During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a sensation in Boye County, Baoding Prefecture: a wealthy businessperson from Kaifeng wanted to find his long-lost twin brother. He said his name was Ma Yiwen, and his brother's name was Ma Yiwu. There was a black mole on the sole of his left foot, and a black mole on the sole of his brother's right foot, and a small tuft of fluff on the mole. He also said that due to the chaos of the war when his mother was pregnant with them, he went out to Baoding Prefecture and gave birth to them in Boye County. Unfortunately, they were separated. Now that his mother is seriously ill and misses the child who has been separated for many years, Ma Yiwen came here to look for it. He wants to find his brother and give him a thousand family properties.

As soon as the news came out, the city of Boye County was a sensation. Anyone with a black mole on their body went to identify their relatives, even those with a black mole on their buttocks, but the person with a mole on the sole of their right foot never appeared. Seeing that everyone was so enthusiastic, Ma Yiwen let out the words that as long as someone found his brother Ma Yiwu for him, he would definitely reward him with one hundred taels of silver. More than half a month passed, and the mysterious Ma Yiwu never showed up. Everyone's enthusiasm did not decrease, and every day people went to the Yuelai Inn where Ma Yiwen was staying to provide clues.

There is a "Hibiscus Hall" Chinese medicine shop in the north of Boye County, and business is light on weekdays. The boss, Hao Shouye, is alone, guarding this thin family business, barely surviving. After closing the day, he is comfortably soaking his feet in his room. When the soaking water is cold, he calls his buddy to pour hot water. Old buddy Li Wangcai is lazy to play mahjong, and a new guy named Zhao Sibao is very clever. He quickly goes in with hot water. After pouring the water, he said politely: "Boss, I will cut off your toenails and go to the old skin!" Hao Shouye narrowed his eyes and nodded.

Just as he was cutting his toenails, Zhao Sibao suddenly exclaimed, "Great joy, shopkeeper, you are about to make a fortune! There is a mole on the sole of your right foot, so you are Ma Yiwu!"

Hearing this, Hao Shouye glared at Zhao Sibao and said, "My ancestral grave is in Boye, and my family has lived in Boye for generations. If I go to recognize my relatives, who will believe it? It seems that this windfall is not mine."

Zhao Sibao hurriedly said, "Shopkeeper Hao, in today's world, if you see a bald head, you are a monk. As long as you cover it up well, after so many years, who can tell?" Hao Shouye was a little moved by what he said, and the two planned for another whole night. The next day, they packed up and went to Yuelai Inn.

Early in the morning, there were already many people queuing up there waiting to recognize their relatives. When Hao Shouye saw this battle, he didn't know what to do, and thought he should go back quickly. Zhao Sibao tugged him hard, and finally it was his turn. At this time, someone led Hao Shouye in, and finally came to a secluded room. Hao Shouye thought about the trick Zhao Sibao taught him, and after entering, he didn't say anything, crying and wiping away tears. He sat on a chair, and someone came over to take off his shoes, take off his clothes, and check them carefully. Then he felt a heart-wrenching pain on the sole of his right foot, and Hao Shouye shouted, "What do you want to do?"

The man bowed and said, "I'm sorry, there have been too many counterfeits recently, so we had to try to pull it out. It seems that your mole is real." After saying that, he clapped his palms inside. After a short break, there was a sound of rapid footsteps. Pushing open the door, a spirited old man stepped in barefoot, he was Ma Yiwen. He held Hao Shouye's right foot with both hands, stroked it gently, and then lifted his left foot, where there was a mole of the same size. Ma Yiwen couldn't help but hug Hao Shouye and cried: "Brother... Brother, I finally found you, you have been wronged all these years!" Facing this situation, Hao Shouye couldn't help but feel really sad, and tears fell down.

The brothers recognized each other, and the people waiting in line outside were greatly disappointed. After a while, everyone was gone. That night, Hao Shouye stayed at Yuelai Inn, and the two brothers poured out their hearts. Ma Yiwen learned that Hao Shouye had a Chinese medicine shop and had to go back to do some business, so he said: "It's a great event for our brothers to meet again today. The medicine shop will be taken care of by the guys for the time being, and we will just drink and talk for a long time."

Hao Shouye was just afraid that he would show his feet after a long time, but Ma Yiwen was excited, full of enthusiasm, and had no doubts at all. Hao Shouye had to stay. Ma Yiwen said again: "Brother has suffered all these years, and as the eldest brother, I should take care of you. Mother ordered that once I find you, I will take you back to Kaifeng to meet you immediately. It's just that the eldest brother is a businessperson, and there are still a few old debts to be collected in this Hebei area. Well, from tomorrow onwards, you will stay in the inn to help me keep accounts, and I will double your compensation. After this business is over, we will go back to Kaifeng together, how about that?" After saying that, he immediately took out a ingot of ten taels of silver and stuffed it into Hao Shouye's hands. Hao Shouye also secretly thought about Xiao Jiujiu in his heart. He wanted to earn dozens of taels of silver first. When he really went to Kaifeng to marry his relatives, he would leave by himself and everything would be fine.

From then on, Hao Shouye copied and sorted out various accounts for Ma Yiwen in the secluded room of Yuelai Inn every day, secretly marveling at how big Ma Yiwen's business was. Ma Yiwen went out early and returned late every day, looking very busy, and sometimes went out for several days in a row before coming back. He looked through Hao Shouye's accounts every day, nodding while reading, showing a very satisfied look. Seeing that the old accounts were settled, Ma Yiwen brought another thick pile of accounts. He also said that accounting must be done by his own people to rest assured. Ma Yiwen did not break his promise. In the past ten days, he had given Hao Shouye more than one hundred taels of silver in a row. Hao Shouye buried himself in the accounts, secretly happy in his heart, and he had only saved dozens of taels of silver in the Chinese medicine shop he had opened for most of his life. Now that a big brother has appeared, he has made so much money at once!

During this time, Hao Shouye once went back to his "Furong Hall" Chinese medicine shop to have a look. He found that the door was actually closed, and after knocking on the door for half a day, Zhao Sibao came out to open the door. He saw that he was disgraced and had just come out of nowhere. When he saw Hao Shouye, he cried "wow" and said, "Since the shopkeeper left, the business of the medicine shop has plummeted. When the old man Li Wangcai saw that he couldn't get his wages, he took some more expensive medicinal materials and left. I couldn't bear to leave, so I stayed to take care of you!" Hao Shouye listened, scolded Li Wangcai a few words, and quickly comforted him, took out some broken silver, and asked him to continue to take care of it.

Hao Shouye returned to Yuelai Inn to continue copying the accounts and cleaning up the books. He calculated the time, this time Ma Yiwen had been out for almost five days, why didn't he come back? Who cares, as long as there is money to make.

"Dong dong dong", there was a sudden knock on the door from outside. When the door opened, Hao Shouye saw an angry face with a stack of bills in his hand. He scolded, "Are you Ma Yiwen's brother Ma Yiwu?" Hao Shouye nodded. The man said again, "I am the shopkeeper of Yuelai Inn, and the money that your eldest brother has stored on the cabinet has been spent. He often holds big banquets here, and he is also doing some kind of family search, which makes chickens fly and dogs jump. Now it's good that he can't go back, and even his personal shadow is gone. Brother pays the debt, please settle the account first." After saying that, he picked up the abacus and crackled a dozen, totaling 158 taels of silver. When Hao Shouye heard this, he felt dizzy and in a daze, he felt that something was wrong. In a hurry, he showed his trump card: "I'm a fake, I'm not Ma Yiwen's brother." The shopkeeper said: "I don't care if you are authentic or fake, you have been eating and drinking in our inn for so many days, this is what I saw with my own eyes." Hao Shouye still refused to pay the bill, and the shopkeeper was angry and sent him to the county office, and the two went to court.

At that time, the newly appointed prefect of Boye County was named Situ Zhen, and he was famous for his ability to solve suspicious cases. When he heard of such a bizarre case, he found it very strange. He asked the shopkeeper and Hao Shouye to tell him in detail, so he couldn't miss a detail. After that, he pondered for a while and asked Hao Shouye, "You said that the guy in the pharmacy encouraged you to go and meet your relatives. Who was he? When did he come to your store?"

Hao Shouye said: "My pharmacy has small profits, and there was only one old man. Then one day, a young man, Zhao Sibao, came. He said that his hometown was flooded and he had nowhere to make a living, so he just wanted to be able to feed a bowl of rice and work without pay. I saw that he was quite clever, so I left him. Now, he is still watching for me in the pharmacy."

Situ Zhen said, "Does he have a pale gray birthmark on his left face?"

Hao Shouye couldn't help shouting, "How did you know?"

Situ Zhen pondered for a while and said, "This matter appears to be bizarre and funny on the surface, but in fact it is very likely to contain a sinister plan. You must not argue now, Hao Shouye will go to Yuelai Inn to clean up the books as usual, and you must not show the slightest panic. I will cover his debts for him." The two said yes again and again, and then retired.

That afternoon, Situ Zhen dressed in disguise, brought two attendants, and let a tall horse pull the medicinal materials, pretending to be a salesperson. They came to the north of the city, and Situ Zhen walked back and forth several times around the "Hibiscus Hall" pharmacy. The hooves echoed loudly on the slate road, and Situ Zhen turned his ears and listened attentively. Then he stopped in front of the door of the medicine shop and slammed the door. Finally, the door opened with a "creak", and a person came out of it. He looked sleepy-eyed, his clothes were stained with mud, and the fabric on his two knees was badly damaged. Situ Zhen asked him if he needed to stock up, and the man impatiently said that the shopkeeper was not there, and he couldn't be the master, so he turned around and closed the door with a "bang". Situ Zhen nodded, then pinched his fingers to calculate the time, and said, "It should be fifteen tomorrow night, right?" The two followers said yes, and they couldn't figure out what medicine he was selling in the gourd.

Situ Zhen returned to the county office, and at dusk the next day, he asked someone to secretly pick Hao Shouye up. He asked, "Do you still want to see your brother Ma Yiwen?" Hao Shouye nodded vigorously, he was still thinking about sharing the $10,000 family property! Situ Zhen sighed sadly, put on civilian clothes, and brought a few powerful police officers. They went to the north of the city and came to the pawn shop not far from the "Furong Hall" medicine shop.

As soon as the pawnshop owner saw Situ Zhen, he immediately greeted him and said, "The guest officer is really punctual. After tonight, that thing should belong to me." Situ Zhen was silent and went to the quiet room inside. He quietly took out a waist card and handed it to the pawnshop owner. The pawnshop owner was startled and said, "Are you the new Lord Situ?" Situ Zhen said, "If my estimate is right, the'Thief Monster 'will come to steal that thing tonight. We will set up a game in the basement where you hide the treasure and wait for them to throw themselves into the net." The pawnshop owner was shocked and said, "Lord Situ, you are here to present that treasure to us to attract the'Thief Monster'?" Situ Zhen nodded.

The pawnbroker immediately closed the door and closed the shop. Then he led the way with the lantern in his hand, and a group of people followed. They entered a dark passage, stepped on the stone steps, and meandered down. The terrain was getting lower and lower, and a stone room appeared in front of him, and the pawnbroker took out the key to open it. There were several oil lamps lit inside, and the cabinets were piled with various large and small boxes. Among them, there was a brocade box with a soft light. The pawnbroker took out a small key and opened the brocade box. Everyone only felt that it was bright in front of their eyes. Inside was a night pearl the size of a goose egg, and the light from it eclipsed the candlelight.

Hao Shouye couldn't help but ask, "Lord Situ, this place is so hidden, how did the thieves get in?"

Situ Zhen said: "They came in from your pharmacy. Your new buddy is the famous'strange thief 'in the rivers and lakes, and that Ma Yiwen is probably the'thief'. They set up a scam to deliberately instigate you to meet your relatives and leave the pharmacy. The pharmacy is adjacent to the pawnshop, and they have long been optimistic about the terrain. When you were cleaning up the accounts at the inn, they had already dug a tunnel that leads straight to here. Yesterday, I went to the pharmacy and saw that the new buddy was sleepy-eyed. He was resting during the day, which proves that the tunnel has been dug. My carriage was walking on the slate road, and there was one place that made the same sound as the others, and the tunnel must be below. ' The thieves usually choose to commit crimes when the moon is full. Now there are still a few hours before the moon hangs in the middle of the sky. Everyone be quiet and turn off all the lights. "

Hearing Situ Zhen's words, Hao Shouye woke up like a dream. He couldn't help but slap his hands on the ground, and sure enough, there was an echo of "dong dong" under one of the slabs. Situ Zhen quickly dragged him away, and everyone lay in the darkness, and they could clearly hear each other's breathing.

After a long time, footsteps gradually came from below. The footsteps became louder and louder, and everyone's heart beat faster and faster. Then, with a "click," the slate was lifted, and a figure drilled out. The catchers who were in ambush on both sides jumped out and pressed him tightly. Situ Zhen ordered the oil lamp to be lit, and the man shouted: "Situ Zhen, why are you always haunting me? When I go to Jiangnan, you go to Jiangnan. I come to Hebei, and you come to Hebei too. Fortunately, my junior brother runs fast. As long as he goes out, there is always a way to save me."

Situ Zhen laughed and said, "Thief, I have long arranged for warriors at the entrance of the medicine shop. At this moment, the strange thief is probably waiting for you in the county government prison! I used the night pearl to lure you, but I didn't expect you to enter from underground. If it wasn't for the innkeeper's trouble with Hao Shouye, I really couldn't guess. Hao Shouye, come and meet your brother."

Hao Shouye stepped forward and asked, "I just don't know yet, why do we have the same black mole on the soles of our feet?"

Situ Zhen went over and took off the thief's shoes. The soles of his left foot were smooth, and there was still the shadow of a mole.

Situ Zhen said, "The strange thief works as a buddy in your shop and washes your feet from time to time. How can they not know the secret of the soles of your feet? With the ability of a thief, it should not be a problem to make a small mole on the bottom of your feet."

Hao Shouye shook his head and said, "It's all my fault for letting Qian Cai lose his conscience, mistaken my brother, and almost became their accomplice. Hey, don't be too greedy!"