In recent years, Taiyuan Prefecture has been free of bandits outside its walls and hidden worries within. Coupled with the Sanhe Gang's continuous expansion of waterways, commerce has flourished. The people live and work in peace, with no shortage of grain, and the city's merchants even enjoy an annual surplus.
However, that didn't mean they were wealthy.
Such was the way of the world.
The Noble Families controlled the lion's share of the profits, leaving others to pick at the scraps from businesses they deemed beneath them.
Only those who, like the Zhu Mansion, had forged ties with the Zhou Family could hope to get a meager slice of the pie.
A year's worth of tax silver was no small sum.
At the Martial Arts Hall Association.
The leaders of the various Martial Arts Halls were gathered, their faces grim and their eyes filled with worry.
"The tax silver is one thing," one of them said. "Worse comes to worst, we can pool our resources and scrape by. We can always manage to pay."
