Chapter 310: Deed

Fang Chuanzong finally only said one name——Liu Zhengfeng.

Liu Junyan then didn't ask anything else.

Fang Chuanzong also didn't continue the topic, but said to me: "Right, Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, about the Changshi battle, after I submitted my report, the higher-ups also gave a response these two days; everyone's rewards will be distributed to them one after another. You two probably don't care for those trivial things, so the higher-ups decided to award you a great gift in the name of rewarding the pawnshop."

I asked curiously: "Oh? What great gift?"

Fang Chuanzong told us to wait a moment; he went to get it.

I and Liu Junyan looked at each other.

To be honest, I was somewhat looking forward to it; after all, it's a reward from the state, regardless of its monetary value, it definitely gives face.

I even secretly guessed in my heart, wondering if it might be a plaque or a banner or something like that.

But when Fang Chuanzong handed me a yellowed deed, I was still somewhat dazed.

You should know, this old-style deed was abolished in the 1950 land reform, turned into the "State Land Use Right", and now it has been changed again to the "Real Estate Ownership Certificate".

So, what is Fang Chuanzong giving me this for?

"This is a piece of land east of Wufu Town, covering less than 300 mu, near the county suburbs, left undeveloped since the late Qing dynasty, never developed." Fang Chuanzong explained, "The pawnshop has plenty of talent; we can't all crowd into that small courtyard, so the higher-ups mean to give you a plot of land for you to develop as you see fit, and if needed later, you can also contribute more to the state."

"When you're ready to start construction, the higher-ups will also allocate a fund to the pawnshop; once everything is completed, you can exchange this deed for the Real Estate Ownership Certificate."

"Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, what are you staring at? Take the deed."

Fang Chuanzong again pushed that deed toward me.

I instinctively felt this deed was a hot potato.

Nearly 300 mu of land just given to us like that, with funds allocated for construction... such a huge pie falling from the sky knocked me out cold.

I certainly wanted this land; it's so large it's equivalent to a small manor.

A few days ago I was still envying how large the Changshi Huixian Tang was; now I can actually own a plot of land even larger than that Changshi Huixian Tang, and more importantly, this land does not belong to Wufu Town.

This means that if Wufu Town ever fails in the future, we still have a retreat.

But I couldn't bring myself to be happy.

Logically speaking, this land's location is much better than Wufu Town's, close to the county seat; if it were developable, it would have been developed long ago.

In this era where every inch of land is precious, such a large plot has lain idle since the late Qing; saying it has no problem, even ghosts wouldn't believe.

Thinking this through, I asked: "Old Fang, tell me the truth—does this land have a problem?"

Fang Chuanzong didn't say it outright; he just took a kraft paper file bag, slipped the deed inside, then handed it to me, saying: "The higher-ups' willingness to relinquish such a large chunk of fat is no small feat; if you, Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, have the ability to swallow it, it's also a win-win, isn't it?"

Alright, this land indeed has a problem.

If it could be easily swallowed, such good fortune wouldn't fall to me.

Leaving the Special Affairs Handling Office, Liu Junyan drove, I sat in the passenger seat, and opened that kraft paper file bag.

Inside the file bag, besides that deed, there was a thin booklet of only a few pages of documentation, as well as some photos.

The documentation records that the land was originally an unnamed village, with about thirty households, houses scattered, surrounded by farmland and groves.

Rumor has it that a plague occurred then, causing all villagers to die one after another, leaving no survivors.

The whole village lay waste for many years until modern times when someone finally tried to work on that land.

The construction team renovated the outer land, toppled the ruined walls, and kept developing until they reached the village center, where they discovered a tower standing there.

That tower has only three stories, its body not tall, with doors and windows on each side that allow direct entry.

But it's said that everyone who entered never came out again.

At the time, the construction team sacrificed many people trying to break into the tower; the tower suffered no damage, yet the whole project collapsed.

Afterwards, several more construction teams tried to take the land, but all returned empty-handed.

Later still, no one paid attention to this place; it remained abandoned.

Those photos in the file bag are blurry images captured later by someone piloting a drone inside.

Even though those images aren't clear, the scene inside still leaves one awestruck!

On the inner walls of the tower, large and small Buddha statues are carved, each seemingly different, surrounded by carved sutras...

All the information Fang Chuanzong could provide us is just this much.

And this land is only over forty li away from Wufu Town in a straight line; I've lived in Wufu Town for so many years, yet I never heard anyone mention this place.

Liu Junyan also didn't know.

This shows that all information about this land has been blocked, never leaked outward.

I relayed all the information from the documents to Liu Junyan, who said: "If we can secure this land, it's indeed a good thing for our pawnshop; let's take a detour to have a look first, then talk."

I naturally had no objection.

But when we were about to enter that land's boundary, I realized our imagination was overly simplistic, because the car couldn't get in at all—there was no road!

Just entering summer, that area was lush and verdant, everywhere overgrown with weeds and trees.

Weeds and trees swallowed our sight; not to mention seeing that tower, there wasn't even a place to set foot.

I also tried to walk in a bit, but after not going far, Liu Junyan pulled me out: "The sun is about to set; going in now isn't appropriate. Let's head back to the pawnshop first; I'll have Mo Qiong send people to scout first, then we'll talk."

I didn't insist on pushing further; I got back in the car and headed straight for the pawnshop.

Midway, I received a call from Li Qingying; she was urgent, her voice somewhat tense: "Xiao Jiu, have you guys returned? Something happened in town, and the Copper Coin Person also had a bit of trouble."

My heart skipped a beat, I asked: "What's going on?"

Li Qingying only said the situation was somewhat complicated, couldn't be explained in a few words over the phone, and urged us to hurry back.

We had just returned to the pawnshop when Li Qingying led us to the west room, pointing at the Copper Coin Person's ankle.

There, a sheet of white scale armor had grown out, embedded into the flesh, with bloody crimson traces at the edges.

I instinctively looked at Liu Junyan; his face was far calmer than ours, as if he weren't surprised at all.

Instead, he asked Li Qingying: "What happened in town?"

"One person died." Li Qingying said, "The death was strange—looks like suffocation, but there are no wounds on the body; according to his family, the corpse is noticeably thinner than when he was alive..."

Died of suffocation, with no wounds on the body…… I don't know why, but when I heard those words, I inexplicably felt strange yet familiar.

After thinking it over carefully, I instantly pinpointed the problem——this isn't the first time I've encountered such a cause of death……