Before I knew it, we found ourselves at the Industrial and Commercial Bureau. Liu Dazhuang led me straight to his friend, a guy named Feng Xiao. He was around the same age as Liu Dazhuang but didn’t have the same muscular build.

　　“Bro Liu ! What brings you around here?” Feng Xiao greeted with a friendly grin.

　　“Hey, don’t mention it, man; I need a favor,” Liu Dazhuang replied, his smile warm. “Let me introduce you—this is Wang Xiaofeng, the younger brother of your sister-in-law, Meng Yun.”

　　“Really?” Feng Xiao said, raising an eyebrow in surprise as he looked me over, then turning back to Liu Dazhuang. “Anyone who catches Meng Yun’s eye must be someone special!”

　　He turned to me and added, “You’ve got potential, kid!”

　　“Oh, come on, I’m not that impressive!” I responded quickly, feeling a bit shy.

　　He gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder and said, “No, seriously, I see good things in you!”

　　Honestly, I was struck by how likable Feng Xiao was from the get-go. He had an easygoing nature and was very approachable. Despite being a department head, he didn’t carry himself with any airs.

　　“So, what’s going on?” Feng Xiao asked.

　　“I need your help to look up some information on a company,” Liu Dazhuang explained.

　　“That’s it? I thought it was something major!” Feng Xiao chuckled, clearly amused.

　　“Yeah, it might be a small task for you, but it’s kind of a big deal for us,” Liu Dazhuang replied quickly.

　　“Alright, let’s go! Follow me!” Feng Xiao said, leading us into the data room. It was a large space filled with shelves overflowing with documents and files.“Aren’t you the department head? What brings you here?” a young guy asked.

　　“Xiao Liu, I need your help finding some info on a company,” Feng Xiao replied.

　　“Of course, Director! Which company?”

　　Feng Xiao turned to us, and Liu Dazhuang said, “Panshi Carvings!”

　　“Got it!” The young guy jumped into action, sifting through the files.

　　“There’s a ton of stuff here, so we might be waiting a while,” Feng Xiao said with a light chuckle. He then led Liu Dazhuang and me to a nearby area where we could sit down and take a load off.

　　“What’s Panshi Carvings got to do with any case?” Feng Xiao asked, raising an eyebrow.

　　Liu Dazhuang glanced at me first. When I nodded, he continued, “Honestly, it’s related to the Huayuan Community case.”

　　“Huayuan Community?” Feng Xiao said, sounding surprised. “Aren’t you the one who got into hot water over that case? Why are you still poking around?”

　　Liu Dazhuang sighed. “I can’t just let it go. I suspect that the recent death of Zhang Guofa is tied to the Huayuan Community case.”

　　“Really?” Feng Xiao said, intrigued now.

　　“Yeah! People are already stirring things up at the police station because of Zhang Guofa’s death. What do you want me to do?”

　　Feng Xiao turned to me and asked, “Xiaofeng, you’re mixed up in this too?”

　　“Yeah,” I said, “I live in the Huayuan Community, so I’ve been helping Liu Ge with the investigation!”

　　Feng Xiao let out a soft sigh and said, “You know, I actually had some dealings with Zhou Yong. I can’t believe he’s gone so suddenly and without any explanation.”

　　“You knew Zhou Yong?” I asked, surprised.

　　“Yeah, he was a solid guy—hardworking and capable. There’s no way he could have opened his own factory in just a few years otherwise,” Feng Xiao replied, shaking his head slightly.

　　I paused for a moment, then asked, “I heard that Zhou Yong’s Shanyong Garment Factory had a business dispute with Tongming Group. Is that true?” I pressed, eager to learn more.

　　“You’ve hit the jackpot with that question!” Feng Xiao said, his curiosity clearly sparked. “I’ve heard their conflicts were pretty serious, but the main issue really revolves around the acquisition of the factory.”

　　“I know about the acquisition. Zhou Yong didn’t have enough funding when he tried to buy the factory and was looking to Tongming Group for a bridge loan, right?” Liu Dazhuang chimed in confidently.

　　“Not even close! You’ve only skimmed the surface, and you think the case is all wrapped up?” Feng Xiao replied, raising an eyebrow.

　　Liu Dazhuang looked a bit confused. “What else is there?”

　　Feng Xiao leaned in slightly, his expression growing more serious. “Well, I owe this little nugget of information to a night when Zhou Yong had a bit too much to drink. He let slip some details I hadn’t known before. Turns out Tongming Group was also interested in acquiring the nearly bankrupt Mountain City Second Garment Factory, which is actually what Shanyong Garment Factory used to be.”

　　“What happened after that? Why did Tongming Group back off?” I asked, intrigued.

　　“Right? I mean, Zhang Ming from Tongming Group isn’t exactly someone Zhou Yong could go toe-to-toe with. How did that factory end up in Zhou Yong’s hands?”

　　Feng Xiao smiled knowingly. “There’s a lot more to it than you think! Initially, Zhang Ming and Zhou Yong had struck a deal where Zhou Yong would take over the garment factory, but Tongming Group was supposed to handle the costs of relocating the factory’s employees!”

　　“Is that for real?” Liu Dazhuang looked at me, his face full of disbelief.

　　“Yep, Zhou Yong said it himself when he was drunk. He even mentioned that Shanyong Garment Factory was supposed to give Zhang Ming some shares, but he didn’t say exactly how much,” Feng Xiao replied.

　　“So then, how did it turn into a business dispute?” I asked, wanting to get to the bottom of it.

　　“Zhang Ming went back on his word!” Feng Xiao said, his voice edged with frustration. “He promised to put up the money to resettle the original workers, but the funds never came through. Those workers were left hanging, and Zhou Yong kept running back and forth to Zhang Ming’s office trying to sort it out. He was even threatening to sue Zhang Ming. But before he could do anything, Zhou Yong was dead.”

　　“So that’s how it went down!” I said, the pieces finally clicking into place. Now I understood what had happened between Zhou Yong and Zhang Ming.

　　“Director, I’ve found it!” Xiao Liu came over holding a folder. “Here are the registration documents and relevant approval records for Panshi Carvings Limited.”

　　“Got it, thanks, Xiao Liu. You can get back to your work,” Feng Xiao said, taking the folder.

　　He handed the documents over to me and Liu Dazhuang. We quickly tore them open and began flipping through the pages. We soon discovered that the legal representative for Panshi Carvings was a man named Zhang Ke.

　　“Does that ring a bell?” I asked, looking at Liu Dazhuang. He shook his head.

　　“Do you know this Zhang Ke?” Liu Dazhuang then turned to Feng Xiao.

　　“Which Zhang Ke are you talking about?” Feng Xiao asked.

　　Liu Dazhuang took the document, pointing to the signature line for the legal representative of Panshi Carvings. “This Zhang Ke.”

　　“Zhang Ke... Panshi Carvings...” Feng Xiao stared at the name, thinking for a moment. Then suddenly, his eyes lit up. “Oh, right! I remember now. Panshi Carvings often does wood or stone sculptures, mostly decorative pieces. There's one of their stone carvings in our neighborhood. As for Zhang Ke, I heard he used to be in construction before he got into the carving business.”

　　“Construction?” Liu Dazhuang was puzzled. “Those two fields don’t really have anything in common.”

　　“Who knows? I’m just telling you what I heard,” Feng Xiao replied.

　　Listening to their conversation, I glanced again at the registration date for Panshi Carvings. It was exactly three days after Li Hongmin’s death.

　　“Construction... Li Hongmin... Could it be?” I quickly started rifling through Panshi Carvings' documents.

　　“You’re not suggesting that Zhang Ke is the killer, are you?” Feng Xiao asked.

　　“Not exactly, but we do know that the Bagua Stone Craving in Huayuan Community was definitely made by Panshi Carvings,” Liu Dazhuang said.

　　“I’ve got it!” I exclaimed, suddenly stopping what I was doing.

　　“What did you figure out?” Liu Dazhuang asked.

　　I handed him the document. He took one look at it and, with a tone of disbelief, said, “The largest shareholder of Panshi Carvings is Zhang Ming!”