After Descending the Mountain, Seven Big Brothers Spoil Me - Chapter 1026

Chapter 1026: Missing Two Disciples
Zhouzhou had just returned home after school. She was about to open her schoolbag to start on her homework when she noticed an elderly man sitting on the sofa, chatting with Grandpa Qin.

At first, she thought the old man was a friend of Grandpa Qin’s. But when the elderly man saw her, his eyes brightened, and he waved at her.

Zhouzhou tilted her little head in confusion and looked at him.

Grandpa Qin smiled and introduced, “Zhouzhou, come over here. This is Professor Xiao, the head of the competition you participated in.”

“Don’t flatter me, don’t flatter me.” Elder Xiao shook his head. “I’m retired. I’m no longer a professor. Zhouzhou, right? You can call me Grandpa Xiao.”

“Grandpa Xiao, hello!” Zhouzhou said cheerfully.

“Hello, Zhouzhou.” Elder Xiao smiled so widely that his eyes almost disappeared. He motioned for Zhouzhou to come closer and, looking at her, couldn’t help but turn to Grandpa Qin and say, “Old Qin, your little granddaughter is really cute.”

Though he said it in an affectionate tone, he had only just met Grandpa Qin. After all, he had been immersed in academics all his life, while Grandpa Qin had been involved in business, so their interactions were few.

But trying to win over someone’s grandchildren with a few compliments was hardly an unusual tactic.

Grandpa Qin also chuckled. He knew Elder Xiao was trying to get on his good side, but hearing praise for his little granddaughter still made him happy.

Zhouzhou was indeed quite adorable.

She cupped her small face with her hands and smugly shook her little head.

Just like her mommy!

Elder Xiao glanced at the boys behind her, who seemed to be in a hurry, and curiously asked, “Which one is Qin Er?”

Hearing this, Zhouzhou shook her head. “Brother Dafu is out setting up his stall.”

“Setting up a stall?” Elder Xiao was momentarily confused, wondering if he had misheard.

“Yes,” Zhouzhou nodded. “Brother Dafu sets up a stall every day, but he’s been coming back earlier these days. He’ll be back soon to do his homework.”

Qin Er could distinguish between big money and small change. Recently, he had been only setting up his stall during recess, and now, he was just a little late because he had been called by a few classmates who wanted to buy things from him.

Just then, Qin Er walked in with his bag on his back.

Everyone’s gaze shifted to him.

It was the first time Qin Er had received such attention. He paused in his actions of changing his shoes and asked in confusion, “What’s going on?”

Zhouzhou waved at him. “Brother Dafu, this grandpa is looking for you. He said… he said…”

Zhouzhou turned to Grandpa Qin for help.

Grandpa Qin repeated Elder Xiao’s introduction.

As soon as Qin Er heard it, he immediately understood.

Having participated in many competitions, he had accumulated considerable experience. Understanding the mindset of the examiners was of paramount importance, so knowing the names of the people behind the competition was quite normal.

He was just a little surprised that Elder Xiao had come to his house.

With that, Qin Er wasted no time and quickly walked over to greet the old man respectfully. “Good day, Elder Xiao.”

“Good, good, good.” Elder Xiao’s smile became even wider as he looked at them.

It must be said, good looks were an advantage. The Qin family certainly didn’t have any unattractive members. Looking at Zhouzhou and Qin Er, Elder Xiao felt nothing but joy.

He explained the purpose of his visit. “I saw your exam papers and thought you were both really impressive, so I came to take a look at you.”

As he spoke, his gaze lingered on Zhouzhou for a moment longer.

In fact, he was more interested in Zhouzhou’s unique way of solving problems with the Eight Trigrams, but Qin Er was also exceptional, and he liked him too.

He smiled gently and looked at them. “Would you two be interested in solving a few problems for me?”

“Sure!” Zhouzhou answered without hesitation, nodding her little head. “We were just about to do some problems.”

“Well then, great.” Elder Xiao said, “Let’s go to the study.”

“Okay.” Elder Xiao nodded, looking excited.

Grandpa Qin gave Qin Lie a meaningful look. Qin Lie understood immediately and quickly moved the exercise books Zhouzhou and Qin Er had been working on lately to the study.

Elder Xiao was a top-tier mathematician in the country, and for him to come personally to visit meant he was truly interested in his grandchildren.

Who would turn down an opportunity to get closer to someone like him?

The study was large, with each child having their own desk, making it easy for them to do their homework.

Zhouzhou’s desk was the smallest, but she had the most books stacked on it, piled higher than her little head.

Elder Xiao casually flipped open one of the books, and his eyes lit up more and more as he skimmed through it.

He glanced at Zhouzhou and asked, “Zhouzhou, how long have you been practicing Olympiad math?”

Zhouzhou counted on her fingers and then showed him two fingers. “Fifty-six days.”

Fifty-six days—that was just under two months. And she had already managed to secure second place in the entire city.

For a moment, Elder Xiao was so excited that his hands trembled slightly.

What kind of talent was this?

It wasn’t just talent, but also effort. You could tell just by looking at how many problems she had solved.

Elder Xiao had also mentored many students in the past, training them for competitions. Besides logical thinking, speed was also crucial. This required extensive practice with a large volume of problems.

The exercises on Zhouzhou’s desk would have taken his students about six months to complete, but Zhouzhou had finished them in less than two months.

And her accuracy rate was high too.

Thinking of this, he grew even more excited.

Regaining his composure, he didn’t speak immediately. Instead, he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it, and said, “Take a look at these problems.”

There were only five problems, but they involved a great deal of calculation and covered a wide range of knowledge.

Zhouzhou and Qin Er each picked up their pens and began writing.

Qin Er was already accustomed to this kind of problem. His fingers moved quickly across the paper, writing down the equations before starting to calculate.

Zhouzhou also wrote out the problems and then began to draw the Eight Trigrams.

Elder Xiao watched from the side. He saw Zhouzhou draw one trigram, flip a coin, and then use her little chubby hand to press the answer onto the paper.

He suddenly understood why some teachers had suspected Zhouzhou of cheating.

The answers did indeed look like they were “calculated.”

But after watching for a while, he was convinced that his original thoughts were correct.

This wasn’t fortune-telling. Zhouzhou was really solving the problems, just in the form of the Eight Trigrams.

His gaze shifted to Qin Er, and he nodded in satisfaction.

Qin Er’s approach was a typical example of competition-level thinking. He could break down problems with clarity, and each step he took was stable and accurate.

Time passed minute by minute, and after more than an hour, they both finished.

Qin Er finished the last number, checked his work, and handed the paper to Elder Xiao.

Elder Xiao had been watching the entire process, so he was already familiar with the correct answers.

He began grading Qin Er’s paper and noticed one small mistake. Elder Xiao explained the solution to him and also pointed out a problem where Qin Er had been stuck. He then showed him a more optimal way to solve it.

Qin Er listened attentively, his eyes lighting up as he quickly corrected the mistake.

Elder Xiao nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Zhouzhou, noticing that there was one big problem left on her paper that she had left blank. He asked with some confusion, “What’s wrong? Did you not know how to do this one?”

Zhouzhou looked at him with a blank expression, scratching her head, and sheepishly said, “I haven’t learned this yet.”

Qin Er glanced at her and helped explain. “This is a function. Zhouzhou hasn’t learned it yet.”

Functions were taught in middle school, and Zhouzhou had only completed the elementary school curriculum with Qin Ren. The Olympiad this time had gone deeper into the material, but topics beyond the elementary curriculum hadn’t been covered yet.

“I see.” Elder Xiao nodded, understanding now.

“Would you like me to explain it to you?” he asked.

“Sure, sure!” Zhouzhou nodded eagerly, her little arms crossed in front of her, her back straight. She looked like a serious student, and Elder Xiao couldn’t help but smile.

He went on to explain the key concepts in the problem.

After listening to the explanation, Zhouzhou nodded thoughtfully, and after five minutes of processing, she picked up her pen and started working on the problem.

When she got stuck on one step, she paused.

Elder Xiao looked over but said nothing. He wanted to see how Zhouzhou would handle it.

Zhouzhou stared at the problem for a while and then started drawing another Eight Trigram.

At first, Elder Xiao didn’t understand, but as he looked at the equations Zhouzhou wrote down, he suddenly burst out laughing.

This little girl was extraordinary! She was so smart, she could deduce formulas on her own.

Looking at her other problems, those within her knowledge range, she was able to solve them with the different method.