Chapter 71: The Fish-Catching Problem

“Not at all, not at all, I’m really quite slow-witted and not much help with tricky questions, so I’d better pass,” Xu Mo said, waving his hand.

Zhao Han immediately replied, “Mr. Xu, if you insist on saying that, you’re being far too modest. If you’re calling yourself slow, then I must be as dull as an ox!”

Xu Mo couldn’t help but laugh. “You said it yourself, Young Master Zhao; I never said such a thing!”

Caught off guard, Ning Yongqiang burst into laughter.

“You—” Zhao Han was so put out he nearly swore aloud.

But in the end, Zhao Han restrained himself, forced a smile, and goaded Xu Mo: “So, Mr. Xu, are you admitting you’re afraid?”

Xu Mo did not deny it. On the contrary, he replied with perfect seriousness, “Exactly! I was expelled from the academy and have been gambling ever since. I haven’t touched a book in ages. All those classics and histories, the Four Books and Five Classics, I’ve forgotten them all. If you ask me about those, how could I possibly help you?”

Zhao Han quickly said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Xu. The questions I want to ask aren’t about those things—they’re just some interesting puzzles.”

“Oh?” Xu Mo looked a little surprised.

At this, Li Changsi spoke up: “Mr. Xu, don’t turn us down so quickly. Why not at least hear Zhao’s question first? If you can’t answer, it doesn’t matter. Let it be a bit of fun at the table.”

Wu Boyi, who had been silent for a while, suddenly chimed in, “Exactly, exactly! Young Master Li is right—just for amusement, that’s all. Mr. Xu, if you refuse even this, that’d be no fun at all.”

Xu Mo hesitated briefly, then nodded. “All right, I’ll play along with everyone.”

Xu Mo thought to himself that as long as the questions weren’t about literature, he was fairly confident in his answers.

Seeing Xu Mo agree, Zhao Han was overjoyed and quickly added, “Mr. Xu, before we begin we need to set some rules—otherwise, if you answer carelessly, it won’t be fun at all, will it, Young Master Li, Young Master Wu?”

Li Changsi nodded gently, while Wu Boyi nodded vigorously.

“What rules?” Xu Mo asked.

Zhao Han declared, “If Mr. Xu cannot answer, he must drink a full bowl of wine on the spot!”

As he spoke, Zhao Han set an empty bowl next to the wine jug.

At these words, even Ning Yongqiang realized Zhao Han’s true intent—he wanted to get Xu Mo drunk.

“Then what if Mr. Xu answers correctly? Will you drink too?” Ning Yongqiang countered.

“Of course! If Mr. Xu gets it right, I’ll drink a bowl as well, I swear!” Zhao Han replied at once.

“That won’t do!” Xu Mo suddenly shook his head.

Zhao Han, Li Changsi, and Wu Boyi all turned to look at Xu Mo. Ning Yongqiang also turned his head.

Xu Mo pursed his lips and said, “Young Master Zhao, this game is your idea, not mine. If I manage to answer, fine, but if I rack my brains and still fail, and all you pay is a single bowl, that hardly seems fair, does it? Besides, who knows what cunning, tricky questions you’ve prepared for me? No, no, I nearly fell into your trap—I’m not playing, I’m out!”

By the end, Xu Mo was gesturing emphatically, shaking his head.

Zhao Han grew anxious at this. After all the effort to lure Xu Mo into his scheme, he couldn’t let him escape now.

“Mr. Xu, how about this, then?” Zhao Han said earnestly. “If you answer correctly, I’ll drink three bowls in a row!”

Xu Mo considered for a moment, then shook his head again. “No! It’s not enough for you to drink alone. If you lose, all three of you must drink—three bowls each, and I get to choose the wine.”

Li Changsi and Wu Boyi exchanged glances, surprised at Xu Mo’s demand.

“How could that be? Why should Young Master Li and Young Master Wu drink?” Zhao Han protested.

Xu Mo took a bite of food and replied indifferently, “Then never mind, I don’t care for this game anyway.”

Zhao Han was unwilling to let Xu Mo slip away—he was convinced Xu Mo couldn’t answer his question. In his eagerness, he agreed: “Fine, it’s settled! If you get it right, the three of us will each drink three bowls!”

“Zhao Han, what are you saying? You can’t speak for us!” Wu Boyi complained, clearly unhappy at being dragged into Zhao Han’s wager.

Li Changsi quickly soothed Wu Boyi and smiled. “Mr. Xu, if you want us all to drink, that’s fair. But if Young Master Ning gets to sit out, isn’t that a bit unfair?”

Ning Yongqiang understood at once and declared loudly, “Don’t worry! Since I was the one who invited Mr. Xu today, I’ll stand with him—if there’s a penalty, I’ll take it too!”

“Good!” Li Changsi nodded. “But, Young Master Ning, you must drink three bowls with us if we lose.”

“Three it is! I’ve never been afraid to drink!” Ning Yongqiang replied without hesitation.

With that, he shot Xu Mo a look of confidence.

Once everything was settled, Zhao Han asked, “Mr. Xu, are you ready? I’ll give you the question now!”

Xu Mo smiled lightly. “Don’t make it too hard—I don’t want to drink.”

Zhao Han felt triumphant, thinking to himself, You’ve walked right into my trap—drinking or not is no longer up to you.

“Ahem…” Zhao Han cleared his throat. “Mr. Xu, here’s a fish-catching riddle…”

“Here it goes! There are three fathers and sons, three mothers and sons, and three brothers and sisters who went fishing. In the end, each caught one fish… So, how many fish did they catch in total?”

As soon as Zhao Han posed the question, a hint of satisfaction flickered in his eyes and at the corners of his mouth.

The next moment, he looked at Li Changsi and Wu Boyi as if to say, There’s no way he’ll get this.

When Xu Mo heard the riddle, he nearly laughed aloud. Wasn’t this an elementary school brain-teaser? Zhao Han dared use this to stump him?

Beside him, Ning Yongqiang began counting on his fingers and blurted out, “Isn’t it obvious? Nine fish!”

Qin Mutou was silently calculating as well, and hearing Ning Yongqiang’s answer, nodded in agreement—it was clearly what he thought too.

Xu Mo turned to him and said, “Young Master Ning, if you want to drink, just say so—don’t take me down with you!”

Ning Yongqiang immediately realized he’d made a mistake and hurried to correct himself, “No, no, I spoke without thinking—let me count again, count again…”

He began counting on his fingers in a show for the others, though in his mind he was puzzled. Three plus three plus three, that’s nine people, isn’t it? Each caught a fish—what else could it be but nine?

Zhao Han pressed, “Mr. Xu, what’s your answer?”

Wu Boyi added, “Yes, Mr. Xu, you dismissed Young Master Ning’s answer so quickly—what do you think it should be?”

Li Changsi, meanwhile, watched quietly, smiling.

Xu Mo smiled and answered, “Five fish.”

Zhao Han and Wu Boyi were both startled, exchanging glances in disbelief that Xu Mo had answered so quickly.

“Then tell us—why five?” Zhao Han pressed, unwilling to concede.

Xu Mo shrugged. “Isn’t it obvious? One father, one mother, with two sons and a daughter—that makes three fathers and sons, three mothers and sons, three brothers and sisters, doesn’t it?”

“That’s five people, each catching one fish—so five fish in total! Even a child wouldn’t get that wrong, would they?”

Xu Mo shook his head, breaking into laughter as he did so.