Chapter 2401: Accounting

"How much for a skewer?" Jiang Wang asked casually. "Are you planning to open a barbecue place again?"

Ye Qingyu’s gaze remained fixed on the account book. Her lips pursed in a smile, showing she understood his current distraction. Without affirming or denying, she said, "Actually, it's not impossible."

"You manage the Yunshang Trading House, you manage an inn, and now you want to open a barbecue place," Jiang Wang looked at her. "Can you handle it all?"

"It's not just me who's busy. Yue Rou, Yue Yi, Mo Liang, Rui Xuan, they all help me," Ye Qingyu said, finishing the skewer she was holding. She smiled and continued, "I just need to control the general direction and check the accounts. Account books can reveal many problems. Seeing the small reveals the big, seeing mistakes allows for correction, and seeing benefits allows for reward."

"My Baiyujing Restaurant is also managed this way, and it's developing very well, very prosperous," Jiang Wang said with some emotion. "You're becoming more at ease, more and more like a big boss."

Ye Qingyu wasn't quite sure about the comparison between the management of 'Baiyujing Restaurant' and 'an inn', and a hands-off boss was fundamentally different from a business big boss. But she just blinked her eyes and asked, "Not used to it?"

"I just feel that everything has changed along this path we've walked. All the past seems like a dream," Jiang Wang said in a warm voice. "When I first knew you, I felt you were like a fairy who didn't eat earthly food or breathe mortal smoke. Beautiful, but very distant. Later, I came to Yunshang, and only then could I clearly see your features. Sometimes I saw you in the water, sometimes I saw you in the sky. Now you are much closer to me; we are all business people."

"That's not right," Ye Qingyu's lips were a beautiful color. She curved them up, like a crescent moon stained with rouge.

"Not right?"

"We are cultivators."

As Ye Qingyu spoke, she put down the bamboo skewer. With a flick of her jade-like finger, she elegantly produced a Yun Country copper coin.

Its shape was like a knife, a Qi Country knife coin.

It was round on the outside and round on the inside, a Jing Country ring coin.

This Yun Country copper coin, however, was round on the outside and square on the inside.

She held the copper coin and showed it to Jiang Wang. "You use your two feet to measure the mountains, rivers, and earth; I use it to govern worldly affairs."

Jiang Wang suddenly understood. "This copper coin is your Hongchen boat! Relying on it to wander the merchant sea, seeing all beings without being stained by the turbid qi, entering the world while in Yunshang."

He didn't understand much about business, but when it came to cultivation, he understood immediately.

Ye Qingyu flipped the copper coin over. Above it, clear qi steamed like clouds; below, turbid qi rolled like a flag. "How can clear and turbid be divided so clearly? How can there be one speck of dust unstained? Your eyes are clear because you protect me in your heart. The mix of clear and turbid is the human world; we are passing through the human world. We don't seek eternal clarity, only less turbidity."

Jiang Wang laughed. "Passing through the human world, fortunate to go together!"

Ye Qingyu flicked her finger and put away the copper coin. She continued to look at her account book. "Since Zhenjun Jiang has been staying here these past few days, not moving an inch, and your father hasn't come to bother you—you must have stirred up some trouble outside, right? Could it affect An An?"

"What makes you more suspicious, my free time or my honorable father not disturbing me?" The matter was already resolved, so Jiang Wang was quite leisurely.

Ye Qingyu said, "Both these things are very strange. Equally strange."

"There was indeed something," Jiang Wang didn't hide it. "It might affect An An and you."

"Are you currently handling this matter?" Ye Qingyu asked.

Jiang Wang smiled. "It's already handled."

"Then why," Ye Qingyu flipped a page of the account book, looking very focused, "aren't you busy with your matters? Why are you accompanying us here, idle?"

"There's nothing particularly important to do," Jiang Wang lifted his sleeve, then went to get the skewers threaded by the Sunyao level kitchen puppet. He planned to show off his skills. The few short, stout kitchen puppets were all pushed aside.

Jiang An An, who had been leisurely and happily eating, while conveniently observing her brother and Sister Qingyu getting along with a smiling gaze, suddenly showed astonishing alertness and inherited speed. She pounced forward, "Brother! Let me do it! If there's work, let your sister handle it. How can I trouble your esteemed self?"

Jiang Wang's heart felt warm. He smiled and said, "Why are you being polite? When you were little, I always cooked for you, didn't I? You grew up white and plump."

Jiang An An pouted inwardly. You made a charcoal pot, exactly the same taste as Du De Wang's. Did you think I couldn't tell?

Yet, she said, "I was still little at that time; I only watched Brother busy himself. Now that I've grown up, I should serve Brother!"

With one grab, she snatched all the skewers and began to roast them herself.

She dared not imagine how her brother would roast meat.

Roast meat with Samadhi True Fire? He'd roast it until there wasn't even smoke left; only smart people could eat that piece of meat.

Roast meat with Hongchen Tribulation Fire? One bite and it would be like an extreme flame of primal desire, leading you straight to becoming a demon with no return.

Ye Qingyu said seriously, "I might not believe you have no important matters. Not to mention the construction of the Chaowen Dao Heavenly Palace currently underway, you've just reached the absolute peak. You must have many things you've always wanted to do but couldn't for various reasons. How can you not go and finish them?"

She paused. "I also have many things to do."

Probably feeling that this sentence was too blunt, she added, "Aunt Bai said, 'The merchant sea tests the truth, the turbid world refines immortals.' Now, this Brother Kongfang is still not enough to promote me. I need to forge a 'merchant gold refining immortal furnace'. The businesses I have now are far from enough."

"You really want me to go and be busy, huh?" Jiang Wang looked at her, a smile on his face.

Ye Qingyu lifted her beautiful eyes and looked at him with a half-smile. "Zhenjun Jiang, after working hard to prove your Dao, are you just telling others to be lazy?"

"Ah, what Young Pavilion Master Ye said is correct. The road is long and vast, and the end of the path is unknown. Time for cultivation cannot be delayed for a moment. Although I have the heart to be with you, I cannot stop you from moving forward," Jiang Wang patted his knee and stood up. "Little Jing Ru, did you hear? You also need to work hard."

Fu Jing Ru was still struggling with her fish meat. At this moment, she couldn't even care about Uncle Jiang and just mumbled a sound.

The task of deboning the fish had been handed over to Song Qing Zhi.

Unlike Jiang An An, who directly ate the fish meat with the bones, she carefully picked out all the fish bones and then left them in Fu Jing Ru's bowl.

Jiang An An was just roasting the meat with her ears perked up. When she turned her head, her brother was already gone.

She was slightly stunned. She twisted her head to look at Sister Qingyu.

Ye Qingyu had lowered her head again to look at her account book. Her expression was elegant, her face like a fairy's, as if nothing lingered in her mind, as if nothing had happened.

The dense words on the account book made Jiang An An's forehead ache.

"Sister Qingyu," Jiang An An said, "You just let him go like that?"

"Everyone needs to be busy with proper matters," Ye Qingyu looked at the account book with focus. "Why?"

"Aiya," Jiang An An was anxious for her. She threw the roast meat back onto the grill and snatched away Ye Qingyu's account book. "He's always busy, every day busy, cultivating endlessly. Now that he's reached the absolute peak, he should also rest a bit and enjoy life."

Ye Qingyu smiled. "Then where do I walk to?"

"Ya!" Jiang An An was annoyed. "My brother doesn't care about these things!"

"This isn't a matter of who cares and who doesn't care," Ye Qingyu took the account book back and slowly flipped back to the page she was looking at earlier. "If two people want to move forward together, they always have to walk further."

"You don't know," Jiang An An pouted. "My brother doesn't think about anything except cultivation. If you tell him to go be busy, he'll really think you dislike him for being bothersome!"

Ye Qingyu didn't lift her head, her voice was also light. "That's not to that extent."

Jiang An An said again, "Sigh! You're still looking at the account book! I'm so anxious I'm going to die."

Ye Qingyu flipped a page and smiled elegantly. "Life is very long; there's no need to rush for everything to happen."

"You two are both so stupid, how did you end up like this?" Jiang An An said, frustrated. "The books I read don't write it like this."

"Oh?" Ye Qingyu lifted her eyes to look at her. "What books do you read?"

"This—" Jiang An An suddenly stammered. "Qing Zhi, what did you say you wanted to go do earlier?"

She was still wearing the water drop pendant that Song Qing Zhi gave her that year on her neck. As she hastily turned her head, it swung up, like a flying tear.

She had also saved Dao Yuan stones for a long time and gave Song Qing Zhi a bracelet, as a symbol of their sisterly friendship. "Friendship" was on Song Qing Zhi's wrist at this moment.

Song Qing Zhi, who was telepathically linked to her, said, "Go wander the temple fair!"

"Let's go now!" Jiang An An lifted her leg and walked. "Bring Jing Ru along."

"An An," Ye Qingyu thought for a moment and asked, "Are you interested in opening a barbecue place?"

Jiang An An shook her head, very self-aware. "Where would I open a store? I only know how to taste dishes."

Ye Qingyu smiled and said, "Just let you be the chief tasting officer—"

Before she could finish, she froze.

Jiang Wang, whom she thought had already left, had come back at some point. Just like he did every time he came, his tall figure stood like jade, a bright moon and clear breeze.

"What is this?" Ye Qingyu asked.

Jiang Wang laughed. "Remember the house I bought in Yun City?"

They had eaten a big meal in that house, of course she wouldn't forget.

Ye Qingyu said, "Mm."

"I just refined a Dharma body. I suddenly thought that I've already deduced my Dao, and many things can be handled by the Dharma body," Jiang Wang showed a very brilliant smile. "From now on, my Dao body will cultivate in that house. You be busy with yours, and come play when you're free."

Ye Qingyu held the account book, forgetting to look at it for a moment.

Dense words were crowded on the paper.

Layer upon layer of paper was bound into an account.

This thick register was held high in the center of the magnificent hall, bathed in clear light.

A pair of hands, no longer soft, with the wrinkles of years, became the bookshelf for this register.

Those dense names represented fresh lives, one by one. It was a blood account, recording the more than fifty thousand armored soldiers of the Dou'e Army who were forever lost in the vast sea.

Their names, ages, and native places.

A person's life, simply defined like this.

Of course, there was also Yu Que, who slept eternally.

The weight of this register was so heavy that not many people could bear it, not even the magnificent Central Great Jing.

And the only hall that could contain all of this was the Three Pure Xuandu Supreme Emperor Palace, known as "Absolute Central," "Ten Thousand Worlds Extreme," and "Wang Ji Wu Shang"!

Qin's Afang Palace and Qi's Jixia Academy couldn't compare to this.

Its original body was the second-ranked "Great Have Empty Bright Heaven" among the Ten Great Cave Heavens. It had been passed down through generations and was seized by Ji Yu Su. With the momentum of the founding of the Central Great Jing Empire, it pushed the human path to surge forward. With the help of the Three Pure Dao Venerables, it was thoroughly refined and became this supreme treasure.

Currently, this seat, a magnificent hall that exhausted the imagination of all nobles in the world, naturally sat in the center of this palace.

For nearly four thousand years, it had always stood firm in the very center of Tiandu City.

Look at this hall—

The four sides were vast and boundless, with coiling dragon jade pillars supporting the sky within.

Billowing vital energy was like an angry sea, woven into immortal clothes by heaven's rules and earth's measures.

Above were stars as the dome, below were golden bridges crossing the silver river.

The immortal furnace, tall as mountains, swallowed and spat out cloud qi like a living thing. That cloud qi would occasionally manifest into spirit beast shapes, running, flying, and scattering, enriching the vital force within the hall. The flying cranes quietly stood on the cloud platform, occasionally extending their long beaks to comb the heavenly light, making the front of the hall always bright but not dazzling.

The Dan Platform was like a high cliff, with flowing Dao rhymes and naturally generated heavenly might. Its end could not be looked up at, as if it were an eternal heavenly ladder, only that supreme noble monarch could step on it.

Civil and military officials all lined up in front of the Dan Platform.

Qi and blood were heroic, Dao principles were majestic, and there were countless strong individuals.

It actually contained a world within a hall! And its four walls were the star river and cloud sea.

All of this, without exception, displayed the dignity of the world's first empire.

Who could hold up this register in the center of this great hall?

The heavenly light brushed upwards from that pair of slightly wrinkled hands, revealing a section of a sleeve. It dared not be presumptuous anymore, dared not go higher.

This satin with patterns like Dao texts, this silk woven with Dao rhymes... clearly was the ceremonial system of the Prime Minister of the Great Jing Empire.

This person was exactly the head of the hundred officials of the Jing Country, the Prime Minister of the Central Empire.

The first female prime minister of various countries, Lü Qiu Wenyue!

In the entire Dao pulse, among all human ministers, she held the extreme position, truly below the Son of Heaven and above ten thousand ministers.

And she was currently holding up this register, bowing deeply, and opening her mouth: "The names above are this minister's names of crime!"

Thanks to book friend "Hong Zhong Sun Jie Ke" for becoming the alliance leader of this book!

This is the 805th alliance for Chi Xin Xun Tian!

Recommend a new book seedling.