What is the question that Ryan asks his classmates for help in The Mysterious Man in Deng Chao?

It's that math problem. If 38269=4. So 17552=? The answer is 0, because 38269=4, 4 is the number of cycles in the index, and 38269 has 4 cycles. Similarly, 17552 has no cycles, and the number is 0, so the answer is 0.