The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

This is not okay.

The person in Kyoto already had many grievances against him. If he messed up even this small matter, then he would really be wasting his life in Xiaoshan County.

Thinking of this, Dr. Qin's face grew even more gloomy.

Since Zhuge Yunshu has already solved all the questions they set, let's try a different approach: Linxi County will set the questions, and the students of Xiaoshan County will solve them.

That way, there's still a possibility of a draw.

In fact, the arithmetic problems set by the Linxi County School were not as challenging as those meticulously prepared by the Xiaoshan County School...

It's still uncertain who will win this second round of the mathematics competition.

Thinking this way, Dr. Qin voiced his unreasonable request.

Instructor Song: "......???"

Master Wang: "......???"

That's really shameless.

So, Dr. Qin, you can change the competition rules however you want?

Just as Instructor Song was about to step forward and reason with him, Zhuge Yunshu stopped him and gave him a reassuring look.

At this moment, she smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress, stood up lightly, and blinked her innocent big eyes at Dr. Qin:

"Since Dr. Qin and the senior students of Xiaoshan County School are so interested, I will also pose a question and hope for your guidance."

During the period following the end of the provincial examination, Zhuge Yunshu spent his time either studying or being fed by his extended family.

So, under the blazing sun, her round face was as rosy as a ripe apple, and her large, bright eyes, like black grapes, made everyone forget her previous brilliance when answering questions, thus lowering their guard.

Zhuge Yunshu had no idea what these people were thinking. At this moment, she racked her brains and finally found a math problem that wasn't too difficult.

Then, he cleared his throat and said:

"There is a basket of eggs. If you count them in pairs, there is one left over; if you count them in groups of three, there are two left over; if you count them in groups of five, there are three left over. If the number of eggs in the basket is between fifty and two hundred, how many eggs are there?"

This problem falls under the category of remainder problems in ancient Chinese mathematics.

Those who have read "Sunzi Suanjing" should know that this problem is similar to the type of problem "the number of objects is unknown".

It seems simple, but it actually contains hidden secrets.

Because the answer to this question is not as simple as one or two, but rather there are five.

Even so, this was already the result of Zhuge Yunshu showing mercy.

If she were to change the final question, such as 'How many eggs are in the basket?', then it wouldn't be a question with just a few answers.

Thinking this, Zhuge Yunshu couldn't help but look at the students of Xiaoshan County School, especially Sun Wenxiu, the main force in this competition.

At this moment, he was frowning and fiddling with the abacus in his hands.

He stopped what he was doing after only a short while.

Because when he finally got to the end, he didn't know how to solve it.

The people in the training ground also noticed the situation at the Xiaoshan County School.

In particular, Sun Wenxiu, a young scholar who was renowned in mathematics, sat there with his eyes closed, not putting pen to paper for a long time.

"This question looks pretty easy!"

A middle-aged man in his thirties in the crowd spoke up in confusion.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than he was pinched hard by a woman of similar age standing next to him:

"You shameless piece of trash who can't even count a penny properly, don't embarrass me here."

The other onlookers also chimed in at this moment:

"That's right, please don't doubt our ability to create exam questions."

"That's right. Judging from the reactions of the students at Xiaoshan County School, they were clearly stumped by the questions we, the Little Three Scholars, asked."

"Haha, it's true, what goes around comes around. Heaven doesn't let anyone off the hook. Look at how arrogant they were before..."

"..."

"Accountant Liu, do you know the answer to this question?"

A scholar dressed as a student was asking questions of the renowned accountant of Linxi County.

"this......"

The old man, known as Accountant Liu, shook his head:

"For this problem, I really have no other way but to substitute and calculate one by one."

It was only at this moment that everyone in the training ground realized the difficulty of this question.

The same applies to Wang Yi and Zhang Hao.

The two of them had lost their previous interest in watching the excitement and were now both engrossed in pondering the problem.

“Look, that student Sun from Xiaoshan County School has picked up his abacus again.”

Aside from the astonished crowd, Dr. Qin also breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew that his most prized disciple would not let him down.

The answer is eighty-three.

He never expected that simply substituting a value would actually yield the final answer.

As for the problem-solving approach...

As Dr. Qin thought of this, his eyes suddenly turned deep and thoughtful.

He doesn't care.

As long as the final result is correct, he can have a million reasons to refuse...

At this moment, Sun Wenxiu also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, we've figured out the answer."

Then he glanced at the quarter of the incense still remaining in the training ground, his eyes filled with undisguised joy.

So he stood up and spoke with great confidence:

"If there are between fifty and two hundred eggs in the basket, there may be fifty-three eggs or eighty-three eggs."

what?

A question has two answers?

After imagining each character, Dr. Qin looked at Sun Wenxiu, his most prized disciple, with a complicated expression.

He should have been happy with the final result.

But for some reason, seeing his increasingly outstanding disciples, whose mathematical talent was even surpassing his own, he felt a pang of jealousy.

"I wonder if my answer is correct?"

Just as everyone in the training ground was surprised that this arithmetic problem had two answers, Sun Wenxiu's voice rang out again.

Just then, Wang Yi also finished calculating on the abacus.

She held up five fingers at Zhuge Yunshu.

Zhuge Yunshu and Wang Yi exchanged a smile upon seeing this scene.

"Yes, yes..."

Before she could finish speaking, cheers erupted from the Xiaoshan County School.

“Junior Brother Sun, I knew it; your mathematical talent is unmatched.”

"Senior Brother Ji is right, Senior Brother Sun, you are the living signboard of mathematics among the younger generation in our Xiaoshan County."

"..."

"Wenxiu, you have truly not disappointed your teacher."

Zhuge Yunshu: "......???"

Wang Yi: "......???"

this......

Even someone as composed as Wang Yi couldn't help but feel embarrassed for Sun Wenxiu at this moment.

Zhuge Yunshu also touched his nose and continued:

"Everyone, please be quiet."

In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, she had no choice but to "cut the Gordian knot":

"Brother Sun's answer is correct, but there are three other answers besides this one."

As he spoke, he glanced at Wang Yi.

Wang Yi understood immediately, ignoring the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, and continued speaking:

"If there are between fifty and two hundred eggs in the basket, there are five possible outcomes: fifty-three, eighty-three, one hundred and thirteen, one hundred and forty-three, and one hundred and seventy-three eggs."

How... is this possible?

Sun Wenxiu stared wide-eyed in shock at these five results.

"...Actually, this problem isn't difficult. It only requires finding the least common multiple of the three divisors: two, three, and five... such as the number that leaves a remainder of one when the least common multiple of three and five is divided by two..."

Similarly, Wang Yi did not explain the complete solution and process for this problem in detail.

Therefore, some students who were not so good at mathematics looked at the eloquent Wang Yi with complete bewilderment.

"What is this student from Linxi County saying?"

"Can't understand?"

"..."

Only Dr. Qin and Sun Wenxiu understood it.

Especially after hearing this general solution, it was like a bolt from the blue for the two of them.

Sun Wenxiu looked at Dr. Qin and spoke with difficulty:

"if......"

If he tries a few more, what if...?

This question isn't particularly difficult; it mainly tests the test-taker's attention to detail.

Unfortunately, there is no if in the world.

The students of Xiaoshan County School looked at each other in bewilderment.

Then they all lowered their heads, wishing they could be quails.

It was not for any other reason than that they had interrupted Zhuge Yunshu earlier and celebrated too soon.

Especially when comparing the two results, they felt extremely embarrassed.

In addition, the students of Xiaoshan County School also shared a tacit understanding—

They lost another match.

......