My Father Is Definitely Possessed-Chapter 361 - 199: The Money-Bringers Have Arrived
"Sir, how can you also take their silver!" Marquis Yan exclaimed in shock.
"Oh?"
Li Hengsheng raised an eyebrow and said, "They gave it to me for free, why shouldn’t I take it?"
"But..." Marquis Yan was surprised, "Wouldn’t taking their silver mean you have to follow their orders?"
"Why?" Li Hengsheng was taken aback.
This question also left Marquis Yan stunned. After a long pause, he said, "Then... if they come to you for something and you refuse, wouldn’t it be bad?"
"Why should I care?" Li Hengsheng said indifferently, "They offered it, I didn’t beg for it. Why shouldn’t I take it? As for doing things for them, since I owe them nothing, why should I work for them?"
"But they are really stingy, only gave five thousand taels."
Looking at the silver notes, Li Hengsheng felt insulted that they attempted to bribe him with only five thousand taels.
If it were an Innate, they’d at least give tens of thousands of taels.
Just then, a guard rushed in and said anxiously, "Sir, bad news, I saw people from the Hua family coming towards our Inspection Mansion."
"Elder Yan, look, here comes another gift-bearer." Li Hengsheng laughed.
Marquis Yan didn’t know what to say anymore.
Was their master somehow different from others?
Just then, a group of people walked in, without even knocking, swaggering as if strolling through their own backyard.
However, since they were here to give money, Li Hengsheng overlooked their rudeness.
"Who is the newly appointed Inspector?"
Despite being a man, the newcomer wore red clothes, holding a handkerchief to cover his mouth, looking disdainfully around as if there was a terrible smell.
"This is the nephew of the Hua family’s Patriarch, named Hua Zheliu."
Marquis Yan introduced him to Li Hengsheng on the side.
"What a sissy name, and he looks the part too." Li Hengsheng muttered, then said, "That’s me."
"Oh, it’s you." Hua Zheliu looked Li Hengsheng up and down and spoke impatiently, "Since you’re the Inspector, let me make this clear: when we, the Hua family, do something, your Inspection Mansion mustn’t interfere. Just follow our orders and you’ll make a lot of money during your tenure and return home with glory. Don’t make unnecessary trouble for yourself."
"Alright, enough nonsense, get on with it." Li Hengsheng, even more impatient, extended his hand.
This left Hua Zheliu confused.
"What?" Hua Zheliu saw Li Hengsheng’s outstretched hand.
"What do you mean? The money, of course." Li Hengsheng said impatiently.
"You’re quite savvy." Hua Zheliu pinched a silver note from his sleeve with two fingers and handed it to Li Hengsheng, as if there was something dirty on Li Hengsheng.
Li Hengsheng took it and, frowning, said, "Your Hua family is really stingy!"
"Only three thousand taels?" Li Hengsheng looked at Hua Zheliu with disdain, "The shogunate gave ten thousand taels! Before coming, I heard that in Tushan City, the Hua family and the shogunate were on the same level. Now it seems there’s a big gap."
"The shogunate gave ten thousand taels?" Hua Zheliu was also surprised, "Has the shogunate gone mad?"
For just a mere Postnatal Martial Artist, that much?
"Forget it, keep your little money." Li Hengsheng disdainfully tossed the silver notes to the ground.
Even Wu Santong on the side immediately understood and laughed, "Senior brother, see, there’s a reason the Hua family is always a notch below the shogunate. Look at their vision, and then look at this, haha..."
Hearing this, Hua Zheliu’s face turned very ugly.
"Nonsense!"
Hua Zheliu angrily said, "How is our Hua family a notch below the shogunate? Who said that?"
But Li Hengsheng and Wu Santong said nothing, merely gazing at Hua Zheliu with contempt.
Furious and losing his cool, Hua Zheliu exclaimed, "What three thousand taels? I just made a mistake, not this one, it’s this one!"
Then he took out a silver note worth ten thousand taels from his sleeve.
And handed it to Li Hengsheng.
"Oh?" Li Hengsheng took it, looked at the ten thousand taels, and said leisurely, "So it was a mistake, I was wondering, how could the Hua family act so low? Now, this matches the shogunate’s scale."
This only angered Hua Zheliu more, what did he mean by catching up to the shogunate?
Is our Hua family worse than the shogunate?
"Since the three thousand taels are out, there’s no reason to take them back, how could our Hua family be lesser than others? What a joke!" Hua Zheliu coldly said.
"Oh, well, thank you." Li Hengsheng smiled.
The guards around were dumbfounded by this scene.
Conning Hua family into paying so much money with just a few words?
This money-making speed was astonishing.
"Additionally, our Hua family needs you to issue a new decree within three days authorizing us to collect a new land bearing tax!" Hua Zheliu coldly looked at Li Hengsheng and said.
Everyone: "???"
Li Hengsheng was also puzzled, "What in the world is a land bearing tax?"
"As the name implies, they live on White Snake Dao, their weight presses on its ground, damaging it, so they need to pay tax, of course. Less nonsense, post the tax notice within three days, charging a qian of silver per person per month, and our Hua family will handle it, got it?" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
"Your Hua family really has a creative mind." Li Hengsheng also had to admire them.
Inventing such absurd taxes.
"Remember, within three days, my Hua family wants to see the tax notice!" After speaking, Hua Zheliu, like an official delegating tasks, left with the Hua family.
"Senior brother, isn’t this tax a bit ridiculous?" Wu Santong said somewhat speechlessly.
"There’re more absurd ones." Marquis Yan sneered, "There are many such taxes making the people resentful and unable to pay, so they capture them as debt slaves, with men forced to work, and women, who knows, sold to be prostitutes."
"Outrageous!" Wu Santong burst into anger.
Upon hearing this, Li Hengsheng squinted his eyes slightly and put the silver notes away.
"Elder Yan, bring me the tax codes of White Snake Dao, let me see what’s all this nonsense." Li Hengsheng told Marquis Yan.
"Alright, I’ll bring it right away."
Marquis Yan turned and went to find it.
Not long after, Elder Yan returned with a ledger and handed it to Li Hengsheng.
Li Hengsheng opened it, and his eyes were opened to a new world.
Dining tax.
Drinking tax.
Bowels tax.
Snoring tax.
Li Hengsheng hadn’t expected even snoring incurred taxes.
The further he looked, the more absurd it became, even a rain tax.
Being rained on required tax?
There were close to a hundred detailed and absurd taxes.
No one could clearly pay these taxes?
Li Hengsheng felt it urgent to find someone to clean this up.
"Elder Yan, you mentioned there’s someone who could help me, I need talented people under me now." Li Hengsheng said to Marquis Yan.
"Sir, there’s a man named Lin Qizhu, once a local righteous outlaw, with Postnatal Peak Realm cultivation, a good man. I have a debt of gratitude with him, and he harbors deep enmity with the shogunate. If you need manpower, you might try him." Marquis Yan suggested.
