These were truly good dogs, capable of guarding the house and protecting their owners.
In no time, the two dogs had captured the hearts of many, with several people even expressing a desire to pay a hefty sum to buy them. They planned to approach the dogs' owners after the show was recorded to discuss a purchase.
The video ended just as the group descended the mountain, leaving everyone wanting more.
The host stood on stage and said, "I know you're all still eager for more, but our competition must continue. We'll play more during the next intermission. However, after witnessing Tongtong's incredible arithmetic skills, I'm sure you all want to test him live, right?"
"Yes!" everyone chimed in unison.
Videos could be faked. Only by personally witnessing Tongtong's exceptional math abilities could they be truly convinced. Otherwise, they would always suspect that the filming was staged, and Tongtong had merely memorized the answers.
Seeing the audience's desire to test Tongtong, the host turned to him and asked, "Tongtong, would you mind solving a math problem for everyone here?"
Tongtong stood up and shook his head, "Not at all!"
"Great! Then let me pose a question to test you. But I must stress to everyone here that I am not in cahoots with him, nor have I pre-arranged the answers with Tongtong. If Tongtong answers correctly, it will be entirely due to his own ability. I hope no one will doubt the authenticity!" the host addressed the audience.
This remark drew a burst of laughter from the crowd, instantly relaxing the atmosphere.
The host then asked, "What is 9658 plus 3568 multiplied by 76, minus 18674?"
As the host spoke, people in the audience quickly began calculating on their phones. Some hadn't even fully grasped the question and wouldn't have known the answer even if they'd been told.
Many had already calculated the answer using their calculators. The other contestants on stage, including the support team members, were attempting it with mental calculation, but only a few could arrive at an answer. If they were allowed to write out the steps, they could solve it, but performing such a complex calculation purely by mental arithmetic was extraordinarily difficult.
Tongtong, however, took only a few seconds before blurting out, "It equals two hundred and sixty-two thousand, one hundred and fifty-two!"
Upon hearing his answer, many shook their heads, disagreeing. Their calculations on their phones yielded a different result. The host asked the other contestants if they had managed to solve it. All of them shook their heads. While many of them were proficient in mathematics, scoring over 140 out of 150 on tests, it didn't mean their mental arithmetic was strong. Most relied on calculators or writing out the steps, which would take considerable time, let alone mental calculation.
The host then turned to the support team, and they too shook their heads. This problem was no less challenging than the one Tongtong had solved that morning. While this was a rote problem that didn't require complex problem-solving logic, it was too intricate for the mind to handle.
Finally, the host looked at the audience, knowing they had all used calculators. "Is Tongtong's answer correct?"
"No!" many in the audience replied.
"So it's revealed now! I knew your son couldn't possibly be that good at math, calculating multiplications of hundreds mentally. It turns out he pre-arranged the answers. Without the opportunity to check the answers here, he got it wrong. Clearly, his math skills aren't that great, and he deceived so many people. He should be ashamed!" Song Mama was overjoyed that Tongtong had answered incorrectly. She loved seeing others fail to solve problems, as it only highlighted her son's intelligence.
Liu Yifeng ignored her. Although he hadn't used his phone to calculate the answer, he trusted that Tongtong was correct.
Seeing that everyone had gotten the wrong answer, the host asked for their solution. The audience immediately replied, "The answer is nine hundred and eighty-six thousand, five hundred and two!" While their pronouncements varied slightly, the answers were all the same.
Here was Tongtong's answer of two hundred and sixty-two thousand, one hundred and fifty-two, and there was the audience's calculator-derived answer of nine hundred and eighty-six thousand, five hundred and two. Who was right and who was wrong? The audience's answer seemed more plausible, given they had used calculators. Calculators, barring malfunctions, do not make mistakes.
After hearing the audience's answer, the host said, "I also came up with the question just now; I don't know the answer myself. Now that there are two different answers, let's find out which one is correct by asking the judges."
The audience was utterly confident in their answer, as they had used calculators, while Tongtong had relied on his mind. Machines do not err, but the human brain is different. For such a complex problem, a single misplaced digit could lead to an incorrect answer.
Yang Yin picked up the microphone and looked at Tongtong with a gentle smile. "Tongtong, you solved the answer in such a short time. How did you do it?" Her words implied everything; Tongtong's answer was correct.
This made the audience below protest, "Our answer is clearly the correct one, so how is Tongtong's answer right?"
Yang Yin then turned to face the audience behind her and asked, "The host posed the question as 9658 plus 3568 multiplied by 76 minus 18674, correct?"
Everyone nodded, confirming it was. "Yes, we calculated the answer based on the host's question using calculators, and our answers were all the same. If anyone is wrong, it must be Tongtong, so why is he the only one right and all of us wrong?" a confused audience member sitting closest to Yang Yin asked.
Yang Yin, facing their bewilderment, smiled and said, "Did you calculate it in the order the host stated?"
"Yes, we calculated exactly as the host said. Is there something wrong with that?" the crowd questioned.
It wasn't until Yang Yin's next words that all the audience members had an epiphany, their faces flushing with embarrassment, and more so, shame. "You've all been to school, right? I believe when your teachers taught you mathematics, they must have mentioned that in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, without parentheses, multiplication and division are performed first, followed by addition and subtraction in order. The host did not specify parentheses when posing the question, so multiplication should be done first, followed by addition and subtraction. Please recalculate according to what I've said and see if the answer is the same as Tongtong's."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately recalculated in the order Yang Yin instructed. The answer was exactly the same as Tongtong's: two hundred and sixty-two thousand, one hundred and fifty-two.
Seeing the result, everyone stood up and applauded Tongtong with thunderous applause. They looked at Tongtong with immense admiration. He was truly a miracle. They could no longer find words to describe their awe of this child. They had initially suspected that the answers Tongtong gave in the video were faked, only to realize they had been the ones making a fool of themselves.