Liu Lin instinctively felt that something was wrong with Jiang Zhou.

The Jiang Zhou he had seen before had wandering eyes and a strong desire for money. Although he seemed somewhat intelligent, he was more often cunning, childish, and easily deceived, taken for granted.

The Jiang Zhou in front of him was different.

His eyes were clear and firm, and he displayed significant restraint.

If it were the previous Jiang Zhou, he would probably have reacted strongly to provocation.

Originally, Liu Lin had planned to provoke Jiang Zhou, urging him to take action that would provide a pretext for imprisonment. After entering prison, would Jiang Zhou still resist compromise?

However, Jiang Zhou remained unresponsive.

Liu Lin rolled his eyes, deciding to stay put for now—wooden people could be manipulated sooner or later, couldn’t they? As for Jiang Zhou, he would need to find a way to handle him.

Being a flexible person, as evidenced by his ability to please his brother-in-law, Liu Lin glanced at Jiang Zhou and fell silent. He only remarked to Li Han and Lu Yi, “It take you a long time to accomplish anything. What’s the use of these two losers!”

He flicked his sleeves and left, leaving Li Han and Lu Yi exchanging glances, looking bewildered, then departing in despair.

Jiang Zhou remained silent. Encountering Liu Lin was unexpected, and any conflict now would put him at a disadvantage. He opted for a more passive approach, lying low and contemplating how to handle the situation.

After leaving woodshop, he made his way to Fengtai Tea House.

.

Lu Dexing, still basking in the sun, quickly stood up upon seeing Jiang Zhou: “You’re here.”

Jiang Zhou smiled and entered with him.

Observing the tea house, even during the Chinese New Year, there were people outside and a lively atmosphere inside—busier than when Jiang Zhou first arrived.

Lu Dexing brought him a cup of hot tea and two plates of exquisite snacks: “Try my newly made snacks?”

Watching Jiang Zhou take a bite, Lu Dexing spoke with joy in his tone: “Originally, I was a dead horse being treated as a living doctor. I thought my tea house was done for. Thanks to the ideas you provided, I may not be making a fortune, but at least I’m not losing money as before.”

Jiang Zhou smiled, saying nothing.

Lu Dexing sighed again: “Honestly, without our ancestors’ foundation, I couldn’t keep this tea house running. I sometimes think about it; even a small stall could make more money. I don’t know how much longer my tea house can stay open.”

His tone was melancholic. Jiang Zhou, unable to answer, shifted the conversation: “Lu Dalang told me, many things are happening in the government office.”

Lu Dexing looked confused and asked, “What’s going on?”

Jiang Zhou was surprised, responding, “they say they have to collect business tax, whether it’s stall owners or people like you, who open tea houses like this. Even people like Lu Dalang, who raise livestock in the whole village, have to pay taxes. Our area has been notified.”

Unexpectedly, Lu Dexing was even more confused, questioning, “who said this? Our town didn’t receive any news?”

Jiang Zhou’s expression became solemn as he inquired, “Really?”

Lu Dexing nodded, stating, “If there’s any news from the government office, we’d definitely be the first to know, especially regarding tax collection. To be honest, I have a few friends who have ways to find out this kind of news in advance. Anyway, they haven’t received this kind of news recently.”

Surprised by the news, Jiang Zhou lowered his head, thought for a while, and suddenly had a guess, “Do you think it’s possible? Is there someone spreading false news, and the government office doesn’t know about it?”

Lu Dexing frowned, “But that’s very risky, isn’t it? What if you collect taxes behind the government’s back, and then they find out? It could be trouble.”

Jiang Zhou had an idea, “What if the person collecting taxes behind the government’s back is a relative from the government?”

He suddenly thought of Liu Lin. Since Liu Lin could ask Li Han and others to come out to help buy wood, naturally, they could be allowed to collect taxes.

Lu Dalang often interacts with people around the government office many times. Since he mentioned tax collection, it must be the tax collector who convinced him.

Lu Dalang was naturally suspicious, and the only people who could convince him were government officials, familiar faces he was used to seeing.

The ones who could do this were probably Li Han and the others.

Although Master Qiu left, the remaining team did not. It was still the same old routine. The replacement Master Liu did not bring his own people, so he used the remaining team, but he had just arrived, so he probably couldn’t care less about them.

If it was really Liu Lin who did it, Jiang Zhou would no longer have to think about digging up the private things he did.

His eyes lit up instantly, “Thank you! You helped me a lot!”

Lu Dexing looked puzzled, “???”

Jiang Zhou rushed away happily, leaving Lu Dexing staring at the tea house and sighing.

In fact, what he told Jiang Zhou wasn’t a lie. He and the tea house were just hanging on for a while now. Jiang Zhou’s idea from last time solved their urgent need.

If Jiang Zhou didn’t come to him, he didn’t know how he would live to this day. He didn’t marry a wife, and naturally, he didn’t have a son. He spent most of his life in this tea house.

.

Jiang Zhou sought out Uncle Yu specifically, asking, “Uncle Yu, have you heard the news about having to pay taxes in the future?”

Uncle Yu shook his head, puzzled, “What’s that? I’ve only heard of land tax, not a tax for crossing this ferry.”

Jiang Zhou further confirmed his suspicion.

People constantly visited Uncle Yu, exchanging information, and due to his interactions with other people, most tax collectors avoided him. Even if someone mentioned the matter, they likely assumed Uncle Yu’s industry was exempt from taxes.

Liu Lin’s intelligence impressed Jiang Zhou.