Li Si carefully examined him and widened her eyes in surprise: "Uncle Zhang!"
She truly almost didn’t recognize him. She rembered seeing him so years ago—perhaps during his most difficult ti—thin, dark-skinned, and without a trace of spirit on his face.
If she hadn’t seen photos of him from his youth, she really wouldn’t have recognized that the man before her was her father’s classmate, Zhang Tianbao!
Zhang Tianbao chuckled: "You child! I later went to North City to look for you but couldn’t find you! Such a big event like your wedding, and you didn’t inform ! If it weren’t for Mr. Jin coming to visit, I wouldn’t have known!"
As he spoke, he motioned toward Jin Yichen, who responded with a warm smile.
Jin Jiachao’s complexion looked sowhat pale, though whether it was due to a lack of rest or so other issue, nobody knew.
Li Si apologized sheepishly: "Uncle Zhang, please don’t hold it against ! At the ti, things were just too hectic, and I completely forgot!"
Back then, she really hadn’t considered inviting him, especially since Shanxi was quite far away. Besides, she didn’t want him to go to the trouble and expense.
Zhang Tianbao waved his hand dismissively: "I’m just joking with you, kid! Haha! Today, I just wanted to co and see how you’re doing. A few years ago, you and your husband ca to visit and secretly left such a large sum of money! Today, I’ve co to return it to you, doubled!"
"Uncle Zhang! What are you doing!" Back then, leaving the money behind hadn’t ant anything special to Li Si; she simply felt he was going through tough tis. She thought, since she wasn’t lacking herself, why not lend a helping hand? After all, he was her father’s best friend before he passed away.
Zhang Tianbao sighed emotionally: "Child! You don’t understand. That money you left behind—I shalessly used it to start so business ventures. Unexpectedly, fortune ca my way, and the business flourished trendously! But I feel guilty in my heart. When all is said and done, the money was yours, and it felt like it was burning in my hands!"
With that, he pulled ten stacks of RMB from his large leather bag. "I’ve been wanting to find you to return the money, doubled, for a long ti! But back then, you didn’t leave any way to contact you. I went to your father’s old address to look for you, but people said your family had moved after the area was redeveloped, and they didn’t know where you relocated.
If Brother Jin hadn’t visited, I still wouldn’t have found you! Take this money—you must accept it no matter what, or I won’t feel at ease! Oh, and I brought a little trinket for your child. Please don’t take it lightly!"
"Thank you, Uncle Zhang! Of course, we won’t take it lightly!" Li Si was at a loss for what to do with his gesture, but Leng Mochen gave a soft cough, saying, "Alright, let’s leave this topic aside for now. Today, we’ve also invited you here to ask you about sothing!"
Zhang Tianbao nodded, initially uncertain about what they were doing.
If it had anything to do with harming Guoqiang’s child, he wouldn’t reveal anything.
Jin Yichen handed the Jade Pendant over to him. "Now that you’ve seen Li Si, can you tell us about this Jade Pendant?"
He was stubborn but determined. Carrying the Jade Pendant, he had taken various forms of transportation to Zhang Tianbao’s ho to explain his purpose.
The other party was only concerned about Li Si’s current situation. Upon hearing she had recently married, he insisted on traveling to Beijing to see her in person.
Without seeing Li Si, he wouldn’t say a word!
Ultimately, Jin Yichen had no choice but to bring him to Beijing, also informing Leng Ning and her older brother.
He knew this wasn’t the ideal approach—Leng Mochen had made it clear before that regarding the Jade Pendant, they would only provide this much help and support.
Beyond that, they didn’t want to be bothered further.
Unfortunately, he broke his promise. The issue was that Zhang Tianbao was impossibly stubborn—no amount of good words helped—and so he had to bring him to Beijing.
Currently, only the clues Zhang Tianbao could provide were available, leaving Jin Yichen feeling helpless.
Li Si sat beside Leng Mochen, her gaze also fixed on Zhang Tianbao.
Zhang Tianbao rubbed the Jade Pendant in his hand, appearing to fall into a mory.
"This Jade Pendant was sothing Guoqiang won in a ping pong match against a fellow alumnus. The prize was this!"
"Then do you know who owns this Jade Pendant?" Jin Yichen asked eagerly. Did this an the person with the Jade Pendant was soone from Li Si’s father’s university?
Zhang Tianbao fell into a deep thought. After so many years, he only had a vague impression.
Everyone waited quietly. Li Si sat beside Leng Mochen, and their hands entwined. She felt faintly nervous too.
Would Uncle Zhang be able to provide a useful clue?
After quite a while, Zhang Tianbao hesitantly spoke up: "At the ti, I didn’t pay much attention. I only vaguely rember that the alumnus was from Shandong!"
Jin Jiachao jumped up excitedly: "Shandong! What’s their na?"
He had been searching in Shandong for so many years—could it be that the child was indeed in Shandong and even attended college?
But the repeated frustrations over the years had deeply shaken his confidence, making him hesitant to draw any conclusions.
Perhaps the alumnus had simply picked it up? Perhaps their family had bought it?
All these guesses swirled chaotically in his mind.
Li Si and the others were also visibly moved. Among those present, only Zhang Tianbao had no knowledge of the specific origins of the Jade Pendant.
Despite his best efforts, Zhang Tianbao couldn’t recall any useful information and shook his head apologetically: "It’s been too long—I truly can’t rember!"
Back then, he was only watching from the sidelines and hadn’t paid much attention.
Although Jin Jiachao felt sowhat disappointed, he knew that this tidbit had provided them with a new lead. Finding that person would bring them closer to locating his sister’s missing child.
Jin Yichen thought the sa. He truly feared leaving with no useful clues, which would only sadden the elderly father.
"Uncle Zhang, do you perhaps rember the na of that person?" Li Si asked, just to see if he might recall anything. After all, her father’s college days were more than twenty years ago—who could still rember clearly?
If soone asked her about her middle school days, she wouldn’t rember much unless the event had been significant.
After furrowing his brows in thought for a long while, Zhang Tianbao’s eyes suddenly lit up: "Ah! I rember soone calling him Da Zhuang!"
This information was very specific. Jin Jiachao and his son promptly headed to the university to investigate, taking Leng Ning with them!
Zhang Tianbao hadn’t left yet. He saw Buding wake up and grew incredibly fond of him.
With infinite emotions, he sighed: "If your father were still alive to see you now—married and with a child—how happy he would be!"
He stayed for a while at Li Si’s ho before finally saying his goodbyes: "Kid! Uncle ca out in a hurry. The business back in my hotown in Shanxi is still quite busy. I left it all behind to follow Mr. Jin here.
Since I now know your address, I’ll co visit you and your child next ti I’m in Beijing."
Hearing this, Li Si didn’t try to insist he stay longer. She exchanged a few polite words with him.
Leng Mochen arranged for a hotel for Zhang Tianbao and ensured he boarded the plane the next day. (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please visit Qidian (qidian) to vote with recomndation tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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