Tax Commissioner

For the next half month, Xu Qing maintained an extremely regular schedule.

Every morning, as soon as the rooster crowed, he would arrive at the market before the elder uncle and aunt, selecting the freshest raw eggs and the warmest pig and duck blood.

After browsing the market, he would return to his shop. Besides chatting with neighbors and acquaintances, they would occasionally exchange business intelligence. After all, the businesses on this street had long formed an invisible industrial chain. No matter which shop received a job, the others had a chance to benefit.

Among them, the most notable were Grandpa Hu's coffin shop at the street corner and young master Xu's mortician shop at the end of the street.

One was responsible for making coffins, the other for preparing the body and managing the funeral procession. If either of these two received a job, everyone else, from the incense and candle shops to the paper effigy stores, would surely get a taste of the profit!

Come nightfall, Xu Qing would head to the backyard. Using the methods from the Corpse Nurturing technique, he would absorb the moon's essence and yin energy, refining the zombie's yin essence. Although the progress was slow and steady, he could clearly feel his body evolving little by little towards becoming an Ironclad Wandering Corpse.

During this time, Grandpa Hu from the coffin shop also delivered two finished coffins made of raw wood and unvarnished.

Xu Qing planned to use one of these enlarged and widened coffins to hold a body that had undergone purification, and the other to process bodies as a mortuary bed.

Currently, his business was still in its nascent stage. Firstly, his reputation hadn't spread, and secondly, his advertising was insufficient. Apart from cooperating with the yamen, it was difficult to open up business in other areas for the time being.

Over these past few days, while Xu Qing continued his cultivation, he also gradually began to adapt to the rhythm of life in Linhe Fang.

His neighbor, Wu Yaoxing, was quite resourceful and had even introduced him to a job involving feng shui and grave relocation. However, the grave was old. Let alone the person in the coffin, even the coffin itself, when exhumed, had been rotted by rainwater seeping into the soil.

Xu Qing even tried to summon the soul and perform purification rites for the withered bones, but he couldn't even see a wisp of a soul.

He speculated that the owner of the withered bones had either returned to the netherworld, gone to the underworld, or reincarnated!

Fortunately, he earned a few taels of silver from the job, so it wasn't a wasted effort.

Besides this, Xu Qing also heard news about some old acquaintances.

For example, Su Hongxiu, who had left the Liu residence, had, by playing the role of a widow, topped the charts for visits to pleasure districts, briefly becoming the most famous person in Linhe Fang.

One could only say that in this era, any cat or dog could jump onto the table for a bite of hot food.

Xu Qing wasn't particularly interested in the role-playing game of being a widow, but he was quite intrigued by the "flirtatious items" sold in the high-end brothels.

Of course, some people with impure minds might think these "flirtatious items" were things like chastity cages, testicle rings, jewel-adorned rings, or prickly ash wood.

Xu Qing was not such a vulgar person!

What he was actually interested in were the Floating Life Incense burned at the Orchid Pavilion and the top-grade Osmanthus wax provided by Cuiyun Tower.

The former, Floating Life Incense, was very similar to the Spirit Incense that zombies consumed, both containing components of Earth Soul Grass, making it a substitute product.

Xu Qing even suspected that there might be cultivators from professions similar to Yinmen hidden within the Orchid Pavilion, or perhaps even non-human entities.

The latter, Osmanthus wax, was made from top-grade osmanthus fruit oil procured from Luojing through special channels by Cuiyun Tower. Just passing by Cuiyun Tower, Xu Qing could smell the enticing aroma of the oil and wax!

These pleasure districts were simply a paradise for zombies to refresh their minds and relax their bodies!

It was even more exhilarating than dancing on a grave!

The end of the first lunar month.

On this day, Xu Qing sat in his shop as usual, waiting for business.

Around noon, two well-dressed individuals suddenly entered the shop, which had been quiet for most of the day.

Both men wore round-collared, dark-colored, wide-sleeved robes, cinched at the waist with a red silk sash as wide as a palm, and a brass plaque hanging at their side.

Yamen bailiffs usually wore narrow-sleeved robes; only civil officials wore wide sleeves. Looking at the plaque, it clearly bore the inscription 'Tax Commissioner'.

"Is the shopkeeper aiming for an official position?"

As the leading tax official entered the shop, he saw Xu Qing sitting on a coffin and couldn't help but tease him.

Little did he know that there was a body that had undergone preservation treatment inside the coffin beneath Xu Qing's backside!

"I'm not sitting on the coffin, I'm guarding it," Xu Qing said with a smile, getting up to greet his guests. "Gentlemen, what can I help you with? I offer services for funeral processions, body preparation, grave relocation, and..."

Before he could finish, another tax official frowned. "We're not here for those matters. I'll ask you, have you paid your taxes for before the New Year?"

"Before the New Year? Taxes?" Xu Qing asked, bewildered. "My humble shop just opened. What taxes would I owe from before the New Year?"

"Don't play dumb with me. I inquired before coming. You opened your shop in the twelfth lunar month of last year, so you naturally have to pay last year's taxes!"

"According to the quota, one merchant per person, you must pay annually. Therefore, you need to pay two and a half taels of silver, or two shi of rice."

Saying this, the tax official pointed outside the shop door, reminding him, "Prepare it immediately. If you have rice, the cart is right outside. If you don't have rice now, bring two and a half taels of silver to settle it."

Hearing this, Xu Qing immediately felt displeased.

Commercial taxes had existed since ancient times. Taxes, levies, as well as taxes on mountains and marshes, and miscellaneous taxes, were all within the scope of commercial tax collection.

Xu Qing knew this was the rule, and he had no objection to the Metropolitan Revenue Office coming to collect commercial taxes.

As the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." If the Metropolitan Revenue Office asked him for taxes this year, he wouldn't say a word.

But the key was that these two tax officials were not here to collect this year's taxes; they were demanding last year's taxes from him.

"Esteemed sir, you just said yourself that my shop only began operating in the twelfth lunar month of last year. It's been a full month and a half at most. Demanding a full year's taxes from last year seems a bit unreasonable, don't you think?"

"You can choose not to pay if you feel it's unreasonable, but don't blame me if your shop gets sealed up later!"

As soon as the other party finished speaking, the yamen runners guarding the shop entrance made a move to enter.

Xu Qing fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "I was just joking with you gentlemen earlier. I am a law-abiding citizen of the Great Yong Dynasty, how could I evade taxes!"

"But I recall that the tax was only one shi of rice. Why are you asking for two shi this time?"

The leading tax officer's expression softened slightly as he explained, "Many disaster refugees have fled here. The magistrate of Baisha County has ordered every household in Linhe Fang to contribute half a stone of grain to aid the refugees."

"Then what about the other half stone?"

"Where would that half stone come from? Do you think transporting and distributing grain doesn't incur any losses?"

Hearing this, Xu Qing instantly understood.

When tax collectors came to demand taxes directly, they would clearly state the reason for the extra charges. If it were a fixed time and place, with a large number of people delivering grain, there would be no explicit explanation. The inspectors would then use the excuse of 'overfilling the measure and emptying the bushel' to make up for the so-called losses.

He let out a soft sigh, and Xu Qing said no more, reaching into his money pouch and taking out two and a half taels of silver.

Two taels were Green Cicada Coins, and half a tael was ordinary broken silver.

The Green Cicada Coins were to cover last year's taxes, and the half tael of broken silver was for the disaster refugees who had fled here.

After watching the tax officers leave, Xu Qing stood at the entrance of his shop, silent for a long time.

Wu Yaoxing from next door came over, sighing. He patted Xu Qing's shoulder and said, "Don't take it too hard. We can earn money again if it's gone. If you have to blame someone, blame this world. It's so inhumane!"

Xu Qing shook his head and replied, "I don't begrudge the money. As long as that half tael of silver for the refugees goes to a good cause, giving them a hot meal to get through this cold month, I'll be content."

Wu Yaoxing nodded, his brows relaxing. "That's well said. You're still young. If you could study diligently like my son, you wouldn't need to be exceptionally brilliant in the future. Just passing the Xiucai exam would be enough. You'd be exempt from taxes, and you wouldn't have to bow to officials. It would bring you honor."

A Xiucai scholar?

Xu Qing's heart stirred. Come to think of it, this was something he might actually be able to do!