The Way of Arithmetic

"Third Brother's poetic talent truly was... truly like being Possessed by a Saint! Whenever he wrote, it was Seven-Colored... a Seven-Colored Realm that countless people could seek all their lives without finding, yet beneath his brush it seemed only natural..."

"Read it aloud for Mother. Slowly—Mother will write it down!"

"Xiling Fine Wine Tulip, Jade Bowl Holds Amber Light..."

Looking at the poem before her and reading the refreshing Eternal Masterpiece, Madam Lin's face glowed with radiance...

"Mother, Third Brother made an agreement with someone. He will take the Provincial Examination this year."

"Good..." Madam Lin's gaze still did not leave the poem. Her mind drifted beyond the world. Then she suddenly shuddered. "This year?"

"Yes!" Lin Jialiang said. "Third Brother told me that he had long since mastered the Four Books and Five Classics, Masters, Philosophers, and Historians. He asked us not to force him to study before this year's Provincial Examination. If he fails, he will follow Mother's arrangements and devote himself wholeheartedly to study."

"Nonsense! When had he ever read the Four Books and Five Classics?" Madam Lin rebuked him. "He was simply fond of play. I thought he had changed after several months of Immortal Sect Enlightenment, but the moment serious matters are mentioned, his old habits sprout again..."

"But Mother, he had never written poetry before either. Did you ever imagine that he could write three Seven-Colored Poems in succession?"

Madam Lin fell silent. Her eyes slowly brightened...

"For this year's Provincial Examination, neither Mother nor I had placed much hope on it to begin with. Why not simply let him try? Even if he fails, it will only cost two months. The next Provincial Examination is still three years away. With Third Brother's talent, how could he fail to accomplish something?"

Madam Lin wavered.

People were always like this. Before yesterday, she would never have forced San Lang to study, because in her heart, San Lang simply was not cut from that cloth. But when San Lang casually produced two Seven-Colored Poems, he gave her enormous hope, and her expectations rose with it. Yesterday, before her ancestors and her departed husband, she had prayed. She had promised to use every ounce of the Lin Family's strength to help her son step onto the literary path...

Suddenly, a cry came from the rear room. It was Xiao Tao.

With a crash, something spilled all over the floor. Xiao Tao rushed out from inside, her face flushed red. "Madam! Second Young Master! Third Young Master was right! He... he was right!"

"What?" Madam Lin and Lin Jialiang were both stunned.

Xiao Tao grabbed Madam Lin's sleeve and cried, "That Mr. Zhang from the capital posed an extremely difficult arithmetic problem. Third Young Master answered it offhand, and he was right!"

"Ah?" Lin Jialiang remembered. Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage? Third Brother had not even used counting rods, yet the answer he casually gave was correct?

Yes! Xiao Tao declared firmly. She had checked the calculation. Third Young Master was right...

Once she explained the whole matter, Madam Lin was dumbstruck.

How was that possible? Arithmetic was so vast and profound. An arithmetic problem that scholars from the capital regarded as difficult was child's play to San Lang?

Where had he learned all these skills?

Why was everything about him so miraculous?

"Xiao Tao, come. Let's go see Third Brother."

The two arrived at the western courtyard. Lin Su was sitting on his bed, gazing lonely at the moon. Xiao Yao came out carrying a footbath and nearly splashed the whole basin of water onto Xiao Tao...

"Young Master, Young Master, your answer was right... That difficult Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage problem, you got it right..." Xiao Tao grew excited again, practically jumping in place.

Lin Su remained utterly unruffled. "Of course it was right. What about it?"

"Young Master, you did not even use counting rods. How... how did you calculate it?"

"..." Lin Su was speechless.

Fine. Feudal Society, after all...

"I'll teach you a simple way to solve this sort of Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage problem..."

How to solve it? Let's play a game...

There were thirty heads and eighty-eight legs, right? Never mind whether those thirty heads belonged to rabbits or chickens. We'll call them all animals. Thirty animals and eighty-eight legs, correct...

Let's shout, 'One, two, three!' All animals, follow my command—each raise two legs!

Thirty animals, each raising two legs. How many legs were raised in total?

The courtyard fell silent as a graveyard, sinking into terrifying silence.

The counting rods in Xiao Tao's hand clattered. At last, three minutes later, she gave the answer: sixty legs!

"Good, not bad! Subtract sixty from eighty-eight legs. How many were left?"

Another burst of clattering followed. The result was twenty-eight.

Were those remaining twenty-eight legs chicken legs or rabbit legs?

Drool began to trickle from the corner of Xiao Yao's mouth. "Chicken legs!"

Lin Su rapped her forehead. "Didn't I just say that all the animals raised two legs? Chickens only have two legs. What would happen when they raised them?"

"They'd sit on their butts..." Xiao Yao finally returned from her food fantasy.

"Exactly!" Lin Su said. "Chickens only have two legs. Once they raise both, they sit on the ground. There are no chicken legs left on the ground, so the remaining twenty-eight are all rabbit legs. Each rabbit already raised two legs, leaving only two legs. Twenty-eight legs—how many rabbits would that be?"

Xiao Yao was still pondering how the chicken legs had vanished just like that, deeply saddened.

Xiao Tao began clattering her counting rods again. Ten minutes later, she reached the conclusion: fourteen!

That was right. Thirty animals minus fourteen rabbits—how many chickens remained?

Another round of clatter, clatter, clatter. Sixteen chickens!

Perfect!

Lin Jialiang pondered it for a long while, then burst into applause. Light gleamed in Xiao Tao's eyes as excitement filled her. Drool hung at Xiao Yao's mouth—she was hungry and wanted chicken legs...

Xiao Tao rose gracefully and gave a refined bow. "Young Master's arithmetic skill is extraordinary. You truly are a Divine Being. Might you teach this servant the Way of Arithmetic..."

Lin Su directly seized her by the shoulders. "I can teach you, but you must promise me one thing."

"Young Master, please command this servant..."

"Don't speak to me in that affected scholarly tone."

Ah? Xiao Tao's eyes reddened. Why had she been pretending to be cultured? Was it not so she could qualify to warm his bed? Did he not know how hard she had struggled to keep up the act?

"Be like you were before. If you have something to say, shout it. If you have words to speak, speak them. Say whatever comes to mind in your usual tone. I like that better."

Xiao Tao's sorrow vanished completely. The gloom in her heart turned into a seven-colored rainbow, even sparkling with floral trim...

Second Young Master had said she could not accompany Third Young Master in bed without learning, but Third Young Master did not care about learning. Third Young Master had the final say in this matter...

There was no obstacle left to her ultimate grand plan. But... Madam Lin could not do without someone attending her. How was she supposed to warm Young Master's bed?

Early the next morning, Xiao Tao opened the courtyard gate, and her eyes instantly lit up. A woman was kneeling outside, quietly prostrate on the ground...

"Xiao Xue!"

Xiao Xue had returned. She entered Madam Lin's room and did not emerge until a long while later. Her eyes were red, but joy shone through her expression.

Xiao Tao was the happiest of all. The household had become so sparse that she had felt more bereft than anyone. Now Xiao Xue had returned—her old confidante, the friend with whom she had once shared everything.

And it happened to perfectly answer what was on her mind.

She wanted to spend more time near Young Master. Before, Madam Lin's side could not spare her, but now that Xiao Xue was here, she had more time.

Lin Su had only just risen when he received a visitor as well.

Ding Hai, the owner of Haining Tower.

Ding Hai brought a bundle. When it was opened, there was a gleaming expanse of silver inside—a full three hundred taels.

"Third Young Master, you are an elegant man of lofty character. I should not have used such vulgar yellow-and-white objects to profane you, but Lin Manor may perhaps need these worldly things at present. I hope Young Master will not decline."

Lin Su's eyes flickered. "Yellow-and-white objects? How come I only see the white? Where's the yellow?"

Ding Hai's face instantly turned the color of pig liver...

Lin Su burst out laughing. "Just joking! Boss Ding, the fact that you added another payment after the matter was concluded shows that you have some breadth of mind. In honor of that conscience in the business world, how about I give you a stroke of fortune?"

The pig-liver color on Ding Hai's face suddenly turned glossy and radiant. "What does Third Young Master mean?"

"A peerless fine wine!"

Ding Hai's eyes blazed. "Did that old fellow Bao Shan... did Mr. Bao Shan mention anything to you about the Path of Origin of some wine?"

As for Mr. Bao Shan's standing in the literary world, that was a case of Benevolent see benevolence, wise see wisdom. But in the world of wine, he was absolutely a giant. Just think: the old man had drunk his way across the three mountains and five peaks, the Nine Countries and Thirteen Provinces. For wine, he had dared enter the Holy Land of the Demon Race and climb to the Jade Pool Immortal Palace...

The old man loved drinking but had always disliked discussing wine. Ding Hai had been acquainted with him for twenty years, and countless times had racked his brains trying to pry commercial information about wine from his mouth. Yet the old man would not utter a single word. He would simply call Ding Hai vulgar, say that he profaned the beauty of wine, and leave Ding Hai so furious he nearly died.

Now, an opportunity seemed to have arrived. The youngster before him had a special relationship with Bao Shan, was a fellow traveler who "saw white and wanted yellow," and was sharp as a monkey besides...

Lin Su rolled his eyes. "What information could he provide? He's still counting on my wine to help him break through the Literary Heart Extreme Realm."

Ding Hai suddenly stopped breathing...

Mr. Bao Shan was counting on his wine to break through the Literary Heart Extreme Realm?

Never mind whether such fantastical nonsense could truly be done.

The key was that this youngster actually knew the crux of Bao Shan's Literary Heart Extreme Realm. That alone was no small matter.

The small gate of the western courtyard opened, and Xiao Tao entered carrying a tray. "Young Master, you must be hungry, right? Freshly steamed buns, and side dishes made according to Young Master's instructions. Please taste them and see whether the flavor is right... Ah, there's a guest?"

She saw another person in the western courtyard—Ding Hai, naturally. She did not know him.

Lin Su said, "It's fine! Set it down. I'll try it!"

On the tray were four plump, snowy-white buns, a bowl of white rice porridge, and five little dishes holding fragrant home-style vegetables.

Lin Su picked up his chopsticks and tasted each dish. "Mm, not bad! This is the flavor. Have you sent some to my mother?"

"Not yet. I wanted to check whether the flavor was right first. Since Young Master says it is, I'll take some to Madam right away!"

She withdrew.

Lin Su sat down and began eating breakfast, utterly failing to notice Ding Hai's gaze. He stared at the buns without blinking.

"Third Young Master, were these made from flour?"

"Yes!"

"May I have one?"

"Boss Ding, did you skip breakfast? If you don't mind the Lin Family's simple fare, I'll have them bring you a serving too."

"Then I thank Third Young Master..."

At Lin Su's shout, Xiao Yao bounced in from outside. She held a bun in each hand, while her cheeks were puffed up like a hamster's. No one knew how the bun in her mouth had gotten there—she did not have a third hand.

"Xiao Yao, bring me another breakfast."

"Mm!" Xiao Yao answered through her nose, spun around, and ran off.

Before long, Xiao Yao brought a fresh serving identical to Lin Su's.

Ding Hai immediately grabbed a bun and stuffed it into his mouth. His eyes suddenly lit up. His chopsticks reached toward the small dishes, and his eyes lit up again. At first he sampled them; later, he devoured them. Before long, every bowl and dish was empty.

Ding Hai stared at Lin Su, his eyes shining brightly.

Something stirred faintly in Lin Su's heart. He seemed to have seen something.

"Third Young Master, I run a restaurant!"

"I know!"

"These buns... the recipe... and the recipes for these side dishes—could you share them with me? We can split the profits..."

Lin Su smiled. "The stir-frying of these side dishes hardly counts as any secret recipe. I can tell you right now, and you can go back and try it. As for the bun-making technique... it has a little technical content. You won't understand it all at once. How about this? I'll make the Starter Mother here at the manor. You take it and add it to the flour, then you can make buns like these."

About half an hour later, Ding Hai returned to Haining Tower in high spirits.

His trip to the Lin Family this time had yielded far too much. For the first time, he learned that stir-frying vegetables in an iron wok made them more fragrant. For the first time, he learned that adding some miraculous "Starter Mother" to flour would make the steamed result plump, large, and springy...

Stir-frying in an iron wok was merely a windowpane. Once punctured, anyone could copy it.

But that "Starter Mother" was a secret recipe.

How could he get that secret recipe into his own hands?

Haining Tower was only a few steps from Lin Manor. Taking Starter Mother from Lin Manor every day was not impossible, but the capital headquarters, the Haizhou branch, and branches in several other countries would ultimately have no way to use it. And once the business grew larger, having the core technology controlled by that youngster for the long term was never reassuring. What if he seized them by the throat?

Ding Hai began scratching his head.

Suddenly, his hand stopped. He thought of something else.

That youngster had said there was a kind of wine so miraculous that even Mr. Bao Shan eagerly anticipated it, wine even linked to his Literary Heart Extreme Realm...

Naturally, he had not believed such nonsense at first.

But now, his thoughts began to stray. Could it be true?

If such a wine truly existed, what would Haining Tower become?

Ding Hai's blood began to burn...

In the time that followed, several major events occurred in Haining.

First, Haining Tower displayed a Seven-Colored Wine Poem, and scholars of Great Cang gathered there in droves.

Second, Haining Tower introduced a food called buns, instantly elevating flour from lowly fare to high-end cuisine.

Third, Haining Tower's flavors suddenly changed, becoming incomparably fragrant and delicious.

At Qiankun Academy, Mr. Bao Shan sat atop the mountain for seven days and seven nights, studying a Seven-Colored Poem day and night. The Literary Heart Extreme Realm he sought had still not come, yet as he gazed toward Haining, his eyes remained filled with anticipation. That youngster had promised to make a peerless fine wine for him. Ten days had already passed. Was the wine ready?

The wine flask he carried with him had finally run dry. For a drunkard without wine, even one minute was agony. He wanted to set out for the Holy Land of the Demon Race, but this youngster made him hesitate again and again.

He wanted to soar into the sky and rush straight into the Haining Lin Family, but he feared that the moment he stepped inside, he would see the youngster's apologetic face and receive some meaningless apology...

Better wait a few more days. If that brat dared not send him word, he would strangle him!

Ancient Nanyang Kingdom, Baiji Plain!

Deng Xianchu and Five Peaks Mountain Dweller descended like heavenly gods, landing before a thatched hut. It was empty inside. The two old men exchanged a glance and stepped into the hut together. With a tremendous boom, the air surged, and the phantom of an old man with black hair and white beard appeared before the hut. This was a hermit's imprint left upon heaven and earth.

The mysterious hermit faced the void and slowly recited:

"Faded red blossoms fall, green apricots grow small; when swallows fly, green waters wind around human homes; willow floss upon the branches blows ever thinner—at earth's end, where is there no Fragrant Grass..."

Deng Xianchu and Five Peaks Mountain Dweller looked at each other, then sighed together. "So it truly is him! The Ancient Nanyang Kingdom indeed possesses deep literary foundations. Admirable, truly admirable!"

The two bowed deeply together, then rose through the air and departed.

After they left, the phantom continued sighing. "Such a splendid work—why was it not written by me? I had already touched this level, already touched it! I lacked only one trace of mysterious insight. Who had taken the first step before me and created it? Were my ten years of bitter cultivation all wasted? Pfft..."

A mouthful of blood sprayed into the sky, and the old man's phantom slowly faded away.

At the Lin Family, Lin Su closed his doors to visitors. Of course, in truth, there were not many visitors to begin with.

Though he had become famous throughout Haining, he had also offended the Minister of War and countless talented figures of the Literary Altar. Making friends in literary circles came with taboos. If one befriended someone one should not have, disaster might descend someday and one would not even know why.

Therefore, Haining's local Literary Altar treated Lin Mouren with respect but kept him at a distance.

That suited Lin Su perfectly, allowing him to quietly deal with certain matters.

What matters?

On Haining Tower's side, he had gained his first stable income. Every night, Xiao Tao, Xiao Xue, and Xiao Yao made a basin of Sourdough Starter. The following morning, a carriage quietly entered and carried it away. One basin of Sourdough Starter was worth thirty taels of silver.

What was its cost? Half a tael!

A net profit of thirty taels a day—more than the regular stipend of the Marquis of Dingnan's Estate in its prime.

The entire Lin Family was so thrilled they nearly forgot themselves. Madam Lin once again displayed her nature of "when prosperous, aid all under heaven." She gave money, rice, and supplies to the neighbors and to those who had left the Lin Family at the time, so that people knelt and kowtowed before Lin Manor every day.

A few people returned.

Old He, Mei Niang, Old Zhou, Xiao Wu...

Fortunately, Mother had her limits. She did not simply drag every piece of trash back into the household. Those she accepted again were people who had not behaved badly when they left and had their own unavoidable reasons. As for those petty villains through and through, even if they kowtowed outside, she firmly refused to keep them.

That was very good.

With more people in the household, things became easier to manage.

Lin Su assigned everyone their duties.

Old He took Xiao Wu with him to handle security and odd jobs.

Mei Niang was in charge of cooking.

Xiao Tao was responsible for the accounts.

Xiao Xue was responsible for attending to Madam.

Yu Lou was responsible for attending to Lin Jialiang.

Xiao Yao was responsible for... acting cute.