Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 169: When the Water Recedes, the Stone Finally Appears
“Although we can now confirm that there is an issue with the account books, exactly where the problem lies…”
The elderly accountant, whose hair was streaked with gray, posed another question after calming down. While the previous method had exposed the fraudulent accounts, it still could not pinpoint exactly where the falsifications had occurred.
After the elderly accountant raised this issue, everyone turned their eyes toward Zhu Ping’an. After witnessing his skills earlier, the accountants had already recognized his abilities. Now, they once again placed their hopes on him.
Of course, Zhu Ping’an did not disappoint them.
“Naturally, this method can confirm the presence of false accounts, but it can’t trace the discrepancies in inflows or outflows. However, I happen to have a method for that as well.”
As he spoke, Zhu Ping’an found a blank sheet of xuan paper on a nearby table. Then, dipping his brush into ink, he carefully drew a table on the paper—what was essentially a modern double-entry bookkeeping form.
The fraudulent books used three-legged bookkeeping. Although more developed than the simplest ledgers, it still relied heavily on single-entry recording and made it difficult to trace exactly where money had gone wrong. Compared with double-entry bookkeeping, errors and deliberate falsifications were much harder to locate and reconcile.
Thus, to accurately uncover the issues in these accounts, all that was needed was to reorganize them using modern double-entry bookkeeping, making the discrepancies immediately apparent.
These accountants were among the best in their field in ancient times. After examining Zhu Ping’an’s double-entry bookkeeping form for a while, they quickly grasped its brilliance.
“Brilliant!”
“Incredible! I dare say this bookkeeping method will one day become widespread!”
“Recording the same transaction twice in two interrelated accounts—this is ingenious! It allows for a complete understanding of each economic transaction, providing a comprehensive picture of financial activities and outcomes.”
“Amazing! This method makes it easy to conduct trial balances on account records, ensuring their accuracy.”
The accountants couldn’t contain their excitement and began applauding, their admiration overflowing.
Eager to put this newfound knowledge into practice, they immediately used Zhu Ping’an’s template to create numerous accounting tables. After asking him a few key questions, they became fully engaged, tirelessly re-recording the earliest accounts using the new method.
Whenever they encountered uncertainties, they would turn to Zhu Ping’an for clarification, their attitudes now a stark contrast to how they had treated him at the beginning.
“Quickly! Tell the kitchen to prepare a feast—the best dishes, no need to worry about the cost!” Landlord Li ordered, overjoyed.
“Young Master Zhu is truly a prodigy!” Landlord Li’s enthusiasm toward Zhu Ping’an rose sharply, and he spoke with the warmth of an elder. “Stay. You must stay and taste the best dishes my household can offer!”
The scheming young lady rolled her eyes dramatically at her father.
Meanwhile, the little maid Hua’er blushed, her face flushed with excitement, though it was unclear exactly what had thrilled her so much.
Seeing this, Zhu Ping’an realized he would not make it home for lunch, so he cupped his hands and asked Landlord Li to send someone to tell his family, lest his parents worry.
“Hmph, don’t get too proud!”
The sly girl glared at Zhu Ping’an, and her little cherry-like lips silently mouthed a few words at him.
Although Zhu Ping’an couldn’t read lips, seeing the arrogant eye roll of the sly girl, Li Shu, he knew it couldn’t be anything nice.
Really. He and this girl definitely had no compatibility. She didn’t like him, and he didn’t like her either…
The accountants worked with astonishing enthusiasm, nothing like men who had already been laboring overtime for three days. Even the gray-haired elder seemed twenty years younger. Their energy made Zhu Ping’an almost feel ashamed of his own.
The accountants were working hard, and Zhu Ping’an couldn’t stay idle either. He was frequently asked by the accountants for advice and had to move between three desks.
More than ten accountants, together with Zhu Ping’an, kept busy without pause. Zhu Ping’an deliberately stuck to Ming-era numerals and calculation methods rather than introducing Arabic numerals or other conspicuously modern techniques. Double-entry bookkeeping could still be presented as an improvement on existing methods; modern notation would be much harder to explain.
So Zhu Ping’an helped using the Ming Dynasty’s own calculation methods. His abacus work was still clumsy enough to earn plenty of teasing from Li Shu, but the accountants thought nothing of it, smiling and assuring Young Master Zhu that practice made perfect.
The hot food had been brought a long time ago, but the accountants had no intention of stopping. Even after Landlord Li asked his servants to invite them twice, they still didn’t stop working.
The food had gone cold, so Landlord Li waved his hand for the servants to take it back to the kitchen to reheat.
“Hahaha… Found it… There’s a big problem with this entry, 1,230 taels, 5 qian, 4 fen, and 4 li of outflow…”
“I also found one, Wang Xiaoer received salt silver of 7,459 taels, 5 qian, 3 fen, 2 li, but it doesn’t match the account…”
“I found two places here…”
“This is wrong, there’s a big mistake here…”
The accountants excitedly pointed out the flaws in the accounts. Each one of them had dark circles under their eyes, yet they were as excited as a cat who saw fish.
Upon hearing this, Landlord Li shook his plump body and walked over with large strides, making the floorboards creak under his weight.
“Good, good! Old Wang, Old Wang, write these down!” Landlord Li cried, his face flushed with anger and excitement as he ordered Accountant Wang to record each problem they found.
Old Wang?
Zhu Ping’an gave Accountant Wang a strange look. “Old Wang next door” immediately came to mind, and Li Shu glanced over curiously at his expression.
At this point, the food had already been reheated twice.
The accountants still refused to stop and wanted to continue checking the accounts for the other years. However, at this moment, a clear “gū~~~” sound was heard.
The accountants looked in the direction of the sound.
“Hehe, I’m ashamed, my stomach is protesting…” Zhu Ping’an explained with a calm smile, completely at ease and without a trace of embarrassment.
The accountants couldn’t help but laugh along with him, not in a mocking way, but with genuine warmth.
“We’ve been inconsiderate, haha, let’s eat first and continue later,” the gray-haired accountant said with a kind smile, suggesting that they have their meal.
The suggestion to eat from the old accountant was unanimously accepted.