Chapter 9 of 100

Chapter 9: Battle of Wits

15 min read3,783 words

How could Fang Mingyuan, who had been reborn, be afraid of such a childish challenge? He naturally agreed without hesitation. Zhao Jianguo pondered for a moment. A six or seven-year-old child, if asked those "advanced" third or fourth-grade questions, wouldn't it be a bit like deliberately bullying a child? If this got out, it wouldn't be good for his reputation. But if he asked first or second-grade questions, this child was known in school for not paying attention in class yet still getting perfect scores, so it might not be difficult for him. However, he had recently seen a few interesting intelligence-testing questions that he could use to test this child.

"Hmm, Fang Mingyuan, listen carefully. Three people went to stay at an inn. A three-person room costs 30 yuan, so each of them paid 10 yuan. Half an hour later, the innkeeper realized that the inn was having a promotion, and the room rate was only 25 yuan. So he called a waiter to return 5 yuan to the three people. The waiter thought that 5 yuan was hard to divide among three people, so he took 2 yuan for himself and gave the remaining 3 yuan back to the three people, 1 yuan each. Now, after getting 1 yuan back, it means each of the three people only paid 9 yuan. 3 x 9 = 27 yuan. Add the 2 yuan the waiter took, and it equals 29 yuan. Can you tell me where the missing 1 yuan went?" Zhao Jianguo's words made Fang Lao Ye and Zhao Ya's mother and daughter, who had gathered to hear the question, frown. Yes, where did the 1 yuan go?

Fang Mingyuan, however, was delighted inside. This kind of riddle was very popular in his previous life, and he had seen many such questions. So he understood the trick immediately.

"Grandpa Zhao, are you trying to lead me into a trap with your words? How can you calculate it like that? If you follow your method, aren't you counting the 2 yuan the waiter took twice? The 9 yuan each of the three people paid already includes the 2 yuan the waiter took! Add the 3 yuan they got back, and it's exactly 30 yuan!" Fang Mingyuan almost answered as soon as Zhao Jianguo finished speaking. The others were still pondering the question.

Zhao Jianguo looked at Fang Mingyuan with surprise. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that a question that took him a few minutes to figure out was answered immediately by Fang Mingyuan. It seemed that he would have to come up with a more difficult question to challenge him.

"Hmm, the second question: A young man and his sister were traveling. After dinner, they went for a walk by the river. Suddenly, his sister fell into the river, and the young man jumped in to look for her but couldn't find her. He left the place in sorrow. A few years later, he returned to the same place and saw an old man fishing. The old man caught several fish, but none of them had any aquatic plants on them. The young man found this strange and asked the old man why the fish didn't have any aquatic plants. The old man said that the river had never had any aquatic plants. At this point, the young man jumped into the river and committed suicide. Fang Mingyuan, can you tell me why?" This was a difficult question Zhao Jianguo had just learned. In the canteen during the day, it had stumped everyone. Thinking about the expressions of his subordinates, who had racked their brains and wouldn't know the answer until the next day, Zhao Jianguo felt very pleased.

Zhao Ya's mother frowned slightly. Talking about suicide to a six or seven-year-old child seemed inappropriate. At least she could see that her daughter didn't understand what her grandfather was saying. But it would be troublesome later, as the little girl would definitely want to know more. But how could she explain such things to her daughter? She gently scolded, "Dad, they are just children. Why are you talking about these things?"

Zhao Jianguo then realized that there were two children in front of him, and talking about life and death was indeed inappropriate. His face turned red, and he laughed, "I was careless, I was careless. It's not good. Let's change the question, let's change the question."

Fang Lao Ye didn't mind. His precious grandson had read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin," so this was nothing. He wasn't worried that his grandson would have any strange feelings. But since Zhao Ya's mother had raised an objection, he wouldn't say more. After all, this question was indeed quite puzzling and hard to answer.

Fang Mingyuan suddenly jumped off the chair, surprising the adults, who didn't understand what he was doing. Fang Mingyuan walked to Zhao Jianguo, hooked his finger, and gestured for him to bend down. This action was quite impolite, but who would argue with a child under seven? Fang Mingyuan whispered something in Zhao Jianguo's ear, and Zhao Jianguo's face, which had been surprised, immediately changed. "Old Fang, your grandson is truly remarkable! I never thought that a question that stumped everyone in the canteen would be answered without hesitation by him. You are truly blessed! I wonder how his parents educated him. In our family, Xiao Ya is better, but those few rascals, sigh, don't even mention them!" Zhao Jianguo sincerely remarked, "No wonder I heard that Xiao Ya doesn't like to pay attention in class and always does other things. It seems the teacher understands that the first-grade curriculum is too simple for him."

Hearing Zhao Jianguo say this, Fang Lao Ye's face lit up with joy, clearly indicating that Fang Mingyuan had answered the question correctly. "Haha, Director Zhao, this child has always liked reading, and he has read a lot of miscellaneous books. Honestly, we Fangs are all quite surprised by this. It's all due to the child's own efforts!" Hearing this, Zhao Jianguo's family was even more amazed by Fang Mingyuan.

"Old Fang, I always keep my word. Since I couldn't stump this child, I'll agree to it. As for the details, we can discuss them later." Zhao Jianguo slapped his thigh, "Old Fang, take everything back. Since Xiao Ya and Mingyuan are classmates, it would be embarrassing for me! I don't want anything; I just want Mingyuan to help Xiao Ya with her studies! How about that, Old Fang?"

Fang Lao Ye, of course, wouldn't take back what he had given. Although the gifts were expensive, they were worth it if they achieved the goal. As long as he could get into the factory canteen, he would earn it back in a few days. After some polite exchanges, Zhao Jianguo finally accepted the gifts. However, he took out two boxes of chocolate from the room and gave them to Fang Mingyuan as a gift.

Fang Lao Ye looked at his watch and got up to leave. Zhao Jianguo's family naturally saw them off.

Just before leaving, Fang Mingyuan suddenly turned and said loudly, "It seems Grandpa Zhao likes this kind of game. The teacher said, 'If you receive something, you should give something in return.' I'll ask you two questions, Grandpa Zhao!" Everyone found this even more interesting. In front of his daughter-in-law and granddaughter, Zhao Jianguo naturally wouldn't back down and agreed immediately.

"The first question: People found a person dead in the desert, head first in the sand, with several broken suitcases scattered around. When they dug him out, they found he was still holding half a matchstick. Can you help me figure out how this person might have died?"

"The second question: Grandpa must have read 'Water Margin,' right? You must know about Lu Tixia beating Zheng Tu. My question is, how much did Zheng Tu charge Lu Da for one pound of meat?"

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