When Jing Zhe went out and saw the government officials that Hanhan had mentioned, his anxious heart was relieved quite a bit.
Seeing how nervous Hanhan looked, Jing Zhe thought that their identity as bandits from Mangshan had been exposed and they had been surrounded by a large group of government soldiers. But when they came out, well, there were only two constables!
"The presence of you two esteemed officials is an honor to our humble establishment!"
Jing Zhe stepped forward and said with a smile.
The constable glanced at him, expressionless: "You're the owner of this 'Cool Summer' restaurant?"
"It is indeed I!"
Upon receiving an affirmative answer, the constable couldn't help but glance at him a few more times, thinking to himself, "What a young boss!"
"Gentlemen, please don't stand outside. Come and sit down in our shop. I'll send someone to get you some mung bean popsicles. They're delicious, refreshing, and very cool!"
Just as one of the constables was about to reach out to refuse, another lean constable gave him a wink and stopped making a move.
The bustling scene of selling popsicles to cool off in summer has long been known throughout the city, with popsicles in high demand and short supply – this is the most direct impression many people in Yongzhou have of the "Cool Summer" phenomenon.
The two constables weren't rich, and naturally they'd never tasted popsicles before. They were lucky to get a free chance to eat one, so only a fool would refuse!
A short while later, Hanhan came out carrying two popsicles.
"Just two?"
The lean constable glanced at it and raised an eyebrow.
Hanhan disliked these government employees the most. They weren't satisfied with just two sticks and kept pushing their luck. Hanhan was about to take action when Jingzhe quickly stopped him.
"Sir, you may not know this, but the weather is hot and popsicles melt easily. If you leave them out for too long, they'll turn into water in no time. Before you leave, I'll have someone prepare a few more for you to take home!"
After hearing Jing Zhe's explanation, the lean constable beamed with joy.
"Not bad, not bad."
He patted Jing Zhe on the shoulder and laughed as he ate his popsicle.
"tasty!"
"readily!"
The two of them ate quickly, and in no time they finished the popsicle, their eyes greedily fixed on Jing Zhe.
Jing Zhe understood and had Hanhan fetch two more for them. They only calmed down after eating the second one.
At this moment, Jing Zhe asked with a smile, "I still don't know what brings you two gentlemen here?"
As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding," and "He who takes another's money is bound to do his bidding." Jing Zhe had already given the two constables some benefits in advance, thinking that they would take care of him in the future.
The lean constable casually tossed aside the bamboo skewer in his hand, stood up, and said, "Here to collect taxes!"
"Tax collection?"
Although Jing Zhe was a time traveler, he had a general understanding that most of the taxes collected in ancient times were agricultural taxes, since land taxes were the main source of income and easy to collect, while industrial and commercial taxes were difficult to collect, or rather, almost never collected.
Is Anguo's tax policy already so comprehensive?
However, even if a business tax is to be levied, shouldn't it be closer to the end of the year? It's a bit far-fetched for him to start collecting it so soon after opening.
But as the saying goes, the common people can't fight with the officials, especially since they were originally bandits. They couldn't afford to have a conflict with the officials in the city. Seeing that the popsicle sales were going so well, and that things would be on track in a few days, he could leave for Jingzhou.
At this critical juncture, he didn't want any unnecessary complications.
If you want to collect taxes, then so be it!
So Jing Zhe asked, "May I ask, sir, how much is the total tax revenue?"
"Twenty taels!"
The lean constable spoke without even thinking.
"Twenty taels?"
The people inside gasped in surprise.
They had seen taxes before, but this was the first time they had ever seen taxes so high.
Hanhan, Pangqiu, and the others were furious, but fortunately, Dalian was a man of principle and, fearing that it would delay Jing Zhe's important matter, secretly pulled them away.
"May I ask, sir, how are these taxes calculated?"
The smile on Jing Zhe's face disappeared, and he asked calmly.
"How do you calculate it? It's very complicated, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you!"
The lean constable waved his hand, "Besides, I've heard that you made over two hundred taels of silver in a day, but only took twenty taels. You should be secretly happy!"
"..."
Jing Zhe received 220 taels of silver today, but he actually earned very little, as most of it was deposited by others.
Besides, even if he really earned two hundred taels, he wouldn't have to pay that much, would he?
Chen Mo, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it any longer and questioned, "His Majesty levies commercial taxes only to regulate commercial order and replenish the national treasury. The tax rate is two or three coins per hundred coins. How did you calculate twenty taels?"
"Who are you?"
The lean constable was speechless for a moment, not expecting there to be someone knowledgeable here, and then looked at Chen Mo.
"You don't need to know who I am, just answer my questions! The amount of taxation is clearly stipulated by the imperial law. Show me the articles, and we'll confront each other face to face!"
Chen Mo was not afraid of him at all and asked a series of questions.
"A confrontation? With you?"
The lean constable sneered twice, "You're just a commoner, what makes you think you can stand up to me?"
"Then I'll go find your prefect! I want to know who gave you the audacity to so blatantly violate the laws set forth by the Emperor, and who is so fearless of death!"
Chen Mo was truly angry; his chest was heaving violently.
"Looking for our prefect?"
The lean constable remained unfazed, continuing his sneer: "Today's matter is all thanks to our Prefect—"
Before he could finish speaking, the constable next to him pulled him back, signaling him to stop talking.
The lean constable was taken aback, then changed his tune, saying, "Twenty taels, not a penny less. If you don't pay, hehe, you can forget about keeping this shop open!"
"No way! Let's go to the yamen!"
"Go ahead, I'll arrest you and teach you a lesson for talking nonsense. You'll suffer in jail!"
The constable said sternly.
Jing Zhe quickly stopped Chen Mo. This whole thing started because of his shop, and he didn't want Chen Mo to suffer imprisonment because of it.
"Twenty taels of silver, right? I'll pay!"
Jing Zhe took out twenty taels of silver from his pocket and handed it over.
The lean constable's eyes lit up, and he was about to reach out to take it, but Jing Zhe withdrew his hand and looked at him coldly: "If we pay this money, can our shop continue to operate?"
"Of course! Once you pay your taxes, who cares about you?"
The lean constable spoke, but his greedy eyes never left Jing Zhe's hand.
They asked the two men their names, and perhaps eager to get the money, the lean constable blurted out their names without hesitation.
Jing Zhe threw the silver to him and said coldly.
"Goodbye and don't come back!"
The constable, having received the money, ignored Jing Zhe and walked out happily.
Jing Zhe followed him outside to look at the watermelon stall diagonally across the street. Lin Tong was standing at the door, sneaking around and peeking in their direction. When he saw Jing Zhe looking at him, he was so frightened that he shrank back.
Watermelon Shop, Lin Tong, Lin Wenyao, Prefect Lin.
Jing Zhe sneered, already having considered the cause and effect.
————
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