Chapter 48 Gate Tax

“Good!” Qin Jian nodded, pulling out two ingots of silver. “At forty wen per fish, ninety fish come to three taels and six qian. Here is a total of four taels of silver.”

Zhao Mu looked at the silver, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Brother, you know I have no money to pay you.”

Hearing this, Qin Jian responded generously, “Brother, there’s no need for formalities between us. If you don’t have small change now, just owe me for the time being. Next time you bring me fish, just add ten more to the delivery.”

Zhao Mu smiled and clasped his fists. “If that’s the case, then I won’t be polite. I’ll have someone unload the fish for you right away.”

“No need!” Qin Jian stopped him. “This time I brought a new cart. Just hand the cart to my people, and then push it away.”

After speaking, he called a servant from the Tianxiang Pavilion to bring over a new cart.

Then he quietly pulled Zhao Mu aside. “Brother, when you left that day, I hadn’t thought things through. Inside this new cart, there’s a hidden compartment where I’ve placed some grain and copper coins for you.”

Zhao Mu was taken aback and hurriedly asked, “Is that allowed?”

Qin Jian waved his hand sincerely. “There’s no need to be so formal between brothers. Honestly, with such a large catch, you could easily sell the fish at fifty wen each, so I’m the one who’s taken advantage of you.”

“Besides, it’s tough for you outside the city, and food is scarce. These copper coins are to help you distribute rewards to your men.”

“I, Qin Jian, may just be a merchant who meets and greets daily with a forced smile, but I don’t trust many people. You, brother, are one of the few. If you refuse again, I’ll take it as disrespect to your older brother!”

Zhao Mu had no choice but to accept Qin Jian’s kindness.

“In that case, I won’t refuse!” Zhao Mu smiled wryly and clasped his fists toward Qin Jian.

Qin Jian was delighted and said heartily, “That’s more like it! Business is business, but friendship is friendship. If you’re too polite with your old brother, I’ll be upset!”

Then he took out something wrapped in oiled paper from his bosom and handed it to Zhao Mu.

“Brother, take a look at this.”

Qin Jian handed it over with a mysterious smile.

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Zhao Mu opened it and was surprised. “These are household registrations and identification tags?”

Although he didn’t have them himself, memories from his previous life showed him what household registrations and tags looked like.

Qin Jian smiled proudly. “That’s right. When Wen Zhi came yesterday, I asked him how many people you had in total, so I had someone prepare household registrations and tags for all of you. You won’t blame your old brother, right?”

Zhao Mu shook his head quickly, grateful. “You’ve helped me so much, and yet I can do nothing for you. I’m truly ashamed.”

Looking over the registrations and tags, Zhao Mu saw that Qin Jian had not only made them for him but also for Huang Wan and Wang Wu’s entire family.

Moreover, the tags showed their household registrations as being within the county seat, not in the small Wang Village where they currently lived.

With these tags, Zhao Mu would be able to enter Tai Ping County openly and without trouble.

The most immediate benefit was that in the future, they could deliver fish directly into the county without Qin Jian having to send someone to receive them.

Qin Jian smiled warmly at Zhao Mu. “Still so formal? Since we’re brothers now, helping each other is only natural. If you keep being so polite, I’ll get mad.”

Zhao Mu hurried to say, “It’s me who’s wrong. I owe you an apology. Next time we meet, we’ll drink a few cups together. I promise we won’t leave until we’re drunk!”

Qin Jian was overjoyed. “Good! It’s settled then. Let me know in advance when that will be, and I’ll prepare the best banquet at Tianxiang Pavilion.”

Zhao Mu glanced back at the fish on the cart and advised, “Brother, I’ve already tied the fish up. When you get home, don’t rush to untie and release them into the water. In this weather, as long as you keep them tied, they’ll survive for over ten days, and the meat will be even fresher.”

Qin Jian was amazed. “There’s such a technique? You’ve truly impressed your old brother once again!”

Zhao Mu nodded humbly with a smile.

Though the fish-binding technique was remarkable, it was quite cruel to the fish.

But humans have committed many cruel acts; he couldn’t just stop eating fish and meat and become a vegetarian for the rest of his life.

After their conversation, Wang Wu and Wen Zhi completed the handover with the servant from Tianxiang Pavilion.

In truth, it was hardly a handover—just an exchange of carts.

During the talk, Zhao Mu noticed that Qin Jian’s servant gave a string of copper coins to a soldier guarding the city gate. The soldier weighed the coins with displeasure but ultimately said nothing, waving the servant off.

“Brother, while most of the refugees are still asleep, I’ll take my leave first!”

Zhao Mu clasped his fists toward Qin Jian and left the county with Wang Wu, Wen Zhi, and the newly recruited Feng Qin and Shi Min.

Once they were some distance away, Zhao Mu asked, “Brother Wen, I saw that the servant from Tianxiang Pavilion just gave that gate soldier some money?”

Wen Zhi nodded. “Yes, that was the customary bribe of one hundred wen. That bastard wasn’t satisfied and wanted more, but the Tianxiang Pavilion isn’t to be trifled with, so he gave up.”

Zhao Mu frowned. “One hundred wen? What kind of money is that?”

Wen Zhi explained, “Don’t worry, Brother Mu. That hundred wen is basically a gate tax. Technically, we should be the ones paying it, but if we came ourselves without help, that guy wouldn’t let us through without at least two hundred wen.”

Zhao Mu smiled wryly, finally understanding why Qin Jian had his servant pay the gate soldier.

In ancient times, commercial taxes were generally of three types: one was transit tax, similar to customs duties, paid mainly on trade with foreign tribes.

Another was internal customs, like the Ming dynasty’s paper currency customs, which were often schemes by eunuchs to extort money and not considered proper taxes.

The second type was gate tax, paid when merchants brought goods into the city, calculated as a percentage of the goods’ value.

What Qin Jian’s servant just paid was this gate tax.

Zhao Mu felt grateful—without Qin Jian, even if he caught fish, he wouldn’t be able to enter the city.

Being penniless, pushing a cart full of fish wouldn’t grant him access, let alone sell them all.

The third type of commercial tax was called sitting tax, nominally similar to gate tax but differing in amount.

For example, a small merchant bringing a hundred fish into town might fear not selling them all, so he’d pay tax on fifty fish and be allowed to sell only those fifty; the rest couldn’t be sold.

This practice was common in small counties, where consumer capacity was nowhere near that of larger cities.