Okay, we are tasked with adding 548 and 6438. Let's begin!

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 8 & 8 in column 1 and get 16.
We'll write down the last digit 6 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 4 & 3 in column 2 and get 8.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 5 & 4 in column 3 and get 9.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 0 & 6 in column 4 and get 6.

So, 548 + 6438 = 6986.

