Chapter 25: Exposing Aunt Lan’s Ledger Scheme

After about ten minutes, Xu Chen came downstairs holding a set of practice problems.

Xu Zhiquan was sitting alone in the living room, sipping tea.

“Dad, there’s this word problem I can’t figure out. Could you take a look?”

Xu Zhiquan offered a wry smile.

“Me? I’m no expert. With my education level, I couldn’t tackle your senior-year math. ”

Even as he spoke, he glanced at the test paper in Xu Chen’s hand.

He chuckled softly and said,

“This is actually a finance problem. Go find Aunt Lan—she’s good at that!”

With that, Xu Zhiquan led Xu Chen into the study at the back.

Aunt Lan was bent over the desk, calculator in hand, diligently working through stacks of ledgers.

Xu Zhiquan said, “Aunt Lan, could you help Xu Chen with this application problem? Only you can handle it.”

Aunt Lan smiled and took the workbook from Xu Chen.

She examined it carefully—it wasn’t a complex finance question—then patiently explained it to him.

Xu Chen listened intently, nodding repeatedly.

“Xiao Chen really is sharp—he gets it right away!” Aunt Lan praised.

Xu Chen imitated his father’s grin and chuckled twice.

He glanced at the ledger in Aunt Lan’s hand, then furrowed his brow and said,

“Huh? Isn’t there a mistake here?”

Aunt Lan froze, a flicker of tension crossing her face.

Xu Chen lowered his head and peered closely.

“It really is wrong. This should be 16, but it’s listed as 18. How did that happen?”

Aunt Lan looked down, studied the page, then offered an awkward laugh.

“Oh dear…you’re right, I wrote it incorrectly.

Thanks to you catching that, otherwise this entry would’ve been sloppy.”

Xu Zhiquan, standing nearby, smiled and said,

“No harm done. Better to double-check things.”

At that moment, Xu Chen reached out and grabbed the entire ledger.

Flipping through the pages quickly, he paced away from Aunt Lan.

Aunt Lan swayed, reaching out to stop him, but it was too late.

Xu Zhiquan noticed his son’s odd behavior and raised an eyebrow.

After a short while, Xu Chen spoke up:

“It seems there’s more than one error…

This number’s wrong too…

Here it’s missing a calculation…

And I think the decimal point’s off here…”

By then, he was standing in front of Xu Zhiquan, ledger in hand.

“Dad, I don’t know much about accounting—could you check if these are mistakes?”

He spread the ledger out before Xu Zhiquan and tapped several entries with his finger.

Aunt Lan had risen behind the desk, her hands clasped tensely at her waist. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Xu Zhiquan glanced over the ledger, his expression darkening.

He took the book from his son and said quietly,

“Xu Chen, go upstairs and do your homework. Your father and Aunt Lan have something to discuss.”

Xu Chen acknowledged him with a nod and left without delay.

As he exited, he gently closed the door behind him.

…

Back in his room on the second floor, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Aunt Lan was the toughest to handle.

Though her relationship with his father wasn’t public, she was clearly more than just a house helper.

Fortunately, she was caught red-handed today when he reviewed the ledgers.

Frankly, her ambition was too petty.

She stooped to under-the-table tactics for a bit of pocket change.

Had she stayed honest, she might’ve become his stepmother.

In all these years, he’d never seen his father care deeply for any woman.

Apart from these little schemes, Aunt Lan’s appearance, education, and social grace made her a solid candidate.

Twenty-odd minutes later, noises drifted up from downstairs.

Xu Chen went to the window, lifted it, and peeked outside.

He saw Aunt Lan clutching her bag as she stumbled toward the front gate.

She looked flustered, her steps uneven, her earlier composure gone.

After a moment, Xu Chen headed downstairs.

His father was alone on the sofa, smoking in a foul mood.

When Xu Chen appeared, his face instantly softened into a warm smile.

“Xu Chen, you’d better head out quickly! That young lady might already be waiting for you!”

Xu Chen smiled. “I was just about to go out.”

Xu Zhiquan stood up, rummaged in his bag, and pulled out a thick stack of bills, handing it to his son.

“A boy going out needs enough spending money.”

Xu Chen looked at the wad—four or five thousand yuan at least.

“Dad, I’m a high school student. How could eating out cost this much?”

“If you can’t spend it all, just keep it. You saved me sixty thousand today. I’ll give you anything you want.”

“No, no. Security isn’t great these days. I’m afraid of attracting thieves.”

Xu Zhiquan laughed and said,

“I’ll hold onto it for you. Ask me anytime if you need it!

Take this—you’re my son. You can’t go out with a girl and lose face!”

Xu Chen thought for a moment, then accepted the four thousand yuan.

“Thanks, Dad!”

Xu Zhiquan took a drag from his cigarette and continued,

“Don’t worry about Aunt Lan. She won’t ever show her face here again.

This is on me—I trusted her too much.

Apparently, no one can be trusted except my own son!”

He looked at Xu Chen.

“Did you know about this before it happened?”

Xu Chen: “How would I know? I just glanced at the ledger and happened to spot it.”

In truth, Xu Chen knew in advance—but that was because of his second chance at life.

He couldn’t explain that to his father, so he laughed it off.

Suddenly, Xu Chen remembered something and said,

“Dad, a few days ago you asked about registering a new company name. I was busy studying and forgot to reply.

What name did you end up registering?”

Xu Zhiquan said proudly, “I used your name. It’s called East Morning Star Co.”

“I was anxious at the bureau and couldn’t wait for your answer, so I decided on my own.”

Xu Chen thought for a moment and added,

“Dad, register every possible category for the ‘East Morning Star’ trademark.”

Xu Zhiquan: “What do you mean?”

Xu Chen: “Not just seedlings—also manufacturing, machinery, fast-moving consumer goods, internet services—anything we can register.

It won’t cost much now but could be invaluable later.”

Xu Zhiquan blinked, puzzled by his son’s intention.

Xu Chen smiled and explained,

“Dad, you won’t stick to landscaping forever.

Now it’s East Morning Star Co. Later it’ll become East Morning Star Group, and we’ll have many lines of business.”

Xu Zhiquan paused, then slapped his forehead, laughing and saying,

“My son really thinks big and has vision!

I’ll handle it first thing Monday!”

He thought a moment and then lowered his voice:

“Son, do you already have other business ideas?”

Xu Chen feigned mystery: “Not yet—the timing isn’t right.”

Xu Zhiquan laughed heartily: “Then wait till you teach your old man next time!”

…