Chapter 407 Let me go, is the tax so high?
Three days later at dusk in the afternoon.
Gu Chan led the caravan to the tall east gate of Jiangnan City.
Jiangnan City is worthy of being the central city in the Jiangnan area. The city wall alone is much higher than that of Zhongyuan City, and the entire city is twice as big as Zhongyuan City.
As for how spectacular the entire city is, there is no need to say more.
Just saying that it is almost dark now, the queue of people entering the city outside the East City Gate is as long as a mile, which shows how desirable this place is.
The Yaoduoduo caravan was at the back of the queue. Looking at the long queue in front of them, everyone was shocked from ear to ear.
Sitting on the leading carriage, Gu Chan couldn't help but sigh, "It really deserves to be Jiangnan City! It's not much compared to Kyoto. No wonder businessmen want to come here to make a career. It's not easy here. . "
"Boss, at the speed we are going into the city, I'm afraid we won't be able to enter the city until night," Ma Zheng said sitting next to him.
Gu Chan nodded noncommittally.
At this time, Di Lin rode up to the carriage and said to Gu Chan, "Shopkeeper, why don't you take Ma Zheng and Yuan Jie into the city to find a good inn, and we can queue up slowly. In the evening, after we enter the city, You can go directly to the inn you have booked.”
“That’s good, so as not to have any trouble finding the inn at night.” Gu Chan nodded.
After saying that, she immediately got off the carriage, rode the same horse as Ma Zheng, and rushed towards the city gate ahead with Yuan Jie.
Di Lin stayed where he was and led the caravan to continue lining up.
After a stick of incense, Gu Chan and the others arrived outside the huge east city gate.
Because the east city gate is too tall, the three of them standing under the city head are as small as three ants.
Gu Chan couldn't help but feel surprised in her heart before heading towards the queue on the right.
The East City Gate has two passages into the city. The wider passage on the left is for caravans to pass through, while the smaller passage on the right is for common people to pass through. .
So the right channel inspection is relatively faster.
Gu Chan and the other two people led the horses and waited in line with the crowd for a short time before it was their turn to be examined.
The officers and soldiers responsible for the inspection saw that the three of them were not dressed like people from the south of the Yangtze River, so they asked, "Where are you from?"
"Brother the officer, we are from the Central Plains City, our caravan. The three of us are lining up at the back. We want to go into the city and find an inn to stay. When the caravan enters the city in the evening, we can go directly to the inn.
“What kind of business does your caravan run?” the official asked.
"I'm in the medicinal business." Gu Chan said honestly.
After the official heard this, he immediately picked up the book in his hand and started flipping through it.
After looking at it for a while, he said, "A caravan operating in the medicine business needs to pay a city tax of one hundred taels, plus a head tax of twenty taels per person."
"I'll go, such a high tax "?" Gu Chan said in surprise.
She never expected it! The taxes here in Jiangnan City were so high. Just entering the city had to pay the city tax. This simply made her feel unbelievable.
The officer looked impatient and said, "If it's too high, don't go in. Go to one side and the people behind will fill in."
"No, no, no, no, I'll take care of the officer's big brother. Our caravan Together with the three of us, there will be a total of twelve people, and the name of the caravan is Yao Duoduo." Gu Chan waved his hand quickly.
The official glared at her angrily, and then started to calculate the taxes. According to the caravan entry tax of 100, plus the twelve head taxes of 240 taels, the total is 340 taels.
After calculating the tax, the official took out a pass and wrote the words "tax paid" on it, then handed it to Gu Chan and said, "Three hundred and forty "Two, pay it!"
"Brother, you have worked hard. Here are four hundred taels of silver notes. No need to look for them. If there are more, I will treat you to tea." Gu Chan said with a smile.
Then she immediately put the four hundred taels of silver notes into the hands of the official.
The officer took the banknote and immediately showed a smile on his face. He reached out and patted Gu Chan on the shoulder and said, "Yeah! This little brother is very good! Not bad, it's rare that you have such a heart, and I can't take advantage of you in vain." , let me give you a heads up before going in.”
“Thank you, Brother Guancha, I’m so grateful!” Gu Chan hurriedly clasped his fists in thanks.
The official bent down, put his mouth to her ear and whispered, "Remember, after entering the city, it is best to find a gambling house to stay, not an inn, otherwise the goods will be lost and cannot be recovered. "
"Okay, I understand, thank you very much." Gu Chan cupped her fists and thanked her.
The official said no more and pushed the three people into the city. Then he continued to collect taxes from those who followed behind.
After Gu Chan and the others led their horses into the city, they walked on the bustling main road. They all looked puzzled. They really couldn't understand what the reminder given to them by the official guarding the city gate just now meant.
Ma Zheng said in confusion, "Boss, this Jiangnan City is so prosperous, and the management should be very strict! How can it be possible that the goods we stayed in the inn were lost and couldn't be found? He wouldn't deliberately trick us into staying in the hotel for gambling. "Right?"
"No, he is just an official guarding the city. There is no benefit in cheating us. Moreover, he didn't directly name anyone. Which gambling house he wants us to stay in? There should be no trap. Our situation." Yuan Jie shook her head.
Gu Chan nodded noncommittally, "Yuan Jie is right. If he cooperates with the gambling houses in the city and can get kickbacks by sending a customer there, then he should directly name which gambling house we should go to. Stay, but he didn't say it, which proves that he just saw me on the road and gave me a kind reminder."
"What should we do now? Should we stay in an inn or a gambling house? " Ma Zheng asked.
"Listen to people's advice to eat enough and find a place to live in a gambling house." Gu Chan made a decisive decision.
When you are new here, it is better to listen to the opinions of the locals, so as not to suffer a loss when you arrive and have no time to complain.
With this thought, the three of them did not hesitate anymore and started walking around the city while holding their horses.
Half an hour later, the three of them arrived at the center of the city, outside a gambling shop called "Wan Yuan Fang".
This gambling house has a total of five floors. Except for the first and second floors for betting and entertainment, the upper three floors are like an inn, with dedicated rooms.
Gu Chan went in and asked about it. After feeling that the environment here was not bad, she immediately spent money to book five rooms.
After doing this, she came out and said to Ma Zheng, "Ma Zheng, there is a stable behind the gambling house, which is specially used for feeding horses and storing goods. You can lead the horse over and feed it." "One seat."
"Yes, boss." Ma Zheng responded respectfully and quickly led the horse towards the rear.
Gu Chan looked at Yuan Jie and said, "Hurry up and ride your horse to wait behind the city gate. It's already dark now, and Di Lin must be entering the city with his caravan soon."
"Well! Shopkeeper, please be careful." Yuan Jie said.
"It's okay. In such a big place, the security will not be disrupted." Gu Chan said nonchalantly.
Yuan Jie nodded quietly, then turned over and jumped on the horse, quickly riding back to the city gate.
Gu Chanze went into the gambling shop and started shopping.