HCB Chapter 162 Land Tax
Chapter 162 Land Tax
Lin Fan and Chen Ergou successfully found Dr. Lei and his two companions before noon.
The matter was quite simple. Lin Fan summoned the mechanical beast Xiao Yi, which used its ability to sense its own kind to lead the carriage over mountains and rivers, finding the three people resting in a nearby village with almost no detours.
Chuansha Village.
"How were these wounds treated? Did that man really claim to be the best surgeon in Sanjiang Prefecture? Could he be a charlatan?"
The first thing Dr. Lei did in a hurry was to remove all the gauze from Lin Fan's wounds and re-treat them.
Meanwhile, Niu Dadan and his wife stared blankly at the mountain of silver piled up in front of them.
The young couple had been prepared to flee, but suddenly made a fortune, which caught them completely off guard.
Lin Fan casually grabbed two silver ingots and gave them to Chen Ergou as a reward for his hard work. He then divided the rest into three equal parts, with one for himself, one for Doctor Lei, and one for Niu Dadan and his wife.
The spoils were not distributed according to individual contributions. Lin Fan's need for silver was only enough for his own use, and he simply wanted to store it separately for safety.
"Brother Fan, I can also help you keep some safe," Chen Ergou said, rubbing his hands together like a fly.
Lin Fan didn't even glance at him. He didn't care about money, but he wouldn't entrust his precious travel expenses to someone he didn't trust.
Unlike others who were relieved to have survived the ordeal, he felt a sense of relief.
Lin Fan frowned deeply. "What do we do next? We have the money, and we don't lack anything else, but the most crucial thing—the caravan—is gone."
Lin Fan's words were somewhat cryptic, but everyone else understood them. The caravan served as their travel guide, and without it, they could not move an inch in the Great Qian Dynasty.
Lin Fan continued, "Doctor, I don't know much about this. Is there a way to find other caravans to continue?"
Doctor Lei shook his head, but before he could speak, Sun Ruolan said, "Brother Lin, we are unfamiliar with this place and people. Entrusting ourselves to others casually will probably not end well. The safest thing to do now is to find a remote and safe village, use this money to bribe people or buy property, gradually obtain a new identity, and then slowly think about the journey to the west."
After saying that, Sun Ruolan pushed the silver in front of her toward Lin Fan.
The former landowner's wife's idea was quite reasonable and feasible: if you don't have connections, build them; if you don't have anyone to entrust with your affairs, slowly search for them. Only in this way can you continue to move forward legally and safely.
Lin Fan frowned and remained silent.
Dr. Lei seized the opportunity to speak, "Brother, perhaps we can risk going to the Southern Frontier. Once we get there, I still have some connections. We can find another way to continue westward."
Speaking of anxiety in the present world, Dr. Lei is no less anxious than Lin Fan.
Lin Fan's attitude towards this world has changed from initial disgust to something else now.
Since deciding to go home, he has been both reluctant to look at what's happening around him and willing to avoid looking at it whenever possible.
Rather than being anxious to return, his feelings were more like he didn't want to stay in this world any longer. It might sound similar, but his thoughts were fundamentally different from Dr. Lei's.
Dr. Lei had a strong longing for it for some reason, while Lin Fan had more of a desire to escape.
Chen Ergou also offered his own solution to this matter: "Brother Fan, if you ask me, why don't you just go find that Marquis? Why bother with such readily available connections?"
Knock, knock, knock. Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the hut where they were temporarily staying was knocked on.
Lin Fan and the others quickly collected the silver on the table, and Sun Ruolan went to open the door.
The homeowner, an old man with gray hair, came in carrying a bowl of steaming hot coarse flour buns.
This house was originally a place that Dr. Lei and his group randomly found in the village and paid to stay in.
Doctor Lei said, "Old man, didn't we say before that we're just staying here? We don't need food, we just need to borrow some water from our well."
The old man was certainly not being unhelpful for no reason. He cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Indeed, I have something difficult to tell you all."
He paused, then mustered his courage and said, “You’ve come at an inopportune time, as it’s the day for paying land tax. With more people here, my family will have to pay more tax.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Chen Ergou rushed forward, grabbed the old man by the collar, and shouted like a rogue, "Old man, what a coincidence! The tax collectors came right after us today. You just think we didn't pay you enough for lodging and you want to raise the price, don't you!"
Lin Fan frowned slightly, trying hard to find relevant information in the original owner's memories.
The land tax of the Great Qian Dynasty included a poll tax, which was a tax levied on each mu of land plus additional taxes based on the number of people in the household, categorized by gender and age. The poll tax was simply calculated as one adult able-bodied man, while women, the elderly, and children were taxed separately.
Of course, according to the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty, this is considered a fixed population, and "vagrants" like Lin Fan are not taken into account.
But then again, we don't care that you left the territory without permission and wandered around. We're just collecting a poll tax. What else is there to complain about?
Lin Fan only hesitated for a moment before Chen Ergou continued his aggressive questioning, "Old man, we'll rest for a bit and leave soon. We'll only stay for a day at most. Are you senile? Just don't report it, that's all."
The old man trembled as he spoke with difficulty, “You all don’t know this, but the tax officials here are very strict. If they find out that we are hiding people and not reporting them, our whole family will be punished.”
Lin Fan stopped the aggressive Chen Ergou and said to the old man, "Old man, I don't care whether what you say is true or false. Just tell me how much silver you need, and I'll give it to you."
The old man, now free, was already shedding tears. It was unclear whether he was frightened by the ruffians or felt ashamed himself. He bowed to Lin Fan again before saying, "Of course, but I don't want you all to think that I am intentionally deceiving you. Please send one of you to accompany me to pay the taxes. The money will not pass through my hands; just give it directly to the tax collector."
Chen Ergou spoke angrily from behind Lin Fan: "Old man, are you trying to trick us into getting arrested by the government?"
I don't know what Chen Ergou has been through recently, but his personality has suddenly changed so much that I don't know whether he's like a bodyguard or a bandit.
Lin Fan pressed him down, "Old man, we're not worried about the government. As you can see, we came here as an escort, but we got separated from the main group by bandits and lost our identification. So we figured it was better to avoid trouble and just pay the tax."
The old man cupped his hands again, saying, "If I thought you were bad people, I wouldn't have agreed to let you stay here in the first place. It's just that the tax collector came so suddenly that I was caught off guard. I would never dare to take your money. I only ask that you send a representative to hand the money over to the tax collector."
The old man's gaze lingered briefly on Sun Ruolan's slightly protruding belly. These people had brought a pregnant woman and a doctor, and initially they were dressed as bodyguards, though they had changed now. The old man was simple and honest, but he believed their identities as bodyguards and their words about protecting people after encountering bandits.
Lin Fan pondered for a while. Although the matter was strange, it didn't seem like any kind of trap. In the end, he couldn't think of anyone here who would go to such lengths to deal with them.
Along the way, they have indeed offended quite a few people, but if they are a force that can mobilize tax collectors to put on a show, they really don't need to play these tricks with Lin Fan and his group.
Is this old man planning to lure them into a desolate place with ulterior motives? Seeing that Lin Fan and his group are the kind of people who need to be divided and defeated through cunning, why not just turn the tables and take them down along the way?
So Lin Fan stepped forward and offered to go with the old man.
He genuinely didn't care whether the old man was being honest or trying to raise the price; he was simply unsure of what to do next and wanted to take the opportunity to clear his head.
Just then, Lin Fan got onto the old man's cart.
The cart carried two bags of grain, one large and one small, as well as the old man's son.
The honest-looking middle-aged man also cupped his hands in greeting to Lin Fan.
"Are these two bags the grain used for paying taxes?" Lin Fan asked casually.
The old man's son spoke softly, whether out of his personality or out of politeness to the guests, "Yes, the large bag contains enough grain for tax purposes, and the small bag is for supplementary use."
Lin Fan frowned slightly. To be fair, Lin Fugui did have an advantage in this regard. People like Lin Fan who rented his land only needed to pay the full amount of taxes and rent it to him; they didn't have to worry about anything else. As far as Lin Fan remembered, the original owner of this body had never been harassed by tax officials.
The middle-aged man continued, "Sir, you're from the city, aren't you? You probably don't know the ways of tax collectors. They often make sure a bushel of rice is overflowing, then they kick it again, and once the rice falls, they make us fill it up again until it's overflowing. They only consider it satisfactory after doing this three times."
As for the rice that fell off, it naturally belonged to the tax collectors; this was simply the loss from the carts and horses.
To be honest, Lin Fan felt numb to the extent of this oppressive rule, as if it were something else entirely.
A long queue had already formed at the village entrance, with people driving oxcarts or carrying grain sacks, all there to pay taxes. There were so many people that Lin Fan, who was at the back of the queue, couldn't see the people at the front no matter how hard he tried.
After handing the oxcart to his son, the old man got off the cart himself, grabbed a handful of rice, picked up three incense sticks, and walked to the roadside.
Lin Fan followed curiously and saw the old man stop in front of a small shrine by the roadside and put the rice in his hand into the box in front of him.
Judging from the sound of the rice box, it was clear that quite a bit of rice had already been put in.
The old man lit three incense sticks, bowed a few times, and then placed them in the small cauldron in front of the shrine.
There were quite a few incense sticks stuck in the small cauldron, which shows that this minor deity is quite popular.
Having witnessed the story of the Craftsman Bodhisattva, Lin Fan naturally felt wary of such inexplicable statues.
Before Lin Fan could ask, the old man took the initiative to explain: "Sir, this is the Two-Bomb Immortal Lord."
"What immortal lord?" Lin Fan blurted out, because he was thinking of the firecracker that could explode twice on the ground.
"Ah, we don't actually know the Immortal Lord's name. We just called him that without knowing it." The old man pulled Lin Fan to the front and gave him three incense sticks. "But sir, you should still pay your respects. This Immortal Lord can protect us from offending the tax collectors."
What kind of blessing? Lin Fan was really holding back. What kind of immortal lord would care about such specific things? What? If he was harassed by tax collectors after worshipping Him, could He send a five-thunderbolt strike to the tax collectors from afar?
However, Lin Fan wisely kept these thoughts to himself when facing the old man.
Thinking about it this way, Lin Fan finally understood the name of this immortal lord. Come to think of it, these villagers really have a good idea. They think they can get away with kicking the tax collector by spending a handful of rice. You're making so much money off the immortal lord, doesn't the immortal lord have any objections?
However, Lin Fan only thought about it internally; he completely understood the villagers' simple wishes. Therefore, he wouldn't say these things aloud.
Lin Fan didn't go to pay homage to this immortal lord of unknown origin, but just took a closer look.
This immortal lord had a ferocious face and didn't look like a good person. His hair and beard were all sticking up, and his three heads looked like evil ghosts.
He has eight arms, each holding a different thing.
He held a spear in one hand, a machete in the other, a dagger in the third, a sickle in the fourth, a long staff in the fifth, and a hammer in the sixth.
His other two hands were not weapons; one held flames, and the other held lightning.
Actually, the clay figurine was crude, and the things on it were just Lin Fan's rough guesses. For example, the flames looked quite like excrement.
However, Lin Fan always felt that immortal lords should be wielding flames, not fertilizing people.
Lin Fan stared at it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. He felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
They then returned to the cart.
The old man wanted Lin Fan to pray, but since Lin Fan refused, the old man had to pray on his behalf, asking for the blessing of the Firecracker Immortal Lord so that he could pay his taxes safely and smoothly later.
Finally, it was the old man's and Lin Fan's turn to get in line.
The old man honestly confessed that he had a son, and that there was a pregnant woman among them. This was quite absurd. A son being born naturally means having a child or getting married. No family would have four strong laborers plus a pregnant woman as a new addition.
Fortunately, tax collectors don't care about these things; they only care about collecting taxes, as long as there are enough taxes per capita.
First, the old man paid taxes on his own land, as well as taxes on the number of people in his own household.
As the old man's son had said before, the rice container, which was supposedly a shi (a unit of dry measure) full to the brim, was filled to the brim, and not a single grain could be added. Only then did the old man's son stop pouring rice.
At this moment, the tax collector, as was his habit, raised his foot. Needless to say, he intended to kick the rice so that the pointed end would slip off and the old man's son could continue pouring the rice.
But a strange thing happened: the tax collector, who had already raised his foot, put it down again, as if he had forcibly suppressed the muscle movement.
Lin Fan watched from the side, puzzled. Could it really be that the Two-Bomb Immortal Lord used his magic to press down the tax collector's foot? Even if the Great Qian Dynasty was outrageous, it couldn't be this outrageous.
The tax collector poured the stone into a large basket at the back and gestured for the old man's son to continue.
Because there was no extra, incalculable "legwork wear and tear," the old man's son was able to pay the taxes he was supposed to pay after emptying the large bag of grain, and the small bag of grain he had prepared was never needed.
Then it was Lin Fan's turn to take out silver to pay the taxes for the group, and the whole process went more smoothly than Lin Fan had imagined.
After the tax collector finally changed the old man's family's population count for the year and stamped the document with the seal "Payment Completed," everything was surprisingly resolved smoothly.
Lin Fan looked at the red stamp, his mind racing. If they wanted to find a new identity here, they had already taken the first step according to Sun Ruolan's plan.