Chapter 883: We Won't Pay

Relanzhecheng, outside the governor's office.

A dozen or so tax officials stood in two rows, with several hundred soldiers carrying firearms standing beside them.

Kui Yi stood on the steps, scanning them: "Today's tax collection involves a large sum. Those islanders will likely find all kinds of excuses, saying they don't have it and can't produce it."

"So today, each of you must take twenty soldiers with you."

"Remember, no matter what they say, and whether you use words or firearms today, you must collect the tax for me! Do you understand?"

"Yes, Governor!" the tax officials and soldiers shouted in unison.

Each tax official had twenty soldiers following behind, they mounted their horses and left Relanzhecheng, going their separate ways.

Some headed for the villages, while others entered the indigenous people's mountains and forests.

Lin Jiang stood at his own courtyard gate early in the morning, continually gazing toward the village entrance.

Lin Shan squatted on the doorstep, beside him a large teapot and a stack of coarse pottery bowls, steam constantly rising from the pot's spout.

Suddenly, children's shrieks came from afar, growing nearer.

"Chief!" a little boy rushed first to the courtyard gate: "The red-haired devil tax official is coming! And he's followed by many red-haired soldiers!"

Lin Jiang took a deep breath, picked up the teapot from the ground: "Lin Shan, grab the tea bowls, let's go greet them."

"All right!" Lin Shan lifted the earthenware bowls from the ground, followed him, and walked toward the village entrance.

Just as the two reached an open space near the village entrance, they saw the tax official standing by the road, panting heavily.

The oily sweat on his forehead glistened in the sunlight, his bulky belly straining his clothes.

Twenty Red-haired Barbarian soldiers followed behind him, holding their firearms.

Lin Jiang hurried forward, smiling broadly: "Oh, Tax Official Sir! You've worked hard! Come, come, sit down quickly and have a drink to rest!"

Without waiting for the tax official to speak, Lin Jiang grabbed him, brought him under a large tree by the road, roughly wiped a stone with his sleeve twice: "Sit! It's so hot, you must be exhausted!"

Lin Shan followed behind, neatly poured a bowl of tea, held it with both hands before the tax official: "Sir, please have some tea, freshly brewed this morning."

The tax official sat down, glanced at the two, smiled narrowly as he took the bowl, gulped it down in one go, wiped tea from the corner of his mouth, and spoke in stiff Zhongyuan: "Governor, say, say, collect the tax!"

Lin Jiang looked puzzled: "Collect tax? We've already paid it!"

"Think about it, wasn't it you who came to collect last time? Not a single coin was missing; we've already paid in full!"

The tax official waved his hand: "Seventy percent!"

Lin Jiang still looked confused: "Seventy percent? No, sir, it's clearly four out of ten!"

"Ah, this Zhongyuan dialect is hard to learn, but we common folk can still tell four from seven."

The tax official, anxious, had beads of sweat popping from his forehead one after another: "No, no, no! It's seven, not four!"

Lin Jiang stood up straight, looked at the surrounding villagers: "Everyone, say, is it seven or four?"

The villagers shouted in unison: "It's four! Not seven!"

Lin Jiang beamed, turning to the tax official: "Sir, look, if it were just me, I might misremember, but with so many people remembering together, we couldn't be wrong."

The tax official took a deep breath, extended his hand, and unfolded his chubby fingers one by one for him to see: "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven—seventy percent!"

"Not four, it's seven!"

Lin Jiang imitated him, spreading his own fingers one by one, solemnly counting along: "One, two, three… Sir, look, these are ten fingers, right?"

The tax official nodded.

Lin Jiang curled four fingers: "One, two, three, four—four! Right, we've paid it."

The tax official, face flushed red with frustration, gave up arguing about four versus seven, glared and shouted loudly: "Not enough! We need next year's!"

"Next year?" Lin Jiang's eyes widened even more than his, he looked up at the sky, then down at the ground, and finally gave the tax official an innocent look: "Sir, next year hasn't arrived yet!"

The tax official opened his mouth, closed it, opened again, closed again; his big face strained until veins bulged, wishing he could grow another mouth that could speak Zhongyuan.

Lin Shan hid behind Lin Jiang, turned away, covered his mouth, his shoulders shaking.

The villagers around, who had been peeking with their heads, had already turned away, suppressing laughter until it became agonizing for each of them.

Just as the tax official raised his hand to point at the soldiers carrying firearms, Lin Jiang hastily grabbed his arm: "Sir, wait a moment! I think I understand."

He put on a thoughtful expression: "Do you mean that the Governor thinks forty percent isn't enough?"

The tax official nodded frantically.

Lin Jiang continued: "So, you want to raise it to seventy percent? And also collect next year's tax in advance?"

The tax official, excited, jumped up in a flash, grabbed his arm with his other hand: "Yes! Lin! My goodness! You finally understood! I'm dying of anxiety!"

Lin Jiang silently cursed the beast, but put on a troubled expression, pacing on the ground.

He walked a few steps, sighed, walked a few more steps, sighed again.

The tax official put on a stern face: "Lin, you won't pay?"

"No, no, no," Lin Jiang hastily waved his hands: "Sir, it's just that the amount is not small; I need to consult with the villagers."

"Please sit here, drink a bowl of tea, enjoy the cool breeze, rest well; we'll go back and gather the funds."

The tax official nodded repeatedly, sat down again: "Go! Hurry!"

Lin Jiang turned and walked toward the village, the smile on his face instantly disappearing.

The tax official, tired from sitting, got up and walked a bit, then sat down again when walking tired him; finally he could wait no longer and shouted loudly: "Lin! Come out! Lin!"

Lin Jiang was waiting at home for that shout.

He slowly rose and instructed Lin Shan: "Tell everyone, except the elderly and children, to go to the village entrance."

"All right!" Lin Shan ran out.

Not long after, the young men and women of the village streamed out of their homes, following Lin Jiang to the open space at the village entrance.

Seeing so many people rushing toward him, the tax official bolted to the soldiers' rear, pointed a hand at Lin Jiang at the front, and shouted: "Lin! You! What are you doing?!"

Lin Jiang walked to a spot about ten steps from the soldiers and stopped, then plopped down onto the ground.

The villagers also followed suit and sat down.

The tax official stared wide-eyed at the dark crowd before him.

Lin Jiang raised his head and looked at him: "Tax official, we can't afford this tax, so we're not paying it!"