I found an interesting property of the row 1 cells. Each one will have its own e and f values unique from the e,f pair used to find them. The difference between these e and f values is equal to either a or b in my test cases.
c559, 13*43, (30,5,6) = {30:5:23:10:13:43}
(30:1:6) = {30:1:75:10:65:87} f=-121, c=5655
(-17:1:6) = {-17:1:63:11:52:76} e=108, c=9607
e-|f| = 13, which is a
c203, 7*29, (7,4,4) = (7,4,14,7,7,29)
(-22:1:5) = {-22:1:29:8:21:39} e=35, c=819
(7:1:4) = {7:1:35:7:28:44} f=-64, c=1232
|f|-e = 29, which is b