We have numbers 8696 and 9551. Let's start adding them together.

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 6 & 1 in column 1 and get 7.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 9 & 5 in column 2 and get 14.
We'll write down the last digit 4 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 6 & 5 in column 3 and get 12.
We'll write down the last digit 2 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 8 & 9 in column 4 and get 18.
We'll write down the last digit 8 and carry the 1 to the next column.

So, 8696 + 9551 = 18247.

