Working Prophet

In order to turn those four children who are still young, who don't know how to write, and who are almost as white as paper, into usable helpers, Li Yu needs to carry out some necessary training for them.

The first is to teach them number writing and simple mathematical calculations.

Because numbers are one of the important cornerstones of civilization, almost all modern natural disciplines cannot be separated from numerical operations. Especially the deeper you study, master's degree, and postdoc, the more you realize the importance of mathematics as a research tool.

Regardless of these cutting-edge scientific research fields, numbers also play an extremely important role in daily life.

Without numbers, there is no way to conduct transactions. It is difficult to express how many sheep an ax exchanges for. Even the most basic statistical work cannot be carried out.

Many civilizations on the continent of Bratis have developed to this day, and of course they also have their own number systems.

Take the most popular elf numerals at the moment as an example. Li Yu learned from Anton that this is a counting method that is very similar to Roman numerals.

Basically, you pick out a few symbols, agree that they represent different numbers, and then add or subtract them in the order of writing to get the number you want to express.

The advantage of this counting method is that you only need to learn five or six characters to write all the numbers. The disadvantage is also obvious, that is, it does not have a place value system.

In Li Yu's universe, when you write down a number, such as 219, everyone knows that the second 1 represents 10, and the first 2 actually represents 200.

However, there is no concept of place value in Elven numerals or Roman numerals. They basically just pile a bunch of symbols there, and this brings up a problem. When you look at it at first glance, it is actually I can't tell what that number actually represents.

You need to perform an operation on all the symbols present in it to get the accurate number.

This is undoubtedly very time-consuming and increases the risk of miscalculation.

Therefore, in order to carry out statistical work and perform basic calculations smoothly in the future, Li Yu did not hesitate to introduce Arabic numerals.

Ten numbers from 0 to 9 were given to four children.

Memorizing ten abstract symbols wasn't too difficult. Even Aaron, the youngest of the four, didn't take much time to write the numbers Li Yu casually reported fluently.

But after breaking through 10, and adding and subtracting are introduced, it becomes a little more challenging. Fortunately, although the number of elf symbols is troublesome, it still uses the decimal system, not the binary system like computers, or the more weird twelve and fifteen decimal systems. system.

Otherwise, Li Yu didn't know how long he would have to teach before these children could accept the decimal system again.

And when it comes to simple multiplication and division, you can clearly feel the gap in the qualifications of each child.

After Li Yu brought out the nine-nine multiplication table, which was a nightmare for elementary school students, the little girl named Nicole introduced by the old manager had been trying hard to recite it, but her progress was obviously lagging behind the other three.

She herself was obviously very anxious, and she was sweating profusely after a while. However, the more anxious she was, the worse her recitation efficiency became, and her recitation became confusing.

"Six, seven, forty-eight, seventy-seven...seventy-seven..." Nicole felt like her head was full of paste. She grabbed her hair and squatted on the ground, with frustration written all over her little face.

"Don't worry. If you can't memorize it today, just memorize it for two more days. I'll check your homework next time. It doesn't make any difference if it's earlier or later." Li Yu said.

He didn't just say this just to comfort Nicole. Li Yu's goal is not to train these four children to become mathematicians. He just hopes that they can master some basic calculations for the second and third grade of elementary school. For now, it is enough. .

The quality of qualifications is really not that important.

Moreover, if Li Yu spends one day here or three days here, there is nothing he can't afford to wait for. In contrast, he still values ​​the attitude of learning and doing things more.

He is quite satisfied with this so far. Both Nicole and the other three children are studying seriously.

Even if they don't know the use of the knowledge they have learned, just having enough to eat every day, having a holiday every five days, and getting silver coins is enough for them to work hard.

Nicole seemed not to have heard Li Yu's words. She still closed her eyes and kept repeating, "Qiqi, Qiqi..."

"Seven, seven, forty-nine."

A voice floated past Nicole's ears, and Li Yu turned around and found that the speaker was Clara.

The little maid was quite happy during this time, because the job assigned to her by Fausto was to accompany Li Yu and meet Li Yu's various needs.

What Li Yu wants is to wander around, chat with people, and ask all kinds of strange questions.

Clara could also go outside the castle with this foreigner in black clothes, bask in the sun, and smell the fragrance of the grass. While Li Yu was talking to people, the little maid would pick some flowers and plants and make them into various small animals to play with. .

Not to mention that Li Yu has to fight with Mr. Anton every time he comes. No, no, it’s in class. At this time, Clara can fish freely, so what Clara is looking forward to most now is Li Yu’s appearance.

However, in the past few days, Li Yu suddenly had a whim and taught the children not to run outside the castle. The little maid could no longer continue to mess around with women, and she was not interested in the crooked talismans on the ground. Just stood there and yawned.

Li Yu ignored her until Clara blurted out forty-nine.

In fact, the little maid regretted it after saying this. Although she didn't know why the foreigner in front of her wanted to teach such strange things, it was obvious that he was doing business at the moment, and Clara, as a maid, should not interrupt.

But seeing Nicole’s painful expression, Clara still couldn’t hold it back.

However, she was already familiar with Li Yu, so she wasn't too scared when she knew she was in trouble. She just stuck out her tongue at Li Yu in embarrassment.

Li Yu asked, "Seven or eight..."

"Fifty-six." The little maid said casually.

"Eighty-eight."

"sixty-four."

"Eighty-nine?"

"I don't know the rest of it, I didn't listen carefully."

"That's not bad, you have a good memory."

"Hehehe, Director Fausto also praised me like this." Clara puffed up her chest and said proudly.

"Then let's study together."

"Hey...that's not necessary." The little maid was frightened when she heard that she was studying. She didn't want the lazy time she had so hard to get to be wasted like this, so she explained, "I'm just a maid. I don't care about everything. I don’t understand…”

But before she finished speaking, she was interrupted by Li Yu, "Didn't Fausto tell you that you have to meet all my requirements, then I ask you to learn mathematics from me like these children, so It would be a shame to have a good memory go to waste.”

"…………"

Clara was completely dumbfounded and stood there blankly. For the first time, she deeply understood what it means to have trouble come out of your mouth.

"Don't even think about acting stupid in front of me in the future, deliberately not studying hard, then I'll tell Fausto to change my maid, you don't want such a leisurely job to disappear, do you?"

"But it is no longer leisurely." The little maid said with tears.

"I will discuss with Fausto to buy you." Li Yu said, "In this way, you will no longer have to work in the castle, and concentrate on working under me. Like them, you will work for five days and take two days off. As an adult, you will receive two silver coins per month, and you will get a scholarship if you study well."