Chapter 106 - 53 Abacus_2

Words : 1097 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

Chapter 106: Chapter 53 Abacus_2 "Absolutely right! If one cannot even use an abacus, how can she be a wife of the Shi family! Sister Wang, don’t you agree?" Mrs. Zhuang sneered with a laugh. Mrs. Wang remained silent, looking at Sang Wan. "Then please bring over the abacus! Sang Wan is willing to make a fool of herself!" Sang Wan said without any fear, smiling slightly. Mrs. Zhuang did not believe that she had practiced with the abacus in the Sang family, chuckled, and nodded in agreement, immediately sending someone to fetch it, but secretly scoffed in her heart: Let’s see how long you can keep up your tough talk. The maid not only fetched a well-oiled abacus but also an account book, smiling apologetically: "Your servant thought the abacus is to calculate accounts, what use is it without an account book? Coincidentally, this is last month’s account from our estate’s garden, which the madam calculated already; perhaps, Grandma Shi can practice on it!" "Presumptuous! Always causing trouble!" Mrs. Zhuang glared at the maid upon hearing this, but her gaze shifted slyly towards Sang Wan and she asked with a forced smile, "Miss Wan, what do you think?" "It would be disrespectful not to comply!" Sang Wan didn’t even raise an eyebrow but took the account book and abacus, sat down, corrected and zeroed the abacus, and unfolded the account book on her left side. One could see her flipping through the account book with one hand, while her five fingers fluttered like the most nimble swallow among the clouds, manipulating the abacus beads that hopped up and down rapidly, creating a crisp tinkling sound, flowing smoothly and skillfully, presenting an indescribably elegant and beautiful posture. Everyone was mesmerized momentarily, the whole room fell silent, countless eyes unblinkingly watched her dexterous hands. Mrs. Zhuang was also stunned. Unlike Mrs. Wang, who was indolent and left household affairs to the maids and Gu Fangzi under the supervision of the outer courtyard’s head housekeeper—led directly by her son—Mrs. Zhuang loved to mind these matters, where she would personally verify the entered accounts. Seeing Sang Wan’s performance, she knew it was genuine skill with no chance for deceit! "The total is three thousand six hundred seventy-two taels and eight coins, could that be correct?" With a crisp "snap" sound, Sang Wan’s swiftly moving fingers abruptly stopped, neat and precise like pearls falling onto the ground. The maid glanced at the paper in her hand, speechless, but Mrs. Zhuang remembered every single account clearly and knew the figures were correct without looking. "Grandma Shi is truly impressive!" Mrs. Zhuang couldn’t help but sigh, glancing involuntarily at Tang Yuzhen, feeling a wave of dejection. Shi Fengju is no less talented than her own son, could his wife surpass her own son’s wife too? All the ladies began to loudly praise, endlessly admiring her prowess. Though the leading ladies mostly knew how to handle accounts, even if they did not personally use the abacus, they had seen their trusted old maids and daughters-in-law do it, but no one ever did it as beautifully as Sang Wan, saying It was mesmerizing would not be an overstatement! Mrs. Wang was grinning so broadly she could barely close her mouth, even she didn’t know Sang Wan had such a skill! With the Shi family’s affairs in her hands in the future, she could rest easy! Clearly, the Master’s judgement was something she couldn’t measure up to! Seeing that Mrs. Zhuang and Mrs. Jiang’s expressions were turning unpleasant, everyone quickly started to joke and laugh again, as they were in the Zhuang family’s residence, they couldn’t make the host feel uncomfortable. In the hibiscus flower bushes not far away, a young man with high-tied black hair, a handsome face, and wearing a semi-new everyday cyan gown stood there, listlessly looking over at the gathering. This young man was none other than Zhuang Weixian, the only son of Master Zhuang and Mrs. Zhuang. Moreover, standing here peeping was not his intention, but his mother, Mrs. Zhuang, had strongly insisted and even threatened him. Her enthusiasm for his marriage had never waned, but was growing more intense; letting him stand here today was for observing Miss Tang. He knew that after the banquet ended, his mother would be brimming with excitement and enthusiastically ask him what he thought of Miss Tang? Did he like her? Was he satisfied? Then, before he could respond, she would talk endlessly in praise of Miss Tang, extolling her to the heavens! Zhuang Weixian watched for a long while, and also listened carefully to a few lines of poetry judged by the ladies, nodding thoughtfully at a few good ones, though he hadn’t paid attention to whether they were Miss Tang’s or Grandma Shi’s works. Subconsciously, he would rather believe they were Grandma Shi’s, given his mother’s constant attempts to match him with Miss Tang. The subsequent developments also took him by surprise, making him frown slightly, feeling that his mother and aunt had somewhat overdone it! He couldn’t bear to watch Grandma Shi anymore and silently prayed that she was a woman of resilient nature, hoping she wouldn’t start crying on the spot, as that would truly embarrass the Zhuang family: Too discourteous! Of course, even if Grandma Shi cried, Zhuang Weixian felt there was nothing wrong with that. What woman could endure such humiliation? He knew all too well about Shi Fengju’s issues with his cousin, and how prior to Miss Sang crossing the threshold, that bastard had complained more than once about this marriage alliance, harboring intense dislike and hostility towards Miss Sang. Zhuang Weixian could empathize with him because their situations, though not exactly the same, were somewhat similar in sentiments! He knew how difficult it was to find a woman who truly loved him. He also knew that after Miss Sang joined the Shi family, her days would certainly be miserable. Shi Fengju might appear gentle and harmless, but he was merciless without drafting a plan, always able to pinpoint your weaknesses and strike a lethal blow! Thus, Miss Sang’s days in the Shi family were bound to be challenging! Facing such humiliation in front of so many people, managing to withhold her emotions was indeed not easy. Unexpectedly, the following events surprised and shocked him! Miss Sang, in a departure from her usual gentle and graceful demeanor, became assertive and aggressive, displaying an abacus manipulation that was astonishingly brilliant and impressive! Manipulating the abacus so beautifully, he had truly never seen anything like it before.

Chapter 106 - 53 Abacus_2

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