They stopped in front of a bun shop.

Ji Shuyun whispered, "According to the information, this is the stir-fry restaurant that Jiang Yunkai used to run. Now it has been converted into a bun shop."

He glanced sharply at the surrounding hardware stores, convenience stores and other shops.

Judging by the fading of the signs and the signs of wear and tear on the storefronts, Ji Shuyun said, "These shops have been open for four or five years. They must have had some impression of their former neighbors."

Xia Zhining understood and immediately took out a photo of Xia Cheng's confidant Jiang Yunkai. She turned to the nearby merchant with a friendly smile and said, "Excuse me, do you still remember the man who opened the stir-fry restaurant here before?"

After asking along the way, the merchants recalled:

"A stir-fry restaurant? It seems to have opened two or three years ago. We all call the owner Jiang San, but we don't know his real name."

"He's a nice guy, warm and down-to-earth. His fried lunch boxes are incredibly delicious, and he delivers them to the paint factory across the street every day."

"That's right! Because of his craftsmanship, he's taken over all the boxed lunch business at the paint factory."

"Then it suddenly closed. The neighbors said someone must have been jealous of his ambition and had tripped him up to get him out."

…

Xia Zhining listened to the merchants' comments on Jiang Yunkai and couldn't help but mutter to her brother, "This Jiang Yunkai's undercover work is quite successful."

Ji Shuyun commented sharply: "If this were put in a normal situation, he would have to be a talented person."

He wanted to use a kite to set fire and act as an undercover agent.

Xia Zhining took out a photo of her mother, Xia Tang, and showed it to the merchants: "Do you recognize this person? She's Xia Tang. She might have worked or lived around here before."

Everyone shook their heads to indicate they had never seen it.

Someone then reminded him, "Why don't you ask Grandma Yang who runs the scrap yard at the end of the street? She's been running this yard for over 30 years, so she's got a lot of experience. She knows this street best!"

The brother and sister found Grandma Yang. The old lady looked at the photo and suddenly remembered:

"I've met this girl a few times when I was collecting waste from the factory! She works in the paint factory."

"But she was a solitary person and never socialized with the neighbors. She lived, ate, and worked at the factory, so no one knew her."

Grandma Yang revealed a key piece of information: "I can see that she has a very close relationship with the female boss of the Huguang Paint Factory. They are like sisters!"

"This girl looks like she's helping raise some kind of insects in the factory."

"Those bugs are used to make paint. Even an old man like me doesn't really understand that..."

Xia Zhining and Ji Shuyun exchanged glances and immediately set off for the Huguang Paint Factory.

This old factory looks quite old. According to the surrounding merchants, it has been rooted here for decades.

The factory has been following traditional crafts, relying on manual screening and grinding of minerals and plants to make pigments, and it also retains ancient grinding techniques.

I heard that many famous calligraphers and painters had ordered their pigments here in the early years.

However, with the impact of the modern pigment industry and the increasing convenience of purchasing pigments from overseas, this old factory gradually declined.

As the brother and sister walked into the factory, they saw rows of huge cactus slices supported by bamboo poles drying in the open space.

What’s a little scary is that it’s covered with densely packed white bugs.

Xia Zhining's eyes flashed, and she blurted out, "It's cochineal!"