More than ten accountants are also suffering in silence. They’ve been auditing the accounts for three days, and aside from meal times, they haven’t had a chance to drink a single drop of water. They’ve been working overtime, but so far, they’ve only managed to audit less than a third of the account books. Each account book, each figure, is verified by two people, using abacuses to calculate, ensuring that every entry is accurate and without any errors.

However, so far, they haven’t found any problematic account books.

So, when the wealthy Master Li urges them to hurry up, these accountants can only complain silently, tapping the abacus furiously.

“Father, are they competent?” The scheming young girl Li Shu glanced at the accountants tapping the abacus and pouted as she asked Master Li.

“They are definitely competent. This is the best batch of accountants in Huaining County.” Master Li looked back at the ten or so accountants and answered his precious child.

“Then why has it been three days and they still haven’t found a single problematic account?” The scheming young girl Li Shu didn’t trust her father’s words.

“It’ll be done soon, soon.” Master Li comforted her.

“Not again! I don’t want to hear that!” The scheming young girl covered her ears, pouted, and sat aside, ignoring her father.

“My little ancestor, please wait a little longer.” Master Li wiped the sweat off his forehead in a panic.

Seeing this scene, the accountants felt immense pressure. Each one buried their head in the accounts, not daring to slack off for a moment. The more seriously they checked, the more they felt that the account books were flawless. The books were so meticulously done, they were even more formal than real account books, with no gaps to be found.

If it weren’t for Master Li paying a large sum of money, the accountants would surely think that Master Li was playing a trick on them with real account books.

Master Li continued to try to comfort his precious child, calling her “little ancestor” and ordering someone to bring over ice to cool down the room, while others fetched some fruits and snacks from the kitchen. Finally, he managed to get his precious child to pay attention to him.

Once she was pacified, Master Li remembered the account books and grew frustrated. He hurried over to the accountants and asked about the progress.

“Master Li, please wait for a moment,”

The accountants apologized and asked Master Li to wait. Then, three groups of accountants gathered their data, double-checked it, and compared it once more.

After about ten minutes, the accountants, each with a bitter smile, selected an elderly accountant with graying hair to report.

“Master Li, after thorough verification and calculation by us old folks, as of now, we’ve audited a year’s worth of accounts. The books are clear and precise, and the income and expenses balance. The entries are consistent and match up. So far, no issues have been found.”

The elderly accountant stood up and reported the results, his tone tinged with helplessness.

“No issues found?” Master Li, still skeptical, raised two fingers, his emotions a little stirred. “The business this year is much better than previous years, yet the surplus is about 20% lower than in previous years…”

“But from the books, we truly haven’t found any problems,”

The elderly accountant said with a bitter smile.

“Check again, go back and check again. I don’t believe there’s nothing wrong with the books.” Master Li waved his fat hand, urging the accountants to return and audit once more.

The accountants, looking helpless, had no choice but to start over. They had already spent three days auditing a year’s worth of books. When would this end? They didn’t know if they could still return the payment to Master Li in time…

The sound of abacuses clacking in the study grew dense again.

The accountants reported numbers, clicked abacuses, cross-checked, and wrote down entries. They threw themselves back into the task, sweating and grumbling as they worked.

The accountants gradually reached a state of being completely absorbed in their work, lost in the sea of numbers.

No one noticed a young boy walking out from behind the bookshelf, and no one paid attention to him casually pulling out a ledger from a large stack of verified accounts.

Amid the clattering sounds of the abacus, the boy casually flipped open the ledger in his hands.

Then, a voice, completely out of sync with the sounds of the abacus and the counting, rang out. The words were clear, articulated precisely, and very distinct, so everyone could hear.

“This is a fake account.”

The phrase “This is a fake account”… the tone was so confident, so unquestionable.

This sentence, in the noisy study, was as clear as a thunderclap, so loud that even the sound of the abacus stopped.

With that one sentence, everyone’s breathing tightened.

Who was it? Which one of the accountants had discovered the flaw in the ledger so powerfully?

There was no warning, no hesitation, and suddenly, you appeared in my world, bringing me surprise and emotions beyond control…

Finally, the flaw was found. After a long career of checking accounts, the light of dawn finally appeared.

No one was clicking the abacus anymore, no one was reporting the numbers, no one was calculating, and no one was recording. All eyes turned toward the person who had just spoken.

Then, everyone couldn’t help but feel like cursing.

What appeared before everyone was a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old, wearing a blue robe, slinging a strange cloth bag, and holding a ledger…

But that wasn’t the main point. The real point was that this boy gave off a feeling of being a bit silly.

Not the accountant, but rather a mischievous troublemaker… no, a troublemaking brat!

The accountants muttered various annoyed, negative sounds.

When Master Li, the rich man, heard someone say, “This is a fake account,” he quickly turned his round head, causing his melon-shaped hat to fly off. He was so excited—his chosen accountant was truly impressive.

But when he turned his head, his excitement quickly faded, and an expression of anger replaced it. What was going on? I let you borrow the book, and even if you’re ungrateful, that’s fine. But why are you making trouble?

Before Master Li could speak, someone else had already voiced their thoughts.

“Ah, Zhu Ping’an, what are you causing trouble for? A mere scholar, and you’re acting all high and mighty. You really think just because you can read, you can understand the accounts? The professional accountants have been checking for three days and found nothing, but you’ve only glanced at it and figured out it’s a fake account? Don’t you fear your tongue getting twisted by the wind?”

The calculating, scheming girl scolded Zhu Ping’an with disdain, mocking him in every possible way.

The maid, Hua’er, looked at Zhu Ping’an, both blaming him and feeling a bit worried. You bad person, what trouble are you causing? If you angered the master, how will you ever borrow books again?

“These young people really don’t know the world’s boundaries. It’s one thing to be able to read, but being able to read doesn’t mean you understand the business codes in the ledger. It’s a far cry from the words you know.”

An accountant glanced at Zhu Ping’an and couldn’t help but mock him.

Then another accountant laughed, saying, “This young lad probably thinks the ledger is a fake because he doesn’t understand the business codes. Ha ha ha, it’s so funny, I could laugh my stomach off…”

After this accountant spoke, others felt it made sense, and soon the study filled with laughter.

A toad!

Trying to show off!

Making a fool of himself!

The calculating girl, Li Shu, gave Zhu Ping’an a fierce glare.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep