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Chapter 110.2: Impartial Rex

If monthly or one-time income exceeded 3,000 coppers, the tax rate was raised to 12%.

If monthly or one-time income exceeded 10,000 coppers, the tax rate was 14%.

The four young entrepreneurs made a tidy sum of over 10,000. They fell squarely into the second tax bracket, requiring them to pay 12% of the profit. Without any hesitation, Rex took away 2,143 copper coins

Seeing the faces of the four youngsters and their relatives paled as if undergoing immense pain, Rex half-jokingly remarked, "Are you regretting bringing all your income here? Had you known, wouldn\'t it have been better to hide some away?"

"N-no." Caroline forced a smile.

Rex chuckled lightly. "The goods were taken from here, and how much it can be sold for outside can be easily calculated to do the math. If the accounts are too discrepant, the clerks from the town hall will seek you to settle the sum."

The four young men suddenly straightened up. They had to be absolutely honest; after all, who among them could better Mr. Rex in arithmetic?

"With the taxes paid, this money is now your legitimate income. You figure out how to distribute it among yourselves." After giving them a bit of a scare, Rex continued, "I believe you\'ve realized that doing business involves risks, and money isn\'t that easy to earn. Don\'t recklessly squander the money you\'ve worked so hard to earn. Make sure to always leave some capital, and in the future, there won\'t be such a good deal of receiving goods before making payment."

"Got it." The four youngsters nodded obediently.

"Go home and rest." Rex waved them off. "Take a few days to seriously consider what to do in the future. Shirley, get them some bags to carry the money."

A group of people walked out of the town hall carrying bags filled with coins. The cool evening breeze blew against their faces. The people, who had just felt heartbroken about losing over 2,000 coppers to taxes, once more had joy splayed across their faces.

"Mr. Rex is such a good person. He actually extended credit for us to purchase the fabric and allowed us to earn so much." The youngest, Benjamin, couldn\'t contain his excitement.

"There won\'t be a next time. If we want to do this business, we\'ll have to fork out our own capital," Caroline said.

"Say, how about we don\'t split the money and continue doing business together? How\'s that?" Allen suggested.

The reactions of their family members were varied. Some agreed, while others felt uneasy that their own children hadn\'t received a share of the money. However, no one spoke up to interfere with the decision of the four young people.

These reactions weren\'t surprising. When the younger generation demonstrated abilities far surpassing their elders, especially in terms of making money, the elders would just be in awe of the younger generation.

These four youngsters hadn\'t only just dared to do business with Lord Rex on credit but also actually succeeded, earning money that their elders wouldn\'t make in a decade. Even if these family members and elders had contributed during the process, they wouldn\'t make any adjustments to the relationship and placed themselves in a subservient role.

This was quite a common phenomenon, especially in the lower classes.

The idea of a son or daughter who made a fortune but was still manipulated by their elders either existed only in novels or was due to the fact that the children who made a fortune didn\'t actually possess much talent, relying solely on luck. People who excelled in a particular field, turning their abilities into money, would never be weak enough to unquestionably follow backward-thinking elders.

Benjamin nearly let slip the business strategy they had devised when his father stopped him. The way his father intervened, just pulling his clothes instead of loudly scolding in front of others, was enough evidence of the reversal of the dominant relationship between father and son.

"The money still has to be divided," said Simon after contemplating. "Let\'s pay out the money to our relatives for their hard work, then divide the money. After that, we can discuss a capital everyone can accept, contribute the same amount, and continue this business."

"Alright, I support that," Caroline immediately agreed. "Next time, I suggest we not go to the villages we\'ve visited before. Those people have already bought fabric, and even if we go again, they won\'t be able to make that much. We should go somewhere else to sell fabric."

"I feel the same way." Benjamin nodded. "We went to the villages south of Indahl this time. Next time, let\'s take a longer route and go north, shall we?"

Allen\'s eyes lit up. "Great. I know someone in a village north of Indahl. He\'s currently working odd jobs in a small tavern in the warehouse district of Indahl. We can have Bosha help deliver a letter to him, hire him for three days, and have him guide us when we go to the northern villages."

"Is this person reliable?" Caroline asked.

"Not really, but he isn\'t very smart or rather, he\'s dumb. It will be alright as long as we don\'t let him know our objective."

The twenty-something people walked along Weisshem\'s main street, hurrying toward the northern residential area under the dim lights of some households. Along the way, only the voices of the four youngsters could be heard; their family and relatives followed quietly behind.

Allen\'s house was the most spacious, so they decided to go there first to split the money.

Along the way, an undead noticed the group and silently approached, escorting them for a bit until they entered Allen\'s house before it left.

Caroline looked back at the silently departing undead and said somewhat regrettably, "If only we could have the undead accompany us to sell fabric. With them around, who knows how much trouble can be avoided."

"You are dreaming too big, Caroline!" Benjamin mocked.

In the distance, Ou Huang walked away, silently contemplating with arms crossed.

Why do the NPCs of Weisshem not trigger any hidden quests no matter what I do?

Late at night, Caroline returned home under the protection of an uncle, two cousins, and an aunt. As soon as she entered the courtyard, Mrs. Winnie, who had been waiting eagerly inside, rushed out and embraced her daughter tightly.

Welcoming the relatives into the house, Caroline\'s second aunt, comparing her own children, sighed and said to Winnie, "Winnie, Caroline has really grown up and is so capable. She\'s the most capable among all our family. Even her uncles and cousins are not as competent as she is."

Caroline\'s uncle and two cousins nodded happily, fully agreeing with the aunt\'s praise for Caroline.

Caroline\'s uncle said proudly, "Winnie, you didn\'t see it with your own eyes. Caroline even dared to speak face-to-face with Mr. Rex. No wonder these youngsters dared to get the fabric on credit from Mr. Rex. Caroline is truly remarkable."

"Stop saying that. She hasn\'t even gotten married yet; she\'s still a child," Mrs. Winnie, covering her chest, said. "I haven\'t had a moment of peace since yesterday. These kids really make us worry Caroline, you have to stay away from Simon and the others in the future. If you keep hanging out with them, how will you ever get married?"

Caroline didn\'t argue with her mother; instead, she placed the bag she was carrying on the table, opened it, and let her mother see the copper coins inside.

Winnie\'s nagging came to an abrupt stop.

After a moment of silence, a trembling Mrs. Winnie reached out to touch the coins in the bag.

"H-how can there be so much money?" Mrs. Winnie, who had been a housewife all her life, was shocked and looked at her daughter in fright.

"I earned this, Mom. Did you think I picked this up?" Caroline declared proudly. "We sold fabric to many villages south of Indahl and even made a deal with the estate servants. We\'ve settled Mr. Rex\'s payment, paid the taxes, and distributed wages to Auntie and the rest. This money is all mine!"

Mrs. Winnie couldn\'t help but cast an inquiring look at her own brother, Caroline\'s uncle.

Caroline\'s uncle nodded, smiling broadly. "It\'s true, Winnie. The fabric was sold rather smoothly, and each of us got 200 copper coins200!" As he spoke, he even opened his jacket, revealing the weighty inner pocket to Winnie.

Mrs. Winnie covered her mouth with her hand.

Just running about for two days and netting 200 copper coins was indeed a generous reward, equivalent to what others might earn in a week, assuming they could find work.

"Uncle, Aunt, I\'m sorry we can only give you this much for now because the money we\'ve received needs to be used as capital," Caroline tightened the bag and apologized. "Mr. Rex won\'t extend credit to us for fabric anymore. Next time, we\'ll have to pay for the goods ourselves. We need more fabric to make a profit."

Her uncle quickly said, "I know, Caroline, we all know. We\'re already satisfied with getting so much. How could we complain about it being too little?"

"That\'s right. Who are we to be picky? It\'s the fabric you got from Mr. Rex on credit, and it\'s you who found a way to avoid danger and safely sell all that fabric. Without you, we wouldn\'t have had the chance to encounter such good fortune," Caroline\'s aunt earnestly expressed. "If your uncle comes back next time, let him go with you. He\'ll be better than me."

Mrs. Winnie noticed that her brother and sister-in-law both showed considerable respect for her daughter, both in attitude and expression, and she couldn\'t believe it, covering her mouth with her hand once more.

Gazing at her daughter again, Mrs. Winnie suddenly realized that her daughter was indeed different from before She was so confident, calm, determined, and even the dirt all over her body couldn\'t hide her radiance.

Mrs. Winnie took two steps forward and hugged her daughter tightly once again.

Her little angel had unknowingly grown so big.

Simon\'s family was the poorest among the four friends. His father hadn\'t been able to afford bricks and wood when renovating the house. The courtyard walls and the expanded bungalows were all made by asking rural relatives for help, and even the roof was made of bamboo and thatch.

When Simon returned with a bag of money, the whole family welcomed him in the yard like a hero.

After celebrating with tears and laughter for a while and sending away the relatives who had helped, Simon\'s mother, after closing the door, asked with concern, "After you left, I heard people on the street saying that there are often robberies on the paths to villages far away, and I was really worried Did you have a smooth journey?"

Simon smiled and replied honestly, "We did encounter some trouble, Mom, but don\'t worry. We\'ve worked in Indahl for many years and heard about such things a lot. Of course, we won\'t go unprepared."

"We didn\'t sell all the goods directly in the village. If we did, it would be strange if the people in the village didn\'t gather and rob us. We always hide the cart and fabric outside, choose a few people to enter the village, find those families with old people and children, and privately ask them if they want to buy cheap and good fabric. The quantity isn\'t much, and if they want to buy, they have to act quickly, or else we\'ll have to ask the next family"