"Yes." Mag smiled. He took a look at the neatly written stair-shaped table—the rows and columns were very orderly, and the handwriting was very clear. Then, he put down the pen. "It has nine rows and nine columns, so it's called the 9x9 table. Amy has already learned the basics of addition and subtraction, so it won't be very hard to learn this."
"Then what's that little cross in the middle?" asked Amy, pointing at the "x", a little confused.
"It's called the multiplication sign, and means the process of calculating by multiplying. It's simpler this way," explained Mag. He asked Amy to sit beside him and then pushed the 9x9 table towards her. "Only Father knows this 9x9 table. You only need to memorize 81 terms and learn the decimal system, and then you'll be able to handle almost all the calculations in life."
