RPAGF Chapter 29 The Tax Invoice Dispute (Part 1)
Chapter 29 The Tax Invoice Dispute (Part 1)
Chapter 29 The Tax Invoice Dispute (Part 1)
“uang……uang……”
A yamen runner, holding a gong, walked at the head of the procession, striking it as he went. Each strike consisted of seven blows, known as the "Seven Gong Sounds." Each sound corresponded to a single character: "A gentleman who is not dignified will not command respect."
Behind the gong player were four yamen runners holding signs that read "Silence" and "Avoidance".
In the middle of the procession, a group of four "green-hatted sedan chair bearers" carried a sedan chair. Sitting in the sedan chair, Wang Wenzhou waved to the people on the roadside from time to time.
Two rows of yamen runners with swords at their waists walked neatly on either side of the sedan chair.
"Uang!" The gong sounded, and the bailiffs on the left shouted in unison, "Magistrate Wang of Hanshan County, go out and inspect the streets!"
"Uang!" The yamen runner struck the gong again, and the runners on the right shouted in unison: "Entry tax is a matter of national and people's responsibility!"
Wang Qiang rode his "Black Whirlwind" along one side of the group. He really couldn't understand what his young master was trying to do with such a grand display. They'd almost circled the entire county town already.
Seeing the crowd ahead, Wang Qiang gestured, and the group slowed down. This was a direct instruction from Wang Wenzhou: slow down when there were many people.
"Greetings, Lord Wang!"
"Wang Qingtian!"
May Buddha protect Wang Qingtian!
"Lord Wang is truly a benevolent man, caring for the country and its people!"
This is the third day since the city entry tax began to be collected. People started buying tax stamps from the very first day. On the second day, the number of people buying tax stamps gradually increased, and the price of tax stamps began to rise. Now it has risen to five copper coins per stamp.
By simply taking a stroll outside the city, one could earn four coins. The people benefited greatly, and they constantly praised Lord Wang for collecting the city taxes.
Wang Wenzhou sat in the sedan chair, enjoying the praise from the people. He smiled and nodded or waved to the shouting crowd. The reason Wang Wenzhou used a sedan chair instead of a sedan chair was because sedan chairs have curtains, making it impossible for the people on the roadside to see Wang Feng inside.
Inside a roadside restaurant, Ma Deyun glanced disdainfully at the queue on the street and said meaningfully, "Wang Shazi, it seems he's not so stupid after all. He knows this stuff?"
"Brother Ma, do you mean that Wang Shazi's tactic of winning people's hearts is brilliant?" Sun Feng asked.
Ma Deyun nodded, saying with annoyance, "Yes! We were careless! We were only thinking about making a little money, but we didn't expect to become the fools who carried Wang Shazi's sedan chair! The people of Hanshan County are the biggest beneficiaries of our tax collection. Now many people go out of the city a few times every day when they have nothing to do. Each time they enter the city gate, they earn fourteen coins. For many people, that's a whole day's income."
"Sigh!" Yang Shan sighed and said, "What's even more infuriating is that we actually lost money!"
Lin Qing smiled wryly, "Who would have thought that so many people would suddenly appear to collect tax stamps the very next day? Today, the tax stamps have already risen to five copper coins each. Brother Ma, should we continue this business or not? Yesterday, we wasted three taels of silver and didn't even win the grand prize. That peddler named Geng San won the grand prize."
"Slap!" Ma Deyun suddenly remembered something, slapped his thigh, and said, "Wang Shazi is amazing! How come I didn't think of that!"
"Brother Ma, what do you mean by that?" Lin Qing asked.
Ma Deyun thought for a moment and explained, "Think about it, this fool Wang is giving away a reward of ten taels of silver. For many people, that's a huge sum of money. Even if we were to throw away ten taels of silver every day, we would still feel the pinch."
"Yes!" Several people nodded.
“Wang the Fool, that’s where his cleverness lies!” Ma Deyun took a deep breath and said, “We really underestimated him at first! Many people saw us win the lottery on the first day. The more tax receipts we collect, the higher our chances of winning the grand prize. For many gamblers, it’s quite worthwhile to take one tael of silver and try to win ten taels.”
"Wang Shazi doesn't look stupid at all!" Yang Shan said with a wry smile.
“I understand!” Sun Qing nodded and said, “The more gamblers there are, the higher the city’s tax revenue will be. Yesterday, the total amount of tax receipts was already four taels of silver. If this continues, in a few days, Wang the Fool won’t have to pay out of his own pocket. Ordinary people will make a little money, while the gamblers will lose money. And that Wang the Fool will earn a good reputation as Wang Qingtian.”
"Slap!" Lin Qing lightly slapped herself, saying in annoyance, "In the end, we've become the fools!"
"Hmph!" Yang Shan snorted coldly and said, "It's still hard to say who's the fool! Come here, let's do this..."
"Haha...Brother Yang is brilliant!" Several people praised him upon hearing the plan.
The four talented scholars already looked down on Wang Wenzhou because of his background. After losing money yesterday, they wanted to go against Wang Wenzhou and try to trick him.
……
Yesterday, Geng San gambled away his savings and unexpectedly won. Gamblers have a certain mentality: if they lose when they first start gambling, they'll stop. But if they win at the beginning, it's very difficult to give up.
Geng San won a big prize yesterday, earning eight taels of silver. Today, he simply stopped selling vegetables and stayed at the city gate collecting tax receipts.
But collecting these tax stamps is proving difficult today. Not only are there more people buying them, but the price has also gone up. Although there's an unspoken agreement among the tax stamp collectors to keep the price at five copper coins per stamp, every time someone enters the city, seven or eight people surround them shouting, "Sell me your tax stamps for five copper coins!"
This was physically demanding work, but luckily Geng San came from a vegetable-selling background and was quite strong, so he always managed to squeeze to the front. Even so, after half a day, he only collected about eighty tax stamps.
Tax invoices are hard to collect these days. Many people don't care about a few cents and just hold onto them, hoping they might win a big prize.
Geng San was only relieved that Ma Deyun and his group had stopped collecting tax receipts. He had seen Ma's servants collecting tax receipts before noon, but they had left afterward. Geng San was pleased, as one of his most threatening competitors had been eliminated. The title of "Four Great Talents of Hanshan" wasn't given lightly; while their talent might not be exceptional, each family was incredibly wealthy.
As the time for the lottery draw approached, onlookers gradually gathered at the South Gate, waiting for the draw to take place.
Geng San also arrived at the South Gate from the North Gate early.
Because the South Gate was the location for the lottery, there were too many people collecting tax receipts, making the competition too fierce. For the past two days, Geng San had been collecting tax receipts at the North Gate.
Just as Li Hechen was about to seal the accounts, he heard someone shout.
"Wait a minute, I need to go into the city."
Li Hechen looked up and saw Ma Deyun, whom he usually didn't get along with. There were two main factions on the streets of Hanshan: Li Hechen and his friends, and the Four Great Talents of Hanshan. Of course, in the eyes of the Four Great Talents, Li Hechen and his gang of hooligans were not worthy of respect.
Li Hechen tore off a tax stamp, handed it to Ma Deyun, and said, "Entry tax, one coin."
Ma Deyun shook his head, placed the silver on the table, smiled slightly, and said calmly, "This is two taels of silver. Give me three thousand tax stamps."