In the blink of an eye, it was lunchtime, and a few shadows passed by in the corridor outside, walking together.

Duan Rong stretched lazily and said with a smile, "This morning has really been endless!"

Li Jun sneered inwardly, watching you stare at the ledger like that, you don’t recognize it, it doesn’t recognize you, doesn’t it feel like an eternity, like sitting on pins and needles?

Xiao Yu glanced at Duan Rong and said, "It’s only the first day!"

Though Xiao Yu said this, her feelings were the same as Duan Rong’s, even harder to endure.

Throughout the morning, initially she wanted to have a good look, but the more she looked, the less she understood, getting herself confused with all the twists and turns, even forgetting where she started.

After two or three attempts, Xiao Yu had to sigh and give up, only pretending to look busy afterwards.

"Let’s go have lunch first. There are still five days ahead, there’s no rush in auditing the accounts," Li Jun said with a smile.

Duan Rong agreed, "Mr. Li Jun is quite right. Without a full stomach, there’s no strength for work."

As Duan Rong spoke, he closed the ledger in front of him. Xiao Yu laughed a little and closed her ledger as well.

Then the group left the small dark room, with Xiao Yu locking its door behind them.

Xiao Yu returned to the courtyard for lunch, while Duan Rong went to the street for food, parting ways at the martial arts arena within the central courtyard.

As they walked away, Huang Qing bowed to Li Jun before leaving the backyard accountant’s office and heading to the central courtyard cafeteria for lunch.

Li Jun stood in the empty hall as Wang De’an approached slowly.

"How did the morning go? Those two youngsters didn’t give you any trouble, did they?"

Li Jun turned to look at Wang De’an and chuckled lightly, "Those two, watching them makes me exhausted! Clearly can’t understand the ledger but still pretend to be auditing."

Wang De’an chuckled, "Actually, you can’t blame them. Brother Li Jun, the ledger’s structure you designed, even a veteran accountant would be baffled for days. Let alone those two youngsters, unless one was also like you, a natural genius in calculations!"

Hearing this, Li Jun laughed heartily, and for some reason, couldn’t stop, nearly laughing to tears.

Are calculation geniuses that common? It’s like buying cabbage at the market!

Wang De’an watched Li Jun laugh so hard, his expression subtly changed. He wondered how his words struck Li Jun’s funny bone. Perhaps a genius’s sense of humor is naturally different from ordinary people.

Wang De’an waited until Li Jun finally stopped laughing, then patted his shoulder, "Brother Li Jun, come on, I’ll treat you to lunch."

Although Li Jun was occasionally eccentric, he was greatly trusted by Xu Shouxian, and Wang De’an often invited him for meals, which Li Jun rarely refused.

After lunch, when Duan Rong and Xiao Yu arrived at the entrance of the West Bing Room, Huang Qing was already waiting there.

Xiao Yu took out the key, unlocked the door, and the three went inside, relighting the extinguished candles as they waited a while before Li Jun entered, slightly flushed and reeking of alcohol.

Li Jun came in, exhaled, and laughed, "Sorry for being late."

Xiao Yu glanced at Li Jun and remained silent.

Though a calculation genius, Li Jun was evidently improper in social interactions, and even after this brief encounter, Xiao Yu felt a growing displeasure towards him, though he seemed completely oblivious.

Duan Rong raised his head, looking at Li Jun, "No problem, if Mr. Li Jun has things to do, not coming is okay."

Duan Rong’s words held a hint of sarcasm, but Li Jun seemed oblivious, waving his hand, "Rest assured! Chief Accountant Xu granted me five days off, so I’ll be here, other matters will wait."

Xiao Yu heard this and laughed at Duan Rong, "Did you hear that? You can rest assured."

Duan Rong knew Xiao Yu was mocking him for wasting efforts. His sarcasm was entirely lost on Li Jun.

Duan Rong sighed and buried his head in the ledger before him.

In truth, before lunch, Duan Rong had already absorbed the copper abacus artifact spirit from Li Jun.

Duan Rong initially thought that after absorbing the master-level Miao Account Weaving, he would instantly understand the ledger in hand, but upon looking, he found he still couldn’t quite comprehend it.

However, this lack of understanding was entirely different from the previous bewildered state.

With the master-level Miao Account Weaving, Duan Rong could immediately identify where he didn’t understand. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

That is to say, although he hadn’t grasped the ledger’s intricate secrets, he had a vague sense of where those secrets were deeply hidden.

Now Duan Rong felt like he was solving a Sudoku puzzle, trying to discern why, despite possessing Li Jun’s master-level Miao Account Weaving, he still couldn’t grasp the ledger at once.

Duan Rong repeatedly looked at the ledger, then flipped through the related ledgers Huang Qing found earlier in the morning.

As Duan Rong looked, suddenly he understood!

Every entry in the ledger was part of a layered structure, even the simplest and clearest entries were deliberately convoluted, akin to a taxi taking a longer route.

Moreover, it wasn’t just any ledger structures but like nesting dolls, with each entry having more than three layers.

"This is simply a maze!"

"A maze of entries!"

The moment Duan Rong understood, he was greatly shocked, having to acknowledge the masterful and intricate genius behind it!

But in the next moment, Duan Rong’s gaze suddenly sharpened as a thought flashed through his mind.

That is, why was the ledger made like this?

Was it just Li Jun’s game?

Definitely not, because Duan Rong noticed each entry in the ledger was signed off by the chief accountant.

Some entries were signed by Xu Shouxian, others by Wang De’an and Zhu Shicheng.

Therefore, this couldn’t be merely Li Jun’s personal game, but a collusion among the higher-ups of the backyard accountant’s office.

As for why, it couldn’t be simpler!

Duan Rong was nearly certain there was a problem with the ledger, and no small issue, thus requiring such maze-like ledger layering to conceal it.

Duan Rong immediately decided to clear the fog and see what issue they were hiding, and how significant it was.

He then selected an entry confirmed by Xu Shouxian’s signature, instructing Huang Qing to continually fetch related ledgers from the shelves.

Huang Qing began weaving back and forth across the shelves...

Duan Rong was extremely focused, reading quickly, and as soon as he received a ledger from Huang Qing, he swiftly flipped it and immediately found the related entries he sought.

As Xiao Yu watched Duan Rong and Huang Qing busy themselves, particularly Duan Rong’s focused manner, she almost felt like Duan Rong wasn’t just pretending. "Isn’t he supposed to be unable to read ledgers?"

But Li Jun watched Duan Rong with extreme disdain.

Because Duan Rong had several opened ledgers in front of him and continued asking Huang Qing to fetch more.

Yet he made no notes, nor ever used the abacus to verify and cross-check.

How? Do you think your mental calculation and memory are superior like mine? Clearly just putting on an act!

But suddenly, Li Jun’s scornful smile froze on his face.

Because he saw Duan Rong while flipping through the ledgers, his left index finger and thumb unconsciously rubbed the fabric of his sleeve.