I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 12: Checking the Accounts

The next day, at the market district.

Senior Sister Yuan strolled leisurely among the stalls, occasionally glancing at the prices of various goods.

She wore a veil that obscured her features, making her expression unreadable. Even her figure seemed to shift subtly under its cover.

As the market overseer, she took her duties seriously, patrolling the area daily.

Partly as a way to pass the time, but mostly to ensure there were no cases of price-gouging or bullying.

Wearing the veil helped prevent vendors from recognizing her and putting on an act.

Today, however, something about the market felt different.

She couldn't quite pinpoint what it was at first.

“Hand-drawn by the most talented disciple in Jiushan Sect—Junior Brother Zheng!”

“Even if you don’t use it, just studying it is worth the price!”

Hearing the name "Junior Brother Zheng," Senior Sister Yuan turned toward the source of the shouting.

At a relatively remote stall, Han Qi was standing tall, hollering with all his might to attract customers.

The two followers beside him were doing the same, their combined voices booming over the noisy marketplace, drawing curious glances.

Even other vendors had stopped to stare at the trio.

Their stall was surrounded by a crowd—an unusual sight, especially when compared to the other talisman stalls, which were eerily quiet.

Senior Sister Yuan finally realized what was different about today’s market.

It was these three—shouting with unmatched enthusiasm!

Unable to resist, she moved closer.

The stall didn’t just have Zheng Fa’s Mysterious-Grade talismans.

Somehow, the trio had also gotten their hands on a pile of lower-value Yellow-Grade talismans to bundle with their sales.

“Buy one Mysterious-Grade Talisman, and we’ll throw in three Yellow-Grade Talismans for free!”

Han Qi called out to the crowd.

The surrounding cultivators murmured among themselves, visibly tempted.

“One of Junior Brother Zheng’s Mysterious-Grade Talismans, plus three bonus Yellow-Grade Talismans!” Han Qi pressed on. “If we didn’t see you all as family, we wouldn’t offer this deal! This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!”

Whether it was because of Zheng Fa’s reputation or the free talismans, a cultivator finally caved and bought three.

Han Qi gleefully stashed away a spirit stone, then looked up—only to see Senior Sister Yuan standing before him.

“Fairy, what would you like to buy?” Han Qi greeted her enthusiastically. “Take a look—these are hand-drawn by our sect’s greatest genius, Junior Brother Zheng!”

“This is your stall?”

“No!” Han Qi shook his head, half explaining and half bragging. “This is Junior Brother Zheng’s stall! Otherwise, how could we get our hands on his talismans?”

“So you’re working for him?”

“Of course! Fairy, which talisman do you want?”

Han Qi responded brightly, even trying to push a sale.

“…You’re this enthusiastic working for him? The whole market can hear you!” Senior Sister Yuan scoffed at his proud expression.

“?” Han Qi blinked, sensing something was off. He scrutinized her carefully.

Senior Sister Yuan removed her veil.

“Senior Sister Yua—”

“Shut up!” She put the veil back on and glared at the trio. “You three never worked this hard when you were helping me.”

“…”

“You raised book prices on your own!”

“You constantly found excuses to slack off!”

“You never broke major rules but kept piling up small mistakes!”

The more she spoke, the angrier she got.

Han Qi and his two companions hung their heads, not daring to argue.

“If you had worked like this earlier, I would have—” She paused midway, then waved her hand dismissively.

Complaining more felt pointless.

It just irked her how quickly they had changed, making her look like the problem instead of them.

Han Qi hesitated before looking up. “So, Senior Sister Yuan… would you like to buy a talisman?”

“?”

Zheng Fa had a strange feeling about Senior Sister Yuan’s gaze.

The moment he stepped onto the second floor, he noticed her glancing at him repeatedly.

Beyond the faint trace of anger in her eyes, there was also something rare—deep thought.

Rare, because Zheng Fa had almost never seen her in deep thought before.

“Senior Sister Yuan? Is there something wrong with my face?”

He couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s not you that’s wrong—it’s me that’s losing my mind!” Senior Sister Yuan huffed. “You need to teach me!”

“…Huh?”

“Huh what? Didn’t Han Qi tell you? Senior Sister Zhang is coming tonight to check the accounts.”

“I know about the audit,” Zheng Fa said, confused. “I’ve already organized the ledgers.”

He had been helping Senior Sister Yuan manage the accounts every day this past month.

The bookkeeping was tedious but not particularly difficult, and he was confident his records were accurate.

“Senior Sister Zhang isn’t just checking the accounts—she’s checking me!” Senior Sister Yuan said bitterly. “She stopped overseeing them herself and said I was unfit for the market overseer position. She wants to replace me.”

Zheng Fa nodded slightly.

“…Why are you nodding?” Senior Sister Yuan glared at him, then softened her tone when she remembered she needed his help. “I told her handling accounts was easy for me!”

“…So?”

Zheng Fa was starting to understand.

“So I never told her you’ve been doing the accounting! She thinks I’ve been managing everything.”

…So I was an outsourced accountant this whole time?

Zheng Fa didn’t mind much—keeping the books was exhausting, but earning five spirit stones a month made it worthwhile.

Han Qi had once told him that regular clerks in the market made one spirit stone every three months, if they were lucky.

It was like a street cleaner’s job—grueling, but if the salary was ten times the usual, you could even start calling yourself a “City Beautification Specialist” with pride.

Senior Sister Yuan had actually been paying him too well.

Zheng Fa decided to return the favor.

“So, what do you need?”

“Just explain the key figures to me,” Senior Sister Yuan pleaded. “So I don’t embarrass myself when Senior Sister Zhang questions me.”

So she wants to cram before the test…

“That’s easy.”

Zheng Fa spread the ledgers in front of her and pointed out the critical numbers from the past month.

She memorized them quickly—while cultivators weren’t necessarily good at math, their memory was often exceptional.

After his thorough explanation, Senior Sister Yuan looked much more confident.

“Alright, you should leave early later,” she patted his shoulder. “So Senior Sister Zhang doesn’t start asking questions.”

“What shouldn’t I see?”

Senior Sister Zhang’s voice floated up from downstairs.

Zheng Fa felt Senior Sister Yuan’s hand stiffen on his shoulder.

She shot him a desperate look—improvise!

Senior Sister Zhang climbed the stairs.

She glanced at Zheng Fa without much surprise, then turned to Senior Sister Yuan.

“What exactly are you trying to hide?”

“…” Senior Sister Yuan forced a smile and blurted out, “I was just worried Junior Brother Zheng would disturb you. This is the accounting office, after all. Not just anyone should be in here…”

Senior Sister Zhang gave her a long, unreadable look before turning to Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa sighed internally.

Under Senior Sister Yuan’s anxious gaze, he nodded.

“Are the ledgers ready?” Senior Sister Zhang asked.

“You’re a bit early,” Senior Sister Yuan muttered. Then, trying to score points, she added, “But I already finished organizing them!”

She handed over the books Zheng Fa had prepared.

Senior Sister Zhang flipped through them at an astonishing speed.

Senior Sister Yuan stole glances at her face.

“Well done,” Senior Sister Zhang finally said, her tone approving.

Senior Sister Yuan beamed.

“What was the market’s total income this month?”

“1,236 spirit stones!”

Senior Sister Yuan answered quickly, delighted that she had memorized that number.

“And how much of that was rent?”

“955 spirit stones—230 from stalls, 270 from small shops, and 455 from major storefronts.”

Her confidence was growing.

Senior Sister Zhang nodded. “You’ve put effort into this.”

Senior Sister Yuan looked even more pleased.

“How does that compare to last month?”

“…Ah?”

Senior Sister Yuan froze and turned to look at Zheng Fa.

Damn! I forgot to review last month’s numbers!

“You answer,” Senior Sister Zhang said, pointing at Zheng Fa.

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