Tongtong looked at the two slightly dirty dogs and suggested, "Daddy, why don't we take Big Black and Big White to the pet store for a bath? They haven't had a bath in a long time, and they've got fleas. If this continues, they'll get skin diseases."
Liu Yifeng saw the yellow dirt on their fur and immediately agreed, "Okay, we'll take them to the pet store for a bath later. We can also buy them some toys for the new house so they won't be bored when they visit."
Cities were different from the countryside. Dogs didn't need to be leashed; they were mostly free-roaming, and could go wherever they pleased, as long as they avoided dog thieves. Normally, dogs were safe wherever they went, but the city was different. Everywhere required a leash and a dog license. If they were caught without a leash, they would be taken away by the relevant authorities immediately.
So, even if Big Black and Big White came later, unless they were taken out, they could only play inside the villa. They couldn't even run around the villa complex. If other owners complained, it would be trouble.
Returning to the living room, Liu Yifeng wanted Tongtong to take a nap before going to the pet store. After washing Big Black and Big White, they could go home. But Tongtong wasn't sleepy. He didn't want to sleep, so he asked Liu Yifeng to play a few rounds of chess with him. As they played, Tongtong even guided Liu Yifeng on his next moves. Although he lost these games, his chess skills improved considerably.
"Tongtong, for this round, can you let Daddy play on his own? Let me see how many moves I can make against you," Liu Yifeng said, resetting the chessboard.
Tongtong smiled sweetly, "Okay, okay! But Daddy, don't cry if you lose!"
"How could I? This time, Daddy will definitely be evenly matched with you because I already know your strategies," Liu Yifeng said confidently. During the games, he had noticed that Tongtong's moves were the same in every round, so he knew how to defend himself. As the saying goes, know yourself and your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.
Tongtong looked at his daddy's confident expression and couldn't help but cover his mouth and giggle. Daddy was so cute.
"Let's do it the old way. Daddy, you go first!"
"Okay, then Daddy will move the horse, the 'day' character move!" He made a move.
"I'll move the cannon!" Tongtong moved his cannon a few steps to the right.
"I'll move the soldier!" Liu Yifeng moved his soldier in front of the cannon. If Tongtong didn't move the cannon away, his soldier would capture it. Just as he expected Tongtong to protect his cannon, he saw Tongtong move his chariot. This was completely different from what Liu Yifeng had expected, but he still managed to capture one of Tongtong's cannons.
Tongtong calmly continued to move his other pieces. Liu Yifeng didn't know what Tongtong was up to. But every move Tongtong made was different from what he expected, and he couldn't guess Tongtong's next move at all. As a result, he lost again. He had only captured three of Tongtong's pieces. Meanwhile, Tongtong had captured most of his pieces, and he had no extra pieces for defense.
This made him a bit discouraged. "Tongtong, how are you so good? Daddy thought he had figured out your strategy, but I didn't expect you to have so many different approaches to playing chess."
Tongtong giggled, "Daddy, chess is like a battlefield. Battlefields have thirty-six stratagems, let alone chess! I can't just have one way to win, can I? If an opponent figures out my strategy, wouldn't I be doomed to lose?"
"But you played several rounds just now, and you made the same moves. Why?" Liu Yifeng was very confused.
Tongtong explained, "That was me testing Daddy, wanting to see if you paid attention to the opponent's patterns when you play. But Daddy passed the test! You were able to discover my chess strategy so quickly, that's already a big improvement."
However, Tongtong's praise didn't make Liu Yifeng very happy. "What's the use of improvement? Daddy still got thoroughly beaten. You're so skilled at chess at such a young age, Daddy will never be able to beat you in this lifetime."
"Daddy, didn't you always tell me not to be discouraged? Get up where you fall. There's no eternal first place, only continuous surpassing. You need to have confidence in yourself!" Tongtong encouraged him.
Liu Yifeng's mood improved slightly. "Tongtong is right. Will you teach me chess when you have time in the future?"
"Okay, okay! As long as Daddy is willing to learn, Tongtong is willing to teach!"
"Then it's settled. We'll stop playing for today. Let's take Big Black and Big White to the pet store for a bath!"
At this moment, Big Black and Big White were sleeping in the grass. As expected, they wanted to sleep after eating. Liu Yifeng walked over to Big Black and gently nudged him with his foot. "Big Black, wake up. We're taking you for a bath!"
To his surprise, as soon as Big Black heard the word "bath," he immediately pretended to be fast asleep. Liu Yifeng knew Big Black hated baths. Last time, when Big Black was covered in mud, he threw Big Black into the pond, hoping he would wash himself clean before coming out. But Big Black jumped out of the water and ran ashore immediately. To get revenge for being thrown into the water, he even splashed muddy water all over him. Later, Liu Yifeng had to hold him and wash him clean by the pond himself.
Big White was different. Perhaps it was the name. Big Black disliked baths, but Big White was particularly clean. Every time they went to the pond, Big White would obediently jump into the water to bathe without being told. That's why his fur was white, with only a little mud on his paws. Big Black, on the other hand, was dark, and it was hard to tell if his fur was naturally black or just dirty.
Unlike Big Black, who was pretending to be asleep, Big White reacted immediately. As soon as he heard they were going for a bath, he opened his eyes and wagged his tail excitedly at Liu Yifeng. He looked as if he couldn't wait to go for a bath. Big Black, however, still hadn't opened his eyes. No matter how Liu Yifeng called him, he wouldn't budge.
Tongtong, standing nearby, thought Big Black was unwell and was very worried. "Daddy, why isn't Big Black waking up? Is he not feeling well? Should we take him to the vet?"
"Don't worry, Tongtong. I have a way to make Big Black wake up." Liu Yifeng had already thought of a plan to deal with Big Black. He picked up Big White and said to him, "Big White, you're such a good boy. When we get to the pet store, I'll introduce you to some lady dogs, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Big White's tail wagged furiously, and he happily stuck out his tongue.