“Incorrect book-keeping is an offence punishable by law; if you are not liable, then I am.”
“The law? I care a fig for the law!”
“I daresay! But we shall get into its clutches, if not you, then most certainly I! And therefore I am going to be book-keeper in the future.”
“We can engage a man to do it.”
“No, that’s not necessary! I have nothing else to do.”
And that settled the matter.
But once the husband occupied the chair at the desk and the people came to see him, the wife lost all interest in farming and cattle-breeding.
A violent reaction set in; she no longer attended to the cows and calves, but remained in the house. There she sat, hatching fresh plots.
But the husband had regained a fresh hold on life. He took an eager interest in the estate and woke up the people. Now he held the reins; managed everything, gave orders and paid the bills.
One day his wife came into the office and asked him for a thousand crowns to buy a piano.