Chapter 316 - 317: If You’re Going to Help, Put Your Heart Into It
Chapter 316: Chapter 317: If You’re Going to Help, Put Your Heart Into It
Ancient Wen Heng answered him, his eyes still on the account book. "Of course. Didn’t I just tell you where the mistakes were? How could I possibly know if I hadn’t run the numbers?"
"How did you do that?" He Nan asked, confused, seeing that the abacus he’d casually brought over was still sitting there unused, like a decoration.
Ancient Wen Heng replied without looking up, "The abacus is in my head. If you want to learn, I can teach you."
Having started practicing this form of mental calculation since childhood, Ancient Wen Heng was exceptionally skilled at it.
"An abacus in your head?" He Nan simply pulled up a stool and sat quietly to the side to watch. ’At this speed,’ he thought, ’it probably won’t take long to get all these accounts settled.’
He grew even more curious as he watched Ancient Wen Heng flipping through the pages as if it were a game, only occasionally picking up his brush to make a mark.
Gong Zhengping, who happened to be on his rounds, saw the two of them—one flipping through a book as if for fun, the other staring at his companion with his chin in his hand. He walked in, frowning.
"What are you two doing?"
"Scholar Gong," Ancient Wen Heng and He Nan said, quickly standing up to salute him.
"Why are you idly chatting here?" Gong Zhengping glanced curiously at the account books on the table. ’Their desks are on opposite sides of the room, so how did they end up together?’ he wondered.
He Nan said, somewhat embarrassed, "This subordinate couldn’t handle these account books in time, so I came to ask Mr. Gu for help."
Gong Zhengping glanced at Ancient Wen Heng. "If you’re going to help, then be diligent about it. Don’t just flip through the pages for fun."
Before Ancient Wen Heng had a chance to defend himself, He Nan quickly interjected, "Mr. Gu is diligently helping this subordinate with the audits. He has already found several issues."
Stroking his beard, Gong Zhengping asked, "Were you calculating just now? Did you go through it line by line?"
Ancient Wen Heng nodded. "I’ve looked at every single entry, and I’ve calculated them all."
Gong Zhengping’s interest was piqued. He moved to stand behind him and pointed at the ledger. "Alright then, let me see you do it."
Ancient Wen Heng continued to flip through the account book. He would only pause for a fraction of a second on each page, stopping to make a mark only when he found an error.
Gong Zhengping took the account book, flicked the beads on an abacus to check, and found there was absolutely no error.
"How did you do that?" Gong Zhengping asked, studying Ancient Wen Heng with a probing gaze. ’It seems this top scholar isn’t just brilliant with his essays,’ he thought, ’his arithmetic is first-class as well.’
Ancient Wen Heng gave them a simple explanation of the principles behind abacus-based mental calculation. "The physical abacus is the foundation. By operating it, you learn the patterns and methods of calculation. As you become more proficient, you begin to build a mental image. You then perform the operations on that imaginary abacus in your mind to count. So, mental calculation is just an extension of the abacus..."
He then took an abacus and demonstrated. "Once you get the hang of it, your mind will churn out the answer in no time. It’s much more convenient."
Being older, Gong Zhengping only half-understood the explanation. He Nan, however, was intrigued. He tried the method Ancient Wen Heng had taught and discovered that his calculations were indeed much faster than before.
"Brother Gu, you’re a genius!" He Nan exclaimed, forgetting the Grand Scholar was still standing beside him. He grabbed an account book and started to slowly familiarize himself with the technique.
Gong Zhengping thought to himself, ’I never expected the Hanlin Academy to have found such a treasure this time. This new top scholar is exceptionally talented. I wonder what other surprises he has in store.’
Stroking his beard, he slowly wandered out, pondering how he might uncover more of the young man’s strengths.
＆
Xu Nuo stared at the contract in her hand, her expression troubled. She had promised Mrs. Gu to let her know as soon as a suitable manor came on the market.
The problem was, she was in mourning. The Gu family had just had a happy celebration, and it would be terrible if they felt her bringing this up now was an ill omen.
’But if I send one of my subordinates to do it, I wonder if Mrs. Gu will be offended?’
As she was wrestling with this dilemma, Gu Lehuan was leading a group of men into the backyard to move some bamboo charcoal.
Ever since he had rescued her, Xu Nuo had learned that his family survived by taking on odd jobs. So, she hired him to help with some of the heavy lifting, considering the extra wages a way to repay his kindness.
This batch of bamboo charcoal they were currently moving was something she planned to store away and sell in the winter.
This Gu Lehuan was an honest fellow. He had worked diligently these past few days and never spoke a word to anyone about the day he had saved her.
’Among all her workers, only Gu Lehuan is a free man of good standing. If I really have to send someone, he’s my only choice.’
"Gu Lehuan, come over here for a moment." Xu Nuo beckoned to him. "I have a task I need your help with. Do you think you could put what you’re doing on hold and run an errand for me?"
Gu Lehuan looked at his young employer and nodded silently. "Where to?"
"It’s quite a coincidence, but the new top scholar shares your surname. I’d like you to take this contract to Mrs. Gu for her to look at. I promised her before... if she’s still interested, she just needs to pay the amount in Silver Taels written on this paper."
Gu Lehuan asked, ashamed, "How much Silver is that?"
Xu Nuo almost forgot; many people were illiterate. "In that case, I’ll have Sanhua accompany you. She can read numbers."
Her casual remark made Gu Lehuan blush with shame. ’I’m not even as capable as a maid now,’ he thought miserably.
"Then why don’t you just have her go on her own?" he asked. ’Why make me tag along just to be humiliated?’ He didn’t dare say the last part aloud, feeling that voicing it would be even more shameful.
Xu Nuo touched the white flower in her hair. "This is a matter I should have handled in person, but I’m still in mourning. They are an official family; sending a servant to their door would be a breach of etiquette."
If it were an ordinary family, Xu Nuo would have just arranged to meet them somewhere else, paying for tea herself. But this was an official family, and she didn’t want them to feel she was showing up at their door to cause them distress.
If she had any male relatives, Xu Nuo wouldn’t have to expose her own predicament this way. ’To this day, I still don’t have anyone to help me with these things.’
She studied Gu Lehuan more closely. ’He’s actually not bad-looking,’ she mused, ’and he seems honest and upright. If worst comes to worst, I could just keep him on as a sort of good-luck charm. He might come in handy for emergencies.’
However, she quickly shook the thought away. ’My most intense period of mourning will be over soon, but I can’t ask a man to waste years waiting for me. No, I’ll just have to slowly search for someone else in the future.’
Gu Lehuan said, "Fine, I’ll go. But don’t blame me if it doesn’t work out."
"Of course I won’t. But we need a pretext for your visit," Xu Nuo said. She couldn’t have him show up identified as a hired laborer. "Just say you’re my distant cousin!"
Gu Lehuan didn’t care about the details. He felt he already owed her a debt of gratitude for letting him work here long-term.
As for the rescue, he considered it a trivial matter.
Seeing that he had agreed, Xu Nuo immediately sent someone to deliver a formal notice of their visit.
But when she saw his patched-up short robe, she frowned slightly. "My cousin can’t possibly dress so shabbily. Come on, I’ll take you to buy a new set of clothes first."
Gu Lehuan started to refuse, but when he looked down at his own dirty and tattered clothes, the words died in his throat.
’If I really go to an official family’s residence dressed like this,’ he thought, ’I probably won’t even make it past the front gate.’