Chapter 25: Arithmetic Competition
"Bank Manager, you are mistaken. Skill in arithmetic has nothing to do with age! While the old certainly have experience, the young are not necessarily weak. The only way to know who’s better is to compete." Ye Xing, his expression calm and confident, said with a light laugh, "What? With so many accountants in your esteemed bank, is there truly no one who dares to face me?"
"Insolent! This bank’s accountants are all masters of calculation. Why would we fear your challenge?" The Jincai Money Shop’s manager snorted coldly. His gaze fell upon the accountants behind the counters as he said in a deep voice, "Which one of you will come out and teach this arrogant little kid a lesson!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the accountants behind the counters were itching to have a go. In their eyes, what kind of arithmetic foundation could a young man possibly have? Teaching this kid a lesson, while also showing off a little in front of the manager, would help solidify their position in the bank.
"I’ll do it!" The accountant from counter number two quickly volunteered. From his perspective, since the young man had emerged from his counter, it was naturally his responsibility to deal with him.
"Good, Mr. Li will be the one." The Jincai Money Shop’s manager said arrogantly to Ye Xing, "Boy, do you have someone in mind to pose the questions?"
"Heh, it’s all the same to me who asks. Please, Bank Manager, feel free!" Ye Xing said with a small smile.
"Very well, then I shall be the one to ask the questions!" The Jincai Money Shop’s manager waved his hand and ordered, "Someone, prepare a table, chairs, and abacuses!"
Immediately, servants brought over a table, chairs, and two abacuses. Ye Xing and Mr. Li, the accountant from counter number two, sat facing each other. The commotion naturally drew a crowd of onlookers from within the bank.
"Are you both ready? I will now begin. First question: One hundred twenty-five Gold Coins plus three hundred ninety-six Gold Coins equals how many Gold Coins?" the Jincai Money Shop’s manager announced, his gaze tinged with mockery as he looked at Ye Xing.
Arithmetic on the Martial Arts Continent was still quite backward; addition in the hundreds was already considered a rather difficult calculation. He had intentionally made the first question a hard one to make this arrogant kid embarrass himself right from the start.
The moment the Bank Manager finished speaking, Mr. Li’s fingers were already flying, the abacus beads starting to CLACK-CLACK-CLACK. Although a calculation in the hundreds was difficult, for Mr. Li, who was an expert in arithmetic and had been an accountant for over a decade, it was something he could solve with a bit of time.
’Uh, in the hundreds? Isn’t that a little too easy!’ Ye Xing couldn’t help but mutter to himself. The answer had appeared in his mind the instant the Bank Manager finished reading the problem. For an honor student like Ye Xing, a proper university graduate who had breezed through advanced mathematics and calculus, this level of arithmetic was laughably simple; he could do it in his head. However, his goal this time was to market his calculator, so he feigned effort and tapped the device a few times.
The people of the Martial Arts Continent had never seen a high-tech product like a calculator. Many stared with curiosity as Ye Xing’s fingers tapped on the strange, square object. They didn’t understand what he was doing, but it looked impressive.
"Huh, what’s he doing? What is he randomly pressing over there?"
"Why isn’t he using an abacus? Don’t tell me he’s given up."
"Mr. Li has already started, and he’s still just playing around!"
"That makes sense. A calculation in the hundreds is genuinely difficult. I bet it’ll take him a quarter of an hour to figure it out. He’ll definitely be slower than Mr. Li. He must be giving up."
The surrounding crowd whispered amongst themselves, their discussions unending.
"What? Is the very first problem already too hard for you?" The Jincai Money Shop’s manager looked at Ye Xing with even greater disdain and sneered, "Next time, remember not to boast so much. So young, yet you’ve learned such bad habits."
"Five hundred twenty-one!" Ye Xing said unhurriedly.
"Huh? What five hundred twenty-one?" The Jincai Money Shop’s manager was stunned for a moment, unable to process it.
Ye Xing rolled his eyes. "One hundred twenty-five Gold Coins plus three hundred ninety-six Gold Coins equals five hundred twenty-one Gold Coins!"
"Five hundred twenty-one Gold Coins? For real? Kid, there’s no point in just spouting random numbers. I suggest you just admit defeat." The Jincai Money Shop’s manager glanced at Mr. Li, who was still rapidly working his abacus, then back at Ye Xing, who hadn’t even touched his. He became even more certain that Ye Xing had just guessed.
CLACK-CLACK-CLACK! CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!
Mr. Li’s speed on the abacus was incredible; he was truly a veteran accountant who had been immersed in the craft for over a decade. Mr. Li was completely absorbed in his calculations, deaf to the chatter of the crowd and everything else around him. With such focus, his performance was exceptional.
After just a short while, the CLACK-CLACK-CLACKing stopped.
"I’ve got it! The total is five hundred twenty-one Gold Coins! Haha!" Mr. Li announced happily. He had truly outdone himself today, finishing much faster than usual—probably approaching the level of their accounting supervisor, Old Zhao. The thought of the manager’s satisfied expression and his colleagues’ admiring gazes made Mr. Li’s heart flutter with excitement.
"Huh? What’s going on?" Mr. Li quickly realized something was wrong.
The manager wasn’t looking at him with satisfaction. Instead, his expression was one of utter shock mixed with something strange, as if he’d just accidentally eaten a steaming pile of crap, his face flushed beet-red. It wasn’t just the Bank Manager; the surrounding crowd also wore looks of complete astonishment. Several people’s mouths were hanging wide open, their jaws about to hit the floor.
"The answer is actually five hundred twenty-one Gold Coins! That’s incredible!"
"To get it in such a short time... is it possible he just guessed?"
Some in the crowd were amazed, while others were skeptical.
’Right, a guess. He must have just guessed!’ The Jincai Money Shop’s manager could only console himself with this thought. He immediately cleared his throat and announced in a deep voice, "Quiet! Quiet down, everyone! The second question begins now—nine hundred sixteen Silver Coins plus seventeen Gold Coins, minus five hundred eighty-three Silver Coins. How many Silver Coins is that in total?"
"This... Why is the second question suddenly so difficult? What is the manager thinking???" Mr. Li was completely dumbfounded. A stampede of a million frustrations ran through his mind. The difficulty had just skyrocketed dozens of times from the first question to the second. How was he supposed to calculate this?
"Li Pengqing, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and calculate!" the Jincai Money Shop’s manager said, clearly displeased. He was desperate to save face, so of course he had to ramp up the difficulty.
"Yes, yes, yes! Right away!" Mr. Li hurriedly began to flick the abacus beads. Although the second question was vastly more difficult, it wasn’t impossible to solve. It would just take several times longer and demand a huge amount of mental energy.
As the difficulty of the second question soared, the surrounding crowd grew incredibly excited, their eyes glued to the two men in the center of the room. Even the people who had been depositing and withdrawing money couldn’t help but swarm over to watch the spectacle.
CLACK-CLACK-CLACK! CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!
CLACK-CLACK-CLACK! CLACK! CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!
Beads of cold sweat began to form on Mr. Li’s forehead as his fingers flew across the abacus, his entire being poured into the calculation.
On the other side, Ye Xing held the calculator in his left hand while his right hand went TAP-TAP-TAP on the keys a few times.
"The answer is two thousand thirty-three Silver Coins!" Ye Xing announced casually.