As the prison guard called out a string of numbers, Gepu said goodbye to everyone and welcomed his long-awaited freedom!
The air of federal freedom was still just as sweet, but breathing fresh air outside prison and breathing the air inside prison were two completely different experiences!
Only air outside prison tasted sweet.
He looked around. He was the only one being released today, and there were no cars waiting at the entrance to pick anyone up.
He walked to the bus stop across from the prison and took out two coins.
In prison, labor was paid, whether it was a government-owned prison or a private one.
As long as you worked, they had to pay you wages. Most of that money, however, was consumed internally.
For example, toothpaste that cost only a dollar and ninety-nine cents outside cost nine dollars and ninety-nine cents here. You could choose not to buy it, but then the prison guard would find an excuse to beat you up, claiming that your bad breath made him uncomfortable.
Most people didn't earn enough to spend money here, so when these prisoners left, they took almost nothing with them—at most, a few coins.
Gepu had brought out rather more money. He had helped the warden and the guards file their taxes, earning their friendship. As a result, his wages hadn't been docked; they had actually been higher than everyone else's.
At the same time, he hadn't needed to spend money on everyday necessities. The guards gave them to him for free to thank him for taking time out to file their taxes.
In the Federation, filing taxes correctly was also important to people.
It wasn't that mastering certain tax-filing techniques meant you could claim you knew how to file taxes.
No. Most people knew how to