Chapter 13: Money Talks, Even to Ghosts

Page 1/3

Lin Feng asked, “How many acres of land?” He needed to be certain and not let these men deceive him.

“Five or six acres of prime land. For each acre, you should pay sixty wen, so that comes to three hundred wen. But this is only the spring grain tax. If you continue living here, you’ll also owe the autumn grain tax later this year. The household and land taxes have already been paid this year, so they won’t be collected again. All told, that’s a total of two strings and two hundred wen,” the man replied.

Such harsh governance is fiercer than a tiger!

Though Lin Feng felt angry, he had no choice but to lower his head under their roof.

“Xiao Die, go get some copper coins. Since the tax officers and Chief Li have worked so hard, give them an extra string of cash to buy some wine,” Lin Feng instructed.

Pouting, Xiao Die went to fetch the money, feeling annoyed inside. They had already collected so many taxes, yet her big brother was still generous enough to give them so much copper money.

Hearing this, the men immediately brightened with smiles.

“Tax officer, if I run a small business, do I still have to pay taxes?” Lin Feng asked, wanting to be clear. Otherwise, any fines wouldn’t be a matter of just a few hundred wen.

“A small business? How big? Do you have a shop?” asked the leader.

“No, just a stall selling some goods,” Lin Feng answered.

“Small-scale trade is exempt from tax. But if you have a shop, then you’re classified as a merchant, and taxes must be paid.”

“Understood, tax officer.”

Xiao Die finally sluggishly brought over the money. The officers nodded, noticing the extra string of cash. The leader smiled and said, “Brother, if you ever want to rent a shop and do bigger business, go to the town’s patrol office and register. Mention my name, and I’ll help you skip many procedures. My surname is Zhang; just call me Brother Zhang.”

Money can grease all wheels. After receiving Lin Feng’s money, his expression changed instantly, and he became like a brother.

Lin Feng wondered what kind of department the patrol office was—perhaps something like the modern town government?

“Thanks, Brother Zhang.”

“All right, we’re off.”

The men beat their gongs and left the courtyard, loudly announcing, “Tax collection!”

At that moment, Tian Xier and Xiao Yu quietly entered through the side door.

“Xier, did they come to your family for taxes?”

Page 2/3

“Of course, it made my mother so upset that her illness flared up again!”

“How much tax do you have to pay this year?”

Tian Xier thought for a moment. “It’s hard to say. New types of taxes pop up unexpectedly. Last month, they collected a security tax, and this month there’s a military supply tax. We give more than half of what we earn to the government.”

Lin Feng thought to himself, even though Jiangzhou is known as the land of fish and rice, blessed with timely rains and good harvests, the people cannot endure such exploitation by the authorities.

He had heard this in the Chu capital. Jiangzhou was the wealthiest region, mainly due to its unique geographical advantages.

The poorest was Pingzhou, bordered by barbarians to the south and the Xia kingdom to the north, constantly ravaged by border wars. The people there lived in daily misery.

Just then, Tian Zhenggen and his eldest son Tian Zhong arrived, pulling two carts full of livestock and poultry.

Quite a haul, including a hefty black pig.

Lin Feng nodded as he took note. Besides the big black pig, there were three fat sheep, seven large geese, over twenty chickens and ducks, and even two small farm dogs and a little yellow raccoon cat.

Wiping sweat from his brow, Tian Zhenggen smiled at Lin Feng, panting, “We’ve gone through several villages, and this is all we collected. Tomorrow I’ll have my eldest son and daughter help you transport these to the town to sell. Assign any work to them.”

It wasn’t easy for Lin Feng and the others to move all these goods to the small town—there were many heavy items, especially that big black pig.

They would need at least two carts.

“Thank you, Uncle Tian.”

“Don’t mention it, little brother. We’re the ones grateful since you’re helping us sell.”

As they spoke, Tian Zhenggen and Tian Zhong unloaded the livestock and poultry into a corner of the courtyard.

The black pig and sheep had their legs tied and mouths gagged; the poultry were put into iron cages, so there was no worry about them running off or making noise.

Once finished, the family left together.

“Big brother, why did you give those tax officers an extra string of money after they collected so much from us?” Xiao Die pouted, still thinking about it. “You were always generous like this back in the Chu capital.”

“Giving them some perks makes things easier later,” Lin Feng said.

“But what if they’re wolves who can never be satisfied?”

“Sometimes, feeding wolves makes them harder to deal with,” Lin Feng chuckled. “Besides, they’re not really wolves.”

Page 3/3

---

The next morning, the group pushed two carts in a grand procession to the town. Since they had more goods than usual, they arrived early to secure a spot.

Upon arriving, they found that the place where they had set up two days ago now hosted a lucky draw stall, complete with first, second, and third prizes—and even a fourth prize, imitating their setup.

When the stall operators saw Lin Feng and the others, they wore smug smiles. Adding a few more prizes? Anyone could do that!

Lin Feng paid no mind; as he had said before, he would always be copied but never surpassed.

He had already prepared the prize list, attached it to a bamboo pole, and hung it up.

Clearing his throat, Lin Feng announced, “Eight wen lucky draw! First prize: one big black pig; second prize: one fat sheep; third prize: one big white goose; fourth prize: one rooster; fifth prize: a duck or a hen; sixth prize: an exquisite bamboo or grass craft. Attention! Everyone who enters the draw today will receive a participation prize of three fragrant spiced peanuts, even if you don’t win!”

With many kinds of prizes and guaranteed participation rewards, how could it not attract people?

Not only did villagers from surrounding areas come, but even townsfolk flocked over. Shopkeepers temporarily closed their shops, owners and servants queued up, and market vendors halted their stalls to try their luck. Even the brothel girls joined in.

This event drew an even larger crowd than before, filling the entire main street of the town market, shoulder to shoulder.

Such a commotion caught the attention of the town’s patrol office, responsible for maintaining order. They came promptly to investigate.

When they reached Lin Feng’s stall, the lead tax officer froze. “So it’s you, Brother Lin!”

It was none other than Zhang Yuan, the tax officer who had collected from Lin Feng the day before.

“Brother Zhang!” Lin Feng smiled. “What a coincidence to meet again today!”

“Brother, this isn’t a small business at all. I see people from several villages and towns nearby have come,” Zhang Yuan said, impressed by the dense crowd.

“I didn’t expect such a small business to draw so many people.”

Zhang Yuan couldn’t say more. After all, he had just enjoyed a string of Lin Feng’s money and wine last night; even this morning he still smelled of last night’s liquor. He told the other officers, “Spread out and make sure everyone lines up properly for the draw. No shouting or disorder!”

---