Dinner was a mess.

Worried that the sudden oiliness would make the children's stomachs unbearable, Li Wen forced each person to eat only one bowl of meat.

A whole bowl of meat, plus a large sheet of bread, even if it is the New Year, Lao Bu's family has never been so luxurious, and at the dinner table, everyone eats deliciously.

After dinner, everyone was inevitably curious about how Li Wenming planned to pass the test.

Li Wen just smiled and comforted them, watched the little ape-man's swordsmanship in the courtyard for a while, and then went back to sleep.

Dangdangdang......

The sound of gongs sounding in the mountains of the town woke Li Wen from his sleep.

Someone walked through the street, and the arrogant and domineering roar resounded in every corner of the town.

"The mayor of the town has an order, everyone gathers in the square, today is the last day to pay taxes, bring enough taxes, everyone has to go, otherwise, clean up directly out of the town!"

Dangdang!

In fact, such a notification has already occurred once after dusk yesterday.

Xinhuo Town suddenly jumped and became lively.

People dressed in relatively decent clothes, some with their families, and some walked alone towards the square.

No one is in a good mood, there are too few rich people in Xinhuo Town, and the money in people's pockets is almost all their blood and sweat for a year, and everyone will feel distressed after covering it for so long.

However, the laws of the empire, the rules of the town, none of which ordinary townspeople could resist, greeted each other and gathered towards the small square with sad faces.

Lao Bu's family, today is the whole family.

Worried that he would be expelled, Li Facai had already packed his most precious things in a small bag and prepared them in the morning.

Li Meili and Li Huanhuan also had little confidence in Li Wen, and they also put their own things together, and Li Wen was suddenly under great pressure.

Grasp this kind of thing, who can be 100%, but sticking out the head is a knife, shrinking the head is also a knife, Li Wen and the family have no way out.

There was still bread and meat for breakfast, and the family ate so red that they walked down the street and attracted the astonished eyes of the people.

Lao Bu's family, the changes in the past few days are really not small.

The small square of Xinhuo Town is located not far from Ding Jin's house, and all the major events in Xinhuo Town will bring the townspeople here.

It didn't take an hour, and the small square was already full of Terran apes.

With a glance, several major forces can be distinguished. Ding Jin's clan, the Ruan family, Old John, and several large landlords, divided into several ethnic groups, quietly waited for the town mayor Ding Jin to appear.

Li Meili stabbed Li Wen and snorted in one direction, so the whole family saw the miserable old rock.

Lao Yan's face can no longer be seen, one eye is closed, and his neck is also very swollen, the key is that those two steps, his legs are spread far away, and it hurts to look at it.

Li Meili and Li Facai laughed so hard that their stomachs hurt, and Lao Yan was ten times more miserable, and they didn't understand their hatred, they really let this old thing blackmail too hard before.

The convoy of New Fire Town has finally appeared.

This civil armed force, which maintains law and order, is basically fed by the great squire Ding Jin, each of whom holds a shield and a sword, and is half covered in leather armor, which looks tall and majestic.

Ding Jin then appeared, and at the same time he appeared, as well as his son and daughter, all of whom were fifteen or sixteen years old, all of them were round, with round bellies, round figures, round faces, and small and round eyes, flashing with a cunning and arrogant light, and the virtue of the second in the world.

Behind the two children is the highly-paid poet.

Li Wen looked at it at a glance and felt that this person was more like a girl, about twenty years old, weak and slender, and his demeanor was very decent.

There was a small platform built on the small square as usual, and the guards stood on both sides, and Ding Jin stood in the middle, first took out a delicate small wine jug, and took a big sip, and then swept the townspeople below like looking at a lump of dog shit.

With a cough, he began to read out this year's Imperial Tax Order.

The tax has risen again......

Each person is required to pay three Imperial Coins, or the equivalent of possessions.

Li Meili counted with her fingers, ten fingers were obviously not enough, the little girl who had never gone to school, squatted down, rowed on the ground, and counted.

Levine didn't stop her, his eyes were always on the townspeople's reactions.

Last year, there were two and a half imperial copper coins, and this year it has risen so much, and if there is a war, there will be additional taxes.

Glancing at the face of the town elder on the stage, I don't know if the increased half of the silver coin tax will be left in his own pocket to hide from people, such as Li Wen, plus the overcharge, the town elder will have to make another payment.

Tax hikes will inevitably cause people to be dissatisfied, questioned, and noisy, and louder and louder.

Ding Jin on the high platform, with a round face, is getting more and more ugly.

"Hmph, give shameless things, who doesn't want to pay taxes, get out of Xinhuo Town immediately!"

Someone coughed, and the square fell silent.

A tall, old ape man stood up. Li Wen recognized this old guy, Old John, the boss of the ape clan in New Fire Town.

Ding Jin's disgusted gaze fell on him.

"Dear old John, since you are not dead, then, let it go if you have a fart!"

Old John said majestically, "How much tax will our ape be exempted from this year?"

Ding Jin said bitterly: "I was just about to discuss with you, according to the Empire's Grace and Order......"

"It's not an edict of grace, it's an edict of equality, and in order to appease our frontier ape clan, the empire will exempt half of the annual tax. ”

"Yes, but this year is different, this year the Radiant Empire invaded twice, and the upper echelons of the empire have great objections to the equality order, and I have never received this year's tax exemption order, so today, the tax of your ape clan will be paid in full for the time being, and when the equality order comes down, I will return it one by one, what do you think?"

"Mr. Ding, everyone understands that when the tax reaches your hands, it has always been only in and out, so we can only pay half of it. ”

Ding Jin snorted, and said helplessly: "According to our previous agreement, your family, I remember it is thirty-six, as well as the clansmen of the wizard Andrea, the Starr family, yes, and the ape clan under the protection of the villain Michael, you will do it according to the equality order, as for the other townspeople, I will charge the full amount, you listen, I must collect the full amount, if someone disobeys this decision, it is up to you to convince them, understand." ”

Old John's face was full of angry blood, and the villain Mike, who had already laughed and agreed, and swept his vicious gaze through the crowd, and his eyes were everywhere, and everyone bowed their heads, not daring to look at this heinous fellow.

The ape clan has a population of nearly 1,000, and in addition to the protection of these more than 100 forces, there are nearly 800 people, who have to pay the full amount.

A small bag of silver coins was quickly handed over by several major forces.

Ding Jin's clerk counted the records.

Then there are several major forces in the human race, and the agreement between them and Ding Jin has been negotiated a long time ago, and each force has put its share on the high platform with its share to be paid. Looking at the triumphant appearance of those people, the degree of preferential treatment is not a little bit.

People watched the transaction, standing as if they were logs, indifferent.

Li Wen sneered in his heart, and at the same time, he felt even more ridiculous about his entanglement yesterday.

The oppression of forces has reached the point of unscrupulousness, and the naked humiliation and oppression are carried out in broad daylight, and they are really ...... Give yourself a chance!

Next is the main event, every year there is a big drama of killing chickens and scaring monkeys, and this year is no exception, after this big show, tax collection will be smoother.

Ding Jin's gaze swept over the crowd, and everyone was in danger, and then Ding Jin's gaze fell on Li Wen.

This kid made him very uncomfortable, I don't know why, after meeting him once yesterday, the smile on his lips made him have a deep sense of crisis, so the first chicken he wanted to kill was this kid, and the Lao Bu family behind this kid.

He coughed, raised his arm, pointed straight at Lao Bu's family, and shouted in a cold voice, "Pay the taxes, Lao Bu." ”

Lao Bu was stunned, his two big hands were clenched, and then released, his face was full of cramped and uneasy.

He didn't say anything for a while, just shook his head with difficulty.

The whole family gathered around him, and Li Shu trembled all over, clutching Lao Bu's arm tightly.

Li Meimei's little face lost its blood, but she bravely raised her little face and said loudly: "Mr. Ding, please do well, there are fewer and fewer scrap iron in the wasteland, and the pig of the rock blacksmith refuses to increase the price, Lao Bu has worked hard, and our family can only eat half full......"

"This has nothing to do with taxes, kid, get out of here if you don't pay taxes, this is the rule of the empire, and it is also the rule of our new fire town, we can't break this rule just because your family can't afford to pay it, no one can. ”

"We just owe, not that we don't pay......"

"Don't owe, little girl, don't speak again, or I'll ask someone to throw you out!"

Li Meili bit her lip, held back the tears in her eyes, and stopped making a sound.

"Then, your family has to leave, Lao Bu, I have been taking care of your family all these years, but this year will never be ......"

Li Wen was about to stand up when a voice rang out.

"Honorable Mr. Mayor, please allow me...... Ahem, allow me to say that the taxes of Lao Bu's family are guaranteed by me. ”

It was Lao Yan who was the one who spoke, and it hurt to listen to his voice. Lao Bu can't go, otherwise, the person who will go next is him, there is no iron, if you want to buy it from Ping'an, the price will be ten times!

"Oh. Ding Jin hesitated, then nodded.

The rock blacksmith is the only blacksmith in New Fire Town, and his words can't help but make Ding Jin take it seriously.

"Okay, then let's move on, Zhao Guigui, a family of four, twelve imperial silver coins. ”

"Your Excellency!"

Someone knelt down, climbed under the high platform, and knocked his head down several times in a row.

"Please do it, don't drive our family away, we'll die......"

A family of four, two adults, and two children, their foreheads quickly broke.

"Don't say it, you're going to die anyway, go out and die, throw them out, the next ......"

The crying was heartbreaking, and the escort team dragged the family away without emotion.

Then there was the second family, the ape family, and this one left in silence, wounded, sick, and sick, and the family didn't see it alive tomorrow.

In the square, people were silent, standing, and facing all this blankly.

Lao Bu's family has been preserved, but Lao Bu's face is full of sadness, and this kind ape clan has tears floating in his eyes.

Li Wen felt that the heat was enough, and if he was a little more, he really couldn't stand it.

In front of the high platform, the people of Mu Ran, holding their money bags, lined up, waiting to pay taxes to the thin clerk.

At this time, a voice rang out.

"No one should pay, and those who cannot afford to pay their taxes come to me, and I will pay your taxes. ”