Chapter 65: Passing Through Three Barriers

  Zhao Min decided to take out her best nine-chapter arithmetic.

  The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art is divided into nine parts: Fangtian, Sumi, Shifen, Shaoguang, Shanggong, Junshu, Yingbuzu, Fangcheng and Gougu. All of them are related to mathematical calculation methods. Zhao Min was fascinated by the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art since she was a child, sometimes studying for half a day. In Zhao Yuqing's eyes, this was also a good thing, because Zhao Min was a girl, even if her learning was excellent, she couldn't take the imperial examination. So he spared no expense in hiring famous teachers. Soon, Zhao Min became a master of arithmetic, and Patriarch Zhao handed over the accounts of the entire Zhao clan to her. Zhao Min did not disappoint him, managing them neatly and methodically.

  This was also the reason why Old Man Zhao trusted his daughter to entertain Lu Haishan.

  Zhao Min smiled slightly at Lu Haoshan, her red lips opening to ask the second question: "There are two brothers. If you subtract 2 years from the younger brother's age and add it to the older brother's age, then the older brother's age will be twice that of the younger brother. On this basis, if the younger brother gives another year to the older brother, the older brother's age will be three times that of the younger brother. What are their ages?"

  Lu Haoshan thought for a moment, and soon had an answer. He smiled at Zhao Min and said: "Zhao young lady is good at plotting, quietly digging a hole for this official."

  "What does this mean?" Zhao Min secretly rejoiced in her heart, thinking that the county magistrate would not be able to guess and would have to admit defeat.

  "Brother, brother, sounds like one is older and one is younger, but in fact, the brothers mentioned by Zhao's daughter are twins, right? And both of these brothers are six years old, I don't know if it's correct or not." Lu Haoshan said with a confident face.

  This question sounds a bit complicated, but it becomes very simple with a quadratic equation. Let's assume the brother's age is x and the older brother's age is y. (x-2)*2=y+2, (x-3)*3=y+3. Adding these two equations together, even mental math can calculate that both x and y are 6, so the answer comes out easily.

  "...... Indeed, sir is erudite and talented, I admire you." Zhao Min was shocked, she herself had spent several days calculating this problem, but didn't expect that Lu County Magistrate would solve it in less than half an hour, it's simply divine.

  However, Zhao Min soon felt a bit unconvinced: she had practiced the Nine Chapters on Arithmetic since childhood and would need several days to calculate it, but this Lu County Magistrate got the answer in just a short while. Zhao Min was convinced that he didn't actually solve it, but rather used a stupid method to deduce it, because the answer was six, and even using such a stupid method wouldn't take long, yet this Lu County Magistrate solved it without even moving his brush, clearly a blind cat hitting a dead mouse.

  Having passed two checkpoints, Lu Haoshan's mood was not bad. Upon hearing this, he smiled and said: "I don't dare, it was Miss Zhao who yielded."

  For some reason, as soon as Zhao Min saw Lu Haoshan's seemingly smiling yet not quite smiling expression, she felt a sense of frustration in her heart. Was he implying that she had intentionally let him win or was he subtly mocking her for being too weak to even challenge him? The two questions he had answered so quickly seemed to have no difficulty at all, especially the second one, which she had spent three days figuring out, but this guy had solved it in less than half a minute. How could Zhao Min possibly accept this?

  She had to make him suffer a bit, so Zhao Min decided to take out one of her most difficult questions that she had spent a long time figuring out.

  After calming down a bit, Zhao Min said calmly: "It's not concession, but the adults are knowledgeable and the young woman admires. Now there is one last question, if the adults can answer it, our Zhao family will immediately present 3,000 taels of silver with both hands, and the parents and elders of Jiangyou will be relieved of their worries."

  "I will listen carefully and respectfully."

  "There are 100 bags of rice in the warehouse, transported by 100 horses. It is known that a large horse can carry three bags at a time, a medium horse can carry two bags at a time, and two small horses together can only carry one bag. They finished transporting all the bags in one trip. How many large, medium, and small horses are there?" Zhao Min asked without hesitation, bringing up what she thought was the most difficult question.

  Not bad, Lu Haoshan thought to himself, this is obviously an entry-level problem for a cubic equation. Without any methods or formulas, she can actually solve such a problem. In the future, this would be considered a female academic tyrant's existence. No wonder Zhao Yuqing that old fox hid and didn't send someone to deal with her. It seems he also has great confidence in his daughter. If it were someone who only knew how to write poetry, fill in the blanks, or write eight-legged essays, they would probably leave dejectedly. You can't do anything about others' generosity.

  Who says being uneducated means having no talent? However, when it comes to oneself, that's a different story...

  Seeing Lu County Magistrate, who had answered quickly just now, stunned on the side, Zhao Min felt refreshed and had a feeling of finally getting you stuck and subdued. With a smile on his face, he said to Lu Haoshan: "Sir, you can go back and study slowly. If you can solve the answer within three days, I, Zhao's family, will immediately send someone to deliver 3,000 taels."

  The unspoken words are: If you can't solve it, at most you can only donate 1,500 taels.

  Lu Haoshan said with a confident face: "Miss Zhao, the answer is 17 big horses, 5 medium horses, and 78 small horses. I don't know if this answer is correct."

  Have you figured it out again?

  Zhao Min was greatly shocked, this answer is exactly the same as what she calculated herself. How could this be? Once might be luck, but twice couldn't be a coincidence. Could it be that this person really is a genius? She couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Sir, how did you calculate it?"

  Lu Haoshan smiled and said: "This question is a bit unfair, there's only one question, but the answer has several, isn't Miss Zhao doing it on purpose?"

  "What is it? There are several answers."

  "Just now, I calculated that 17 large horses, 5 medium horses and 78 small horses are correct. In addition to this answer, there are also 14 large horses, 10 medium horses and 76 small horses; 11 large horses, 15 medium horses and 74 small horses; 8 large horses, 20 medium horses and 72 small horses; 5 large horses, 25 medium horses and 70 small horses; 2 large horses, 30 medium horses and 68 small horses, etc. All these answers are correct."

  After studying the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art for over a decade, Zhao Min still had some mental calculation skills. As soon as she heard Lu Haoshan's answer, she mentally calculated it and was shocked: the answers were all correct! For a moment, she stared at Lu Haoshan in shock, unable to speak.

  My goodness, is this a god? In just a short while, not only did he solve what he thought was the most difficult math problem, but he also came up with multiple answers in one go. It's simply divine.

  "Adult" Zhao Min gathered her courage and asked: "Have you seen this question before?"

  "The official said no, and estimated that Zhao's daughter did not quite believe it. In this case, the girl had some mathematical difficulties, just say them out loud, and the official would answer one by one. This way, you can know whether the official is a true talent or just a blind cat hitting a dead mouse."

  "There is an ancient temple, with an unknown number of monks. The temple has a total of 364 bowls. Three people share one bowl of rice and four people share one bowl of soup, with no leftovers. How many monks are there in the temple?"

  After a brief moment of hesitation, Lu Haoshan had an answer: "624 people".

  "Now there are chickens and rabbits in the same cage. There are thirty heads above and ninety-four feet below. How many chickens and rabbits are there?"

  "There are 23 chickens and 7 rabbits."

  ........

  One after another, Lu Haoshan answered several arithmetic questions quickly and accurately. Finally, Zhao Min was convinced and said with a sincere heart: "I didn't expect the adults to be so knowledgeable and skilled in mathematics. This is a joke for a little girl like me."

  "Miss Zhao is a woman who does not yield to men in terms of talent and learning. She is diligent and studious, and I am deeply moved by her."

  Without waiting for Lu Haoshan to speak, Zhao Min proactively said: "Please rest assured, sir. The Zhao family is a clan that keeps its promises. Those three thousand taels of silver will be sent to the county government afterwards. In addition, I, as a private individual, will donate another three hundred taels to show my respect for you."

  "Miss Zhao's words are trustworthy, her promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold and she delights in doing good deeds. I, as the official in charge of Jiangyou, thank Miss Zhao on behalf of the local elders for her generosity."

  "Sir, you have extremely high attainments in the art of calculation. I wonder if you could give me some guidance?"

  Zhao Min, who was obsessed with the Nine Chapters of Arithmetic on weekdays, loved nothing more than the sense of accomplishment she felt after solving a difficult problem. Now that she had met someone who claimed to be the best at arithmetic, how could she let it go easily? Although there were differences between men and women, driven by her desire for knowledge, she suppressed her shyness and spoke out.

  Want to worship yourself as a teacher? Lu Haoshan was delighted in his heart, he just had a request for her. Coming here to raise funds is one purpose, and another purpose is to use the connections of the Zhao family to open up the Tea-Horse Road, and through trade to obtain a steady stream of war horses and wealth for himself, slowly expanding his own strength.

  Although it is the most prestigious county, Jiangyou is still too poor, with limited financial resources. Relying solely on that meager salary and grey income, supporting the expenses of a military team is simply a fantasy. To achieve anything, one needs money, grain, and people. After much thought, Lu Haoshan concluded that the best method would be to utilize the Tea-Horse Ancient Road to earn large amounts of silver and grain, as well as acquire excellent horses.

  It can be said that Lu Haoshan has high hopes for the Zhao family.

  Lu Haoshan's eyes rolled around for a moment, and soon he had an idea: "That's right, this official has a unique method in the art of numerology, it's not impossible to teach Zhao Niang, but this official has one condition."

  "Please speak clearly." Hearing Lu Haoshan's agreement, Zhao Min was overjoyed and immediately asked loudly.

  "It's simple, Miss Zhao has taken the imperial exam several times, and I also want to test Miss Zhao. Let's make it simple, a couplet, I'll come up with the top line, if you can respond correctly, I'll teach you all the techniques of divination, but if you can't respond within three days, then you have to do something for me."

  Zhao Min furrowed her brow and said cautiously, "What are you doing?"

  Just now I have seen the talent of this county lord, and even the proud Zhao Min dare not be arrogant, ask clearly before making an appointment.

  "Please allow Zhao to keep a little secret, but I can guarantee that it's not something that will harm the heavens or violate reason. On the contrary, it's a good thing, and this matter, Miss Zhao also has the ability to accomplish. Of course, if you feel embarrassed, you can also refuse."

  "Alright, I accept this condition. Please go first, sir." With her confidence in herself, her infatuation with the art of war and Lord Lu's guarantee, Zhao Min decided to take on the challenge.

  Isn't it just a pair of twins? Not only does he have a talent for numerology, but also his own expertise in dealing with twins. Moreover, with three days' time, even if he can't figure it out himself, there are still family members to help him. As for Lu Haoshan's method of solving numerological difficulties, Zhao Min is extremely eager to learn.