Chapter 14 Let'S Confirm The Current Situation
Even though Sara isn't a child in terms of age, from the bureaucrats' perspective, neither Sara nor Rebecca seems like they'll become immediate fighting power, and they'll probably end up chasing after their exhausted colleagues who've collapsed from overwork.
From the general common sense of this world, noblewomen don't do outside work. It's normal for them to handle household management at home, and exceptions are only people like Rebecca, who's a governess, and saintly women who can use sacred magic.
Of course, commoners, including women, work outside normally. If they're farmers, they do farm work; if they're fishermen's wives or daughters, they handle fish drying and processing. Women living in towns work as seamstresses, laundresses, shop clerks, cooks, midwives, or even as geishas or pr**titutes in the red-light district. Only women from relatively wealthy households can afford not to work.
Even so, it's almost impossible for women to become bureaucrats. The literacy rate among commoners is low, and it's extremely difficult for men to become bureaucrats, let alone women.
However, as Sara looks at the bureaucrats with their terrible complexions and dark circles under their eyes, her heart skips a beat. In her past life, she had a habit of lending a hand to her exhausted colleagues and subordinates who were on the verge of collapse. She couldn't just leave them alone, even if it wasn't her problem, and she'd often take on tasks to help with burning projects.
'I want to help these people,' Sara thought from the bottom of her heart.
"Could you please teach me where all the documents are and how they're classified?"
The 2 bureaucrats, who had exchanged glances, seemed to think they couldn't defy the master's granddaughter, and with a sigh, they began their explanation.
"The documents in this room are records of the harvest from 6 years ago, after the regular audit, up until now, as well as copies of the records we submitted to the royal palace."
"Are there any discrepancies in the numbers?"
"There weren't many at first, but the records from 3 years ago seem to have some discrepancies."
"Do you have documents on forestry, industry, and commerce as well?"
"The income from the forestry industry is treated equally with the harvest from agriculture, so it's included in this. We also own several mines, where we extract magical stones, precious stones, and metals. However, our colleague in charge of commerce and industry fell ill the other day, so the work is currently on hold. I apologize for the inconvenience."
As Sara listened to the bureaucrat's explanation, she began to examine the documents, but soon realized a major problem. The format of the documents was not standardized. The income from each region was confirmed by a low-ranking bureaucrat, the tax collector, who visited each location, but the way they wrote it varied from person to person.
There were documents written like letters with numbers buried in the text. Moreover, the writing was unnecessarily decorative and hard to read. Some didn't even have titles.
'At least put a title on it from the start What kind of document is this, anyway?'
What's more, reports were mixed in with petitions and receipts for goods purchased, making it impossible to let one's guard down.
"Um, aren't these documents supposed to have a standard format? Since the way of writing varies from person to person, I think it's extremely difficult to confirm..."
"We've tried to establish a format several times, but there are many bureaucrats who stubbornly insist on using the method they learned at the Academy. Since each professor teaches a different format, it's become a faction-like situation..."
'What's with that, it's so annoying!'
"Then let's quickly establish a standard format for documents used in Grandchester. If we continue like this, it'll be too inefficient. And if, as bureaucrats in Grandchester, we can't create documents in this format, I'll even go so far as to say that those who can't should be fired."
"Are you going to be that firm about it?"
"It takes this much effort just to sort out the documents. If we can reduce that labor, we can manage with fewer people. If we actually fire a few people, it'll surely get through to the bureaucrats."
Up to this point, the bureaucrats finally began to realize that Sara was not just a child who looked like one. Even Robert's expression changed as he listened to Sara's words.
"I'm sorry to ask something basic, but could you explain the standard for calculating national taxes?"
"It's 30% of the profit."
"By profit, you mean the amount left after deducting necessary expenses from income, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"So, when a lord pays taxes, it means the lord's subjects don't pay taxes directly to the country, right?"
"Yes. The country imposes a tax obligation on the lord, but taxing the lord's subjects is up to the lord's discretion. Even the royal family can't intervene in this matter. Instead, the lord must report their income every year and pay taxes. The only exception is the toll for passing through other lords' territories, which is set at the same amount for all territories and must be paid in full as national taxes. Also, the lord is prohibited from arbitrarily adding to the toll."
"I see. By the way, I was wondering, what's the deadline for this period's tax reporting and payment? Will we make it in time?"
The bureaucrats looked nervous, exchanging glances before answering with a resigned tone.
"It's in 6 months. Honestly, at this pace, it's hopeless."
"If it's that bad, shouldn't we prioritize the tax reporting and payment work for this period first?"
"I want to, but we can't even finish sorting the documents..."
It seemed they hadn't even finished sorting the documents yet.
"Then, our first task should be sorting the documents. We can't grasp the current situation accurately unless we sort all the documents. Let's stop working on the ledger entries for now and have everyone focus on thoroughly examining and sorting the documents, okay?"
""Yes!""
As they conversed, the bureaucrats began to look at Sara with a gaze similar to when they saw a new colleague arrive. No, it was more like they felt like they had welcomed a young and talented Grandchester noble as their governor.
Robert and Rebecca, who were watching from the side, realized that Sara's abilities were higher than they had expected.
Robert, in particular, was seriously thinking, "This person is more talented than me."
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!