Chapter 133: The Math Class Representative
At 12:15 PM, I was typing away when my hand slipped, accidentally deleting a chapter I had just finished writing. I instantly burst into tears, which streamed for miles, so here's an extra chapter to make up for the one I accidentally deleted.
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It was early morning in Gao Family Village, at the School Well.
The Spring Festival was approaching, and today, the curriculum at the School Well had changed. Instead of lecturing on the 'Three Character Classic' and 'Hundred Family Surnames,' Teacher Wang stood before all the students, enthusiastically recounting the legend of the 'Nian Beast.'
Most of the young children had heard bits and pieces from their parents, but none of the versions they'd heard before were as detailed or vivid as Teacher Wang's. They listened with rapt attention.
However, Young Master Bai wasn't listening to the story with the other children.
For Young Master Bai, who had received an excellent education since childhood, most of Teacher Wang's lessons felt far too childish. He simply couldn't sit through them with the other youngsters. Instead, he sat by the entrance of the School Well, flipping through his "Pinyin" textbook.
He had already finished this Heavenly Book.
For a moment, he wasn't sure what to do.
Young Master Bai was overjoyed, and quickly took it with both hands. “Am I the only one who gets this?” he asked.
Gao Yiye nodded.
Young Master Bai glanced at Teacher Wang, then whispered, “What about Teacher Wang?”
Gao Yiye shook her head. “Teacher Wang might not be quite suited for this,” she replied.
Young Master Bai felt a surge of curiosity. Why wouldn't Teacher Wang be suitable? No matter, he decided, and opened the book to take a look.
It would have been better if he hadn't. The moment he opened it, his mind went blank.
The Arabic numerals within instantly made Young Master Bai's head spin.
If it weren't a Heavenly Book, Young Master Bai would have immediately given up. But realizing this was a "divine object from the heavens," it was only natural for a mortal not to fully comprehend it. If he understood it at first glance, *that* would be strange, wouldn't it?
Young Master Bai's spirits lifted, and he plunged into reading with renewed determination.
Gao Yiye, meanwhile, listened intently to the Heavenly Lord's patient instructions and relayed them to Young Master Bai. As she did so, she inadvertently began to learn the material herself.
Before long, both of them had grasped the basic Arabic numerals and fundamental mathematical symbols.
Young Master Bai truly came from a scholarly family. Once he understood the Arabic numerals and symbols, his progress surged. He flipped through 'Elementary Math, First Grade, Volume One' at a furious pace. Addition and subtraction were mere glances, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Gao Yiye could no longer keep up with Young Master Bai's pace, so she handed him 'Elementary Math, First Grade, Volume Two.'
This volume wasn't difficult either, still focusing on addition and subtraction within 100.
Young Master Bai instantly grasped it, and quickly flipped through the pages.
By the time he reached 'Elementary Math, Second Grade, Volume One,' multiplication began to appear.
Any other ordinary young master would undoubtedly slow down at multiplication and division. But Young Master Bai was no ordinary young master.
He was the son of Bai Yuan. And when it came to the 'Mathematics' aspect of a gentleman's six arts, Bai Yuan was very particular about it.
Influenced by his father since childhood, Young Master Bai had a passable understanding of the 'Mathematics' among the gentleman's six arts. He didn't take long to flip through the second-grade multiplication and division problems.
However, when he reached 'Third Grade, Volume One,' the ultimate challenge finally arrived.
Fractions!
When Young Master Bai saw numbers like 1/3 and 1/4, his mind instantly hit a wall. His progress slowed to a crawl...
A figure appeared at the entrance of the School Well. Madam Bai walked in, smiling. “My son, have you been diligently studying today?” she asked.
Young Master Bai was holding his pen, staring blankly at the problem 'Which is larger: 1/3 or 1/4?' Hearing her question, he replied absently, “The Heavenly Book bestowed by the Heavenly Lord is truly too difficult. Your son is stuck on this one problem and simply cannot figure it out.”
Madam Bai sharply smacked the back of his head. “The Heavenly Lord bestowed a Heavenly Book upon you, what immense fortune! And yet, you can't understand it? You must rack your brains and figure it out for your mother’s sake!”
Young Master Bai's face burned with pain. He didn't know why, but his mother's 'encouragement' transformed into inspiration. “Hahaha, your son has got it!” he exclaimed.
He picked up his pen and wrote the answer: 1/3 > 1/4.
Gao Yiye declared, “The Heavenly Lord says you answered correctly! He praises your exceptional talent for mathematics and says your future achievements are boundless!”
Madam Bai was ecstatic. Later, she would tell everyone she met, “The Heavenly Lord praised my son for his great mathematical talent.” She repeated that sentence for the rest of her life.
Gao Yiye tilted her head, listening to the voice from the heavens. “Young Master Bai,” she announced, “the Heavenly Lord has a glorious and arduous task for you.”
Young Master Bai quickly stood up, his expression solemn, his hands clasped at his sides, ready to listen attentively.
Gao Yiye continued, “The Heavenly Lord wants you to be the 'Math Class Representative.' From now on, you will 'impart knowledge on behalf of Heaven,' teaching other children mathematics. Not only must you diligently study mathematics yourself, but you must also, as you learn, teach what you've already mastered to the other children. This is a grave responsibility. Do you dare to undertake it?”
“Impart knowledge on behalf of Heaven!”
Those four words filled him with pure ecstasy.
Young Master Bai was overjoyed beyond measure. “Though I am not yet an adult, to be so highly esteemed by the Heavenly Lord, is truly the greatest honor of my life. I vow to dedicate my heart and soul to fulfilling my duties as 'Math Class Representative'!”
Madam Bai was also thrilled. *My son has become a Math Class Representative!* she thought. *Although I don't know exactly what the position entails, it's clearly a position from the heavens!*
*Ah! My son's future achievements are limitless!*
A surge of happiness, intense beyond words, washed over her. Madam Bai instinctively smacked the back of her own head. It hurt! She was awake; this wasn't a dream.
Young Master Bai asked, “Mother, what's wrong? Why are you hitting yourself? If something displeases you, you can simply hit your son instead.”
Madam Bai, with another *smack*, gave Young Master Bai a thump on the head. “Does it hurt?” she asked.
Young Master Bai clutched his reddened face. “It hurts so much!”
Madam Bai burst out laughing. “That's wonderful then! Neither of us is dreaming.”
Li Daoxuan watched as Young Master Bai distributed 'Elementary Math, First Grade, Volume One' to the other children, one copy each. Then, waiting for Teacher Wang's 'Language Arts class' to conclude, he walked to the front, and, in a somewhat theatrical tone, addressed the other children, “By the Heavenly Lord's command, I have become the Math Class Representative. From this day forward, your mathematics lessons will be taught by me, 'imparting knowledge on behalf of Heaven.' Listen closely, everyone. This symbol is called '1'—the number one. Have you memorized it?”
The children loudly affirmed, “We have!”
“This symbol is called '2'—the number two...”
Li Daoxuan silently watched the children learning for a while. *Good,* he thought. *Now mathematics had finally been introduced. Next, it should be physics and chemistry, right? But these two subjects were too profound; it would be difficult for the children to learn them in a short time. Even in modern society, these subjects were only taught starting in middle school.*
Forget it, he decided. He wouldn't focus on this for now. He should survey his field of view.
Now that his field of view had expanded somewhat, he would occasionally tap "southeast, northwest" to check if anything in the surrounding environment had changed. Once, while switching perspectives, he noticed a large boulder on a northern slope that was about to slide down. He quickly grabbed the stone and moved it aside, thereby protecting the labor reform prisoners working on the slope.
When the mood struck him to take a look around, he always seemed to make interesting discoveries.
Sure enough, he tapped all the way to the southwest, and in a valley about ten *li* from Gao Family Village, he found something amusing.
Military Inspector Cheng Xu was running, disheveled and in a sorry state, with a large group of people wielding swords and knives in hot pursuit.
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