"Xiao Yanchuan, how did you calculate that? So fast! What method did you use?"
Yan Chuan replied without hesitation, "It's because the question you set was too easy, Master Guan. As for the method, I only used the multiplication that my mother taught me."
This is an insult! This is an absolute insult!
Guan Shao, a renowned teacher at Cangxi Academy, was insulted by a child who hadn't even started school yet.
No, we have to save face today; we can't just let this go.
He simply couldn't believe that he was helpless against just a child.
Guan Shao's head peeked out like a turtle looking left and right.
A moment later, they saw Fan Hongzhen outside, in the room opposite, where a new batch of Analects had just arrived and had not yet been distributed; there were a total of 2,400 copies here.
With so many books stacked together, there's no need to count them one by one; let's see how this little one manages to count them.
"Little Yanchuan, do you see that pile of books across the door? If you can figure them out, I won't test you anymore; you can test me instead."
Su Luo had complete confidence in her son. There was no such thing as multiplication and division in this world, and Yan Chuan and Yi Huan already knew how to solve equations.
These were all child's play for Yan Chuan, no problem at all.
Yan Chuan saw Guan Shao's unconvinced expression. Don't think that just because he's only six years old, he doesn't understand anything. Only Su Luo knows his true nature.
She walked over to the pile of books and started counting them with her little hand.
After counting only one stack, he turned to Guan Shao and said, "Master Guan, there are a total of two thousand four hundred books."
Fan Hongzhen was truly unsettled. Among that pile of books, the students from their academy had counted exactly two thousand four hundred, no more, no less.
But they used numbers, they used numbers, but Su Niangzi, this child, used calculations. How did he do that?
"Master Guan... Master Guan..."
Yan Chuan called Guan Shao several times before he came to his senses.
The teachers from the three academies were equally curious about Yan Chuan's algorithm. No matter how hard they thought about it, they couldn't figure out how Yan Chuan had calculated it.
"Master Guan, is my calculation correct? Are there two thousand four hundred books?"
"Yes...yes..."
Guan Shao slumped into his chair, thinking, "Could this kid be a genius sent from heaven?"
Arithmetic can not only be used for accounting, but he has now found new ways to use it.
"Hahaha... Little Yanchuan, not bad, not bad..."
Fan Hongzhen laughed heartily, stood up, walked to the opposite side of the door, and squatted down next to Yan Chuan.
He stroked Yan Chuan's tied-up hair with his right hand and said, "Little Yan Chuan, can you tell me how you determined that there are two thousand four hundred books in this pile?"
Hearing Master Fan ask this question, Guan Shao and Master Fan followed closely behind. They were eager to hear how Chen Yanchuan had done it.
"Dean Fan, this is very simple. Look how neatly these books are stacked."
Yan Chuan pointed to the pair of Analects books with his little finger: "This pile is fifty books high, there are six rows going inwards, and eight more rows going to the right."
Knowing this, that's fifty times six, which equals three hundred. Then multiply three hundred by eight, and the final result is two thousand four hundred.
Therefore, there are two thousand four hundred books here…
The three of them were over a hundred years old combined, and they only vaguely understood what Yan Chuan was saying.
What exactly is multiplication? It sounds like something very powerful.
If you don't understand, ask. Fan Hongzhen smiled and said, "Little Yanchuan, tell this old man, what is multiplication?"
Yan Chuan glanced at Su Luo, and seeing that Su Luo didn't say anything, he said, "Multiplication is one of the algorithms that my mother taught my sister and me."
It was Su Luo who taught me. Just what kind of celestial being is Su Luo? How could she know so much?
Yan Chuan said that multiplication is just one type of algorithm, which means...
Su Luo also taught them many other things...
That's terrifying! Just this one kind is enough to make them hesitate, let alone the many other kinds.
Yan Chuan looked up and met Guan Shao's eyes. He had a general idea of Guan Shao's mathematical abilities when he tested him.
“Master Guan, you just said that if I calculate the number of books correctly, you will let me test you.”
I can give you a question, and I just happened to think of a fun and simple one.
Master Guan, you wouldn't lie to a child, would you?
Guan Shao nodded in agreement. What kind of difficult problem could a six-year-old child pose? He could solve it instantly, just like how Guan Shao had conquered the world.
The title of Master Guan was not given to him by the students of Cangxi Academy for nothing.
"Go ahead and set a question. You're the first student in Cangxi Academy to dare to set a question for the teacher. Don't be afraid, set a difficult one."
"Alright, Master Guan, listen carefully. There are eighteen chickens and rabbits in the same cage, with a total of fifty-two legs. How many chickens are there, and how many rabbits are there?"
Su Luo almost burst out laughing. The chicken-and-rabbit problem wasn't difficult, but it was still quite a brain teaser for Guan Shao, who didn't know how to use multiplication and division.
Guan Shao didn't take it seriously. "It's just chickens and rabbits. What's so difficult about that?"
The fingertips of my right hand tapped on the book I was holding in my left hand. The more I thought about it, the more something seemed wrong; it seemed like no matter how I calculated it, it didn't make sense.
What's going on? It's just eighteen animals, how come he can't figure it out?
"Little...Little Yanchuan, are you sure there's nothing wrong with this question?"
Guan Shao couldn't believe it; how could a scholar in his forties not be able to figure it out? How infuriating…
"No problem. My students and their younger sister often play arithmetic like this at home. They've played the chicken and rabbit problem hundreds of times."
My mother said that these kinds of math problems are for us to develop our intelligence.
Hearing Yan Chuan's words, Guan Shao felt like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat; it was even more unbearable than swallowing a fly.
No, he had to figure it out; he couldn't let his students look down on him.
"Excuse me, I, Lao Guan, need to find a quiet place right now. Xiao Yanchuan, wait for me, I will definitely figure it out."
Yan Chuan squinted his mischievous eyes and said, "Okay, Master Guan, your student is waiting for you."
Guan Shao slapped his forehead as he walked, not caring that he bumped into the door frame with a 'bang'.
As if he felt no pain, he shook his head and went outside.
Although Master Fan did not speak, he could not figure it out either.
Fan Hongzhen sat back down in front of Su Luo, his expression calm and serious, as if he had made a huge decision.
"Miss Su, although you are a woman, I am willing to make an exception and invite you to serve as a teacher at Cangxi Academy. Would you be willing?"
In Fan Hongzhen's mind, Su Luo's knowledge was too profound and unfathomable. If Su Luo were willing, it would be a blessing for all the students of Cangxi Academy.
Su Luo hadn't expected that Old Master Fan would suddenly invite her. To become a teacher and educate people would be a great honor for her family.
But Su Luo had no such plans, nor did she want to be confined to this one place.
"Old Fan, there has never been a woman as a teacher since ancient times. As for me, I prefer to venture out into the world."
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