Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Later that afternoon, Lin Mingchang and Ruan Xiaoshuang arrived at the Spring City Government Building. Lin Mingchang adjusted his uniform tie and quietly reminded her, "Xiaoshuang, remember, you are a reporter for Chun Cheng Evening News, and you're responsible for a special report on urban development. I have been assigned to assist you. Once you find the information we need, make sure to take as many photos as possible."
Xiaoshuang nodded, and the two entered the building, making their way to the Land and Resources Department at the end of the second floor.
The office was filled with the smell of tobacco, and several clerks were busy working at their desks. Lin Mingchang showed his credentials to a clerk wearing round glasses and requested to review the land files for the northern district of the city. The clerk frowned as he glanced at the credentials and then at Ruan Xiaoshuang standing beside him, appearing somewhat hesitant.
Lin Mingchang stepped forward discreetly and lowered his voice. "Director Hsu should have mentioned this to you, right? This is an order from above; Chun Cheng Evening News is doing a special feature. Everyone is paying close attention to urban planning right now."
The clerk had no reason to challenge a request from higher-ups, especially since Lin Mingchang's credentials were legitimate. He quickly led them to the archive room where the land files were stored.
"All the planning materials for the northern district are here," the clerk pointed to a row of filing cabinets. "If you need any assistance, just call me; I'll be right outside."
Once the clerk left, Lin Mingchang and Xiaoshuang immediately began searching through the files.
"I found it!" A few minutes later, Lin Mingchang lowered his voice and waved Xiaoshuang over. He pulled out a yellowed blueprint and a document from the bottom drawer.
They spread out the blueprint, which detailed the location and measurement data of the northern plot of land. This plot was situated in a prime area of northern city center, surrounded by residential buildings and shops, yet this approximately hundred-acre piece remained undeveloped.
"Strange, why hasn't this prime location been developed? And it isn't even being farmed?" Xiaoshuang asked in confusion.
Lin Mingchang shook his head and continued to flip through the yellowed document. Suddenly, his hand stopped on one page. "Xiaoshuang, look here."
This section of the document contained an exploration report from early in Republic Year Fifteen regarding this plot of land. The report mentioned that traces of ancient architectural remains had been discovered beneath this land, initially believed to be a burial site from the Song Dynasty or even earlier.
However, due to political turmoil and warlord conflicts at that time, this report was shelved, and since then, this plot had been designated as a no-development zone.
"There are ancient tombs beneath that land?" Xiaoshuang's voice involuntarily rose a few notches.
Lin Mingchang quickly gestured for silence as he flipped to the end of the document where there was indeed an old survey map from early Republic Year Fifteen attached.
"Quick, take photos of all these." Lin Mingchang laid out the blueprint and documents for Xiaoshuang to photograph.
Just then, the clerk suddenly opened the door. "How are you doing? Are you finished reviewing?"
"Yes, we just wrapped up," Lin Mingchang replied as he caught Xiaoshuang's signal that she had finished taking her photos. He organized the documents and returned them to their original place.
After thanking the clerk, the two quickly left the city government building and headed straight for Shen Tong's small courtyard.
"A tomb?" Fang Zigui exclaimed, setting down his teacup in surprise. "No wonder the Gui Xu Society is so obsessed with that piece of land; they must be after the tomb!"
"Yes," Lin Mingchang nodded. "The most straightforward reason could be for tomb raiding profits. This ancient tomb was discovered in the early years of the Republic, and it is preliminarily identified as a burial site from the Song Dynasty or even earlier. It could be quite large, and the artifacts inside are undoubtedly priceless. In recent years, many foreign collectors have been willing to pay high prices for Chinese antiques. Western countries have never ceased their greedy plunder of our cultural relics."
"Perhaps..." Shen Tong pondered aloud, "besides stealing artifacts, is there something special hidden within the tomb that the Gui Xu Society particularly needs?"
Comment 0 Comment Count