Falling into the mortal world

After leaving the porcelain workshop, Lan Qingqing bought a veiled hat on the street and wore it. She wore a veil all day long, and almost everyone in the surrounding villages knew about her attire.

She now plans to find a private school for Lan Xiaoyu. She doesn't want Lan Xiaoyu to be criticized because of her.

After all, the child is too young to handle so much.

Lan Qingqing arrived at the entrance of a small academy, where the plaque above clearly read "Yiyang Academy".

Lan Qingqing looked at the old man guarding the gate and asked: Do you still accept students here?

The old man at the gate said: "You'll have to ask our dean. Young lady, who in your family are you enrolling in this program for?"

"It's for my younger brother's education," Lan Qingqing replied.

"Then come with me!" The old man at the gate said, leading Lan Qingqing to the dean.

At this time, the dean and several students were conducting academic research.

Lan Qingqing had learned privately that most of the children in the village didn't study here. This academy opened relatively late, so fewer people came.

The most important reason is that this dean's identity is extraordinary. He was the tutor of the previous prime minister of Kyoto. He was a tutor at the Imperial Academy in Kyoto and only returned to his hometown in recent years.

This teacher returned to his hometown to open a private school, keeping a very low profile. No one knew that this old man was once a teacher at the Imperial Academy. After all, he had been away from his hometown for fifty or sixty years.

I heard this news from a guest at Menghualou. This Master Mo's hometown is in Yiyang County. If it weren't for his brother-in-law being a high-ranking official, he wouldn't have known about it.

I hadn't paid much attention to it before, but a while ago I inquired about the academy and a customer who was buying tofu mentioned that there was an academy in town that had only opened in the last few years.

There weren't many students there, and the dean's surname was Mo, so everyone called him Dean Mo.

Seeing that the dean was engaged in academic research, Lan Qingqing knew it wouldn't be appropriate to disturb him abruptly, so she refrained from doing so and waited quietly to the side.

The gatekeeper was about to speak up to remind the dean, but Lan Qingqing gently stopped him. She whispered, "Sir, you go ahead and do your work. I can wait here for a bit."

Lan Qingqing looked at Dean Mo. His hair was completely white, and even his beard was white. Judging from his age, he should be over eighty years old. In ancient times, living to seventy or eighty was considered a long life.

Ordinary people were lucky to live to sixty or seventy. It wasn't that lifespan was shorter in ancient times; it was that life was harsh and medical care was underdeveloped. Even a minor illness or injury could be fatal, so longevity was more common among the wealthy.

Lan Qingqing listened quietly for a while and then understood what they were talking about.

Geese and rabbits are in a fenced enclosure. There are 108 heads and 294 legs. How many rabbits are there? How many geese are there?

Even an elementary school student could solve this problem nowadays.

In ancient times, even a dean couldn't solve the problem. But that's not surprising. In ancient times, scholars and literati made friends through poetry.

The arithmetic section is rather lacking; the multiplication table is not yet present. Arithmetic is all done by typing on an abacus.

If there are large sums of money involved, it's easy to make mistakes in the accounting, so the accountant will calculate it several times. This is actually very time-consuming.

"Dean, you can't solve this problem either? I've asked several friends to help me." one of the students said.

I heard that no one was able to answer the questions in this imperial examination. Is that true? Another student asked.

The dean sighed and said, "I am but a humble scholar, and I have been pondering this problem for half a month without being able to solve it."

One of the students said dejectedly: "Now, whenever I think about this problem, I can't eat or sleep well."

I really hope someone can solve this problem and satisfy my curiosity.

At this moment, a student noticed Lan Qingqing standing to the side and reminded the dean, "Master, someone is looking for you."

Only then did the dean raise his head. Lan Qingqing noticed that the dean's eyes were dark and swollen, probably because he hadn't rested well.

"Who are you, and what business do you have with this old man?" the dean asked.

"I've come to study on behalf of my younger brother. I wonder if you still accept students?" Lan Qingqing said, neither humble nor arrogant.

I'm already this old. After I finish teaching my students, if I'm still alive, I plan to travel the world.

Therefore, starting this year, I have no plans to accept any more students. Please leave! The dean directly issued an order to evict you.

Lan Qingqing had a bad feeling. Had she arrived at the wrong time?

Lan Qingqing hurriedly said, "Master, I can solve this problem. Could you please accept me as your younger brother since I've solved it for you?"

The group all looked at Lan Qingqing with mocking eyes.

After all, no one in the entire imperial examination had been able to solve a question, yet a woman had done it. How could the other students bear this?

The dean didn't believe Lan Qingqing could solve it at all, but out of politeness he still replied: If you can solve it, I will take your younger brother as my last disciple.

Although Lan Qingqing was delighted, she remained calm on the surface. Then she directly gave the answer: 69 geese and 39 rabbits.

One of the students scoffed, "Girl, this isn't an answer you can just pick out any number. You'd better leave now. Don't interfere with our academic research."

Dean Mo stared at Lan Qingqing's answers for a while, then began to add them up. Before long, he arrived at the same conclusion. Dean Mo was completely stunned. It took him a long time to react.

The students were still making sarcastic remarks about Lan Qingqing. Dean Mo reprimanded them, saying, "Qingyu, you mustn't be rude!"

"Did I solve this problem correctly, Dean?" Lan Qingqing asked.

"I just calculated the answer, and it's correct." "I wonder how you solved it, young lady?" Dean Mo asked politely.

Geese have two legs, rabbits have four legs, but let's assume rabbits also only have two legs. So, chickens and rabbits would have 216 legs. Now, there are 78 legs left. If we put the two legs back from each rabbit, then the 78 legs would be divided equally into 39 legs. Therefore, there are 39 rabbits and 69 geese.

After listening to Lan Qingqing's words, the dean suddenly understood. This question was so simple, so why couldn't any of the students answer it, including himself?

The dean was surprised to find that the girl in front of him didn't need to do any arithmetic at all. She did it all mentally.

None of them believed it, so they picked up pens and started writing and drawing on paper. Unexpectedly, the result was exactly as Lan Qingqing had said.

"Master, does what you just said still stand?" Lan Qingqing asked the Master.

Lan Qingqing's words brought everyone's thoughts back to reality.

I always keep my word. Have your younger brother come over tomorrow so I can take a look at him.

However, I'd like to ask you another question.

"Okay," Lan Qingqing replied.

15+15+15+16+18+19+20+15+16+18+20等于多少？莫院长就是有些好奇，这姑娘算术是不是真有那么厉害。

"172 Lan Qingqing blurted out."

The dean took out a pen and calculated the result, which was exactly the same. It was just a string of numbers that the dean had casually mentioned.

Dean Mo said, "I wonder which family the young lady comes from. With such knowledge, she must not be from an ordinary family."

"In reply to you, Master," she said, "I am not a daughter of a wealthy family; I am merely a peasant woman." Upon hearing her self-identification as a peasant woman, the Master knew she was a simple, unassuming woman.

How could a woman like you have such high knowledge?

Lan Qingqing explained: Her family runs a tofu business.

Therefore, he is particularly proficient in arithmetic.

Lan Qingqing knew that even if she didn't say anything today, her teacher would find out sooner or later.

As for the students in the academy, unless she says it herself, who would know that her family runs a tofu business?