Yu Ren was not nervous when he saw that the other party was wearing the clothes of the servant. Just let Tian Jia park the boat on the shore.

A middle-aged man in his thirty-two-thirty-three on the clipper said to the two: "Do you want to go out of the river?" Please pay five taels of silver for each boat to cross the river! ”

"What are you guys doing?" Yu Ren saw that this person asked for silver as soon as he opened his mouth, and he really thought they were bandits!

"What are you doing? Don't you see the clothes on us? We are, of course, tolerant, tax-collected. Collect transportation tax! The man said.

"Hey! Money four. Don't think I don't know you when I put on my official clothes. Aren't you Qian Si who lives in the alley next to us? What's the matter, you want to blackmail us! When I came out on the first day, I mixed it up! The transportation tax was collected from the cargo ships on the river. We didn't have any cargo on board again. What is the shipping tax? Tian Jia shouted.

That Qian Si glanced at Tian Jia with slanted eyes, "Who should I be?" It turned out to be the second child of the Tian family! However, I'm in the office now, please don't make friends with me. The cargo ship tax you mentioned will naturally have to be paid, but your ship, which has no cargo, will also have to pay the tax. Qian Si said undoubtedly.

"Why?" Tian Jia shouted.

"Why? It is by your own that you have entered the river. Did you know that every boat that enters this river, no matter how big or small, is subject to a flower tax of five taels of silver? This is a new regulation recently issued by General Manager Liu. ”

Tian Jia was a little angry. "The flower viewing tax is levied exclusively on pleasure boats. Why do we have to pay this tax if we don't enjoy flowers on a small boat like us? ”

"I don't care about that. Who knows if you deliberately took such a small boat in order to evade taxes and not pay! Qian Si stared at the sky.

"You ......" Tian Jia was angry enough, he really wanted to push this guy into the water.

"This big brother, you take care of it. Look at a broken boat like us, how can we go to enjoy some flowers! We were there to deliver something to the cruise ship in front of us. Besides, we really don't have that much money. Yu Ren saw that the two of them said that they were choking, so he wanted to show weakness to the enemy. Anyway, as long as you get through it, you'll be fine. Let him pay five taels of silver for nothing, he is reluctant.

Qian Si sneered, "Don't be like I don't know anything." You recently received a large order and received a deposit of 1,000 taels. This little bit of silver is not a small dish for you! Why are you crying poor! ”

"Oh! It turns out that you are red when you see us taking the order, right? We can get business, that's what we do. Why should I give you money? Tian Jia finally couldn't help but shout.

"You're right, you can get business, that's your ability. Naturally, we have no power. However, we have the right to collect the tax money that has passed the customs. You can't afford not to pay this. Also, I'm here to say hello to you in advance.

To-morrow we will collect your shipbuilding tax, three hundred taels of silver. You asked Sun Menghu to prepare the silver for me first, don't blame me for not informing you in advance! ”

Tian Jia almost jumped out of the boat. "Three hundred taels! This is blackmail! Your cousin and we are building ships in the same place, why does he only pay three taels of silver a year in shipbuilding tax? ”

"He's a small business, and he can't compare to you. You're doing a big deal. If you do a lot of business, you should naturally have more money to hand over to the court. It's not easy for the imperial court! No, there was another big battle with the Jurchens in Liaodong recently, and how many people died! More than 100,000 people are transferred to Liaodong, and how much silver will it cost!

You merchants enjoy a peaceful life, so naturally you should have more money. ”

"That's too much! We sold two boats, and though we received a thousand taels of silver, didn't it cost us? Not to mention the wages of the brothers, how much money will I get for this material alone? If you pay the tax law like this, you might as well just let us stop doing it! Tian Jia said angrily.

"What does it have to do with me if you don't do it, am I still afraid that you won't be able to do it! Don't talk so much, pay five taels of silver first. Otherwise, don't even think about going back to dinner. Qian Si said and wanted to jump into their boat.

Tian Jia couldn't let him jump on the boat, so he shook the boat hard. Although Qian Si jumped on the boat, he did not stand firm.

Yu Ren on the side took the opportunity to pretend to stretch his waist, and stretched his fist towards Qian Si. As soon as Qian Si stepped back, his body could no longer stand unsteadily, and he fell into the river with a "plop".

"Boy...... You have a kind. …… How dare you beat up the tax collector! …… You guys are waiting for ......! On the clipper, the other three accomplices of Qian Si saw this and came to save Qian Si.

Yu Ren saw that the opportunity could not be missed, and hurriedly whispered to Tian Jia: "Hurry up!" ”

Tian Jia understood, shook his handle, lined up the two fast boats, and sailed out.

Qian Si saw that the two were about to run, although the person had not yet climbed into the boat in the water, he couldn't help but shout: "Chase, chase!" ”

The three tolerances pulled Qian Si onto the boat, and quickly turned the bow of the boat and chased after Yu Ren and the two of them.

However, Yu Ren's boat was much faster than their clipper, and they had to turn around. By the time they turned around, Yu Ren and the others had already sailed into the Yangtze River. Although Qian Si desperately urged his subordinates, their boat was still much slower than Yu Ren's small boat.

After a while, they were left far behind by Yu Ren and the others.

I saw that I couldn't catch up anymore. Qian Si stomped his feet and scolded fiercely: "Little bastard, you dare to plot against Lao Tzu!" You wait, the monk who ran away, can't run away from the temple. I don't believe you can escape from Lao Tzu's Five Finger Mountain. After scolding, Qian Si hated and ordered his subordinates to stop chasing.

After Yu Ren and Tian Jia went back, they immediately relayed Qian Si's words to Huzi. Huzi didn't seem to be too happy about this.

"No big deal. Isn't it just a money four! He thought it was 10 years ago! Ten years ago, they were the mine overseers who were able to run amok because of the emperor's backing. Over the years, there have been many times in various places over the matter of tax collection. Now that the emperor no longer supports them as he does now, they still want to be as nonsense as before, that is impossible!

He Qian 4 said that he would collect 300 taels of taxes, so should we pay him 300 taels? When the time comes, I will give him three taels of silver. If they are strong, we are not afraid of him.

It's a big deal to sue the yamen. I have heard that the lords of the various ministries in Nanjing have always been dissatisfied with the eunuchs sent by the emperor. When the time comes, we will sue them in the name of stealing the people's wealth. Let's see what they can do with us! What's more, there is still Uncle Yu here! Afraid of what they are! ”

Huzi said with great confidence.

On this day, Yu Ren went home early.

Seeing that his father hadn't come back yet, Yu Ren called Cao An over and asked him if his father had come to his study to check in the past two days.

"Nope! I don't know what I'm busy with these days, so I go out early every morning and don't come back until late at night. It has been this way for several days in a row. Cao An said.

Yu Ren was relieved. "So, did Uncle Song and Aunt Ma find out that I wasn't at home?"

"Song Huozi shouldn't have seen it. But Aunt Ma may know that you are out, young master. But Aunt Ma has never liked to talk too much. So you don't have to worry, young master. ”

So this night, Yu Ren slept in the study with peace of mind. Due to the fatigue of several days in a row, Yu Ren went to bed after eating and taking a bath. He didn't know when his father would come back. Anyway, I only know that after waking up in the morning, his father has already gone out.

Yu Ren deliberately took a turn in the courtyard before jumping off the wall.

Now, he has become more and more proficient in his wall-jumping technique. There is no need for Huzi at all, they are on the other side to answer themselves.

By the time Yu Ren arrived at the shipyard in the deserted garden outside the city, Huzi and the others had already been busy with their own work. Tian Jia seemed to be a little absent-minded, and the saw in his hand sawed the wood from time to time.

"What's wrong? Still thinking about the little girl of the Guo family? Although you have a heart for her, she has no intention of you, which is also in vain. I think you'd better forget about her! Such a woman who does not argue between right and wrong, even if you really marry her, it may not be a blessing in the future.

Now you are building a good ship with Huzi and them, and when you earn enough money, are you afraid that you won't be able to marry a good family! Yu Ren enlightened.

Although Tian Jia knew that Yu Ren was reasonable, he still couldn't let go of it for a while.

Yu Ren wanted to persuade him a few more words, but he heard a commotion in the distance, and more than a dozen people were coming.