept quiet. She picked up her chopsticks, lifted her bowl, and silently began to eat her rice.

Tonight, his parents weren’t home, and neither were Jie Jinghun and his wife. It was just Qin Mei and Jie Jingchen in the house.