Rebirth of the Rich Second Generation's Growth Diary

Chapter 131 Financial Genius
In the classroom, the fluorescent lights emitted a soft light. The students' faces were more or less tired. They packed up their things and hurried back to rest.

An Duoduo stood in a corner of the classroom, holding a bag of potato chips in her hand. The bright pattern on the bag was particularly eye-catching under the light. Her bright eyes stared at Li Xu who was talking to others not far away. After hesitating for a moment, she finally decided not to disturb their conversation. She stood there quietly, poking the bag of potato chips with her fingers from time to time.

Li Xu noticed Shen Mobai's hesitation and asked politely, "What's the matter?"

Shen Mobai lowered his head slightly, a hint of nervousness and curiosity in his eyes. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "I heard that the college has given you the responsibility of preparing the freshman guide, right?"

Li Xu felt that there was nothing to hide about this matter. He nodded slightly with a gentle smile on his face.

Shen Mobai bit his lip slightly and was silent for a moment. Then he raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a somewhat shy smile, and said, "Then you are really amazing. You just entered the school and you can actually get an order from the school."

Li Xu smiled casually and said, "Just good luck."

Shen Mobai opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but finally swallowed his words back, with a look of wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Li Xu had sharp eyes and noticed that Shen Mobai seemed to have something to say. However, the two of them did not talk about any nutritious topics in the end. They just exchanged a few simple pleasantries and ended the conversation.

After returning to the dormitory, Li Xu continued to work on the freshman guide.

With the experience of making the freshman guide last time, and the rich information provided by the college, everyone worked more smoothly. The content of this student guide is more detailed than the previous one, and the design is more diverse.

The template followed the one he had previously created for Capital Foreign Studies University. Building on this foundation, Ye Ruida put considerable effort into meticulously designing the framework, making the entire guide's structure clearer and more logical. Li Xu's three roommates also demonstrated remarkable talent, gathering accurate and comprehensive information, and crafting engaging and engaging writing, resulting in a high-quality product.

On the other side, student military training was in full swing on the playground.

In the early morning, the sun shone on the playground. The students lined up neatly, their slogans echoing one after another. Apart from a minor incident in the first two days, there were no other unexpected incidents during the subsequent military training.

Days passed, and the long and boring training gradually made the students' skin tanned. Finally, after two weeks, the military training came to an end. At this time, almost everyone was tanned.

The day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the students’ military training report performance was successfully completed.

After the military training, the college distributed a beautiful commemorative album to all students. The album's cover featured a simple and elegant design, and included photos of each student during the training, including both serious training scenes and joyful moments from participating in various activities during the middle and later stages.

Everyone was very happy. After all, this was their first large-scale event since entering university. They didn’t expect that they would receive such a beautiful commemorative album after participating in the event.

On that day, Luo Xin organized the selection of class monitors.

Li Xu had no interest in being a class monitor or any other class committee member.

In his opinion, the goal and task of the first year of university is to study hard, lay a solid professional foundation, and at the same time, experience a rich and colorful university life on this basis.

He thought to himself that after Xia Xiaohe went to university next year, he would officially start participating in the entrepreneurship competition. Being a class committee member or holding an official position in the student union would not mean much to him.

Li Xu did not run for election, which disappointed many of his classmates.

During this period, Li Xu got along very well with many people in the class. Especially when encountering major events, Li Xu's calmness and mature ability to handle things made everyone recognize him from the bottom of their hearts and feel that he was the most capable person to be the class monitor.

Not only the students think so, Luo Xin also thinks so.

After all, he knew how Li Xu was admitted to university.

He knew that some people were born with leadership abilities, which were extremely rare, yet Li Xu had no intention of running for class monitor. Since he couldn't force someone to do so, Luo Xin could only feel regretful, but he couldn't say anything.

After the students' military training was over, the class monitor was successfully elected. A girl named Xiang Manhua was elected as the class monitor.

Logically speaking, a peaceful and harmonious college life should have begun.

However, what Li Xu did not expect was that a small disturbance occurred again just one morning after the formal class started.

……

There was only one class that morning. After the class ended, Xiang Manhua quickly ran up to the podium and said, "Everyone, wait a moment. Don't leave in a hurry. I have something to announce to you."

For this girl who had just been promoted to class monitor, since she was able to successfully run for the election, it meant that she had a certain popularity base in the class, so she was still given the minimum respect. Everyone sat down quietly and looked at what Manhua was about to say.

Xiang Manhua stood on the podium, took a deep breath and said, "I have some unfortunate news to share with everyone. After the last military training, we distributed a set of military training commemorative albums to the students."

Xiang Manhua sighed leisurely, "This yearbook is charged. One copy is eighteen yuan."

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene immediately became noisy.

"Are you kidding me? No way? You're charging me a fee. That's ridiculous."

"We didn't say we had to have it. Can I get a refund? I don't want it anymore."

"This is a forced sale."

Everyone was discussing it at once.

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Xiang Manhua sighed and said unsurely, "Everyone calm down. I just received the news too. Everyone calm down and stop arguing."

It’s no wonder that the students were so emotional. Distributing a set of military training commemorative albums was something to be happy about, but suddenly they were told that they had to pay for it. Anyone would feel uncomfortable.

It’s not that everyone can’t afford the eighteen dollars, but they just feel unhappy about it.

Li Xu remained silent. To him, eighteen dollars was nothing. He was just thinking, if it were him, how would he handle this matter?

Although this matter has no direct responsibility to Xiang Manhua as the class monitor, as a class monitor, she naturally has to coordinate with all parties and properly handle some conflicting matters. This is also a process of training herself.

But not everyone has such meticulous thinking as him. Xiang Manhua clearly has a sense of taking one step at a time.

Fortunately, after some complaints, everyone paid the money honestly.

If the matter ended here, it would be fine, but what Li Xu did not expect was that there would be a follow-up to this matter.

At noon, everyone returned to the dormitory to rest. Suddenly, someone sent a message in the group chat: "The fee for the student military training yearbook is wrong. It should be fifteen yuan. We were charged three yuan more each!"

Li Xu was stunned for a moment when he saw the news, then he smiled dumbly. How could he put it? Xiang Manhua was really unlucky to encounter such a difficult situation as soon as he became a squad leader.

As expected, the group exploded immediately.

Someone immediately responded: "Are you sure?"

At this moment, a student said, "It's okay to ask us to pay. I was thinking last time, should we at least see the detailed fee list?"

Li Xu could easily understand why his classmates were outraged. Three yuan was a small amount, but the matter was of great importance. Everyone was very intelligent and rigorous. If such a sudden increase of three yuan was not explained clearly, it would definitely cause trouble.

At this time, the classmate who initially pointed out that the student was charged three yuan more immediately posted a photo in the group that could be regarded as evidence.

It was a bill from the department next door, only fifteen yuan.

"Other departments are all 15 yuan, why is ours 18?"

Xiang Manhua was silent for a long time and did not reply to the message in the group.

At this moment, the student who had been the loudest in the group chat continued to send a message: "Although the money is not much, I think it is necessary to clarify this matter!"

Then he tagged Manhua and asked, "Where are you now, squad leader? I'm coming to find you. Let's confront you face to face."

At the same time, many people responded and the group became a chain meeting.

After a while, Xiang Manhua uttered tremblingly, "Then...then I'll wait for you in the small classroom in Building B."

Li Xu was thinking silently while reading the message. Logically speaking, the yearbooks of each department are similar, so there shouldn't be such an operation of inexplicably adding three dollars to the price.

There must be something wrong somewhere, but Xiang Manhua has not given a reasonable explanation yet, and this matter is definitely not Xiang Manhua's problem. The girl is confused and probably doesn't even know what went wrong.

He thought about it and decided to go over and take a look at the situation.

……

When Li Xu arrived, he saw poor Xiang Manhua surrounded by several emotional students.

Those students asked Xiang Manhua questions one after another, and the noise was so loud that the whole classroom was filled with a tense atmosphere.

Xiang Manhua's ears and head were buzzing at this moment, and her face flushed. "I'm just a fee collector..."

Her voice trembled slightly, as if she was trying hard to prove her innocence.

The classmates surrounding her were quite restrained at this time and did not do anything extreme. They just repeatedly asked her to confirm where the mistake was and why she was charged 3 yuan more.

Their faces were full of confusion and dissatisfaction, and they were obviously very annoyed by the sudden extra charges.

"I didn't say you overcharged, but as the squad leader, shouldn't you check it?"

"I... I don't dare..." Tears welled up in Xiang Manhua's eyes and she was about to cry.

Li Xu watched this scene below in silence.

Suddenly, An Duoduo arrived and gently poked him from behind. With a hint of anxiety in her eyes, she whispered, "Go up and help her."

Li Xu smiled dumbly, a hint of helplessness on his face, and said softly: "This thing is not my forte. If I rush to help rashly, I don't know how to intervene."

At this moment, someone beside him whispered, "I think I know where I went wrong."

Li Xu turned his head and saw that it was Shen Mobai.

Shen Mobai frowned, holding a small calculator tightly in his hand. His fingers tapped rapidly on it, his eyes fixed on the calculator screen. Then he showed a thoughtful expression, but he hesitated for a moment, a trace of embarrassment flashed across his face. He said to Li Xu with some helplessness, "But I'm only good at financial accounting. I'm not very good at handling this kind of situation."

Then he looked at Li Xu with a pleading look.

Li Xu probably understood what Shen Mobai meant. He was silent for a moment, a hint of caution in his eyes, and then asked seriously: "Can you really find out where the extra 3 yuan came from?"

Shen Mobai didn't hesitate at all, and nodded firmly, "It's almost right."

Li Xu narrowed his eyes and thought for half a second, then nodded heavily: "Okay, I believe you this time."

Then he strode towards the podium, his steps steady and powerful, and gently knocked on the desk, making a crisp sound, rescuing Xiang Manhua from the siege: "Everyone calm down first and listen to me for a few words."

His voice was loud and steady, like a huge bell, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

At this moment, everyone turned their eyes to Li Xu. Xiang Manhua seemed to have seen a savior. She hurriedly stood beside Li Xu and repeated, "I didn't embezzle..."

Li Xu shook his head with a gentle look on his face, and said softly: "You are just a money collector. I believe it is definitely not your fault. No one said that you took it."

Li Xu then raised his voice, his voice firm and powerful, and said to everyone, "We need to do two things now. First, since some students have discovered that they were overcharged by 3 yuan for this yearbook, we must find out where the calculation was incorrect. Second, the most urgent task right now is to reduce the losses as quickly as possible."

After a pause, Li Xu continued, his eyes scanning the audience. "First, I suggest that you sort the yearbooks into those that have been claimed, those that have not been claimed, and those that are damaged or defective. Those that have not been claimed should not be claimed for the time being, and those with defects should be returned first."

Then Li Xu looked at Xiang Manhua with a hint of encouragement in his eyes and said, "Secondly, take out the class fees first. The excess amount will be paid with the class funds first. After the money is recovered, we will refund the excess and make up the shortfall."

Li Xu's words were immediately recognized by everyone, and the students nodded in agreement. However, the key issue remained: how did the extra 3 yuan come from? And who should they ask for it?

Li Xu looked down at Shen Mobai, his eyes revealing a hint of anticipation. The situation was now under control, and Shen Mobai had room to play. He slowly walked up to the podium, his steps neither hurried nor slow, with a serious expression on his face, and said, "I roughly know how they overcharged us by 3 yuan, but I need to further verify my guess."

Then, Shen Mobai turned his gaze to the student who provided the quotation sheets from other colleges: "Zhang Hua, I remember the detailed quotation sheets from other colleges. You have photos, right?"

Zhang Hua nodded.

"Can you show me?"

After Shen Mobai took the quotation, he frowned and looked at the numbers carefully, his eyes focused and serious. Then he wrote on the small blackboard behind him: "The total cost of UV process is 1200 yuan, and this is the same for each system."

Then he asked Xiang Manhua, "How many people are there in our college?"

Xiang Manhua answered without hesitation: "A total of 292 people."

Shen Mobai took out a calculator and did some calculations. After comparing it with the 4 yuan per person on the quotation, he confirmed that 0.11 yuan was charged too much. He wrote the result on the blackboard in neat and clear handwriting.

Then, Shen Mobai said to Li Xu: "Next, you will accompany me to two places."

He said to the others, "I will inform everyone of the results before class this afternoon at the latest!"

Li Xu was also a little curious at this time, with an expectant smile on his face. He smiled and said to Shen Mobai: "It seems that you have already made up your mind. Okay, then, you lead the way!"

The first place they went to was the logistics department, where the room was filled with various documents and materials.

With the help of counselor Luo Xin, they found the previous paper quotation sheets in a pile of messy documents. After comparing them one by one, they found that the price difference per piece of paper was 1.8 yuan.

When seeing this scene, Shen Mobai smiled, his eyes flashing with excitement, as if he had successfully solved the case.

He then pulled out a calculator and explained to Li Xu, his voice tinged with excitement: "Let's use the money we collected and work backwards. 18 yuan for 292 people equals 5256 yuan. The actual cost is 5700 yuan, so the difference is 444 yuan. Where does this final difference come from?"

Shen Mobai said, "When we first entered the school, there were actually 300 people. That's what was published on the official website, but eight of them transferred to other departments. If we calculate based on 8 people, that would just make up the difference of 300 yuan."

Shen Mobai became more and more excited as he spoke. He took out his calculator and started calculating again. His fingers danced rapidly on the calculator. Finally, he pointed the calculator at Li Xu and said, "If we calculate it this way, we can deduce it in reverse. It's exactly a triple error."

This is the difference between being educated and being uneducated. In his previous life, even if Shen Mobai chewed these things up and fed them to him, he still wouldn't understand.

Li Xu blinked and went over Shen Mobai's words several times in his mind before he could digest them clearly. He opened his mouth slightly, a hint of surprise on his face: "292 people, a price difference of 3 yuan, and you can infer that these three places caused the error based on these two pieces of information?"

Shen Mobai probably understood why Li Xu was so surprised. He smiled faintly, a hint of confidence in his eyes: "I have been sensitive to numbers since I was a child, but I also have some acquired experience. Well, if you are interested, I will tell you about it when I have time."

Li Xu was indeed a little curious, but now was not the time to be curious. He had already found the answer to the question. He only needed to confirm in the academic affairs system whether the yearbooks were really calculated based on 300 people. Then he would have successfully solved the case.

Before the afternoon, they went to the college with the key evidence they had obtained, and in the college office, they argued their case.

In the end, 18 yuan of the 3 yuan that was paid was successfully recovered.

Xiang Manhua finally felt relieved, a bright smile appeared on her face, and she kept thanking Li Xu.

Li Xu said helplessly: "If you want to thank someone, then thank Shen Mobai. If it weren't for him, I really wouldn't be able to find where the extra 3 yuan came from."

Xiang Manhua looked at Shen Mobai over there, then looked at Li Xu in front of her, and smiled shyly: "I'd better just express my gratitude to you."

After hesitating for a moment, Xiang Manhua raised her head and asked, "By the way, Li Xu, has anyone ever told you that you look like Li Ming?"

Li Xu was slightly startled: "Huh?"

……

An Duoduo and Li Xu sat in the stands next to the playground.

At this time, the sun shone gently on them, and the laughter of classmates could be heard from the playground from time to time, but it did not interrupt An Duoduo's confusion at all.

An Duoduo propped her chin up with both hands and tilted her head slightly, looking like a curious kitten. Her eyes were full of confusion, and she frowned slightly: "I still don't quite understand..."

Li Xu looked at An Duoduo and couldn't help but smile, his eyes full of gentleness and patience.

He adjusted his sitting position slightly, leaning forward slightly, and said, "Let me explain this to you in simplest terms. There are three calculation errors in this 18 yuan, which led to the discrepancy. First, the hot stamping cost was shared equally by 300 people, but it should actually be shared by 292 people. Each person paid an extra 4 cents."

As he spoke, he gestured lightly in the air with his fingers, trying to make An Duoduo understand more intuitively.

"Then the cost of paper was calculated using the new paper after the price increase, which resulted in an additional cost of 1.35 yuan per book. However, this cost should not have been included in the calculation because our yearbooks used paper before the price increase."

Li Xu continued to explain, his face looking serious and focused.

"In the end, the costs of those eight transfer students were passed on to the rest of our students, so the cost per person increased by 8 yuan, which adds up to exactly 1.25 yuan."

After Li Xu finished speaking, he let out a breath.

Li Xu smiled and concluded, "To put it bluntly, it's because they overcharged people, secretly raised prices, and misappropriated expenses."

An Duoduo finally understood what he said. Her eyes lit up, and a look of sudden enlightenment appeared on her face. She sighed, "Shen Mobai is so amazing! Others look for answers through evidence, but he directly came up with the answer and then went looking for evidence one by one."

Li Xu nodded, his eyes flickering slightly, and his thoughts involuntarily drifted back to his previous life.

A trace of loneliness flashed in his eyes.

At that time, no department in the entire company had its own people, especially the core financial management personnel, none of whom were his confidants.

In his opinion, although this problem exists in all departments of the company, the most fatal problem is that he does not have his own people in finance and human resources, which caused him to lose control of key links of the company at a critical moment.

Even though this life is much more powerful than the previous one.

At least if you take those reports with some obviously abnormal numbers and think about them for a while, you can see the clues.

But it is definitely impossible to be as sharp as Shen Mobai!
If there is a powerful person in finance who wants to go against me... to be precise, there will definitely be one!

This will definitely require a lot of mental and physical effort on my part.

If I had a guy who was good with numbers to help me with the review...

Thinking of this, Li Xu's eyes became deep.

(End of this chapter)