Chapter 5

The contract was written in duplicate, and after both parties signed it, Wang Shiji laughed heartily. He was now full of confidence, knowing that at least one rice shop would surely be his. Thinking about this, his mood improved, and he looked at Wang Huaqiang with disdain: "Nephew, how do you plan to gamble?"

Wang Huaqiang smiled: "General Wang, how about this: Jì Cānjun and I each come up with a question. Whoever wins both questions is the victor. If we each win one, we will have a tie-breaker question, which you will provide. What do you think?"

Jì Wēi curled his lips in disdain: "No need. If it's a tie, we'll count it as our loss."

Wang Shiji turned and glared fiercely at Jì Wēi, scaring him into silence and lowering his head, not daring to speak.

Wang Shiji was also a bit uneasy. As a general with many years of command, he felt that Wang Huaqiang's calm and confidence were not feigned, especially since he was just a thirteen-year-old boy.

Ordinarily, a boy of this age would be scared out of his wits by his fully armored, intimidating appearance. Even during their meeting a few days ago, the boy had been too frightened to lift his head.

Deciding to be cautious, Wang Shiji said to Wang He: "Let's do it as my nephew suggests."

Wang He's forehead was drenched in sweat. With no other choice, he saw that Wang Shiji was determined. He knew that this time, he would have to make a significant sacrifice to avoid a worse outcome. He looked at Wang Huaqiang, who displayed a composure and calmness beyond his years, making him hard to read.

Wang Shiji and his men entered the courtyard, where Wang family servants had already set up two desks and chairs, with the Four Treasures of the Study placed on them. Just before Wang Huaqiang entered the courtyard, Wang Huashi pulled his sleeve and whispered: "Second Brother, go all out. No matter the outcome, I will always be your strong support."

Wang Huawei also whispered: "No matter the result, as long as we have food to eat, you won't be left out."

Wang Huaqiang was moved, his nose tingling, but he smiled and said softly: "Don't worry, watch me."

Wang Huaqiang turned and sat in the chair behind the desk, gesturing to Jì Wēi with a smile: "Jì Cānjun, please go ahead and give your question."

Jì Wēi, who didn't take the young boy seriously, said lazily: "As accountants, we must first master the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. I will ask you three questions from it. Answer them correctly, and you win. What do you think?"

Wang He's heart sank. In his memory, his son had never read this book before, only flipping through it casually for a couple of days after getting out of bed. It had taken him half a year to understand it, so how could Wang Huaqiang possibly master it in just a few days?

Thinking about this, the sweat on his forehead grew from pea-sized to soybean-sized, and his palms were drenched.

Wang Huaqiang said calmly: "Please give your questions, Jì Cānjun."

"Listen carefully. In the second chapter of the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, the method of grain conversion is mentioned. It states that the rate of grain is fifty, and the rate of imperial rice is forty-two. If you have nine dou and eight sheng of grain, how much imperial rice can you get?" Jì Wēi asked.

Wang Huaqiang's lips curled, and he answered without hesitation: "To convert grain to imperial rice, multiply by twenty-one and divide by twenty-five. The result is eight dou and two sheng, plus eight twenty-fifths of a sheng."

This is a direct quote from the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. In this era, there were no decimal points or multiplication and division. "Twenty-five that" means multiply by twenty-one, and "twenty-five and one" means divide by twenty-five. "Twenty-fifths of a sheng" means one-tenth of a sheng, divided by twenty-five, which is 0.004 sheng. "Eight" means the remainder, which is 0.032 sheng. Adding this to the eight dou and two sheng gives exactly 8.232 dou.

This problem, which modern elementary school students can solve, was considered a difficult problem in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. Wang Huaqiang had laughed when he first solved such problems.

Jì Wēi's face changed, and he quickly asked: "What is the simplified form of 49/91?"

Wang Huaqiang answered without changing his expression: "7/13."

This time, it was Jì Wēi's turn to sweat. Wang Huawei clapped his hands in approval, while Wang Shiji's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Wang He let out a long sigh of relief.

Jì Wēi thought to himself: "Could this boy have memorized all the questions in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art? If he wins the next question, I will have lost half of this match. Even if I win in the end, I won't have the face to come back to the Wang family to manage their business."

Thinking about this, Jì Wēi shouted: "Still the method of grain conversion. The rate of grain is fifty, and the rate of imperial rice is twenty-one. If you have ninety-two dou and three sheng of grain, how much imperial rice can you get?"

Wang Huaqiang calculated on paper and found the result to be 38.766 dou, which, in the era's calculation method, is 38 dou and 7 sheng, plus 66 one-hundredths of a sheng.

Wang Huaqiang looked up to see Jì Wēi smirking at him, while Wang He looked anxious. He knew this was not an original problem from the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. Although Wang Shiji did not understand mathematics, he saw Jì Wēi and Wang He's expressions and a smile appeared on his lips.

Wang Huaqiang stood up, bowed to Jì Wēi, and said clearly: "Jì Cānjun, the answer is 38 dou and 7 sheng, plus 66 one-hundredths of a sheng."

Jì Wēi's smile froze on his face. He had not calculated this result himself, and was surprised that Wang Huaqiang had given it so quickly. His mustache twitched, and he lowered his head, picked up the abacus, and calculated it twice, getting the same result each time. His face turned ashen.

Wang Huaqiang smiled slightly: "Jì Cānjun, is there any mistake in my calculation?"

Jì Wēi wanted to lie and say Wang Huaqiang was wrong, but when he saw Wang Shiji's fierce gaze, he shuddered and involuntarily said: "No mistake."

Wang Huaqiang turned to Wang Shiji, whose face was turning red, and bowed: "General Wang, I yield to you."

Wang Shiji was already thinking of a hundred ways to deal with Jì Wēi after this, but Wang Huaqiang's words brought him back to reality. He had to maintain his dignity in front of the younger generation, so he laughed: "This round is won by my nephew. Please give your question."

Upon hearing this, Wang He and his two sons, who had been silent, let out a sigh of relief, and the Wang family servants cheered.

Wang Huaqiang looked at Jì Wēi, who was wiping sweat, and said: "My question is to test our accounting skills. I will give you the account books of five shops from last month, and you will give me the military supply accounts of General Wang's troops from last month. We will calculate here. Whoever is faster and more accurate wins."

Jì Wēi perked up: "Is that true?"

Wang Huaqiang's voice was calm and confident: "Absolutely."

Wang Shiji immediately pulled out a token from his pocket and said to his guard: "Take my token back to the camp outside the city. Bring the account books from last month here within an hour. If you are late by even a moment, you will be punished according to military law!"

The guard took the token and ran out, mounting his horse and quickly disappearing.

Wang He stomped his foot in anger, cursing his son for being overconfident. The account books of tens of thousands of troops could not be compared to the accounts of five shops. Unless Wang Huaqiang had five to six times the calculation ability of Jì Wēi, it seemed that the defeat was inevitable, and they would have to rely on the third round.

Less than half an hour later, the guard returned with a dozen account books, which he piled heavily on Wang Huaqiang's desk and respectfully returned the token to Wang Shiji.

Wang Shiji nodded in satisfaction and said: "Begin."

Wang Huaqiang and Jì Wēi, as if pricked, started to use the abacus. After a few movements, Wang Huaqiang abandoned it and began to calculate by hand using modern methods.

Time passed, and two hours went by. Wang Shiji maintained his composure, eyes slightly closed, while Wang Huashi and Wang Huawei were restless, fidgeting and scratching their heads. Wang He sat in his chair, his face expressionless, but his trembling hands revealed his inner agitation.

Wang Huaqiang and Jì Wēi almost simultaneously raised their heads and said in unison: "I have finished."

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