novelAbuy Chapter 16 Showing Goodwill
Chapter 16 Showing Goodwill
Wu Youcai watched Wang Huadu's departing figure.
After seeing him disappear, he thought for a moment and went to the room of the innkeeper, Wang Sheng.
"What are you doing here?" Wang Sheng glanced at him and continued writing the letter.
Zhang Neng was also in the inner room, drinking a cup of tea alone.
Wu Youcai dared not get too close, lest he see something he shouldn't, and stood at a distance, reporting in a low voice: "The Fangfeng Tongsheng Powder has been returned."
Wang Sheng frowned, but did not stop writing.
Zhang Neng slammed his fist on the table and roared, "We've been so courteous, is he blind? Manager, why are you wasting your breath talking to him? It seems the 'courtesy first, then force' tactic isn't working; we'll have to resort to drastic measures."
Wu Youcai looked at Zhang Neng with some hesitation. What else could this idiot do besides fighting and killing?
The fact that the former accountant, Master Zhao, drowned in the first month of the lunar calendar was already suspicious. It's not appropriate for you to have two accountants die in succession. Master Zhao drowned in a ditch after drinking. The coroner from the yamen came to examine the body and issued a document. There were no external injuries or poisoning. He did drown. But how should I put it? Don't treat everyone like fools.
Didn't anyone at the old house in Yantietang have any suspicions? It's just that the old man didn't say anything because he remembered the old shopkeeper's years of service. But if the old man didn't say anything, would Sanshe be easy to deal with? He's gradually taking charge now, and he doesn't have much of a past relationship with these old folks from Quzhou. He's just waiting to find something to use against you.
Zhang Neng, what a load of crap!
Wang Sheng quickly finished writing the letter. After the ink dried, he slowly folded it up, put it into an envelope, sealed it with glue, and stamped it with his seal.
"You have wealth, but do the bronze artifacts in the treasury match the accounts?" Wang Sheng suddenly asked.
Wu Youcai looked at Zhang Neng with a resentful gaze.
Zhang Neng was slightly embarrassed and said, "Why are you looking at me? It's definitely not right, but it's not too far off. Wu Youcai, can't you be a little more assertive and ask for the account book back? Young Master Zheng said he'd give it to a new accountant, and you actually did? While you're still keeping the records, change it."
Wu Youcai was speechless, unable to say anything.
Wang Sheng ignored Zhang Neng's words, looked at Wu Youcai, and asked, "Approximately how much difference?"
"About seven or eight out of ten," Wu Youcai mumbled.
"Seven or eight parts by month or seven or eight parts by year?"
"That's all there is to it," Wu Youcai said.
The term "seven or eight percent" is jargon, meaning 70% or 80%. The Zheng family had requirements for the accounts of the blue ware shop, namely that the monthly error could not exceed "three percent". But that was for cash. They dared not make such a big difference for blue ware, let alone seven or eight percent. With tens of thousands of blue ware pieces, an "error" of seven or eight hundred pieces was really a bit unreasonable.
"You guys are being too ridiculous," Wang Sheng said, somewhat displeased.
Wu Youcai and Zhang Neng exchanged a glance, both feeling somewhat aggrieved.
As the manager, you naturally wouldn't stoop to pocketing the money spent on groceries, labor costs, or the "waste" of the ceramic ware. You have other ways to make money, but we can't. Besides, didn't we already give you a share of the "waste"? What are you pretending for?
"Shopkeeper, things have come to this point, there's no other way. Why don't we wait until Master Zheng leaves—" Zhang Neng wiped his face and said through gritted teeth.
"Shut up!" Wang Sheng snapped.
Zhang Neng was first taken aback, then turned his face away indignantly, muttering things like, "Blocking my path to wealth is tantamount to killing my parents."
Wu Youcai looked around awkwardly, then around, unsure of what to say.
Wang Sheng stood up and slowly paced around the room.
After a long while, he sighed and stopped in front of Wu Youcai.
Wu Youcai looked at him, hesitating to speak.
"Try to win him over again," Wang Sheng said, looking into Wu Youcai's eyes. "He's only fifteen. I don't believe he doesn't have something he likes. Food? Clothes? Money? Or women? Try them all. Postpone the handover for now. Anyway, we're busy lately. Another batch of blue artifacts is coming soon. We'll have plenty of excuses."
"Okay." Wu Youcai secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"What if we can't win them over?" Zhang Neng turned around and asked.
"You better shut up." Wang Sheng still had a cold look on his face and scolded, "Even if you wanted to do something, now wouldn't be the time. Is it acceptable for trouble to arise so soon after the new accountant arrives?"
Zhang Neng's expression grew increasingly grim, but he didn't say anything.
******
In the afternoon, Shao Shuyi went to the front counter again to learn bookkeeping from Wu Youcai and familiarize himself with the business process.
Actually, there weren't many accounts.
At this time of year, maritime merchants are only coming in small numbers, and very few people are buying large quantities of blueware. In other words, it is the off-season for sales, and apart from a few local individual customers making small purchases, there is almost no business.
To be honest, this antique shop mainly deals in large-scale maritime trade and has almost no interest in local retail. The staff are very perfunctory towards casual customers and don't like to greet them; they all squat by the wall near the entrance and chat.
Even when an old man came to buy a porcelain plate, most of the scoundrels at the foot of the wall ignored him, but only the shopkeeper with the nickname "Stone" and the real name "Cao Tong" stood up and helped him choose the item.
"Five coins," Wu Youcai said, raising his eyelids to take a look.
The old man took out a Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) banknote and placed it on the counter.
Wu Youcai took it and looked at it. After hesitating for a moment, he accepted it anyway—the ticket was a little worn, but not seriously.
The old man left quickly.
Wu Youcai wrote down "white porcelain phoenix plate, one and a half qian" in the ledger, put the banknotes into the money box, and said to Shao Shuyi, "Xiao Hu, these small, scattered transactions don't need to be taken too seriously, but the things that need to be done still need to be done well."
"Please enlighten me, Master Wu," Shao Shuyi said humbly, looking at him.
Wu Youcai seemed pleased with the title "Master Wu," and a smile appeared on his face. He said, "It's actually very simple. Just record the name, quantity, and price of the porcelain sold each day."
Record all daily expenses of the shop, such as purchasing stationery, wages for laborers, meals for employees, transportation by carriage and horse, house repairs, and handling of personal relationships.
If it is copper coins, gold or silver, it will be marked separately.
If someone wants to buy on credit, they must ask the shopkeeper for permission and have it recorded.
Every day after dinner, I would work with the manager to check the accounts and cash box, ensuring that the accounts matched the actual cash. This is what makes a good accountant.
Shao Shuyi nodded repeatedly, but inwardly he was complaining that this was too simplistic and crude. Moreover, he remembered that the accounts he kept before were not this detailed; he must have been lazy then, or simply deliberately kept them brief.
"If someone withdraws the money, what should be done?" Shao Shuyi suddenly asked.
"Within five ingots, the shopkeeper can make the decision, but a receipt and stamp are required. Hmm..." Wu Youcai said, then became somewhat embarrassed.
Shao Shuyi chuckled inwardly.
He glanced through the ledgers and noticed that the manager only used the stamp to affix a slip when withdrawing wages; otherwise, he didn't, which was clearly a violation of regulations.
The so-called "slip" refers to a small piece of paper that is pasted next to the blank space next to the withdrawal of money in the ledger. The manager and the accountant sign and affix their seals to indicate approval or consent.
This is a matter of financial discipline, but the management of the Qingqi Shop is clearly somewhat lax and has not strictly enforced it.
Speaking of which, Manager Wang Sheng has quite a lot of authority; he can even decide how to use up to five ingots of money without having to report to the owner.
"On the first day of each month, you will go to the storehouse to collect various measuring tools, mainly the dou, sheng, and he, which will be used to weigh grain and distribute wages." Wu Youcai quickly changed the subject and continued, "This matter is important and cannot be neglected."
"Yes," Shao Shuyi replied.
"And then there's the monthly inventory check of the celadon ware." Wu Youcai glanced at Shao Shuyi and said vaguely, "This is a long story. Several thousand pieces of celadon ware have just arrived and need to be registered and put into storage. You'll be with me for the next few days to count them."
"Yes," Shao Shuyi replied solemnly.
Wu Youcai opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he kept quiet.
Shao Shuyi took in all of his actions but said nothing.
The two then remained silent until a guest arrived.
The afternoon passed quickly. Around late afternoon, the staff began cleaning up and preparing to close the shop.
Shao Shuyi also packed everything into his "toolbox" and prepared to leave.
"Little Tiger—" Wu Youcai pulled him aside and said with a smile, "I see you live alone in the shop, it must be quite boring. Since we have nothing to do today, why don't you go out and have some fun?"
Shao Shuyi looked at him with some surprise.
For a fleeting moment, he almost thought he had returned to the future. Was he going to take me out to eat, sing karaoke, and get a massage?
"Don't worry." Wu Youcai smiled, opened an account book, pointed to a certain place and said, "The manager has affixed his seal, so you can get one ingot of Zhongtong paper money. When the time comes, call Zhang Neng and Master Sun. They're all family, so there's no need to be reserved."
Shao Shuyi's mind raced, many thoughts struggling in his mind, but in the end they all turned into Zheng Song's hawk-like gaze.
He sighed inwardly, stood up, bowed to Wu Youcai to express his gratitude, and finally politely declined, saying, "I'm a little tired today and would like to rest early. Maybe next time."
After saying that, he picked up his suitcase and left.
Wu Youcai watched his retreating figure, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.