Chapter 28
Qin Fangniang was nervous and excited, and she stopped talking about farming.
This was the first time that Sang Luo actually saw the ancient city walls and gates with her own eyes. When she got closer, she found that it was nothing like the grandeur she had imagined. It was indeed simple and ancient. The city walls were made of rammed earth. Sang Luo looked up and estimated that the height was no more than five meters.
The three big characters "Qi Yang County" above the city gate are different from the simplified characters used in later generations in Sang Luo's original time and space, and are more like the ancient traditional characters.
Fortunately, her original body knew some words. Although she was not as educated as her brothers, she learned needlework and housekeeping from her mother, and also had to learn some common words. Therefore, Sang Luo did not become semi-illiterate because of her time travel.
By now it was already bright, and people entering the city had formed a long queue. Sang Luo and Qin Fangniang also hurried to the back of the queue, following the people in front who were pushing carts, carrying loads and baskets, and moving forward in order.
There were three spear-wielding guards at the city gate, two in charge of entrance and one in charge of exit.
"What are you doing? Show me the official inspection certificate!"
Sang Luo hurriedly took out the pass from her sleeve and handed it over.
Perhaps for the sake of easier preservation, or perhaps because paper was too expensive, the pass used by the villagers in the county to enter and leave the county town was not made of paper, but a rectangular wooden sign with all the information about Sang Luo, including her name, hometown, and family business, recorded on it. The guard took it and checked to make sure it was correct before handing it back to Sang Luo.
Sang Luo had already seen how the people ahead entered the city, so she quickly took out two coins from her sleeve and handed them over: "This is the entrance fee for me and my aunt."
Pointing at Qin Fangniang who was standing behind her.
Qin Fangniang was a little flustered. She handed her pass to the guard. When the guard let her go, she quickly handed the penny she had prepared in her sleeve to Sang Luo: "My mother said that the situation of your entrance fee is that you can't sell your things. I think you can sell your things. We can pay for it ourselves."
Sang Luo found it a little funny, but she didn't refuse. When Qin Fangniang handed it to her, she smiled and accepted it.
She knows her own things well and they will sell well.
Qin Fangniang felt relieved when she saw her take it.
As soon as she entered the county town, Qin Fangniang’s eyes were no longer enough.
There were many people entering the city at this time, most of them pushing carts or carrying loads, carrying all kinds of things, but the most eye-catching thing was the grandeur of the county town's buildings. Qin Fangniang murmured, "The houses in this county town are really nice. In our area, only the Wang family had this kind of blue brick and tile house, but every family here has it. It's so grand."
Sang Luo nodded. In her opinion, this county town was not really grand, but if compared with Shili Village, it was indeed very grand.
Qin Fangniang took a few steps and moved her eyes to the stone-paved road. She walked a few steps on it in her coarse cloth shoes. It was flat, comfortable and not painful to the feet.
"This road is so clean, it's all paved with slabs. How many slabs are there?"
I also thought that when I walk on the road on a rainy day, my shoes will not be soaked by mud and water, and they will be clean and comfortable to walk on.
Wait—clean?
Qin Fangniang stopped, grasping the hemp rope tied to the hook under the carrying pole with both hands, and looked at the very clean street in front of her, dumbfounded.
She swallowed her nonexistent saliva and subconsciously looked at Sang Luo: "Alie's wife, where is our stall?"
This is different from the market. There is not a single street vendor.
Sang Luo looked at the people who were carrying goods into the city like them. Just as she was about to follow them, she heard three drum beats not far ahead and someone shouted, "The market is open!"
As soon as the drum sounded, the people who had just entered the city, carrying loads, carts, and baskets, suddenly sped up their pace and all rushed in one direction.
It turned out that there was a special market. Sang Luo hurriedly called Qin Fangniang: "Aunt, let's follow."
People were pouring into an open space surrounded by buildings not far from the city gate. It was a market specially set up by Qiyang County. The big drum that had just been struck was placed on a high platform on the second floor of a two-story building at the entrance of the market.
Looking in from the city gate, there were already many small stalls in the market, and a few residents from the county were already carrying empty baskets into the market. For those who came from far away, such as Sang Luo, it was late to arrive at this time.
To enter the market, one had to queue up. Sang Luo stretched her neck to look forward. At the front of the queue was an old man pushing a cart. He had parked his wheelbarrow at the city gate, took out a copper coin from his sleeve, bowed and handed it to the clerk who was holding the whip and guarding the gate.
The clerk looked at the several cloth bags on the old man's cart, then took the money, turned around and threw the money into a copper basin behind him, and handed the old man a rectangular wooden sign the size of a child's palm. The old man put the wooden sign into his sleeve and pushed the cart back in.
Qin Fangniang's lips trembled as she watched, and she asked Sang Luo in a low voice, "Why do we have to pay for this?"
A middle-aged man in front of the two turned to look at Sang Luo and the others and said, "You haven't come to the county to sell things for a while, right?"
It sounds like he's knowledgeable.
Sang Luo hurriedly asked: "Brother, this is our first time here. Didn't we pay the entrance fee to enter the city just now? Do we still have to pay to enter the market?"
The man looked at the clerk guarding the gate in front of him, then turned around and said to Sang Luo and the others, "Three months ago, a new rule was introduced. You have to pay a market tax when you enter the market. It depends on what you sell. For daily necessities and food and vegetables that are not too expensive, you have to pay one cent per person to enter the market."
He looked at the goods the two men were carrying and lowered his voice to remind them: "If you have a lot of things, you can pay one cent. There are many people coming and going in the market, so they can sell quickly. If you have less, just pick them up from street to street and sell them in the alleys. You can save a penny. But be careful not to set up a stall on the main street. If you are caught by the patrolling clerk, you will be fined five cents, and even more."
Sang Luo understood that the government had created new names and added new taxes.
Qin Fangniang was a little panicked. The things had not been sold yet, and the two of them had to pay two cents to enter the city, and another two cents to enter the market. Four cents was a lot of money for a farmer, and they spent it without doing anything. Wasn't it just like throwing it into the water?
"Alie's wife, let's split up and carry the loads to sell."
"No hurry." Sang Luo comforted him and asked the middle-aged man, "Brother, is the fee charged per person in this market, regardless of the amount of goods?"
The man nodded: "Based on the number of people."
"How many markets like this are there in the county? Do they all collect market taxes?"
Seeing that she didn't mind spending money, the man asked how many markets there were. He smiled and said, "Two. This is the East Market. There's a West Market a little further in on the other side of the county town. The market tax is the same."
"If you carry a load and sell it, as long as you don't set up a stall on the main paved road, and just walk around and hawk your wares, the street patrol officers won't arrest you, right?"
"Then we won't arrest you. To be safe, you can just peddle your wares in the alleys where residents gather."
Sang Luo had an idea in her mind, and said to Qin Fangniang, "People in the county don't know about the magic tofu yet, so it's better to sell it in crowded places like the market. This is the first time to do business, and we want to have a good start. I suggest that you go to the market, and I'll pay for you today."
It's not that the tofu can't be sold by carrying a load on the pole and hawking it outside, but it tests one's eloquence. Qin Fangniang is introverted and shy, and she might not be able to open her mouth when carrying a load on the pole outside, so it would be difficult to sell the two buckets of magical tofu.
Qin Fangniang opened her mouth and said, "How can I ask you to pay for it?"
A middle-aged man standing by was curious when he heard the two talking about the magical tofu. He looked into the bucket and basket they were carrying, but one was covered with a wooden lid and the other with a lotus leaf, so he couldn't see anything.
Hearing Qin Fangniang's words about being troubled by the one-cent market tax, she said, "It doesn't matter if you don't have money. When you enter the gate, you will be told to pay later. If you don't pay the tax, the gatekeeper will give you a green card. Later, someone will check the card from time to time inside. When you sell things and have money, you can pay the market tax and get a red card."
Qin Fangniang breathed a sigh of relief after finding out that she could sell the goods and pay the city tax later. However, she was still reluctant to pay the money.
Sang Luo had already taken out a copper coin and put it into Qin Fangniang's hand, saying with a smile, "Aunt, this is your first time doing business today, so you have to make it lively. You can carry those two buckets of divine tofu to sell in the market later, and the market tax will be on me. I have fewer things to carry, and they are the same as yours, so I can just go out and hawk my wares in the streets and alleys, so that I can get familiar with the county town."
Qin Fangniang was stunned: "Sell both of these barrels to me?"
She was a little confused. Didn't A Lie's wife know how to count? The extra portion was given to her, and she would take half a cent from every piece sold.
I spent one cent on the entrance fee, and now I have to help her pay one cent in market tax. Then I give her the extra goods to sell in the market, and I pick out the smaller ones to sell. What's the point of this?
She was an honest person who had never taken advantage of anyone in her life. This was the first time someone offered her such an obvious advantage, and she felt very nervous.
"Or I will carry your basket and hawk it, and you go to the market."
The anxiety was clearly written on his face.
Sang Luo smiled and said, "Aunt, you can just stay here and sell. You carried such heavy things from ten miles away, so how can I take advantage of you? Besides, this is not just the first time we cooperate. We still have a long way to go. I will only pay you the city tax this time. I will just encourage you to give it a try. It's a good start, and we can discuss things separately next time. I also want to travel around and get to know the West Market."
She patted Qin Fangniang on the shoulder and said, "It's settled. Please line up and go in. I've filled these two buckets today. There are forty yuan in them. It's hard to say who will sell out first. No matter who sells out first, we can just meet at the gate of the East Market."
Without waiting for Qin Fangniang to hesitate, she gave most of the lotus leaves and other things needed for the tasting in the basket to Qin Fangniang. She only had one bamboo knife, and the quantity she had was small, so she directly cut the tasting samples and put them in another bowl. She also gave the bamboo knife to Qin Fangniang, then thanked the middle-aged man who had just taught them a lot of science, picked up her basket, left the team and went to the county town.
In just a moment of hesitation, the penny was in my hand without me knowing what was going on.
After Sang Luo left, Qin Fangniang almost bit her tongue with regret. Why did she feel so bad over a few cents? If she had no money, couldn't she just take the green card first? This was taking advantage of others. She slapped her face lightly and spat in her heart: How could I be so stupid and react so slowly!
In just a short while, the people in front had entered the East Market, and soon it was Qin Fangniang's turn. She handed over the penny that Sang Luo had stuffed in her hand, and received a red card with two unknown words engraved on it. When she looked out again, she could no longer see even Sang Luo's shadow.
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