Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life-Chapter 168: The Foundation

The next day.

Inside the Accounting Office, the clattering of abacuses continued as usual.

Su Ming kept his head down, his fingers swiftly gliding over the ledger, appearing no different from his colleagues around him.

Yet, his powerful divine sense had already transformed into an invisible net, enveloping the entire Accounting Office.

Everyone's breathing, the force of each pen stroke, every casual snippet of conversation, all passed through the most precise sieve, forming a dynamic map of interpersonal relationships in his mind.

His gaze focused particularly on an elderly man with half-gray hair and beard sitting in the corner.

Old Wang, a veteran of the Accounting Office, was not fond of talking and spent his days solely in the company of ledgers.

A thought stirred in Su Ming's mind. While auditing a list of spirit stone expenditures for the Vessel Hall, he deliberately misaligned a decimal point by one place.

This error was extremely subtle, hidden among hundreds of data entries, enough for ninety-nine percent of people to overlook it.

A young disciple at the neighboring desk glanced over, a gloating smile curling at the corner of his mouth, before he lowered his head, pretending not to have seen anything.

The others were completely immersed in their own work, indifferent.

The time it takes an incense stick to burn later, Old Wang got up to fetch water, passing by Su Ming's desk.

His footsteps paused almost imperceptibly, his gaze lingering on Su Ming's ledger for less than half a breath.

He said nothing, simply walked back with his cup of water.

A while later, Old Wang stood up again, as if to stretch his stiff back. He "inadvertently" walked behind Su Ming, bent down, and mumbled a reminder in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"For that batch of Fire Washing Stones from the Vessel Hall, the loss rate is three *li*, not three *qian*."

After saying this, he straightened up, rubbed his back, and slowly walked back to his seat as if nothing had happened.

Inside the Xuantian ring, Lin Yu's soul consciousness materialized into a faint figure sitting with legs crossed, nodding in satisfaction.

"Hey, this Old Wang is pretty good!"

"Tight-lipped, meticulous, and understands human relations. He didn't directly point out your mistake to embarrass you, but reminded you this way. He's an old hand and a sensible person. Disciple, I think this 'screw' will do!"

Su Ming lightly tapped his brush tip on the ledger.

On his list, a circle was drawn next to Old Wang's name.

In the afternoon, Su Ming left the Accounting Office under the pretext of "verifying inter-departmental accounts."

He didn't go to the accounting offices of other departments but headed directly for the Basic Formation Lines Maintenance Department at the foot of Formation Peak.

This was the very place where Sun Quan had once thrown his weight around.

Now that Sun Quan had been taken away by the Enforcement Hall, the entire Maintenance Department felt somewhat desolate.

An older, honest-looking man was bent over, meticulously polishing a scrapped formation plate. His movements were diligent, but his expression held a trace of numbness.

This was Old Li, the old menial disciple who had always been suppressed by Sun Quan and assigned the hardest, most exhausting tasks.

"Senior Brother Li," Su Ming greeted respectfully with a cupped fist salute.

Old Li looked up. Seeing it was Su Ming, a flicker of unease passed through his muddled eyes, and he quickly stood up.

"Brother... Brother Su, what brings you here?"

"I'm here to verify the maintenance material inventory for the 'Bedrock Shield Formation' from last quarter," Su Ming said, handing over a file. "There are a few entries for 'Azure Aura Sand' usage that don't match the Vessel Hall's outgoing records. I wanted to consult with you, Senior Brother."

Old Li took the file. After just one glance, he pointed at a specific entry and said honestly,

"Brother Su, this batch of shield formations was phased out from Heavenly Sword Peak and was severely worn. Using Azure Aura Sand according to procedure, even after repair, they wouldn't last long. Steward Sun... oh no, Sun Quan, he told us to use cheap 'Black Mountain Rock Powder' as a substitute. The accounts were still reported as Azure Aura Sand."

He spoke frankly and openly, without the slightest attempt to conceal anything.

Su Ming—the accountant—nodded calmly.

"Thank you for clarifying, Senior Brother."

Lin Yu's soul consciousness sounded again, carrying a hint of appreciation.

"This Old Li is also good. Honest, has practical experience, and has been suppressed. Give someone like this a chance, and he'll give his all for you. Write it down, write it down!"

Leaving the Maintenance Department, Su Ming took a detour to the Spiritual Plant Garden.

The person he was looking for was a young menial disciple named Zhang Asheng.

When Su Ming arrived, he saw Zhang Asheng squatting in front of a patch of withered, yellowish "Dew-Gathering Grass," his expression focused.

He wasn't using spiritual energy to force growth. Instead, he was using a thin bamboo stick to gently loosen the hardened spiritual soil bit by bit, then carefully dripping diluted spiritual liquid, drop by drop, near the roots of the grass.

That level of patience made it seem like he wasn't tending to spiritual plants, but carving a peerless work of art.

Su Ming—the accountant—only watched for a moment before turning and leaving.

"Master, what do you think of this person?"

"Need you ask?" Lin Yu's voice held a note of admiration. "Just watching him handle those nearly-dead spiritual plants tells you this kid has the patience for meticulous work! What we need most for repairing formation lines is precisely this kind of 'craftsman spirit'—someone who can sit still and focus! We want this kind of 'screw,' not those 'ambitious climbers' who dream of reaching the top in one step!"

In the evening, Qingfeng and Mingyue sneaked into Courtyard Ding-Qi.

"We found out! We found out!"

Mingyue proudly shoved a piece of paper with messy, crooked handwriting into Su Ming's hands.

"That Zhao Tiezhu you mentioned, his family raises spirit pigs for the sect! Five generations, their background is as clean as water! He's honest too, just a bit slow. He's failed the outer sect disciple exam several times!"

Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back, trying hard to maintain the dignity of a "senior brother."

"That Qian Xiaofan, his parents are mortals. He has a bit of spiritual root and was brought up the mountain by a steward from the Mortal World Experience Hall. He's clever, but too poor, always getting bullied. We asked several people, and they all said he's clean-handed, never cuts corners or slacks off."

The two youngsters, entrusted with an "important mission" by Su Ming, had excitedly used their own connections to thoroughly investigate the backgrounds of several impoverished disciples on Su Ming's list.

Looking at the information on the paper, a sincere smile appeared on Su Ming's face.

"Thank you both."

After seeing the two youngsters off, Su Ming returned to his room and activated the formation.

He took a deep breath, reorganizing and integrating all the information in his mind.

Finally, a core list of five individuals was firmly decided upon.

Accounting Office's Old Wang: Proficient with data, meticulous, could serve as the head of quality control.

Maintenance Department's Old Li: Experienced, steady, could serve as the backbone of repairs.

Spiritual Plant Garden's Zhang Asheng: Patient, detail-oriented, single-minded, could serve as a talent for precision work.

And the impoverished disciples vouched for by Qingfeng and Mingyue, Zhao Tiezhu and Qian Xiaofan: Clean backgrounds, eager for opportunity, could serve as the foundation for apprentices.

These five individuals were the first cornerstone of his "Formation Lines Repair Hall."