Love to the Bone
Su Li spoke very seriously, and Xiao Zetian listened attentively. Su Li noticed that Xiao Zetian's memory and comprehension were incredible; she only explained once, and he remembered and understood it.
"Hmm, according to what my wife said, this way of counting is indeed much simpler." Xiao Zetian nodded. He had to admit that Su Li's new math system greatly simplified the complexity of writing with Chinese characters.
"You're just starting out, so you only think these numbers and math symbols simplify writing, but as you learn more, you'll see that math symbols have much deeper uses you haven't learned yet." Su Li tilted her head and casually said, "Let me demonstrate. For example, if you use the old method to calculate 1,259 times 136."
As she spoke, Su Li handed the abacus to Xiao Zetian.
Xiao Zetian clicked the abacus rapidly with one hand and then announced the result: "One hundred seventy-one thousand two hundred twenty-four."
Su Li hummed and took the abacus away, asking, "If you don't use the abacus, how would you calculate it?"
Xiao Zetian chuckled awkwardly, "Without an abacus? How could you calculate such a large number?"
"Simple! Watch." Su Li first wrote the problem on paper using Arabic numerals and math symbols: 1259×136=?
Then she said to Xiao Zetian, "I don't need an abacus; I just need to write down a vertical format and I can calculate the answer."
"Oh?!" Xiao Zetian suddenly became more interested. He watched Su Li write the two numbers in a strange way on paper, then write a long column from top to bottom that he couldn't understand, and finally calculate 171,224 on the paper.
"Amazing! Wife, how did you do that?" Xiao Zetian looked at the string of numbers in surprise.
Su Li smiled and said, "It's called multiplication using Arabic numerals and math symbols. It’s a new method of calculation that’s much faster than the abacus."
"Little one!" Xiao Zetian looked at her spirited appearance, utterly loving her to the bone!
Xiao Zetian gazed at Su Li's tender, glistening red lips and her bright, shining eyes. He swallowed hard, unable to resist leaning in for a kiss—only to be interrupted as Bai Lu entered the room carrying a late-night snack.
Bai Lu entered and saw Su Li sitting on Xiao Zetian's lap. She instantly blushed a deep red, covered her eyes with one hand, hurriedly set down the snack, and rushed out saying, "I didn't see anything!"
Su Li's ears turned bright red as she pretended to be serious, saying, "I'm hungry, I want to eat something."
Xiao Zetian licked the corner of his mouth and said, "Wife, I'm hungry too..."
Su Li hummed twice, pretending not to understand, then stuffed a custard bun into Xiao Zetian's mouth, saying, "If you're hungry, eat the buns!"
Xiao Zetian's gaze immediately landed on the two plump custard buns in front of Su Li. "Wife, I want to eat these two buns," he said.
"You! Hmph, don't disturb me while I'm eating!" Su Li blushed as red as a cooked shrimp, twisted her waist, turned away, and ate by herself, ignoring Xiao Zetian.
Xiao Zetian smiled warmly at his little wife, personally served her a bowl of porridge, and after she ate her fill, wiped her mouth with a cloth. Then, he pulled out a letter from his pocket and waved it, saying, "Wife, guess what good news I brought back."
"Oh, good news? Is it from Xiao Yun?" Su Li's eyes lit up. "Is everything going well with the granary? Has anyone discovered or suspected anything?"
Xiao Zetian smiled with full adoration, pulling Su Li into his arms and gently tapping her forehead. "Marrying such a clever woman means nothing can be hidden from her. Here, Xiao Yun's letter—take a look. He says everything is progressing smoothly, and he expects to finish the task in about a month. By then, our granaries will be spread across the whole country. When the autumn harvest comes this year, the grain stored in our granaries will likely equal nearly half the national granary reserves."