Chapter 1967 - Invoice No. 1

Standing before the window marked "01" with Advisor Xu at his side, Steward Yan felt profoundly uncomfortable. He was accustomed to serving others and assuming deferential postures—but that was toward his master. Here, a young woman sat elevated behind a high desk gazing directly at him. Even perched on a stool, he had to look slightly upward; momentarily, words failed him. Regardless of this woman's beauty or the gentleness of her smile, this exchange of gazes prompted Steward Yan to curse the Australians internally for their utter lack of propriety.

Nan Wan'er behind the window, however, entertained no such considerations. Today, Teacher Zhang Xiaoqi personally supervised the hall and had assigned her, the "Director," to Window No. 1 precisely to ensure the inaugural transaction proceeded smoothly. After half a year's diligent effort, she couldn't permit failure on her watch. Observing Yan Xiaomao and his companion standing mutely, she smiled and inquired, "Are you two gentlemen here to pay taxes? Did you bring your documents and forms?"

Hearing Nan Wan'er's words, Yan Xiaomao and the advisor seemed to emerge from a trance, hurriedly extracting a pile of papers and cards—registration certificate, assessment notice, and similar documents—from their document box and heaping them onto the counter. Nan Wan'er said "please wait a moment," gathered them through the window, turned around, and commenced organizing and reviewing at her desk.

The materials required for this collection were actually quite straightforward. Through the Tax Assessment Division and Management Division's preliminary efforts, every taxpayer had received a payment notice specifying the amount due this period. Today they needed only to remit the sum indicated. However, Zhang Xiaoqi believed cultivating taxpaying habits should begin from day one, so Nan Wan'er and her colleagues bore an additional responsibility: guiding taxpayers through tax declaration forms. Pre-training had been conducted during the Management Division's initial visits, but because most Management Division staff were newcomers of average professional caliber, final execution temporarily fell to window personnel.

When Nan Wan'er turned back around, Steward Yan hastily withdrew his gaze and straightened in his seat. An additional document had appeared in her hand.

"I've verified the documents and notices you brought—no issues. However, before paying taxes, you must first complete this form. There's a pen and a 'sample form' on the desk. Feel free to ask about anything unclear."

"Understood, understood. Comrade Huang who visited my household mentioned this earlier." Steward Yan accepted the declaration form and returned materials while deploying Newspeak to signal his unusual familiarity with Australian ways.

Unfolding the declaration form, he found a pre-printed format with blank spaces presumably requiring completion. Centered at the very top, five large characters in bold Song typeface proclaimed "Tax Declaration Form," with six smaller parenthetical characters beneath: "For General Declaration."

Steward Yan didn't entirely grasp this but reasoned that smaller characters probably served explanatory purposes. Looking further down revealed a large table with numerous nested rows and columns. First came Taxpayer ID Number, which he recognized; during Huang Ping's pre-training session at Gao Ju's residence, he'd listened attentively—it corresponded to the Arabic numerals on the registration certificate. Below that appeared Taxpayer Name, equally straightforward. Further down: Levy Item (), Levy Product (), Tax Period Start (End), Tax Payment Deadline, Declaration Deadline, Payment Deadline, Taxable Amount, Tax Rate, Tax Payable, Tax Paid...

Surveying the rows of items, Steward Yan couldn't help but marvel at Australian meticulousness. The information required in these fields covered everything comprehensively and interconnected systematically; any error or falsification would be immediately apparent—quite unlike previous times when a simple figure sufficed.

He glanced at Advisor Xu beside him, only to find him staring at the blank space at the bottom, where this statement appeared: "Taxpayer or Agent Declaration: This tax declaration form is completed in accordance with the national tax laws and regulations of the Great Song. I confirm that it is true, reliable, and complete." Adjacent to this was the space for signature and seal.

This, this, this... Steward Yan conferred with Advisor Xu but still couldn't quite parse the statement's implications. Reading it revealed nothing inappropriate; it simply meant prohibiting falsification or omission—entirely expected. In some respects, it resembled the "voluntary bonds" he'd handled previously: when tenant farmers or tenants owed rent and couldn't pay, they would compose such documents. Though worded differently, the general meaning aligned: if unable to fulfill such-and-such by the deadline, willing to accept such-and-such punishment.

The thought of signing a voluntary bond on this document on his master's behalf, complete with signature and seal, produced an unsettling sensation of subjugation.

"This... Mi... Com... Comrade, this humble one has a question." Steward Yan still couldn't quite adapt to this manner of looking upward while addressing a young woman.

"Please ask—is there something you don't understand?" Nan Wan'er remained perfectly composed.

"Everything else appears on the notice, only here—" Steward Yan indicated the final declaration and signature section. "These are all new Australian terms; this humble one doesn't quite comprehend."

"You are taxpayers, and we are not the Usurper Ming's lordly officials. You may address each other simply as 'you' and 'I.'" Nan Wan'er broke into a radiant smile. Steward Yan managed to maintain composure, but Advisor Xu behind him visibly weakened.

"This paragraph indicates that the declaration form you've completed contains no omissions or deceptions, nothing more. Presumably, Master Gao shouldn't have any such issues either."

"Indeed not, certainly not. Of course there aren't any. Advisor Xu, if you please." Steward Yan responded hastily, pulling Advisor Xu onto the stool to begin copying the declaration form from the "sample" posted on the desk.

"One additional matter to notify you both," Nan Wan'er addressed Steward Yan while he waited. "According to Municipal Finance and Tax Bureau regulations, you qualify as a unit taxpayer, meaning tax declaration and payment must be handled by a designated individual. Please remember to register a name next time. We'll conduct declaration training for that person. Eventually, specific payment notices won't be issued for each remittance; instead, you'll file declarations yourselves."

Declare ourselves? Steward Yan was stunned. Did the Australians trust his household that much? Throughout the realm, wasn't royal grain and national tax always whatever amount the government specified? Since when was there logic in paying whatever you claimed to owe?

Perceiving his silence, Nan Wan'er intuited his thoughts and continued: "You must declare truthfully according to your actual income. We'll also train you in tax calculation. Don't entertain other notions; we have specialized inspection personnel to verify. We must tax according to law, and you must pay according to law."

"Understood, understood." Steward Yan grasped little else, but he understood the phrase "according to law" perfectly. Since Guangzhou's opening, whenever Australians invoked "according to law," what followed invariably involved demolishing buildings, breaking roads, or executing people and suspending them on display. They proved equally ruthless whether dealing with refugees, beggars, or gentry and major households. Master Gao couldn't afford to become the chicken slaughtered to frighten the monkeys.

When Advisor Xu finished completing the declaration form based on the notice, Nan Wan'er took it for verification. By now the hall had become a cacophony of noise. Originally, considering personnel inexperience, Ai Zhixin had instructed the Management Division to notify relatively few taxpayers on opening day for stability's sake. Moreover, even those notified were major households with dedicated accountants who understood procedures and had more extensive Australian Song contact. Unexpectedly, even these precautions couldn't prevent initial congestion.

Zhang Xiaoqi had already activated emergency windows and temporarily converted all "individual taxpayer" windows. Background accounting personnel were temporarily reassigned to front-desk duties like stamping and answering policy questions. She'd personally taken the field as well, patrolling behind the counters. Whenever she observed any single step at any window taking too long, she immediately intervened to help resolve it, finally stabilizing operations. Watching Zhang Xiaoqi accurately recite virtually all information—taxpayer name, tax category, tax item, tax amount—merely by glancing at registration certificates at every window, Ai Zhixin, inspecting the hall, couldn't suppress his surprise.

"My wife's impressive, isn't she?" Wang Qiyi was thoroughly pleased with himself. "In their hall with over three thousand registered households, never mind these basics—she could even recall most of the commercial licenses under each household's name. Some people are simply beyond comparison."

"Indeed. Sister-in-law's professional skill defies description—truly a treasure of our Finance and Tax Bureau." Whenever anyone mentioned Zhang Xiaoqi now, Ai Zhixin praised her effusively. At various meetings, Director Ai invariably proclaimed, "I'm not exaggerating, but what's excellent about our Finance and Tax Bureau? The excellence lies in having a unified team, everyone genuinely committed to improving finance and tax work. Unity—unity is our secret weapon for succeeding in Guangzhou and Guangdong finance and tax work." This conspicuous praise left Wang Qiyi distinctly uncomfortable; beyond discomfort, he felt rather apprehensive.

The noisy crowd didn't affect Steward Yan and Advisor Xu in the slightest. After Nan Wan'er confirmed the declaration form was error-free and indicated taxes could be paid, they presented a completed Delong check. A burst of stamping sounds emerged from the window, and soon a card-sized paper was passed out. One glance revealed it was produced using Australian "carbon paper," bearing the seal of "Great Song Senate Guangzhou Special Municipality Finance and Tax Bureau Directly Subordinate Collection Hall" in the lower right corner (*).

"This is your tax payment certificate. Please verify it. If there are no issues, this tax payment is complete. Additionally, please take this registration certificate to Windows 17 and 18 to exchange for the new version tax registration certificate."

Securing the slip, the two expressed their thanks and pressed through the crowd toward Window 17. Finding no queue here, Steward Yan couldn't help exhaling with relief—the queuing experience had been genuinely unpleasant.

The registration certificate exchange appeared quite simple. After the female cadre in the window took his original registration certificate, she said nothing further and had him sit on the stool to wait. With nothing to occupy him, Steward Yan stood to peer through the window. He watched the woman work with an array of stamps large and small at hand, occasionally selecting one to press onto a stiff, substantial paper already pre-printed. The paper was bright red, inscribed with "Tax Registration Certificate." Unlike the previous window, the stamps here were all square. These Australians were truly peculiar—they loved stamping everything, even rotating Arabic numerals onto a stamp before applying it. Was it merely to save writing a few characters?