Ning Zhiheng then said to Liu Yong, "Go and find out if the owner of that newsstand is a long-time resident here and when he started selling newspapers here."
Liu Yong nodded and accepted the order, then quickly left. After spending some money, he soon found out the details and rushed back to report to Ning Zhiheng: "The owner of this newspaper stand is a long-time resident here. He has lived here for decades and has been setting up his newspaper stand at this street corner for more than ten years."
Ning Zhiheng nodded. It seemed that the newsstand owner was not the problem, and Wei San was simply buying a newspaper.
Ning Zhiheng then instructed Zhao Jiang, "Let's go inside and take a look!"
Zhao Jiang and several guards wore white cloths wrapped around their heads, short clothes, and cloth shoes, all dressed in typical Sichuan attire.
However, Ning Zhiheng's temperament was too outstanding, and no matter how he dressed up, he could not completely hide it. So, wearing an ordinary suit and glasses, he looked like a company employee.
Since Chongqing became the wartime capital, its economy has developed rapidly, and all kinds of companies and trading firms have sprung up. Employees dressed like Ning Zhiheng are everywhere and not particularly noticeable.
Ning Zhiheng stepped into the street, with Zhao Jiang and the others keeping their distance to ensure his safety. Ning Zhiheng casually blended into the crowd and walked slowly forward, while secretly observing his surroundings. However, they walked from one end of the street to the other without finding anything.
Ning Zhiheng knew that the search process wouldn't be so smooth, so he went to a teahouse in the street, chose a spot facing the street, and ordered a pot of tea.
Zhao Jiang and the others dared not stray too far from Ning Zhiheng, so they found a table in the teahouse and waited nearby.
Ning Zhiheng and his men waited on this street until dusk, but Wei San did not appear, so they had no choice but to call it a day.
Zhao Jiang asked softly from the side, "Chief, it's been half a day and Wei San hasn't shown up yet. Chongqing is so big, there are many places where he can hide. Could it be that Wei San is just passing through and didn't stay here?"
Ning Zhiheng nodded: "Very likely. However, since there are no other clues, the neighborhood around here is our main search area. This Silver Fox is too important. Even if it takes more effort, it will be worth it as long as we catch her. Tomorrow we will expand the search area and set up a trap in the vicinity until we have something to show for it!"
At this point, Ning Zhiheng seemed to suddenly remember something, and he quickly ordered, "Go and call Gan Tuozi over, I'll ask him more questions."
Ning Zhiheng signaled his men to bring Gan Tuozi over again. Gan Tuozi, who had been cooperating with the team members in searching for Wei San, had changed his clothes and rushed over when he heard Ning Zhiheng's call.
Ning Zhiheng looked at him, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Think carefully back to the specific circumstances of what you saw Wei San at that time."
Gan Tuozi recalled carefully, "There was nothing special about it. I just watched him walk over, buy a few newspapers at the newsstand, and then continue walking."
"A few newspapers?" Ning Zhiheng raised an eyebrow, as if remembering something. "Did you buy a lot?"
Gan Tuozi paused for a moment, thought about it carefully, and said again with certainty, "I saw that the stall owner pick up several newspapers for him, which he rolled up in a ball. He did buy quite a lot."
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Ning Zhiheng: it was through Inoue Takahiko's advertisement for Yuanze Trading Company in the Shudu Daily that he had sent a warning signal to Silver Fox, making Silver Fox alert and allowing it to escape from his grasp once again.
This suggests that the intelligence teams under Silver Fox's command likely used this method to inform him.
That means Silver Fox needs to read newspapers every day, and not just the Chengdu Daily.
Silver Fox has been exposed and is under tight scrutiny, so her movements must be inconvenient these days. As Silver Fox's assistant, it's only natural for Wei San to buy her some newspapers. How could I not have thought of this before? I was so careless!
Ning Zhiheng immediately ordered Liu Yong, "Tomorrow, find all the coachmen who know Wei San and continue to cooperate with our search."
"yes!"
"Go and investigate the situation again. Using this place as the center, check all the newsstands and kiosks in the surrounding area. We'll come back tomorrow and set up surveillance at every point. Cast a wide net and see if this big fish will appear."
In Chongqing, ordinary people have three ways to buy newspapers. One is through newsstands, which require a fixed storefront and room specifically for selling newspapers and also selling cigarettes and other sundries. Newsstand vendors do their business inside. These newsstands require a large investment and cannot be moved, but they have one advantage: they are not afraid of wind and rain, and the vendors do not have to run around too much.
One is the newspaper stand. This kind of stall is quite casual and has very low costs. All you need is a cart and a wooden board to start a business. The location for selling newspapers is also quite casual. In short, you go wherever it is convenient. As the flow of people changes, the newspaper seller can flexibly change locations. However, the worst thing is rain and wind. A storm can ruin all the newspapers, and all the hard work of many days will be in vain.
Another type is the newspaper boy, who is a teenager. He takes a certain number of newspapers from the newspaper office and sells them on the street. If he sells well, he earns more. If he doesn't sell them, he returns them to the newspaper office. He can earn a living for a day. It is hard work. However, these children have limited business skills. They usually only take a small number of newspapers and only one type of newspaper. They usually only have time to collect newspapers from one newspaper office. This does not meet Wei San's condition of buying multiple newspapers, so Ning Zhiheng did not consider it.
In that case, aside from newsboys who hawk their wares everywhere and are difficult to track and monitor, the number of remaining newsstands and stands should not be large, and monitoring them should not be difficult.
The next morning, Chongqing awoke from its slumber, and people began their day's work. The streets were bustling with people, and restaurants, shops, teahouses, newsstands, and other establishments all opened for business.
Matsuno Tomohiro, using the alias Wei San, walked briskly down the street and soon entered the Tian Deng Bao district. He glanced at the newsstand at the street corner, but this time he did not stop and continued into the street.
After walking for a while, he turned left and walked a few steps to a newsstand. He would buy a few newspapers for Tanikawa Chiemi every day, but Matsuno Tomohiro was extremely cautious and never bought newspapers at the same place to prevent anyone from remembering him.
So he didn't continue buying from the newsstand at the street corner. Instead, he went to the newsstand inside the street, ordered a few newspapers, and also got a pack of cigarettes. After paying, he turned and left quickly.
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