"Another one?"
Chen Mo, who had just walked over, couldn't help but ask after hearing this, "Didn't you just collect commercial tax a few days ago? And you even collected twenty taels of silver. Why are you collecting it again now? What law stipulates this?"
The lean constable sneered, "Naturally, it's stipulated by our Prefect Lin! In Yongzhou, our lord is the law!"
Head held high, chest puffed out, full of pride.
"Your master... is the law?"
Chen Mo's eyes turned cold as he said, word by word, "Did your master say this himself?"
"Heh, what difference does it make whether our master says it or not? Who in this city doesn't know that our master is the god of Yongzhou!"
"Good, very good! I'll remember that!"
Chen Mo said through gritted teeth.
"Hey, I say, where did this little brat come from? Who gives you the right to interrupt when an old man is speaking?"
After the lean constable finished speaking, he also coveted Chen Mo's appearance and pretended to push her, but in reality, he wanted to take advantage of her with his groping hands.
Just as his hand was about to touch Chen Mo's body, Jing Zhe grabbed her arm from behind and pulled her away, narrowly avoiding it.
He then took a step forward, positioning himself protectively in front of Chen Mo.
"Sir, haven't you gone too far?"
...
"Commander Lin, who is that young lady?"
Lin Wenyao arrived early in the morning at the watermelon stall diagonally opposite and sat inside to watch the show.
Ever since he learned that they had mastered the method of making ice, Lin Wenyao had been eager to act. His first move was to target Cool Summer, and these constables were the ones he had recruited.
But his mind wasn't on that now; his soul had already been captivated by the ethereal beauty of Chen Mo.
Lin Wenyao, a playboy, frequented brothels like Chunshui Tower and Zuimeng Tower every day. Although the women he had met were somewhat attractive, compared to Chen Mo in front of him, they immediately became slutty and cheap women.
"this…"
Lin Tong had never met Chen Mo before, or rather, he had never seen Chen Mo dressed as a woman, and he stammered, unable to say anything.
"Young Master, I know!"
At this moment, Zhu Zi volunteered.
"I overheard them saying during a cool summer day that this woman was the older sister of a handsome, scholarly man named Chen Mo..."
"A handsome, scholarly man..."
Lin Wenyao pondered deeply, then clapped his hands in delight.
"No wonder she looked so familiar, it's his sister! I saw them know each other at Chunshui Tower before, now I understand!"
Back when they were at Chunshui Tower, Chen Mo, disguised as a man, had "recommended" Jing Zhe to write a poem, something Lin Wenyao still remembered.
"That's right, what's your name?"
"Young Master, my name is Zhu Zi!"
When Lin Wenyao asked his name, Zhu Zi felt a surge of joy, while Lin Tong behind him looked gloomy.
...
"Sir, just talk, don't resort to violence, or I'm afraid you'll lose your hand!"
Jing Zhe said coldly.
"Heh, you dare threaten me?"
The lean constable also snorted coldly and said in a harsh voice.
This time, Jing Zhe didn't say anything. Hanhan, Da Ge, and the others had already surrounded them, completely encircling the lean constables.
Don't be fooled by their timid demeanor in front of Jing Zhe; when they encounter government officials, they will strike without hesitation.
The constables were experienced and had seen all sorts of people, but they were frightened by the bandit-like aura emanating from Hanhan and his gang, and retreated repeatedly.
The lean constable exclaimed in surprise, "What... do you intend to assault an officer?"
"Assaulting a government official?"
Jing Zhe shook his head. "Don't talk nonsense, we didn't do anything. How could we law-abiding citizens do something so rude in front of so many people?"
"That's right! In front of so many people, I doubt you'd dare!"
Upon hearing this, the lean constable immediately felt more confident.
But Jing Zhe changed his tone and sneered, "However, if anyone lays hands on a respectable woman in public and tries to harass her, even if they are an official, I will never allow it!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the onlookers began to point fingers and whisper among themselves.
They all saw the lean constable reach out to Chen Mo just now. And looking at Chen Mo, who is a stunningly beautiful young woman, how could they not understand what the lean constable was thinking?
Hearing the surrounding crowd gossiping, the lean constable felt a bit pressured and cleared his throat twice in an attempt to ease the awkwardness.
Then he said seriously, "Who laid a hand on her? I just had an itchy head and was scratching it!"
Then he stretched his hand forward, moved it to his head, and made a very exaggerated head-scratching motion, leaving the onlookers completely bewildered.
"Not the best!"
Jing Zhe snorted coldly, and Hanhan and the others also stepped aside.
"Then, sir, let's talk about the commercial tax!"
Chen Mo, who was standing next to him, chimed in, "It's only been two or three days since the last time we collected commercial taxes. Could it be that you know you've collected too much and are planning to return the excess?"
"..."
Chen Mo's words stirred up memories among the onlookers.
"Yes, didn't they post a notice a few days ago saying that they collected twenty taels of commercial tax?"
"Hiss, twenty taels? If we take two or three qian of tax per hundred cash, wouldn't that mean earning a thousand taels a year? And this is a shop that's only been open for a few days, are you kidding me?"
"Who says otherwise? I thought it was a mistake before, but judging from what you just said, it seems like it is!"
"Black, it really is black!"
The crowd chattered on, and Jing Zhe heard it all. He thought to himself that the notice posted last time had really worked. Now it was time to see how the constable would explain it.
"The twenty taels of commercial tax we collected last time... was indeed too much, but that was a prepayment, just like the 'love money' thing your shop does. You see, when did we come to collect it again in the days that followed?"
The lean constable looked up and said.
Jing Zhe burst out laughing upon hearing this: "So, according to the official, you're planning to collect commercial tax from us every day? Impressive!"
After saying that, she gave him a thumbs up.
But the lean constable showed no embarrassment or awkwardness and continued, "Of course, collecting commercial taxes every day is not only troublesome for you, but also inconvenient for us! Therefore, Prefect Lin has decided to collect commercial taxes from you only once a year!"
After listening, Jing Zhe nodded, "Alright, then consider the twenty taels of silver as this year's commercial tax! I don't want the extra, consider it my treat for drinks!"
"..."
After saying that, Jing Zhe ignored him and prepared to go back.
"etc!"
The lean constable quickly stopped him: "I haven't finished speaking yet!"
"Didn't I tell you? We don't want any more!"
"A lot?"
Narrowing his eyes, the lean constable sneered, "Are you dreaming? That's far from enough!"
"Not nearly enough?"
This surprised not only Jing Zhe, but also the onlookers.
Someone just calculated that at a tax rate of two or three coins per hundred coins, earning a thousand taels of silver a year would only incur twenty taels of commercial tax, but he said that was far from enough…
Jing Zhe smiled, "Then please tell us, sir, how much business tax should we pay?"
"One thousand two hundred taels!"
The lean constable blurted out his answer without even thinking.
————
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