Li Guanyi halted his steps to avoid a horse-drawn carriage.
Once the carriage came to a stop, a maid dressed in a duck-green coat jumped down first. She then turned around and extended her hand to assist a woman down. The woman was of considerable stature, clad in a blue dress, with lotus-colored shoes and white silk stockings. Her hair was styled like a cloud, and only her back was visible as she was helped inside.
The carriage driver cracked his whip, and the carriage settled against the wall on either side.
Li Guanyi paid no mind to this small incident.
He simply handed a letter to a student from the private school and was led inside. This private school was vast, and the student asked Li Guanyi to wait outside for a moment while he went to deliver the letter to the teacher of the Liu family. Li Guanyi nodded and waited there, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.
The Liu family private school.
Although he had known it was large, the feeling from the outside was completely different from that inside. Everywhere he looked, there were tall bamboos and orchids, with buildings hidden among them. The people moving about ranged from seven or eight years old to those in their early twenties, all dressed in satin garments, adorned with jade, swords, and fragrant pouches, their attire splendid as they held books while walking through.
Li Guanyi, dressed in a gray-brown outfit that had been washed to the point of fading, stood there with a calm gaze.
Yet he was deep in thought.
Indeed, the Liu family private school was immense. If he could stay here, it would surely be more beneficial for future matters regarding official documents. Moreover, it was not easy for scattered households to find work, especially in a place that could elevate them to a main household. With the Old Shopkeeper's recommendation, it would not hurt to give it a try.
As he pondered, he slowly walked around the private school.
Just as he was feeling bored, he noticed a group of youths arguing about something.
Upon listening closely, he realized they were disputing the solution to a mathematical problem.
Li Guanyi, with a thoughtful expression, figured that if he wanted to stay here, it would be best to showcase some of his abilities.
He stepped over and observed for a while before suddenly speaking up:
"You've solved it incorrectly."
The students, who had been frowning over a problem that had troubled them for a month, were startled by his words. They turned around to see a plainly dressed, impoverished youth. Having been stumped by this mathematical problem for a month, their minds felt as twisted as wrung clothes, and they couldn't help but respond with annoyance:
"What do you mean we solved it wrong?"
"If you know how, then come and solve it yourself."
One of the slightly older students inquired:
"Little brother, you say we are wrong. How exactly are we wrong?"
"This is a secret problem given to us by our teacher a month ago. We have pondered over it for a long time without finding a method. The problem is: 'Arrange the numbers one to nine into three rows, such that no matter the direction—vertical, horizontal, or diagonal—each set of three numbers adds up to fifteen. How should it be arranged?'"
"Do you have a solution?"
Li Guanyi looked at the magic square on the table.
Unlike in his previous life, in this era, mathematics was one of the Six Arts of a gentleman, and cultivation was not easy.
This magic square was not a difficult task in his past life, but in this world, without secret teachings, it was indeed a painful and time-consuming endeavor. There were nine numbers, each with nine choices, and the permutations were enough to make one’s head spin.
He picked up a brush, and the group of elegantly dressed youths gathered around him. As Li Guanyi began to write, he softly recited: "The meaning of the magic square is based on the spirit turtle; two and four are the shoulders, six and eight are the feet, three is on the left, seven is on the right, nine is on the head, and one is on the foot, with five in the center."
In the blink of an eye, the puzzle that had trapped these students for a month was solved.
The expressions of the surrounding students changed dramatically, and they fell silent for a moment.
In the loft above, the young lady who had been looking down at her brother noticed this scene. Seeing the stunned expressions on the proud students' faces, she turned to her maid and urged her to go down. The maid smiled in response and turned to descend the stairs.
Just then, the student who had reported earlier came out. Li Guanyi set down his brush and followed the student to a tea room. Inside a partitioned area sat a man in his forties, holding a letter. He gestured for Li Guanyi to sit down and poured a cup of tea for him, saying:
"I already know your purpose for coming."
"Since it is Brother Zhao's recommendation, I should keep you here."
"However, I have too many people here, and unfortunately, the position recommended by Shopkeeper Zhao is no longer available. There are only some minor jobs. Little brother, you can try working here for two months. The pay will be a bit less for the first two months, so please don't take offense."
A trial period?
Li Guanyi inquired, "How much?"
The scholar stroked his beard and extended five fingers. Li Guanyi asked, "One guanquan and five?"
That was indeed not far off from what he expected.
The scholar smiled and said, "No, it is five mo."
Originally, one mo was one hundred wen, but in actual transactions, people often used "short mo" instead of "full mo" due to a tendency to take advantage. The court recognized this, as the legal text stated, "Those who steal five thousand full mo shall be executed." What the scholar referred to was clearly just short mo.
For example, full mo and full gold both carry this meaning.
One mo equals seventy-five wen, which totals three hundred seventy-five for a month. Even the lowest living standard of twenty wen a day would not be met. Li Guanyi sensed the implication; this was meant to dissuade him. Not wanting to offend the Old Shopkeeper but also unwilling to accept charity, the scholar gently smiled and said:
"However, I do recommend that you stay."
"While working here, you can also listen to the discussions of the students and learn to read and write, which is a good thing, unlike elsewhere."
Li Guanyi took a sip of tea.
Hmm, first a soft approach, then painting a rosy picture.
Five mo a month would definitely not be enough to live on; even the disaster relief money from the court was more than this. Most people would be forced to leave. In this case, the scholar neither offended the Old Shopkeeper nor could he say he had not invited Li Guanyi to stay; after all, it would be Li Guanyi's refusal, and he would bear the blame.
Truly a good scholar!
He had read deeply.
Li Guanyi stood up and said, "No need."
A man of integrity has hands and feet, possesses medical skills, and martial arts; there is no need to suffer humiliation.
The scholar's face revealed a look of regret, but there was a hint of a faint smile in his eyes as he stood to see him off, leading the way and even opening the door for Li Guanyi, his demeanor warm yet regretful. Just then, a clear voice rang out: "Master Liu Zhuang, you really know nothing about the cost of living."
"Five mo a month, even if it’s short mo, our family’s short laborers earn more than that in just a few days."
Outside stood the maid, looking about fifteen or sixteen, with a bit of baby fat, bright black eyes, and a cute smile tinged with teasing. Master Liu Zhuang, however, took her words in stride, not minding the sarcasm, and simply smiled warmly:
"Scholars are indeed poor, and gentlemen keep their distance from the kitchen. What Miss Qing'er says is true."
"I truly do not know the cost of living."
"I didn't know that Miss Xue came today to play the zither. Hehe, I wonder if I might have the chance to listen..."
Miss Qing'er rolled her eyes, ignoring the suddenly polite scholar.
She looked at the impoverished youth, noticing his handsome appearance, and smiled slightly, saying, "What you just did, my young lady saw it. I guess your skills in mathematics are quite good. If you are unwilling to work here, my young lady has a good position for you. What do you think?"
Li Guanyi pondered for a moment before agreeing. Miss Qing'er smiled and took his arm, leading him forward, ignoring Master Liu Zhuang, and headed to a courtyard. Behind a screen, the sound of a zither could be faintly heard, and a figure was dimly visible. Li Guanyi sat down, and Miss Qing'er explained the situation.
They intended to find a companion for her younger brother to study.
They needed to test his abilities first.
Miss Qing'er went behind the screen and brought out a piece of white paper with some simple mathematical problems written on it.
Li Guanyi glanced at it; they were all simple problems, and he quickly answered them.
Martial arts and culture could not be compared.
For instance, Li Guanyi had been beaten by his aunt for ten years over the four arts of the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
But mathematics was different.
Children in his previous life had to learn mathematics, starting from three years in kindergarten, nine years of compulsory education, and three years of high school, totaling at least fifteen years of systematic mathematical education. In this era, he was like a monster among the students of mathematics.
Miss Qing'er quickly took the answers back. The young lady exclaimed, "Did he finish that quickly?" Miss Qing'er replied, "Yes, he did it very fast."
The young lady looked at the answers and said, "All correct."
"Seeing the expressions on those arrogant mathematics students' faces earlier, I knew he was impressive, and it turns out to be true."
Miss Qing'er smiled and said, "So, will you hire him?"
"Yes, but not in a hurry. I want to see how capable he is."
Miss Qing'er knew her young lady had always liked mathematics, so she wrote a more challenging problem: "Square Field," asking for the area of a square. Li Guanyi glanced at it; it was a problem of calculating the area of a plane figure, and he calmly began to write.
He completed it quickly, and Miss Qing'er took the problem back.
The young lady looked at it, her expression showing some surprise, and then wrote down a problem about "Grain Ratio."
Li Guanyi glanced at it; it was about the ratio and conversion of grains.
He answered it straightforwardly.
"Declining Ratio Problem," which was merely a problem of proportional distribution.
"Short Width Problem," which asked for one side length given the area.
"Merchant Work Problem," which involved calculating the volume of a solid.
Miss Qing'er's green dress fluttered back and forth behind the screen like a blooming green lotus. The screen depicted an ink painting of the Seven Sons Asking for Virtue, with one side showing the elegantly dressed young lady and the other side showing the plain-dressed youth sitting at the table, his brows clear.
Miss Qing'er was slightly out of breath.
It was the sixth problem, and the young lady's writing speed was slowing down. The smile she had when she first discovered talent gradually turned serious, with a hint of astonishment as if she had encountered a monster, while the speed of the answers from the other side remained stable and terrifying.
Finally, she gritted her teeth and wrote down a problem she had previously pondered over but had not found a solution for.
Li Guanyi took a look.
It seemed to be a linear equation system from his previous life.
Was mathematics in this world really so outrageous? Did a child's companion need this level of skill?
However, having seen the Dragon Capital, it seemed normal.
Li Guanyi thought for a moment and picked up his brush to answer.
On the other side of the screen, the young lady was quietly counting in her heart.
One, two...
The sound of the brush was stable and frightening.
In the end, even for the most difficult ninth-level mathematics problem in the "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art," he still used the same amount of time as for the first problem.
He set down his brush.
Miss Qing'er seemed to sense the tension in the air and slowed her breathing.
The young lady closed her eyes after reading the answers and sighed.
Li Guanyi asked, "May I ask, how is it?"
The young lady said a few words to the side, and someone came to pull the screen open. What Li Guanyi saw was a hand, fair as jade, with a finger raised. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "If you don't mind it being little, how about this number?"
Li Guanyi pondered: "One guanquan? That works."
The screen opened.
The young lady, dressed in a blue dress, with delicate features and a fair complexion, a flower dot on her forehead, smiled softly: "Yes, it is one guanquan."
"One guanquan a day."
Li Guanyi's thoughts momentarily focused.
He looked at the young lady who extended a finger.
One guanquan a day?
In that instant.
He found the young lady very beautiful.
(End of Chapter)