The next day, the sun rose in the east.
The cold brought by the night rain is still rampant around Dahei Mountain.
Chen Yun woke up early.
Or perhaps, he was woken up by the noise.
There are two men talking outside the house about something.
The slightly hoarse voice of the young man was Chen Yun's father for the rest of his life.
"Third Master, don't judge my son by his thinness and small stature; he's been very clever since he was a kid. If you take him to the city, it will surely be a good thing."
Immediately, a voice of an unfamiliar middle-aged man sounded.
"He's so small, what can he do? He won't fetch a good price!"
Initially, hearing his father's voice, Chen Yun felt somewhat happy in his heart, thinking that his father had brought back grain from the city hundreds of miles away and that they would be able to have a full meal that night.
However, the voice of this unfamiliar middle-aged man startled Chen Yun.
Cannot fetch a good price?
Could it be that my father wants to sell me?
Chen Yun couldn't help but furrow his brow.
It's not yet determined.
He suppresses his doubts and continues to listen to the conversation between the two.
Father said, "I really haven't deceived you. My son can do arithmetic. At the very least, he can be a small servant in a restaurant who knows how to calculate the money correctly."
The third uncle said with curiosity, "Is this kid really good at arithmetic?"
Father said with a hint of pride, "Why would I lie to you?"
In ancient times, being able to do arithmetic was something very impressive.
This is not a fabrication by Chen Yun.
According to the records in "Han Shi Wai Zhuan," there was a wild man from the eastern suburbs of Qi who knew the 9x9 multiplication table and went to the palace to apply for a government post.
According to custom at that time, people who knew the 9x9 multiplication table could at most become a low-level financial official.
However, that wild man spoke eloquently, making Qi Gong publicly appoint him as a nobleman.
This shows that although knowing the 9x9 multiplication table was not enough to become a high-ranking official, it was still a relatively rare talent in ancient times.
In fact, even if someone could read and write dozens of characters, they would still be considered a "cultural person" in ancient times.
After all, according to relevant statistical data, the illiteracy rate in ancient China varied from 80% to 95% depending on the dynasty.
Chen Yun didn't know whether the world he was in was ancient China.
However, the small village where he was staying only had an old gentleman who could read and write.
Therefore, he knew that knowing how to read and write, as well as being able to do arithmetic, was very popular in this world.
The two outside were still chatting.
Third uncle said, "I will test him later. If he really knows how to do arithmetic, I will give you six two silver coins."
Father haggled, "Does knowing how to do arithmetic only deserve six two silver coins? Third uncle, is that too little?"
Third uncle said with a hint of disbelief, "Six two silver coins is not too little. Last time, I spent eight two silver coins on a girl with fair skin and beautiful looks. Chen brother, let me tell you the truth, the human market business is not doing well these days. If you insist on a high price, then I can only say it's regrettable to you. You'll have to find someone else to buy your son."
Father was silent for a long time, and finally sighed heavily, "Alright, six two it is. Our household really can't afford this half-sized son."
Six two?
Six two silver coins to sell me?
Upon hearing this, Chen Yun's heart was filled with anger.
He had dreamed of escaping from the small village and relying on his previous life's memories to earn more money, so that his family could live a good life. However, he never expected that his father would sell him to human traffickers.
What was even more chilling to Chen Yun was that he was sold for only six two silver coins.
Based on my memory, selling one thousand two gold would not be excessive!
Chen Yun was angry for only a short while, and then he became relieved.
This is a world that eats people.
He knew that there were two families in the village who were so poor that they had to eat their children.
At least, my father, even if he was very poor and suffering, never thought of exchanging me with others for food.
Chen Yun remembered that when he was five years old, their family was so poor that they couldn't afford food, and Uncle Wang at the end of the village had once secretly approached his father.
Although he didn't know what had happened at first.
But the next day, Uncle Wang and the son of Li Erniu at the village head were nowhere to be seen.
From the secret crying of the two families and the appearance of two new tombs at the graveyard not far from the village, Chen Yun could tell that they had exchanged their children for food.
Alas, maybe our family really can't afford to raise me, this half-grown son.
Otherwise, how could he only get six two silver coins?
Chen Yun kept comforting himself.
But he immediately revealed a firm look.
Even if he was sold, he couldn't only be sold for six two silver coins.
"This is the first moment when my value in this world is realized, and it also counts as a farewell to the family that raised me for sixteen years. I must make sure I get a good price for myself!"
Chen Yun slowly got up.
Walked to the front hall.
He still didn't see the traces of his mother and younger brother and sisters.
Chen Yun had a rough idea of what was going on in his heart.
Assuming that his father had come back and told his mother about it a long time ago.
Mother felt sorry for him, so she had hidden outside.
He opened the shabby wooden door.
What met his eyes was a barren mountain range of Dahei, stretching for thousands of miles, and loess soil.
Two men were standing outside the door.
One of the men, wrapped in an old cotton jacket covered with cloth patches, was about thirty years old and short and thin, and he was Chen Yun's father.
The other man, who was in his forties or fifties with slightly white temples and a plump figure, was most likely the Third Master.
The two men seemed to have not expected Chen Yun to come out at this time.
Father looked at Chen Yun with complicated eyes, looking awkward and hesitant. His voice was very weak, "Kid..."
Chen Yun didn't even glance at him; he directly looked at the Third Master, who was continually sizing him up, and said calmly, "Third Master, if you buy me for twenty two silver coins, you won't lose out."
The Third Master was stunned, then laughed silently and said, "Kid, do you know that twenty two silver coins is a huge amount?"
Chen Yun said calmly, "Yes, I do know. In my dynasty, one bucket of rice costs thirty coins. Twenty two silver coins can buy six hundred sixty-six buckets of rice and there is still twenty coins left."
The Third Master was surprised, "You really can do arithmetic?"
Father tried to show an ingratiating smile, but couldn't laugh out loud, and his expression was extremely complex.
Chen Yun asked, "Is that enough for me?"
The Third Master shook his head, "With just this little arithmetic ability, it's not enough."
Chen Yun said calmly, "If I say that I can even solve the riddle of 'Chicken and Rabbit'?"
The Third Master said in confusion, "What is 'Chicken and Rabbit'?"
Father also looked confused.
Chen Yun thought, "You don't even know 'Chicken and Rabbit'?"
"Chicken and Rabbit in a Pen" is essentially a type of binary equation, usually learned in grades 4 to 6 of primary school.
However, this problem that Chen Yun solved as a primary school student in his previous life is one of the famous mathematical problems in ancient times.
For ancient people, it was a very difficult mathematical problem to solve.
It can be said that in ancient society, anyone who could solve this mathematical problem was essentially a high-level arithmetic talent.
Not to say a generation of arithmetic master, but at the very least, a master.
After careful thinking, he knew why the Third Master didn't know "Chicken and Rabbit".
Because in ancient society, arithmetic was not a required subject; it might not be needed for imperial examinations, so not only did ordinary people not understand it, even scholars might not be familiar with it.
Chen Yun thought for a moment and explained, "The 'Chicken and Rabbit' problem refers to putting chickens and rabbits in the same basket, but we only know the total number of heads and feet, and then we calculate how many chickens and how many rabbits there are."
The Third Master's face showed surprise, "How can we calculate it with just the number of heads and feet?"
Father nodded beside him in agreement.
Chen Yun said, "You can imagine the number of chickens and rabbits separately in your mind. For example, ten chickens and ten rabbits, which totals twenty heads and sixty feet. Then you can ask me this question, see if I can answer it."
The Third Master thought for a moment, "That's interesting. If you can really calculate the number of rabbits and chickens, then spending twenty two silver coins on you would be worth it."
Chen Yun reached out his hand, "Please give me the question."
The Third Master calculated in his heart for half an hour before slowly speaking, "Now there are chickens and rabbits in the same cage. There are thirty-five heads above and ninety-four feet below. How many chickens and rabbits are there?"
After speaking, the Third Master looked at Chen Yun.
He wanted to see if this teenager could really give the accurate answer, and how much time it would take to calculate.
To his surprise, before long after the question was asked, Chen Yun directly answered, "There are twenty-three chickens and twelve rabbits."
The Third Master had calculated in his mind for a long time, so he naturally knew the answer.
However, he didn't expect Chen Yun to answer so quickly and directly, which made him secretly amazed. He thought that the kid's arithmetic ability was too strong.
He asked out of curiosity, "How do you solve it?"
Chen Yun said expressionlessly, "There are two solutions."
The Third Master said, "Please explain."
Chen Yun said, "The first solution is: there are thirty-five heads above and ninety-four feet below. Divide the number of feet by two, which gives forty-seven. Subtract the number of feet from the number of heads, and then subtract again. The difference is divided by the number of heads and then by the number of feet. In this way, you get the answer."
The Third Master didn't really understand, but he still asked, "What about the second solution?"
Chen Yun said, "Place the heads above and the feet below, divide the number of feet by two, and then divide the number of heads by the number of feet. Then divide the number of feet by the number of heads. That's how you get the answer."
The Third Master still didn't understand very well and was thinking deeply for a while.
Chen Yun wasn't in a hurry; he calmly waited.
The two of them didn't say anything, and Chen Yun's father didn't say anything either.
At this moment, the look in his eyes towards his son Chen Yun was very complicated.
Although Chen Yun's father couldn't understand the problem and its explanation, he could tell from the Third Master's tightly furrowed brow and careful thought that this arithmetic problem was extremely difficult.
For a moment, the look he turned towards his son became extremely complicated, full of guilt, reluctance, and a trace of...regret.
Just then, the Third Master suddenly turned his head towards Chen Yun's father, "Brother Chen, your son is so wise. Do you really want to sell him to me?"
Chen Yun's father felt regretful and stammered, "I... I..."
Chen Yun didn't hesitate to take over, "I wanted to sell myself to a good family, so I don't want to spend the rest of my life buried in the mountains."
The Third Master looked at him with a complicated expression, as if he understood something. He nodded slightly and said, "Since that's the case, I'll give your father twenty two silver coins. You can go to Xigou City with me. If you can find a good family, it won't be a waste of your talent. But if you can't find a good family, staying with me as a bookkeeper is also not bad."
The words were like that, but actually, after seeing Chen Yun's talent, the Third Master didn't really want to sell him to anyone else.
Chen Yun bowed, saying, "Thank you, Third Master."
After speaking, he turned around and bowed to his father, who had been his biological father in this life. "Father, I am grateful for the great kindness you and mother have nurtured me with. I have no way to repay your kindness in this life. I can only sell myself for twenty two silver coins, from now on, my life or death will have no more ties with you."
He bowed three times heavily, making a "bang bang" sound.
Having done all of this, Chen Yun stood up neatly and walked towards the outside of the village.
The rosy glow illuminated the young man's solitary and lonely figure, as if shining the way forward.
