HLnovel Chapter 21 4-Column Accounting
Chapter 21 4-Column Accounting
The questioning tone in Li Lan's words displeased Xu Youshan.
Li Lan chuckled and said, "Li Lan is just a scholar, not knowledgeable in state affairs or governance, so how would I know anything about accounts? However, General Lin has entrusted the matter of raising funds for the Azure Cloud Fruit to me and Ruoxue, so we must raise enough silver... Ruoxue, why don't you take a look at the accounts yourself?"
Li Lan didn't really want to meddle in other people's business. He could pretend he didn't see how much money Xu Youshan had embezzled from the Lin family... But, what could he do when he was short of money?
Lin Zheng wants to buy Qingyun Fruit, and this is his opportunity!
Therefore, we must find enough money!
Lin Ruobing was puzzled, but she thought Li Lan was full of tricks, so she nodded and said, "Let's take a look."
Seeing this, Xu Youshan's face turned even colder, and he said, "Alright, then young master and young lady, please come with me."
Not long after.
Accounting office of Lin's Cloth Shop.
Xu Youshan had all the account books brought up, a jumbled mess piled up like a mountain. He sneered and said, "Young master, young lady, please!"
Audit?
He smiled.
Although the General of the State's mansion held high positions and power, and had many martial arts masters, in his eyes they were all just a bunch of good-for-nothings.
The Lin family simply doesn't have any talent in this area!
Otherwise, how could he have managed to stay in Lin's Cloth Shop for so many years? As a cloth shop owner, he bought three large houses in the capital, took twelve concubines, and even had annual contracts with brothels... Lin Zheng was well aware of these circumstances.
However, firstly, he was Xu Yanrong's brother, and secondly, because the people in the Lin family didn't know how to do accounts, he was able to thrive.
He had heard of Li Lan's reputation these past few days, but if it were anything else, he could let it go. But when it came to account books, one could not understand the intricacies without years of immersion in them. Even if Li Lan truly possessed extraordinary talent and wisdom, it would be useless to him!
"How...how do I interpret this?"
Sure enough, Lin Ruobing picked up a few ledgers, and after flipping through them a few times, she already felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.
The thought of taking over these things in the future made her feel incredibly uneasy!
She really doesn't understand!
Seeing this, Li Lan smiled and casually picked up an account book and flipped through it.
After only a few glances, Li Lan felt a chill in her heart.
The cloth shop's ledgers are all about daily transactions, with numerous income and expenditure items. As a result, the accounts become increasingly chaotic, making it extremely difficult to reconcile them. However, Li Lan had studied some bookkeeping methods in her previous life because she wanted to take the accounting exam.
He quickly did a mental calculation and discovered that there was a problem with the ledger. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Yueran, bring the abacus."
Yue Ran couldn't help but wonder, "Does the young master know this?" She handed Li Lan an abacus, and Li Lan immediately started calculating.
Seeing this, Xu Youshan was slightly surprised. How could Li Lan, this useless son-in-law, know this?
Li Lan acted swiftly, and soon said coldly, "Manager Xu, there is a discrepancy of seventy taels of silver in this ledger. The accounts don't match!"
Xu Youshan frowned, pretended to take the ledger, looked it over, and said, "Oh... there seems to be some problem with this ledger, but the accounts of the cloth shop are so numerous, it's normal for there to be some minor flaws from time to time, son-in-law."
"Besides, it's only a few dozen taels of silver! Young master, are you going to accuse Xu of falsifying accounts based on just a few dozen taels of silver inflow and outflow?!"
Instead of feeling guilty, he said confidently, "Ruoxue, I am your uncle!"
Lin Ruobing frowned slightly, remained silent, and looked at Li Lan.
Li Lan sneered, "Fine, then I'll check all the ledgers here and see what's really going on with the cloth shop's business!"
After saying that, he really buried himself in organizing the account books.
Xu Youshan's face darkened upon seeing this.
The ledgers here are numerous and very difficult to manage, but since Li Lan is truly knowledgeable in the field, if he persists, he will eventually discover the problem.
"Alright, since you like doing accounts, then take your time! Hehe, just don't blame me for delaying the purchase of Qingyun Fruit!"
"I have important matters to attend to, so I won't keep up with your antics, son-in-law!"
After saying that, he simply turned and left.
After he left.
"Li Lan!"
Lin Ruobing was a little annoyed and said, "Now is not the time to settle accounts. There are so many ledgers. By the time you finish settling them, it will be a long time before we go to buy Qingyun Fruit."
Li Lan said calmly, "If you don't clear the accounts, where will the money come from? If you're in a hurry, you can go find the seller of the Qingyun Fruit first. I'll figure out a way to get the money."
Lin Ruobing sighed helplessly. She wasn't very good at these mundane matters to begin with. She had originally hoped that Li Lan could help out, but now that she saw Li Lan so engrossed in these accounts, she couldn't help but feel secretly annoyed. She gritted her teeth and said, "Fine!"
After saying that, she left.
"Young master, Miss is right. With so many account books, how long do you plan to take to sort them out?"
Only Yue Ran remained in the accounting office, and she was also somewhat worried.
"Yueran, your son-in-law knows magic tricks. He can sort out all these ledgers in a single day. Do you believe it?"
Yue Ran looked at Li Lan, thought about it seriously for a moment, and then surprisingly nodded: "I believe you."
Li Lan: "..."
When did this girl start trusting me so much?
"Okay, then you're in charge of reading these accounts to me."
Li Lan picked up his pen and handed the ledger to Yue Ran.
Yue Ran was puzzled, but she still read it to Li Lan very quickly, as Li Lan's pen moved like the wind.
Planning to settle accounts? That's just to mislead Xu Youshan and prevent him from causing trouble for them!
He's only now revealing his true abilities!
……
Meanwhile, at the Lin residence.
"Little sister, I'm your brother! I've worked so hard for the Lin family for so many years, and now, Li Lan, an outsider, is humiliating me like this! Checking my accounts, what kind of person does she take me for?"
Xu Youshan looked at Xu Yanrong with extreme anger.
After leaving the accounting office, he went straight to find Xu Yanrong.
After all, he was still flustered about the accounting matters.
If Li Lan really gets stubborn and investigates everything in one go, he'll eventually be finished too!
Upon hearing this, Xu Yanrong frowned slightly and said, "Li Lan, that child, seemed quite nice before, how could he be so reckless?"
"Brother, he and Ruoxue were in charge of raising money to buy Qingyun Fruit. Did you not cooperate well with them on this matter?"
Xu Yanrong did not blindly take sides; she sensed something was amiss.
"How did I not cooperate? I gave them all the silver in the account..."
Xu Youshan spoke with great conviction.
“Madam, I also think the son-in-law has gone too far. The eldest brother-in-law has managed our family's businesses for so many years, and the cloth shop business relies entirely on him. What the son-in-law did has chilled the eldest brother-in-law's heart. If the eldest brother-in-law gets angry and abandons the cloth shop, who will take responsibility from now on?”
A maidservant standing next to Xu Yanrong also spoke up.
The maid's name was Yingqiu. She had served Xu Yanrong for many years and was highly trusted by her. Hearing Yingqiu say this, Xu Yanrong nodded and said, "Brother, you don't need to worry. I'll go and talk to the master right away. We can't let Li Lan cause trouble in the cloth shop business!"
Xu Youshan was overjoyed.
……
The next morning.
"Li Lan, Ruoxue, what exactly happened? Why did you two go to buy Qingyun Fruit and end up messing around at the cloth shop?"
Lin Zheng summoned Lin Ruobing and Li Lan and asked them questions with a serious expression.
Xu Yanrong and Xu Youshan were also there. Xu Youshan looked aggrieved and said, "Brother-in-law, this is not your fault, it's all my fault. It's all my fault for mismanaging and causing a seventy-tael silver oversight. Sigh, I have no face to stay in this cloth shop business anymore. From now on, let your son-in-law take over!"
As he spoke, he wiped away a couple of tears.
Lin Zheng and Xu Yanrong both frowned slightly, as they both knew that the cloth shop business was inseparable from Xu Youshan.
"Manager Xu, you can't just leave like this!"
But at this moment, Li Lan looked heartbroken and spoke with deep emotion.
Xu Youshan sneered immediately. "Little brat, you think I can't control you? Old ginger is spicier!"
Xu Yanrong also said, "Brother, look, Li Lan knows he was wrong. He's young and impetuous, so it's normal for him to act rashly. Please don't hold it against him..."
"Li Lan, quickly apologize to your uncle and ask him to stay and manage the cloth shop!"
Lin Ruobing, standing beside her, also gritted her teeth slightly. Li Lan had really brought this trouble upon herself this time, and had even dragged her down with her.
But Li Lan shook her head: "That's not what I meant when I told Manager Xu not to leave..."
As he spoke, he took out an account book and said, "If the manager leaves, who will be responsible for the 12,000 taels shortfall in Lin's Cloth Shop?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Youshan was immediately startled, a look of panic flashing in his eyes. He hurriedly shouted, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Li Lan smiled and said, "These are all the accounts of Lin's Cloth Shop over the past few years. Please take a look, General and Madam!"
After saying that, he handed the ledger to Lin Zheng.
Lin Zheng was extremely surprised. He took the account book, looked it over, and his face grew increasingly gloomy. In the end, he just snorted and handed it to his wife.
Xu Yanrong looked puzzled and took it to look at it. As she looked at it, anger and heartache flashed across her face!
Lin Ruobing, who was standing next to her, immediately became extremely curious and said, "Mom, let me see too!"
She picked it up and glanced at it, her eyes immediately lighting up.
She felt nauseous just looking at the original ledgers, but after Li Lan reorganized them, they were neat and orderly, divided into four categories: balance, additions, reductions, and inventory, making the changes in the ledgers clear at a glance!
Even someone who doesn't understand accounting books can easily understand it.
Upon closer inspection, she immediately noticed that... over the years, the Lin family's cloth shop had a discrepancy of more than 12,000 taels in its accounts!
"Uncle, are you falsifying the accounts?"
She raised an eyebrow, and for a moment, she felt a surge of anger.
Over the years, the Lin family's financial situation has become increasingly strained, largely due to the decreasing profits from the cloth shop!
Unexpectedly, it turned out that Xu Youshan was the one who embezzled the goods.
Thinking of Xu Youshan's self-righteous manner, as if she were the innocent party, she became even angrier.
Of course not!
Xu Youshan was starting to panic. He said, "Let me see what false testimony Li Lan has given to frame me!"
Lin Ruobing handed him the accounts. Xu Youshan took them, glanced at them, and his expression instantly changed. He looked at Li Lan in disbelief and said, "No, how did you do that?!..."
His voice was trembling slightly.
The cloth shop's accounts were already messy, and with his deliberate sabotage, they became even more complicated. Even if Li Lan was knowledgeable in the field, it would take at least half a year to sort them out.
But Li Lan only took one day!
Moreover, he had never heard of or seen such a method of bookkeeping before. Could it be that Li Lan was so accomplished in such a practical and useful field of study as accounting?!
"Big brother!"
Xu Yanrong said painfully, "What...what exactly happened? You've falsified so many accounts, embezzled from your own post, and even if you're handed over to the authorities, it's a capital offense!"
Faced with his sister's questioning, Xu Youshan completely panicked. He suddenly knelt on the ground and said, "Sister, brother-in-law, I was bewitched! I, I... I'll go sell the house right now and make sure I can make up for it!"
"From now on, I will definitely run the cloth shop well. We are all family, you have to believe me..."
But Xu Yanrong only looked at Lin Zheng.
Lin Zheng said calmly, "Just make up for the losses. We're all family. As for the cloth shop, let Li Lan manage it from now on."
“Sister, brother-in-law, Li Lan has no experience in managing a business. You can’t kick me out. I’ve been running this cloth shop for decades; it’s my lifeline…”
Xu Youshan hurriedly spoke up, his resentment reaching its peak: "Li Lan will ruin Lin's Cloth Shop; he doesn't understand business at all..."
But Lin Zheng ignored him completely, waved his hand, and he was taken away.
"Do a good job."
Lin Zheng patted Li Lan on the shoulder and then left.
Li Lan found it somewhat amusing. He realized that Lin Zheng had definitely noticed something was wrong with the cloth shop a long time ago, and this time he intentionally had Li Lan do it...
After all, that's his brother-in-law; it's not easy for him to do it.
Otherwise, how could Lin Zheng have been so calm and collected before and after?
Old fox!
He cursed under his breath, but when he turned around, he was quite pleased.
Once the cloth shop is under control, there will be a source of wealth and money to buy Qingyun Fruit!
"Li Lan, how did you do that?"
Lin Ruobing was also quite curious as to how Li Lan had sorted out those mountains of accounts so quickly.
"Want to know? You've been working hard for a day and a night. Serve me while I bathe, and I'll teach you. How about it?" Li Lan smiled.
"You think beautiful!"
Lin Ruobing snorted coldly and said, "Don't be too happy yet. I've already inquired, and the market price of Qingyun Fruit has now reached eight thousand taels per catty!"
"Even if my eldest uncle makes up for all the losses, it still won't be enough. Besides, it's difficult to sell all his assets at once, and even if he did, he might not be able to come up with 12,000 taels..."
Upon hearing this, Li Lan indeed felt it was a bit of a problem. Judging from the accounts, Xu Youshan had embezzled tens of thousands of taels of silver, but over the years he had probably spent most of it on eating, drinking and having fun.
The money is probably still not enough!
"Have the cloth shop order a batch of silk!"
Li Lan thought for a moment and then said.
"What idea do you have now?" Lin Ruobing couldn't help but ask curiously.
Although Li Lan is a martial arts failure, he has a lot of clever ideas, and they often work...
"I have a brilliant plan," Li Lan said with a smile.
"Playing tricks and deception."
But Lin Ruobing still left, to purchase silk as Li Lan had instructed.
After she left.
"Young master, I want to learn the magic of your ledgers. I'll serve you while you bathe, will you teach me?"
Yue Ran, however, spoke earnestly.
Yesterday, as she helped Li Lan read the contents of the account book, she felt even more that there was a great deal of knowledge in the account book, which aroused her curiosity.
"Yue Ran is so obedient. Okay, I'll teach you. This is called the Four Pillars of Destiny accounting method..."
……