NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9 - Huge Tax Payments
Her tone was sincere, and although what she said was quite bizarre, the other party gradually relaxed and stopped feeling tense.
The two teams then each enjoyed their meals and went their separate ways. However, the claims from the Dragon Town team lingered in the minds of the Falling Sunset Town members throughout the afternoon. Although no one brought it up, everyone was constantly thinking about it.
Some were curious, unable to understand why someone who could serve the nobles would choose to open a restaurant in town, especially since so many people were eating there today, indicating that the prices weren’t high, others were simply tempted, reminiscing about the delicious aromas they had caught at noon—flavors they had never experienced up close in their lives.
Thus, when evening arrived and the team finished their monster-hunting and descended the mountain, the group fell unusually silent.
By this time, everyone was hungry, and their curiosity about the restaurant peaked.
As they reached the halfway point down the mountain, the wood mage could no longer hold back and mustered the courage to suggest to her teammates, “Aren’t you curious about that restaurant? Why don’t we take a trip to Dragon Town?”
Before she could finish, everyone turned to look at her.
The wood mage suddenly felt uneasy, realizing that this was more than just a simple “trip”, it also involved extra expenses.
The two towns were located on opposite sides of the Dragon Mountains. While not too far apart, they weren’t exactly close either. The quickest route was through the mountains, but traveling those paths at night could be dangerous—risking their lives was not worth the gamble.
Therefore, if they went to Dragon Town now, they would need to stay there for the night. Although they weren’t extremely poor, they also weren’t wealthy enough to waste money, this kind of expense seemed unnecessary.
So when her gaze met those of her teammates, the wood mage quickly considered retracting her suggestion, saying she was just casually thinking about it.
Unexpectedly, her teammates spoke up even faster: “Sure!”
“I’m just curious—how could anyone open a restaurant like that!”
“Let’s go check it out! It’s been over half a year since we’ve eaten out, we can indulge a little and treat ourselves!”
At this moment, the entire team showed superb tacit understanding and team spirit, immediately agreeing and turning toward the direction of Dragon Town.
They weren’t the only Falling Sunset Town team drawn to the Nightfall Restaurant. That night, five or six teams from Falling Sunset Town visited the Nightfall Restaurant. Meanwhile, completely unaware, Ye Mu’s reputation was spreading even further.
In Falling Sunset Town, the townspeople were envious and jealous: “Why does that noble lady experience life by opening a restaurant in Dragon Town instead of coming to Falling Sunset Town?”
“Exactly! What’s wrong with Falling Sunset Town? We have everything Dragon Town has!”
“We can also see beautiful sunsets in the evening, how nice is that!”
—
At Nightfall Restaurant, as the cold wind grew even harsher, Ye Mu suddenly realized that her restaurant had been open for a month.
Throughout this month, she had only noticed that her business was good and definitely not losing money, but she hadn’t bothered to calculate the detailed accounts. Now that she did, she was shocked to find that she had saved over 800,000 copper coins!
Wow, that’s a huge amount!
Ye Mu stared at this number in disbelief for a long time before jumping up and cheering, startling the staff in the kitchen who were busy chopping vegetables.
Ivy looked at her and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Ye Mu couldn’t help but smile, “I’m saving money.”
This game world also has banks, and depositing money earns interest. Although the interest rate is low, Ye Mu adhered to the principle of “¹a fly is also meat” and didn’t want to miss any opportunity to earn copper coins.
Ivy hesitated for a moment and reminded her, “Just don’t forget to set aside the taxes!”
She wasn’t sure if this reminder was necessary, but she felt that since Ye Mu seemed to come from an upper-class background, she might not consider these matters.
Ye Mu was taken aback and stopped: “Taxes?”
Ivy looked at her with a face that said she was indeed an oblivious young lady!
Then she cleared her throat and said, “Yes, you need to pay taxes! The tax office is right next to the bank, it’s on the way. And it just happens to be tax season! If you don’t pay voluntarily, you might run into trouble!”
“Oh…” Ye Mu nodded, thinking paying taxes was reasonable, so she decided to stop by the tax office and inquire about the specific procedures.
At the same time, in another restaurant down the street, a dozen people were gathered, sighing heavily.
They were all restaurant owners from this street, and as they prepared to file their taxes, they calculated the accounts for the past month, leading to a harsh realization of how poor their business had been.
A subtle balance in the market had been shattered by the Nightfall Restaurant.
Before the Nightfall Restaurant opened, common food was unappetizing, and noble food was “not for the commoners.” So, the food available in the market, whether from stalls or restaurants, had mediocre flavors.
For those of them running restaurants, they were selling not just food but also a social space. The same boiled meat slices could only be eaten standing at a stall or taken away, but in their restaurants, friends could sit together, chat, and eat, creating a pleasant atmosphere.
But now, noble food had “come down to earth.”
Theoretically, the impact of that small new restaurant should have been limited, but the reality was quite different.
When a restaurant can provide social space and offers food quality that far surpasses its competitors, customers will naturally choose it as their first option. Many people only think of that restaurant when they want to dine out, and if they realize they can’t get a table, they are likely to skip dining altogether rather than settle for an ordinary restaurant.
Many will even choose to line up in front of Nightfall Restaurant, determined to eat if they get in line and returning home if they can’t.
After the harsh winter set in, this disparity became even more pronounced. Nightfall Restaurant had introduced dishes with warming effects, and everyone flocked to it!
“This person isn’t leaving us any way to survive!” the restaurant owners lamented with furrowed brows.
“If only we could get her out of Dragon Town! Otherwise, if we could just find a way to reclaim some business, that would be fine too!” another added.
A nearby owner tried to restrain himself: “Even if we could just take a portion of her business, I’d be satisfied! Watching the lines outside her door has made me really jealous! She only opens at five in the evening, but people line up by noon! Some are even paying for ‘line sitters’! Everyone is rushing to give her their money!”
Another owner lost all restraint: “Can we just eliminate her? Spend a bit more to hire a high-level person and do it while she’s out…”
“Don’t, don’t, don’t! I just want to do business, not kill anyone!”
“What are you pretending for!”
As the disagreement escalated, the restaurant owners started arguing, creating quite a commotion inside. Fortunately, it was not during business hours, or customers would have come to watch.
After a while, a silent middle-aged man sitting in the corner tightened his brow and finally spoke up loudly: “I have an idea. Do you want to hear it?”
The noise immediately faded.
The man raised his head: “She has four employees in her restaurant, and they’ve been working with her for over a month now. Don’t you think they could learn something?”
His words suddenly sparked hope among everyone, and for a moment, no one responded, they just stared wide-eyed at each other.
The man continued: “What noble food really comes down to is having secret recipes, right? If we can find a way to get the recipes from her, we can make those dishes too. Isn’t that a solution?”
—
Tax Office.
It was mid-month in Dragon Town, the busiest time for collecting taxes. The hall was crowded, with long lines in front of every tax counter.
Before arriving, Ye Mu had been contemplating how to report her accounts, but upon her arrival, she realized what it meant to be in a game system world—every transaction of hers was recorded by the system, and the tax office knew everything.
However, she had no idea how much tax she needed to pay. It was said that the tax rates were set by the lords and often changed, so she would need to ask at the window for details.
Ye Mu reached the window and honestly reported her restaurant’s name. The staff member operated the panel, and after a few seconds, exclaimed, “You owe how much?!”
Silence enveloped the area.
Ye Mu stared in shock and asked again, “You said how much?!”
“621,328,” the staff member repeated the figure flatly, lifting their eyelids slightly. “The tax rate is 50% of your gross revenue.”
“… No, that’s gross revenue, not profit!” Ye Mu desperately explained.
The staff member replied, “I know, that’s the regulation.”
Ye Mu asked, “Isn’t there a tiered tax rate?! Fifty percent of the total revenue?!”
The staff member looked confused and asked, “What’s a tiered tax rate?”
Ye Mu thought, “Damn.”
She had no choice but to hand over the hefty tax payment through tears and blood, and her once cheerful nearly 800,000 copper coins dwindled to just over 100,000 in an instant.
As she walked out of the tax office, Ye Mu felt dizzy, as if her vision was filled with floating messages that simply read: “Heavy taxes!”
Suddenly, this world didn’t seem so great anymore.
What kind of place charges 50% tax on gross revenue?!
¹”a fly is also meat” is a Chinese proverb that means even something small or insignificant has value. It’s often used to express the idea that every little bit counts, and even small gains or savings are worth something.