Back to Ancient Times: Planting Potatoes 19: Maze (2)
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The brick was engraved with the faint words "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... a brick from the city wall of Tunbao!" 0
 
Outside the courtyard, Zhou Liangzhang's impatient cough could be heard. Lin Dahe grabbed the measuring tape and casually stuffed the brick into his sleeve pocket. As he turned around, he noticed a new mark beside the portrait of the Kitchen God—three five-pointed stars, identical to the signal used by the Mad Old Woman. 0
 
They began measuring from the farthest slope. The laborer brought by Zhou Liangzhang intentionally let the measuring tape hang loosely, resulting in a measurement that was thirty percent less than the actual area. Lin Dahe followed silently, marking shallow grooves in the soil with his toes whenever the laborer tried to manipulate the measurements. 0
 
"This piece planted with buckwheat..." Zhou Liangzhang squinted at the documents. "According to the contract, this should be the Zhou family's land." 0
 
"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 of it left." 0
 
The laborers exchanged glances. Zhou Liangzhang sneered and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper from his pocket. "It’s written in black and white—" 0
 
"Wait!" 0
 
A hoarse voice erupted like a broken gong. The one-armed veteran appeared on the ridge without anyone noticing, his faded battle robe flapping in the wind. He wasn’t wearing his usual hat, and a deep arrow wound on his forehead twisted grotesquely. 0
 
"Liu... Liu Bazong?" The leading laborer stuttered suddenly. 0
 
The veteran ignored him and walked straight up to Zhou Liangzhang. "In the first year of Chongzhen, according to the fish scale register, it’s household seven of section three." He lifted his arm like an iron hook, revealing a gilded copper plaque. "Do you need me to request verification from the county office?" 0
 
The sunlight glinted off the engraved words "Jinyiwei Northern Pacification Division" on the plaque, causing Zhou Liangzhang's face to turn pale. Lin Dahe's system interface suddenly flickered violently as several identity information streams cascaded down: 0
 
[Cui Xiaoman: Former Military Doctor Cui's daughter, proficient in basic surgery] 0
[Seventh Uncle: Retired postal officer, master of official communication codes] 0
[Peddler Zhang: Border army night watchman, member of intelligence network] 0
[Aunt Ma: Formerly of Yangzhou's Thin Horse, Zhou Liangzhang's sister by blood] 0
 
The most shocking entry was last: [One-Armed Veteran: Jinyiwei undercover agent, survivor of the Battle of Sarhu, tasked with investigating food relief corruption.] 0
 
"This boundary stone..." The veteran used his boot to clear away more loose soil, revealing even older engravings beneath. "This is clearly from the Yongle era military land reclamation marked with 'Shen,' which designates five acres per boundary." With a sweep of his one arm, he cracked the measuring tape like a whip at Zhou Liangzhang's feet. "Do you want me to call for the county magistrate to take a look?" 0
 
Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Liangzhang's forehead as he suddenly snatched the measuring tape from the laborer's hands. "We measured it wrong! Do it again! Again!" 0
 
As sunset approached, they finally re-staked Lin family's land boundaries. Zhou Liangzhang nearly tripped over a ridge while leaving; Aunt Ma supported him as her red tassels brushed against that fake official seal, leaving behind a glaring red mark. 0
 
"I'll give you a new land deed tomorrow," the veteran patted Lin Dahe on the shoulder and suddenly lowered his voice. "But Zhou's family won’t let this go—they have Wang Dian Shi from Hu Fang behind them." 0
 
Once everyone dispersed, Cui Xiaoman emerged from behind a grain stack, clutching a dirt-stained cloth bundle. "Aunt Ma left this behind." 0
 
Inside were several pages of incomplete account books recording entries like "Yanzhou Wei grain" and "discounted silver." Most alarming was the last line marked in red: "Two thousand stones spoiled; mix in new grain for relief"—where ink had smudged, half a blood fingerprint could be faintly seen. 0
 
Lin Dahe flipped to the back and discovered that where the account book had been torn, half an official seal remained. The system immediately provided a comparison result: [Consistent with the seal pattern held by Zhou Liangzhang.] 0
 
 
"Look here." Cui Xiaoman suddenly pointed at the grease stain on the edge of the ledger. "Doesn't it look like..." 0
 
 
 
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