"Haha, Lord Zhang, you are also stunned by Lord Zhu's statistical results, haha, to be honest, we haven't recovered yet, hahaha..." Seeing this, the official next to Zhang Guanku, not knowing what was going on, bumped Zhang Guanku's arm with his hand, pointed at the rice paper in front of Zhu Ping'an, and laughed.
“Um, cough, cough, hehe… ..” Zhang Guanku, Jia Langzhong and others pulled an ugly smile at the corners of their mouths.
After Doctor Zhao came to his senses, he almost couldn't hold back a scream of "Oh shit", but Doctor Jia, who was familiar with him, stepped on his toes, forcing him to hold it back.
Others didn't know the inside story, but they knew it all. They regarded Taicang as their own forbidden fruit and their own money bag. They knew exactly how much silver came in and how much silver went out, how much silver and gold were in Taicang now.
Although they had no idea what the numbers enclosed in the arc-shaped scribbles by Zhu Ping'an meant, the actual amount of silver and gold written by Zhu Ping'an was exactly the same as the inventory in the real silver vault.
What the hell, this kid Zhu Pingan figured it out in less than a cup of tea? !
When Ghost Hand Zhang unfolded the rice paper, his eyes were always on Zhu Ping'an, just so that when Zhu Ping'an was copying his numbers on the spot, he could shout to attract everyone's attention and expose Zhu Ping's ugly face.
"Oh, impossible, this is impossible..."
However, when he saw the numbers Zhu Ping'an showed, his first reaction was, hmm, they are different from ours. He was about to laugh, but suddenly, like a drake whose throat was strangled, he was strangled back at the throat after only one note. He was completely stunned, staring at the numbers Zhu Ping'an showed in disbelief, as if he was struck by thunder, shaking his head and muttering softly...
The whole person is like crazy.
The number displayed by Zhu Ping'an was exactly the same as the number he had finally obtained after going through untold hardships, using various techniques and abacus. However, the only difference was that Ghost Hand Zhang did not write down the calculated number, but instead wrote down the number on the big account that he had obtained in advance based on the Taicang account book.
How is this possible? This is impossible!
Ghost Hand Zhang couldn't believe his eyes and couldn't accept this reality. He couldn't accept that a man who couldn't even use an abacus could calculate such accurate data in less than one-tenth of his time.
It felt like an adult witnessing a baby knocking a strong man to the ground with one punch. It was so weird and unbelievable.
But that's the truth.
One hundred and thirty-seven thousand two hundred and fifty taels of silver and three hundred and sixteen thousand five hundred taels of gold. Zhu Ping'an did not even use an abacus. He calculated the figures easily and casually with a wave of his hand. The figures were exactly the same as the ones that he calculated with ten times the effort using an abacus.
In the field that he was best at, he defeated the person he looked down upon the most with just a finger in an almost humiliating manner.
The reason why Ghost Hand Zhang despised and mocked Zhu Ping'an before was that he relied on his accounting skills that were almost supernatural. Among them, he was most proud of his arithmetic skills. It is no exaggeration to say that there are no more than five accountants in the Ming Dynasty who are better than him.
Thanks to his accounting skills, although Ghost Hand Zhang was not an official, the officials in Taicang, including Zhang Guanku and others, all treated him with courtesy. Even the reckless Doctor Zhao was very polite to him.
As time went by, Ghost Hand Zhang became more and more arrogant. It was precisely because of this that Ghost Hand Zhang despised and mocked Zhu Ping'an.
But now, the numbers written on the rice paper by Zhu Ping'an were like whistling slaps in the face, slapping Guishou Zhang hard in the face.
Now Ghost Hand Zhang finally understood that it was not that Zhu Ping'an did not know how to use an abacus, but that he did not need an abacus.
You can calculate quickly and accurately without an abacus, and it is several times faster than using an abacus. If you were in this situation, would you still learn how to use an abacus
I thought about how I had just laughed at Zhu Ping'an.
Ghost Hand Zhang was so ashamed that he wished he could become a mouse, burrow into a hole in the ground and never come out.
Aren’t you the top scholar?!
Why study arithmetic if you don't study the Four Books and Five Classics and eight-part essays?!
The other four accountants were not much better. They were all stunned, as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
"Haha, look, the data calculated by Mr. Zhu has shocked the accountants."
The officials who were watching and didn't know what was going on laughed.
Although Zhang Guanku, Jia Langzhong, Zhao Langzhong and other Taicang senior officials were also smiling, their faces were becoming paler and paler. The chills on their backs were getting more and more intense, and their hearts felt like ice, cold from the inside out.
Without an abacus, Zhu Ping'an can accurately and quickly calculate the inventory data in less than a cup of tea.
Zhu Ping'an alone is more than ten times faster than the five top accountants including Guishou Zhang combined.
Zhu Ping'an's arithmetic skills deeply shocked them.
They had to think about something they had never dared to think about before: Is three days enough for Zhu Ping'an to recheck Taicang's three-year account book? !
Zhu Ping'an's performance just now made them have no doubt about this possibility.
Zhu Ping'an's math skills are so advanced, maybe he has figured out something in the account book? !
Deep thought is terrifying
Sweating profusely.
"Ahem, what's wrong? Zihou's mistake is outrageous. Look how shocked you all are." Doctor Jia coughed, stepped forward and patted the shoulders of Ghost Hand Zhang and others. He squinted his eyes and looked at them with a slight smile, emphasizing the wrong word.
With the reminder and suggestion from Doctor Jia, the accountants including Ghost Hand Zhang recovered from the shock of Zhu Ping'an's amazing algorithm.
"Haha, yes, Master Zhu made a mistake."
"Well, the data calculated by our five abacuses are exactly the same, which means we are correct. Master Zhu's is different. Master Zhu made a mistake in his calculations."
"Yes, that's right."
Ghost Hand Zhang and others expressed their opinions one after another, stating with certainty that Zhu Ping'an had made a mistake.
"Are those with more people always right? Sometimes the truth lies in the hands of a few people." Zhu Pingan glanced at Ghost Hand Zhang and the others, smiled slightly, and said in an unquestionable tone: "Count it again, let's do it together, I'll calculate it with you one number at a time."
After finishing speaking, Zhu Ping'an bowed to Blood Sword Zhang Guyi and said, "Captain Zhang, please separate the four accountants into two groups and check the numbers in pairs. I will work with this accountant named Zhang and check each number and summarize it."
Although this method of verification, which adds numbers one by one, is time-consuming, it is possible to see if there is an error in the number.
"Don't worry, sir."
Zhang Gu nodded and waved his hand. Several Dongchang men rushed down like tigers, dividing the accountants except Ghost Hand Zhang into two groups and isolating them in two empty rooms.
"Please." Zhu Ping'an stretched out his right hand and smiled at Ghost Hand Zhang.
Adding two numbers is very easy. Even if the officials present calculate slowly, they can still figure it out. Any mistake made by any group can be discovered in time. In addition, Zhang Guyi also selected four Dongchang men who were good at counting to check the calculation together.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, even if Ghost Hand Zhang and the others wanted to make a mistake in their calculations, they couldn't.
Time passes by minute by minute.
When the sun set, the final calculation results came out: the actual silver deposit in Taicang was 1,237,250 taels, and the gold deposit was 316,500 taels.
It is exactly the same as what Zhu Ping'an calculated before.
The number calculated by Zhu Pingan turned out to be correct? !
When the final result came out, all the officials in the room gasped and stood there stunned.