Chapter 302: Nineties: Spring Water Family Chapter 302 Extra Ten Anan Wins Chess Against Great-Grandpa

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Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

The babies are 5 years old.

Sixth Grandpa likes to play chess; every time he comes to the Old House, he makes Guben accompany him for a few rounds.

The babies love to join the fun; as long as Dad and Grandpa set up a chessboard in the yard, they gather around, very enthusiastically acting as the peanut gallery.

As for whether they can actually follow the game, whether their little heads wander off, that's another matter entirely.

Dabao is the naughtiest, can't sit still, and soon gets attracted by other things, looking east and west, and before long his figure is nowhere to be seen.

Xixi is keen on martial arts; she watches for just a bit and loses interest, quietly slipping back to the fish pond side, waving a small wooden stick by herself, having a grand time.

Lele is obedient and cute, sitting quietly next to Dad, fiddling with her doll.

Among the four babies, only Anan has the most focused expression; she is truly watching seriously.

Guben wants to teach the children chess; he previously explained the steps of playing chess to them.

Anan's dark, rolling big eyes follow the black and white pieces as they move; from time to time she knits her brows, looking at Great-Grandpa with a helpless glance.

This day, Sixth Grandpa lost at chess again; Anan propped up her little cheeks and sighed softly.

"Hahaha, this little brat......"

Sixth Grandpa was amused by his helpless little expression, looking him over with great interest: "Expressions quite rich, just like he really understood."

"He's only 5, what would he understand?"

Guben smiles dismissively, not taking those words to heart.

"Anan, want to play chess?"

The more Sixth Grandpa looks at the little cutie, the cuter he finds him; wanting to tease him: "Want to play a round with Great-Grandpa?"

"Mm."

Anan's little eyes brightened; she nodded vigorously.

"Heh......"

Sixth Grandpa originally just wanted to tease him a bit; he didn't expect the little darling to actually agree.

The old man froze for several seconds, a surge of sneaky delight rising.

The old man's chess skill is poor; playing chess with the kid's dad, even with Guben deliberately going easy, he still wins few and loses many.

This face, he must win back from his son.

"Little Bin, hurry up and move aside, let Anan play......"

The old man wants to show off his chess skill in front of the younger generation; unable to wait, he waves his hand to shoo the person away.

"What chess would a 5-year-old brat know, better I accompany you."

How could Guben not see through the old man's little scheme; he deliberately drags his feet, stalling.

"Anan likes Grandpa, wants to play chess with Grandpa, so I'll accompany him for a few rounds."

The old man affectionately pats Anan's little head, expressing his pampering of his great-grandson with a straight face.

"Anan, you really want to play chess?"

Guben turns his gaze toward Anan again.

"Mm."

Anan doesn't like to speak; she nods her little head vigorously again, indicating she really wants to.

"Alright."

Guben can't bear to refuse; he reorganizes the pieces and swaps positions with his son.

"Anan, come, Great-Grandpa will teach you chess."

Sixth Grandpa is satisfied; his face full of wrinkles laughs into a chrysanthemum.

"Pa-da."

Anan doesn't stand on ceremony either; without waiting for the old man to finish, she already picks up a white piece herself and places it on the board.

Sixth Grandpa sees him play with proper form, and is even happier, eyes smiling into slits.

One old, one small, battle several rounds on the chessboard.

Before long, the old man can't laugh anymore.

Anan plays chess very fast; her momentum is even sharper than her father's, as if she doesn't need to think with her brain at all; the old man plays a move, she immediately follows with a move.

It looks a bit reckless, yet it forces him into a dilemma.

One game, not even halfway through, falls into a dead position.

The old man stares at his lost half of the territory, wanting to cry but no tears, stunned for a long time before accepting the fact that he has already lost.

"Anan, come, play a round with Dad."

Guben's surprise is no less than the old man's; from a bystander's angle, he sees more clearly, and therefore finds it even more inconceivable.

It's not that Anan has a child's temperament, playing randomly, and accidentally beating Great-Grandpa.

Rather, from start to finish her expression is very focused, thinking of countermeasures, adapting to changes.

His son's astonishing talent also arouses his interest.

What matter can compare to the joy of seeing children grow?

Even if he loses, so what?

No matter how smart, he's still his son.

——

"Xiyu, come quick, look — Anan and his dad are playing chess."

"Erbao is amazing, he beat Great-Grandpa."

"Can't tell, huh — the quiet Anan, who doesn't like to talk, is actually the smartest of the four babies."

"Not talking doesn't mean not smart; maybe it's precisely because he's too smart that he doesn't like to talk."

"I've really seen something new today — a child this small playing chess, who'd believe it if you told them."

"Playing chess is nothing remarkable; the key is playing well, on par with his dad — that's the point. Little Bin was the Provincial Top Scholar back in the day; if he really beats him, this kid is something else — might really go into research later, become a scientist."

——

Lin Xiyu was cutting paper in the room, and through the window she heard the commotion in the yard.

Grandma Gu was beside herself with excitement, yelling at the top of her lungs for her to come out quick.

The three nannies tagged along to humor her, deliberately coaxing the old lady to be happy.

"Coming, coming..."

At first she didn't think much of it, figuring it was just a game of chess, what's there to get excited about.

She opened the door from inside and looked out, catching sight of Guben's tightly knitted brows — only then did she truly understand where the old lady's excitement came from.

Guben's expression had never been this grave before.

Normally this man always wore a look of carefree indifference, as if nothing mattered.

Right now, just from the depth of his furrowed brows — deep enough to clamp a mosquito — one could tell his mood was anything but pleasant.

He was probably driven to a dead end by his son, unable to counterattack, forced to give up the struggle and concede defeat.

——

"When did Anan learn to play chess?"

Seeing this scene, while secretly relieved, she couldn't help but feel a surge of pride as a mother.

Anan hadn't liked to talk since little, seeming a bit dull; she had been very worried before, afraid her son's premature birth would cause delayed brain development.

Now it looks like she worried for nothing.

Anan isn't just not stupid — he's very smart.

At least judging by chess, being able to push his dad to this extent — very few people could do that.

"Never deliberately taught him..."

"This kid is just smart, learned on his own."

The three nannies saw her come out and all stepped back a few paces, clearing a bit of space for her.

"Anan is this smart?"

Lin Xiyu squeezed to the very front, looking at her darling son, grinning from ear to ear.

"So you're happy now?"

Grandma Gu teased her with a smile: "Before you were always worrying, saying Anan took after you, that his IQ wasn't high either."

"Happy."

Lin Xiyu nodded very frankly, not a trace of wanting to be humble.

"Look at her, that smug look..."

Grandma Gu found it amusing, turned to Huang Jie and the other two and said: "Her son finally brought her honor; good thing she doesn't have a tail, or it'd be sticking up in the air."

"Hahaha."

Huang Jie and the other two were tickled by Grandma Gu's rare humor, laughing happily.

"Draw."

Grandpa Liu's rather excited voice rang out, once again drawing the crowd of onlookers' attention back to the father and son playing chess.

Guben secretly rejoiced, having salvaged a draw at the very last moment.

"Anan is so awesome, drew with Dad."

Lin Xiyu hugged her son immediately, planting a kiss on his soft, chubby little cheek.

"Hee hee."

Anan loved being praised by Mom most — his eyes curved into little crescent moons with laughter.

"Raise this child well, he'll have great prospects when he grows up."

Grandpa Liu now believed too — Anan really knows chess, didn't just beat him by fluke.

"Anan..."

Grandma Gu seized the moment to coax her little great-grandson: "Besides chess, what else can you do?"

Anan fell silent again, as if disdaining to answer such a question.

"If you don't want to say, then don't."

Grandma Gu smoothed it over herself: "The child is still young, interests and hobbies can be cultivated slowly; we can also discover them bit by bit — maybe there'll be a new surprise every day."

"Tomorrow I'll go buy some children's extracurricular reading materials..."

Lin Xiyu said delightedly: "Anan is this smart, he might recognize characters early too; learning some extracurricular knowledge in advance will help develop his intelligence."

"Just reading books is too boring..."

Guben also perked up, smiling in agreement: "Best to take him out more, broaden his horizons."

"How about this then."

Lin Xiyu's mind sparked, joy rising to her eyebrows: "The babies have one more year before elementary school; once they start school there won't be so much time to go out and play — why don't we, before school starts, take the babies on a trip around the country, let them see the magnificent rivers and mountains of the motherland."

"I think that works..."

Guben, a devoted wife-spoiler, decided on the spot: "It's settled then, I'll arrange it — our whole family, happy and carefree, a spontaneous trip."

"You all go ahead."

Grandma Gu wanted to but couldn't: "I'm old now, I won't go."

"Grandma, go ahead."

Lin Xiyu deliberately mentioned Ruirui, smiling as she persuaded: "How nice for the whole family to go out and play together, especially Nanjiang, the scenery is beautiful, and we can also go stay at Eldest Brother's place for a few days. Ruirui will definitely be very happy to see us."

"It's a military base, will they let us in?"

Hearing about her great-grandson, Grandma Gu was moved again.

"Apply in advance, it's possible......"

Guben was confident: "I'll tell Eldest Brother first. Our first stop touring the country will be set in Nanjiang."

"Does Sixth Uncle want to go?"

Grandma Gu looked toward Grandpa Six again, seeking his opinion.

"Grandpa Six must go."

Guben spoke before Grandpa Six could: "Lele cries if he doesn't see Grandpa Six for a day......"

Grandpa Six: "......."

A sentence of 'you all go play, I won't join in,' was forcibly swallowed back down.

"Alright then."

Grandma Gu seemed to agree reluctantly, but in truth, in just this short time of speaking, her person had already flown far away.

Thinking that she would soon see her precious great-grandson, the old lady's heart was sweet with joy, the upward curve of the corner of her mouth impossible to suppress.

"Our family, counting Huang Jie and them, eleven people in total."

Lin Xiyu counted on her fingers: "After getting off the plane, rent a minibus, drive ourselves, admire Nanjiang's beautiful scenery along the way."

Guben showed slight regret: "A minibus isn't as comfortable as an RV, too bad an RV can't seat that many people."

"You all go as a family, we won't go."

Liu Jie heard this and waved her hands repeatedly.

"The babies are all grown up, they don't need us following along anymore."

Xu Jie and Huang Jie also chimed in, a trace of melancholy flashing in their eyes as they spoke.

The three of them had been accompanying the babies since they were born, and for five years, they had already treated them as their own children.

Thinking that the babies had grown up and no longer needed them, their hearts couldn't help but surge with a few points of reluctance.

"Three Sisters, don't say such polite, distancing words."

Lin Xiyu was understanding: "Our big family, with old and young, all count on you. The farther the trip, the more we can't be careless. We must watch the children well. Those four little brats are so mischievous; with you there it's manageable. Relying on just me and Guben, we'd be exhausted."

"Not just the little brats, there's also Grandpa and Grandma."

Guben also smiled: "Xiyu and I both have other things to deal with. Although we want to tour the country, we can't stay out of town forever. If something comes up midway, we still have to come back. The elderly and children can't follow us running back and forth suffering hardship. When we're temporarily away, we'll still have to trouble you. Please pay extra attention and take good care of them."

"What trouble is there......"

"General Manager Gu is too polite."

"Watching the children is our duty, it's what we should do......"

The three nannies ate a reassurance pill, all melancholy swept clean.

——

The travel matter was thus settled. The family began to busy themselves, packing things, requesting leave and handing over work.

Wu Meng heard they were going to tour the country and felt sour again for the umpteenth time.

"You're not loyal, leaving me alone and going out to play yourselves."

"Why don't you quit too......"

Lin Xiyu smiled and persuaded: "Give yourself a break, come with us?"

"I'd love to......"

Wu Meng complained with a long face: "The training institution has a pile of things, busy to the point my feet don't touch the ground. How can it be as easy as you say, pat your butt and just leave?"

"Busy is good, making money."

Lin Xiyu changed strategy, smiling as she teased: "I see it's not that you don't want to travel, you're afraid of delaying making money, right?"

"Still you understand me."

Wu Meng hehe'd happily, thick-skinned admitting it.

"You, drilling into a money hole."

Lin Xiyu showed an 'I knew it' expression: "The training institution has developed very fiercely these two years, earned you quite a lot of money, still complaining it's not enough? Leaning on it all day, refusing to let yourself rest a bit."

Wu Meng righteously: "I've just got the signs of getting rich quick. If I don't seize it well, once this wind mouth passes, making money will be hard again."

Lin Xiyu held back laughter: "You just keep drilling into that money hole."

"How about, you all take Nuan Nuan......"

Wu Meng saw her busy packing luggage, felt a bit sour again.

"Would you bear to part with her?"

Lin Xiyu's movements paused, smiling as she countered: "We're going out for a long time, maybe half a year before we come back."

"Then forget it."

Wu Meng was just saying it with her mouth, how could she really bear for her daughter to leave that long.

Lin Xiyu smiled knowingly, continued lowering her head, packing her own luggage.

——

Going out to travel, adults are fine, traveling light, just pack personal clothes simply.

Children are different.

Grandma Gu considered things exceptionally thoroughly; she even drew up a dedicated checklist of luggage items the babies would need for food, clothing, lodging, and travel, as if she wanted to bring along even the little spoons and small bowls they were accustomed to using daily.

"There's no need for the spoons and bowls, right?"

Guben didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "The restaurant has those things; there's no need to bring our own."

"How could outside bowls and chopsticks be as clean as our own family's?"

Grandma Gu insisted on bringing them; no one's persuasion worked.

Guben had no choice but to let Huang Jie pack them up and put them in the suitcases.

On the day of departure, Grandma Gu alone brought three extra-large suitcases, heavy and solid, looking particularly conspicuous.

The babies wore identical little clothes, carried small backpacks themselves, clustered around Dad and Mom, happily chasing and laughing.

"Let's go, we're off to Nanjiang."

Guben waved his hand, leading the whole family, young and old, away from the Small Courtyard in a grand procession, beginning their journey traveling across the country.