Chapter 49: Genius crushes you to pieces! Xu Wenzhao is stunned

Certainly, Xu Wenzhao did not finish speaking.

If Shen Lang can answer more than five questions correctly, it will prove that Xu Wenzhao is just making trouble for no reason, and he will have to apologize to Shen Lang in front of everyone.

But is this possible?

The sun cannot rise in the west, so there's no need to talk about it.

"Remember, you have half an hour to finish the questions, there's no waiting after the time is up!"

Then, Xu Wenzhao personally lit an incense.

The incense burned for exactly an hour when it finished.

Seeing this scene, the count couldn't help but shake his head helplessly.

It seems that Shen Lang is going to suffer later!

Xu Wenzhao was like this when he was young, with no mercy and a strong desire to win.

But as a successful master, it is most important to use people. Place key talents in key positions.

Use people to their fullest potential. The count had been successful in this respect, but now faced with this situation, he was somewhat helpless.

On his left was his son-in-law, although quite mischievous and with a generation gap between them, the count truly admired and liked this son-in-law from the bottom of his heart.

And on his right was his right-hand man, who had been in charge of the accounting house for over twenty years and was someone he greatly depended on.

So, sometimes, even a master finds it difficult to have his way.

As for the dozen or so teenagers present, it was a thrilling drama for them.

They were so excited that they could hardly contain themselves. Shen Lang actually confronted the formidable Xu Wenzhao, a rare occurrence in ten years.

They couldn't wait to see it.

Although they felt a little biased toward Shen Lang, they wanted to see him suffer a hundred lashes.

Who told you to marry our goddess?

If you don't suffer, how can the rest of us be happy?

Shen Lang took a look at the ten questions and couldn't help but mutter.

Oh my!

Did Xu Wenzhao think I would struggle with the brain-busting questions he spent over an hour coming up with?

Turns out, they are so simple!

Let me, a master's degree holder, answer these ten arithmetic questions; it's like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken!

Look at the first question.

The first person has one grain of rice, the second person has two grains of rice, the third person has three grains of rice, a total of one hundred people.

Ask, how many grains of rice do the hundred people have in total?

Is this a fourth-grade or fifth-grade math question?

When Shen Lang wrote down the answer, he felt like a fool, trying to solve such simple questions.

Of course, for Shen Lang, the question was indeed unbelievably simple, but for the people in this world, it was already quite challenging.

At least among the dozen or so students present, almost no one could solve this question in a short amount of time.

(This question was actually from a math Olympiad competition for the fourth grade in a certain city in 1993, and someone still couldn't solve it, don't ask me how I know.)

Then Shen Lang looked at the second question.

Huh?

Interesting!

Although it was still very simple for Shen Lang, it was already very difficult for this world.

There are some items whose number is unknown, when counted by threes, there are two left over. When counted by fives, there are three left over. When counted by sevens, there are two left over. The total number is less than one hundred. What is the number?

Nicely done, using an equation.

In less than three seconds, Shen Lang found the answer to be 23, without even needing an alien computer.

The third question was even more interesting.

Three people walking together, with seventy sparse. Five trees with twenty-one plums, seven sons gathering half moon, remove one hundred and five, and you will know!

Do you think writing it as a poem can conceal its true nature as a simple math question?

Shen Lang effortlessly answered the question.

Then, the fourth, fifth, sixth... the ninth question.

Really, not a single question made Shen Lang feel even a bit challenged.

Not a single question made him spend more than two minutes.

So, he placed all his expectations on the last, final question.

This last question, took up a whole page, and when Shen Lang glanced at it, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

This question was quite intriguing, quite challenging!

In fact, it was extremely challenging!

A total of twenty trees, planting four trees in each row, how many rows can you plant at most?

Draw the planting method in a diagram, and it fails if less than fourteen rows!

This question may seem simple, but it's actually a millennium-old mathematical puzzle on Earth.

The average person always thinks, there are 20 trees in total, planting four trees in each row, so that's five rows.

Of course, it's not like that at all, because you can plant trees in irregular shapes, so it far exceeds five rows.

In the 16th-century, the Romans completed a configuration of 16 rows.

In the 18th century, the famous mathematician Gauss completed a permutation with 18 rows.

It wasn't until the end of the 20th century that two computer experts, using electronic computers, completed a permutation with 20 rows.

This already set a record.

Twenty trees, planted in rows of four, unexpectedly produced 20 rows.

However, in the 21st century, a new record was set when someone completed a permutation with 23 rows.

This particular question is Xǔ Wénzhāo's most satisfying one. He discovered it in an ancient arithmetic classic.

From then on, he tirelessly spent over a decade to finally complete a permutation with fourteen rows.

Not only that, he enjoyed using this question to challenge everyone, including his colleagues in the count's mansion, the count himself, and those scholars who had just achieved success in the imperial examination.

Because no one else's mathematical skills could compare to his.

When he revealed the method for planting fourteen rows of trees, he would receive shocked and admiring expressions from others.

Now, he has brought out this question to test Shěn Làng, as the highlight of the test.

Of course, he had no intention for Shěn Làng to solve it, but simply to show off.

For Xǔ Wénzhāo, solving a 14-row permutation is indeed impressive. But for Shěn Làng, it is still not at the level of the 16th century.

Easily, he can draw a permutation with 23 rows, which is ahead of Xǔ Wénzhāo's answer by at least a thousand years.

Twenty trees, planted in rows of four, unexpectedly produced 23 rows.

Absolutely incredible—it thoroughly crushed Xǔ Wénzhāo's 14-row permutation!

No doubt Xǔ Wénzhāo will be utterly shocked!

............

For the first nine questions, Shěn Làng took less than ten minutes to complete.

For the last question, he took about half an hour!

Of course, his thought process was very fast in his mind; instantly, he had the most impressive answer, a record-breaking solution.

But to present it on paper, it took some time.

This was a very precise geometric pattern; even a slight mistake wouldn't do.

So, Shěn Làng took a whole half hour.

The rest of the time, he continued to write and draw, making preparations in advance.

During his test, in order not to pressure him, the count and the old master did not observe at his side.

Xǔ Wénzhāo sat above, watching Shěn Làng, feeling extremely pleased.

He had been paying attention to Shěn Làng and noticed that Shěn Làng spent very little time on the first nine questions, instead focusing most of his time on the last question.

This was a very normal behavior.

In his view, the first nine questions were definitive, either you know it, or you don't.

And Shěn Làng definitely didn't know, he couldn't even think clearly, so after a hurried glance at these questions, he randomly wrote an answer.

The last question, although the most difficult, was a subjective one.

Twenty trees, planted in rows of four, how many rows can there be at most?

Anyone seeing this question would hold hope and then throw themselves into it, continuously attempting various countermeasures.

As a result, it was found that even after spending several months, it was simply impossible to answer.

It took Xǔ Wénzhāo a full ten years to complete the fourteen rows permutation.

So, it could be concluded that Shěn Làng couldn't solve even one question, let alone halfway through.

A hundred lashes had now become a certainty.

Why was Xǔ Wénzhāo so certain?

Because Shěn Làng didn't engage in any calculations for the first nine questions, didn't employ any reckoning.

Even arithmetic experts would need to utilize reckoning for a long time.

In this day and age, when was reckoning not necessary? Once it wasn't used, it could only prove one thing, that he didn't know anything, just writing at random.

It wasn't just Xǔ Wénzhāo who thought so, the count also had the same idea.

Shěn Làng hadn't used any reckoning once. He probably truly couldn't answer a single question.

This was troublesome.

Would they really watch him receive a hundred lashes?

This young man had tender skin, and if Xǔ Wénzhāo didn't know when to stop, what would happen if he was truly injured?

So, the count quickly sent a signal with his eyes.

Immediately, a servant outside the door quickly ran off to report to the countess.

After completing all ten questions, Shěn Làng could have handed in his paper, but he purposely delayed and continued to write and draw, finally spacing out in the last few minutes.

Xǔ Wénzhāo felt even more delighted.

The greenhorn who hasn't cut his teeth yet. The topic I set, even if you stare at it for ten years, you won't figure it out.

How dare something that doesn't know its place provoke me? How dare it block my path, how dare it take away my nephew's good fortune?

I'm going to beat you up later.

Because of the wind, in less than an hour, a stick of incense was burnt.

Xu Wenzhao said coldly, "Time's up, hand in your paper!"

Then he came down directly and took the exam paper on Shen Lang's desk.

"You know nothing and dare to spout nonsense, even learn it all, ignorant fear no danger..." Xu Wenzhao said calmly.

Then, he took a look at Shen Lang's answer.

The first question.

Xu Wenzhao disdainfully glanced at it and was about to move his gaze to the second question, instinctively ready to put a big X on it.

But he hesitated for a second, and his gaze returned to the first question.

He answered correctly?

How is that possible?

Although the first question is the easiest, it far exceeds the content he is currently teaching.

Those who don't understand advanced arithmetic can only add one, two, three, four, and so on until one hundred, by which time a stick of incense would have burned out.

However, Shen Lang provided the most accurate solving method and answer.

Looking at the second question, it was also correct.

The third question was still correct.

Xu Wenzhao felt something was wrong. His face changed instantly.

The fourth question, the fifth question, were still correct.

They were even so accurate, Shen Lang's method of solving the problems was even more brilliant and precise than Xu Wenzhao's.

Cold sweat began to erupt from Xu Wenzhao's back.

He had said it himself. As long as Shen Lang got five questions right, he would apologize to Shen Lang in public.

Now that Shen Lang has answered all five questions correctly, what should he do?

Next, Xu Wenzhao looked at the sixth question, the seventh question, the eighth question, and the ninth question!

He wasn't just breaking out in cold sweat, he was completely shocked.

Damn, this is absolutely incredible!