NOVPUB"Restored? Restored my ass!"
Martial Uncle Qi glanced at the tidy, orderly warehouse where each category of items was clearly organized.
He couldn’t help but recall the scene ten days ago, when the dust was so thick that you couldn’t even step foot in it.
Compared to that, it was worse than a dog’s kennel.
He was instantly struck with a realization.
Return to that? Restore a fart!
Keep everything like this from now on!
That’s what he thought, but his face seemed indifferent as he said:
"Heh, it doesn’t matter... How’s the inventory count going?"
Wang Ba gestured, and Zhou Luye handed a scroll to Qi Rulian.
Qi Rulian took the scroll with a slight sense of curiosity and flipped it open, only to see that it was quite similar to the charts organized by Cui Daqi before.
Only this chart started from Class I and was ordered according to different types of spirit materials, with ’Inventory’, ’Date’, ’Inbound’, ’Outbound’, ’Destination’, and ’Usage’ written at the top.
Compared to the dense and convoluted scrolls previously used by the Spirit Mineral Department, which were filled with cramped text and confusing calculations, this was many times simpler and clearer.
The key point was that these charts, when compared to the equally clear warehouse, allowed Martial Uncle Qi to roughly understand how to fill them out with just a quick thought.
The effort saved was simply immeasurable.
It was nothing like before when he didn’t even know how to write it.
Surprised, he couldn’t help but raise his head and look at Wang Ba, only then realizing:
"You... did you create that chart before?"
Wang Ba bowed his head in acknowledgment:
"I’m ashamed."
Qi Rulian stared at Wang Ba and then glanced again at the warehouse, sighing lightly:
"You lad, you’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?"
Now that all the resources in the warehouse were clearly organized and even the storage was this transparent, it was becoming difficult for anyone in the Spirit Mineral Department to find excuses for shirking the data processing.
To put it bluntly, if Earth Hall dispatched cultivators to take a walk through the department, the current month’s expenditure, conservation, and so on would become roughly clear.
And for those who wanted to surreptitiously pilfer some resources, although there was still some leeway to operate, this space had obviously diminished a lot.
To Qi Rulian, he didn’t care too much, so it was all the same to him.
But for some ministers who urgently needed resources, this move was truly pulling the rug out from under their feet.
Thinking of this, Qi Rulian once again looked at Wang Ba.
He couldn’t help mumbling to himself:
"I always feel that with this temperament, you’re not quite suited for practicing Body Refining Techniques..."
"But since I’ve accepted the items... Well, I’ll teach you a bit when the time comes."
Wang Ba said with a modest tone: "I ask for Martial Uncle Qi’s understanding, I didn’t have a better solution."
"Don’t worry, Martial Uncle Qi. We will come to assist the Spirit Mineral Department with these documents regularly."
"It’s fine."
Qi Rulian waved his hand and then said:
"The Earth Hall’s old methods of accounting should have been discarded long ago. We have been using that outdated system for too many years. In the past, it didn’t matter much, but now, with disasters everywhere, the situation is different. Holding on to the past is no longer appropriate."
Hearing this, Wang Ba showed a hint of curiosity: "Martial Uncle Qi, how did our Spirit Mineral Department manage to complete all sorts of reports over the years?"
Qi Rulian scoffed: "Who cared about that before? As long as we met the targets set by the Earth Hall and the required amount was turned in, that was all that mattered. At most, some divisions would shortchange the materials, but who bothered with accounting for loss or substandard goods... It’s only now that the overall situation has changed dramatically and the demands have increased."
Wang Ba nodded slightly.
Qi Rulian then looked at Wang Ba and earnestly warned:
"Song Dong... Master Song asked you to check the warehouses of all divisions of the Five Elements Division. The true intention behind his apparent folly may not be the wine—the cooperation of some ministers might not be forthcoming, so you need to be careful."
Wang Ba’s expression became solemn: "Does Martial Uncle Qi mean that someone might..."
"No, that won’t happen. Who would have the audacity? Besides, for such a little gain, it’s not worth it."
Qi Rulian said with a kind of helpless amusement.
Wang Ba immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as it doesn’t involve life and fortune, that’s fine.
He didn’t doubt Master Song’s true intention of ’not in the wine’ as mentioned by Qi Rulian.
After all, Song Dongyang was the Vice Hall Master of a hall. How could he possibly not see through many things?
It seemed like Song Dongyang was having him check the warehouses, but it might very well be a deliberate move, using him to accomplish this task.
Feigning ignorance to catch the wise, it was really unpredictable.
But Wang Ba didn’t care.
Whether this Master Song was pretending to be ignorant or truly acting based on his suggestion, the result was much the same to Wang Ba.
After all, he was just a Golden Core Craftsman, and everyone knew he was just there to work.
If the ministers truly had complaints, they would be directed at Song Dongyang.
However, Wang Ba was still profoundly grateful for Qi Rulian’s reminder.
The saying ’One cannot have too much courtesy’ was something that Wang Ba found to be truer the longer he lived.
After arranging a time, Wang Ba then left the Spirit Mineral Department with Tao Ruyi, Zhou Luye, and others in tow.
...
Diwu Hall.
Clutching the Sound Transmission Talisman in his hand, a look of surprise filled Song Dongyang’s eyes.
"To have finished in just ten days, that’s fast!"
As the Earth Hall Deputy Master, he was, of course, very aware of the state of the Spirit Mineral Department.
It was not just complicated but in utter chaos.
Even Qi Rulian, the Minister of the department, probably didn’t know exactly how much was in his own warehouse.
And Wang Ba had managed to finish the count with just a dozen or so people.
Such speed was truly unbelievable to him.
As he looked down, he immediately saw what Li Yingfu had written in the Sound Transmission Talisman:
