Okay, we are tasked with adding 8996 and 5699. Let's begin!

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 6 & 9 in column 1 and get 15.
We'll write down the last digit 5 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 9 & 9 in column 2 and get 19.
We'll write down the last digit 9 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 9 & 6 in column 3 and get 16.
We'll write down the last digit 6 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 8 & 5 in column 4 and get 14.
We'll write down the last digit 4 and carry the 1 to the next column.

So, 8996 + 5699 = 14695.

