noffsinger Chapter 28 Handwriting
Chapter 28 Handwriting
"The handwriting is different?" Although Yuan Chen was quite familiar with the Lin family's accounts, he hadn't paid special attention to the handwriting.
Yun Yuke hadn't paid attention to it before, so Yun Yuan and the other person took the ledger and looked at it carefully.
With Yun Qingjin's reminder, the two also noticed some differences in their handwriting.
"If I hadn't looked closely, I really wouldn't have been able to tell," Yuan Chen sighed softly. "I was so focused on the numbers that I didn't notice the subtle differences in the handwriting. Qingqing is quite good; she can even spot such details."
Yuan Chen took out several other ledgers and compared them back and forth, and found that it was indeed the case. In the days following this ledger, the handwriting was all that of this second person.
Before that, it was the same accountant.
“But that’s not right,” Yun Yuke said, having caught up with Yuan Chen’s train of thought earlier but now looking at the contents of the ledgers and expressing her doubts.
"Although the change in handwriting started with the November account of the eighteenth year of Changlong, the problematic accounts started much earlier. It seems that the change of accountants may not be related to the problems in the Lin family's management?"
The account books that Yuan Chen compiled started from March of the seventeenth year of Changlong. This year should have been the twentieth year of Changlong, but a new era name was promulgated this year, which was changed to Baye.
In other words, the problems with Lin's accounting books started three years ago. But the change of management began more than a year ago.
"Does this mean the personnel change has nothing to do with the lumber shop's operations, and it might not have much impact here?"
Yun Yuke nodded, but then shook her head.
"It's only a matter of doubt; we can't make a judgment yet. It's possible that the original accountant was fired and replaced by a second person, or it's possible that the original accountant did discover some problems and was initially willing to cooperate in falsifying accounts, but later became unwilling to cooperate, so they were replaced."
"In short, this may not be evidence that there is something wrong with the shop. However, the matter of changing the accountant is something to pay close attention to."
Yuan Chen also agreed with the judgment he had just made.
Yun Qingjin had originally thought her discovery would be of great importance, but it turned out to be just a minor one.
He lowered his head, looking somewhat sullen. He felt extremely regretful; he had only focused on noticing the different handwriting and had forgotten about the entire problematic time period.
"But I still want to thank Qingqing! In any case, this could very well be important evidence. Why would they change people out of the blue? The previous accountant must have known something."
Yuan Chen clearly noticed Yun Qingjin's lowered head and quickly comforted her.
Yun Yuke patted Yun Qingjin's head and smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, Qingqing, once this heavy rain passes, Mother will investigate who that accountant was and why they changed people. It will definitely be useful!"
"Okay, Qingqing understands. Thank you, Sister Chenchen and Mother."
The little incident ended quickly, and the three of them spent almost a day summarizing all the cost and revenue components in a categorized manner.
"Looking at it this way, what differences can you see?" Yun Qingjin looked at the list of suppliers she had copied down and pondered the possible problems.
Lin's Timber Shop mainly deals in construction timber, and most of its stock is fir, which it buys from a man named Zheng Bo; while the merchant Yu Lei we just saw mainly sells mahogany and nanmu.
These two types of timber are the main business they deal in. There are some other types of timber as well, but not many. In Xin'an City, people mainly use cedar and pine; even mahogany isn't used very often.
"Chenchen, now that we've compiled a list of these suppliers, they all seem to be operating normally, so there shouldn't be any problems with costs, right? If it were me, I might arrange for a few shipments to be under-recorded and pocket the payments."
Although Yun Yuke is wealthy and interested in business, she has absolutely no idea how to study accounting books.
The reason I don't participate in the operation of other shops is because I'm really not good at reading accounts, and I'm afraid that I'll drag other shops down.
In addition, he already has accumulated wealth, so as long as he can make money, he really doesn't care much about these things.
Yuan Chen explained his thoughts: "I felt something was wrong because in May of the eighteenth year of Changlong, a fire broke out in a place north of Xin'an City. After that, many houses and shops in the city were renovated. During that time, the timber shops were doing very well. Even if they wanted to falsify accounts, they should have increased their purchases here."
The May fire engulfed an entire block in Xin'an City. Because it happened during the day, the population was quickly evacuated, so apart from a few people who suffered minor burns, the rest were unharmed.
However, the damage to the houses was still very serious. During that period, the houses were all in ruins. For a time, many people were in a state of fear and ate raw food for several days, not daring to cook at all.
The group then took out the ledger and examined it closely.
Indeed, the accounts from May and June onward showed virtually no increase in purchases; on the contrary, there were more purchases of rosewood.
Of course, the purchase of rosewood was not without reason, as it is written later that this batch of rosewood was made into exquisite furniture and sold to a family that had just moved into the city.
But for other types of timber, we really didn't increase our purchases by even a tiny bit.
At this point in the analysis, anyone with a discerning eye can see that something is wrong. A businessman should always have a keen sense of market conditions, but this Manager Lin seems far too nonchalant.
"Could it be that Lin's shop has a lot of timber stockpiled, so they don't need to order more?" Yun Qingjin seized the opportunity to voice her opinion.
"A few days ago, Aunt Chang, Aunt Wei, and Aunt Feng bought a lot of meat and vegetables. Aunt Hua hasn't gone out to buy groceries these past few days either. Is the same situation at the lumber shop?"
I stock up on goods in advance, something I often do myself.
The timber shop owner is definitely suspicious, but Yun Yuke and Yuan Chen need to rule out all possibilities before they can find suitable evidence so they can confront him more effectively.
You can't go to the other party based on just a few doubts. That would be like stirring up trouble and making it very difficult to find evidence to convict them of their crimes later.
The shopkeeper only needs to worry about falsifying accounts, while the owner who receives the profits has far too many things to consider.
Inventory levels are indeed a factor to consider.
Yun Yuke looked out the window; the drizzle outside was still falling continuously, showing no sign of stopping.
"It seems we still need to go and check out that shop. I flew there a few days ago and did some private investigation, but I didn't see the warehouse. Manager Lin told me before that a large amount of timber is stored outside the city, and land in the city is extremely valuable. They only have some basic samples there."
Yuan Chen nodded, "Seeing what their materials are like with our own eyes will also give us some insight."
"Chenchen, do you know where their warehouse is?" Yun Yuke asked Yuan Chen.
"My dear boss, as the employer, shouldn't you have kept records of this kind of thing beforehand?" Yuan Chen smiled helplessly and answered with a question in an annoyed tone.
"Ah...this..." Yun Yuke turned her head away, her ears turning slightly red.
"It's a mile west of the city, beside the official road, north of Huanghua Village." A child's voice came from behind the two, describing the address of the Lin family's timber shop warehouse.