The tax collection in the afternoon went on as usual, but this time the Ion tax officer pretended to follow the procedures of the tax code and removed all the taxes for which he could not provide the corresponding documents.
At least this time the villagers of Laxius Village have to pay a lot less tax than in previous years, but they won't be so lucky next time - after all, you know with your knees that Tax Officer Ion will definitely pay taxes.
Complete the necessary paperwork so as not to affect your money-making plans.
The villagers were unable to provide sufficient copper coins because they basically had no need for currency in their daily lives, so they paid taxes in the form of in-kind taxes.
Brutus knew very well that this process could be rewritten. Although he didn't know what Tax Collector Ion did, based on his guess, he probably calculated the price of items based on the official lowest price, and then sold them at the market price.
go out.
But he just watched all this silently. He had already made a mistake once, and if he did it again, he might die inexplicably in bed tonight.
Brutus did not want to die within a few days of arriving in a new world.
The entire tax collection process will last for two or three hours. Brutus just looked at it for a while and then said goodbye to Tax Collector Ion. After all, he did not need to pay taxes this time. As for what Tax Collector Ion said before, he said goodbye.
Opinion, at this time it is obvious that neither of them will take it seriously.
When he got home, he found the children waiting for him under the shade of the trees beside the dirt road at the door.
"How long have you been waiting?" Brutus asked Marcus.
"We have just arrived, Mr. Brutus."
Brutus didn't understand what the children were doing: "If I didn't come back early, wouldn't you have to wait all afternoon?"
"Actually, we just want to wait and see. After all, we all think that you are not the kind of person who likes to waste time on such boring things." Marcos explained the reason to him.
Brutus nodded, then looked up at the weather. The sun was already very dazzling.
"Let's go to the shade of the trees by the river. It should be cooler there."
He and the children were walking on the dirt road in the village, and Brutus motioned to Marcus to follow him at the end of the group.
"What's the matter, Mr. Brutus?" Marcus knew that Brutus wanted to say something to him, so he lowered his voice.
Brutus seemed a little hesitant. If he wanted to say who he trusted the most in the village, it was naturally Marcus who he spent the most time with.
But in the end, he thought that he should not bring this child into the trouble he caused, and shook his head: "Nothing, let's follow them."
Today, he did not continue to teach the children written vocabulary, but instead taught them mathematics. There are numbers and operational symbols in Loma text, but he still felt that Arabic numerals were simpler, so he also taught Arabic numerals to the children.
"It is best to use Loma numerals in formal occasions." He told the children, "Of course, use them as simple as possible for daily use."
As for pronunciation, he chose to use Chinese pronunciation. From a personal understanding, Brutus believed that it was easier to memorize the multiplication table, and it also allowed Pinyin to be included.
And the children sitting around him naturally had to wear masks of pain...
"Mr. Brutus, is it really useful for us to learn this?" At the end of the class, Marvin raised his hand and asked Brutus this question.
"Of course it is." Brutus explained to the children. He looked at Marvin. "For carpentry, mathematics is quite useful."
"For example, to measure height, when you don't have a measuring tool long enough, you can use -" Brutus suddenly realized that there seemed to be no concept of functions in Loma's text, "well, use a triangle to calculate."
He pointed to a tree and showed the children how to calculate, and then the lesson for the day was over.
When Brutus returned home again, he took out the dagger from his backpack, then took the dagger out of the scabbard and looked at the pattern on the dagger carefully.
"I hope it won't come in handy tonight." Brutus put the dagger back into its sheath, hung it on his belt, and covered it with the hem of his coat. He planned to keep his dagger inseparable from now on.
Time passed unconsciously, and the village of Laxius in the middle of the night was as usual. There was no sound in the village except for the chirping of insects from time to time.
The room was dim, Brutus was sitting behind the square table in the living room, facing the door. There was a cup of mint tea on the table, and he picked up the wooden cup and took a sip from time to time.
Suddenly, he seemed to hear the door lock being pried slightly, and then the door was gently pushed open a small crack.
"Good evening. There happens to be no moon tonight."
Brutus's voice startled those who came in, but he had no intention of running away or rushing over. Instead, he stood motionless by the door, seeming to be staring at the source of the sound.
"Mr. Brutus, I have to say that you are very alert." It was Mills's voice.
"After all, I am doing something stupid today." Brutus smiled, but Mills could not see his smile in the darkness.
"I don't carry any weapons. I think Mr. Brutus can release the weapon he is holding. It should be a dagger, right?"
"We can't be sure now, can we?"
"That's right. Can you wait a moment?" Mills struck a match and lit the oil lamp at the door.
Now Brutus could see clearly. Mills looked unarmed, at least not in his hands.
But he had no intention of letting Mills get closer: "I think Mr. Mills wouldn't mind standing at the door for a while."
Mills smiled and said, "Of course."
"Mr. Mills came to my place in the middle of the night. He couldn't possibly have come to talk to me all night, right?" Brutus lit the oil lamp on the table, and now the room was much brighter.
"If Mr. Brutus doesn't mind, that's not impossible. But my visit tonight is mainly on the order of the tax collector."
"Check if I have any contraband?" Brutus raised his eyebrows, "Actually, if it is a normal inspection, I will cooperate well."
"Mr. Brutus, I think we don't have to go around in circles anymore." Mills appeared to be very patient, and he said unhurriedly, "Then just think of me as doing a normal inspection."
Brutus looked at Mills with a smile on his face: "Then let's follow the procedure."
Mills glanced at the door behind him and decided not to close it, "Sorry for bothering you."
"Come in." Brutus stood up and followed Mills to check the items in the room.
"I don't think there is a problem." After checking it, Mills explained his opinion to Brutus. "As for those two books, your reasons are also very reasonable. I will verify it with the village chief Lorenzo later.
"
"Then I won't give it away." Brutus made his right hand into a palm, put it on his forehead, and then waved forward to say goodbye to Mills.
Mills gave Brutus a meaningful look, picked up the oil lamp placed outside the house and walked away.