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The brick was engraved with the faint inscription "Official Kiln of the Seventeenth Year of Yongle," and there was a deep arrow mark on its side. Cui Xiaoman's pupils constricted sharply. "This is... the city wall brick of Tunbao!"
Outside the courtyard, Zhou Liangzhang's impatient cough echoed. Lin Dahe grabbed the measuring rope and casually stuffed the brick into his sleeve pocket. As he turned, he noticed a newly carved mark next to the portrait of Zao Wang Ye—three five-pointed stars, identical to the signal of the Mad Old Woman.
They began measuring from the farthest slope. The laborers Zhou Liangzhang brought deliberately let the measuring rope hang loosely, resulting in a measurement that was thirty percent less than the actual area. Lin Dahe followed discreetly, marking shallow grooves in the soil with his toes whenever the laborers tampered with the measurements.
"This piece planted with buckwheat..." Zhou Liangzhang squinted at the documents. "According to the contract, this should be Zhou's land."
"The grain chief is joking," Lin Dahe suddenly kicked aside the loose soil by the boundary stone, revealing a broken stele buried beneath. "Look, this 'Lin' character still has half left."
The laborers exchanged glances. Zhou Liangzhang sneered and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper from his pocket. "It says in black and white—"
"Wait!"
A hoarse voice erupted like a broken gong. The One-Armed Veteran appeared on the ridge, his faded battle robe fluttering in the wind. He wasn't wearing his usual hat, and a jagged arrow wound twisted grotesquely on his forehead.
"Liu... Liu Bazong?" The leading laborer suddenly stuttered.
The Old Soldier ignored him and walked straight up to Zhou Liangzhang. "In the first year of Chongzhen, I measured according to the fish scale register, third rank, seventh household." He lifted his one-armed sleeve to reveal a gilded copper plaque. "Do you need me to check with the county archives?"
Sunlight glinted off the copper plaque inscribed with "Imperial Guard Northern Supervisory Office," causing Zhou Liangzhang's face to turn pale. Lin Dahe's system interface suddenly flickered violently, and several identity information cascaded down like a waterfall:
[Cui Xiaoman: Former Military Doctor Cui's daughter, skilled in basic surgery]
[Seventh Uncle: Retired courier officer, master of official communication codes]
[Huo Lang Zhang: Border troops not receiving at night, member of intelligence network]
[Aunt Ma: Former thin horse from Yangzhou, Zhou Liangzhang's sister by blood]
Most astonishing was the last entry: [One-Armed Veteran: Jinyiwei undercover agent, survivor of Salhu Battle, tasked with investigating grain corruption cases.]
"This boundary stone..." The Old Soldier used his boot to clear away loose soil, revealing even older engravings beneath. "This is clearly the 'Shen' boundary from the Yongle era military land reclamation; each boundary contains five acres." He swung his one arm dramatically, snapping the measuring rope like a whip before Zhou Liangzhang's feet. "Do you need me to call for the county magistrate to take a look?"
Zhou Liangzhang broke into a cold sweat and suddenly snatched the measuring rope from the laborer's hands. "We measured it wrong! Do it again! Again!"
As the sun set in the west, they finally re-staked Lin family's land boundaries. Zhou Liangzhang nearly tripped over a ridge as he left, supported by Aunt Ma, whose red tassels brushed against that fake official seal, leaving behind a glaring red mark.
"I'll have your land deed ready for you tomorrow," said the Old Soldier as he patted Lin Dahe on the shoulder and lowered his voice suddenly. "But Zhou's family won't let this go—they're backed by Household Finance Wang Dian Shi."
Once everyone dispersed, Cui Xiaoman emerged from behind a grain stack, clutching a dirt-stained cloth bundle. "Aunt Ma dropped this."
Inside were several pages of tattered account books recording entries like "Yan Zhou Wei Grain" and "Discounted Silver." Most shocking was a line at the end marked in red ink: "Two thousand stones spoiled; new grain must be mixed for relief"—where ink had blurred, half a bloody fingerprint could be faintly seen.
Lin Dahe flipped to the back and discovered that where the account book had been torn was still imprinted with half an official seal. The system immediately provided a comparison result: [Consistent with the seal pattern on documents held by Zhou Liangzhang.]
"Look here." Cui Xiaoman suddenly pointed at the grease stain on the edge of the ledger. "Doesn't it look like..."
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