Early the next day, Jiang Xue got up. She originally intended to look around and explore the local customs of the Holy Water Manor, but she worried about inadvertently stumbling upon family secrets. Everyone was busy with their own tasks; even though Dong Yao brought her breakfast, she felt she should do something helpful while staying here.

So, she ran over to help Dong Yao with planting medicinal materials in the fields. She hadn’t been working for even half an hour when Shui Yixuan came looking for her.

"Your foot hasn’t healed yet; how can you work like this? Come on, let’s go back. If you’re really bored, why not help me sort out some accounts?"

Jiang Xue turned around in surprise. "Doesn’t your estate have an accountant to handle accounts? You shouldn’t have to do this yourself."

"We have many accounts, not just those of the estate but also those of Wind Valley. Even though we have accountants, only by looking at them ourselves can we spot problems and prevent some people from causing trouble. You’re good at business, you should be able to handle accounting, right?"

Jiang Xue glanced at her own foot, realizing that an office job like accounting might suit her best at the moment. She nodded in agreement and was about to walk forward when Shui Yixuan bent down and picked her up directly, startling her. She instinctively grabbed his lapel, blushing and glaring at him.

"What are you doing? Put me down! I can walk this little distance!"

Shui Yixuan looked down at her intently. "You may not care for yourself, but I do. With all those blisters, walking must be painful. You’ve got a big heart, not knowing how to take care of yourself. Let’s go; I’ll carry you to the study. Don’t do this kind of work until you’re healed. Once you’re better, I won’t intervene, but for now, you have to listen to me!"

Jiang Xue noticed the clan members around sneakily lower their heads and suppress their laughter at their interaction, making her blush even more. Shui Yixuan noticed their reactions too and smiled, good-naturedly teasing her to comfort her.

"It’s nothing. They’re genuinely happy, thinking that my thousand-year-old iron tree has finally bloomed. They’re just not used to it. We’re both unmarried and of suitable age. I don’t need you to immediately become my concubine, but getting along is necessary, isn’t it?"

This was clearly a roundabout way of trying to woo her!

Indeed, Jianghu people are carefree, unlike those scholarly types who make everything sound pretentious. Looking back over the past few lifetimes, it seems she really hasn’t had a proper romance. Well, since they’re a good match in terms of age and personality, it’s worth giving it a try.

The accounting here uses uppercase numbers like 〇一二三四五 to record accounts. The advantage is that it leaves no room for alterations, preventing those with ulterior motives from tampering with the accounts. The downside is that it seems too casual, increasing the chance of mistakes.

When she calculates accounts, she uses an abacus to convert numbers into 12345 for reading, deftly performing addition and subtraction.

Originally, Shui Yixuan wanted to create an opportunity to get closer to her, but he didn’t expect that she could not only read and write but also perform calculations. She even mastered the abacus use with ease. Clearly a natural in business, he was astonished, realizing he had underestimated her. He’d thought he’d have the chance to teach her face-to-face, but what happened?

Not only did she not give him the opportunity, but her speed in balancing the accounts also put him to shame, surpassing even him. Moreover, she approached it methodically, checking the accounts first, then calculating this month’s total. Sometimes she didn’t even need the abacus, doing the calculations mentally, leaving Shui Yixuan stunned. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

When she finished one month’s check and was about to start on the next, he pressed his hand on the accounts with a curious look on his face.

"No, your speed is too fast! How do you do it? Can you calculate just by speaking?"

Seeing his keen interest, Jiang Xue wrote down 12345 alongside 〇一二三四五 and their corresponding 壹贰叁肆伍, starting with the basics of numbers, then explaining bookkeeping habits, methods, and even decimals. She essentially gave him a simplified version of elementary school-level knowledge.

"Is this how you keep accounts at Yi Yuan Yage’s Changchun Hall?"

Jiang Xue nodded. "Yes, usually we have a system to record daily inventory and sales. Underneath the voucher, there needs to be a reimbursement slip. What’s a reimbursement slip? It’s proof of what you bought today and how much you spent. When you look back at this page, you can immediately understand what was purchased and for what purpose..."