My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 214: Zhang Lei, the Terrible Chess Player

After Zhang Lei finished speaking, he noticed Ye Shuqin's expression momentarily fall, so he asked, "Shuqin, are you homesick?"

Ye Shuqin gently shook her head: "No."

Zhang Lei looked at her, his eyes full of understanding: "Alright, I can see right through you. Once we're done with this busy period, let's bring Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma over. It'll be a good time for the whole family to reunite, and we can also give them a couple of days to enjoy Beijing."

Upon hearing this, Ye Shuqi immediately stepped forward, her eyes full of anticipation: "Honey, really?"

Zhang Lei smiled and nodded: "Really, of course it's true."

Ye Shuhua clapped her hands happily, "That's great! If we tell Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma that we're pregnant, they'll be so happy for us."

Ye Shuqin looked at Ye Shuhua, who seemed a little unsteady, and said softly, "Alright, let's wait for the head of the household to make arrangements for this matter. What's the rush?"

Ye Shuhua stuck out her tongue and said with a smile, "I just haven't seen my parents for a long time, so I miss them a bit."

As she spoke, Ye Shuqin frowned and looked at Zhang Lei: "Honey, we don't have that many rooms right now. If Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma come over, we're afraid we won't have enough room to stay."

Ye Shuqi immediately chimed in, "Big sister, the rooms should be about the right size. The three of us can share one room with Zhang Lei, Mom and Dad can share another, and Grandpa and Grandma can share a third. That should be just right."

Ye Shuhua quickly chimed in, "Yes, eldest sister, we can always squeeze out a room if we try. Besides, the boys of our eldest, second, and third brothers and their wives can each have their own room, no problem at all."

Ye Shuqin thought for a moment and nodded gently: "That's right, I've overcomplicated things."

Zhang Lei looked at the group and said with a smile, "Alright, don't worry about the rooms. Maybe in a while, our family will have two more rooms, then we'll have enough room."

Upon hearing that two more rooms were needed, Ye Shuhua immediately leaned closer and asked, "Master, what do you mean by two more rooms? Tell me quickly."

Zhang Lei looked at her and smiled, deliberately keeping her in suspense: "It's a secret."

Ye Shuhua immediately started to whine and tug at Zhang Lei's arm, saying, "Honey, tell me, tell me!"

Zhang Lei shook his head immediately: "No, things haven't been settled yet. I don't want to be embarrassed later. I won't tell you now, we'll talk about it after it's done."

Seeing that Ye Shuhua was still going to pester her, Ye Shuqin pulled her aside and said sternly, "Alright, the head of the household knows how to behave. Don't make a scene here, or I won't be polite to you."

Seeing her older sister's serious expression, Ye Shuhua instantly became obedient, like a docile kitten, and waved her hand with a smile: "Don't worry, older sister, I won't make a fuss anymore, I won't ask anything."

Seeing the expressions on the faces of the three Ye sisters, Zhang Lei smiled and said, "Alright, I've told you what happened. I'll go to the front yard to see if there's anything I can do to help. Just head over around the same time."

The three sisters nodded: "Understood."

Zhang Lei responded and walked out of the house to the front yard. Looking at the people bustling in and out of the yard, he felt rather bored.

Just then, he noticed Yan Fugui standing idly to the side, so he walked over and said, "Third Uncle, are you free now?"

Yan Fugui looked at Zhang Lei and replied irritably, "You've taken care of everything, what else is there for me to do?"

Zhang Lei immediately knew that Yan Fugui was still upset about being robbed of his groceries, and joked with a smile, "Uncle, is it really that big of a deal? It's just buying groceries."

Yan Fugui was seething inside, but he wouldn't say it outright. He just said with a stern face, "Zhang Lei, if you have something to say, say it. If you don't, don't hang around in front of me."

At this moment, Zhang Lei noticed something tucked into Yan Fugui's pocket and asked with a smile, "Third Uncle, what are you carrying around? It's not an abacus, is it?"

Yan Fugui was so angry at these words that he snapped, "What do you know? This is chess. Do you even know how to play? You're just a kid."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lei immediately perked up and shouted, "Hey, Uncle San, don't underestimate me. It's just chess; anyone can play it."

Hearing Zhang Lei say he could do it, Yan Fugui perked up and stared at him, asking, "You really can?"

Zhang Lei looked confident: "Come on, Uncle, let's play a game, how about one cent a game? We've got nothing better to do anyway, just want to have some fun."

Upon hearing "one cent per round," Yan Fugui was immediately startled and hesitated, saying, "Isn't this a bit too much money?"

Looking at Zhang Lei's confident expression, he inexplicably felt that Zhang Lei was a master.

Seeing his expression, Zhang Lei deliberately provoked him: "Third Uncle, you're not afraid, are you?"

Those nearby overheard this, and after learning the reason, they immediately cheered, "Third Uncle, come with him! Aren't you known as the best chess player in our courtyard? Why are you chickening out this time?"

Provoked by the crowd, Yan Fugui lost face and immediately retorted, "Bring it on! Who's afraid of who!"

Soon, Zhang Lei and Yan Fugui found an open space in the front yard and set up a chess game, attracting many onlookers to watch the spectacle.

But at this moment, Zhang Lei was suddenly a little confused—he had just been bragging casually.

He knew his own chess skills best; he was a complete and utter idiot, a typical case of someone who was addicted to chess but had terrible skills yet still loved to play. In his previous life, when he played chess, no one around him wanted to play with him because he was so bad at it that he was blocked by everyone. In the end, he could only play single-player chess on his phone, and even then, he still lost more than he won.

However, Zhang Lei thought about it and figured that it was only one cent per game, so he could probably win at least one out of the next ten games.

But Zhang Lei was quickly proven wrong. After losing four games in a row, he was so angry that he almost overturned the chessboard.

Yan Fugui grinned and held out his hand to Zhang Lei: "Here's the money, one cent."

Reluctantly, Zhang Lei pulled a dime from his pocket and handed it to him, gritting his teeth as he said, "Again, again!"

The others chimed in, shouting all at once: "Zhang Lei, your chess skills are terrible!" "Uncle San is the chess king of our college, you're just throwing money away!" "If you can't do it, don't force it, admitting defeat isn't shameful!"

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Lei's face darkened, and he waved his hand, shouting, "Go away! Go away! I was deliberately letting Uncle San win, afraid that if I really beat him, he'd get a heart attack, and I don't have the money to treat him!"

Seeing Zhang Lei's stubborn expression, Yan Fugui couldn't help but laugh and tease him, "Zhang Lei, your Third Uncle is a little embarrassed by how well you've won."