Chapter 9: Hunting the Big Rat

Chapter 9: Hunting the Big Rat

"Send for Mr. Nian."

Madame Qu made the final decision. "Go fetch the ledgers from last year's workshops in Jing County and East City. Bring the ones from October to December."

The final quarter's accounts were, by nature, the most challenging.

Many overdue transactions would rush to be recorded before the end of the year, some lacking proper documentation, others missing procedures, and even some with mismatched amounts.

Year-end accounts tested one's fundamentals rigorously.

In no time, Mr. Nian, the accountant, entered, hunched over and sweating profusely.

Standing at just five feet tall (1.66 meters), he had an inverted triangle face shape. Perhaps due to his pride as a scholar, he sported sideburns, a broad nose, and small, beady eyes that matched his face perfectly.

He resembled a rat with long goat-like whiskers.

Mr. Nian bowed and saluted to Madame Qu, revealing a bald spot on his head.

A rat with long goat-like whiskers and a bald forehead.

Xianjin He maintained a poker face as she shifted her gaze towards Lady Sun.

I really owe you one.

To pair me up with a rat!

The ledgers arrived, and Madame Qu instructed someone to bring two sets of desks and chairs, along with two sets of writing tools. She said, "Sister Jin will handle the accounts for the East City mulberry bark paper workshop, while Mr. Nian will take care of the Jing County workshop's accounts. The accounts are genuine, but the final calculations have been erased. Both of you will calculate the monthly interest using the time it takes for one incense stick to burn, seeing who can calculate more accurately and quickly."

Just calculating interest?

It was akin to a math exam.

The difficulty level dropped instantly.

Seeing the sheep-hair brush, Xianjin He silently pulled out her bamboo-tipped pen from her pocket. "Madam, may I use my own pen?"

She specialized in business studies.

She knew the brush, but the brush didn't know her.

Asking her to write complex characters like "壹贰叁肆" with a brush, which had many strokes and intricate structures, would be pointless—she'd surely hand in a sheet full of ink blots.

Madame Qu glanced at the peculiar bamboo-tipped pen, recalling the neat handwriting in the ledger. She frowned and nodded, then asked, "Shall we begin?"

Erniang Qu tiptoed to light the incense.

Begin?

Xianjin He furrowed her brow. "Madam, do we not have...?" She paused, rephrasing her question. "Abacuses?"

An abacus was a calculating tool.

Mr. Nian from across the room scoffed. "An abacus? That thing has only recently emerged; its usefulness is still unknown! It's merely a novelty. You, a young girl, have heard of such strange methods and are being presumptuous—the accounting profession isn't for everyone; it's deep waters!"

Mr. Nian felt confident of victory. "I'll give you three words to learn!"

Only recently emerged?

Xianjin He recalled her university major courses. Abacus calculation indeed originated during the Southern and Northern Song dynasties, with records dating back to the late Yuan dynasty. In Zhang Zeduan's "Prosperous Scenes Along the River During the Qingming Festival," set in the Song Dynasty, an abacus could be seen on a table in the "Zhao Taicheng's" pharmacy!

Wait, Prosperous Scenes Along the River During the Qingming Festival.

The painting depicted the streets of Tokyo, which was indeed widespread, but Tokyo was the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, the most prosperous city...

In the past, transportation was slow, letters took a long time to arrive, and one's life was enough for loving only one person—the spread of something was equally slow, taking decades...

Things popular in first-tier cities truly reached third-rate families in remote counties much later.

"So what do you usually use for calculations?"

Mental arithmetic?

Xianjin He's gaze involuntarily drifted to the rat's bald spot.

So, that's why you're bald?

Her remaining sense of propriety prevented her from asking this question aloud.

The rat, filled with self-satisfaction and servile respect, nodded towards Madame Qu first, then pulled out twenty identical sticks from his sleeve. "Thanks to Madam's blessings, aside from relying on my efforts and diligence, I cannot do without these tools for making a living."

Counting rods!

Damn!

How could she forget about counting rods!

Before the abacus became popular, the people's calculating tool was counting rods! Since the Han Dynasty, counting rods dominated for a thousand years! There were even records stating that Zu Chongzhi used counting rods to calculate pi!

Indeed, a skilled person could win with a simple gun against advanced weaponry.

Without an abacus, Xianjin He could only rely on her nine years of compulsory education and immerse herself in formulating equations, instantly recapturing the feeling of wielding power on the exam battlefield.

Unexpectedly, these ledgers weren't difficult.

Expenditures and revenues were largely fixed, indicating that the Chen family's business scope was stable. Each month's expenditures and revenues were similar, the prices of raw materials like mulberry, bamboo, and lime powder were consistent, and the quantities and types sold were roughly the same. The wages remained unchanged, suggesting that the hired workforce was long-term and stable, with no frequent turnover.

Such accounts were the easiest to calculate.

However, to He Xianjin's surprise, the monthly net profit of the mulberry bark paper workshop could reach 150 taels.

The currency in circulation during this dynasty was copper coins, with one coin being one wen, one thousand wens making up one guan, and one tael of silver equaling one guan. According to the prices in the storybook left by Chen Fu, a bowl of mutton soup cost about twenty wens. In her mind, He Xianjin set its price at fifteen modern currency units, so one guan was roughly seven hundred yuan.

One hundred fifty taels of silver equaled a pure profit of one hundred thousand yuan.

A single workshop, one month, a pure profit of one hundred thousand yuan.

The Chen family now had four workshops, and the East City workshop should have the highest pure profit. Taking into account the highs and lows, the Chen family's monthly pure income should be around three hundred thousand yuan, with an annual profit stably at over three million yuan.

An annual income of three million yuan meant that Chen Fu could barely be considered a second-generation wealthy private entrepreneur, someone who could afford a large villa but couldn't afford a Ferrari.

When He Xianjin put down the last number, she looked up to see Rat still arranging the counting rods.

Twenty small sticks formed a strange formation, pointing at He Xianjin, this arrogant monster.

Unfortunately, Mr. Rat did not belong to the category of tough guys with rifles and rice.

He Xianjin silently moved her head away and gently nodded at Qu Erniang, "Second Aunt, I'm done calculating."

Qu Erniang presented He Xianjin's ledger to Old Lady Qu.

Old Lady Qu scanned it once, her tone calm, "Mr. Nian, you don't need to calculate anymore."

Rat looked up in shock.

Old Lady Qu slowly closed the ledger, "Jin Jie'er has finished calculating. Three months, all correct."

Lady Sun let out a cry of surprise.

"She... She didn't use counting rods! Nor did she use abacus beads!" Mr. Rat refused to believe it, "How did she do it! Impossible!"

It was the multiplication table!

It was the multiplication table that defeated your sticks!

He Xianjin silently added the background music of a passionate Japanese anime in her heart.

"I did the arithmetic here," He Xianjin pointed to her head indifferently, "The formless form is the greatest form; the actionless action is the greatest action. Adapting to nature, receiving the natural, Mr. Nian lost because he was too deliberate."

She gave herself full marks for this act.

In fact, it was somewhat unfair.

People of this era had not experienced the nine-year compulsory education's beating, naturally not understanding the truth that 'he who masters mathematics rules the world' and the eighteen-year-long dominance of arithmetic over the Chinese people!

Add another four years for those who had to take advanced mathematics and linear algebra in college.

Regardless of the process, the result was that she won.

Old Lady Qu asked Lady Sun to leave first, leaving Xianjin alone. Looking at her with scrutiny and thought, she said, "...Your mother spent most of her life in Yiyuan, rarely going out. My understanding of her is indeed limited."

He Xianjin lowered her head without explanation.

Things like arithmetic and bookkeeping were something some people were born knowing.

She couldn't explain why she knew how to do them, so she remained silent.

Before He Xianjin could speak, Old Lady Qu thought for a moment and continued, "...Women often face hardships. If you're unhappy with Nian Sheng, I can find you another home when your mourning period is over? You only saw me leading the Chen family step by step upwards, but you didn't see me negotiating with the stewards, flattering the government, and scheming with buyers..."

"Lady, for this year's taxes, I suggest you pay two percent more."

He Xianjin suddenly interrupted Old Lady Qu's words.

Old Lady Qu frowned, "Hmm?"

He Xianjin slowly spoke, "In the accounts just now, the purchase price of mulberry bark was three times at three hundred wens per ten catties, four times at five hundred wens per ten catties, and eight times at seven hundred fifty wens per ten catties. For the same region, the same season, and the same buyer, the price fluctuation should not exceed fifty percent."

Controlling costs was the most commonly used means of tax avoidance.

Upon hearing He Xianjin's words, Old Lady Qu narrowed her eyes, a glint of cunning flashing through them.

He Xianjin smiled, softening her usually frail and cool demeanor, "Taxes are fiercer than tigers, and doing business naturally involves various tricks and methods - but this year is different from previous years."

"In previous years, Lord Chen was still serving as an official in Sichuan. In the political arena, we left room for each other; our family was the government's 'own people.'"

"This year, Lord Chen passed away prematurely. We don't know who those people in the political arena will become 'their own people.'"

"We also don't know if we'll be held accountable for past actions or if they'll use them against us - I think it's better for us to sacrifice small profits for greater stability."

Offering two percent more in taxes.

If officials want to boost their performance, let them do so; if they want to fill their pockets, let them do that too, as long as they don't come after us once they've left office.

He Xianjin smiled again, bowed, and said, "I am a lonely widow, and apart from the Chen family providing me with food, I have no other means of survival. I am always grateful to the Chen family, to you, and to Third Master, and I will never forget it."

Mr. Rat had a point.

Not everyone could be a bookkeeper.

Either a confidant, a direct relative, or someone brave enough to go to prison and take the blame.

Who else could she rely on besides the Chen family?

In the short span of a few moments, the look in Old Lady Qu's eyes changed three times. After a long pause, she finally spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Your Third Master is going to take office in Jing County today, and he still needs a bookkeeper. Are you willing to go?"