"Brother Wang, this isn't right!" Xu Songnian held an issue of the Industry Promotion Daily, looking astonished.
The officer surnamed Wang beside him looked perfectly at ease. "What isn't right?"
"This isn't what we agreed on!" Xu Songnian said. "Weren't we going to report that a powder magazine had caught fire and exploded?"
"Then why does the paper also list losses of uniforms, bedding, provisions, horses, and gun carriages?"
The officer laughed. "When I got back last night, it suddenly struck me that this was a golden opportunity to balance the books. So I reported all the shortfalls from before."
"I've only been in the post a little over half a year. I'd been worrying about what to do with the shortfalls left by my predecessors. Now I can pin them all on the Yongjiu School."
"Their Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower takes the blame as a matter of course. A little thing like this will barely earn a laugh from them."
Xu Songnian pointed at him. "Well, Big-Head Wang, that enormous head of yours isn't just for show!"
"You were always cutting corners back at Wude Palace. Now you're an official, and you're still as slippery as ever."
"Being a man is hard. Being an official is harder. Being an official without connections is harder still." Wang Jiran sighed. "The only reason I've made it this far without a mishap is that I know how to think on my feet."
"We both came from ordinary families. Neither of us has a relative in Yan'an Prefecture. If we weren't careful, we'd have been sent off to Southern Jambu Continent long ago, baring our teeth at kangaroos every day!"
Xu Songnian sighed too. After a pause, he said, "Very well. In that case, I have another item for you to add."