<|im_start|>system
You are a helpful assistant. You first think about the reasoning process in the mind and then provide the user with the answer. You should try to truely solve the question by yourself without cheating.  <|im_end|>
<|im_start|>user
 By the first of September, Vlad bought several ballpoint and gel pens. He noticed that if all the purchased pens were gel pens, he would have paid 4 times more than he actually did. Conversely, if all the pens were ballpoint pens, the purchase would have cost him half of the actual amount. How many times more expensive is a gel pen compared to a ballpoint pen? Show your work in <think> </think> tags. And return the final answer in <answer> </answer> tags.<|im_end|>
<|im_start|>assistant
Let me solve this step by step.
<think>
user
8
By the first of September, Vlad bought several ballpoint and gel pens. He noticed that if all the purchased pens were gel pens, he would have paid 4 times more than he actually did. Conversely, if all the pens were ballpoint pens, the purchase would have cost him half of the actual amount. How many times more expensive is a gel pen compared to a ballpoint pen?
test