Fan Hongzhen knew that Su Luo was good at saying nice things.

No matter what he did, he couldn't get Su Luo to admit that she could write poetry.

Fan Hongzhen beckoned to Yan Chuan with his finger, palm down, drawing Yan Chuan to his side.

Yan Chuan glanced at Su Luo, and seeing that his mother didn't say anything, he could only walk over.

"Dean Fan."

Following the example of the young pageboy, Yan Chuan bowed and greeted Fan Hongzhen...

"Your name is Chen Yanchuan? Do you know why we need to study?"

"Study for the rise of our dynasty..."

Yan Chuan uttered these inspiring words almost without hesitation.

Fan Hongzhen was shocked to hear such grand ambitions coming from the mouth of a six-year-old child.

"Yan...Yanchuan, what did you just say? Say it again."

"Study for the rise of our dynasty..."

"Good, what a fine idea to study for the rise of our dynasty."

Two people entered through the door; one was Master Fan, and the other was someone Su Luo didn't recognize.

Judging from his long robe and the two books in his hands, he must also be a teacher at Cangxi Academy.

"Old Fan, whose little kid is this? He's got quite the big mouth. I, Old Guan, like him."

Su Luo stood up and greeted the two teachers.

“Master Fan, Master Guan, this is my son Chen Yanchuan, who has come here today to seek knowledge.”

"So it's Lady Su. That's not surprising."

Master Fan clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to Su Luo, inviting her to sit down.

Guan Shao looked at Fan Hongzhen strangely, then at Master Fan.

This woman, they call her Lady Su?

Could she be the unfathomable and mysterious person that Master Fan was talking about?

The two, who held high positions at Cangxi Academy, even went to someone else's house for a housewarming party.

Just who is this Lady Su?

Like mother, like son; he shouldn't make things difficult for a woman.

But it's still okay to test her son.

What kind of person could make Old Master Fan lower himself to befriend him?

Guan Shao first tried to be polite, then resorted to force: "So the Su Niangzi of the rumors is you. I have long admired your name."

"Greetings, Master Guan!"

Guan Shao smiled mischievously, a wicked glint in his eyes.

"Madam Su, the teaching principle of our academy is to focus on cultivating students' strengths."

After all, not everyone is cut out for studying; some people are good at painting, and some are very good at writing poetry.

There are also those who are exceptionally skilled in calligraphy; I wonder if my son has any particular talent for it.

Fan Hongzhen and Master Fan frowned, for the academy had always taught the principles of governing the country and ensuring its stability.

When did things become like this? It's utterly unreasonable.

However, Chen Yanchuan was Su Luo's son after all, and they were curious about what he was capable of.

That's why they didn't expose Guan Shao's nonsense.

After listening to Guan Shao's words, he seemed to be considering Yan Chuan's options.

Su Luo beckoned Yan Chuan over.

"Chuan Chuan, answer Master Guan's question properly."

"Um!"

Yan Chuan raised his little head and looked at Guan Shao, then answered.

"Master Guan, I have learned some children's poems at home, but these are nothing special. I think arithmetic is what I am most proficient in right now."

His mother taught him and his sister a simple form of numbers that doesn't currently exist in the world.

He has mastered addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in his daily life.

Even their family's butler, Mr. Shi, might not be as fast at calculating as he and his sister using an abacus, let alone anyone else.

"Hmm... so arithmetic counts as a special skill?"

Guan Shao thought that as long as one learns to use an abacus, almost everyone can do arithmetic.

But he heard that Fumanlou was opened by Su Luo. Could it be that the son of a merchant only knew how to do accounting?

"Master Guan, arithmetic is certainly a specialty, but my knowledge is still shallow, and I have not been able to master the intricacies of arithmetic."

My mother said that as long as I keep trying and learn arithmetic well, I'll find it's a very practical skill, and that it's needed in every aspect of life.

It's just a child's way of thinking, so Guan Shao didn't want to discourage him. Even if you need arithmetic in every aspect of life, it's only when you're buying rice and vegetables.

However, these are simple things, and everyone will understand them when they grow up.

"Little Yanchuan, since you are so good at arithmetic, then Master Guan will test you."

Guan Shao thought and thought about what kind of question he should give him that wouldn't be too difficult, but also not too easy.

Hey! I've got it.

"Little Yanchuan, listen carefully, the question I'm about to ask is not easy."

Yan Chuan: "Mm!"

Every day at Chenshi (7-9 AM), Zhang San would carry fifty catties of vegetables to the street to sell, at three coins per catty. On this day, he only sold forty-two catties. So how many coins did he earn that day?

Su Luo remained silent. Was this kind of question really that difficult?

When Yanchuan and Yihuan practice at home, they no longer need such simple questions.

Guan Shao laughed smugly, "Little Yanchuan, do you want the teacher to find you an abacus?"

Yan Chuan wasn't incapable; rather, he was poised to unleash his full potential, but he hadn't expected Master Guan's question to be so simple.

This caught Yan Chuan off guard and took him by surprise.

“No need. Zhang San had eight catties of vegetables left that day. They were three coins per catty. He sold forty-two catties and made one hundred and twenty-six coins.”

Guan Shao and Master Fan both thought this kid was quite capable. He had done hundreds of such arithmetic problems, yet he didn't need an abacus and immediately gave the correct answer.

It seems this kid has something special about him, far surpassing other children his age.

"This is too easy, let's do another one."

Every day at Chenshi (7-9 AM), Zhang San would carry 105 jin (50.5 catties) of vegetables to the street to sell, at three wen (0.03 yuan) per jin.

But sixty catties of vegetables were a bit wilted today, so they could only be sold for two coins per catty.

So how many coins did he earn that day from the two price points?

Fan Hongzhen also stared at Yan Chuan. Guan Shao had increased the difficulty of the question this time; a child might not be able to solve it.

In Nanning Kingdom, only accountants and stewards delve into arithmetic; their academy, on the other hand, focuses on learning the principles of governance.

They governed the country through written documents and placed the examination of official rank and title in the highest priority.

"Zhang San earned 255 coins."

Without any tools, Yan Chuan can immediately solve this problem using only mental arithmetic.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Guan Shao began to doubt Yan Chuan. The numbers he gave were just off the cuff; he hadn't even calculated them yet.

Even a genius child wouldn't be this fast; this must be an answer he made up.

"Little Yanchuan, it's not a good thing to lie to the teacher. You wait, I'll calculate the correct answer for you."

Guan Shao felt defeated. He couldn't believe that he, a teacher, was considered to be practicing unorthodox methods and was inferior to a six-year-old child.

Holding a pen and calculating on paper, even Master Fan probably didn't believe the answer Yan Chuan gave.

Therefore, you need to verify it yourself.

After a long while, the two looked up and stared at Yan Chuan in disbelief. Both of their papers had the number 255 written on them.

Not a penny more, not a penny less.

Yan Chuan not only calculated faster than them, but he also did not borrow paper and pen. How did he do it?