This paper examines the bamboo manuscript Suan shu shu 筭數術 (Writings on Mathematical Procedures) from Zhangjiashan 張家山 tomb 247 (sealed ≥ 186 BCE) for evidence of multiple scribal hands. The Suan shu shu presents a particularly interesting case study in this regard in that it is one of the few manuscripts from this period to feature the signatures of 'checkers' (chou 讎), the three of which were presumably responsible for the quality of textual (re)production. Presenting our methodology, we explain how we distinguished two separate hands operative in the body and section headings of the manuscript. From there, we present the peculiar case of the section 'Shao guang' 少廣 (Reduced Width), where we see the two hands alternate back and forth between question and answer, leading us, in the conclusion, to suggest the possibility that this manuscript is a teaching document reflecting a master–disciple exchange.