Chapter 260： tax! tax! tax!

After eating in the merchant Adela's shop, Kevin sold the salt he brought in the square in the center of the town, but no one bought it at first, so they had to lower the price again and again. At sunset they finally made some coins, but it must have been a loss.

Even so, they still have things they have to face.

"My lord tax collector! We made such a small amount of money in one afternoon, so please do me a favor and exempt us from tax."

Kevin and others humbly begged the tax official who came to ask for money.

The tax officer shook his head and said firmly, "I don't care how much you earn. As long as you do business in this town, you have to pay taxes to the lord. Don't try to escape my eyes."

"My lord, we are salt people who cook salt for a living. Because of the rise of the salt farm, the price of the salt we cook has to be lowered repeatedly in order to sell it. It is a blood loss to make such a small amount of money. If you Take some of it as taxes, and our trip will be for nothing."

The tax officer still said with a stern face: "I have nothing to do with what you said. As a tax officer in Fulan Port, I can't break the rules just because of the special circumstances of one or two people. Rules are rules. Without rules, there will be no rules." How can Lord Lyman rule his own territory?"

Kevin and the others still did not give up, and begged in every possible way, and finally annoyed the tax collectors. With a gesture, several tax collectors from the city hall surrounded them.

"I don't have time to talk nonsense with you. There are two choices. Either pay taxes obediently, or use labor labor instead. You can choose for yourself!"

Seeing that the other party issued an ultimatum, everyone had no choice but to obey obediently. After paying the taxes, the money bags in everyone's hands could obviously feel a little lighter.

The tax official snorted, and led the tax collectors away, "What a bunch of poor people, if Lord Graeman hadn't chased away the pirates, would you still be able to do business in this town safely?"

Kevin and the others clenched their fists angrily, but they didn't dare to speak out.

Everyone summed it up and walked towards the new church in Port Fulan, only Kevin seemed a little awkward.

After arriving at the door, Kevin said angrily: "I'll wait for you outside, hurry up!"

The companions shook their heads and entered the church.

…

"Almighty Lord, please bless us and show us a clear path..."

The villagers prayed devoutly to the statue silently. After praying, they handed over the bag of salt they carried with them to the priest standing next to them.

"This is our village's offering to the Lord of Light this month. Please accept it, Lord Servant."

The "offering" in their mouths is actually the so-called "tithing tax" - believers are required to give one-tenth of their output or income to the church.

Handing over such a bag of salt is actually very painful, after all, it was cooked hard, but... But if you don't hand it in, what if you are punished by God? That's what the priests said, it's better to believe something than nothing.

Moreover, the church's tithes are also recognized by the Lord's Mansion and must be paid. If the church finds out that you didn't take the initiative to hand it in, there will still be tax officials coming to ask for it. If you resist and refuse to pay, you will definitely be overwhelmed and walk around in front of the lord.

The priest tried the weight of the salt bag, showed a satisfied smile, and said in a soft tone: "The Lord of Light will surely bless the lamb who believes in Him."

Everyone bowed and left.

…

Seeing his companions come out of the church, Kevin, who had been waiting outside for a while, sneered, "I'm afraid the Lord of Light didn't enjoy any of the offerings we handed in, and they all went into the pockets of his loyal servants." inside."

Most of the companions showed helplessness, and they also knew that the church was not very clean.

Only a very devout person suddenly changed his face, "Kevin, if you talk nonsense again, I won't be selling salt with you next time."

His warning didn't work, and Kevin continued to sneer: "Your offerings are so active and diligent, and you haven't seen the Lord of Light bless you. You're just as poor as me."

"you you…"

This devout believer couldn't beat him, so he wanted to do it in a hurry.

"Okay okay, what's it like to fight over a little blowjob? Don't let the town see our joke."

The other companions hurriedly separated them, and the two of them were still yelling and cursing from the air.

The pious shouted: "The servants of the gods serve the Lord of Light for us all day long, and it is only natural that they get a little reward."

Kevin countered: "Their [remuneration] is not just a little bit, and their life is comparable to that of nobles, which is not in line with the provisions of the "Holy Code" at all!"

…

Everyone set foot on the way back to the village listlessly, chatting with each other while walking.

"It seems that you can't live by cooking salt. You have to think of other ways to make a living."

"Why don't we go to the saltworks in Fulan Port? Maybe our ancestral craftsmanship can come in handy there."

"What, do you really want to compromise and become a traitor? ... Actually, I also have this idea."

"Just dream. If you had a chance a few months earlier, there is no recruitment there now."

"how do you know?"

"Don't look at me that way, okay, I admit that I asked quietly. But they said that in a few months, the salt farm will expand its production scale, and it will recruit a large number of people at that time. sell salt to the south by sea."

"A few months? I think a week is too long, and the family is almost unable to open the pot."

"It's not that there is no other way. Although the saltworks are not recruiting for the time being, there are still many other factories that are recruiting people, such as porcelain, paper, and canning. There are more and more such factories."

"Hey, I have never touched these things. If I go there, I must start from the lowest level of apprentices. I am really unwilling to let go of the craftsmanship of my ancestors."

When the team returned to the village, many people were already waiting for their return. When they learned that the merchant Adela was going to leave Fulan Port, and the salt he transported had to be sold at a loss, the whole village fell into sorrow.

After Kevin returned to his home, he took a few mouthfuls of food and then fell into a deep sleep. He set off early in the morning to sell salt in Fulan Port, and didn't come back until after dark. He was really exhausted.

…

A loud noise woke up Kevin He opened his eyes and found that it was already morning.

Kevin rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked his parents: "It's early in the morning, what are you doing outside?"

The father didn't say a word, just sat at the table with a depressed expression and clicked on the pipe - the inside was actually not real tobacco. Since the family's income was greatly reduced, the father replaced it with some plant leaves that he didn't know where to find.

The mother who was preparing breakfast let out a long sigh: "What else can you do? Listen to yourself."

An extremely disgusting voice reached Kevin's ears.

"Folks, this month's poll tax should be paid..."

Another **** tax!

No matter where, no matter when, he can't get rid of this kind of thing. Steel, guns and the industrial party across the world