Jiao Rong was stunned for a moment when he heard Song Wanning say this, and then he said, "Madam, Fengxian Restaurant is so crowded right now that I'm afraid it won't be possible to present everything to you all at once. Furthermore, there are some temporary helpers we've hired. It would be very troublesome to keep a detailed record of everything, so I don't remember the helpers very clearly on a regular basis."
"How much money has been spent on these helpers and fellows?" Song Wanning glanced at Jiao Rong with a cold look. "You need to give an exact amount. Otherwise, how can I trust you?"
Seeing this, Jiao Rong had no choice but to explain, "If Madam wants to see it, I will send someone to find it right away."
"Yeah." Song Wanning responded and quickly began to look through the account book of Fengxian Restaurant. She picked up a pen and started writing and drawing on it. After a while, she found something wrong.
Because Fengxian Restaurant was usually unsupervised and Jiao Rong was extremely arrogant, the fake account books were also very crudely made. Song Wanning threw the account book in front of Jiao Rong and said with a slight smile, "Manager Jiao, many of the numbers in this account book don't match. Give me an explanation."
Jiao Rong blushed the color of pig liver when he heard Song Wanning say this. He hurriedly explained, "Madam, I'm afraid something went wrong while I was busy. I'll have my subordinates investigate what went wrong."
"I told you a long time ago that I'm not someone you can fool. How much money have you taken from the restaurant?" Song Wanning sat on the chair, acting like the mistress of the house.
Seeing Song Wanning's expression, Jiao Rong explained with a bitter look on his face, "Madam, I have devoted all these years to this restaurant. Please forgive me. I really didn't take a single cent of the restaurant's money. If I had, I would be struck by lightning and die a miserable death."
"I don't believe your story. If you don't admit it now, I'll report it to the police and have a thorough investigation. You should decide for yourself what to do next," Song Wanning said coldly. "Your father is a veteran of the Fengxian Restaurant, and I don't want to make things so awkward and embarrass everyone. Now that things have gotten this far, I'm sure you know what's going on."
Seeing Song Wanning's resolute expression, Jiao Rong knew his situation was hopeless, so he changed the subject. "Madam, you really don't understand. There are many people in the capital who buy on credit these days. These people only know the owner, not the owner. If something happens to me and I can't continue to manage the restaurant, I won't be able to get all the money back. This is not a small amount, it adds up to several thousand taels of silver. With so much turnover, if I'm gone, all the money will be gone too."
"Are you threatening me?" Song Wanning sneered at Jiao Rong's words. "Do you really think I'll let you go just like that? Honestly, I won't let you go if you're running the restaurant like that. Either return all the money you embezzled, or I'll leave you a respectable position in the restaurant and find you another job in the capital. The restaurant manager will eventually need to be replaced. The mansion you bought with the money you embezzled was just for your father's retirement. But if you still refuse to change, don't blame me for taking you to the authorities."
"I... Madam, I know I was wrong. Please give me another chance. In the future, I will do my best to manage this restaurant and hand over all the money earned from Fengxian Restaurant to the Prime Minister's Mansion." Jiao Rong was used to being the manager of a big restaurant. How could he bear such a sudden fall?
He had always thought of himself as the boss of Fengxian Restaurant. After all, Yin Yichen never managed the restaurant, leaving him in charge. Now, after a few years of management, he was living like a big boss. But who would have thought that Yin Yichen would come to his door and kick him out as soon as he got married?
Jiao Rong's face flushed the color of liver, and he sank to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "I was truly blinded by greed earlier. That money is nothing to the Prime Minister's family. Madam, please forgive me this time. Even if you don't consider my honor, please consider my father's hard work for Master Yin for half his life."
"Over the past five years, you've embezzled at least five thousand taels of silver, if not ten thousand. I won't make it difficult for you. Just hand it all back. If you can still do a good job as a manager in the future, I'll naturally keep you." Song Wanning's eyes fell on Jiao Rong. Now that she was in charge, she had to use some tricks. Otherwise, who knew what would happen. With so many businesses, she couldn't manage them all.
When Jiao Rong heard this, he felt desperate. He had used all the money to buy a house and marry concubines, and most of it was spent. How could he come up with so much money to pay back the debt?
"I have nothing to say to the manager now. I'll give you ten days to raise the money. Otherwise, you will bear the consequences yourself." Song Wanning stood up and walked out, ignoring Jiao Rong.
Jiao Rong stood behind Song Wanning, with a hint of resentment in his eyes. He called his personal servant and whispered a few words in his ear.
The servant responded and turned around to go out to do his work.
Song Wanning went out and walked to the next house with the maids around her. Cai Que, holding a stack of shop deeds in her hand, looked at Song Wanning and said, "Madam, now that we've finished this one, do you want to go to the farm in the suburbs? If you go, I'm afraid it will be too late to return."
"Go, take a look, and come back soon." Song Wanning leaned tiredly in the carriage to rest, listening to the two maids chattering in her ears.
Zhuque spoke up from the side, "The manager of the Fengxian Restaurant is truly audacious. He actually embezzled so much money. Such a large restaurant only makes a few dozen taels of silver every month. He's truly incredible."
Cai Que, standing by, also frowned. "He embezzled so much money, yet he still had the nerve to threaten our wife. He really doesn't know his place. He should be brought before the authorities, but he's being given this opportunity."
The two of them were singing in unison, and as they talked they arrived at a farm in the suburbs.
There is a farm in the suburbs of the Prime Minister's Mansion. The interest alone is several thousand taels of silver every year. It is a good place. The manager has been there for more than ten years. When he heard that someone from above was coming to investigate, he immediately stood at the door to greet them.
Song Wanning checked the accounts as usual and found a few mistakes, but she didn't get angry. Instead, she left in a friendly manner and even gave the village head some silver as a reward. This behavior made Zhuque and Caique stunned.
On the carriage back to the capital, Zhuque immediately expressed his doubts, "Madam, this village head is obviously greedy. Why did you let him go after just a few warnings?"
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