nashuaworldcup Chapter 31 Playing a Big Game
Chapter 31 Playing a Big Game
Chapter 31 Playing a Big Game
"There's no lottery draw?"
Upon hearing Wang Wenzhou's words, Yang Shan was utterly baffled as to what Wang the Fool was up to. Today's prize money was enough for ten taels of silver; no additional money was needed. So why wasn't the draw being held? Was this Wang the Fool really mentally unstable? Couldn't he even understand something this simple?
"Brother Yang? What do we do next?" Ma Deyun tugged at Yang Shan and asked in a low voice.
Yang Shan frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Let's wait and see."
Yang Shan really couldn't understand Wang Wenzhou's thinking and didn't want to fall into the trap again and help Wang Wenzhou carry the sedan chair.
The onlookers immediately erupted in uproar. They had just bought so many tax receipts, and the prize was thirty-one taels of silver. Everyone who had a tax receipt believed the grand prize was theirs. Wang Wenzhou's refusal to draw the winners was tantamount to robbing them of their money—this was unacceptable!
"Lord Wang! You can't go back on your word!"
"The prize can't be left unclaimed!"
"You corrupt official Wang Wenzhou! You just want to pocket the prize all by yourself!" someone shouted.
This enraged the crowd.
"Corrupt official Wang Wenzhou!"
"A corrupt official with no morals or integrity!"
"Wang Wenzhou was insatiable and resorted to all sorts of tricks and coercion..."
Cheng Benqing couldn't stand it anymore. He had initially thought Wang Wenzhou was acting in the people's best interests, spending a fortune to win their loyalty. He had been appointed tax director by Wang Wenzhou, and he had worked diligently every day, refusing any payment. But then, Wang Wenzhou suddenly changed his mind and stopped issuing lottery tickets.
Cheng Benqing immediately flew into a rage, pointing at Wang Wenzhou and cursing, "You corrupt official, Wang Wenzhou! Integrity is the foundation of a person's character. How can you deceive the people? As the sage said: 'One's words must be trustworthy, and one's actions must be resolute...'"
Wang Wenzhou quickly bowed and apologized: "Mr. Cheng, please wait a moment, I haven't finished speaking yet."
"Fellow elders of Hanshan!" Wang Wenzhou cupped his hands and said loudly, "I haven't finished speaking! Because I didn't consider things carefully when I formulated the city entry tax policy, leaving too many loopholes, I have decided that starting tomorrow, the city entry tax will be temporarily suspended."
The people saw so many people paying large sums of tax at once. They don't care about the lottery results today, but they do care about whether or not tax receipts are collected. Initially, most people opposed the collection of city taxes. Who wants to hand over money? But since someone started collecting tax receipts, it's like giving them free money. How can such a good thing stop!
"My lord! As a resident of Hanshan County, I feel that the city entry tax should not be stopped! Hanshan does not yet have nursing homes, charitable institutions, or public cemeteries. For these beneficial measures, I even brought my family to pay the tax today. How can you stop such a beneficial and patriotic act as the city entry tax for such a trivial matter!"
The man who spoke was named Pan Lin, a poor scholar who had just heard that tax stamps could be sold for money. So he and his wife went into the city more than ten times. They earned over twenty coins a day, and he thought they could make a living this way. Who would have thought that this somewhat mentally unstable Lord Wang would suddenly realize his mistake and want to stop collecting taxes? Pan Lin was wicked; he thought, "Now that you've flattered me, how dare you stop collecting taxes?"
"Pfft!" Yang Shan chuckled upon hearing this. He cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Brother Pan is absolutely right! Lord Wang! The city tax benefits the country and its people! Today, under the leadership of Brother Ma Deyun, so many people have eagerly paid their taxes to support your good deed! How can you just stop it like that? Wouldn't that chill the hearts of the people?"
"Wang Qingtian, you must think of the people; the city entrance tax still needs to be collected!"
"The old man also wants to bring his grandson tomorrow so that he can learn to pay taxes from a young age. He wants him to grow up to be a kind-hearted child who likes to pay taxes."
The people praised Wang Wenzhou highly.
"Rest assured, everyone, I have no intention of stopping the collection of the city entry tax; it is merely a temporary suspension for a few days. After the rules are revised in a few days, the tax will be collected again," Wang Wenzhou said.
Old Cheng cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and advised, "Sir, the city entrance tax has just been levied, and there are bound to be some oversights. But since the money has already been collected today, in my opinion, let's proceed with the prize draw."
"The prize is drawn!"
"The prize is drawn!"
The people shouted loudly, "Winner announced!"
Wang Wenzhou waved his hand and said loudly, "Gentlemen! Everything must be fair! I know that some people pay the city entry tax simply to do their bit for Hanshan. Of course, some people pay the tax hoping to win the grand prize. Am I right?"
"Ha ha……"
The crowd burst into laughter. To be honest, most of the people collecting tax receipts were hoping for the grand prize.
“Today’s events are all my fault. I didn’t think things through and caused those honest taxpayers to suffer losses. So this prize cannot be awarded! However, I am willing to buy all the tax stamps sold at a price of five coins each,” Wang Wenzhou said.
"It was my fault! I apologize to everyone!" After saying this, Wang Wenzhou bowed deeply.
"What!" Yang Shan was dumbfounded. Was Wang Wenzhou really faking his stupidity? He simply couldn't understand what Wang Wenzhou was up to. Today's tax receipts totaled sixty-two taels of silver. Wang Feng was buying them at five copper coins each, which would cost over three hundred taels of silver in total. But Yang Shan had to pay for it all himself.
"Lord Wang, you are devoted to the people, a true righteous official!"
"Wang Qingtian!"
"Lord Wang is truly our second father!"
The people who were just shouting "corrupt official" suddenly changed their tune, calling him "Wang Qingtian" (a righteous official).
Ma Deyun tugged at Yang Shan's sleeve and said with a laugh, "Brother Yang, I see it now. This Wang idiot is clearly buying his way into officialdom."
Yang Shan nodded and said with a wry smile, "It's all my fault. I overthought things. I shouldn't have stopped them from buying tax invoices."
"Haha!" Sun Feng laughed loudly, "Brother Yang, we're not short of money. After today's incident, I've finally figured out what kind of person this Wang Shazi really is. Since he's so determined to use money to win people over, we can think of a good way to make some money off him."
"Brother Sun is absolutely right!" Lin Qing nodded.
……
On the way back, Wang Qiang asked, "Young Master, your nasal constriction is cured. You didn't take any random medication today, did you?"
"Xiao Qiang, who are you cursing?" Wang Wenzhou said with a laugh.
Wang Qiang nodded. "You know how to scold me, so you're not stupid. Then why do you insist on doing something stupid?"
"Young master, why are you charging five coins for tax receipts today?" Wang Qiang asked.
"Haha! That's right. If you can figure that out, no one will be fooled." Wang Wenzhou laughed loudly.
"Did I fall for it?" Wang Qiang felt his brain was starting to malfunction.
“We’re swindlers…” Wang Wenzhou blurted out, then quickly corrected himself, “We officials formulate policies with long-term plans. To put it simply, your young master is playing a very big game. The common people are the pieces on this game, lost in the mountains, unaware of where they are going.”
"Young Master, can't you speak like a human being? And you're talking about playing a big game? You spent over three hundred taels of silver on tax receipts for only five copper coins! If it were a lottery, you wouldn't have to spend a single copper coin." Wang Qiang still didn't understand.
“We swindlers… oh! no, we officials, if we want to gain the trust of the people, we must first let them see that we keep our word. We are fools who only suffer losses and never gain advantages, oh no! Upright officials. The reason we pay five coins is because your young master, I, this upright official, give the tax stamp its value. In other words, a tax stamp bought for one coin is actually worth five coins. This way, the people entering the city, whether they want to pay taxes or not, will happily pay them. Because they've gotten a good deal,” Wang Wenzhou explained.
“But you can’t collect tax receipts for five coins every day.” Wang Qiang understood somewhat.
"Are you stupid? The pit has been dug, and people who like to take advantage will naturally jump in," Wang Wenzhou said with a laugh.
"Pfft!" Wang Qiang laughed loudly, "Young Master, you're setting a trap for others without benefiting yourself. Someone may fall into the pit you dug, but you won't gain anything either."
"Pah! Your young master is clever enough to take advantage of the situation. In a few years, you'll see how your young master, Wang Qingtian, transforms a small county with a population of just over ten thousand into a metropolis like Nanjing with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants." Wang Wenzhou revealed his ambition.