Chapter 26: Borrowing and Lending Accounts

  Qin Kan was in the county yamen's wing room looking at account books, but he wasn't very focused.

  Du Hong didn't say it explicitly, but his meaning was clear: the yamen had a mole, and some low-ranking official was so bold as to embezzle from the government treasury.

  The key now lies in this stack of account books. Qin Kan is the newly appointed teacher, and this matter should be a test given by Du Hong to see if this young man is qualified to be his teacher.

  His eyes fell on the account book, and the flowing water passed in front of him one stroke at a time. Although it was flowing water, the order was very clear, and there was no feeling of confusion at all. If he only counted according to the records on the account book, he would inevitably not find any problems. The income and expenses were balanced, without any difference. Du Hong, who was in charge of a county, must have had no problem with his IQ. He felt that there was something fishy inside, but he couldn't say where the problem lay. The level of fake accounting done by corrupt people in this era should be considered high.

  If Qin Kan didn't appear, his life would have been very smooth.

  Qin Kan's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, his attention was not on the account book.

  He was thinking of another related matter, the news that he had checked his accounts should have been known throughout the yamen, would that corrupt official feel uneasy? Under uneasiness what reaction would he make?

  It can be confirmed that he will have a reaction, but not now. All masters are somewhat arrogant, and he probably doesn't think he has the ability to find out the cat's trick in this pile of accounts, so he should still be waiting and observing. Acting too early will only lead to exposure and reveal himself.

  Qin Kan sneered twice, took a white paper from the desk, and began drawing a table on it.

  Three days later, these seemingly simple tables will be like a searchlight in the dark night, illuminating that corrupt official's every move.

  The whole afternoon, Qin Kan did nothing but draw grids in the government office, drawing many sheets, and didn't do anything else, not even writing a single word.

  Du Hong gave him three days, no rush, to see how long the guy could hold on. These accounts were complicated, but they could be sorted out in one night. Qin Kan, this master, had a monthly salary of about six taels of silver, and he didn't need to work so desperately.

  In comparison, his part-time job was very promising. It's hard to blame Qin Kan for being negative and lazy, he's a very realistic person, pay determines attitude.

  So at dusk, Qin Kan eagerly took out the account book and form and left the government office.

  As he passed by a wine shop on the street, Qin Kan spent money again and bought two jars of Huadiao wine and two small dishes to take away.

  Hugging the account book and carrying wine and dishes on the street, I met that annoying Du Jia Xiaoba again.

  "With wine and dishes, Qin Dacai's days are quite comfortable." Du Yan slanted her eyes at the wine and dishes in Qin Kan's hand, a bandit-like image of intercepting and robbing on the road.

  "In general, Du Niang must be very busy, I won't disturb her anymore..." Qin Kan's feet swayed and he continued on his way.

  "Hey! Wait a minute, are you in a hurry to reincarnate?" Du Yan stopped him again, with a very overbearing attitude.

  Qin Kan smiled wryly: "Du Niang, when someone who owes a debt sees the creditor, they should hide and run away. But you, standing there with your sword drawn, blocking my way... it really makes me lose face..."

  Du Yan's face seems to be getting thicker and thicker, and it is unknown who infected her. Every time Qin Kan mentions the debt problem, she always has the ability to automatically filter it out from her ears. This development trend makes Qin Kan feel very worried.

  "I blocked your way because I wanted to stand up for justice." Du Yan said with a straight face and a confident tone.

  "Who is he fighting for?"

  "For that Jiangnan's number one silly genius."

  Tang Yin?

  Duan Yan stared at the two jars of wine in his hand and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you're planning to get that talented young man drunk again, and then trick him into telling another story about Sun Wukong, right?"

  This woman was no fool and knew everything, so Qin Kan decided not to hide anything from her.

  "Du Gu Niang, I admit that those poems were written by me, and also admit that the story of Sun Wukong was my creation... however, I need Tang Yin's reputation..."

  "So you got him drunk and made him believe that the story of Sun Wukong was something he came up with when he was heavily intoxicated?"

  "Right."

  Du Yan sighed and said: "Even if you don't want to be famous, can't you use a pseudonym to publish the story in book form? Why must you drag Tang Yin into it?"

  "There are two reasons, one is that Tang Yin's reputation can make my benefits greater, and the other is that Tang, a great talent, also needs money. Since he has taken a fancy to Suzhou Taohua An, I must help him buy it, but if I give him the silver for free, with his proud temperament, he will definitely not accept it, so I can only make him believe that he bought it with his own ability."

  Du Yan's eyes quietly showed a different color, and she smiled with pursed lips: "Can't see that you not only talk about righteousness, but also very meticulous..."

  "I have many more advantages, if you clear your debts, I will show them one by one in front of you."

  As usual, Du Yan automatically skipped over the topic of debt and thought for a moment before saying: "If it's these two reasons, why don't you write the manuscript yourself and take it to Tang Yin tomorrow, saying that he was talking in his sleep and you recorded it? Why do you have to get Tang Yin drunk every time you finish writing a chapter? He's already miserable enough, and yet you're still tormenting him with your tricks. Who did he offend?"

  Qin Kan's eyes widened and he was stunned, nodding slowly after a long while: "Uh-huh..."

  "What does 'uh-huh' mean?"

  "Hmm" means... why didn't you say so earlier! Every time Tang Yin gets drunk, it's a real struggle for me to get him to drink more, and lately, I've been seeing Brother Tang looking silly, don't know if he's been damaged by the wine or not...

  Even smart people have blind spots. Qin Kan felt fortunate that he hadn't suffered any losses, just that Tang brother had been wronged and drank a bit more wine, no big deal.

  Two days later, Qin Kan finally reorganized the yamen's account books and recorded everything in a new ledger with grid paper.

  County government hall

  Du Hong flipped through the new account book, and with each page he turned, his eyes grew wider, his expression becoming increasingly agitated.

  "This... is this something you did?"

  Qin Kan nodded: "Yes, County Master, within two days, I have sorted out all the account books in the government office..."

  "With a profound smile on his lips: 'Where is the gain, where is the loss, who handled it, and the accounts are clear at a glance.'"

  Du Hong didn't even have time to look at the account results, but instead kept praising Qin Kan's new accounting method.

  "Not bad, remembered very clearly, at a glance, not missing a single detail. Qin Kan, I didn't expect that apart from your exceptional poetry and writing skills, you also have such accounting skills, what a rare talent! What kind of accounting method is this?"

  "Your Honor, County Magistrate, this is something I created out of boredom while studying late at night. It's called 'Qin's Borrowing and Lending Accounting Method.' Its fundamental principle is that for every loan there must be a corresponding deposit, and the amount borrowed and deposited must always be equal..."

  "Is it really unequal?"

  "It's either the accountant made a mistake or someone has been embezzling."