Chapter 37

（Directly squeezed off the list, can't everyone just sit by and watch? Also, I write and post as I go, no drafts...）

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In the early Ming dynasty, there were no three-column or four-column accounts; the accounting method was still a simple single-entry system that only reflected cash inflows, outflows, and profits and losses. This method could not comprehensively reflect financial activities; it was merely a cash account.

Anyone who has studied accounting knows that a cash account alone cannot truly reflect a department's actual income and expenses. For example, the consumption of purchased materials and supplies, which does not involve cash expenditure, would not be recorded in the account.

In short, this method of lumping everything together and only providing results without processes is very easy to manipulate.

Wang Xian just went through the accounts once and felt that there was definitely something wrong. Seeing that there was still time, he selected one month's worth of accounts and used the double-entry system to check if the income and expenses were balanced. If they were not, he could find the discrepancies in inflows and outflows and thus identify the problems.

After a busy session, he found that the other party was an old hand and had made the accounts very balanced...

But this did not stump a professional. Wang Xian still had the 'Benford's Law' as his trump card. This law states that in a set of unaltered numbers, numbers starting with 1 appear about 30% of the time. Numbers starting with 2 appear about 17% of the time, and numbers starting with 3 appear about 12% of the time... and so on, decreasing in frequency, with numbers starting with 8 and 9 appearing only about 10% of the time in total.

As long as the sample size is large enough and the numbers are unaltered, they will follow this law. In other words, if the numbers are fabricated, the statistical results will significantly deviate from this law. Auditors use it to initially check for fraud, which can greatly improve audit efficiency.

Wang Xian spent the afternoon statistically analyzing a year's worth of account numbers. Looking at the ten statistical figures on the paper, which were so evenly distributed, he smiled... Then, seeing the name of the person responsible for the accounts, Li Sheng, who was then a clerk, his smile grew even wider.

"Still smiling, have you verified it yet?" Wu Xiaopang appeared beside him. Seeing that there were only nine numbers on his paper, he immediately became anxious: "The master will be checking it soon."

"It's already done." Wang Xian smiled, picking up the results he had calculated in the morning.

At this moment, the cloud board sounded, and all the clerks hurried to the clerk's room to gather.

Sure enough, after Li Sheng gave a speech, he walked up to Wang Xian and silently extended his hand.

Wang Xian handed him the accounts.

Li Sheng glanced at them and threw them on the ground: "All wrong..." Then, with a cold look, he said to Wang Xian: "Recalculate tomorrow." The most frustrating thing is not the calculation itself, but the realization that you have to start over after spending a long time on it. Li Sheng believed that a layman like Wang Xian would never get it right, even after ten tries. Even if he did, Li Sheng could still say it was wrong. After a few rounds of this, even a clay figure would be driven mad... If he refused to leave, Li Sheng could label him as 'incompetent' and kick him out of the office, satisfying his own anger and avenging the clerk's grievances, achieving two goals at once.

"Yes, sir." But to Li Sheng's disappointment, Wang Xian had no extreme reaction. He just bent down to pick up the accounts and nodded obediently: "I'll recalculate."

"If you can't get it right again, you're out. The office doesn't keep useless people!" Li Sheng glanced at him disdainfully and turned to go inside.

"Yes, sir." Wang Xian nodded.

All the clerks looked at him sympathetically. Asking a completely untrained newcomer to handle complex accounts without making mistakes was too much... Besides, Wang Xingye had a good reputation in the office, and everyone respected him. The law even protects the innocent from being punished, so why was Li Sheng so fixated on his son?

But everyone was intimidated by Li Sheng's authority and dared not say much to Wang Xian. They could only sigh and pat his shoulder: "Let's go eat..."

Wang Xian nodded, saying nothing, looking like a submissive person. But no one knew that he had deliberately made mistakes...

For the next three days, Wang Xian continued to make mistakes every day and was scolded every day, which even the clerks could not bear... Sigh, this young man was actually quite nice, diligent, respectful to his seniors, and always ready to help, unlike the rumors. How did he end up in Li Sheng's hands?

Wang, the clerk, could not stand it anymore. After the office closed one day, he followed Li Sheng into the inner room and advised: "There's no need to treat Wang Xian like this. He's a layman, and you're tormenting him every day. I think he's about to be driven mad."

"Something that should have been done in one day, I've given him five! What more does he want?" Li Sheng always had to be in the right, so he was always righteous: "Is the office supposed to become a place for idlers?"

"Give him some time to learn gradually."

"There are so many others waiting in line. Why should I use him?" Li Sheng snorted.

"Ah..." Wang, the clerk, sighed and said no more.

After Wang, the clerk, left, Li Sheng sat there for a long time, his expression dark. He knew that the longer this dragged on, the worse the impact would be. But he never expected that Wang Xian would be so resilient and could endure it for so long.

'No, I need to change my approach.' Li Sheng frowned, a plan forming in his mind.

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One noon, Wang Gui suddenly came to the office and called Wang Xian out for lunch.

Wang Xian remembered and quickly tidied up his things, informed his colleagues, and followed Wang Gui to the street in front of the office.

The area in front of the office has always been a scenic spot. Besides official institutions like the medical office and the divination school, there were four major parasitic industries... The first was inns. People from outside the county who came to the county for legal matters mostly stayed here, as it was convenient for plaintiffs to submit their complaints, witnesses to be summoned, and the families of detained defendants or prisoners to visit and gather information.

The second was teahouses. After settling in, these people would come here to gather information and seek help, as the scribes who wrote complaints and the lawyers who handled cases spent their days here.

The third was restaurants, where officials, clerks, and other staff would exchange information, negotiate, collude, and haggle over deals. There were also official banquets, which could either make or break the owners...

The fourth was pharmacies, often located next to the medical office. Doctors only diagnosed and prescribed, while patients could conveniently get their medicine nearby. It was said that doctors took a cut for each prescription they wrote. Dr. Wu waived Wang Xian's consultation fee but didn't lose out. With the frequent beatings, finger clamping, and leg binding in the office, injuries and wounds were common, so medicines for bruises and fractures sold very well. The owner of the pharmacy, Mr. Lu, became one of the richest households in the county.

In addition to these four thriving businesses, there were also money changers, rice shops, pawnshops, and fruit stands, all of which had intricate connections with the office's tax collection, fines, and other business.

There were also food stalls that served the office staff and people coming to the office for business. Wang Gui invited Wang Xian to eat at one of these stalls.

They ordered a few stir-fried dishes and a bowl of chicken soup. Wang Gui ate like a snake swallowing an egg, grunting and turning red in the face.

"Is there something you can finally tell me now?" Wang Xian sighed. "Is it about your sister-in-law?"

"How did you know..." Wang Gui was surprised but then understood: "You're really smart now. It is about my sister-in-law." He gritted his teeth, "We've made up."

"That's great." Wang Xian smiled.

"Aren't you angry?"

"Why should I be angry?" Wang Xian said seriously: "The way I was, it's normal that my sister-in-law couldn't take it."

"You've really grown up, Xiao'er." Wang Gui was pleased: "I want to bring her back home. Will you agree?"

"Why wouldn't I agree?" Wang Xian spread his hands: "The problem is, my agreement doesn't matter."

"Yes, Mother has to agree." Wang Gui looked dejected and then looked hopefully at Wang Xian: "You're smart, help your brother think of a way."

"I've been played by Mother like a monkey," Wang Xian smiled bitterly and took a sip of tea: "Do you think I have any good ideas?"

"..." Wang Gui hung his head in frustration.

"Have you mentioned it to her?" The dishes arrived, and Wang Xian took the plates, arranging them while asking.

"Uh-huh." Wang Gui nodded.

"What did Mother say?"

"She said the Hou family already said that once out of the Wang family, Cuilian is no longer a Wang family daughter-in-law..." Wang Gui whispered: "She also said that the daughter of Uncle Liu on West Street, Cuini, is a young maiden, and they only ask for twenty guan as a dowry..."

"..." Wang Xian was sweating, his mother truly had the demeanor of an empress. "What do you think?"

"That was just a fit of anger. Your sister-in-law is a good person..." Wang Gui lowered his head: "She never suffered like that when she was a maiden. She endured for over a year with us before she couldn't take it anymore." He whispered: "A day of marriage is a hundred days of affection, and she has already admitted her mistake..."

"Uh-huh." Wang Xian nodded: "I'll help, since it was my fault initially."

"How will you help?"

"This..." Wang Xian sighed: "Mother was really angry this time. It's not easy to get her to change her mind, unless..."

"Unless what?" Wang Gui asked, eyes wide.

"Unless there's a reason that can make her change her mind." Wang Xian smiled: "Mother said, in front of the family, face is nothing..."

"What reason?" Wang Gui's eyes widened even more.

"What does Mother most look forward to?" Wang Xian guided him.

"Grandchildren, of course..." Wang Gui said: "When she sees other people's grandchildren, she wishes she could take them home."

"That's it..." Wang Xian picked up a piece of bamboo shoot, chewing slowly. After eating in the office for a few days, he no longer looked like a starving ghost.

"..." Wang Gui looked at him in confusion, then said after a while: "You mean, I should bring her a grandson?"

"No need to wait until it's born, just pregnant is fine." Wang Xian said: "For a regular mother-in-law, a little deception might work, but with Mother's keen eyes, it would definitely be exposed."

"Ah, if she could have, she would have long ago..." Wang Gui was disappointed: "We've been married for two years, and she was only pregnant once, but it was a miscarriage..."

"Don't worry." Wang Xian said softly: "I'll teach you a method. Just follow the timing, and within three months, I guarantee you'll have a child."

"Really?" Wang Gui's mouth dropped open.

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