mesbooks Chapter 124: South City Chess Academy
Chapter 124: South City Chess Academy
When Mr. Fan announced that he was dismissed, Zhang Pingan hurriedly pulled Liu Shengyuan forward to meet him, but he didn't expect that there were too many people who shared the same idea as him, and he couldn't squeeze forward at all.
Everyone was talking at once. Zhang Ping'an noticed that Mr. Fan had a hint of impatience on his face and his replies were perfunctory, so he gave up the idea of going up to him and making friends. Even if he could talk to him, he probably wouldn't leave any impression, and that was not what he wanted.
After saying goodbye to Liu Shengyuan, Zhang Pingan went straight home. He had to quickly organize the notes he made today.
The next day, Zhang Ping'an handed the notes he had compiled to Master Lin for his reference. After reading through them, Master Lin nodded with a satisfied smile and said, "Even though you have a good memory, it's still not as good as a bad pen. Well done!"
Zhang Pingan said modestly: "Proficiency comes from diligence, and failure comes from playfulness; success comes from thinking, and failure comes from carelessness. I dare not neglect my studies."
"Well, this Mr. Fan is extremely knowledgeable and not pedantic. If you can win his favor, the academy examination will not be a problem," said Master Lin, stroking his beard.
"To be honest, I wanted to make some friends after class yesterday, but there were too many people coming up to me. It wasn't a good time to talk. It was difficult," Zhang Pingan shook his head with a wry smile.
Master Lin said with a hint of meaning, "Actually, I think you two have similar backgrounds, and both are extremely interested in law and mathematics. If you can get to know him, he will definitely appreciate you. I heard that he often goes to the South City Chess Academy to play chess, and I remember that you are quite good at chess, too."
"I really admire Mr. Fan's knowledge. I would love to have the opportunity to learn chess from him," Zhang Ping'an said thoughtfully after hearing the teacher's words.
"Hmm," Master Lin nodded and said no more, and began to talk about the 16th chapter of "The Analects of Confucius" "The Lord and His Wife's Yang Hu Desire".
Both the teachers and students put their heart into it, and the day passes by in a flash.
After Zhang Ping'an got home from school that day, he said hello to Xu and said he would be home later for dinner, then went to the South City Chess Academy.
Some things are better left to chance.
There are two chess academies in the county. One is in the east of the city, which is mainly used to entertain important figures. The other is in the south of the city, which is mainly visited by ordinary people. The South City Chess Academy is not too far from Qingsong Academy. You can drink tea and play chess there. The fee is not too expensive, and ordinary people can afford it. Zhang Ping'an did not expect that Mr. Fan actually likes to go to the South City Chess Academy.
He was not stupid and knew that Master Lin was deliberately giving him advice.
Zhang Pingan arrived at the Chengnan Chess Academy and took a quick look, but didn't see Mr. Fan. He wasn't in a hurry, so he decided to stay and play chess. Here, one could find chess partners on their own or the owner could arrange one. Since it was Zhang Pingan's first time here, he naturally had no chess partners, so the owner had to arrange a match for him.
Seeing that Zhang Ping'an was a new face and young, the boss arranged for a young man of average skill to play against him. However, in less than two quarters of an hour, the opponent lost three games in a row and finally walked away with his face covered.
Later, an old man was arranged. His skills were much better than the first young man. He would think for a long time before each move, but he was still defeated miserably after one round. He was surrounded by Zhang Ping'an's black pieces and the game was deadlocked.
The old man was obviously a chess lover. Even after losing, he didn't leave. Instead, his fighting spirit was aroused. He rolled up his sleeves and said, "Let's play another game!"
"Okay," Zhang Pingan said with a faint smile and started to move again.
This round lasted longer. The old man looked at his white piece that was trapped again and said in disbelief: "Boy, which famous master did you learn from? You broke my Wutu Twenty-Four Board at such a young age."
Zhang Ping'an bowed modestly and said, "Senior, you are too kind. I didn't learn from any famous master. I just enjoy studying."
The old man didn't believe it and glared at me, "You are so dishonest, young man! Stop trying to fool me! How could you possibly break my game without the guidance of a famous chess master? This is a chess manual I've worked so hard to obtain, passed down from a great master of the Wu Kingdom during the previous dynasty."
"Senior, I really didn't lie to you. It's just that I have some experience in mathematics and have integrated mathematics into Go, so my skills are decent." Zhang Pingan explained lightly.
"Can it be like this?" The old man still didn't believe it.
"The Go board is made up of 19 crisscrossing lines, forming a 19x19 grid with 361 intersections. Each intersection has a fixed position. In Go, the black and white pieces occupy different positions on the board. By mathematically removing dead pieces and then calculating the number of points surrounded by one side, the difference in the number of pieces between the two sides can be determined, which allows us to judge the current advantage and disadvantage and thus break the game."
The multiplication table had been widely circulated since the previous dynasty. The old man had studied in a private school for a few years and felt that he was quite good at mathematics. However, he was even more confused after being explained in this way. However, he could tell that the young man in front of him was an expert.
"He was born after me, but he heard the truth before me. I follow him as my teacher. Today, I have learned a lot from him. Could we play another game together?" The old man was a good chess player. He was quick to admit that he was not as good as others, but he was itching to play another game.
Zhang Ping'an shook his head and said with a smile: "Senior, let's do it tomorrow. It's getting late today, and it's time for me to go home."
The old man was very disappointed when he heard this, but he didn't force anyone to do anything. He nodded and said, "Then it's a deal. You must come tomorrow. I'll wait for you. A gentleman's word is his bond!"
"It's impossible to catch up with the enemy once you have done it!" Zhang Ping'an said with a smile, then turned and left.
As soon as I arrived at the door, I saw Zhang Laoer harnessing his car: "Dad, are you still going out so late?"
Zhang Laoer looked back and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his son had returned. He said, "I was just about to go out and look for you. Seeing that you hadn't come home for dinner so late, everyone in the family was worried!"
Zhang Pingan said apologetically, "Dad, I'm sorry for making you worry. I just chatted with a senior at the Chengnan Chess Academy for a few more words and came back late."
"It's okay. You're already tired from studying. It's good to go out and play chess to relax occasionally, so that you don't become a nerd. It's the same whether dad comes to pick you up," Zhang Laoer said with a naive smile.
"Well, thank you for your hard work, Dad. Let's go in and eat!" Zhang Ping'an said with a smile. He had not told his father about Mr. Fan. He didn't know whether it would succeed or not. There was no need to let his family worry about it.
Xu had already prepared dinner. Even though Zhang Ping'an hadn't returned, she didn't allow anyone else in the family to eat first. She insisted on waiting for her son to come back. The food was already cold. "Son, take a break first. I'll go heat up the food."
After saying that, he hurriedly brought the dishes into the kitchen.
A moment later, the family finally had their meal. Xu had kept her word, and the food at home was indeed much better today. Zhang Pingan picked up a piece of fried pork slices for his parents and fourth sister, and said with a smile, "Dad, Mom, fourth sister, you all eat!"
Mrs. Xu took a bite with a smile and said exaggeratedly, "My son's pick is delicious!"
After the family had a happy dinner, Zhang Ping'an went to the study to do today's homework. He didn't go to wash up and go to bed until almost midnight.
The candlelight fumes made his eyes a little swollen and sore, so Zhang Ping'an wrung out a hot handkerchief and applied it to his eyes, which made him feel much better. After that, he looked up at the bright starry sky under the night sky for a few times, then turned around and went into the house to rest, having a good night's sleep!