Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Simplifying Numbers

Zuo You suffered from insomnia last night, which was rare. The reason was simple: Liang Nian came back and told her a good news and a bad news.

Both pieces of news are related to Lin Si.

The good news is that the agricultural tools improved by Lin Si are very easy to use. They can replace oxen for plowing, remove weeds, and improve the current farming situation in Li County.

The bad news is that Lin Si said he would come to see Zuo You tomorrow for something important, but he didn't say what the important matter was.

So much so that Zuo You spent the whole night thinking about what this important matter was.

Lin Si came early today and asked Nan Shuang and Nan Qiao to hold a lot of things in their hands. Zuo You took a closer look and found that the pen, ink, paper and inkstone were all there.

Zuo You had a bad feeling. Could it be that he wanted her to write a document so that he could better control her and Liang Nian in the future?

Lin Si sat down gracefully and said, "I came here today because of an important matter. I need Madam Zuo's help no matter what."

Zuo You could barely force a smile, her eyelids twitching. "Please tell me, Lady County. I'll see if I can help."

"Madam Zuo, do you still remember the child I bought in Shizhou a few days ago?" Lin Si spoke slowly.

"I remember." Zuo You replied.

Lin Si pretended to be in a dilemma. "I want to find a teacher for these children, but I can't find the right one after searching for a long time. After thinking it over again and again, I think Madam Zuo is just right."

Zuo You's eyes widened slightly, and for a moment she didn't know if she had heard it wrong. She had thought a lot last night, but she didn't expect that Lin Si's request was this.

This request can be described as incomprehensible.

Who would hire a tutor for a slave they bought for their own household? After all, a slave doesn't need to be literate, just loyal.

Even though we now have the imperial examination system and the literacy rate is slightly higher than in previous dynasties, there are still very few literate people among the people. Reading is a very luxurious thing, and no one would use such resources on slaves and beggars.

Lin Si ignored Zuo You's shock and said, "I heard that Madam Zuo raised Magistrate Liang all by herself, so I thought that seeing these poor children would surely touch her heart, and she might even agree to my request."

Then he raised his head and stared at Zuo You, "Isn't that right, Madam Zuo?"

Zuo You is not a fool. Lin Si’s threat is almost obvious, so she can only agree.

"I can agree, but I want the county lady to tell me why. These children were born into slavery and beggars, and no one would want to teach them to read."

Lin Si looked at Zuo You with a burning gaze, "Reading makes one wise. I bought them back to work for me, so how can they not distinguish right from wrong and good from evil?"

Zuo You was stunned for a moment, opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Lin Si cut the Gordian knot and immediately took out a piece of paper and tapped it on the table.

"Madam Zuo, this is the children's schedule. I will go to the manor tomorrow to inspect it. Once everything is ready, classes will begin."

Zuo You felt a headache and took the paper to look at it. There were rules and boxes written on it that she couldn't understand, but it looked clear at a glance and was very novel.

"Chinese class?" Zuo You couldn't help but wonder.

Lin Si propped up his chin with his hand and said, "It's the combination of elementary education and literacy."

Zuo You nodded and continued reading. She roughly guessed that mathematics was arithmetic. Lin Si had also asked her before if she had read any related books.

In the morning there was a Chinese class and a math class, and in the afternoon there was a physical education class, which should be a martial arts class or something like that. The teacher did not write her name, so she thought it had nothing to do with her. It was just that there was a labor and science class in between every ten days or so, and the teacher did not write her name. Zuo You felt a sinking feeling in her heart.

I won’t let her teach me, help me, someone please tell her what labor nature is.

Zuo You asked with a trembling voice, "County Lady, may I ask what this natural science course is? There's no teacher's name on it. Who will be teaching it?"

Lin Si was concentrating on eating fruits. "Don't worry about this, Madam Zuo. I have my own arrangements. Madam Zuo just needs to teach Chinese and mathematics well."

Lin Si reserved this class for herself. She would occasionally take two days a month to teach these children some interesting physics and chemistry knowledge, and observe their situation at the same time. This is also essential for the healthy mental health of children.

Zuo You had never been a teacher before. After agreeing to Lin Si, she was suddenly overwhelmed by an inexplicable sense of mission and responsibility.

She has to choose the books carefully. Although she is teaching, teaching also needs a direction. If she is not careful, the students will become pedantic scholars who are inflexible. She doesn't like such people, and Lin Si probably won't like them either. Besides, they are Lin Si's servants, so she has to put Lin Si first in everything when teaching.

This is a very difficult task, even more difficult than teaching Liang Nian when he was a child.

At this moment, Zuo You had not yet realized that more difficult things were yet to come.

Nan Shuang and Nan Qiao spread out their writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone on Zuo You's desk. Lin Si held the pen in a very unstandard way, dipped it in the messy ink that Nan Shuang had prepared, and wrote a neat and smooth handwriting on the paper.

Zuo You was silent.

She looked up and down, left and right, but couldn't figure out what it was. It didn't look like counting rods or numbers.

Zuo You then asked in bewilderment, "County Lady, what is this?"

Lin Si pretended to be profound and said, "I've been reading arithmetic books at the County Lord's Mansion these past few days, and I feel that whether using uppercase or lowercase numbers, or using counting rods, they are all too cumbersome and complicated. It would definitely be difficult for children to learn, and it would delay the teaching progress. So I simplified the numbers myself. Madam Zuo, please learn them first, and then I'll teach them to them."

Zuo You felt that she was about to lose control of her expression. This county lady from Anjing not only had strange behavior, but also had bizarre ideas.

Putting aside the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters, counting rods are already simple and have been used for thousands of years. How could they be complicated and cumbersome? Moreover, simplifying the numbers ourselves involves writing, recording, and expressing algorithms, and recreating a set of logic. Wouldn't that be even more troublesome? And how could such tadpole-like symbols be convenient?

For a moment, she didn't know whether to say that Lin Si was fearless like a newborn calf, or that he was too naive because he was a member of a noble family since childhood.

Lin Si said nothing and wrote another 1 to the right of 3.

"Don't be impatient, Madam Zuo." Lin Si pointed at the neatly written 3 and said, "This is three." Then he pointed to 1 and said, "This is one."

"Write 3 first and 1 second, and it becomes thirty-one. If 1 is first, it becomes thirteen."

After hearing what Lin Si said, Zuo You let go of the prejudice in his heart and began to think carefully.

According to Lin Si, this way of counting is indeed more convenient than counting with counting rods, which follow the principle of using horizontal numbers for tens and vertical numbers for ones.

If you want to write thirty-one, it is written as ≡〡, but if you want to write thirteen, you need to follow the horizontal and vertical numbers of the tens and ones places and reverse them.

Lin Si continued to write the standard numbers 1 to 10, and then wrote the uppercase Chinese characters 壹 to 十 in a crooked manner, one by one.

"Mrs. Zuo, please look at this. This is the correspondence between the simplified numbers and Chinese characters I wrote. If you write it like this, when you encounter large numbers, isn't it much easier than using counting rods?"

Although Arabic numerals are unfamiliar, they are not difficult for someone like Zuo You who has been accustomed to the complex rules of writing numbers using abacus since childhood. The ancients were just behind in technology, but they were not stupid.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Zuo You had memorized all the correspondences between Arabic numerals and Chinese characters one, two, three, and four.

She thought of a few large numbers that would be complicated to express using counting rods, and found that using Lin Si's simplified numbers was actually very convenient.

However, how to express it when it comes to division or multiplication? Zuo You doesn’t think Lin Si has considered this.

Lin Si saw Zuo You's confusion and picked up the brush awkwardly. "I have a set of mathematical logic to simplify numbers. I will teach it to you now. I think you will be able to learn it easily."

Lin Si started by explaining the addition and subtraction which were elementary school knowledge. Zuo You learned very quickly, but Nan Shuang and Nan Qiao were so sleepy from hearing about multiplication and division first and then addition and subtraction that they almost fell asleep.

"I understand. What the county lady calls the multiplication table is just the multiplication table of the Nine Nines, with the order of magnitude changed. This way it is indeed easier to recite and easier for children to remember."

Zuo You was so engrossed in learning that he even took many notes and asked Lin Si many questions. He studied for almost the entire day without taking a break.

Lin Si couldn't leave even if he wanted to.

So when Liang Nian heard Yao Niang say that Zuo You and Lin Si had been discussing matters from morning to afternoon, and Lin Si had not left yet, they had a quick lunch.

Liang Nian's heart was pounding and he couldn't help but get nervous. What kind of important matter could make A Niang and Lin Si talk for so long?

Liang Nian didn't care about the indecent behavior of eavesdropping at this moment. She knew very well that to deal with Lin Si, she had to be shameless.

Liang Nian ignored Yao Niang's puzzled and shocked look and quietly walked to the outside of Zuo You's room.

Yao Niang: My wife actually does such a thing as eavesdropping!

"I thought formulating equations with unknown numbers was already a wonderful thing, but I didn't expect there would be quadratic radicals. What? The county lady is hungry? At this time, the county lady, please tell me more."

Liang Nian who was eavesdropping outside:?

What unknown variables and equations? Are they talking about Dachen? Why can't I understand? After all, it turns out that it is A Niang who won't let the county lady leave.

Fortunately, Zuo You was smart and had a foundation in mathematics. Lin Si talked about everything from elementary school to junior high school in one breath, and he was so thirsty that his mouth was dry. However, he couldn't resist Zuo You's enthusiasm for learning, and the number of questions he asked was increasing.

Not to mention Nan Shuang and Nan Qiao, Lin Si was hungry and her brain cells were almost dead. You have to know that she had already graduated from university when she transmigrated into the book.

Lin Si broke free from Zuo You's hands and coaxed her like a child: "Madam Zuo, I have to go back to dinner. So, I'll leave you a problem. I'll come back to you tomorrow after I inspect the manor. I'll see if you can solve it using simplified numbers. We'll continue the discussion then, okay?"

Zuo You then reluctantly let go of her hand, "Okay, then the county lady must come tomorrow."

When Liang Nian heard that Lin Si was leaving, he hurriedly and carefully walked aside and hid.

As soon as Lin Si left, Liang Nian quickly walked into Zuo You's room and asked, "Mother, I heard Yao Niang say that you have been discussing this matter since this morning. What is it about?"

Then she lowered her head and looked at the several pieces of paper covered with strange symbols on the table.

"What are these tadpole-like symbols? And what are those equations you just mentioned?"

Zuo You had just digested a lot of knowledge. At this moment, he was not only a little dazed, but also felt that his life had suddenly become clear and his three views had been reshaped.

"I won't eat dinner. I have to solve the problem." Zuo You lowered his head and picked up the top sheet of paper.

For the first time, Liang Nian felt that her mother was so unfamiliar. She was confused, "Mother, what problem are you trying to solve? Is this still Dachen's writing? Why can't I understand it?"

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Abacus numbers {Note}: Abacus is an important calculating tool in ancient China. Its symbol system represents numbers in an alternating vertical and horizontal arrangement.