Wow!

Incredible!

Wei Yu’s eyes lit up. He realized that this Mr. Zhang truly had real skill.

After all, while the “chickens and rabbits in the same cage” math problem was a classic and simple one, it usually took an ordinary person more than three seconds to sort out the logic and set up the equations.

Let alone the fact that Zhang Qingsheng had done it all mentally.

Feeling a surge of excitement, the questioner, Wei Yu, decided to raise the difficulty.

“In a certain prefecture, there are five academies and two private schools. Setting aside other factors, all academies are of the same size, and the private schools likewise. When one academy and two private schools enroll students simultaneously, they can take in 1680 students. When two academies and one private school enroll students simultaneously, they can take in 2280 students. Now, sir, can you tell me how many students one academy can enroll?”

If the “chickens and rabbits” problem was a single-variable linear equation, then this was a system of two equations with two variables.

Not a hard problem—any junior high student could solve it by setting up equations.

Now, Wei Yu simply wanted to see if Zhang Qingsheng could work it out.

And Zhang Qingsheng, after hearing the problem, slowly furrowed his brow and lowered his gaze, seemingly calculating in his mind.

Wei Yu counted—thirteen seconds.

On the thirteenth second, Zhang Qingsheng gave his answer.

“If there’s no mistake in the assumptions, I believe the answer is 960 students.”

“Impressive!”

Wei Yu clasped his hands together and praised sincerely, “Mr. Zhang, you are truly talented! To be able to calculate this, I am full of admiration. Sir, I still have more questions—would you care to try a few more?”

“Haha.”

Zhang Qingsheng couldn’t help but laugh aloud, patting his hands, “Alright, young master, feel free to pose more problems. I’d love to see what other good ones you have!”

Since Zhang Qingsheng said so, Wei Yu naturally didn’t hold back.

Questions involving quadratic equations, systems of equations—none of these were much trouble for Zhang Qingsheng. Only when the numbers became very large did he show a little difficulty.

This, too, was understandable, considering the era’s limitations.

As they continued back and forth, time slowly passed.

Through this constant questioning, Wei Yu gradually gauged Zhang Qingsheng’s level in mathematics.

Very high.

At least in this era, when mathematics was generally neglected, Zhang Qingsheng’s ability was absolutely master-level.

Wei Yu had done his research: in the middle of the Former Jin dynasty, mathematics had briefly been included in the imperial exams, but later, because too few people studied it, it was removed again and never reinstated.

So!

In these times when mathematics was so undervalued, how rare it was to find a teacher like Zhang Qingsheng!

If he didn’t manage to win him over, it would truly be a shame.

“Meeting you today is truly a blessing.”

Wei Yu stood up, took a big step forward, and fervently grasped Zhang Qingsheng’s hand, “The more I talk with you, the more I realize your deep love for mathematics! To be honest, my family has some books on mathematics, and I’ve been hoping to find someone like you to appraise them. I wonder if you would have time now to come to my residence for a look?”

Zhang Qingsheng: …

It was the first time someone had grabbed his hand and stared at him with such fiery enthusiasm. To be honest, just moments ago, Zhang Qingsheng had still been immersed in solving problems, but now he was a little dazed.

“Well, haha.”

Zhang Qingsheng shook his head and laughed lightly, “Young master, you might want to let go of my hand first.”

“Oh! Right, sorry, I got carried away—please don’t take offense, sir.”

Wei Yu let go and sat back down on the chair beside Zhang Qingsheng, once again earnestly persuading, “Sir, my family really does have many math-related books. And I’m sure you’ve never seen them before. As a fellow lover of learning, you surely wouldn’t want to miss out, would you?”

Zhang Qingsheng stared at him for a while, then suddenly shook his head and laughed, “Young master, it seems you came prepared.”

Prepared might be too strong a word—but when dealing with someone like Zhang Qingsheng, talking about money or benefits would never be as effective as talking about things he loved.

“Ah, sir, your insight is sharp. Truly, I have no bad intentions. It’s just that, as someone who loves mathematics, seeing it so neglected nowadays and finding no one like-minded is heartbreaking.”

Wei Yu drooped his eyelids, looking quite pitiful, “Now that I’ve finally found a teacher like you, I’m overjoyed. Thinking about the decline of mathematics and the many books sitting at home, I just wanted to share them with you. If you’re suspicious and unwilling, I understand completely.”

Zhang Qingsheng: …

Something about this speech felt off.

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Ah, how I envy the students of White Horse Academy, having a headmaster like you presiding. They can study whenever they like, unlike me—just finding a fellow math enthusiast relies entirely on chance. The path of learning has been so hard for me.”

Wei Yu sighed wistfully, then suddenly looked up, full of hope. “Sir, if you’re too busy, it’s no matter. I’ll have the books sent to you tomorrow! Once you’ve read them, we can talk more. How about that?”

His change of tone was so fast that Mr. Zhang couldn’t quite keep up.

The young man was still looking at him eagerly. If he didn’t give a response, it would feel like he was letting down that sincere heart.

Zhang Qingsheng straightened up and laughed softly, “Young master, you exaggerate. Books are precious. If they are truly as you say, books I have never seen before, they must be rare collections gathered by your family over many years. It wouldn’t be appropriate to simply send them to me.”

“No, no, it’s perfectly appropriate! Just like beautiful flowers belong to fair maidens, and fine swords to heroes, no matter how precious the books are, if they don’t meet someone who understands them, they’re no better than a pile of scrap paper!”

As Wei Yu spoke, he stood up, “Sir, don’t belittle yourself, and don’t worry about the books. I’ll send them to you—you just enjoy reading them. When you feel ready to come down the mountain, you can come find me anytime!”

Afraid Zhang Qingsheng might try to refuse again, Wei Yu hurriedly excused himself.

“It’s getting late; I should head back for dinner. No need to see me off, sir—I’ll send someone with the books tomorrow!”

Wei Yu dashed off at top speed.

Seeing his retreating figure, Zhang Qingsheng couldn’t help but shake his head.

“This young master, really…”

The courtyard quieted down again. Zhang Qingsheng slowly reined in his smile and began reflecting on his conversation with the youth.

Just as Wei Yu had gauged Zhang Qingsheng’s mathematics level, Zhang Qingsheng had also been able to infer Wei Yu’s ability from the problems he posed.

The boy had an extraordinary natural gift for mathematics.

Far above his own.

Otherwise, the young man would not have so skillfully noticed his momentary struggles and tactfully stopped before exposing his shortcomings.

“The younger generation truly is to be feared,” Zhang Qingsheng sighed with deep emotion. Thinking of the books the boy had mentioned, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of anticipation.

“I’ve already read all the old mathematics texts passed down through the ages. These new ones I haven’t seen… Tsk, I wonder which great scholar wrote them. I’m really curious.”