Xiangqi

  Liu old man is lucky to have ended up like this, after all the little chickens and geese at home were only chicks and goslings that he caught after moving in, now they are at most half-grown. If this had happened two months later when they were adults, Liu old man would probably have seen blood! Dozens of strong Luohua chickens, plus a dozen or so adult white geese and twenty or so Muscovy ducks, such a luxurious lineup, ordinary three to five dogs wouldn't dare to mess with them!

  Although Zhang Jin was secretly laughing at Liu's disheveled appearance, his face didn't show it. Instead, he approached with a concerned expression and hypocritically asked: "Liu Grandpa, what happened to you? You were just feeding the chickens, how did you end up in such a mess?"

  Mr. Liu was picking off the chicken feathers stuck to his body, complaining in a frightened tone: "What's wrong with these beasts you're raising? Why did they all swarm me like a beehive as soon as I went in? Those geese were also twisting and turning on my body, and even those ducks that couldn't squeeze in stretched their necks and quacked at me desperately?"

  Zhang Jin stifled a smile, helping Old Man Liu pat the chicken claw prints and goose beak marks on his body, explaining: "You can tell at a glance that you've never done this before. The chickens and ducks raised in our village are different from those in breeding farms. To say something unpleasant, the chickens and ducks raised in breeding farms are like they're sick, all they know is to eat and sleep, sleep and eat, without any vitality. They grow fast, but the meat doesn't taste good, and the eggs aren't good either. But it's different when you raise them yourself in the countryside. Think about those old hens that can even fight with eagles - how can the sickly birds from breeding farms compare to that?"

  "Come on, I've also heard of the old hen fighting with an eagle, but that's because it was protecting its chicks. These chickens and ducks you're talking about aren't even brooding now." Old Man Liu was skeptical of Zhang Jin's explanation.

  "You know why the local chicken, duck and goose are better than those from the farm? It's because they have a longer growth cycle and are more wild. Take the goose for example, it was domesticated from the wild swan, and the ones raised locally still retain some of the wild swan's habits. When there are rats around, these geese are even more useful than cats, and when there are thieves around, they're not worse than dogs either. The duck is also domesticated from the wild duck, and it still has the habit of patrolling at night, making them very useful for guarding..."

  Zhang Jin spent a lot of effort, finally seeing Old Man Liu nodding in agreement, he let out a sigh of relief and continued: "The most important thing is that they are not familiar with you yet. Wait a bit, then come in with me, feed them a few times, and once they're familiar with you, it'll be fine."

  …………

  As expected, Zhang Jin carried another bucket of feed and went in. Those chickens, ducks, geese, etc., not only did not attack, but instead all ran to the feeding trough, waiting quietly for Zhang Jin to feed them, without even one opening its mouth to cry out. This was simply like a military-style cafeteria, with extremely strong discipline. Compared to the completely different scene before, Liu Lao Yezi's eyes widened in shock!

  When it's time to feed the fish, the scene becomes even more exaggerated.

  As soon as Zhang Jin stood by the water's edge with a bucket of fish feed, dark shadows began to gather from all directions towards him, creating ripples on the water's surface. When he inserted the small scoop into the feed bucket, almost all the fish in the water simultaneously poked their heads out of the water. Although these little fish were only two months old and still in their seedling stage, the sight of thousands of tiny heads popping out of the water was breathtaking and awe-inspiring.

  The corner of Old Man Liu's eye twitched with incredulity, and Zhang Jin secretly felt pleased. Although these domesticated animals, pond fish, and Black Crystal's pets couldn't compare in status, they were still 'domesticated beasts' under the name of a Master Tamer. They might not be as intelligent as humans or have a spiritual connection like Black Crystal did with Zhang Jin, but simple commands and training wouldn't be a problem.

  Although he was secretly pleased, Zhang Jin obviously couldn't tell Old Man Liu the real reason, and could only gloss over it with an explanation: "See? These poultry and fish in the pond aren't like those raised on a farm, are they? Don't you think it's quite amazing? Actually, it's nothing special, just conditioned reflexes."

  Actually, this boastful skill can't be boasted about, Zhang Jin has a kind of 'wearing brocade at night' feeling, it's suffocating!

  …………

  Mr. Liu followed Zhang Jin, walking slowly and feeding the domestic fowl, then feeding the fish, and after that watering the fruit trees and vegetable garden.

  It was almost nine o'clock, and Qi Bing had already gotten up, eaten breakfast, and started his day. Zhang Jin had finished all of his morning chores and, under Qi Bing's "service", returned to the recliner under the big Chinese tallow tree, where he smoked, drank tea, and surfed the internet...

  Liu Lao Yezi, who had just come into contact with these farm work for the first time, still had some regrets and looked at Zhang Jin, who was lying on a recliner with an air of a wealthy landlord, and asked: "Is that all? Is there nothing else to do?"

  After the previous few times of teasing and work guidance, Zhang Jin, who had become very familiar with Old Liu, was not as polite as before. Staring at the computer screen, he didn't even lift his head, and muttered: "Oh, it's all done! There's nothing to do."

  "Oh..." Hearing Zhang Jin's answer, Old Man Liu responded with a humph and began to wander around the front and back yards of Zhang Jin's house.

  After a while, Liu Laoye turned back to the backyard again and saw Zhang Jin and Qi Bing still lying on the recliner, not moving at all. He felt bored again and came over to ask: "Little Zhang, do you have any chess pieces at home? Accompany old man me for two games?"

  Zhang Jin saw that Old Man Liu was so bored he looked like he wanted to pull his hair out, so he put down the computer in his hand and said reluctantly: "Play chess? Alright, but only Chinese Chess."

  At that time, because Zhang Jin's home was crowded with old men coming to see the doctor every day, there was often a queue of people waiting. Later, someone brought a chess set and left it at Zhang Jin's home, where patients played while they waited in line. In the end, all the arthritis patients were cured by Zhang Jin, but the chess set remained, with no one taking it away.

  Upon hearing that Zhang Jin had Chinese chess, Old Man Liu's eyes lit up and he hastily said: "Having Chinese chess is great, having Chinese chess is great, let's play Chinese chess."

  …………

  Soon, under the help of Old Man Liu, Qi Bing, who was doing chores, set up the chess table under the big Chinese parasol tree. Zhang Jin and Old Man Liu sat down on both sides of the chessboard, with the Chu River and Han Border between them, and the horses and chariots began to fight.

  Liu Lao Ye Zi is an old chess player, and his chess skills are quite good among amateur players. Moreover, perhaps due to his somewhat straightforward temperament, he plays very aggressively.

  Zhang Jin had only played it casually when he was reading books over a decade ago, and in terms of level, he was absolutely at the lowest level among amateur players.

  The outcome of the two men's battle was clear. Even with Zhang Jing relying on his extremely high intelligence and spiritual attributes, he could only barely hold on for a few rounds by relying on his computational advantage to come up with clever moves, but in the end, his foundation was too shallow, and his chess skills were far inferior, so he had no choice but to admit defeat.

  Perhaps he felt that he was somewhat familiar with Zhang Jin in the "common labor" of the morning, or perhaps this old man's chess skills were not good to begin with, but were well covered up by his previously stern and serious demeanor. After winning a game of chess, Liu Lao Ye revealed his true nature, being overjoyed and proud: "Little Zhang, let me tell you, my chess skills are quite impressive. This is just playing Chinese Chess, you can still hold your own for a couple of moves, but when it comes to Go, you're not even a match... When I was young, if I hadn't been busy with painting, I would have already entered the National Chess Academy..."

  Seeing Mr. Liu's smug expression, Zhang Jin, who was originally 'happy to win and happy to lose', felt a bit annoyed and said, "Let's play another round."