Upon hearing that there was candy, Shen Qingze couldn't resist any longer and shouted without thinking, "What is sixteen plus twenty-three?"
As soon as Shen Qingze finished speaking, Shen Qinghe and Meng Zhao simultaneously gave the answer, "Thirty-nine!"
After giving their answers, the two subconsciously exchanged a glance. Meng Zhao was the first to react, saying, "If we both answer correctly, neither of us can take the candy."
Shen Qinghe smiled and nodded after hearing this.
Seeing that the two of them answered so quickly, Shen Qingze immediately threw out a new question: "What is five nines added together?"
"Forty-five!" The two answered crisply and decisively, without the slightest hesitation.
Seeing how effortlessly they answered, Shen Qingze was immediately disappointed, while Shen Qingyu next to him pouted.
"Brother, you're so stupid. Sister-in-law and second brother are so smart. Of course, they can't be stumped by such a simple question. Watch me."
After saying that, she slightly raised her chin and said playfully, "What is nine times twenty-eight added together and then divided into four parts?"
This time, Shen Qinghe and Meng Zhao, once again, gave the answer clearly and accurately at the same moment: "Sixty-three!!!"
Still, no one managed to get the candy. Then Gu Shi Xiaochuan and Aunt Qian asked a few questions, which they both answered effortlessly. Finally, Wei Jinglan stood up and slowly uttered the question:
"There are pheasants and rabbits in the same cage. There are 51 heads and 154 feet. How many pheasants and rabbits are there?"
Upon hearing the question, Meng Zhao couldn't help but chuckle twice. It turned out that the "chicken and rabbit in the same cage" problem was applicable both in ancient and modern times. Then, suddenly remembering that they were still in a competition, he immediately suppressed his smile, quickly went through the question in his mind, and then took the lead in giving the answer.
"There are twenty-six rabbits and twenty-five chickens."
Hearing that Meng Zhao had already answered, everyone's attention turned to Shen Qinghe. After all, they didn't know if their answer was correct. Despite being watched by so many people, Shen Qinghe wasn't nervous. Instead, he continued to think in his mind and, a dozen seconds later than Meng Zhao, said:
"My sister-in-law and I calculated the same result: 26 rabbits and 25 chickens."
Everyone was immediately surprised, especially Aunt Qian, whose face was full of disbelief. She was secretly amazed, wondering how they had figured out the answer when she hadn't even understood the question.
Moreover, Shen Qinghe is studying at the county school. According to his son, his studies are better than his own, a mere scholar. Yet, he is now inferior to Meng Zhao, a woman.
Wei Jinglan was also very surprised. She knew that when she first saw this problem, it took her a whole sheet of paper and a quarter of an hour to figure it out. Meng Zhao was able to solve it in just a few breaths, which was really amazing.
Meng Zhao knew that Shen Qinghe had calculated it himself and hadn't copied her answer, but the fact that he could calculate it so quickly was still surprising enough for her. However, it was a pity that he still couldn't compare to her.
Thinking of this, Meng Zhao's lips curled up slightly, and he picked up a piece of candy from the table and gently waved it in front of Shen Qinghe.
"Second brother, then your sister-in-law won't stand on ceremony."
Looking at Meng Zhao's smug expression, Shen Qinghe smiled helplessly, but there was no displeasure in her eyes. Instead, her eyes revealed a hint of admiration and appreciation for Meng Zhao: "This is what you deserve, sister-in-law. Please."
Wei Jinglan was not discouraged and gave Meng Zhao several more questions, some of which she herself did not know the answers to, but Meng Zhao was always able to answer them in a very short time. Most importantly, he did not use paper or pen or an abacus at all, which was simply unbelievable.
Once all the candy on the table was in Meng Zhao's pocket, everyone looked at her with amazement and admiration. Meng Zhao raised her voice at the opportune moment, "Do you want to become like me?"
Almost without hesitation, everyone answered in unison, "Yes!!!"
Meng Zhao was secretly delighted, but she maintained a calm and composed smile on her face. She silently thought to herself: Hehe, goal achieved.
"Okay, now please listen carefully as I explain how I perform the calculations."
In the following time, Meng Zhao explained to them in detail the correspondence between the capital numerals and Arabic numerals. She had also prepared a nursery rhyme, such as 1 looks like a thin and long pencil, 2 looks like a duck swimming in the water, and 3 looks like an ear listening to sounds, etc.
However, since everyone present had some basic knowledge, even Aunt Qian, who had never been to school, had a husband who worked as an accountant and a son who passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, she was able to learn some characters through daily exposure to the language, so she didn't need to use them.
But there was something else that needed to be taught: the multiplication table. Meng Zhao wrote the multiplication table on the blackboard, from one times one equals one, one times two equals two, all the way up to nine times nine equals eighty-one, and asked everyone to memorize it.
In fact, when Meng Zhao was browsing through books, he discovered that there were similar mnemonic rhymes in ancient books. It's just that arithmetic was not valued by the public at the time, so they were not widely circulated. Moreover, most of the rhymes were only a few short sentences, some were difficult to pronounce, and not comprehensive enough.
The multiplication table has a very simple step-like structure, making it easy to read and understand. Once you memorize the multiplication table, you can greatly improve your calculation efficiency.
After listening to Meng Zhao's lecture, everyone stared at the blackboard, muttering to themselves. Before they knew it, the morning had passed.
Aunt Qian only snapped out of her daze when she heard Shen Qingze's stomach rumble twice. She paused for a moment, then smiled somewhat embarrassedly:
"Oh dear, I got so engrossed in studying that it's already noon. I need to hurry back and cook."
Aunt Qian felt a little embarrassed. It was fine for her to come over and enjoy the warmth of the place, but why did she have to stay until mealtime? People might think she came specifically to freeload.
Meng Zhao stopped her, saying, "Auntie, it's already this late. You'll be alone if you go back. Why don't you have lunch with us today?"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Qian looked embarrassed and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no, I can't accept that."
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. You were a big supporter of our shop when it opened. You're a regular customer. What's wrong with having a meal together?"
Hearing Meng Zhao say that, Aunt Qian didn't refuse. "Well, okay then. Oh, right, my son bought me two pickled fish before he left. I haven't had a chance to eat them yet. I'll go get them and we can eat them together."
Meng Zhao was about to stop her from saying that it wasn't necessary, as there was enough food at home, when Aunt Qian had already opened the door and run out.
She followed her out, but not to chase after Aunt Qian; she went to check on the situation outside.
The snow was really heavy. The path that had been cleared in the morning was now almost ankle-deep. As soon as Meng Zhao came out, Shen Qinghe took a blanket from the house and draped it over her shoulders.
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