Five cubs clung to her; the wicked woman was being targeted.

Soon, Mijin brought over three neatly cut wooden boards, each about the size of a cutting board.

"Draw a line here, and then draw a line every 100 meters wide."

Under Niu Kou Shui's direction, the wooden board was quickly transformed into a gridded chessboard.

Mo Yang, who was standing to the side not knowing what to do, also pulled over a small stool to watch.

"My dear husband, can you get me some stones?" Niu Kou Shui called out, looking up.

Jin Fei quickly came over: "What should we do?"

After gesturing wildly and considering that all the stones were the same color, Niu finally decided to use different shapes to distinguish them.

So some were made into circles, and some into squares.

The idle beastmen all came over to help cut and polish the chess pieces.

The little ones also curiously gathered around.

"What are you making?" Mo Yang asked curiously.

"Gomoku (Five in a Row), once you've got it set up, I'll teach you how to play."

"Gomoku? Rock?"

"The stones are used as chess pieces. Two people play against each other. One person's pieces are round, and the other person's pieces are square. Since there are no stones of different colors, we use shapes to distinguish them."

"Do you need stones of different colors?" Mo Yang suddenly pulled out a number of colorful gemstones, which also looked like agate.

Niu Kou Shui indicated that he was not knowledgeable about such things at his level.

"Are these okay?"

"Um...it's all done. You can save the rest for something prettier." Niu Kou Shui looked at Mo Yang's innocent eyes. Is this what it feels like to be rich?

"Okay." Mo Yang only heard that it was to be kept to make something pretty, so it seemed that the female master wanted something pretty.

"Alright, come on, I'll teach you. You'll be my first opponent, Mitsuzu."

"it is good."

"The rule is that whoever gets five pieces in a straight line first, even if they are diagonally connected, wins."

"Coming, I'll get off first."

～ଘ꒰๑˃̶ᴗᵒ̴̶̷๑꒱و̑̑～～

After several rounds of back and forth, everyone had fully understood the rules.

The other two chessboards were also occupied, with Yue Lin challenging Huan Lan to a match.

The kids took turns playing rock-paper-scissors.

The night became interesting.

Niu Kou Shui got up and gave them his seat, thinking that he would ask Mi Jin to be the mahjong player tomorrow.

She's had enough of Gomoku and is starting to miss playing mahjong.

"Phoenix Feather, come upstairs and sleep with me. Everyone, don't stay up too late, go to bed early."

"Husband, remind them."

"it is good."

Goodnight, Mistress.

Goodnight, Mother.

Goodnight, husbands! Goodnight, babies!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

When Mo Yang returned, he handed the warm jade containing the undying flame to Jin Fei. Jin Fei placed two upstairs and two downstairs.

It's just that the space here is larger, and it's not as warm as it was in the small cave.

But your hands won't get cold.

"Female Mistress~"

Phoenix Feather's soft voice came from under the covers.

"What's wrong, Feng Yu?"

"fine"

Feng Yu hesitated, perhaps feeling awkward, and then remained silent.

"Are you holding a grudge against Mo Yang?"

"No, not really... I can't really explain it either." Feng Yu was caught off guard and didn't know what to say.

"My lady, I'm not a petty person. I... I don't know what's wrong with me today."

"Feng Yu, I understand how you feel, but we're family, so you can speak your mind."

"I'm just afraid that after you, Mistress, find a new, younger, and more powerful beast husband..."

"Don't worry, no matter how young or capable you are, it won't change your status in my heart. Besides, he's the sixth child, and you're the fourth, so you have a higher status!"

"Really, Mistress?"

"Of course it's true. We're family, and I won't show favoritism."

"You're so kind, Mistress."

"Feng Yu, you are very good too."

Niu Kou Shui snuggled closer to Feng Yu, feeling especially warm.

Feng Yu made no other move. The two snuggled together and gradually fell asleep to the sound of chess being played downstairs.

——(ฅ´ω`ฅ)——

"The snow is so heavy today!"

"It seems the cold season has officially begun. I thought it would be another two days." Jin Fei looked at the snow that had already piled up outside. It must have been snowing heavily all night.

"If you need anything, just call me out. I'm not afraid of the cold." Mo Yang woke up early in the morning. It felt really good to wait for the female lead to get up with the other family members for the first time.

"Okay, everyone, just let Mo Yang know if you need anything. Now that the cold season has started, please try not to go out."

"Mother, I've discovered that the person who goes first in Gomoku is more likely to win!" This was Feng Qing's observation from playing Gomoku last night.

"Yes, Mother, this is not fair!" Xiaoyuezhui chimed in.

"Wow, you kids are amazing! You figured it out so quickly!"

"Then Mother can set a few more rules, and it will be fair."

"OK!"

Niu Kou Shui took the hot milk from Mi Jin and began to explain the rules to everyone:

(Forbidden moves: Restricts the first player from making double three-in-a-row, double four-in-a-row, long combos, etc. The second player has no such restriction and can also take advantage of the forbidden moves to win.)

Five moves, two attacks: The first player must place a piece on two points on the board simultaneously on the fifth move. The second player chooses to keep one point and remove the other, further weakening the first player's advantage.

Exchange rule: The second player may choose to exchange pieces after the first player's opening move, to avoid a guaranteed opening advantage for the first player. (ฅ´ω`ฅ)

"Does everyone understand?"

"Got it, got it! Huan Ye, play the next round with me now."

Xiaoyue, carrying the chessboard, dragged over a small stool, ready to start the battle!

"My dear husband, please go and check if there are any parts of their hole that need reinforcement, and also ask if they need anything else."

"Okay, I'll go now."

"Why don't you add another screen to the second-floor balcony, Madam? The opening on the first floor is going to be sealed off, and then we can play on the second floor," Mizuki suggested.

"Sure, then we can open the door on the second floor and let in some light." Otherwise, it's too depressing to stay cooped up like this.

"Then I'll go now."

"I'll go help too!" Mo Yang immediately joined in, finally able to get some work done.

"Huanlan, have you herded all the chickens and ducks into the little cave yet?"

"Yes, everything's done. Would you like to take a look, Mistress?"

"OK."

There was a small door in the cave. Once opened, you could see chickens, ducks, and rabbits squatting obediently inside, while a ewe stood to the side eating grass on the ground. Huanlan had even prepared a place for them to defecate.

The poultry that were kept in a controlled environment did not defecate indiscriminately, and the entire cave looked very clean.

"Huanlan, well done!"

"I will do everything the mistress arranges." With that, Huanlan took some grass from the shelf and gave it to the rabbit.

These rabbits are all clean.

No wonder it was raised by Huanlan.

Xiao Jinxuan and Xiao Fengyu started playing together. Xiao Fengyu stood on the bird stand, and Xiao Jinxuan used his wind magic to help him swing on the swing.

(╯°A°)╯︵○○○

"Deer Forest, is there anything else you need? The Mistress asked me to ask."

"Thanks, we've stored enough food, we don't need anything else."

Rabbit Star Moon stayed coldly in Rabbit Year's arms. The cold season was really unpleasant. She still wanted to go and play with Little Cow Sister.