The sun was setting in the west. In less than an hour, the gongs and drums would sound and the shops would be closed. The customers would have to go home. Chang 'an City had a very strict curfew. The peddlers outside shouted even louder. They wanted to sell more goods in the last hour.
Li Jicheng's clothing store was quiet.
Xu Hongzhi stood beside Li Zexuan and watched Li Zexuan write and draw. He drew some horizontal and vertical lines on the paper, and these horizontal and vertical lines formed a grid. The daily expenses and income were separately listed in the grid and categorized. Finally, a comprehensive calculation was done. Xu Hongzhi praised in his heart. This accounting method was unprecedented. But what were those tadpole-like words?
Xu Hongzhi, who wanted to help the younger generation, looked at the Arabic numerals in front of him. He wanted to ask the young man, but when he saw Li Zexuan writing and drawing seriously, he resisted the urge to ask.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Li Zexuan exhaled deeply. He stood up and said to Li Jingmo, "Alright.
"Alright, Father, I've found out what's wrong with the accounts."
Xu Hongzhi was shocked. He had calculated for more than two hours and still couldn't figure it out. But this young man found the problem in less than a quarter of an hour?
Xu Hongzhi suspected that the young man was fooling him. Although he had never seen this accounting method before and it looked very clever, it was impossible for him to calculate so many numbers in such a short time.
Of course, he didn't know that these simple operations were a piece of cake for Li Zexuan, who was always bombarded with power series calculus and even more complicated matrix convolution operations.
Wang Zhengkun panicked when he heard this, but then he sneered inwardly. In less than a quarter of an hour, he found the problem with his accounts. Who was he trying to fool?
Li Jingmo also couldn't believe it. He hesitated and said, "Xuan 'er, are you serious?"
Li Zexuan took the report and walked to Li Jingmo. He nodded and said, "Of course."
Li Zexuan then turned his head to look at Wang Zhengkun. Although Wang Zhengkun's face was filled with fear, the mockery in the corner of his eyes was still caught by Li Zexuan.
Li Zexuan sneered in his heart. Hmph, old man, if you still don't believe me, I'll expose your crimes today and put you in jail.
Li Zexuan didn't waste any time. He took the financial report and said to Wang Zhengkun coldly,
"Wang Zhengkun, on the 20th of the first month of this year, the clothing store was short of 16 strings of cash, 8.3 fen. On the 25th of the first month, it was short of 9 strings of cash, 6.9 fen. On the 5th of the second month, it was short of 8 strings of cash, 4.5 fen … On the 20th of the third month, which was yesterday, it was short of 13 strings of cash, 7.4 fen. In less than three months, Wang Zhengkun, you secretly embezzled money 26 times, totaling 280 strings of cash, 9.6 fen. Do you admit to your crimes?"
Li Zexuan's voice was like thunder. Every sentence was shocking. Lan-er looked at her brother with admiration. Although she didn't understand the twists and turns between adults, she felt that her brother was just right. He was so powerful.
Xiao He and Xiao Xi's eyes were also full of splendor. In their hearts, they were praising their young master for his handsome appearance and excellent martial arts skills. Now, he even knew arithmetic and was better than that student from the Imperial College. He was simply a master of both the pen and the sword. The two young maidservants were now a little infatuated.
However, Wang Zhengkun was not in such a good mood right now. As Li Zexuan reported the accounts one by one, even though it was still spring, his sweat could not help but drip down. The ridicule in his eyes was no longer there, replaced by endless fear.
When Li Zexuan finished, his back was completely wet and his legs were trembling. He couldn't help but kneel down in front of Li Jingmo and cry, "Master, Master, I know.
"Master, Master, this old servant knows his mistake. It's all the fault of this old servant's unfilial son. He was swindled into the gambling house and owed a debt. If this old servant didn't help him pay his debts, those people would break his arms and legs. This old servant only has one son. Master, this old servant was blinded by greed. Master, please forgive this old servant this time for the sake of this old servant's conscientious and conscientious work in the clothing store."
At first, Xu Hongzhi didn't believe that Li Zexuan found the problem with the accounts. However, seeing Wang Zhengkun like this, it was obvious that Li Zexuan was right. He was shocked and eager to try. He wanted to grab Li Zexuan and ask him about his accounting method and the strange words. However, it was obviously not the right time. His old friend still had family matters to deal with.
Li Jingmo saw Wang Zhengkun pleading guilty and was very surprised by his son's arithmetic ability. He was angry at Wang Zhengkun's malicious deceit. If it wasn't for his son's help today, he would have been deceived by this old servant. He was very angry and was about to send this old servant to the officials. However, after hearing Wang Zhengkun's words, he was a little soft-hearted. He also had a son. As a father, he sympathized with Wang Zhengkun's experience. However, since he embezzled so much money, it would be unreasonable to not send him to the officials.
Seeing that Li Jingmo was a little soft-hearted, Li Zexuan hurriedly said, "Father, don't be soft-hearted.
"Father, please don't be soft-hearted. Even if he wants to repay his son's debt, he can't harm the interests of the boutique. He can borrow money from you. Taking money without permission is stealing. He falsified the accounts to avoid responsibility.
If he really knows that he was wrong, he should have taken the initiative to admit his mistakes when you questioned him just now. He shouldn't have waited until the irrefutable evidence to admit his mistakes. If the price of committing a crime is so low, then who will abide by the law in the future? A pitiful person must have something hateful. Father, you should send him to the officials. You should choose another honest and honest shopkeeper for the clothing store. "
Xu Hongzhi nodded repeatedly as he listened. When Li Zexuan finished speaking, he said to Li Jingmo, "Brother Jingmo, what your son said is true. People like Wang Zhengkun must not be condoned. "
After that, he looked at Li Zexuan and praised Li Jingmo, "Brother Jingmo, you have a good son. Your son is knowledgeable in mathematics and is sensible. His reasoning has impressed even your foolish brother. It's true that a hidden dragon in the abyss will turn into a dragon when it encounters the wind and clouds."
Li Zexuan hurriedly said that Mr. Xu was overpraising him. He didn't deserve such praise.
Li Jingmo also felt that his son's words were quite reasonable. When he heard his old friend's praise, he was also very happy. However, he couldn't show it in front of others.
He said in a reserved manner, "Mr. Xu is overpraising. My son is lazy and needs to be polished."
Then he ordered, "San Bao, Fu, you two send Wang Zhengkun to the officials. After that, you two can go back to the mansion directly."
The two of them accepted the order and went forward to support Wang Zhengkun, who had fainted from fright.
"Father, it's time to go home. Xi City will be closed soon."
Seeing that it was getting late, Li Zexuan urged.
"En, then let's go home together."
Li Jingmo nodded and invited Xu Hongzhi, "Mr. Xu, do you want to come to my humble abode for a chat?"
Xu Hongzhi hurriedly waved his hand and said,
"Not today, but I will definitely pay a visit another day. Your foolish brother still wants to ask your son for advice on how to keep accounts. When the time comes, I hope your son will not be stingy with his teachings."
Li Zexuan repeatedly said that he didn't dare. The few of them parted ways in Xi City.
Li Jingmo hired a carriage. The family of three sat in the carriage and slowly drove towards the Li Mansion.
On the way, Li Jingmo asked, "Xuan 'er, why did you come to Xi City today? Don't tell me you came here to see your father. I don't believe it. "
Li Jingmo immediately added when he saw that Li Zexuan wanted to flatter him.
Li Zexuan really wanted to say that just now, but he didn't expect that his quick-witted father would see through him. He had no choice but to swallow the words that were about to come out of his mouth. After a while, he said,
"I saw that my younger sister was rather bored at home, so I accompanied Lan 'er to Xi City today to watch the juggling."
"That's right, Father. That vaudeville was really good. Big Brother even made Lan 'er a chicken that Lan' er had never eaten before at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant. It was so delicious that Lan 'er's stomach became big. In the end, there were still a few pieces of chicken left that we couldn't finish, so they were snatched away by a black-faced Big Brother. That black-faced Big Brother ate so much that he almost licked the plate clean. Big Brother even asked Shopkeeper Liu to take out the chicken to sell tomorrow.
Lan 'er immediately chattered like a little sparrow and shared the happy events of the day with her father.
Li Zexuan was sweating profusely when he heard this. What was' bloated '? Was this something that a girl should say? There were also those words about Cheng Chumo's' Brother Black Face '. If Cheng Chumo heard this, would he vomit blood?
When Li Jingmo heard about the chicken, he didn't think much of it. He only thought that it was his child playing around. He didn't care whether it earned him money or not. However, this name was very strange …
The curtain of night slowly fell and the carriage gradually moved further away.
… …
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