Teach the Finance Officer a Lesson (Revised)
After returning to the Earl's Mansion, Elena signed a draft shareholding agreement with the Countess. The specific shareholding ratio can only be calculated after Elena actually injects capital. The amount of capital Elena can inject depends on how much tax her Viscount's Mansion will collect in the upcoming tax month.
Tax month is coming, and the restaurant's spending pressure is coming one after another. Elena has to rush back immediately to take charge of the overall situation of tax month.
Without staying for long, Elena quickly bid farewell to the Earl and Countess of Barnett and set off on the return journey with the team.
As soon as they returned to the town of Fussen, the treasurer came to report on his work with a list of tax collectors. On the first day of the next month, the tax collectors responsible for collecting taxes from various villages would immediately rush to the tax collection front. Before that, Elena had to stamp and approve the list of tax collectors.
Elena stamped the list readily. She had no intention of adjusting the list because she was not familiar with the people on the list. All she could do was match the names with the faces. As for their work ability and personal integrity, she had no idea about these.
So, let's wait and see how they perform.
In the blink of an eye, the last day of the month passed, tax month arrived, and the first tax collection during Elena's tenure began.
The tax collectors rushed to various villages with their troops, and soon, starting from the next day, teams carrying grain entered the city every day.
Not only the farmers outside the town were busy, but the citizens in the town were also busy, because they also had to pay taxes. The citizens lined up outside the administrative office and paid taxes according to the specific circumstances of each household.
Elena looked at the daily summary report and felt very happy.
If you have money coming in, you will definitely feel good.
In addition to this happy event, another happy event happened unexpectedly.
Elena unexpectedly discovered the existence of chili peppers.
The variety of pepper she discovered was completely different from the peppers in the original world. It was neither curved nor lantern-shaped, but looked like a five-pointed star. This type of pepper was originally cultivated as an ornamental plant and was only cultivated in the Viscount's castle.
When this plant was placed in the hall as a replacement bonsai, and when Elena pinched its skin out of curiosity and smelled the familiar spicy smell, her inner surprise was indescribable.
She has some chili peppers to use.
And with chili peppers, she can make chili powder, chili oil and chili sauce, and she has another powerful condiment to sell.
Elena has great faith in Chili.
But soon, Elena's mood became bad again.
The problem lies in taxation.
The collection work was carried out in order from ordinary villages to noble manors. Ordinary villages were villages directly under the Viscount's Mansion and the Knight's Territory villages, and noble manors were private manors of the Field family members.
The tax collection work in ordinary villages was still very smooth, but it was not so smooth for aristocratic manors. The difference between the amount of tax payable and the actual amount of tax was too large.
"What's going on? Why is there such a big difference? Especially these two, McKen Manor and Blue River Manor, how come they are completely free?" Elena questioned the financial officer with a cold face.
The treasurer bent over and explained in a soft voice, "McKen Manor was the estate of Master Eli, and Blue River Manor was the estate of Master Bernie. Both of these masters passed away this year. According to past practice, this year's taxes will be waived as a sign of sympathy."
Elena sneered, "They provoked me, questioned my inheritance, and trampled on my face. Should I be sympathetic to them?"
With a bang, Elena slammed the report on the table: "I didn't agree, but you privately exempted the taxes of these two estates according to the so-called convention. Who gave you the courage?!"
The treasurer had never expected the Viscountess to be so angry. He felt a chill on his back and quickly bowed in submission, while defending himself, "Please calm down, my lady. It's my fault. I thought you would follow the master's usual practice and exempt these two manors..."
Hearing that the treasurer dared to use the former viscount and her father as an excuse, Elena became even more angry. She was the one who would give in to soft words and not to hard ones. If he would give in quickly, she would be willing to forgive him once, but if he tried to do this, she would definitely not fall for it.
With a bang, the door of the Lord's Hall made a heart-pounding sound, as if something heavy had hit it.
The two knights on duty outside the door quickly drew their weapons and stood on full alert, knocking on the door. "Miss, is there something wrong? Do you need us to come in?"
"No, you continue to guard the door."
The Viscountess's voice sounded normal from inside the door. She didn't sound hurt, angry, or crying. The two knights could only suppress their doubts and worries and continue to stand guard outside the door.
The plump financial officer stopped and lay on the ground without realizing what had happened. He just felt dizzy, his whole body ached, and he couldn't see anything clearly.
It took a while for the treasurer to understand what had happened.
The lady attacked him and he was sent flying, hitting the door and rolling on the ground.
Wait, is the lady so powerful?
Isn't she just an apprentice?
Could it be that the young lady intentionally concealed her magical talent?
But why?
No, if the young lady was really a genius, why didn’t she help when the master and the young master were in trouble?
The treasurer stared blankly at the Viscountess not far away, with a bunch of questions in his mind.
Elena looked at him coldly. "In the past, I just wanted to be a leisurely lady and enjoy a leisurely life. But now, I want to be a good lord and manage the territory left to me by my ancestors and my father. My father once told me that the weak have no right to enjoy. I didn't understand it then, but now I do. Treasurer, I am giving this sentence to you now."
Although the financial officer's head was still dizzy and he didn't understand the logic of these words, his instinct was trembling. He shuddered and quickly knelt on the ground, lowered his head, and expressed his submission to the Viscountess.
"Thank you for your words. Miss, I was wrong. I will never make a decision on my own again. Please forgive me this time and give me a chance to atone for my sin."
Elena's voice came: "I give you a chance, I hope you cherish it and don't be a worthless weakling."
The treasurer responded quickly, as if grasping at a straw: "Thank you for your kindness."
When exiting the Lord's Hall and the heavy door closed before his eyes, the Treasurer dared to take a deep breath. However, as soon as he took a breath, pains all over his body immediately surged.
The treasurer gritted his teeth and bit back a cry of pain.
Hold it in, hold it in, don't let the Viscountess hear it.
"Before, I just wanted to be a leisurely lady and enjoy a leisurely life, but now I want to be a good lord and manage the territory left to me by my ancestors and my father."
"The weak have no right to enjoy."
The treasurer slumped in his chair, enduring the physical pain while carefully recalling what the Viscountess had said, trying to analyze the three, four, and five layers of meaning in every sentence.
"In the past, I just wanted to be a leisurely lady and enjoy a leisurely life." Yes, the lady didn't seem to have any particularly outstanding talents or abilities. She was just an ordinary aristocratic lady.
The treasurer nodded.
"Now, I want to be a good lord and manage the territory left to me by my ancestors and my father." What is the hidden meaning of this sentence?
Being a good lord, she inherited the title and the territory, so she suddenly became ambitious?
No, it should be connected to the next sentence, "The weak have no right to enjoy." The Viscountess first lost her father and brother, and no one could protect her. Later, she was forced to abdicate and seize power by Master Eli and Master Bernie. If she had been weaker and given in, Master Elro's title and territory would probably have changed hands.
The logic makes sense, so the Viscountess's personality has changed due to the stimulation of reality, and she wants to work hard to become stronger.
But I still can't understand why the lady suddenly became so strong?
He was just an ordinary apprentice before, how come he suddenly became so powerful?
The financial officer quickly recalled the moment when he was knocked away. He had recalled it many times, but every time he recalled it, he still couldn't understand how the lady had made the move. Anyway, she waved her hand and he was blown away by a strong wind.
There are no casting gestures or reciting terms.
Could it be that he borrowed some magical item?
However, the Viscount's Mansion should not have such powerful attack magic items, otherwise Master Elro would not have left them with him, and he would not have been unable to escape when attacked by a pack of magic wolves.
The Treasurer suddenly thought of the Earl of Barnet.
Could it be that it was given to the young lady by the Earl?
Then the treasurer thought of the bearded Leonard who had cut Master Eli in half with just his sword energy. Although his origins were unknown, to have such skills, his knight rank must be no low.
Could it be that he gave it to the lady?
The finance officer smacked his lips twice.
Never mind that. Let’s first analyze why the lady gave him the sentence “The weak have no right to enjoy”?
Wait, the focus should not be this sentence, but the later sentence, "Don't be a worthless weakling."
The lady is saying that he is worthless. No, the financial officer quickly shook his head. He is not a worthless person.
Miss means should, his loyalty, yes, it definitely means loyalty!
Thinking of this, the treasurer felt a little better. Since the lady accused him of not being loyal enough, he would show his loyalty to her.
Isn't it just the taxes from two estates? Even if the owners of the estates are also from the Field family, they are, after all, a branch of the family. Moreover, Master Eli and Master Bernie are both dead. Before they died, they severely offended the young lady. Now the young lady wants to collect taxes from their descendants. What can they do? Haha, the dead can't fight the living.
After understanding the lord's intention, the treasurer immediately issued two collection orders.
Although the tax collector who received the collection order had some grievances in his heart, he was of low rank after all, so after thinking about it, he decided to take the collection order and set off.
Anyway, he did whatever his superior told him to do. If the masters of McKen Manor and Blue River Manor had any dissatisfaction, they could go to his superior themselves. He was only responsible for conveying orders.
The tax collector handed the two collection orders to the lords of the two manors in a businesslike manner. Sure enough, the lords got angry on the spot. He was not afraid and said that he was just following orders and would not care about anything else.
The masters were so angry that they shouted at him to wait and not to touch a single grain of food in the village. They would go to Fussen Town immediately to seek justice from the Viscountess.
They just couldn't believe it. They were all from the Field family, so how could the Viscountess force them like this?
It must be these outsiders who are secretly plotting and bullying them!
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