Taoist Myth: I am the last true immortal in the world

Chapter 2 Chicken and Rabbit in the same cage
The next day, the sun rose.

The coldness brought by the night rain is still raging around Daheishan.

Chen Yun got up early.

In other words, he was woken up.

There were two male voices talking about something outside the house.

One of the young men's slightly hoarse voices was Chen Yun's father.

"Third Master, don't look at my baby's small size. He has been very smart since he was a child. You will definitely do nothing wrong by taking him to the city."

Then, a strange middle-aged man's voice rang.

"What kind of work can he do if he's so skinny? He can't be sold for a good price!"

Chen Yun was a little happy when he heard his father's voice, thinking that his father had brought food back from the city hundreds of miles away and he would be able to have a full meal tonight.

However, the sound made by this strange man shocked Chen Yun.

Can’t sell it at a good price?

Is it possible that daddy wants to sell me?

Chen Yun couldn't help but frown.

Not sure yet.

He suppressed his doubts and continued to listen to the discussion between the two.

Dad said: "I really didn't lie to you. My baby can count. Not to mention becoming a cashier in the future, at least he can work as a waiter in a restaurant or something who won't change money wrongly."

The third master said in a rather curious tone: "This kid really knows how to count?"

Dad said with a little pride: "Why should I lie to you?"

Being able to count was a great thing in ancient times.

This is not Chen Yun's random fabrication.

According to "Han Shi Wai Zhuan", there was a savage in Dongye of Qi State who knew the multiplication tables and went to the palace to apply for an official position.

According to convention, those who could memorize the ninety-nine multiplications at that time could at best be a low-level financial officer.

However, the savage's tongue was as bright as flowers, so he asked Qi Henggong to knight him.

It can be seen that although someone who can memorize the multiplication table cannot become a high-ranking official, it was still a relatively rare talent in ancient times.

In fact, let alone being good at arithmetic, if someone in ancient times could read dozens of characters, he was definitely a "literate person".

After all, according to relevant statistics, the illiteracy rate in ancient China was 80.00% to 90.00% depending on the dynasty.

Chen Yun didn't know whether the world he was in was ancient China.

However, in the small mountain village where he lives, the only person who can read is an old man.

So he knows that literacy and arithmetic are very popular in this world.

The two people outside were still chatting.

The third master said: "Then I will test him later. If he is really good at arithmetic, I am willing to give you six taels of silver."

Dad bargained: "You can count only if you are worth six taels of silver? Third Master, is it too little?"

The third master said speechlessly: "Six taels is a lot. The last time I bought a fair-skinned and beautiful girl, I only spent eight taels of silver. Brother Chen, let me tell you the truth, business is not easy to do in the market nowadays. If you insist on a high price, then I can only say sorry to you and find someone else to buy your son."

Dad was silent for a long time, and finally let out a long sigh, "Oh, six taels is just six taels, the family really can't afford to support such a young man."

Six taels?

Sold me for six taels?
Hearing this, Chen Yun was extremely angry.

He had thought countless times about escaping from the small mountain village and relying on his past life memories to make more money so that his family could live a good life. Who would have thought that his father would actually sell him to a human trafficker.

You must know that in ancient society, if you were sold, you would sign a contract of sale and become a slave!
What is a cheap slave?

To describe it in one sentence, the law is compared to livestock, even cows and horses!
This is no joke. Cows and horses were protected by law in ancient society. It was illegal to kill cows and horses without any reason.

But the master does not need to bear any legal responsibility if he beats his cheap slave to death!

To put it simply, this is equivalent to pushing yourself into a pit of fire!

What made Chen Yun even more chilled was that he only sold it for six taels of silver?

Based on the memory in my head, selling it for 1000 taels of gold is not an exaggeration!

Chen Yun was only angry for a short while, and then became relieved.

This is a cannibalistic world.

He knew that there were two families in the village who really couldn't survive and exchanged their children for food.

At least the cheap dad never thought of exchanging my child with someone else, no matter how poor he was.

Chen Yun remembers that when he was five years old, his family was so poor that he couldn't find a way out of the problem. Uncle Wang, the last man in the village, secretly looked for a cheap daddy.

Although he didn't know anything at first.

But the next day Uncle Wang and the son of the village head Li Erniu's family disappeared.

Chen Yun knew from the secret cries of the two families and the fact that there were two new piles of graves in the cemetery not far from the village that the two families exchanged sons and died.

Alas, maybe the family really can’t afford to support a young man like me.

Otherwise, why did it only sell for six taels?
Chen Yun kept comforting himself.

But then he showed a determined look.

Even if it is sold, it cannot be sold for only six taels of silver.

"This is the first moment that reflects my value in this world. It is also a farewell to the family that has given birth to and raised me for 16 years. I must sell myself for a good price!"

Chen Yun slowly stood up.

Walk to the living room.

Still no trace of mother and younger siblings.

Chen Yun probably knew it well.

It is estimated that my father came back and told my mother about it.

The mother couldn't bear it and hid away.Open the shabby wooden door.

What you can see is the black mountains and loess that stretch for thousands of miles without any grass growing on them.

Two men were standing outside the door.

One of them, a short and thin man in his thirties, wrapped in an old cotton-padded jacket covered with cloth, was Chen Yun's father.

Another man in his 50s or [-]s with slightly white temples and a well-built body was, not surprisingly, the third master.

The two of them didn't seem to expect that Chen Yun would come out of the house at this time.

Dad was a little at a loss, looked at Chen Yun with complicated eyes, and said in a weak tone: "Baby..."

Chen Yun didn't even look at him, but looked directly at the third master who was constantly sizing him up, and said calmly: "Third master, you will not suffer any loss if you spend 20 taels on me."

The third master was startled, then laughed dumbly and said, "My dear, do you know how much 20 taels is?"

Chen Yun said calmly: "You know, I pay thirty cents for a bucket of rice, and 20 taels are enough to buy 660 six buckets of rice, and I still have twenty coins left."

The third master was surprised, "You really know how to count?"

Dad was beside him and wanted to smile fawningly, but couldn't. His expression was very complicated.

Chen Yun asked: "Am I worth 20 taels of silver?"

The third master shook his head, "It's not worth knowing how to do it."

Chen Yun looked calm and said: "What if I say that I can even calculate 'chicken and rabbit in the same cage'?"

The third master said with a confused look on his face: "What is 'chicken and rabbit in the same cage'?"

Dad was also puzzled.

Chen Yunxin said, don’t you even know that “a chicken and a rabbit live in the same cage”?

The essence of chicken and rabbit in the same cage is a binary equation, which is generally studied in the fourth to sixth grade of primary school.

However, this problem that Chen Yun's primary school students could calculate in his previous life was one of the famous mathematics problems in ancient times.

For ancient people, it was a difficult mathematical problem to solve.

It can be said that people who could solve this mathematical problem in ancient society were basically advanced arithmetic talents.

I dare not say that I am a master of arithmetic, but at least I am a master.

When he thought about it carefully, he realized why the third master didn't know about "chicken and rabbit in the same cage".

Because in ancient society, arithmetic was not compulsory to learn, and it may not be used in imperial examinations. Therefore, let alone ordinary people, even scholars may not understand it.

Chen Yun thought for a while and explained: "Chicken and rabbit in the same cage means putting chickens and rabbits in the same basket, but we only know how many chickens and how many feet there are in total, and then we can calculate how many chickens and rabbits there are."

The third master looked surprised and said: "How can you calculate it when you only know the head and feet?"

Dad nodded in agreement.

Chen Yundao said: "You can think about the number of chickens and rabbits in your mind. For example, if there are ten chickens and ten rabbits, then there will be twenty poems, six or six, and then ask me based on this to see if I can answer it."

The third master thought the same thing, "That's interesting. If you can really count the number of rabbits and chickens, then it's worth spending 20 taels on it."

Chen Yun stretched out his hand and said, "Please give me a question."

The third master calculated silently in his mind for a long time, and then he slowly said: "Today there are chickens and rabbits in the same cage. There are 35 heads on top and 94 legs on the bottom. What are the sizes of the chickens and rabbits?"

After saying this, the third master looked at Chen Yun.

He wanted to see if this young man could give an accurate answer and how much time it would take to calculate.

However, what surprised the third master was that within a moment of the question being raised, Chen Yun directly answered: "Twenty-three chickens and twelve rabbits."

The third master had just calculated it in his mind for a long time and naturally knew the answer.

It's just that he didn't expect Chen Yun to answer so unexpectedly, so he couldn't help but secretly marveled, thinking that this kid's arithmetic ability was too strong.

He asked curiously: "What's the explanation?"

Chen Yun said expressionlessly: "There are two explanations."

Third Master said: "Please tell me."

Chen Yun said, "The first explanation is: put 35 heads on the top, 94 feet on the bottom. Half of the feet, get 47, reduce the more from less, and then order it, three on the top divides the four on the bottom, five on the top divides seven on the bottom, one on the bottom divides the top Three, if there are two below and five above, you will get it.”

The third master actually didn’t understand much, but he still asked: “Where is the second explanation?”

Chen Yun said: "Put the head on top, the feet on the bottom, half of the foot, divide the head with the foot, divide the head with the foot, and you have it."

The third master still didn't quite understand and pondered for a long time.

Chen Yun was not in a hurry and waited quietly.

Neither of them spoke, and Chen Yun's father naturally didn't say a word either.

At this time, he looked at his son Chen Yun with extremely complicated eyes.

Although Chen Yun's father couldn't understand the question or analysis, he could tell how difficult this arithmetic was from the way the third master frowned and thought carefully.

For a moment, the look in his eyes when he looked at his son became extremely complicated, with guilt, reluctance, and a trace of...regret.

At this moment, the third master suddenly turned his head and looked at Chen Yun's father, "Brother Chen, your baby is so smart, do you really want to sell him to me?"

Chen Yun's father regretted a little and stammered: "I...I..."

Chen Yun took the words without hesitation, "I want to sell myself to a good family, and I don't want to be buried in a mountain of bones in this life."

The third master looked at him with complicated eyes, as if he understood something, nodded slightly and said: "In that case, I will give your father 20 taels, and you follow me to Xigou City. If you can sell to a good family, I won't bury you." You have so much talent, but if you can’t sell it to a good family, it would be a good idea to stay with me as a cashier.”

That being said, in fact, after seeing Chen Yun's talent, Third Master no longer wanted to sell it to others.

Chen Yun bowed and said, "Thank you, Third Master."

After saying that, he turned around and kowtowed to the cheap father in his life, "Dad, thank you for your great kindness in raising me and your mother. Yun Yun has nothing to repay in this life. He can only exchange his body for 20 taels of silver. From now on, I, Chen Yun, will live or die." I have no more trouble with you.”

He kowtowed three times, making a "bang bang" sound.

After doing all this, Chen Yun stood up neatly and walked towards the outside of the village.

The morning glow shone on the young man's lonely body, seeming to light up the road to the future.

(End of this chapter)