Chapter 25 Waiting for the melon

Fortunately, Jian Ruonan was smart and understood after Min's brief introduction.

Min nodded gently to Mrs. Zhou. Mrs. Zhou understood that the lady was asking her to give way to Miss Wu and not let Miss Wu lose too badly.

I heard that Miss Wu grew up on the farm and had a hard time when she was a child. She was so thin and small, she didn't even have enough food, so how could she count?

Everyone present was sure that Jian Ruonan would lose.

Some of the maids secretly regretted why they didn't raise their hands and let Mrs. Zhou pick up five taels of silver for nothing.

Jian Ruonan wanted to surprise everyone with a single move. "Mother Zhou, I calculated a little too fast, you don't have to let me win."

Mother Zhou was determined to win the five taels of silver, and smiled sincerely: "Look at what Miss Fifth said, if you want to let me win, please let me win, don't let me lose too badly."

The little maid brought a three-legged bronze incense burner with a stick of incense in it. After the incense was lit, the competition began.

Mother Zhou first brought tea to moisten her mouth, then picked up the abacus and started to calculate.

Jian Ruonan didn't use the abacus, but took the brush to write and draw on paper.

The ancient account books were a bit messy, with all the income and expenditure written together, which looked a bit laborious.

It doesn't take long to calculate, but it takes more time to read the account books.

Jian Ruonan's reputation as a top student is not unfounded. Mother Zhou had just calculated less than a quarter of the total, and Jian Ruonan had finished.

She could not write traditional Chinese characters, and the Arabic numerals she wrote were incomprehensible to others, so

she could only dictate: "This month, the pen and ink shop had an income of 65 taels and 3 cents, an expenditure of 42 taels and 2 cents, and a profit of 23 taels and 1 cent." These accounts had been reviewed before, and Min knew the results in advance. When she heard Jian Ruonan give the correct answer, Min was shocked.

Nannan actually calculated it exactly.

This is too amazing.

I didn't see her using an abacus or a counting rod, so how did she calculate it?

Jian Ruonan picked up the teacup, sipped the tea, and her face was calm. "I'm honored, I'm honored."

She was humble and had a bit of the demeanor of a scholar.

Min secretly praised her in her heart.

In less than two seconds, the inner voice came: [Wow, hahahaha, I'm a genius! ! Genius! ] Min:

"..." Jian Xilu: " ..." My sister is so amazing, but a little bit unmodest. Mother Zhou laughed loudly, "Oh, I will never drink tea again when I settle accounts in the future. Miss Wu is really amazing." Mother Zhou joked on the surface, but she was a little dissatisfied in her heart. Maybe the lady deliberately made fun of Miss Wu in order to establish her authority. Miss Wu might have known the answer a long time ago and was playing with them here. There were scribbled symbols on the paper, and she couldn't even write "one, two, three, four, five". How could she have figured it out? Not only did Mother Zhou not believe it, but the other mothers present also didn't believe it. Min knew that these mothers were cunning and would not be easily convinced. Even Min herself was still a little skeptical. I was afraid that Xilu was worried about Nannan and revealed it to her on purpose. "Bring two account books that haven't been calculated this month." Min took the account book, "We'll calculate them page by page this time. Does anyone else want to participate in the competition? You can also join together. The reward remains the same." A big reward will always bring a brave man. Several maids immediately raised their hands to participate. A new account book that had not been calculated beforehand, and one page by page, there was no chance for the fifth lady to cheat. Mother Zhou did not dare to be careless this time. She concentrated her mind. As soon as the account book was opened, she started to make a sound with the abacus. Jian Ruonan glanced at the account book, wrote down the numbers, added and subtracted, and was the first to finish the calculation. For the last pair of answers, Jian Ruonan got it right again. Until the whole account book was finished, Jian Ruonan was always fast and accurate, and the women looked at her more and more seriously. As expected, Jian Ruonan won the final victory. [Great, no need to learn the Four Books for Women!!!] [Dinosaurs fight wolves, fight wolves, wolves, dinosaurs fight wolves, fight wolves~~ I don’t have K, I don’t have KKK~] Min: "..." Jian Xilu covered her mouth and laughed secretly. My sister tried so hard to avoid being lazy. Mother Zhou was shocked. How did the fifth lady calculate! Are there any secrets in these scribbles on the paper? Jian Ruonan just needed someone to help manage the shop and the farm, and she also needed someone to help plant potatoes and corn, so she was happy to teach her. "In the future, don't write income and expenditure together. Separate them for easier statistics. Also, I will teach you what Arabic numerals are. This way it will look simpler. Do you want to learn the multiplication formula? You won't need an abacus after learning it?" "Yes, as long as Miss Wu is willing to teach!" The maids were a little excited. If they learned this skill from Miss Wu, they could be half the shopkeeper. Originally, Min was going to teach her two daughters how to read the account book, but suddenly it became Jian Ruonan teaching these housekeepers how to keep accounts using modern methods. Not to mention, Min thought Jian Ruonan's method was good. There was also a table drawn by Jian Ruonan with a charcoal pencil, and the income and expenditure were clear at a glance. The Arabic numerals were much simpler once they were proficient. Such an account book was difficult for outsiders to understand. "Nannan, where did you learn that?" To be able to invent such simple numbers, she must be very knowledgeable. Jian Ruonan: "I learned it from the Indians." It was the Indians who invented Arabic numerals. Min: "???" Jian Ruonan: "The foreigners." Daxia had just started to have trade relations with other countries, and Min didn't know much about foreign countries. She just thought she had met a strange man on the farm before. And that multiplication table is much more useful than an abacus. Min thought Nannan was very smart. If she is so smart, why doesn't she want to learn the Four Books for Women? Mother Zhou worshipped Jian Ruonan, from initially disdaining her to now respecting Jian Ruonan as her role model. Jian Ruonan took the opportunity to ask Zhou's mother to come over and let her help manage the land given by Min.

"This thing is called potato, and the yield per mu can reach 3,000 kilograms. You can take it back and cut it into pieces, germinate it first, and then plant it in sandy soil. It can be harvested in three months. This is called corn..."

It was the first time that Zhou's mother heard about a crop that could produce 3,000 kilograms per mu, but she had been shocked by Jian Ruonan several times before. After receiving potatoes and corn, she was already quite calm, thinking that it was just a rare thing shipped from a foreign country.

~

After meeting with the housekeepers, it was almost time for dinner, and Min brought her two daughters to pay respects to the old lady.

In the Xishou Courtyard, except for Min, the two sisters-in-law all came with their daughters.

In the second room, Jian Lang's wife, Xiao Shi, was the old lady's niece, and Jian Jin's wife, Xue, was from an imperial merchant family.

The second house has three daughters. The eldest daughter, Jian Chuyun, is born to Shi. She is fifteen this year and is currently seeking marriage.

Jian Chuyun is wearing the latest style of dress and has a pair of golden hairpins in her hair.

The two concubines, Jian Panlan, is ten years old this year and Jian Panyue, is nine years old this year. The two concubines are dressed much more simply, with plain hair and faces, and only a pair of silver earrings on their ears.

The third house has only one legitimate daughter, Jian Chuxia, who is fourteen this year. Jian Chuxia has an oval face and rosy cheeks, and is quite coquettish.

Everyone was a little curious when they saw Jian Ruonan, and they all asked who her sister was.

Min introduced Nannan to everyone, "Nannan just came back from her aunt's house in Jiangnan, and brought some Jiangnan specialties, which will be delivered to everyone in the yard later."

For this purpose, Min had already prepared a lot of Jiangnan specialties.

Little Shi curled her lips. The marriage was a big deal back then. Everyone in the mansion knew about Jian Ruonan's background. The eldest sister-in-law was used to pretending to be nice and just coaxing the young people who didn't know.

Jian Ruonan greeted everyone. Little Shi and Xue presented gifts, one was a silk flower and the other was a hairpin. After Jian Ruonan checked that neither of them had beriberi, she accepted them with a smile.

"Nannan and sister-in-law look so much alike, they are obviously mother and daughter." Little Shi said jokingly, "When Nannan comes, the order of the ladies in the mansion will have to be rearranged. If I call the wrong one, sister-in-law, please don't blame me."

Little Shi seemed to be laughing, but her eyes were full of sarcasm, and she was bullying Nannan, saying that she was unnecessary. "What should we do about Chuxue? It's so pitiful. Why didn't she come?"

Min was a little unhappy at the moment, but her face was still calm and gentle. "What's so pitiful? Chuxue didn't come because she made a mistake and was confined by the eldest master." Jian Xilu

was also a little unhappy when she heard her sister being bullied, but there was nothing she could do.

Little Shi was the old lady's niece and the most favored by the old lady. Even if she deliberately made trouble, the old lady would turn a blind eye.

Only Nannan was wronged.

[Hey, it seems that the second aunt doesn't know about the second uncle and Aunt Wei, and is still having fun here! ]

[Hey, the old lady doesn't seem to know that the second uncle was sent to the government office. In half an incense stick of time, a servant will come to report. ]

[Wait for the second aunt to change her face! ]

[Wait for the old lady to vomit blood in anger! ]

After hearing the inner voice, Min suddenly felt refreshed.

She was going to leave after greeting, but she didn't leave this time, waiting to see the excitement.