Chapter 146 Broker Tong

Chapter 146: Broker Tong

After the meal, Song Tingzhou, leaning on his crutch, returned to the front Scribe's Office to continue reviewing documents related to taxation and other matters of Heshan County.

Meng Wan, accompanied by Xue Sheng, went out to find a broker. Their current house was too small, and they also needed to help settle Qing Xing's family, as promised earlier. Meng Wan was not one to break his word over such a trivial matter.

After some inquiries, Xue Sheng learned that there were two brokerages in the area: one official and one private. Based on his previous positive experiences with official brokerages, Meng Wan decided without hesitation to visit the official one first.

The official brokerage was located at the best spot on the main street. In the afternoon, a few brokers were idly playing cards at the entrance. When Xue Sheng approached, one of them lazily asked, "Buying a person or a house?"

Only when they noticed Meng Wan behind him did they perk up. The man who appeared to be the head of the brokerage tossed his cards onto the table and said in a flippant tone, "Young master, you look new here. Just arrived in Heshan? Looking at properties?"

His tone was so frivolous that Xue Sheng, frowning, stepped in front of Meng Wan and glared at him.

But Meng Wan replied calmly, "Since you're so clever, why don't you guess which new household has recently arrived in Heshan?"

Brokerages were hubs of information, the first to know everything from which master had taken a new concubine, which concubine had taken a lover, to which family was struggling and selling off a few children cheaply.

They held the most direct access to people and resources, but because their business often involved unsavory dealings, they usually kept a low profile, operating out of secluded alleys in standalone houses.

This official brokerage, however, was boldly situated on the main street, clearly backed by someone with influence, making them fear nothing. With such backing, they should be even better informed than other brokerages.

The head broker's eyes flickered, and then a look of realization dawned. He quickly led his men up from the card table and bowed to Meng Wan. "So it's the new County Magistrate's husband! Please forgive our rudeness, young master. We were blind not to recognize you. What can we do for you?"

It was not proper to conduct business on the street. After speaking, the broker invited Meng Wan inside. Xue Sheng stayed close to his master, finding a chair for him to sit on.

"I'm here to ask if there are any suitable houses near the county office. A two- or three-courtyard house would be fine, and I wouldn't mind a four- or five-courtyard one either," Meng Wan said, lifting the hem of his long gown as he sat gracefully, letting it fall naturally. He placed his hands on his lap, the two delicate hairpins in his head swaying slightly, exuding an air of elegance and authority that was not to be trifled with.

The brokers had never seen such a bearing; they stared wide-eyed.

Xue Sheng spoke up at the right moment, "Report to the master!"

The head broker snapped back to reality. "Yes, yes, I'll look into it immediately. If there aren't any today, I'll go door-to-door tomorrow!"

Meng Wan stood up as soon as he had sat down. "Then I'll trouble you gentlemen. If there are suitable vacant shops on the street, please also collect that information. Once you have news, come to the inner residence of the county office to inform me. I won't stay long."

These shrewd men knew how to judge people. Sometimes putting on airs was more effective than offering silver. Meng Wan maintained his dignified demeanor all the way to the carriage, where he boarded.

After seeing Meng Wan off, the brokers lost interest in their card game and began rummaging through their property listings, discussing Meng Wan animatedly.

Xue Sheng, a martial artist with sharp ears, overheard their gossip through the wall.

"So young, yet putting on such airs. I've been in this county for years, and this is the first time I've had to bow and scrape to someone."

"Master Tong, what status do you have? If that young master knew who you really are, he wouldn't dare not give you a smile!"

"Hmph, so what if he's the magistrate's husband? Even the magistrate himself can't do anything to me. How many magistrates have come to Heshan? It's always the same!"

The broker named Tong, clearly used to throwing his weight around, had been humiliated by Meng Wan's display. He dared not confront him directly, but couldn't resist boasting behind his back.

Xue Sheng listened silently to the whole conversation. Meng Wan sat calmly in the carriage, not urging him on.

After a while, Xue Sheng flicked the whip and drove the carriage home. Only then did he relay what he had heard to Meng Wan.

Meng Wan was not particularly angered by the news—such things were inevitable—but the implications in the broker Tong's words caught his attention.

"Xue Sheng, go out and find out how many county magistrates have been replaced in Heshan in recent years, and why they left. Also, check if there is any prominent local family surnamed Tong, or any influential gentry. Then, bring over the broker from the other private brokerage to see me."

Meng Wan slowly moved a chair into the courtyard, also bringing out the little wolf cub's basket to bask in the sun. The house always felt damp and cold, not as warm as the sunlit yard.

He gently stroked his still-flat abdomen, sometimes mindful of the life within, sometimes forgetting.

The sunlight was mild, and Meng Wan felt drowsy leaning back in his chair. Seeing this, Bi Yun fetched a woolen blanket from inside and draped it over him.

Xue Sheng was quick. Before Meng Wan could doze off for long, he had already brought the private broker over.

The broker was a woman in her forties. She bowed respectfully and nervously to Meng Wan. "I... I pay my respects to Master Meng."

Xue Sheng said from the side, "Master, this is the owner of Ruixiang Brokerage, surnamed Huang."

Meng Wan laid the blanket across his lap, his posture relaxed. By now, in his own territory and faced with a minor figure, he no longer needed to put on airs. "Mother Huang, I trust Xue Sheng has already explained why I called you here."

Huang Mama had come prepared. She took out two property registers from her bosom and, with a bowed back, respectfully presented them to Meng Wan, displaying the utmost humility of one in the lowest trade facing an official's husband.

"Master, please have a look. These are all the houses and shops registered in my brokerage, big and small. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will tell you everything I know."

Meng Wan was somewhat satisfied with her understanding attitude. He first opened the register for houses and found it contained only properties in remote locations. Then he looked through the shops, which were more comprehensive, but there were no suitable premises near the county office.

This was telling. Heshan County had only two brokerages, yet the official one, run by the broker Tong, had monopolized the house trade so blatantly?

Those in the brokerage business were all shrewd. Huang Mama immediately sensed Meng Wan's dissatisfaction with the listings. She quickly said, "If the master has a particular property in mind, I can negotiate with the owner on your behalf."

Meng Wan's expression turned stern. "Mother Huang, what are you saying? If people want to sell, they'll naturally come to a broker. My husband is the county magistrate, but we do not engage in coercing the common folk."

Huang Mama hastily explained, "That's not what I meant, Master. Please don't misunderstand. It's just that Deputy Magistrate Tong's nephew has taken over most of the city's business. If someone tries to go to another brokerage, they'll send a gang of thugs to smash the place, or worse, beat the person up. Some families who want to sell their houses or shops are forced to give a hefty cut to the broker Tong. Those who don't want to deal with him secretly contact me to sell under the table."

The place Meng Wan had spent the most time in was Changping Prefecture, where the most arrogant families were the Zhu and Wu. The Wu family, being officials, operated covertly; the Zhu family held themselves aloof; only the owner of Baojin Studio had truly oppressed people.

As for a street thug like the broker Tong, this was a first for him.

"Alright, I understand. Then I'll trouble you, Mother Huang, to inquire about houses and shops near the county office. The closer to the office, the better."

Huang Mama cautiously asked, "And the price...?"

Meng Wan smiled. "Do you think I'm short of money? Just go ahead and handle it at market rates."

Property prices in Heshan were even cheaper than in Guqing County, and compared to the capital Shengjing, they were a steal. He could buy ten or eight without blinking.

But he, Song Tingzhou, and Chang Jinhua were not extravagant people. Since arriving in Lingnan, including the cost of supplies, he had already spent two thousand taels of silver. Apart from buying a house and a shop, he had other plans for the remaining money.

After Huang Mama left, Xue Sheng reported what he had learned: now he knew that the official broker Tong was a relative of the county's eighth-rank deputy magistrate.

This deputy magistrate, named Tong Ping, was also a notorious figure.

Since the current emperor ascended the throne, Heshan County's first county magistrate was the only one who retired due to old age. After him, four more magistrates had been transferred in. The first was unlucky—after taking office, he worked diligently and ruled peacefully, but his health was poor, and after seven or eight years of suffering from local miasma and insect plagues, he died of illness.

The second was young and strong, but met a tragic fate—he died on the way to his post, his entire family lost, the cause still unknown.

The third was neither young nor old, in his mid-thirties, and successfully arrived in Heshan. But he had a weak and easily manipulated personality. The subordinate officials stripped him bare; whatever the deputy magistrate Tong said went, and even the local gentry dared to dictate to him. He died of depression after only five years.

Perhaps the third magistrate's indulgence emboldened the deputy magistrate Tong, and when the fourth magistrate took office, he became even more audacious. Moreover, the Tong family was a major local clan. The fourth magistrate couldn't endure the mistreatment and chose to resign and return to teaching rather than stay in Heshan.

The fifth magistrate was Song Tingzhou, a rather unlucky lame magistrate.

By the time Xue Sheng finished this lengthy report, the sun was nearly setting. Chang Jinhua and Bi Yun were cooking in the kitchen. Meng Wan decided to take Xue Sheng to the front office to find Song Tingzhou. This was his first time stepping into the outer government compound, and he couldn't help but look around curiously.

Xue Sheng had accompanied Song Tingzhou here before and knew the way. He easily found the Scribe's Office. The scribe was still on sick leave, so Song Tingzhou, needing to grasp the situation of Heshan County, had no time to deal with him yet.

At the other end of the Scribe's Office was the Deputy Magistrate's Office. Before entering the room, Meng Wan glanced over and saw Constable Zhang walking out. When Zhang noticed Meng Wan looking his way, he smiled and greeted him respectfully.

Meng Wan returned the greeting and stepped into the main registry office. Song Tingzhou was sitting in a chair reading, with a tall stack of books already on his left—those he had finished. On the right, a large book basket sat on the floor, filled with volumes Song Tingzhou had sorted out for review.

He was in the habit of reading, flipping pages with his left hand while occasionally jotting notes in his own ledger with his right.

Now that he no longer read to compose essays, he didn't need to weigh every word, so his progress was swift—over the past two days, Song Tingzhou had filled two ledgers.

He was so absorbed he didn’t even notice someone had come in.

Meng Wan casually picked up a book Song Tingzhou had already read from the left stack and began silently reading it himself. Before he had even finished a single book, his brows were tightly knit.

"Wan'er? When did you get here?" The sunset's glow spilled into the room, catching on Song Tingzhou's hand, and he suddenly realized how late it had gotten.

Hearing this, Meng Wan moved closer and sat beside him. "I just arrived. Look at this."

He pointed to a line in the book he was holding. "Within the jurisdiction of Heshan County, in Luyun Town and Hongni Village, apart from the village head, every household owns at most only two mu and three fen of land. Most have just over one mu, and one family of six has only three fen? How is that enough to live on?"

Song Tingzhou's father had been far-sighted, having purchased fourteen mu of land and saved several dozen taels of silver, which allowed Chang Jinhua, a widow, to support her son through several prefectural exams.

Even for a family without scholars, an ordinary three-person household needed at least two mu just to avoid starvation, didn't it?

Song Tingzhou pulled Meng Wan onto his lap and handed over his own ledger. "Take a look at this."

As Meng Wan flipped through the pages, Song Tingzhou said softly beside him, "Everyone in Yu knows Lingnan is impoverished, and the court has already minimized its tax burden. So why is there still no improvement?"

The two often discussed political matters, and by now Meng Wan could hold his own in the conversation. A glimmer flashed in his eyes. "Because the land is not in the hands of the people. Yet the people still have to pay both land tax and poll tax. In other regions, vast territories make it barely manageable. But Lingnan is mostly mountainous with little flat land. Even if only one or two country gentry or landlords hoard land in a given area, it spells disaster for common folks."

Song Tingzhou’s eyes shone with pride and approval. "Wan'er is right. Lingnan's plight cannot be solved by planting a few bean seeds. It requires a complete overhaul—merging the poll tax into the land tax."

Meng Wan was puzzled. "What does 'merging the poll tax into the land tax' mean?"

A familiar yet strange feeling—had he studied this in a history book?

Song Tingzhou patiently explained. "The state collects land tax and poll tax, supposedly based on all the land in Yu and evenly distributed among all commoners. But in reality, landless or smallholder farmers with little or no land still have to bear the poll tax. Meanwhile, local gentry own far more land, so they should pay more in both land and poll taxes."

Meng Wan nodded in agreement. "That stands to reason, such a tax system is indeed unfair." Yet this system had been used from the previous dynasty to the present without major flaws, so no one had thought to reform it.

Song Tingzhou continued. "If we incorporate the poll tax into the land tax, from then on, taxes will be based solely on land acreage. Even as the population grows, taxes will never increase. Additionally, by limiting how much land the wealthy can purchase, land will gradually return to the hands of farmers. This way, many farmers can afford their taxes and won't have to default on tax arrears. The national treasury will grow—it's a win-win for both the state and the farmers."

Meng Wan stared at Song Tingzhou in shock, unable to speak for a long moment. "If such a reform could truly gain His Majesty's approval, it would bless future generations and secure your name in history."

But the obstacles were equally immense. Not only would ordinary local gentry, whose interests were threatened, try every means to obstruct it. How many court officials owned no vast landholdings?