flstandardbreds Chapter 324 Heavy Taxes
Chapter 324 Heavy Taxes
"There's another beggar there."
There was a noise coming from not far away, and several officers in official uniforms rushed to an old beggar not far away. Without saying a word, they grabbed the man and threw him into a carriage with a wooden cage.
When the other beggars saw the officers, they were so scared that they ran away.
The little beggar was so nimble that he could run far away in a flash. The poor old beggar couldn't escape even if he wanted to, so he was caught and locked in a cage.
"Sir, please have mercy on us and let us live. It's going to snow heavily soon. If you drive us out of the city at this time, we will have no chance of survival."
In the wooden cage, several old beggars were crying. They begged on the streets in the city. If they met a kind person, they might get something to eat, but if they were thrown out of the city, they would die.
Unfortunately, the officers were all heartless and didn't care about the old beggars' cries.
"What a sin! When someone is not old enough, not too old to work, and has no value to use, he is thrown out of the city to die. Hua Cailiang is really a ruthless person."
Some of the onlookers couldn't help but feel sorry for the old beggars.
"Who says it's not true? Those who can beg in Ningchuan City have all done hard labor for their entire lives. They earn a lot of money for their masters, but in the end, they are thrown out on the street when they get older. It's really pitiful."
An old woman looked at the beggars being taken away and spat fiercely in the direction of the officer.
"Auntie, I'm a newcomer to Ningchuan City. I don't quite understand what you just said. Are these beggars driven out of their employers' homes?"
Ye Jintang looked at the woman who was carrying a basket and selling cotton shoes on the street, and took the initiative to approach her and talk to her.
"Yes, Ningchuan City never keeps idle people. When those refugees come here, they will be given work. Some of them are lucky enough to live a few more years. When they can't work anymore or get sick, they will be driven out."
"Every winter, countless beggars freeze to death under the city walls."
Talking about these things, the old woman was filled with sadness. She was still alive at her old age, fortunately she was good at needlework, otherwise she would have died in some corner long ago.
"Isn't it said that if a refugee dies in the employer's house, he has to pay compensation? How dare they just drive him away? Aren't they afraid of paying compensation?"
"Those are slaves who signed a living contract. These are slaves who signed a death contract and sold themselves to wealthy families. They can't do the work, so the masters naturally won't keep them to eat for free."
Hearing the old woman say this, Ye Jintang felt a chill in his heart. Ningchuan City was indeed an extremely cold city. People living at the bottom of society here were worse than ants.
"The city officials are oppressing the refugees so much, is there no resistance?"
"Young Master, you can tell from the looks of it that you have never suffered any hardship. The refugees are unarmed. What can they use to fight against the officials? In the end, they will just lose their lives in vain."
"Do you see the man over there making straw raincoats? He was not a refugee before. He came to Ningchuan City to do business. But, just because he had a beautiful concubine, the Hua family took a fancy to him. As a result, his family property was taken away, his concubine was robbed, and now he has to sell straw raincoats for a living."
"He wanted to file a complaint with the authorities, but in the end nothing happened to the Hua family, but he had his leg broken. If he fails to sell raincoats in the next few days, he may not survive this winter."
The old aunt was unrestrained despite her age. She not only told Ye Jintang about the beggars, but also told her about some injustices in the city, especially those of the Hua family. Bullying men and women was a small matter, but robbing people of their property, killing people and setting fires were all commonplace for them.
"Our City Lord Hua has another amazing skill. He has set up various taxes."
"When ordinary people in other cities enter or leave, they don't have to pay any copper coins as long as they have documents. But Ningchuan City is different. No matter if you are an ordinary citizen of the city or not, you must show your pass when you leave the city and come back."
"Hey? Aren't travel passes only used to go to other cities? Why do you need them in your own home?"
"The pass in Ningchuan City is different from that in other cities. Every citizen living in the city must pay 500 coins to apply for a pass, which can be used for three months. If you don't apply for a new pass after three months, you will be fined five taels of silver if you are caught."
Ye Jintang was stunned when he heard this. The pass in Ningchuan City was very similar to a bus card, but it was a bit more expensive.
500 Wen is equivalent to two months' wages for a male laborer. Ordinary people would not be willing to apply for a pass. They would probably rather not leave the city than apply for a pass.
In addition to the road permit, there are all kinds of strange taxes. As long as people are alive, they have to pay a head tax. In summer, they have to pay agricultural taxes. In autumn, they have to pay grain taxes, city taxes, commercial taxes, wharf taxes, city entry taxes, and even weddings and funerals at home have to pay taxes. The various taxes are dizzying, and Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo felt angry when they heard it.
Hua Cailiang has no bottom line in making money.
"The common people of Ningchuan City really have no way to survive under the heavy taxes."
"Who said it wasn't true? The Hua family is scarier than wolves, tigers and leopards. The two young masters must be careful of the Hua family when doing business. If you provoke them, leave immediately and never argue with them. No matter how you argue, you won't gain any advantage and you may even lose your life."
"Thank you for the reminder, Auntie."
Ye Jintang was very grateful to the old lady. It was a risk for her to say these words. Then Ye Jintang asked Luzhu to buy all the cotton shoes in the old lady's hands as a token of her appreciation.
Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo continued to move forward. The snow fell heavier and heavier, and there were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the road. They could only return to the palace temporarily.
On the way back, the coachman suddenly said that there seemed to be someone lying in the middle of the road ahead.
Ye Jintang lifted the curtain and saw that the gray clothes on the person lying in the middle of the road looked somewhat familiar.
She asked the coachman to stop and took the initiative to go forward to check.
"Isn't this the auntie who just spoke to us?"
Ye Jintang felt the aunt's pulse and found it was very weak. She immediately gave the aunt a life-saving pill containing spiritual spring water. The aunt's life was temporarily saved.
"Lvzhu, come and help me. Let's take Auntie to the pharmacy. She is seriously injured and must be treated immediately."
"it is good."
Everyone hurriedly lifted the aunt onto the carriage, and Xiao Mo asked, "I saw that the aunt was dirty, was she beaten?"
"Yes, I just checked Auntie. She had a lot of bleeding in her abdomen. If we had come a little later, Auntie would have become a cold corpse."
"It seems that Hua Cailiang has been sending people to follow me. Auntie just said a few more words to us, which caused her to be killed. Hua Cailiang has failed to get the upper hand from me one after another, so he tried to kill Auntie. He wanted to disgust me by killing her."
When Xiao Mo said this, his face became frighteningly gloomy. Hua Cailiang was telling him to be careful, otherwise it would be as easy for him to kill him as killing an ant.