Era: A college student came to the courtyard house

Because there are no cars in the vicinity.

Cao Zhengyan had already gone to the garage and pushed his bicycle out.

Seeing Cao Zhengyan gripping the bicycle handlebars with both hands, Fang Yuan couldn't help but ask, "Brother-in-law, your newspaper is such a big organization, how come you don't even have a few more cars?"

"Whether you get in or not, do you think everyone in your steel mill is as wealthy and powerful as you, where every factory manager can get a car just by going out?" Cao Zhengyan patted the back seat and urged, "Get in the car quickly."

Fang Yuan glanced at the back seat, which wasn't tied with a rope, grabbed the handlebars of the bicycle, and said, "Brother-in-law, let me do it. You put your bag in front, and I'll take you."

Cao Zhengyan didn't think much of it, simply assuming that Fang Yuan was starting to understand manners and be considerate of others. He put his briefcase in the bicycle basket and then plopped down in the back.

Along the way, Fang Yuan's two long legs pedaled very fast.

Before long, guided by Cao Zhengyan, they arrived at Jingshan Middle Road, in front of Wu Jinxi's house.

Cao Zhengyan rubbed his backside as he jumped off the vehicle, clicking his tongue at Fang Yuan and saying, "Those two long legs are a waste if they're not pedaling a tricycle."

As Fang Yuan propped up the bicycle, he said, "It's alright, brother-in-law. I'll come over to your house tomorrow when I have time and help you tie a rope around the back of the bike. Otherwise, my nephew will suffer a lot when he rides it."

Actually, Fang Yuan wasn't very comfortable either. Not only was his buttocks uncomfortable from being rubbed, but his "gyrfalcon" was also quite difficult to position.

Cao Zhengyan listened to Fang Yuan's words and nodded in satisfaction.

They've definitely matured and started to care about others.

Led by Cao Zhengyan, the two entered a single-entrance courtyard house.

Looking at the empty courtyard, Fang Yuan couldn't help but ask, "Is nobody home?"

Cao Zhengyan seemed to be used to this, and led him straight to the kitchen on the east side, saying, "Today is Saturday, and Sister Chen took some children back to her own home."

Seeing Cao Zhengyan, who seemed to know the place of every pot, pan, saucepan, vinegar, and tea dish in the kitchen like the back of his hand, Fang Yuan knew that her brother-in-law must have cooked here many times.

Half an hour passed.

Suddenly, the sound of a car came from the doorway, and Cao Zhengyan quickly led Fang Yuan out.

As the two walked out of the kitchen, a middle-aged man with a buzz cut and a robust build, wearing a white shirt, walked in from the doorway.

Fang Yuan glanced at her and noticed that Wu Jinxi walked with a straight back, which made her look very imposing.

Cao Zhengyan rubbed his hands together and introduced with a smile, "This is our President Wu, Fang Yuan. Come over here quickly."

"Hello, President Wu."

Wu Jinxi took the initiative to shake hands with Fang Yuan and said, "Okay, okay, let's go inside first, don't stand outside."

"Xiao Cao, you go to the kitchen and get busy. Xiao Fang and I will have a chat alone for a while."

Cao Zhengyan agreed, then gave Fang Yuan a wink before returning to the kitchen.

"It's a pity that Xiuli isn't home today. She's been talking about you a lot." Wu Jinxi said as she led Fang Yuan into the main room. Once inside, Wu Jinxi pointed to a stool and said politely, "Please sit down for a while. I have some documents to finish writing right away."

Seeing that Wu Jinxi was about to pour him some water, Fang Yuan snatched the kettle first and said without ceremony, "President Wu, I can do it myself, you go ahead with your work."

Fang Yuan poured himself a glass of water and took the opportunity to observe the layout of the room.

Cao Zhengyan didn't bring him in earlier, so naturally he couldn't just enter someone else's room without permission.

Inside the room, the most eye-catching thing was the long table behind his chair, with a vase on the far east side, a mirror on the far west side, and a clock in the center.

It is obvious that it is a layout of "Eastern bottle and western mirror, bell tolls for peace".

Unfortunately, Fang Yuan's knowledge of antiques was not deep enough to tell how old these items were or whether they met the criteria for being "authentic".

The west room where Wu Jinxi was writing has been converted into a study.

In the very center is a desk, complete with all the traditional writing implements.

Next to it was a cloth bag containing a bottle filled with Xuan paper. Behind the table was a bookshelf filled with books, and Fang Yuan discovered that there were quite a few thread-bound books among them.

Seeing that the ashtray on the desk was full of cigarette butts, Fang Yuan immediately went over, took it out, emptied it, rinsed it with water, and gently put it back in its place. Before leaving, he picked up the thermos and refilled Wu Jinxi's teacup with water.

After doing all that, he sat back down in his chair.

Wu Jinxi naturally saw all of these actions.

The material was completed in no time.

Wu Jinxi stood up, stretched, and asked, "Xiao Fang, do you know how to play chess?"

Fang Yuan nodded and said, "I will play. I occasionally play a few rounds with my classmates, but of course, my skill level is definitely far inferior to yours, President."

His ability to play chess is thanks to a leader from his previous life who held three consecutive chess tournaments during his term.

Now, in addition to "Local Landlords," Fang Yuan's computer desktop has another software called "Local Chess."

Wu Jinxi took out a chess box from the drawer, waved his hand and said, "Don't keep calling me president. This is home. Just call me uncle. Come and sit down. Let's play and chat."

Fang Yuan, seizing the opportunity, sat down opposite Wu Jinxi and called out, "Uncle Wu, you must go easy on me."

Immediately afterward, both sides set up their pieces, and Fang Yuan, being the junior, took the initiative to move the black pieces.

"Smack."

"Snap!"

"Smack."

You advance your pawn, I advance my pawn; you move your cannon, I move my horse...

At the start, both sides traded blows, showing a close and evenly matched contest.

Fang Yuan naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to lighten the mood.

For him, playing chess is easy to win and easy to lose.

What he wanted was for Wu Jinxi to win a hard-fought victory. For a veteran player, easily defeating the opponent's strongest point is not the most satisfying achievement.

What they enjoy most is the sense of conquest that comes with each successive step.

This will test Fang Yuan's intelligence, and also his acting skills.

For a moment, Wu Jinxi and Fang Yuan simultaneously raised their hands, scratched their heads, and racked their brains.

Fortunately, Fang Yuan was also a veteran actor, and after a period of stalemate, he gradually got into character.

"Capturing a pawn"

"Draw a car"

"Eating horses"...

After capturing several chess pieces in succession, Wu Jinxi's eyes widened, and the corners of his mouth turned up. Naturally, he had already put down the hand that was scratching his head.

Finally, faced with a "stalemate" on the chessboard, Fang Yuan had no choice but to surrender: "Uncle Wu, I concede defeat. Your foresight in thinking three steps ahead for every one move you make is truly remarkable."

Wu Jinxi laughed heartily, revealing his back teeth, and pointed at Fang Yuan with lingering satisfaction: "You, you're still young, and your chess playing is a bit impetuous, but you're very much like me when I was young."

And so, the tea in the study gradually cooled down, but the atmosphere became warmer.

Wu Jinxi and Fang Yuan, one big and one small, one easy to teach and the other eager to learn, plus Fang Yuan occasionally throwing out a few unique and novel viewpoints, couldn't help but catch the eye of Wu Jinxi, the newspaper editor-in-chief.

The two had a very pleasant conversation.

Finally, Wu Jinxi spoke first. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and stared at Fang Yuan with a leisurely smile, saying, "Xiao Fang, I heard that your factory leaders have all gone to Ansteel for training. So who's in charge now?"