Chapter 214: Year-End Meeting

The next day, Duan Rong made a trip to Wild Boar Mountain, took six ten-thousand-denomination silver notes from the cave, and returned to hand them to Ximen Kankan.

That evening, after Ximen Yong had finished his dinner and was sitting in the flower hall drinking tea, Ximen Kankan stepped in from outside the door, looking somewhat timid.

As soon as Ximen Yong saw Ximen Kankan enter, he raised his eyes and said, "Something the matter?"

Over the past half-year, Ximen Yong had not only begun to urge Ximen Kankan to practice martial arts, but had also started letting him get involved in business matters, which left Ximen Kankan quite anxious and even more fearful of his father, Ximen Yong.

Ximen Kankan said, "Brother Duan Rong, he also intends to participate in the selection for Registered Disciples of the Taiyi Sect. It's almost the end of the year; when you register for me, Father, please register him as well!"

As Ximen Kankan spoke, he placed the six ten-thousand-tael silver notes he was holding onto the small table.

Ximen Yong was startled upon hearing this, his gaze flickering.

Half a year ago, Duan Rong's strength at Heihu Gang was at least at the level of Inner Breath Realm Small Success, and with another half-year of cultivation, he certainly had a chance at participating in the selection for Registered Disciples of the Taiyi Sect.

Ximen Yong glanced at the silver notes on the small table and said, "Are these the silver notes your Brother Duan gave you?"

"Yes, it is sixty thousand taels in total."

Ximen Yong picked up the silver notes, immediately wanting to have Ximen Kankan return them to Duan Rong. After all, he had received such a great favor from Duan Rong; how could he accept his money for registering him?

But then Ximen Yong had a second thought: he and Duan Rong had never once brought up the matter of Heihu Gang, and returning everything to Duan Rong would leave him without an excuse, making it look as if he were refusing him.

Ximen Yong pondered for a moment and decided to keep three of the silver notes, saying, "What kind of relationship does your Brother Duan have with our family? Just keeping thirty thousand for the sect head fee is enough. The Gentry's Recommendation Letter will be handled along with yours, so there's no need to spend extra money. Return these thirty thousand taels to your Brother Duan. Tell him to rest assured about the registration; I will definitely get it done for him!"

Ximen Kankan blinked his eyes, slightly surprised. He absolutely did not believe his father's claim that the Gentry's Recommendation Letter would be handled along with his own without extra cost; he knew those old things and their habit of plucking feathers from every passing goose all too well.

Nevertheless, Ximen Kankan walked over, took the remaining three silver notes from the small table, went to Liu Lu that same day to return them to Duan Rong, and repeated what his father had instructed him to say.

Duan Rong rubbed his nose and tucked the three silver notes into his sleeve. From Ximen Yong's subsequent reactions, Duan Rong had long since realized that for some reason, Ximen Yong had already recognized him as the person from Heihu Gang.

He only accepted thirty thousand taels for the head fee; this was in gratitude for his help back at Heihu Gang.

Duan Rong couldn't help but sigh; there was a reason why Ximen Yong could make the Ximen Family business so large.

Afterward, Duan Rong gave a Spring Palace Painting he had painted over the past few days to Ximen Kankan, who was overjoyed upon seeing it and left.

Just as Ximen Kankan was at Liu Lu looking for Duan Rong, the Gathering Justice Hall in the Back Courtyard of the Yuanshun Escort Agency was packed full; the original two rows of grand chairs were no longer enough, and many more seats had been added in the back.

By the end of the year, the Escort Agency had no more business.

The Escort Heads of the six major Escort Teams were rarely all gathered together, and they were all sitting in the Gathering Justice Hall.

Xiao Zongting and Luan Jingfu were naturally there as well.

On the side of the Accounting Office, not only was the Chief Accountant Xu Shouxian present, but his two confidants, Wang Dean and Zhu Shicheng, were also sitting in the back as attendees.

Furthermore, the leaders of the Guards and the managers of each courtyard were also in attendance.

To have such a gathering was truly no easy feat!

This was the Yuanshun Escort Agency's annual year-end meeting to take stock of the year's gains and losses and make plans for the coming year.

The meeting had already been going on for over two hours, and everything that needed to be discussed had been discussed; a look of fatigue and impatience had already appeared on the face of Ruan Fengshan, who was sitting in the large, wide chair.

He had already listened carefully to the speeches of these various managers, occasionally bringing up questions and soliciting opinions from some of them.

Seeing that the meeting was coming to an end, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Once this meeting dispersed and a few more days of idle shifts passed, it would basically be time to purchase New Year goods and prepare for the New Year.

Ruan Fengshan picked up a cup of ginseng tea, took a light sip, and scanned the crowd.

In fact, there was still one extremely important matter in his heart that had not been discussed.

That was the year-end audit.

In previous years, the mid-year inventory and year-end audit were handled by Zhou An, which was equivalent to him exercising authority on his behalf.

But after Zhou An died, there was no one around Ruan Fengshan who could replace him for the time being.

Moreover, at the end of the year, he had enough to deal with regarding matters over there, and he himself had no energy to personally audit the Escort Agency's business accounts.

However, he had already pondered this matter and felt that it still had to be handed over to Xiao Zongting.

What needed to be audited were Xu Shouxian's accounts, and since they were all related to the Escort Agency's business, neither the Chief Escort Luan Jingfu nor the six major Escort Heads were suitable to intervene.

Only Xiao Zongting, the Chief Instructor, had almost no intersection with the Escort Agency's business, making him the suitable candidate without any conflict of interest.

Furthermore, Xiao Zongting had done a good job with the mid-year inventory and had discovered quite a few problems.

Ruan Fengshan suddenly looked at Xu Shouxian and said, "Chief Accountant Xu, have the accounts for this year all been organized?"

Xu Shouxian said, "The last month's accounts were also organized two days ago."

Ruan Fengshan nodded, then turned his head to look at Xiao Zongting and smiled, "Xiao Lao, I think I'll have to trouble you with the burden of this audit. You take it on!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Shouxian's heart skipped a beat, and he cast a meaningful look at Xiao Zongting.

Xiao Zongting naturally noticed Xu Shouxian's look. Ever since the mid-year inventory had uncovered some problems, Xu Shouxian had frequently made things difficult for him over the past half-year.

Xiao Zongting gave a bitter smile and said, "Manager, I am at this age, and I am just a martial artist. I can barely manage rough work like inventory, but how would I know how to audit accounts?"

"That doesn't matter." Ruan Fengshan heard Xiao Zongting's intent to decline and said, "The accounts on Xu Shouxian's side have always been detailed and clear; you just need to audit them according to the accounts. If there is anything you don't understand, just ask them and have them explain the sources."

Xiao Zongting said, "Manager, my eyes are already a bit dim; how can I look at those dense accounts?"

As Xiao Zongting spoke, he let out a long sigh on his own.

Ruan Fengshan naturally knew that Xiao Zongting was playing the victim for him; those eyes of his were sharp. After a moment of deliberation, he said, "Then how about this. Let Xiao Yu and Duan Rong audit them on your behalf. That kid Duan Rong was just issued a Commendation Order two months ago; it's time for him to put in some effort. That girl Xiao Yu is quite bold and meticulous; I think the two of them are just right for this job."

"Chief Accountant Xu, what do you think?" Ruan Fengshan suddenly asked, smiling at Xu Shouxian.

Xu Shouxian was slightly stunned, then nodded and said, "The person appointed by the Manager is naturally suitable."

"Then it's settled." Ruan Fengshan said, "Chief Accountant Xu, they are juniors; when they are auditing, you must fully cooperate. Don't let any unpleasantness arise; it wouldn't look good for anyone."

Xu Shouxian's heart trembled; Ruan Fengshan was clearly warning him. He immediately gave an awkward smile and said, "Manager, rest assured, I actually truly hope they can find some problems so I can urge my subordinates to rectify and improve."

"That's good." Ruan Fengshan nodded, then looked at Xiao Zongting and said, "Xiao Lao, please trouble yourself to give them the instructions for this matter."

Xiao Zongting had no choice but to silently agree. He knew clearly in his heart that Ruan Fengshan was telling him that he had to shoulder this burden and could not decline.

After the meeting dispersed, Xiao Zongting returned to his courtyard with a gloomy expression and called for Zhu Xiaoqi, telling her to go and summon Duan Rong.

(End of this chapter)