Math Genius 048

  Zeng Shan found a small restaurant with only six or seven tables. Such a small store is considered to be relatively shabby in Nanjing, but in Zeng Shan's eyes as a country girl, it was already a big restaurant. Luo Yi didn't have the idea of showing off either, he just wanted to find a random store to eat something and then hurry back to Pukou to take the boat in the afternoon.

  A pale and thin young man let Luo Yi's group into the store, arranged for them to sit at a table by the window, and then asked in a timid tone: "Several bosses, what do you want to eat?"

  "Five bowls of duck blood fan soup."

  "Ten copper coins for a bowl, and there are 50 copper coins in total." The young man replied.

  "Steamed buns, three baskets."

  "12 copper coins in a tray, a total of 36 copper coins."

  "Braised duck in salted water, one serving."

  "Our ducks are about 2.5 catties each, and we sell them for 100 copper coins apiece."

  Lu Yi casually ordered a few more dishes, and the young man reported their prices one by one. After Lu Yi finished ordering, the young man had already calculated the total price, which was 385 copper coins.

  When the young man went back to the kitchen to deliver dishes, Luo Yi smiled and asked Zeng Shan: "Shan Er, how is your arithmetic going?"

  Zeng Shan said: "My godmother said it's almost done."

  "How about it? Is he as familiar with numbers as that kid from earlier? I see so many digits and he's completely calculating them mentally."

  "Really?" Zeng Shan had been chatting with Yuan Jing just now and didn't notice the conversation between Luo Yi and the young man.

  "Don't believe it? Try again in a while."

  Before long, the young man brought out the duck blood fan soup and handed it to each of the five people. As he finished serving and was about to leave, Luo Yi called out to him: "Hey kid, wait a minute!"

  The young man stopped: "Boss, what are your orders?"

  "How old are you?"

  “13。”

  "Who taught you arithmetic?"

  A hint of sadness flashed in the young man's eyes as he replied, "My dad taught me a bit."

  "I'm testing you, 1345 plus 2879, equals how much?"

  The boy was stunned for a second, then answered: "4224."

  "What is 15 times 15?"

  “225。”

  Luo Yi smiled: "The kid is learning well. I'll ask you some difficult questions to test your courage, dare you try?"

  The young man said: "I haven't learned much, boss, you go first, I don't know if I can do it or not."

  "You are 13 years old, this sister is 16 years old, and I am 21 years old. Now the three of us eat buns together. The number of buns I ate multiplied by my age equals the number of buns you ate multiplied by your age, which also equals the number of buns this sister ate multiplied by her age. There are a total of 30 buns. Ask: how many buns did each of you, me and sister eat?"

  Luoyi came up with a strange question, which was actually asked by a math major classmate during a drinking game at a banquet. In fact, if you have a middle school level of knowledge, this question is not difficult to solve, it's just a bit tricky. Luoyi's math skills were very poor, and the most difficult question he could think of was this one, so he deliberately made things difficult for the young man by bringing up this question.

  The young man didn't understand at first, so Luo Yi explained again, and he finally understood. The young man's eyes were confused for a moment, then he turned around and went back to the kitchen.

  The young man went in and didn't come out for half a day. Luo Yi and the others finished eating the duck blood soup, but the other dishes hadn't been served yet. Luo Yi couldn't help but shout: "Hey, where is he? Why hasn't the food been served for half a day?"

  A plump middle-aged woman rushed out from the back kitchen, and as soon as she saw this scene, she turned her head and shouted: "Xì yāo, xì yāo, where has he died again?"

  The young man stumbled out and was scolded by the middle-aged woman: "Where have you been? Why didn't you serve the guests?"

  The young man didn't explain anything, and after running back and forth several times, he brought up all the dishes that Luo Yi and others had ordered. When the last dish was placed on the table, he said to Luo Yi: "Boss, I've figured out the problem you gave me."

  "Lu Yi asked with interest: 'What's the result?'"

  "I ate 12 and a half, my sister had 10, and you, boss, had 7 and a half." the young man replied.

  Luo Yi quickly calculated it and found that the boy's result was correct, with a slight error due to rounding. He asked in surprise: "Have you learned how to solve equations?"

  The boy shook his head: "What's an equation?"

  Luo Yi sighed: "It doesn't show, you're still young, but you really have a bit of mathematical mind."

  A fat woman saw a young man standing beside Luo Yi whispering, and walked over to scold: "You little rascal, why aren't you going to work? What are you doing disturbing the bosses while they're eating?"

  The young man lowered his head and walked away. Luo Yi asked the fat woman: "Are you the boss's wife?"

  Yes.

  "Was this child your son just now?"

  The boss's wife shook her head: "He is a partner I picked up."

  "What's picky?"

  The boss's wife said, "Alas, the poor thing, he was a refugee. His family was from Shanghai, and during the January 28 Incident, their home was hit by a Japanese shell, and his whole family was killed. Only this child was left, and he fled to Nanjing. He had nothing to eat or drink, and was starving to death. I took him in and kept him as an apprentice. When he arrived, he was only 10 years old, and was thin as a monkey. It's only been the past two years that he's put on some weight."

  "Poor thing." Zeng Shan's mother said in a burst of love, "He is still just a child after all."

  "Who says it isn't? Alas, that little devil has suffered a thousand knives." The boss's wife sighed.

  Luo Yi said: "This kid has a talent for math, he should go to school, every day at your place washing dishes, wasting his potential."

  The landlady said, "In these chaotic times, it's already good if we can get a bowl of rice to eat. Who will support him if he goes to school? I also know he can do arithmetic, and now he can calculate the shop's accounts faster than my husband."

  "Brother Luo, shall we take him away? Let's send him to Zhu Shan Town to study." Zeng Shan said. She was a kind-hearted person and couldn't help but feel sympathy for the young man after hearing his story.

  Luo Yi was also moved. He looked at the boss's wife with inquiring eyes and asked, "Boss's wife, why don't I take him away? I'll support his education, what do you think?"

  The boss's wife looked at Luo Yi and his group, asked suspiciously: "Where are you from? What do you do?"

  Luo Yi said: "I am a merchant from Tongzhou, Jiangxi. These two are my distant younger sisters, and the other two are my partners. There is a school in our town that provides free education to poor children."

  "What's so special about this kid?"

  "I think he has a talent for math, and with some nurturing, he might become a talented person. It's a pity that he's wasted here with you."

  The boss's wife thought for a moment and said, "You want to take him away, of course it's okay. This is also the good fortune of the young master. However, he has been eating and living here for more than two years now, and only recently can he do some work. If you take him away, will you be able to pay back the cost of his meals?"

  Luo Yi did not expect the boss's wife to suddenly make such a request, and he was taken aback. Zeng Shan was annoyed, pointing at the boss's wife and saying: "What kind of woman are you? He's still just a kid, working for you every day, have you paid him his wages?"

  The boss's wife had a flattering smile on her face, but her words were tough: "Miss, you're from a big family, you don't know that our small business is hard to raise an apprentice, it's not easy. You took him away, and I have to recruit another one? Your family is rich and powerful, just give me a few sons and that's it."

  Zeng Shan wanted to say something again, but Luo Yi pressed her down and asked the landlady: "Landlady, why don't you calculate it? See how much money he spent on food here?"

  The landlady smiled and said: "It's not much, he stayed here for more than two years, let's just say one dollar a month, that's 30 dollars in total."

  Luo Yi gave Tu Jiu a signal with his eyes, and Tu Jiu stood up, took out 30 silver dollars from his body, and handed them over to Luo Yi.

  Luo Yi handed the big ocean to the boss's wife and said: "Thirty big oceans, you take care of it."

  The boss's wife took the dollar and a happy expression appeared on her face: "This matter, I still have to ask Xiao Er about it, see if he is willing or not. If he is not willing, I will have to return the dollar to you."

  The boss's wife went to the back and negotiated with the young man. Zeng Shan said to Luo Yi, "This woman is too greedy, not only letting this kid work for her, but also asking for meal money."

  Luo Yi said: "Since we've made up our minds to take this child away, there's no need to be stingy with money. With the boss lady being like this, I must take him away even more, I'm afraid the child will suffer a loss if he stays here."

  After a while, the landlady brought out the young man. The young man was already carrying a bundle in his hand, apparently containing his luggage. The landlady said to Luo Yi: "Boss, I've brought the kid out for you. He's also agreed to go with you."

  Luo Yi walked up to the young man and asked him: "Are you willing to come with us?"

  The boy nodded slightly, his face expressionless. The bit of feeling he had developed with Luo Yi while doing the questions earlier seemed to have vanished as well.

  Luoyi asked: "Did the boss lady say where we're taking you?"

  The boy nodded again.

  Luo Yi said: "We'll take you to Jiangxi and let you go to school, are you willing?"

  The young man nodded slightly, but judging from his expression, he didn't fully believe Luo Yi's words, and instead had a kind of resigned obedience.

  "What's your name?"

  "Goodbye."

  "Alright, Zhou Xi'ao, you come with us then." Luo Yi said, gesturing to Tu Jiu to take the bundle from the young man's hands. He nodded at the landlady and led the young man out.

  The boss's wife didn't make a sound while Luo Yi and the young man were talking, but when she saw Zhou Xi walking out, she suddenly shouted: "Xi, wait!"

  Everyone turned back, Zeng Shan angrily said: "You this ruthless boss lady, what else do you want?"