More than a dozen accountants sat at two tables. Mr. Li, the rich man, and the scheming girl Li Shu sat alone at a table, with the maid Hua'er serving them on the side.
Zhu Pingan was invited to the table of the old accountant with gray hair. Everyone at the table was very enthusiastic. Although Zhu Pingan was young, no one at the table dared to look down on him. They treated Zhu Pingan as equal or even higher in their conversation.
Mr. Li was very generous and many of the dishes were not necessarily available in the county town, but they filled the table here.
It’s delicious and has good color, aroma and taste.
Zhu Ping'an was naturally not polite and did not feel restrained at all when eating. He also did not have that tacky look that other villagers had when eating. He looked very harmonious and there was no sense of incongruity at all.
While eating, Mr. Li suddenly said:
"Young Master Zhu, come to my place and be my helper."
Zhu Ping'an, who was eating with relish, paused for a moment when he heard this, then raised his head to look at the rich man Li.
Mr. Li patted the table lightly, stretched out his hand to Zhu Ping'an, and then said, "If you help me, I will give you this amount a year."
"Fifty taels?"
An accountant was surprised. For a boy of thirteen or fourteen, an annual income of fifty taels was quite good. The rich man Li was really generous.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Li, the rich man, shook his head when he heard this.
"Uh, it can't be five taels, that's too little." The accountant sounded doubtful, as if he felt sorry for Zhu Ping'an and thought that he was definitely worth fifty taels of silver.
Hearing this, the wealthy Mr. Li smiled and shook his head, saying, "How can it be five taels? It's five hundred taels."
Five hundred taels
Many accountants gasped when they heard this. They thought he was really generous and made others envious.
As soon as Mr. Li finished speaking, the black-hearted girl Li Shu threw down her chopsticks, and her pouting mouth was so tight that it could tie a cow.
"Why? I don't agree!" The black-hearted girl Li Shu put on a sour face.
"Shu'er, be good." The rich man Li was busy coaxing his precious child.
Under the envious gazes of the accountants, Zhu Pingan slowly stood up and bowed to the wealthy Mr. Li. He said with an apologetic look:
"Thank you Mr. Li for your appreciation, but I'm not interested in this, please forgive me."
I don't know why, but after Zhu Pingan said this, he felt that the sinister Miss Li Shu seemed to have put down a big stone in her heart.
As for what, it’s just five hundred taels of silver. This girl is so stingy!
Yeah, I almost forgot, this girl is a materialistic person!
Zhu Ping'an had mixed feelings.
The matter was dropped. Afterwards, everyone started eating while chatting and laughing. The Li family's chef was very skilled and the food tasted delicious.
After the meal, the sun had already set outside, so Zhu Ping'an put the selected books into his schoolbag and stood up to say goodbye.
The accountants have already mastered the double-entry bookkeeping method. All they need to do next is to check it against the account books of several years using this method. If any problematic accounts are found, it will be up to Mr. Li to decide how to deal with them.
Therefore, Zhu Pingan no longer cared about the audit.
The dusk was dim, and the setting sun slowly slid down like blood, dyeing the western sky red. In the afterglow of the setting sun, Zhu Ping'an walked slowly towards Xiahe Village with his schoolbag slung over his shoulder.
Along the way, Zhu Ping'an met villagers returning home from the fields and greeted them one by one. However, the villagers kept calling him "Master Zhu", which made Zhu Ping'an a little uncomfortable.
When Zhu Pingan returned home, his father Zhu Shouyi had already arrived and was taking care of the family's hero, the big black cow. Zhu's father took good care of the big black cow. As soon as he got home, he took off all the burdens on the big black cow, brushed its fur, and brought water to it, so that the big black cow would hold its head high when it saw Zhu Pingan, as if to show off how favored he was.
When mother Chen saw Zhu Ping'an coming back, she asked with concern whether he had a good meal at Li's house and whether he had any trouble with the account books.
It seems that the servants of the Li family explained the matter very clearly.
Zhu Pingan answered them one by one, and said that he had just eaten, so he should not cook his own dinner. However, his mother Chen said disapprovingly, "It's okay to cook more. If you can eat it, eat it. If you can't eat it, don't eat it. Anyway, we still have pigs at home."
There is only one good mother in the world. When Zhu Ping'an looked at his mother Chen, this song echoed in his mind.
After feeding the cows, my father went to the house and came out after a while, "Mom, where are my cloth shoes under the bed?"
Upon hearing this, mother Chen said lightly, "That pair of cloth shoes is too old, and two toes are exposed. I threw it away."
Hearing this, Zhu's father said anxiously, "Where did you throw it? The old one can still be worn, and it doesn't matter if your toes are exposed. I ride in a bullock cart all the time. We should save as much as possible so that we can live better. I'll go pick it up and bring it back."
Mother Chen gave Father Zhu a dirty look and said, "No need to pick it up. I've taken out all the money from the shoes!"
Zhu's father
Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but look at his father twice more. It didn't seem like that. His father was so honest and dull. After all these years, he never knew that his father had the intention of hiding some private money.
Mother Chen had a cold expression on her face and stared at Zhu's father without blinking.
Mr. Zhu's face turned pale with fright.
Father, you'd better wish you good luck. It's your fault for hiding some private money and being discovered by mother. Please forgive me for being an unfilial son.
"Uh, I'll put the borrowed books in the room first." Zhu Ping'an slipped away.
Zhu Ping'an returned to the room and watched the scene outside from behind the window. If something was not right, he would have to go out and persuade them to stop fighting. Of course, he would take sides, because his father had hidden his private money and his mother had discovered it.
"Ahem, what are we having for dinner tonight?"
Outside the window, Zhu's father rubbed his hands in embarrassment, and it took him a long time to squeeze out a word.
"Why are you asking me? You, Zhu Shouyi, are in charge of the small treasury. Go buy food for yourself!" Mother Chen said sarcastically, spitting in Zhu's father's face.
Zhu's father didn't even wipe it off. He just smiled awkwardly and reached out to support Chen's shoulders, trying to comfort her. However, he opened his mouth for a long time without saying a few words, "His mother, I, I..."
"What do you mean by 'you'? You're so capable now that you've even opened a secret fund!" Mother Chen sneered and slapped Zhu's father's hand away.
"Tell me, why do you hide your private money? Am I giving you less food or less clothes?" Mother Chen was very angry.
"I" Zhu's father concluded.
"Zhu Shouyi, do you feel like you don't know who you are anymore because you have a few bucks in your pocket?!" Chen's mother was so angry that she almost cried. She punched Zhu's father on the shoulder, "Are you saving up money to find some vixen? Speak up."
Mr. Zhu's face turned red and he waved his hands repeatedly.
"You've even learned to default on your debts, Zhu Shouyi, you..." Mother Chen was shaking with anger.
"No, no, damn it, I just want to give you a bracelet on your birthday. When I save up a hundred coins, I will send it to the jewelry store in town. I have been saving for several months, and it will be just right for your birthday. If you don't believe me, you can go to Zhang's Jewelry Store in town to ask."
Seeing that Chen was so angry, Zhu's father didn't even bother waiting to give Chen a surprise and hurriedly told her everything.
Upon hearing this, mother Chen's tears, which had not shed even when she was angry, suddenly burst out, and she hugged Zhu's father and patted his back hard.
Chen and Zhu's father have been together for so many years, so she could naturally tell that what Zhu's father said was the truth.
Naturally, Zhu's father also understood Chen, and his worried and nervous face relaxed. He hugged Chen with his stiff hands and comforted her without letting her cry.
Show affection in various ways
Zhu Pingan was shown off again, so he turned away and sat down to start copying the book. (To be continued.)