sinovels Chapter 19: Gaoche Town
Chapter 19: Gaoche Town
three days later.
Cao Xing and Bi Xia left the forest and walked west along the main road, soon arriving at the gate of a town.
Gaoche Town
Upon reaching the city gate, Cao Xing fixed his gaze on something.
There was a notice posted at the city gate.
[Demons are lurking in the vicinity. Passing caravans are advised to purchase amulets for protection. Failure to do so will result in consequences, and the government will not provide assistance.]
[Upon entering the city, please pay the safety tax as soon as possible. The sooner you do it, the sooner you will be safe. We will not be responsible for any consequences if you are found to have failed to pay the safety tax.]
Cao Xing pursed his lips, turned to look at Bixia and smiled, "Are you hungry? I'll take you to eat something delicious."
"it is good."
Bixia responded in a muffled voice. She was wrapped up tightly from head to toe, and although the passersby in the city found it strange, no one paid any attention.
Although Gaoche Town is a border town of Wuji Kingdom, it is located on a major transportation route, and its commerce is very developed. The streets are bustling with people, and the sounds of vendors hawking their wares are endless.
As the caravan's wagons passed by, the dust kicked up by their wheels made the streets appear hazy and gray.
Besides the dust, there was also horse manure of all sizes on the ground, which was impossible to avoid.
This was Cao Xing's first time in this town, and even though it was small, everything he saw and heard was new and exciting.
But as he listened, Cao Xing's expression became strange.
"Peace talismans! These peace talismans were personally blessed by Master Shangfang. Buy one to protect your whole family. Today is the birthday of Shangqing, so peace talismans are on sale at 50% off!"
It's normal for people to sell amulets for good luck.
But if you keep listening, it starts to lose its flavor.
A vendor selling flatbread walked by, chanting: "Peaceful flatbread, the peaceful flatbread blessed by the master above with talismans. Eat one for longevity, eat two for good fortune and health, eat three for immortality."
"Peace Noodles! Peace Noodles blessed by the Master of the Upper Realm with talismans! One bowl keeps evil spirits away, two bowls cure all diseases, and three bowls in a row—even the gods in heaven would envy you."
"Peace Cake, rising higher with each step! Forged in the furnace by a master! One bite invigorates you, two bites banish all calamities, three bites and you'll roam freely in the heavens."
Cao Xing looked closely and saw that every household on the street, from restaurants and eateries to street vendors, had the words "Peace and Safety" hanging at their door.
Peace Hotel, Peace Inn, Peace Teahouse...
"younger brother!"
At this moment, Bixia tugged at Cao Xing from behind, pressing her body closer to his back: "This place is strange, and the people here are strange too."
Cao Xing nodded, sensing Bixia's unease, and patted her arm, saying, "Don't worry, I'm here, everything will be alright."
"Boss, two pancakes."
Cao Xing walked up to the stall, took out two copper coins, and handed them over.
The shopkeeper glanced at Cao Xing, frowned, and corrected him, "Peace cake."
After saying that, he handed over two sesame seed cakes with the words "peace" written on them.
Cao Xing took it without a second thought and asked with a smile, "Boss, we're from out of town. Why is everything in this town called 'Peace'?"
Upon hearing Cao Xing's question, the boss's expression softened somewhat. He looked around and was about to remind Cao Xing and his companion when...
"Bang!!"
Suddenly, a loud crash was heard on the street. The railing on the second floor of the restaurant was broken, and a thin man fell headfirst from it.
The two-story building wasn't tall, but the man who fell was lying on the ground unable to get up, only able to let out weak groans.
At this moment, a few people came out from behind the railing and casually threw down a musical instrument that looked like a huqin.
He cursed under his breath, "What kind of lousy song is this? How dare you ruin our enjoyment?"
"Where did this beggar come from? Does your restaurant want to close down?"
Several people cursed and pointed at the shopkeeper downstairs, spitting insults.
The shopkeeper was so scolded that he didn't dare to raise his head.
She could only direct her anger at the man at the door, kicking him twice, which made the man whimper in pain.
Seeing the shopkeeper kicking and beating the man, everyone gathered around to watch the spectacle.
Just then, a group of constables quickly walked over from the back of the crowd.
These officials wore brown official robes, with a short knife at their waist and a round hat on their heads. There was a cloth on the back of their clothes with the words "Peace" written on it.
"Make way, make way!"
The constables pushed through the crowd, glanced at the man lying on the ground, and the leader glared at the shopkeeper, shouting, "How dare you!! You dare to commit violence in the street!"
The shopkeeper's expression changed slightly, and he quickly stepped forward to explain, "Sir, this has nothing to do with me. He fell down on his own."
"fart!"
The lead constable slapped the shopkeeper across the face: "People don't just fall off for no reason. Do you think I'm stupid?"
After saying that, he looked up at the people standing behind the railing and said, "Arrest them. They're definitely involved in this."
Then the officer glared fiercely at the shopkeeper: "Even if he fell down on his own, this place certainly isn't maintained regularly, so you also bear responsibility for inadequate supervision."
Having said that, ignoring the shopkeeper's grim expression, he personally walked over to the man on the ground, helped him up, and kindly brushed the dust off his clothes, asking with concern, "Brother, are you alright?"
Cao Xing witnessed this scene from afar and was greatly shocked: "Holy crap, are the people in this world really this simple and honest?"
When he was studying Journey to the West, he found that there weren't many descriptions of ordinary people in the original text.
Most of them are people like Sun Wukong who successfully exorcised demons, then bow down in worship, offering food and drink; to call them simple and honest... well, not really.
In the original story, the muddle-headed magistrate of the Kingdom of Tianzhu was already considered a rare good official.
Could it be... that guy is lying to me? Is the official here a truly incorruptible one?
Just as Cao Xing hesitated, the officer grabbed the man's hand and said, "Brother, don't worry. No matter who it is, anyone who dares to commit violence in broad daylight will be arrested and severely punished."
After saying that, he changed the subject and smiled at the man, saying, "Take out the peace deed so I can see it. That way, I can calculate the compensation for you based on the tax on your peace deed."
"A peace contract?"
The man was taken aback, looking around blankly, and opened his mouth: "I...I...I just arrived, I don't know what a peace contract is, sir..."
The man turned to look at the official in front of him, only to find that the official, who had been so eager to greet him, now had a cold smile on his face.
Before he could figure out why, the official who had just helped him up kicked him to the ground and cursed, "Damn it, he's a tax evader! He hasn't even paid the tax, yet he dares to cause trouble here. Arrest him!"
Several officers rushed forward from behind, grabbing the man on the left and twisting him around on the right, lifting him up.
"Sir, I'm innocent! They're the ones who knocked me down. I didn't cause any trouble, sir!" The man looked at the officer with a terrified expression, not understanding why the officer had two faces. He hurriedly begged for mercy, "Sir, I won't accuse you anymore, I won't accuse you anymore, please let me go."
"Not going to sue?"
The officer sneered and pointed to the broken railing: "You broke down their wall, how do you plan to settle that? How do you plan to settle that for disrupting their business? And what about the damage to our boots, the running errands, and the chain fees? You're not going to complain about that, how do you plan to settle that?"
"I..." The man's eyes widened, and he didn't know what to do for a moment.
"Ha, I knew you couldn't come up with that much money." The head constable sneered. "Send him to do corvée labor until he pays off all the debts."
The two constables then quickly led the man away.
Seeing this, the shopkeeper stepped forward and said, "Sir, I've heard that corvée labor is very hard, and many people can't endure it. Oh, I mean, can he earn enough for the compensation?"
"What's there to be afraid of? With the Immortal Master of the Upper Realm overseeing things, even if we die, we'll still have to pay our debts."
After speaking, the officer squinted at the shopkeeper and asked, "You want to find out more?"
"No, no, no, you've worked hard, sir."
The shopkeeper quickly waved his hand and discreetly slipped a handful of copper coins into the official's pocket, which finally brought a smile to the official's face.
"Stop looking! You haven't paid your safety tax yet, have you? Go pay it now, or else..."
The old man selling peace cakes saw Cao Xing and his companion still standing there watching and couldn't help but remind them, pointing with his finger to the departing officials.
"Boss, how do I pay this safety tax? If I pay the safety tax, will I stop being treated like this?"
"It depends on what level you pay. Poor people pay the lowest level, and rich people pay the highest level. Whoever pays the highest safety tax will have the money deducted from their safety tax if they break the law. The higher the safety tax, the safer you are. If you didn't pay the safety tax, that's what happened to you."
Oh, isn't this just car insurance?
Cao Xing watched this scene from a distance and suddenly realized why there was a notice at the city gate requiring the payment of a "peace tax."
That makes sense, but this... doesn't seem like Journey to the West, does it?