In the eighth year of the Qianlong reign, a case involving a bird inspected at court exposes a shocking scandal: officials concealed disaster reports and greedily falsified achievements for profit. It reveals the crisis of shrinking farmland and depleted granaries across the Qing Empire. Liu Tongxun, who has returned to his hometown due to illness, is ordered back into service. With newly appointed young officials such as Gu Shan and Du Xiao, he breaks through the obstacles and puts his life on the line to carry out Qianlong's grand plan to reclaim wasteland and expand farmland. After two years of hard work, farmland is no longer in crisis, and the national economy gradually regains its strength. However, corrupt forces led by Neshen and Pan Bazhi openly defy the newly enacted ban on land surveys. Under the pretext of reclaiming wasteland, they register the land for taxation and ruthlessly exploit the settlers, jeopardizing Qianlong's entire reclamation drive.
