Chapter 13: Chaotic Accounts

Chapter 13: Chaotic Accounts

Stunned in place, Zhu Ganglie's programmed smile hadn't fully receded from his face.

Xianjin's tone was stern. "Let's go. Manager Zhu, lead the way."

Her manner brooked no argument.

Like a nail plunging straight down, intent on piercing through Zhu Ganglie's meager courage.

Zhang Pozi had never seen such a resolute Xianjin, and she involuntarily drew a breath, holding it.

Zhu Ganglie subconsciously tried to smile, only to realize he was already smiling, unable to widen it further, making his expression somewhat odd. "But...that might not be appropriate. Third Master hasn't even arrived yet. Is it proper for you to go?"

"Then we'll ask Third Master if he wants to come along?"

Xianjin turned and headed toward the main house.

"No, no, no!"

Zhu Ganglie hurriedly blocked Xianjin's path.

A myriad of thoughts raced through his mind, and he made a swift decision. "If Accountant He wishes to go, then go ahead...you were sent by the old master, equivalent to what? An imperial envoy! Wanting to review the accounts, isn't that proper? There's no need to disturb Third Master over such a trivial matter. He's already unwell; let him rest—let him rest—"

By the end of his speech, Zhu Ganglie's tone had clearly softened.

Xianjin glanced at him, hands behind her back, chin raised. "Then let's go."

Her tone remained firm.

She had to be firm.

Firstly, she was a woman; secondly, she was new here; thirdly, she wasn't surnamed Chen.

If she showed any hint of weakness, people would immediately take advantage.

The shop was around the corner from the "Chen Residence." After turning left out the door and walking about a hundred meters, they arrived.

The shop was located right in the middle of Shuixi Street, backed by Tianhuang Creek. Under the arch bridge, black-roofed boats lowered their masts to pass through the bridge hole. Beside "Chen Ji Paper Shop," the relay station handled official documents, while across the street was a Hu Bing stall and a pharmacy. The bustling crowd suggested this was a prosperous area of Jing County.

Seeing Xianjin stride into the shop, Zhu Ganglie wiped the sweat from his forehead, turned away, and beckoned an apprentice. "...Quickly fetch your Sixth Master! To the shop!"

As soon as Zhu Ganglie entered the store, he saw Xianjin roughly measure the floor tiles with her feet, then heard her murmur, "...each tile is eighteen inches square, twelve tiles wide, nine and a half tiles long..."

Xianjin looked up. "A square three feet, the length of the shop is twenty-one feet, width seventeen feet, totaling forty squares."

That was just over four hundred square feet.

Not very large.

Zhu Ganglie restrained his trembling hand.

How fast she calculated!

How did she do it?

It was almost as if it came out spontaneously!

At this speed, calculating the ledger? It was better to calculate how much longer he had to live!

Xianjin placed her hands behind her back and surveyed the room—around twenty stacks of paper were scattered throughout, the smell of grass and wood stronger than in Old Lady Qu's Ricinus Communis Hall, mingled with the scent of alkali. Several cabinets were haphazardly placed in the corners, their doors slightly ajar, likely containing more valuable paper. On top of the cabinets sat a few incense-burning twin-eared furnaces, emitting wisps of smoke.

Xianjin's gaze fell on those incense burners.

Zhu Ganglie quickly stepped forward. "...I bought these copper incense burners specifically, they're elegant and beautiful in our shop. If you like them, I'll buy you a new one, oh no! I'll buy you a silver one! How about that?"

Xianjin withdrew her gaze. "Burning incense where paper is stored, looking for death?"

Any spark could ignite a bonfire.

Others would watch the party; they would be the firewood.

Zhu Ganglie paused, then declared with righteous indignation, "Exactly! I warned Sixth Master early on not to do such pretentious nonsense. He insisted on his own way, throwing caution to the wind, acting alone..."

He sold out his ally, displaying his wit and alertness.

After being glanced at by Xianjin, Zhu Ganglie silently shut his mouth, moved aside to make way, and introduced Xianjin warmly, "...inside is our Chen family's paper workshop, overseen by Manager Li. His mother broke her leg in the courtyard two days ago, so he took three days off, returning the day after tomorrow...would you like to take a look?"

As he spoke, he kicked away a stool blocking the passage, muttering, "Old Man Li doesn't clean up properly..." He smiled warmly at Xianjin. "Old Man Li is a rough man, papermaking is a rough job, our workshop's profits don't match the others. I secretly suspect it's because Old Man Li's papermaking skills aren't good—the quality of the paper determines its success. Good paper, good business, how could it not be good?"

Not only did Manager Zhu sell out his ally, but he also excelled at pinning blame behind their backs.

Old Man Li was truly innocent, sitting at home while a pot descended from the sky.

Xianjin waved her hand. "Let's look at the accounts first. When Manager Li returns, have him introduce Third Master to the process."

Zhu Ganglie hastily nodded. "Yes, yes, yes! Let's handle the important matters first." With a wave of his hand, he instructed two attendants to bring up the account books.

"Not those."

Xianjin deftly circled the counter, bent down, and felt her way to two new books on the second shelf, one labeled "December, Zhaode Thirteenth Year, Receipts," the other "December, Zhaode Thirteenth Year, Expenditures."

Xianjin took out a reed pen, waving the account books, implying something. "I'll look at the new accounts first, then calculate the old ones."

It was common for businesses to keep two sets of books.

Old Lady Qu, who had supported the Chen family for half her life, couldn't find anything wrong with Jing County's accounts, indicating the ledgers were well-prepared—apart from poor profitability, everything else was in order.

What Zhu Ganglie showed her must have been the set of accounts.

The wily old Madam Qu couldn't see through the books either; how could Xianjin do so in such a short time?

She wasn't blindly confident about herself.

It was better to choose to check the recent accounts.

For the accounts of the past month, they wouldn't have had enough time to cook the books.

They might not find any major discrepancies, but it would give them a rough idea of the shop's true financial state.

Zhu Ganglie's mind raced, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Was there a shortfall in the accounts for the twelfth lunar month?

There shouldn't be... a significant shortfall, right?

Generally, year-end accounts were subject to scrutiny. Mr. Chen Liu wouldn't dare to manipulate the accounts too much, let alone Zhu Ganglie.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Zhu Ganglie let out a long breath in relief. He noticed that the girl wore a simple wooden hairpin, her face pale without makeup, dressed in a dark crimson hemp jacket with frayed cuffs that had turned white from wear, indicating that she had worn it for a long time.

Looking at her like this, one wouldn't think this woman was actually a demoness.

Last night, he must have been senile to think that this woman was delicate and soft...

He didn't know how long he had been staring when the demoness put down her reed pen and frowned, gazing intently.

Zhu Ganglie hurriedly asked, "Any mistakes?"

The demoness nodded.

Zhu Ganglie's heart clenched. "Is the discrepancy large?"

The demoness, or rather, Xianjin shook her head. "It's off by three cash coins."

Whew—

One could hear the sound of Zhu Ganglie exhaling in relief, even through the drafty room.

"Only three cash coins?" Zhu Ganglie visibly relaxed. "Let me make up for it. If I add these three cash coins, will the accounts for the twelfth lunar month balance out?"

Xianjin's expression became indescribable.

An accountant wasn't afraid of a discrepancy of ten thousand, but of a single coin.

Using the principle that funds used equals funds sourced, every coin of the funds sourced must match the funds used to balance the accounts, proving that the accounts are clear and correct. Sometimes, when accounts are wrong, a discrepancy of ten thousand is easier to trace than a single coin, which requires the accountant to review the entire ledger to determine if there was an error in calculation or in the account itself.

Regardless of how times change, this principle should never be altered.

How could the manager of such a large paper shop be ignorant of this basic knowledge? Was he actually planning to use his own money to cover the shortfall?

Xianjin's expression soured.

She could imagine just how messy the previous accounts must have been. There was certainly a shortfall, and it wouldn't be small.

"Making up for three cash coins?" Mr. Chen Liu arrived, panting, and shot a glare at Zhu Ganglie. "You ignorant fool!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a roll of bills from his sleeve pocket.

"Accountant He came all the way here to Jing County through difficult roads, and you talk about three cash coins?"

Mr. Chen Liu placed the neatly rolled bills next to Xianjin's hand and smiled kindly. "Accountant He, tell me, does this amount of silver balance out this account?"