Chapter 150: Mastering the Art

Song Qingtian was hospitalized, and Ling Hanyu didn’t go to work either. However, Yang Yifan brought over the documents for those two welfare institutions and handed them to Ling Hanyu. After glancing at them, Ling Hanyu tossed them onto the table.

Song Qingtian came out of the restroom just in time to see the two sets of documents.

She took a look and noticed something odd.

“The amount of donations they receive each year is so vastly different from the amount they spend—could it be that someone is profiting off this?” Song Qingtian had once studied accounting and even earned a certification.

So she could tell at a glance that there were discrepancies in the accounts.

Ling Hanyu raised his eyes. “What have you figured out?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Someone’s pocketing the profits.”

Song Qingtian put the documents down.

Ling Hanyu leaned back casually. “You’ve spotted the discrepancy, but where exactly is the problem?”

Yang Yifan was still there. He chimed in, “I’ve already asked the accountant to investigate, but the audit is still ongoing. Plus, we don’t have clear access to their books, so we can’t definitively say there’s something wrong.”

Song Qingtian chuckled. “If you can’t even spot that, what kind of accountant are you?”

Yang Yifan was taken aback and stared at Ling Hanyu in surprise.

At that moment, Ling Hanyu was leaning back arrogantly on a single-seater leather sofa, watching Song Qingtian with casual nonchalance.

His gaze was like that of a predator eyeing prey it hadn’t seen in ages—his big cat poised, ready to pounce and devour its prey at any moment.

Curiosity made Ling Hanyu hold back, but the more he did, the stronger his possessive urge became.

His desire to dominate only grew stronger with each passing day.

Song Qingtian, however, knew nothing about Ling Hanyu. When she read novels, she did so purely on a whim; how could she possibly care about Ling Hanyu, such a big goofball?

Instead, she was furious at the original female supporting character—for being so passive and always falling for whatever the male lead dished out!

Now, even more haughty, she casually tossed the documents aside. “Even an idiot can see this—how can your accountant not understand?”

Yang Yifan was speechless.

“Well then, you tell us!”

“You keep pointing fingers and making vague accusations—what’s the point?”

Ling Hanyu smiled and patted his thigh. “Sit down!”

Song Qingtian was annoyed. She wasn’t a dog, after all.

Still, she walked over, grabbed the signature pen on Ling Hanyu’s chest, and wrote two lines of numbers on the documents.

The numbers were identical—both went up to the hundred-million mark.

Then Song Qingtian placed a decimal point on each line.

After finishing, she said, “Every time they move money in or out, they skim off ten percent—that’s called the ‘skimming method.’ But it’s only ten percent each time. For example, if they take ten million out of a hundred million. Of course, in a place this big with so much money, skimming off ten percent isn’t really a lot or a little—it’s just the usual. But judging by how poorly the welfare institution’s residents live, with cotton-padded jackets of such poor quality, it’s clearly more than ten percent.”

Yang Yifan hadn’t expected Song Qingtian to be so knowledgeable about this, so he couldn’t help but step closer to take a look.

He was also curious. “If that’s the case, wouldn’t they have to keep adjusting the decimal points? Wouldn’t that make it fifty-fifty?”

“No, that would attract attention. This skimming technique is designed to be hard to detect, but if you go too far, it becomes troublesome. So anyone who’s truly skilled at this won’t be that foolish.”

“So what should we do?” Secretary Yang was no longer just impressed.

Song Qingtian explained without holding back. “The skimming method works every time. The other party can simply return the funds to the bank. You have to understand: the discrepancy lies in the decimal point. Once the money leaves, the total amount doesn’t change—only the decimal point shifts—and when it comes back out, it’s still the same. If I’m not mistaken, they’ll skim off thirty percent three times in a row, using different excuses. That way, taking thirty percent is easy. And as for the rest, they’ll quietly siphon off another twenty percent while they’re at it.”

Secretary Yang asked, “So that means half of the money is gone?”

“Probably. Secretary Yang, if you want to check their accounts, it’s simple: go to the bank and say that this piece of land belongs to us. We’d like to properly relocate these two welfare institutions so they won’t be left homeless, but we’re unclear about their spending flow. Our company wants to prepare a report. Make it clear that if the expenses get too high, the company might not take responsibility, so we need to stay within budget. Then the company will step in.”

“The bank will oblige out of politeness—after all, they don’t want to offend a major client. And since these two welfare institutions really need funding to keep operating, the money will naturally come from the banks they’ve spoken to. Those banks profit from it, so they’ll be happy to help. Remember, if the manager in charge says no, just say… ‘Our project still needs working capital,’ and they’ll definitely bite!”

Yang Yifan asked, “So it’s basically half the money gone?”

“Exactly. Secretary Yang, if you want to investigate their accounts, just go to the bank and explain that this piece of land belongs to us. We want to properly relocate these two welfare institutions so they won’t be left homeless, but we’re unclear about their spending flow. Our company wants to prepare a report. Make it clear that if the expenses get too high, the company might not take responsibility, so we need to stay within budget. Then the bank will oblige out of politeness—after all, they don’t want to offend a major client. And since these two welfare institutions really need funding to keep operating, the money will naturally come from the banks they’ve spoken to. Those banks profit from it, so they’ll be happy to help. Remember, if the manager in charge says no, just say… ‘Our project still needs working capital,’ and they’ll definitely bite!”

End of Chapter 150: Mastering the Art