Around the time of the Double Ninth Festival, the night air was already quite chilly. It was a quiet time when people were sleeping together, but Mu Zaohua was tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep no matter what.
On the other side of the room, Chen Sanni called to her: "Sister Zaohua, aren't you sleepy? Then let's get up and count the money?"
"good!"
Mu Zaohua jumped up but did not light the lamp.
Usually, Mr. Wu distributes lamp oil. The more generous Mr. Wu is, the more Mu Zaohua feels she should be sensible and save money for him.
The two women gently poured the money they had saved over the past four months on the ground.
There was a patch of moonlight there, which made the silver shine brightly and also illuminated their joyful hearts.
Chen Sanni said happily: "Almost sixty taels! I can actually get so much money in my life."
Mu Zaohua scolded her: "How old you are, only in this life. With Miss Zheng and Mr. Wu, we will have sixty taels or six hundred taels. Even my husband's family will not dare to look down on us."
Chen Sanni said: "I don't want to get married. Although Miss Zheng said that if she gets married, she will be assigned other jobs. But I still want to be on special duty all the time. You see, I went down to the river to fish for sacks this time to expose that...
For those who cheated me out of insurance premiums, Miss Zheng gave me a special salary of two taels of silver. The money in my dear little jacket bag suddenly increased by 30%."
As she spoke, she put the silver into the bag. She just put two coins in it, but they fell back to the ground.
Please enjoy it again.
Chen Sanni moved around and arranged a dozen pieces of broken silver into various patterns. They were as bright as stars and she was very happy to see them.
Mu Zaohua had already collected more than five taels of her silver and hid it.
Miss Zheng gave them one tael of silver every month, and they lived in a small tile-roofed house rented by Wu Bangtang. It had a stove, and they used firewood to cook. They saved more and saved more than three taels in four months.
This time Mu Zaohua disguised herself as a prostitute to find out Zhou Hu's banknotes, and received a special salary of two taels.
Mu Zaohua turned her head and said to Chen Sanni, who was still staring at the money and giggling: "I thought your special salary would be more than mine. After all, you went to the bottom of the river in such cold water."
Chen Sanni said "Ah" without raising her head and said casually: "What the hell, Miss Zheng told me that those women in North Korea are even more powerful."
Mu Zaohua got on the couch, hugged the quilt, and asked curiously: "How to create a powerful method?"
Chen Sanni said: "Miss Zheng said that the North Korean pearl divers can hold it in the cold sea for a long time without losing time in digging beads, but the men can't. Although the men are strong, they can't withstand the cold.
.After those men marry their wives, they expect them to go to the sea to dig beads to make money, so Sister Zaohua, look at the benefits of marrying."
Mu Zaohua curled her lips.
She thought to herself, I still want to get married, but I can't tell you about the person I like, for fear that you will laugh at me for daydreaming.
Mu Zaohua paused and then asked: "Sannier, when you went to Mr. Wu to collect the special salary, was Miss Zheng there?"
Chen Sanni said: "Yes, Mr. Wu even praised me to Miss Zheng."
Mu Zaohua suddenly felt something strange in her heart. When she went to get the money, she also saw Zheng Haizhu sitting and drinking tea with Wu Bang Bang. In this way, the two of them talked for a long time in Wu Bang Bang's inner house.
"Sannier, do you think Miss Zheng and Mr. Wu are a good match?"
"Ah?" Chen Sanni was stunned, then laughed, "How can a female boss like her shopkeeper? What the troupe sings is that a rich man likes a girl from a poor family."
Chen Sanni said, finally yawned and picked up the stars in the moonlight.
"Go to sleep, Sister Zaohua, Mr. Wu will teach us how to use a dagger tomorrow."
Mu Zaohua responded in the darkness, turned over and looked out the window.
When Wu Bondang taught fighting skills, he taught both male and female intelligence agents step by step.
Mu Zaohua thought with longing, that means Mr. Wu will also hold my hand.
I wonder if Mr. Wu also taught Miss Zheng this way?
Only that silly girl Chen Sanni would think that the descendants of famous generals like Mr. Wu are really just Miss Zheng's subordinates.
…
The two boat bosses who defrauded the insurance company were reported to the county government by Zheng Haizhu. After being punished and paraded in public, Zheng Haizhu took Tang Ayuan and Zheng Shoukuan to deliver Double Ninth Festival cakes to the boatmen of various gangs one by one at the docks.
"Xiao Guzi, how can I bother an old man I know well to help me investigate? If only the boatman's brother, who can't bear to be deceived, informs us, our trading company will not ask others to take advantage. So in the future, we still have to rely on
Dear brothers on the water, please help me. This is our shopkeeper Tang. He and my nephew have something to discuss with my brothers in detail."
Zheng Haizhu finished his words with a smile, leaving shopkeeper Tang and Shouguan to tell the ship boss to help sell shipping insurance shares, and then went to do more important things.
She is going north with Wu Bond.
In the past few days, Hangzhou brocade and other goods sent by Mao Chengbei to escort arrived in Zhenjiang by water, and were picked up by Zheng Haizhu.
The person who pledged the goods was a personal attendant that Mao Wenlong used for his son on his business trip, named Xu San.
When Mao Wenlong kidnapped Zheng Haizhu and took him to the island in order to please Yan Siqi, Xu San was there and knew that this girl Zheng had a good relationship with Yan Siqi and the Mao family.
Xu San had already followed Mao Wenlong to pledge the cargo once before, bribed the navy in Dengzhou, and went to sea smoothly.
However, this time, it was not so comfortable.
"Miss Zheng, after we got on the canal boat from Hangzhou, the two major banknote checkpoints in Hangzhou and Suzhou, as well as the tax cards that popped out of every nook and cranny, took us almost two hundred taels of silver in total. Come on, mother, now Xu San
When I saw those tax collectors in soap robes, I felt like my hair stood on end. When I followed Mao to defend the slave Tatars, I was not so scared."
At the Zhenjiang pier, Xu San took out the tax deed and complained to Zheng Haizhu.
Zheng Haizhu smiled indifferently and comforted him: "Doing business is sometimes more difficult than fighting. You have to get used to it. Previously, Mao Guards had a survey from the Ministry of War. You were not exploited that time, right?"
Xu San nodded: "Yes, the five hundred gold that the girl lent to the garrison on that trip was converted into four to five thousand taels. We bribed the navy in Dengzhou to let it go, and spent one hundred taels of silver. This time not only did Hangzhou
Jinhangluo Tea, Mr. Chengbei also collected a lot of rice, and the boat we hired was bigger. The tax collectors at the customs all valued the boat based on the size of the cabin, and there was no official survey to ask for permission. We suffered a huge loss.
.”
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Zheng Haizhu signaled him to calm down, turned around and walked a few steps, calling Wu Bond to come over.
"Xu San, this is Mr. Wu, a man of great fame. Let's go to Liaodong together."
Xu San's eyes lit up, he said "ha" and said happily: "That's great. For a man with a great reputation, the court doesn't seem to collect taxes."
…
The ship set sail from Zhenjiang and soon arrived at Chaoguan, Yangzhou.
The Imperial turban on Wu Bondang's head was indeed useful. The tax collector took a quick look at it and saw that although Wu Bondang was only in his twenties, he was well-dressed and well-mannered. He thought he was a son of an official, so he did not make things difficult and signaled to let him go.
After exiting the customs and driving on the open river, Zheng Haizhu broke off a piece of osmanthus cake bought from a vendor at Yangzhou Wharf, handed it to Wu Bangdang, and said with a smile: "There are three banknote checkpoints in front of us: Huai'an, Xuzhou, and Jining. Okay, okay."
"On this trip, the three hundred taels you spent on the Imperial College will be repaid. When the goods are sold, I will give you the banknote."
Wu Bondang pursed his lips, neither joining in the fun nor refusing. He just ate the sweet-scented osmanthus cake leisurely while looking at the bustling scene of hundreds of boats on the canal.
For a person with his temperament, it is not difficult to hide the attitude of "as long as you are happy".
Behind them, Mu Zaohua was emerging from the cabin.
Mu Zaohua and another male intelligence agent Li Daniu were brought north by Zheng Haizhu's name.
One is Zheng Haizhu's maid, and the other is Wu Bang Bang's servant. To outsiders, they look like the most ordinary master-servant home. They will not arouse suspicion when they leave the ship with better privacy and return to the land to walk.
Mu Zaohua was elated after being chosen by Zheng Haizhu.
The opportunity to gain experience was indeed rare, but what made her even more happy was that she could travel with Mr. Wu.
"Miss Zheng, Mr. Wu, the cabins are all packed."
It was already past the beginning of the year, and late autumn night fell very early. The water on the deck was cold and cold. A few people got into the cabin, ate the noodle soup prepared by the boatman, and then went to bed.
"Zaohua, I don't need this, you can use it."
Wu Bondang leaned out from his cabin and handed a Tang Pozi to Mu Zaohua.
Zheng Haizhu praised: "Oh, Zaohua is so thoughtful, she even brought this with her."
Mu Zaohua blushed, and while taking the Tang Pozi from Wu Bang Bang's hand, she hurriedly got into Zheng Haizhu's cabin, took out the same one, and explained: "The autumn in the south of the Yangtze River is cold and the north of the Yangtze River is cold. I'm afraid that the boat is simple and frozen.
The girl and the boy."
Wu Bondang nodded to her kindly: "It's a good thing that intelligence agents are careful. You should rest early."
A night of silence.
Zheng Haizhu slept well in the gentle embrace of the river.
Unexpectedly, when we arrived at Chaoguan in Huai'an the next day, the Confucian scarf on Wu Bondang's head was not working.
…
In front of Huai'an Shuiguan, there were sounds of begging and angry curses one after another.
Five or six tax collectors in soap robes jumped up and down, constantly reporting tax figures that dissatisfied the cargo owners on the ship.
"If you don't accept it? If you don't accept it, go and sue me in front of the Lord Long Live. Damn it, I am fighting with you in the cold wind, not for the purpose of Long Live, for the quota of the Ministry of Revenue, and for the great Ming Dynasty."
Among the tax collectors, one looked like the leader, with a sallow face, a rat beard, and a mouth full of buck teeth, and he reprimanded those who tried to resist in a righteous manner.
When it was finally the turn of Zheng Haizhu's merchant ship, Mouse Beard's eyes lit up.
This ship is not small. The male and female servants on board are also neatly dressed and have plump faces. They should come from a respectable and wealthy owner.
A big tax can be collected.
Mousebeard took his little tax collector and jumped onto the deck.
Xu San went up to him and said with an attentive smile: "Master Dui, our young master is a supervisor of the Imperial College."
Rat Beard raised his chin, glanced sideways at Wu Bangdang, who was standing with his sleeves behind Xu San, and let out a sigh.
"What's the matter? A student from the Imperial College didn't study hard, so he was tricked by profiteers based on a headscarf?"
Rat Beard’s words are not groundless.
On the canal, some clever merchants will observe the passenger ships on the water when they approach the currency check. If they see guests dressed as scribes, most of whom are famous, they will take the initiative to strike up a conversation, pay a few taels of silver, and beg them.
Move to your own merchant ship.
Due to the rules of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, scholars with a good reputation, even if they were just scholars, were exempted from land tax and corvee service, and by the way, they would also be allowed to pay taxes and pay taxes from various places.
However, in recent years, the national treasury has become increasingly difficult, and the Ministry of Revenue has simply implemented a fixed-rate payment system for banknotes in various places. No matter what goods are actually transported by ships and how much they transport, the money turned over by banknotes every year must not be less than the quota.
Huai'an is not as prosperous as Yangzhou or Hangzhou. However, Huai'an Chaoguan has to hand over 80,000 taels of silver to the Ministry of Household Affairs this year.
This figure, plus the 30% ratio of corruption at all levels in Huai'an, means that the tax collectors will have to collect 120,000 taels of silver this year.
We can't collect the ships carrying grain and military pay, we can't collect the distributed tributes sent by the local government to the various ministries in the capital, we can't collect the private ships of current officials, and we can't collect the ships of the gentry. Do we have to take the ships of ordinary merchants and collect them ruthlessly?
However, in the past few months, the Wenxiang Cult broke out in Shandong, which affected Chiyu. There were also fewer merchant ships passing through Xuzhou and Huaian Chaoguan.
Finally, things have become calmer since autumn and there are more and more boats.
The official in charge of Huai'an Chaoguan did the math. Damn it, for the remaining two months, you have to collect 1,500 taels of silver every day in order to complete the household department's quota collection and the boss's embezzlement quota at the same time.
Therefore, the grassroots tax collectors like Mouse Beard are currently implementing the policy that as long as they do not go together in a group and go to Beijing to take the exam, they will still tax those who are alone.
Therefore, Mousebeard ignored Wu Bond, who came up to discuss the situation, and only waved his skinny arm.
The subordinate immediately jumped into the warehouse, stretched out his neck and reported: "The cabin is spacious and the goods are full. The tax is 400 taels."
Xu San was shocked. He quickly stuffed the money into Mouse Beard's hand and exclaimed: "Master Tax, this, this can't be done. Our goods only cost two to three thousand taels of capital and four hundred taels of tax silver. Isn't that right?"
Eight taxes and one tax? When has our Ming Dynasty ever collected such a high tax? Don’t be ridiculous, tax master."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Who are you kidding me!" Mouse Beard threw the few taels of silver on the deck and said sternly, "The imperial court needs money everywhere now.
, If we don’t take it out of your business pockets, do you expect money to fall from the sky? Stop talking nonsense. If you don’t pay the tax, don’t even think about our banknote pass in Huai’an. If you delay and block the pass, you, the supervisor, will
The young master cannot be detained, and the other people on the boat do not have the turbans of the Imperial Academy, so they all have to spend the night in jail for me."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a young woman wearing an embroidered armor and a gold-woven horse skirt coming out of the cabin and walking slowly to the deck.
Zheng Haizhu stopped in front of the tax collector, bowed slightly, and said calmly: "No matter how angry the tax collector is, he can't delay this ship to Jining."
Mouse Beard saw that the woman's outfit from head to toe was more luxurious than the Hu Ling dress of the young man next to him. When he started to speak, two eyes were directed towards her. There was no ordinary woman's shrinking and evasive attitude, so he immediately put down his arrogance.
Go a few minutes.
He only asked in a cold voice: "There are many ships going to Jining. What, is there anything valuable about your ship?"
Zheng Haizhu said: "The ship is not expensive, but there are some things on the ship that are not light."
As she spoke, she walked to the end of the warehouse and said to the tax collector who was still standing by the warehouse: "Little brother, open those fir boxes and see what they are."
The tax collector opened it doubtfully, turned to Mouse Beard and said, "Boss, it's a lantern."
Mouse Beard stared at Zheng Haizhu: "What about the lanterns? The merchants who transport the lanterns to sell them still have to pay money."
Zheng Haizhu said tepidly: "These lanterns are made by our family. They are not sold, only given away. We will disembark in Jining and then send the lanterns to Prince Lu's Mansion in Yanzhou to congratulate the princess on her birthday."