The System Wanted Me to Be a Landlady (GL) - Chapter 18: Wine

Chapter 18: Wine

As mentioned before, the court’s taxation system was very strict, but this was only common in prosperous large towns. In remote counties and mountain villages, unless the government deliberately controlled it, people brewing and selling their own wine was widespread.

Because of this, to increase wine tax revenue, the government raised taxes for big merchants who bought the rights to sell wine.

In the late years of the former emperor’s reign, the wine taxes in the Jianghuai region were very heavy, and merchants were quite unhappy about it. After the current emperor took the throne and changed the era name to Mingqi in the second year, which was two years ago, he ordered that local governments stop increasing wine taxes and that military officials no longer manage wine tax affairs.

However, after the decree was issued, local governments did not enforce it strictly, and local wine tax offices still found various reasons to raise taxes.

Song Yuyan thought that wine taxes were part of these officials’ achievements, and it also helped them fill their own pockets. The court set a fixed wine tax amount and forbade random increases, so naturally, they were unwilling to comply.

But in April of this year, the emperor issued another order, commanding the Three Departments to count the wine taxes from all regions, take the middle value, and set it as the standard wine tax, requiring strict enforcement everywhere.

From the original owner’s memories, this time was different from two years ago. Back then, each region had its own standards, and local officials had ways to raise wine taxes as their local standard. Now, with a unified standard across the country, wine tax officials, no matter how unwilling, had to strictly follow it.

But “there are policies from above, and countermeasures from below.” With the wine tax fixed, they still found ways to increase it—they turned their attention to small businesses of people brewing and selling their own wine, which they had previously ignored.

Before, within twenty miles of the prefecture, people were allowed to brew and sell their own wine. Since they didn’t buy wine from wine shops or use government-issued yeast, the government didn’t know how much wine they brewed and didn’t collect taxes from them.

After the fixed wine tax decree came down, wine tax offices banned people from brewing and selling their own wine. Even in small villages, if someone brewed wine and was reported for selling it, the wine tax office could arrest them.

Many people were afraid of being punished, so they either stopped brewing wine or obediently paid the wine tax.

Meng Shuituan was reported by villagers for secretly selling wine, so the wine tax office arrested him and extorted him to pay back taxes for the wine he sold before.

The Meng family knew the wine tax office was deliberately making trouble, but to save Meng Shuituan’s life, they had to sell everything to gather the money to pay the tax office.

Meng Shuituan was finally released, but the Meng family’s days became harder and harder.

Many families were in the same situation as the Mengs, and with some natural disasters, life for the common people grew more difficult.

A year later, in the fifth year of Mingqi, some suffering and ambitious people in Mingzhou began causing trouble. They didn’t dare openly rebel, so they acted like bandits, specifically robbing passing merchant caravans and wealthy households.

As more people joined the troublemakers, Meng Shuituan, devastated by his parents’ deaths, joined them with resentment in his heart.

The original owner, who often hung out in the streets and knew many shady characters, saw some rogues join the troublemakers like Meng Shuituan, but she was too busy solving her own hunger problems to join.

Meng Shuituan found her and tried hard to persuade her, but she didn’t agree.

A year later, because the Mingzhou prefect couldn’t solve the civil unrest, it reached the court, so the court sent another prefect to handle it. After the new prefect arrived, he immediately tackled the civil unrest. His style was tough, and he acted swiftly, arresting or killing many troublemakers.

To serve as a warning, the new prefect harshly punished the troublemakers and also severely dealt with rogues who committed crimes.

Because the original owner was close to Meng Shuituan and those rogues, and neighbors reported her for theft, she was considered their “accomplice” and was executed.

…

The original owner always resented her death, so this memory was especially dark. Song Yuyan usually avoided recalling it.

Now, because of Meng Shuituan’s appearance, she revisited it, and her mood was quite complicated.

To be fair, Meng Shuituan was also a victim, but he chose the path of crime. The original owner was implicated, but her own wrongdoings gave the government a reason to arrest her, making her both hateful and pitiful.

Now it was already April, and the emperor was probably preparing the fixed wine tax policy. It would likely be set within half a month and reach Mingzhou by May at the latest, requiring the wine tax office to strictly enforce it.

Since Song Yuyan had transmigrated here, she couldn’t let things follow the same path as before. But with her current status and ability, what could she do?

Calming her thoughts, Song Yuyan smiled slightly: “Shuituan, how did you end up selling wine here?”

Tang Zhi frowned upon hearing this: This person knew Meng Shuituan. If she wasn’t Song Yuyan, why would she know Song Yuyan’s friend?

Neither Song Yuyan nor Meng Shuituan noticed Tang Zhi’s troubled expression. Song Yuyan was thinking about how to escape the death trap two years from now and find a way to prevent Meng Shuituan from following his old path, while Meng Shuituan was busy answering her.

He said: “There aren’t any weddings in the village, so the wine isn’t selling well there. I brought it here to sell. What have you been doing lately? You haven’t come back to the village to hang out with me.”

Song Yuyan gave a bitter smile: “Working. I’m so busy I can’t get away.”

Meng Shuituan didn’t ask why she needed so many bamboos, assuming she was working as a laborer. He scooped a small spoonful and handed it to her: “Hey, it’s rare to see you. Try the taste.”

Ordinary people’s homemade wine wasn’t great in flavor and was low in strength. One sheng cost only four wen, cheaper than the lowest-grade wine from proper shops. But the Meng family had a tradition of brewing wine for generations, and their technique had improved, so this wine was of medium quality, priced at about five wen.

Song Yuyan thought that instead of going to a proper shop, she might as well buy from Meng Shuituan. She took a sip and said: “The wine is rich and tastes the same as before. Fill me two jin of wine.”

Two jin was two sheng, which didn’t sound like much but could last a long time. Buying it as a gift for Tang Haogen wasn’t too impolite.

Meng Shuituan poured the wine and gave her the jar too: “This jar isn’t worth much. It’s yours!”

“How can I accept that?”

“Hey, it’s only been a few days, and you’re getting polite with me!”

Song Yuyan had to accept it, thinking: “How about this? When you’re free, come to my place, and we can catch up and chat!”

“Alright!” Meng Shuituan agreed readily.

…

Song Yuyan handed the wine jar to Tang Zhi: “Miss Tang, please pass this to Officer Tang. It’s a small thank-you gift, my little token of appreciation.”

Worried that Tang Zhi might think she was stingy, she added: “This wine isn’t from a big winery, but the taste isn’t bad. I don’t have much money now and can’t afford good wine. When I have more money, I’ll make up for it.”

Tang Zhi was still wondering why someone so poor would buy so much wine. So it was to thank her brother.

But she had already said there was no need to thank him. Song Yuyan was wasting money, so Tang Zhi snapped: “I told you he only helped because of that mat and didn’t want to owe you. I won’t pass this wine on. Take it back!”

“The person who sold me the wine is my friend. Asking me to return it is like making him lose face. Miss Tang, aren’t you making things hard for me?”

Tang Zhi’s cheeks puffed up in anger. Song Yuyan almost couldn’t hold back her laughter. She suppressed it and called out: “Hey, Miss Tang, I’m carrying such heavy bamboo, and my hands are sore. If I shake and drop the wine jar, what then? Quick, take the jar!”

Seeing Song Yuyan struggling under the weight, Tang Zhi was afraid she’d drop the jar, so she hurriedly took it.

With the jar in hand, Song Yuyan looked relieved, and Tang Zhi helplessly accepted the thank-you gift.