Wang Gang's external injuries were not serious; a simple bandaging would suffice. The small clinic could not treat the problem with his meridians. Wang Gang figured he would still have to seek out Murong Bo for that. After all, he had experience.
Wang Zhong had knocked his arm, which was hardly a serious matter, but when the physician took his pulse, he also discovered kidney deficiency. The physician's eyes immediately lit up, and he prescribed a whole pile of decoctions and pills!
The sight left Wang Gang beaming! Even on the way to the Splendid Brocade Workshop, he kept mocking... comforting him!
The Splendid Brocade Workshop was one of the Wang family's shops in Suzhou. It primarily sold silk and cloth, and also employed several tailors to make custom clothing for customers.
The moment Wang Gang entered, supporting Wang Zhong, a shop assistant recognized them and hurried into the back to announce their arrival.
Before long, a plump man in his thirties emerged and bowed with an ingratiating expression. "Young master, Uncle Zhong, why didn't you send word that you were coming? I could have gone outside the city to welcome you!"
His dignity wounded, Wang Zhong was feeling resentful, and he snapped, "The young master and I are here to audit your accounts! If word leaked out beforehand, what would we do if you ran off?"
The plump man protested, "Oh, Uncle Zhong, you're my own dear uncle! I'd love nothing more than for the young master to replace me, so I could follow you around every day. Waiting on you hand and foot would be better than suffering here!"
"Suffering?" Wang Zhong looked the plump man over and sneered. "Wang Cai, don't feed me pretty words! I've never seen anyone suffer himself into your shape!"
Wang Cai chuckled, all cheeky smiles. "I don't want to be this fat either, but I can't help it. Even drinking cold water puts meat on me!"
Then he turned to Wang Gang. "Young master, look, why not replace me? I'm an incapable fellow. All I can do is fret as I watch this shop fail to make money!"
Wang Gang smiled without speaking.
Wang Zhong, however, gave him a faint, ambiguous smile. "Since you think you aren't capable of managing this place, who do you think is? Recommend someone!"
"Ah! Well..." Wang Cai scratched his head and smiled apologetically. "How could I recommend anyone? These dim old eyes of mine are no match for the torch-bright gazes of the young master and Uncle Zhong!"
"Enough! Stop clowning around!" Wang Zhong slapped the table. "Since we said we're auditing the accounts, we can't just go through the motions. Bring the bookkeeper and the ledgers here!"
"Yes! Of course! I don't really understand those things. I'll have to leave them to you!" The moment Wang Cai turned away, a mocking smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes filled with disdain.
Once Wang Cai was well away, Wang Zhong picked up his tea and asked, "Young master, what do you make of Wang Cai?"
"He feigns foolishness, but he's no fool!"
Only after quite some time did Wang Cai return with a thin little old man carrying a stack of ledgers.
He set the ledgers beside Wang Gang and said with a guileless smile, "Young master, here are the man and the accounts. Check away!"
Wang Gang smiled, but instead of picking up a ledger, he looked at the bookkeeper. "May I ask your surname? How many years have you been at the Splendid Brocade Workshop?"
"In answer to you, proprietor, my humble surname is Liang. I've worked here for over three years!"
"Has everything here been to your satisfaction?"
"Thanks to your blessings, proprietor, everything has been excellent!"
"Good, then!" Wang Gang gave a slight smile and pointed at the ledgers. "Are there any errors or omissions in the accounts?"
"In answer to you, proprietor, this old man has worked in this trade for twenty years and has never made an error or omission!" A trace of confidence appeared on Bookkeeper Liang's face as he spoke.
"Oh!" Wang Gang half closed his eyes, his fingers tapping out a string of clicks on the table. The atmosphere in the room grew somewhat oppressive. Wang Cai glanced over, a cold smile touching his lips. Scholars always loved putting on mysterious airs.
Wang Gang suddenly spoke. "Liang Qingquan, born in the seventh year of Tiansheng. You began working in the countinghouse of Trust, Virtue and Prosperity in the second year of Zhihe. In the fourth year of Jiayou, you were dismissed for falsifying ledgers and embezzling funds. Afterward, you moved between Jiangning, Luzhou, and other places, before joining the Splendid Brocade Workshop in the fifth year of Xining! Am I right?"
Bookkeeper Liang's expression changed dramatically! Wang Cai looked startled, then his eyes shifted, and he bellowed angrily, "Well, Old Liang! So you're a thief! Speak up! Have you been tampering with anything in our shop?"
At those words, Bookkeeper Liang's eyes lit up. He hurriedly knelt and kowtowed. "In answer to you, proprietor, this old man did indeed do some foolish things in his youth! And I've suffered retribution for them over the years! But I turned over a new leaf long ago, and I've worked diligently in the shop, never daring to slack off! How would I dare do such rotten things again?"
After a pause, he began to weep bitterly. "If you cannot trust me, proprietor, then I will ask to leave of my own accord! I blame no one else. I can only blame myself for the wrongs I committed when I was young and ignorant. It is no more than I deserve!"
The smile on Wang Gang's face deepened as he said slowly, "I am a scholar, a disciple of the orthodox teachings. I study the teachings of the sages, so naturally I cannot punish without first instructing!"
"As the sages said: no man is a sage; who can be without faults? To mend one's faults is the greatest good!" As he spoke, he picked up a ledger and swept his gaze over those in the room. "Then let us see whether Bookkeeper Liang has truly turned over a new leaf, shall we?"
Wang Cai's eyes darted about as he repeatedly offered ingratiating smiles. He sensed something was wrong. Wang Gang and Wang Zhong had clearly come prepared today. A trace of worry arose in his heart, and he could only hope Bookkeeper Liang could bluff his way through.
Bookkeeper Liang, however, breathed a sigh of relief. After so many years in the trade, his skill at preparing a ledger had reached the heat of a perfect furnace. Never mind the youth before him-even a seasoned clerk from the government office could not hope to spot anything amiss without spending some time on it.
Wang Gang leafed through the ledger, a faint smile on his lips. After reading a few pages, he praised it. "The accounts are certainly neat and clear!"
"Only as they should be!"
Wang Gang nodded and asked, seemingly quite casually, "But among yesterday's sales, were these entries for silk written incorrectly? The prices are much lower than those at other shops!"
Bookkeeper Liang stole a glance at Wang Cai, but seeing that he merely kept looking elsewhere, he could only say, "In answer to you, proprietor, perhaps business was poor, and prices were lowered to attract customers. That may have been the case!"
"Oh, that makes sense!" Wang Gang turned a few more pages. "So you've been attracting customers for this entire fortnight?"
Bookkeeper Liang looked at Wang Cai again, but still received no response. He could only steel himself and answer, "Perhaps so!"
"What do you say, Manager Wang?" Wang Gang turned his gaze to Wang Cai.
Wang Cai rubbed his head and gave a guileless smile. "I seem to recall mentioning lowering prices. There are so many miscellaneous matters in the shop that I haven't kept an eye on it every day."
"Mm, there are many things to attend to in a shop. It's understandable that the manager cannot keep track of everything!" Smiling, Wang Gang took a sheaf of papers from inside his robe. "Why don't you two take a look at this?"
The two took the papers and looked. Recorded on them, transaction by transaction, were the shop's actual accounts for the past fortnight. How could they fail to understand? Wang Gang had sent people to investigate the shop in secret! All those falsified accounts were now utterly useless!
Wang Cai immediately sprang up and cursed at Liang Qingquan:
"You thieving scoundrel! Have I ever treated you poorly since you came to this shop? Yet you dared line your own pockets and falsify the accounts to fool me and the proprietor!" As he cursed, he also turned his back to the others and signaled to him with his eyes.
Liang Qingquan had not expected the Wang family's secret investigation to be so detailed, down to every single transaction. He did not know how they had done it. To achieve this level of detail, they would have had to bribe every shop assistant.
Faced with this, he could hardly argue. He could only weep floods of tears. "This old man was bewitched by greed! Please spare me this once, proprietor!"
Wang Gang's expression did not change. He looked at Wang Cai. "How do you think this should be handled, Manager Wang?"
"Send him to the authorities, of course!" Wang Cai said bluntly. "A wolf-hearted, dog-lunged creature like this deserves death!"
Wang Gang nodded. "Then we'll do as Manager Wang says! Still, death would be excessive. Take my visiting card and put in a word with the county magistrate. A sentence of penal military service will do!"
Wang Cai choked at those words. What do you mean, do as I say?
When did I say to sentence him to penal military service?
This is bad! Liang Qingquan will probably hate me for this!
He turned his head and saw Liang Qingquan staring at him with a hostile expression.
"Please see the truth, proprietor! This old man is advanced in years. How could I endure the hardships of penal military service? All of this was..."
Liang Qingquan lay prostrate on the floor, pleading through his tears. Before he could finish, Wang Cai lashed out with a heavy kick and knocked him unconscious!
"You mother-fucking thief! After committing such a grave offense, you still have the gall to beg for mercy!" Wang Cai cursed a couple of times, then turned back with an ingratiating smile. "Young master, I'm a blunt man. I can't stand bastards who bite the hand that feeds them! I'll take him to the county office right away!"
As he spoke, he began dragging Liang Qingquan away.
"Wait. We've finished discussing the bookkeeper. Now let's discuss you!"