The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 500 Rebirth: I Became an Accountant in a Cotton Mill

The initially slightly awkward atmosphere quickly became lively thanks to Luo Jun's silence and Gong Liang's witty remarks.

Gong Liang genuinely wanted to make Luo Jun happy, so he started recounting funny and embarrassing stories from his early years as a top salesperson traveling all over the country. He mentioned how, the first time he went to the north in winter, he had no experience and only wore the thick cotton coat he usually wore in Suzhou, along with several other thick clothes. He almost got so cold that he couldn't even get off the train.

The first time he went to the beach, he ate seafood for several days in a row because of the novelty, which resulted in acute gastroenteritis. He vomited and had diarrhea for several days and was so weak that he thought he would lose the business deal. However, the business partner took pity on him and gave him the order that he had not originally intended to give him.

Since then, many have tried to replicate the method, but none have been able to do it as naturally as Gong Liang, and some have even accidentally caused themselves food poisoning.

When Gong Liang talked about how he had just started working as a salesman, running around with his colleagues to get orders, begging and pleading, and how he would practically kneel down and cling to someone's leg and cry if they gave him a single look, and how his colleagues all said he was a natural-born salesman and shameless, Chen Huihong, who was sitting on the sofa trying to get information out of Wang Gensheng, stopped trying and went to the dining table with her plate to listen.

They even joined the chat.

“Back in the early days, you really had to be shameless to do business. When I was young, my brother and I relied mainly on his shamelessness to start a business. We would play the good cop and the bad cop; I would act angry and he would be responsible for begging. In the beginning, we wasted a lot of money and were ripped off many times. We were often chased by creditors. To beg creditors for a few days' grace, my mother would die on average every two weeks, and my father would die every week. My grandparents' funerals were held every few days. Sometimes, when there weren't enough people in the family, I would have to hide away for a few days and pretend to be seriously ill.” Chen Huihong began to recall the past in a very rare way. “Back then, if there had been a credit system, my brother wouldn't even be able to scan a shared bicycle.”

Gong Liang expressed his understanding: "Everyone has their down times. When we went into business back then, it was all on a whim. We had no theoretical knowledge or practical experience. We just followed the trend because we saw others making money. There were no rules or regulations back then, it was very chaotic. Buyers were confused, and sellers themselves didn't really understand either. At first, as long as you dared to do it and take risks, you could make a little money. But if you kept acting blindly, nine times out of ten you would lose everything. You learn from your mistakes and do business while learning."

"I was a little luckier. I originally worked in sales in a factory, so I traveled all over the country and saw more people than others. I had more experience and was able to get started faster. I accumulated some connections, which made things a little smoother in the early stages."

"After the business took off, I suffered a lot of losses. No one can have smooth sailing all the time and never lose money."

Shi Dadan, who had always had a smooth journey and had never suffered a defeat, quietly ate his snacks.

Having never made any money despite facing constant adversity, Zhao Cheng'an could only shed two lines of tears.

Chen Gong, who had quietly helped his boss make a fortune over the years, agreed and spoke briefly about the hardships and difficulties his respected boss, Han Guishan, faced when starting his business. Of course, these hardships all occurred before Chen Gong joined the company.

They started chatting and got really into it.

As the conversation progressed, even An Youyou and Wang Gensheng joined the group chat. Grandpa Wang moved a small stool and sat down at the dining table to reminisce about the past, lamenting how difficult it was to keep accounts when he was young, and how he would always catch leaders in the factory who tried to falsify records on the spot.

When Wang Gensheng recalled this past experience, his poor speaking skills meant that his attempts to tell the story, which should have been dramatic and engaging, were so dry that no one paid him any attention, not even his wife. But today, Wang Gensheng has met the best comedian of his life—

Gong Liang.

Gong Liangzhen knew about these things.

Wang Gensheng was an accountant at the cotton mill, while Gong Liang worked at the silk weaving factory. The two factories were very close and occasionally had business dealings. Gong Liang had heard about the downfall of every leader, big or small, at the cotton mill and knew some inside information, but not much. Hearing Wang Gensheng say this today, he was completely shocked.

Gong Liang enriched Wang Gensheng's limited content and expanded upon Wang Gensheng's dry plot.

Basically, whenever Wang Gensheng mentions A, Gong Liang will chime in, saying, "I know this guy. I heard he was arrested for classifying qualified products as defective ones, selling them at low prices and transferring them between his own hands, embezzling factory assets."

Wang Gensheng smiled shyly and said that he was the one who discovered this problem when he first investigated, because the accounts didn't match.

Gong Liang was shocked again and added some more details. Wang Gensheng smiled shyly again and briefly explained how he discovered the problem when he was checking the accounts.

In just half an hour, Qin Huai learned the full story of how the logistics leaders embezzled logistics resources, such as cutting two bars of soap into three and presenting them as three.

How did the transportation leaders misuse official vehicles, using cotton mill trucks for their own private work?

How did the personnel leaders manipulate things behind the scenes to arrange jobs for all their distant relatives, even those they had no connection with, in the cotton mill?

How do sales leaders keep double-entry books, making a profit by falsifying the books and then taking kickbacks?

How the leaders of the factory hospital embezzled medicines, resold them, forged invoices, and practiced nepotism.

How the deputy factory director embezzled public funds, misappropriated factory property, and installed cronies to resell materials.

Qin Huai's first reaction after hearing this wasn't even to marvel at Wang Gensheng's amazing auditing skills, but rather to marvel at Wang Gensheng's incredible luck. You see, our upright and incorruptible Mr. Wang, even until retirement, was only a minor head of the finance department, never even reaching a high-ranking position. It's said that when he was transferred from the Suzhou cotton mill, he was just an ordinary accountant, not even a minor leader.

A lowly accountant brought down several leaders of the cotton mill, sending them all to jail, while escaping unscathed and even being transferred back to his hometown in Shanshi before the cotton mill went bankrupt.

Wang Gensheng is the real protagonist of a wish-fulfillment novel.

Rebirth: I Became an Accountant in a Cotton Mill

Only today did Qin Huai realize how clumsy Wang Gensheng was with words. If Wang Gensheng had even a little storytelling ability, such a wonderful tale wouldn't have been buried so long, spent all these years just reminiscing about the past in a purely meaningless way.

Luo Jun listened to everything.

As Luo Jun listened, he forgot that he was supposed to play a kind old man today. He directly criticized the deputy factory director's embezzlement methods as being exactly the same as those of a certain bureau chief who had been swimming in the river for decades. He said that these people could only do this much, mainly relying on deceiving their superiors and the fact that their subordinates dared not report them.

An Youyou was dumbfounded. The most sophisticated thing she could do in her life was to sneak a bite of the meat buns but not the vegetarian ones when she was selling buns at home. She had never heard such a wonderful story before.

Gong Liang exclaimed, "Back then, when these things kept breaking out at the cotton mill, I was wondering who had the guts to investigate these things and even seize the key evidence. Even if Director Xu wanted to investigate, his subordinates might not have cooperated. The cotton mill was a large factory with thousands of employees, much larger than a silk weaving factory with only two or three hundred people. It turns out it was all thanks to you, Accountant Wang."

Wang Gensheng was very modest: "It's not really my achievement. I just did what an accountant should do, and checked the accounts to make sure there was no concealment."

"It's already amazing enough that you can stick to your original intentions like this all the time," Gong Liang said.

Wang Gensheng shook his head and murmured, "It's not about staying true to myself, it's just about doing my job. I promised... I would be a good accountant."

Wang Gensheng's last words were spoken very softly, but Qin Huai still heard them clearly. He glanced at him slightly, wanting to ask who Wang Gensheng had promised, but he knew now was not the time to ask that question.

Qin Huai glanced at his phone; it was already 4:17.

Qu Jing hasn't arrived yet, which shows how bad the traffic is.

Gong Liang's task was also not completed.

Qin Huai had specially prepared twelve kinds of pastries for Gong Liang, and Gong Liang had eaten each one during their conversation, which Qin Huai had witnessed. Since the focus was on the conversation, Gong Liang didn't offer much commentary on the pastries, but judging from his expression and demeanor, Qin Huai knew that Gong Liang was generally satisfied with them.

There shouldn't be any problem with the snacks.

It's also true that the side quests weren't completed.

Qin Huai is more inclined to believe that Luo Jun's probing caused the problem. Although Luo Jun confidently assured everyone that the required snacks in the mission details would definitely be among the 12 snacks, and Luo Jun also proved to everyone today with his amazing acting skills that he was determined to help Qin Huai complete this side mission.

But this does not prove that Luo Jun is not wrong.

Luo Jun had already missed the mark with his previous guess about the three-legged toad, so it's possible that the dessert list he asked for might be slightly off this time.

Seeing Qin Huai begin to examine the pastries on the table one by one, Luo Jun could tell from Qin Huai's expression that there was a problem with the side quest and it hadn't been completed. "Little Gong, did you enjoy today's pastries?" Luo Jun once again revealed the loving expression that terrified Zhao Cheng'an, his voice even gentler than before, resembling that of a good-natured old man.

Hearing Luo Jun say that, Chen Huihong couldn't help but move back a little, wanting to get away from Luo Jun in this state.

"Of course it's to my liking. Mr. Luo, you specially asked Chef Qin to make so many of my favorite pastries. Chef Qin's skills are also highly regarded. I'm thinking of packing a few boxes to take home and eat them again tonight." Gong Liang immediately switched to flattery mode. "Take this Fanpo cake for example. Chef Qin just said that he hadn't made this pastry before and wasn't very familiar with it, but I think there's no problem with it."

"Master Qin's skills are now truly exceptional, even more refined than when I ate at Huang Ji's in Suzhou. Back when Master Qin was in Suzhou, the line of customers waiting to buy his dim sum stretched from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. The length of the line and the scale of the scene were something I had never seen in all my decades of eating at Huang Ji's."

“At the time, I thought it was already exaggerated. Now, if Master Qin were to go to Huang Ji for a few more months of exchange, the queue would definitely stretch from 2 a.m. to 10 p.m..”

"With your skills, it's not a waste to queue for hours just to have a bite of your pastry."

Watching Gong Liang start writing without a frame, Wang Gensheng, who was still immersed in the emotions of reminiscing about the past and had difficulty writing food reviews, was dumbfounded. He thought to himself that if he could be as good at talking nonsense as Gong Liang, he wouldn't always write the shortest food reviews for Chef Zheng and be ridiculed by Xu Tuqiang and the others.

Wang Gensheng was considering asking Gong Liang for advice on the art of idle chatter. After their recent reminiscing session, Wang Gensheng felt he had found a new confidant. From now on, when reminiscing about the past, Wang Gensheng didn't dare to imagine what he would do without Gong Liang by his side.

Everyone knows that Gong Liang was just being polite, but they also know that he was most likely telling the truth.

Furthermore, all the awakened spirits present knew that Luo Jun had guaranteed Qin Huai that the reward for completing the mission would definitely be among the 12 types of snacks.

Things are starting to get interesting.

Chen Huihong, who had already moved back a little, couldn't help but move forward again, looking at Luo Jun with a face that seemed to say, "Luo Jun, you seem to have made a mistake."

Shi Dadan remained calm and continued eating his snacks.

Chen Gong looked at Luo Jun with a reassuring gaze, his eyes conveying that everything was alright, that everyone makes mistakes, even Bi Fang, and that they would understand.

Zhao Cheng'an couldn't keep a secret. He frantically winked at Qin Huai, practically screaming "Bi Fang has crashed!" on his face.

Qin Huai also gave Zhao Cheng'an a message: "If you want to leave here alive, from now on, don't show any emotion in your eyes."

Luo Jun: ...

Luo Jun was very angry, but he still had to act. This is the self-cultivation of an actor, and the value of watching TV dramas for decades.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"It must be Jingjing who's arrived. She's finally here! The traffic must have been terrible." Chen Huihong jumped up and ran to open the door. Sure enough, it was Qu Jing outside.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't expect the traffic jam to last so long, even longer than expected. I wanted to send a message to everyone, but I was on the phone the whole way, and then my phone just died. The ride-hailing driver didn't have a data cable connector for my phone model. I'm so sorry."

As soon as Qu Jing entered the door, she began apologizing frantically, never lifting her head.

"It's alright, Jingjing. It's just traffic, I understand," Luo Jun said calmly.

Qu Jing looked up in astonishment, her face filled with disbelief and a question, "Who are you?" She blurted out, "Mr. Luo, are you out of your mind? Why are you calling me Jingjing?"

Why did you sound so strange just now?

"Are you feeling unwell? Why don't you go to the hospital? I'll take you there now, the road is clear."

Luo Jun: ...

Everyone:...

It’s over.

This was everyone's first reaction. Zhao Cheng'an was the most dramatic, immediately putting on a mask of pain.

Qu Jing has been very busy with work lately and has been offline for a long time. She has not participated in the group chat, which has caused everyone to forget that Qu Jing was not there when Gong Liang came last time. Qu Jing may really not know the background.

In addition, Xiao Niao has been in too much contact with Chen Huihong recently and has been influenced by her, developing a habit of being outspoken. Moreover, she is not very emotionally intelligent and is not good at getting along with others.

The moment Qu Jing opened her mouth, Luo Jun's performance of the previous hours was all for naught.

Qu Jing was completely unaware of this and asked with great concern, "Mr. Luo, is your throat uncomfortable or is something else bothering you? Your voice just now sounded a bit strange. Could you say a few more words so I can hear it?"

Luo Jun: ...

Luo Jun is tired.

Luo Jun took a deep breath and roared in a voice that was more energetic and defiant than ever before: "Qu Jing, are you sick in the head too? You can't understand when I talk to you properly, so you have to talk to me like this!"

"Is it wrong for me to act a little gentle and kind?"

"You think my voice sounds weird? You're the weird one! I think you got stuck in traffic and your brain went haywire. Did your IQ and your phone battery both die? Didn't you realize I was acting? Didn't you realize I was putting on an act in front of others? You think you're so smart? You think you can tell I'm not feeling well? They're all blind."

Qu Jing: ...?
Everyone:...

Gong Liang remained calm, even showing a hint of surprise.

Gong Liang looked at Luo Jun and said with a smile, "I was wondering why Mr. Luo's attitude towards me was different from what I had heard these past few days. I heard from other people in the neighborhood that you have a bad temper, an eccentric personality, and are very keen on giving bad reviews to food delivery businesses, but that's not how I actually met you. I've always felt something was off, but I didn't dare to say anything."

“Mr. Luo, you don’t need to pretend in front of me. Just be yourself. I know you are a warm-hearted, kind, eccentric, and somewhat aloof person. Don’t worry, even if you are like that, I’m willing to come and chat with you every day. Everything I just said is true.”

At the same time, a game notification sound rang in Qin Huai's mind.

"Ding! Congratulations to the player for completing the side quest [We Strangers Gather Together] and receiving the quest rewards: [Gong Liang's Memory] and +1000 popularity points."

Qin Huai: ? Huh, you can do that?

Luo Jun pretended to act for hours until he was exhausted and failed to complete the task. He was so angry with Qu Jing that he let loose and completed the task in two minutes.

From this perspective, wasn't Luo Jun overthinking things and making a fool of himself?

dare not think, dare not think.

(End of this chapter)