Chapter 145

After the Village Chief informed the bailiffs in advance that they would be coming down to the village to collect taxes, every household began preparing their silver and grain. The land tax had to be paid in grain, so the rice must be made ready, while the poll tax was simpler and could be paid directly in silver. While the villagers were still busy with their preparations, the bailiffs had already walked down the official road to the entrance of Baiyun Village. "Boss, you always say we get sent to collect taxes in these godforsaken places. The weather is so hot, walking makes us sweat all over, and it's going to be even hotter once we start collecting. This village is poor, so there's no fat to skim off at all. What bad luck." A bailiff wearing a dark green robe complained to the lead bailiff. No matter how imposing they looked on the surface, down at the yamen they were just errand boys who did all the dirty and exhausting work, while the good assignments never came their way. Collecting taxes might look impressive, but in these dirt-poor rural villages, there was simply no extra money to be made.