Chen Lan watched Xiang Xi march away with determined strides, smiling and shaking her head. She walked over to Wenrou Niang, intending to spend the day chatting with her mother.
As soon as Chen Lan sat down, Wenrou Niang looked at her and asked, "Lan'er, aren't you going to go and watch?"
Chen Lan shook her head and replied, "I don't know how to play mahjong, so what would I do there? Just spectate from the side? Well! I'm not interested in spectating, I'm not going to watch!"
Seeing Chen Lan's nonchalant and unconcerned demeanor, Wenrou Niang said earnestly, "Lan'er, since you've brought these people to live here, you need to cultivate a few trustworthy individuals, people you can rely on. You can't bear everything yourself as a woman. You need to test them through various means, so they can handle responsibilities on their own, become your helpers, and share some of your life's burdens and responsibilities. You must learn to let go and let them do things, and you'll just be responsible for supervision and inspection!"
Wenrou Niang continued, "Look at how your mother-in-law uses Uncle De to handle things. Is it done the way I'm telling you?"
Chen Lan nodded and said, "Mother-in-law does it the way you said, but Uncle De's family and Uncle Fu's family are both born into the household. Uncle De and Father-in-law grew up together, they're practically brothers. Besides, mother-in-law's home is also their home! Just like us with Uncle Fu and Mama Liu's family."
Wenrou Niang nodded and said, "What you're saying has some truth to it. We don't expect them to be as loyal as your Uncle De and Uncle Fu, but we still need to find a balance. We need them to try their best, and we need to supervise and inspect the completion of tasks afterward, identifying and resolving problems promptly. It's like flying a kite; no matter how high it flies, the string is always in your hand." Sudian Novel Network
"Lan'er, don't dismiss it as just a game of mahjong. As the saying goes, 'Character in mahjong reflects character in life!' The mahjong table is also the place where people's true natures are most likely to be revealed."
"A mahjong game can easily involve dozens of rounds. To win, relying solely on luck and experience is not enough. It's a comprehensive test of one's mentality, mahjong skills, experience, and patience."
"As the saying goes, 'The mahjong table is like a battlefield, and playing mahjong is all about the thrill.' The greatest characteristic of mahjong is its unpredictable nature. Every game is different, and each round requires players to strategize and deploy their pieces, either probing their opponents or luring them in. In essence, everyone is engaged in a battle of wits, calculating every move to try and win."
"The charm of mahjong lies in its endless variations, with no two games alike. Players rely entirely on experience and habit to analyze the table situation, and unexpected events are almost constant. It is precisely because of this that people's true natures are revealed."
"Some people, who are normally gentle and kind, appearing to be good-natured in everyday life, become like a completely different person once they sit at the mahjong table. They become irritable and suspicious."
"Some people can't sit still while playing mahjong. If they don't win a few hands, they become restless, either banging the table or shifting chairs."
"Some people regret their moves as soon as they play a tile, always feeling they've made the wrong choice, and continue to express regret until the end of the hand."
"Others, if they don't win a hand, will constantly criticize and complain about the player upstream for not discarding a tile they could have used, or blame their opponents for not letting them 'pong' a tile."
"Some people, after losing, blame everything and everyone, cursing their fate. When they have a winning streak, they become boastful and talkative."
"However, those who truly possess the demeanor of a general and good character are completely different. These individuals have foresight, control the overall situation, and are not swayed by wins or losses. Instead, they play steadily, without haste or impatience, calmly waiting for their opportunity."
"Lan'er, the people we need to employ are those who possess foresight, strategic thinking, and a mindset that is unperturbed by honor or disgrace."
After listening to her mother's insightful analysis of how mahjong reveals people's temperaments, Chen Lan felt it made a lot of sense. She gave her mother a thumbs-up and said, "Mother, your analysis is very insightful, and I find it quite reasonable. I've also heard people say that character in mahjong reflects character in life. So, I'll wait until they've been playing for a while and start winning and losing, then I'll go and observe their mahjong character."
Chen Lan chatted with Wenrou Niang for about half an hour. After about thirty minutes, Wenrou Niang urged Chen Lan to go and check on the mahjong game, to observe everyone's temperament so she could use them wisely in the future.
Chen Lan bid farewell to her mother and got up, intending to go and observe the progress of the two mahjong games and each person's reaction at the table.
Chen Lan first entered the car closest to hers, the third car belonging to Brother Xiang Dong and his companions. At this table were Brother Xiang Dong, Brother Er Hu, Xiang Xi, and Xiao Shuan. Chen Lan observed that the atmosphere at the mahjong table was harmonious, with everyone chatting and laughing. As Chen Lan entered, Xiao Shuan had just "shot the pawn" for Xiang Xi, who chuckled and said, "Thank you! Xiao Shuan, you shot the pawn for me." Xiao Shuan just smiled without speaking.
Chen Lan watched a few more hands of mahjong. Brother Xiang Dong and Brother Er Hu were evenly matched. Both were calm and collected, showing no signs of agitation whether they won a hand or "shot the pawn" for someone else. Chen Lan thought, this must be what her mother meant by the demeanor of a general, the kind of commanding presence that strategizes and wins from afar.
Xiang Xi at the mahjong table was as spirited and lively as ever, with a touch of the absurd.
Xiao Shuan, playing mahjong at the table, remained amiable and polite, neither servile nor overbearing.
Chen Lan watched them play a few more rounds. Feeling there was no further need to observe them, she turned to leave, planning to go to the other car to see how Teacher Zhou's four students—Zhao Qimin, Wang Weiguo, Zhang Yujie, and Chen Liangcai—were faring in their mahjong game, in terms of winning and losing.
She saw the four of them seated around the table, each with a furrowed brow as if facing a formidable enemy, their lips tightly closed, their eyes glued to the mahjong tiles. Chen Lan was so intimidated she barely dared to breathe.
Zhao Qimin held mahjong tiles in his left hand and rested his chin on his right hand, his brow deeply furrowed as he stared at the game on the table, not playing his tile. His opponent across from him, Chen Liangcai, urged him, "Come on, Qimin, hurry up and play! You've been holding that tile for ages, brother is about to lose everything, play quickly, brother needs to win back some losses!"
Wang Weiguo, seated to Zhao Qimin's lower hand, chimed in with encouragement, "Yeah! Yeah! Hurry up, I'm about to fall asleep."
Zhang Yujie, seated to Zhao Qimin's upper hand, had a blank expression and remained silent.
Chen Lan watched for a long time without understanding anything. It seemed that experience was the best teacher, and she really needed to learn from her mother how to recognize people to use them effectively! Feeling that staying here was utterly uninteresting, Chen Lan turned and left the car.