Chapter 67: 67. Chapter 67: Fu'an Trading House

67. Chapter 67: Fu'an Trading House

Jiang Wei glanced at him and said calmly: "Just simplify it."

Having said that, she raised her brush and simplified both sides of the equation on the Xuan paper.

From complex to simple, Jiang Wei simplified it to the end, and even Shopkeeper Zhou on the side could see the answer at a glance.

"That unknown number equals twenty-three, the number of chickens is twenty-three!"

Others were still counting on their fingers, but Shopkeeper Zhou had already taken out the abacus hanging from his waist, clicked it a few times, and said: "Calculating it this way, the number of rabbits should be twelve!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd suddenly realized.

Jiang Xiaoxiao: "……"

It seems that people in this era are not very good at addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division involving numbers above ten.

Also, the ancient imperial examinations didn't test arithmetic. Besides reciting some Four Books and Five Classics, these scholars' arithmetic level wasn't even as good as Shopkeeper Zhou's.

Jiang Yu had someone uncover the oilcloth covering the cage, revealing the chickens and rabbits inside. Everyone crowded around to count, and the number of chickens and rabbits was indeed twenty-three and twelve!

The look in everyone's eyes when they looked at Jiang Wei changed instantly.

"This Little Lady really guessed it right, too amazing!"

"What do you mean guessed it right? It was clearly calculated by her!" someone immediately corrected.

"This is the first time I've seen such a method used to solve the 'Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage' problem. This is simply unprecedented!"

……

Jiang Wei returned the paper and brush to Shopkeeper Zhou, then looked directly at Jiang Yu and said slowly: "Young Master Jiang, you also know the method of solving the problem. Should you keep your promise?"

"Should! Should!" Jiang Yu was busy snatching the Xuan paper from Shopkeeper Zhou's hand, preparing to admire the problem-solving logic again. Not expecting Jiang Wei to speak suddenly, he waved his hand and said: "The rabbits and chickens in this cage all belong to you, even the cage is gifted to you!"

This young master is actually quite eager to learn.

Jiang Xiaoxiao held back her laughter, then glanced at the few scholars who had been talking big just now.

Those few people not only lost face in front of the Jiang Family Young Master but were also outperformed by a country woman; their complexions were all very unsightly.

Jiang Yu didn't even look at that group of people and said very enthusiastically to Jiang Wei: "May I ask where the Little Lady lives? I will have someone send the chickens and rabbits in this cage directly to your house later."

After all, it was thirty-five chickens and rabbits; one person couldn't carry them away.

"No need." Jiang Wei shook her head directly and refused. "Let the chickens and rabbits in this cage stay with Shopkeeper Zhou for now. I'll find an ox cart to pull them back after I finish selling the snow cakes."

"Snow cakes?" Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu's eyes lit up instantly. "So you are the person who made the ice cream and snow cakes!"

As soon as these words were spoken, an exclamation broke out from the crowd around them.

"What! She is the person who made the ice cream and snow cakes!?"

"Now that you mention it, I remember. Isn't this the mother and daughter who were selling snow cakes at the South Street corner two days ago!"

"My goodness, I didn't expect such delicious ice cream and snow cakes to come from this Little Lady's hands!"

……

Seeing the look of surprise on his young master's face, Shopkeeper Zhou twitched the corner of his mouth and said: "You only arrived in Yong'an County yesterday. I was just about to tell you when Little Lady Jiang came to deliver the goods this morning..."

But he hadn't expected this young master to be so focused on the "Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage" problem that he couldn't hear anything else.

Jiang Yu stuffed the Xuan paper back into Shopkeeper Zhou's hand, walked up two steps, and said solemnly: "This Little Lady Jiang, let me reintroduce myself. I am the youngest son of the owner of the Fu'an Trading House, and this Yuelai Restaurant is one of the industries under my Fu'an Trading House."

Fu'an Trading House?

Jiang Xiaoxiao, who was on the side, couldn't help but frown upon hearing this.

She remembered that the original book mentioned that the Fu'an Trading House was a large-scale trading house spread across the country, with its own industries in prosperous places like the Capital and Jiangnan. And the Jiang family, as the owners of the Fu'an Trading House, had a huge family business and possessed vast wealth!

And in the original book, there was indeed this young master surnamed Jiang.

However, he was a cannon fodder who appeared very few times.

The Jiang family possessed a vast fortune accumulated over several generations, which had already aroused the covetousness of some meritorious noble families in the Capital. And in the original book, the youngest son of the Jiang family, Jiang Yu, was good at business. He passed the top scholar examination at a young age, had both power and financial resources, and became a thorn in the side of the nobles in the Capital.

When he was in his twenties, he was framed and imprisoned, dying miserably in prison, and the Jiang family's industries were destroyed in one fell swoop.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xiaoxiao couldn't help but look up again at the Jiang Family Young Master in front of her. He looked only seventeen years old, his young face carrying a temperament between greenness and maturity. However, it was only a few short years until his miserable ending...

She couldn't help but sigh lightly.

This sigh was extremely light and shallow, but it was noticed by Jiang Yu: "Little girl, you're so young, why are you acting so old-fashioned?"

Listening to the other party's teasing, Jiang Xiaoxiao hurriedly changed her expression and said with a smile: "Young Master Jiang is amazing. Although the mother who solved this problem is amazing, the person who thought of this problem is also amazing!"

Her voice was soft and sweet, carrying the childishness and innocence unique to a child.

These words made Jiang Yu feel embarrassed.

Although he had been smart since he was a child, especially with these math problems, he had pondered this problem for three months without finding a result. Yesterday, when he arrived in Yong'an Town, he simply put the problem on the street for everyone to solve, hoping to encounter one or two strange people with special talents.

He hadn't expected that he would really encounter one.

He shook the folding fan in his hand and still offered some polite words: "It's still your mother who is more amazing. There really is a mountain beyond a mountain, and a person beyond a person in this world..."

After speaking, he waved his hand and ordered Shopkeeper Zhou on the side to give the brush worth two taels of silver to Jiang Xiaoxiao: "Little girl, this thing is for you. This brush was bought by me just yesterday and hasn't been used yet, so it counts as half-new. I see that you also seem to know how to read, so go home and study hard to read and write!"

She hadn't expected an unexpected joy. Jiang Xiaoxiao thanked him with a smile: "Thank you, Young Master Jiang!"

It must be said that this Jiang Family Young Master is actually quite a good person. Not only does he not mind that she is a woman, but he also encourages her to study hard and learn to read.

This kind of thinking is very precious in this era!

The "Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage" problem came to an end, and the mother and daughter left this place and walked toward the street corner where they originally sold snow cakes.

Come to think of it, they hadn't come here to sell snow cakes for two days, and when they arrived, there wasn't a dense crowd of people queuing up like before.

Jiang Wei set up the umbrella and the stall, and waited for a long while before someone came up to buy.

"Oh my, Little Lady Jiang, you finally came to sell snow cakes! Did you have something to do the past two days? Why didn't you come?"

Several women gathered around joyfully, taking out money while saying: "My grandson waits for your snow cakes here every day. He didn't get to eat them for two days and was making a fuss at home. Hurry and give me two!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 68 =====