The next evening, Mei Ruochu arrived at work early as agreed and changed into the standard uniform brought from the academy.

But Mu ErPang wasn’t in such a hurry.

He had indeed managed to finish his official duties early during lunch break. However, just as he was about to start his shift, he was stopped by Shang Feng, who asked him to assist in reviewing a certain document.

So Mu ErPang quickly sent someone to pass on a message, asking Mei Ruochu to go ahead and queue up first.

When Mei Ruochu arrived at Xu’s Pastry Shop, there was still a long line as usual.

He wasn’t surprised and joined the queue like everyone else.

As he was nearing the front, suddenly a boy of about ten or so appeared.

His gaze wandered around the line, finally landing on Mei Ruochu. He approached and pleaded, “Brother, please, my master sent me to buy pastries, but I got carried away on the way and lost track of time. Could you let me cut in line?”

Meiruo Chu looked him up and down. Before he could reply, the person behind him spoke up, “We’ve all been waiting here for a long time. Why should we let you cut in line?”

“Brother, I’m begging you.” The boy clasped his hands together and implored Mei Ruo Chu, “If I can’t bring back the pastries, I’ll surely get beaten tonight!”

Meiruo Chu silently stepped out of the line and gave up his spot to the boy, then simply left the queue.

Because he had effectively given up his spot to the boy, no one objected behind him.

They just watched him, bewildered.

Before Mei Ruo Chu could even leave the alley, he heard a clear voice call out from behind, “Stop right there!”

He paused and turned around to see a girl in a golden hairpin and a cloth skirt walking out from the pastry shop.

Meiruo Chu heard Shen Cui mention that the pastry shop was owned by a girl surnamed Xu, so he guessed that the girl in front of him must be Miss Xu.

Miss Xu stopped him and reached out to grab the ear of the boy, pulling him out of the line.

The boy exaggeratedly cried out in pain, but dared not struggle, only pleading for mercy, “Miss Xu, please be gentle, you’re almost twisting my ear off!”

Miss Xu ignored him and turned to Mei Ruo Chu, not hiding her annoyance. “You fool, you fell for his trick!”

Meiruo Chu smirked, shook his head to indicate it was no big deal, and was about to leave.

Others in the line chimed in, “Miss Xu, don’t bother with him, he’s just a simpleton!”

“Yeah, why bother with such a fool? Miss Xu, you better go back to the pastry shop and steam the pastries.”

With everyone speaking up, Mei Ruo Chu stopped in his tracks.

But Miss Xu didn’t pay attention to the others’ comments. She continued, “He’s not even a servant from a wealthy family, he’s just…”

Mei Ruo Chu pursed his lips and continued, “He lives nearby, without any adults at home, taking care of his little sister. He’s not cutting in line to buy pastries; he’s probably trying to sell his spot to the people behind.”

The Miss Xu, who had just been preparing to assert her righteousness, was taken aback by his explanation, her words stuck in her throat as she asked blankly, “How do you know?”

The boy being held by Miss Xu was even more startled. “Are you… are you a fortune teller?”

Mei Ruo Chu denied it and then explained, “It rained from last night until this morning, and there’s a puddle at the entrance of the alley. People passing through would inevitably step in or get splashed with some water. But your shoes and pants are dry, indicating you didn’t come from the alley entrance; you were already in this alley. The people living here are ordinary folks, unable to afford servants. As for your family… your collar is turned inside out and buttoned with a dead knot, which is usually done for the deceased… So I figured there’s probably no adult looking after you at home, and you also have fuchsia flower juice on your nails. A boy your age wouldn’t have dyed them himself; it must have been your slightly younger sister playing around.”

The boy was left dumbfounded by his deductions, not knowing how to react.

Though Miss Xu was amazed that this young man appeared ordinary but was observant, she still asked, “If you knew all this, why did you give up your spot in line, after queuing for half an hour? Did you feel sorry for him, so you’d rather let him earn this money?”

Mei Ruo Chu said it wasn’t that, then continued calmly, “Based on my estimation, your special steaming trays have five layers, probably making around a hundred pastries in total. I was just twentieth in line. So it’s highly likely that I wouldn’t get to buy any, and even if I did, many customers prefer better-looking pastries, leaving the less appealing ones. If I were buying them for personal use, it wouldn’t matter. But since I’m buying them as gifts, it wouldn’t be appropriate to pick the leftovers. Besides, it’s already this time, and the last batch will be ready in another two or three moments. I was actually planning to leave before he arrived and come back tomorrow.”

“How did you know all that?”

“I’ve seen pastries being made once, and with a simple calculation of the number of people coming in and out, it’s easy to figure out.”

“Simple calculation? This guy is just making stuff up!”

Miss Xu ignored those remarks completely.

She was astonished once again.

Others might think he was talking nonsense, but as a pastry maker herself, she knew best the quantity of pastries in a batch.

She let go of the boy’s ear and wiped her hands before stepping forward. “You’re good at arithmetic, and your demeanor suggests you’re extraordinary!”

Mei Ruo Chu modestly replied, “You overpraise me.” He then heard Miss Xu continue, “Considering your attire, you must be… a steward from a wealthy household, right?”

Mei Ruochu’s uniform was still the same as when he was in high school, so it’s not surprising for others to misunderstand.

Plus, he wasn’t one to seek attention. If those people hadn’t labeled him a fool, he would have left long ago according to his original intention.

So, he didn’t want to say in front of everyone, “You guessed wrong, I was the top scholar half a year ago, now I’m a Hanlin Academician,” and simply pursed his lips.

“I have a favor to ask, if you don’t mind,” Miss Xu said, gesturing for him to follow.

The others in line started to get restless again, so Miss Xu promptly called Xiao Yuan out to put up the closed sign.

Despite their previous bravado, upon hearing that she was closing again, they quieted down.

Mei Ruochu was politely led into the pastry shop by Miss Xu. Once inside, she handed him some account books and smiled warmly, “These are the account books of our pastry shop for the past three years. Could you help me sort them out? Payment won’t be an issue!”

Mei Ruo Chu raised his eyebrows in slight surprise.

As mentioned earlier, such account books would usually only be handled by a trusted steward. Who would just hand them over to a stranger?

Even Xijiulu, who had been working for over a month, was still cleaning abacus beads for the old steward and hadn’t touched anyone’s account books yet.

“Don’t worry, even though we’ve just met, I can tell you have a kind heart. You were willing to help that boy earn some money just out of goodwill, even though you were strangers,” Miss Xu explained.

She pushed the account books closer to Mei Ruo Chu and, seeing he still hesitated, even flipped them open for him to see.

Upon seeing the contents, Mei Ruo Chu finally understood Miss Xu’s intention.

Her explanation earlier was only part of it; the other reason was that the accounts were kept so casually.

On one page, there were some barely recognizable characters, along with numerous circles, crosses, lines, and doodles.

With such messy account books, they were harder to decipher than classified documents! Why would anyone be afraid of them being seen?!

Seeing Mei Ruo Chu noticing the uniqueness of the account books, Miss Xu continued, “The written parts in this account book are my entries. But with only two hands and having to bake pastries and keep accounts, I’m too busy. So, I sometimes let Xiao Yuan and the others help. That’s why you see all these scribbles.”

“Three years’ worth of account books, and then there’s the commercial tax…”

Just like in the previous dynasty, this dynasty emphasizes agriculture over commerce. Merchants have to pay taxes in several tiers, and the more they earn, the more taxes they have to pay.

If the accounts aren’t clear, irregular tax payments are considered a serious crime—tax evasion and fraud!

Miss Xu spoke solemnly, “Sir, rest assured, I always pay the highest tier of commercial tax!”

Xiao Yuan chimed in, “That’s right! Our pastry shop seems to be doing well, but after paying taxes every year, there’s hardly any money left. And in three months, it’ll be the end of the year again. If it continues like this, our shop…”

Miss Xu quickly covered the girl’s mouth with her hand.

Even though she promised generous wages, if people knew that this year they might suffer losses again due to unclear accounts, they might demand exorbitant compensation.

Caution is essential.

After receiving a serious look from Miss Xu, Xiao Yuan realized she had spoken too much and quickly lowered her head, shrinking to the side.

Mei Ruochu pondered for a moment.

He remembered his family’s Headmaster mentioning that Miss Xu had taken in many semi-orphaned children who couldn’t find work elsewhere.

If the shop were to close down, those children would be…

He said, “Then I’ll give it a try for now.”

Miss Xu agreed with a “good,” then swiftly instructed Xiao Yuan to pack ten pastries, saying it would be considered a token of appreciation regardless of the outcome.

However, since they had just met, Miss Xu couldn’t entrust Mei Ruo Chu with their account books right away.

They agreed that he would come by for half an hour every evening.

After confirming the arrangement, Mei Ruo Chu spent half an hour at the pastry shop that day.

He first asked around the shop’s semi-orphaned workers if they remembered which entries they had made.

Xiao Yuan, who was just over ten years old, was one of the brightest among them. Miss Xu usually entrusted her with attending to customers, but even Xiao Yuan couldn’t recall which entries she had made, let alone the others.

So, during that half hour of the day, Mei Ruo Chu asked around and got no useful information.

Miss Xu felt a bit embarrassed seeing him busy with no results.

Mei Euo Chu reassured her, saying it was within his expectations. If these children had exceptional talents and memory, the account books wouldn’t have been so incomprehensible.

All they needed was someone patient enough to go through the contents based on their memories and convert the symbols into words.

“I’ll probably come a bit later tomorrow, about two or three moments,” Mei Ruo Chu said as he picked up the ten pastries and left Xu’s Pastry Shop.

“Boss, what if this steward guy swindles us out of ten pastries and doesn’t show up tomorrow?” Xiao Yuan, who had misspoken earlier, tried to please Miss Xu by offering her ‘advice.’

Miss Xu gave her a stern look and led her inside.

She lifted the teacup Mei Ruo Chu had used earlier and pointed to the small silver coin underneath it, asking her, “If he really intended to swindle us for pastries, would he have left this coin behind?”

“When did he leave the coin? I didn’t see it,” Xiao Yuan lowered her head again and murmured, “Is it okay for us to accept it? After all, we are in need.”

“Because we are in need, we should adhere to what makes the other party comfortable,” Miss Xu chuckled as she scooped the coin into the money box.