CH 143

Mo Yan stood behind the counter calculating yesterday’s finances. This abacus! She remembered all the formulas, but her hand-eye coordination was too poor, and she kept fumbling and moving the wrong beads.

She ultimately decided it was better to do the maths in her head.

After failing to do the calculations twice, she pushed the abacus aside in anger, and started to use mental mathematics instead.

She was muttering the numbers under her breath when Cao Zhang stood in front of her, “Are you muttering the incantation to a spell like a witch?”

Being suddenly interrupted made Mo Yan tremble in fright and forget the number in her head.

“Cao Zhang, what are you doing? I forgot where I was counting to.”

“Why aren’t you using an abacus? Just put the numbers on the abacus so you won’t forget.”

Mo Yan looked at the abacus she had thrown aside, “I’m not used to it.”

“I’ll help you.” Cao Zhang took the abacus, and reset the beads with one hand. With the other hand, he took the account book in front of Mu Yan, and started calculating. After a few minutes, it was done, and he confirmed nothing was out of order.

“You did it so fast!” Mu Yan looked at him with admiration.

Cao Zhang lowered his head and smiled slightly, “It’s nothing much. I think you’re missing an accountant, do you think I’d do?”

He kept his head down and didn’t look at Mo Yan.

“You don’t want to take the imperial examination anymore?”

“Yes, and I will stay with dad at home from now on. If you don’t need me, I’ll go to a school to be a teacher and teach children how to read. I should be able to do that.”

“I’m afraid I can’t afford you.” Mu Yan also lowered her head, but looked at him mischievously.

Cao Zhang raised his head and looked at her, “My prices aren’t expensive, the same as the male workers in your workshop. One thousand dollars a month is enough.”

Mo Yan shook her head, “No, how could I pay that?”

Cao Zhang frowned and said, “Five hundred dollars a month is fine as well.”

Mo Yan still shook her head, but didn’t speak this time.

Cao Zhang said again, “Two hundred dollars?”

Mo Yan still shook her head. This time, he was sure that she was teasing him, so he bowed and said solemnly, “It’s my honour to be able to serve Miss Mo. My salary is unimportant!”

He actually learned to joke around, and Mo Yan finally couldn’t help but laugh, “Look at you, you always have a straight face like an old man, how boring. For now, how about three thousand dollars a month? You’ll get more when the business earns more.”

“That’s too much.”

“You’re an accountant, which is a skilled job. Your salary is naturally higher than the workers in the workshop.”

“Very well, I will accept the job.”

Sitting behind the cashier, Cao Zhang kept flicking the abacus beads. It only took him an hour to review all of the finances from the business’ opening day.

After finishing the calculations, he began to walk around the business with his hands behind his back. Then, he asked Mu Yan, “How do you place your products?”

Mo Yan frowned and thought about it, “By classification. The classifications are clothing, jewellery, fabrics, household items, and imported goods such as tea.”

“We should also divide them into layers by colour, size and shape, so it looks better.”

His words made sense. Mo Yan nodded and said, “I’ll have a few of the other employees follow your commands.”

They started at the food area on the first floor. According to Cao Zhang’s instructions, the employees moved the goods a little. The products were very eye-catching now.

“Cao Zhang, I didn’t expect you to be good at product placement.”

“I just messed around with it a little.”

Judging from his personality, he seemed to have a little OCD.

Then, the household items on the other side were arranged neatly according to use, colour, and size. All the employees in the firm gathered around him to watch, all clamouring to help rearrange the products.

When Lu Junming stepped into the firm and saw them all gathered together, he asked, “Do you have nothing to do? What are you doing there?”

The employees in the firm were a little afraid of him, so they dispersed one after another and went back to work. When Cao Zhang turned around and met his eyes, Lu Junming’s face darkened, “Why are you here?”

Cao Zhang was about to lower his head again when Mo Yan pulled his wrist and said, “He’s now our accountant. We sell too many kinds of goods here and the finances are getting too complicated.”

“There are plenty of good accountants. Why do you have to hire him?”

“There is no one better than him.”

Xiao Chuzi also said, “Brother, besides being a good accountant, Mr. Cao is also excellent at product placement. Look, they are all arranged according to his instructions. Doesn’t it look better than before?”

“What’s the use of the firm looking good? Can that make us more money?”

Mo Yan came over and pulled him behind the counter, “Sit here and watch. See if you can make more money with good product placement.” She poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of him.

When the store opened, the number of customers in the firm began to increase, and they kept saying, “The things here are arranged so well! They look great.”

Mo Yan patted Lu Junming on the shoulder, “Did you hear that? The product will appear higher-quality if they are arranged nicely.”

Lu Junming sat here for an hour, and the staff kept coming to report sales which Cao Zhang registered in the account book. A glance at it showed today’s business was the best it had ever been.

Lu Junming was speechless. He said he still had something to do in the workshop and left. Mo Yan sent him out, and jokingly said, “I’m not sending you out.”

A carriage carrying bamboo stopped at the entrance of the firm. Mo Feng jumped out of the carriage and said triumphantly, “Look, I bought the bamboo back.”

Mo Yan went over to look at the bamboo on the carriage. They were as thick as the diameter of a bowl, and were all pale and mottled in colour.

“This bamboo can only be made into simple items, such as baskets, bedframes, and disposable lunch boxes as gifts for guests.”

“Then did I overpay for these?”

“How much did you buy them for?”

“Twenty dollars a piece.”

“This should cost ten dollars maximum. They’re all low-quality refuse.”

“Then, I,” Mu Feng was at a loss and hesitated when he suddenly remembered something: “Guess who I saw in Yi City?”

“Who?”

Mo Feng pointed to the firm, “The original tenant of Shunlai Inn, Manager Liang.”

“What is he doing in Yicheng?”

“The people around him are still calling him Manager. I saw him enter a firm, and I specifically checked it out. It’s called the Minghui Firm.”

Wasn’t that the firm Mu Zenian worked in before? The owner wasn’t very approachable, how did he become the manager as soon as he went there?

Lu Junming took Mo Feng to transport the bamboo to the workshop, and Mo Yan walked slowly behind, thinking about what was going on.

Suddenly, Lu Junming turned around and said, “He was the one who kidnapped your sister, and that idea was Lin Xian’er’s. Now she’s the wife of the owner’s son, of course Manager Liang can become Minghui Firm’s manager.”

“You’re saying they have an affair?”

Lu Junming frowned, “Don’t just say it out loud like that, okay?”

Post-translation notes: Finals are going to kill me, one more week to go. I promise chapters will be back to normal after next week. Thanks for your continued support for this web serial and this poor translator.