I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 49: Stupid people have too much money

Chapter 49 Foolish and Rich

Zheng Yu stopped, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked up. The gate of Hanshan City was right in front of him. He had finally arrived in the county town.

Zheng Yu is 19 years old and comes from Jinfeng Village, Hanshan County. Jinfeng Village is a small village with fewer than 100 households. It is also quite far from Hanshan County. Due to its isolated location, the villagers are unaware that they can make money by traveling to and from the county seat.

In a few days, Zheng Yu's older brother was getting married. Because they were still short of money for the bride price, his father asked Zheng Yu and three friends to carry a fat pig to Hanshan City to sell it and raise some money for the bride price.

"Alright, we've rested for a while, let's go. We already agreed that after selling the pig, I'll treat you all to meat buns for lunch today," Zheng Yu encouraged his friends.

Jinfeng Village was over a hundred li from Hanshan City. The four young men set off before dawn, carrying a fat pig. By the time they reached the city gate, it was almost noon. Such a long distance, coupled with carrying a large pig, left all four exhausted and hungry. Zheng Yu's encouragement made the other three lads drool. Jinfeng Village was too poor; they rarely ate meat throughout the year.

"One, two, three, up..."

The four men lifted the fat pig and walked towards the city gate.

"Paying taxes is beneficial to the country and its people. One penny per person, for city entry tax, thank you."

Zheng Yu was stopped by the guards at the city gate.

Zheng Yu put the load on his shoulder to the ground and asked, "Officer, do we have to pay to enter the city?"

"Sigh..." Li Hechen sighed. Another country bumpkin who doesn't know the rules.

"San'er! Your business is here, come over here quickly." Li Hechen turned around and called out to Geng San.

People like Zheng Yu, who came from the countryside, didn't know that paying the city entry tax had any benefits. Li Hechen and the other yamen runners had long since stopped bothering to explain to them. They simply passed the buck to Geng San and the others who collected the tax receipts, letting them handle it.

Geng San ran over in a few steps and asked, "Young man, is this your first time in the city?"

Zheng Yu nodded, completely bewildered. He had no idea what the city entry tax was. When did he start having to pay to enter the city?

Geng San put his hand on Zheng Yu's shoulder, patted him gently, and said with a smile, "You lift the pig up first, so it's not blocking the way. Let's talk to you properly when we're over there."

Zheng Yu went to town to sell pigs, but he didn't have any money on him. He looked at his companions for a question, and all three shook their heads. "We didn't bring any money either. We're helping you carry the pigs to town, and we're hoping you'll buy us meat buns to eat."

Zheng Yu had no choice but to carry the pig away from the city gate with his friends.

"Brother, I didn't know we had to pay an entrance tax to enter the city. Could you lend me four coins first? I'll pay you back after I sell the pig." Zheng Yu thought the kind man was trying to help them because he saw they didn't have any money.

Geng San waved his hand and said, "Four coins are not enough. The four of you need at least four qian of silver."

"What? Brother, the constable at the city gate, didn't you say it would be one coin per person?" Zheng Yu said in surprise.

"One coin per person? Brother Yu, he's a liar! Isn't this robbery?" Zheng Yu's friend whispered.

Geng San shook his head with a wry smile. He had met many people like Zheng Yu these past few days. He asked, "Where are you young men from?"

"We're all from Hanshan, living in Jinfeng Village. Don't try to fool us!"

“Jinfeng Village is far from the county seat.” Geng San looked up at the sky, thought for a moment, and said, “If you go back now, you can still make it back in time. I’m really not a liar, listen to me…”

Geng San then explained in detail the matters concerning the city entry tax, the good citizen certificate, and the tax receipt.

"Brother, is what you're saying true?" Zheng Yu was skeptical; such a good thing couldn't be true. According to Geng San, by going in and out of the city gate four times a day, one could earn at least sixteen coins. This was a huge sum of money for the villagers of Jinfeng Village.

Not only did Zheng Yu not believe it, but his three friends also looked at Geng San with suspicion.

"Young man, would I lie to you? My name is Geng San, and I collect tax invoices here every day," Geng San said with a smile.

Just then, someone entered the city. Geng San recognized the man and called out, "Hey, why are you so late today?"

Ma Hei turned around and saw that it was Geng San. He smiled and said, "I drank a little too much on my way home yesterday. I got up a little late today, and my home is a bit far from the city, so I'm late."

Geng San laughed and said, "You've made some money, and you're drinking all of it. Same as always, bring the tax invoices to my stall and sell them to me."

Ma Hei waved his hand and said with a smile, "We've known each other for a long time, I'll definitely sell it to you, do you even need to tell me? I'm going into the city first, I won't talk to you anymore."

"See you tomorrow!" Geng San turned to look at Zheng Yu and said, "Young brother, do you believe me now?" He then pointed to a shed inside the city gate and said, "That's my stall. I collect tax receipts there every day."

Seeing this, Zheng Yu believed it and thanked him repeatedly: "I understand, thank you, Third Brother. I'll go home and get the money right away."

"Haha!" Geng San patted Zheng Yu on the shoulder and reminded him, "Young man, you not only have to go home to get the money, but you also have to bring everyone from the village. At the beginning, everyone has to pay one qian of silver to apply for a good citizen certificate. You can earn that money back in ten days. After that, you can earn sixteen wen every day."

Zheng Yu hadn't really thought of that before, but now that he thought about it, he could just go to and from the city every day and earn money from tax receipts. Even the most capable man in the village, Li the big shot, couldn't earn sixteen coins a day.

Zheng Yu grinned and laughed loudly, "Thanks for reminding me, Third Brother. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have thought of that."

Geng San patted Zheng Yu on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Remember to have your village chief issue a certificate, otherwise you won't be able to get the good citizen certificate."

Zheng Yu nodded and quickly thanked him, "I understand, the village chief is my grandfather. I asked him to come and make money with me."

"Go ahead, and come back quickly. Remember to sell all your tax stamps to me in the future," Geng San said with a smile.

"Thank you, Third Brother. Don't worry, we'll sell all the tax stamps from our village to you from now on."

Zheng Yu told his friends to stay behind and watch the fat pig, then hurriedly ran back to the village alone. Zheng Yu was very excited. City people really know how to have fun! They're so rich and gullible! He had never imagined that he could make money just by going in and out of the city gates until he saw it with his own eyes.

Zheng Yu kept shouting in his heart, "Grandpa, Grandpa, city folks are stupid and rich, come quick!"

Geng San shook his head with a wry smile. Ever since drinking with Wang Wenzhou, Geng San had known that the tax invoice business was a dead end; apart from Lord Wang, no one could win the grand prize.

Wang Wenzhou had instructed Geng San to collect as many tax invoices as possible this month. Wang Wenzhou had also assured Geng San that the grand prize would be his this month. Only then did Geng San continue to actively collect tax invoices.

Suddenly, Geng San slapped his thigh, remembering something. Judging from Zheng Yu's situation, they had no idea that tax invoices existed in the county. There must be many villages like this. In that case, he could send people there, and even sign a contract beforehand to pay less and buy more tax invoices. He could even buy them at a low price and then secretly sell them to the Four Talented Scholars at a higher price, swindling them out of their money.

Upon realizing this, Geng San hurriedly ran back to discuss with his partner how to proceed.