“Six years ago? Isn't that when your sister-in-law found Huabao?” Zhang Qian exclaimed, looking at Zhang Liunian with an extremely complex expression.
Zhang Liunian was also very surprised by the timing. It was too coincidental, so coincidental that he couldn't help but suspect if Huabao was truly Tang Shitong's daughter.
Zhang Liunian began to panic, rubbing his hands restlessly, sometimes apart, sometimes clasped.
However, he realized he had never actually seen Tang Shitong. He had been in the provincial city for a while, but he had been too preoccupied with fighting the Zhu family to notice anyone from the Tang family.
No, there was still one person from the Tang family who opposed him, and that was Tang Guo, whose whereabouts were unknown.
As for his eldest brother Tang's third uncle, he had never met him.
If, as Zhang Qian said, Huabao looked like Tang Shitong, then it was possible they were father and daughter.
If this were true, what should he do? What would happen to his Huabao?
Zhang Liunian restlessly clasped his fists and rested them on his forehead, not daring to think any further.
Seeing him like this, Uncle Yi and Zhang Qian felt a surge of sympathy.
Uncle Yi even pretended to be hearing for the first time that Zhang Liunian's daughter was not his biological child, exclaiming in surprise, "Your daughter was found?"
In fact, no one knew Zhang Liunian's family situation better than Uncle Yi, but he couldn't reveal that he knew, so he had to rely on acting for many things.
"Yes," Zhang Liunian replied dully without looking up.
Uncle Yi didn't know how to respond and fell silent. The impatient Zhang Qian began to worry about Zhang Liunian.
“If Huabao is really from the Tang family, what will you do, Brother Liunian? Why don’t we just pretend this never happened? And let’s not let the Tang family know about Huabao’s existence. We can just act like we don’t know anything.” Zhang Qian couldn’t bear to see the usually confident Liunian in such distress, and instinctively found an excuse for him to escape.
Hearing this, Zhang Liunian paused, then slowly looked up at Zhang Qian and asked again, "Does Huabao really look like Tang Shitong?"
If they looked alike, then this matter might not be kept secret for long.
Another point was, if his Huabao was truly from the Tang family, why couldn't the Tang family recognize her?
Thinking of this, he looked at Uncle Yi and asked, "Tang Shikang kidnapped my Huabao before. He saw what Huabao looked like, so why didn't he notice that Huabao resembled his brother?"
Wait, he remembered. When Tang Shikang died, he seemed a little different, especially when he smiled at him before he died. He would never forget that smile.
At the time, he hadn't understood the meaning of that smile. Could he now guess that it was related to Huabao?
Was Huabao really from the Tang family?
"Perhaps it's just a slight resemblance, not a strong one. If they looked exactly alike, he wouldn't have failed to recognize her," Uncle Yi offered his opinion.
"It's also possible that Huabao has no relation to the Tang family at all."
Zhang Liunian still held out hope, believing that Huabao could not be related to the Tang family.
Although Uncle Yi sympathized with him, he did not agree with his idea. "There must be some connection. Whether she is Tang Shitong's daughter, we cannot be sure yet, but the time he lost his daughter does indeed match the time you found your daughter."
The hope that had just risen in Zhang Liunian slowly sank again.
Seeing him like this, Uncle Yi turned his eyes and said, "I also know that six years ago, besides Tang Shitong having a daughter born, a day apart, the Tang family had another child born. However, that child was sent away by the Tang family as soon as he was born. I don't know where he went. I heard it was Hong Kong, but I'm not sure."
"Tang Shilin? Does he look like Huabao?" Zhang Liunian immediately asked when he heard about the child born at the same time.
"I haven't seen your daughter, so I really can't be sure."
"..." Zhang Liunian was choked. It seemed he still needed to get a photo of his daughter.
"Uncle Yi, just tell us if that Tang Shilin and Tang Shitong resemble each other!" Zhang Qian had already confirmed that Huabao was from the Tang family, but the identity of her biological father was still to be determined.
But this couldn't change the fact that Brother Liunian had raised his enemy's daughter.
"They resemble each other about fifty percent," Uncle Yi replied after a moment of recollection.
"What's different, and what's the same?" Zhang Qian continued to ask.
"I can't really say, after all, he died too early. He died not long after getting married, and the child was sent away. It wasn't revealed whether it was a boy or a girl."
"Why did Tang Shilin die?" Zhang Liunian seized on the key point. Earlier, Uncle Yi had mentioned that there were internal problems within the Tang family.
If Huabao was indeed from the Tang family, he would rather she was the daughter of this man named Tang Shilin.
"There are rumors that the Tang family patriarch killed him to consolidate his power for his son, but the truth is unknown. However, if your daughter is Tang Shilin's daughter, then you haven't raised your enemy's daughter," Uncle Yi understood Zhang Liunian's thoughts and gave him the result he wanted to hear.
"Uncle Yi, I'll bring you Huabao's photo later. Please help me investigate this matter and see what connection my Huabao has with the Tang family, and who her father is." Zhang Liunian thought that guessing wouldn't help; they needed evidence.
Later, he would have to meet Tang Shitong and see if he really resembled his Huabao.
"Leave it to me."
Uncle Yi was familiar with such matters and readily agreed.
"There's also the matter of Zhu Laosi being released. Our evidence may not have been submitted to the authorities yet. I plan to make multiple copies and submit them to several places. We'll go our separate ways later."
Someone like Zhu Laosi was a problem as long as he was out. Zhang Liunian really wanted to put him away immediately, forever.
"Whatever you say."
The matters were settled. Zhang Liunian first personally made five copies of the evidence, and then he and Uncle Yi split up to report the crimes.
Zhang Liunian set off with Zhang Qian, while Uncle Yi departed separately. This time, Zhang Liunian planned to report to the police station, as well as higher-level bureaus and departments. He didn't believe Zhu Laosi could cover the sky with one hand.
While they were rushing to report Zhu Laosi and provide evidence, Zhu Laosi on the other side had already had them watched. As soon as he saw Zhang Liunian making a move, he also dispatched people to go their separate ways to capture all the evidence.
Zhu Laosi had even brought firearms to deal with Zhang Liunian, intending to kill Zhang Liunian.
Zhang Liunian was unaware of this. He was currently in a car, heading to the bureau to report the crime, holding evidence of Zhu Laosi's crimes.
It clearly stated how the Zhu family provided a complete chain of service for narcotics, as well as their distribution and storage locations.
As long as the people in charge saw it, Zhu Laosi would have no chance of recovery.