Chapter 171: Show a Round of Operations
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Zhou Chao saw Lao Xiao in the yard as soon as he arrived at the door.
“Grandfather, I’ve come to see you!” Jiang Li ran towards Xiao Lao, bouncing with excitement.
“Old Master Lao! Happy New Year!” Zhou Chao also walked over quickly and greeted him.
“You two are here! Happy New Year? Zhou, my boy, it’s already the 12th day of the year; how can 1 be happy? You didn’t even bring some liquor!” Lao Xiao got annoyed when he heard Zhou Chao’s words and didn’t forget to tease him.
“Old Master Xiao, I did bring two bottles of red wine!” Zhou Chao said in a hushed voice, becoming quieter as he spoke.
“Who’s going to drink red wine? 1 want baijiu! You have good liquor but don’t give it to this old man. You gave it to Xiao Yang, that little brat. Last time, that little rascal secretly poured half a bottle for himself, and it made me furious!” Lao Xiao recalled the last time they had dinner when Xiao Yang took out the liquor. The little brat secretly poured himself half a bottle. Although the taste was indeed good, it left the old men wanting more.
“All right, go inside and play with them. It’s boring for me, an old man, to sit here and write.” Seeing Lao Xiao’s unhappy expression, Zhou Chao and Jiang Li nodded politely and walked into the house.
“Xiaowen, can you please do better? How come my brother keeps winning?” Xiao Feng looked at Xiaoyang, who had just finished playing his cards, with a dissatisfied expression.
“Can you blame me? You asked me to play that three-plus-one combo, and we won!”
“Enough, stop arguing. Post a note; even if you lose, you talk too much!” Xiao Yang intervened and silenced their argument.
As soon as Zhou Chao and Jiang Li stepped into the room, they heard the bickering of the group. While walking towards them, Zhou Chao commented, “Brother Yang, are you bullying them again?”
“Second Brother, you finally came. Join us in the game. Wen Shao’s skills are too poor; we always lose when he’s on our team!”
“Brother-in-law, you should join!” Wen Shao blushed and stood up.
“Chao’er, sit down and play a few rounds!” Xiao Yang also chimed in, and Zhou Chao didn’t hesitate to take a seat.
“How about I shuffle the cards?” Zhou Chao suggested, looking at the two of them. Xiao Yang and Xiao Feng both nodded in agreement.
After a simple shuffle, Zhou Chao quickly determined the card combinations each person had. He dealt himself a strong hand, and as Wen Shao watched the cards being dealt, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“This hand is incredible!” Wen Shao couldn’t help but swear, and both Xiao Yang and Xiao Feng turned their gazes towards Zhou Chao simultaneously.
“I’m the dealer, and I’m revealing my cards!” Zhou Chao directly opened his cards, revealing three Aces! Combined with the cards in his hand, he had a bomb.
Zhou Chao placed the cards on the table, and Xiao Yang and Xiao Feng stared at Zhou Chao’s cards, completely dumbfounded.
“Four consecutive clear straight flushes from 4 to King, four Aces, four Twos, and a pair of Kings!” Xiao Yang threw his cards on the table directly.
“Ah, I’m done! It’s no fun.” Xiao Yang stubbornly refused to play anymore.
“Brother Yang, can’t handle the game, huh?” Wen Shao felt that he could stir the pot a bit and taunted from the sidelines.
“I’m not stupid. These cards are obviously rigged. I’d be a fool to play with Zhou Chao!” Xiao Yang directly exposed Zhou Chao’s skills, giving up on the game.
Jiang Li, beside Zhou Chao, looked at him with admiration.
“Second Brother, teach me! 1 want to learn!” Xiao Feng leaned over to Zhou Chao, skipping the usual address and directly promoting him to “Second Brother”.
Xiao Yang and Wen Shao on the side both showed an eager expression as if they wanted to learn too. They moved closer to Zhou Chao. Meanwhile, Jiang Li watched their actions and couldn’t help but laugh, covering her mouth.
Zhou Chao looked at the eager group and began to explain, demonstrating how to shuffle and deal cards.
Time passed unnoticed as the group discussed and practiced. It was already 430 in the afternoon!
After teaching for nearly two hours, Xiao Yang and Xiao Feng had only grasped it visually, but their brains hadn’t quite caught up. On the other hand, the youngest among them, Wen Shao, learned how to shuffle, though he wasn’t very proficient yet.
“Alright, let’s call it a day for today!” Zhou Chao threw his cards aside. They had been talking all afternoon, and he hadn’t even had a sip of water.
“Brother Chao- here.” Jiang Li handed him a bottle of water, and Zhou Chao unscrewed the cap and drank it all in one go.
“You guys continue playing; I’ll go for a walk outside to get some fresh air,” Zhou Chao said to the group. After sitting for several hours, he felt a bit uncomfortable.
“Sure, go ahead,” Xiao Yang replied without lifting his head, still engrossed in card-shuffling techniques.
Zhou Chao shook his head in resignation and walked out of the room with Jiang Li.
“Old Master, I’m here,” Zhou Chao said as he approached his grandfather, who was tidying up his calligraphy tools.
“You little rascal, be careful with your hands and feet! By the way, you’re quite capable. To make Old Master Jiang happy, you even gave him such precious calligraphy and paintings. Why haven’t I seen you give me anything good?”
As soon as Zhou Chao heard this, his heart skipped a beat. He knew that when Old Master Jiang celebrated his birthday and received the painting, something seemed off with the way Lao Xiao had looked at him. It turned out Xiao Lao was waiting for him to give him a treasure.
“Old Master, it’s also a matter of luck. Last time, I just happened to stumble upon it.” Zhou Chao quickly explained the source of how he obtained that painting to Lao Xiao.
“You’ve got quite the luck, young man. In that case, bring the Tiger Descending from the Mountain painting from your house for me to have a look!”
Zhou Chao had no choice but to agree promptly, “Old Master, 1’11 bring it to you tomorrow!”
“Good, that works! Also, next time you have good liquor, you should think of me first!” Lao Xiao reminded him once again.
“Old Master Xiao, I’ve got it in my mind!” Zhou Chao replied satisfactorily.
“Xiao Li, come here and let Grandfather have a look!”
“Grandfather!”
“Not bad, a talented young man and a beautiful girl. My granddaughter has good taste; very good, very good!” Xiao Lao looked at Zhou Chao and Jiang Li, growing more fond of them as he looked.
“Did Old Man Jiang mention anything to you?”
“Old Master Jiang has already informed me. We’ll be able to see it in a few days!”
“Good, you’re not bad! I hope I haven’t misjudged you!” Xiao Lao’s tone became more serious.
“Old Master Xiao, rest assured, I won’t let you down!” Zhou Chao straightened his posture and confidently assured him.
“Grandfather, what are you talking about so seriously?” Jiang Li, puzzled by their conversation, looked at the two of them and asked curiously.
“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t!”
Seeing that her grandfather was so serious, Jiang Li didn’t inquire further. However, in her eyes, Zhou Chao became a bit more mysterious.
“Old Master, it’s time for dinner!” At this moment, a middle-aged man approached them and whispered.
“Alright, let’s go have dinner!” Xiao Lao took the lead and headed towards the dining room, with Zhou Chao and Jiang Li following closely.
The red wine that Zhou Chao had brought earlier had already been opened by Xiao Feng. It was just enough for everyone at the table, not too much or too little.
“Let’s begin!” Lao Xiao issued the command, and the young people started pouring the wine. The whole room was filled with the sounds of toasting.
Even Lao Xiao’s voice was mixed in with the festivities..