"Zhang Yuanyuan was very pitiful in the orphanage. Her watery eyes looked very pitiful. What touched me most was the way she looked at me... just like the way your mother took in those kittens and puppies. So I adopted her."
"Zhang Yuanyuan was still very young at the time. In order to protect her, I lied and said she was my biological daughter. Your brother also kept this a secret, so that all the neighbors knew about Zhang Yuanyuan's background. In this way, I raised Zhang Yuanyuan as my own daughter."
"It's just that I was usually busy with work and neglected the education of my child. As a result, Zhang Yuanyuan has been spoiled since she was a child and has developed such a protective and arrogant personality. She even bullied you... I feel very sad when I think about this."
"It was my fault that I failed to protect Qiurong." Zhang Chengping sighed.
Shen Li is the daughter that Qiu Rong has always wanted to give birth to.
If Qiu Rong knew in the afterlife that her biological daughter was framed and treated like this by an adopted daughter, and that her son or the adopted daughter assisted in the crime, she would be so heartbroken.
It's Qiu Rong who has done wrong to me. I can only wait until I am buried a hundred years later and then go to the underworld to confess and apologize to Qiu Rong.
"Uncle Zhang, you don't have to be too sad. No one could have controlled what happened back then." Shen Li sighed lightly and comforted him.
Hearing Shen Li calling him, Zhang Chengping knew that Shen Li had not let go of the grudge in her heart, and she was still unwilling to call him dad. But it didn't matter, he had time, and he would double compensate Shen Li for the grievances and pain she had suffered over the years, and return everything that originally belonged to Shen Li to her.
Zhang Chengping raised his face and wiped away the tears from his eyes.
"Have you been doing well these years?" Zhang Chengping choked up a little. He looked through the rearview mirror at Shen Li who was sitting in the back seat of the car.
"I was too good when I was a child. My stepmother treated me harshly and my adoptive father either beat or scolded me. But later on, I was lucky to meet Lu Jingchuan. I have been married to Lu Jingchuan and have lived a happy life every day. It can be said that all the suffering is over now." As Shen Li spoke, she looked into Lu Jingchuan's eyes and their fingers were tightly clasped.
"You are a miserable child." Zhang Chengping sighed and said, "When we return to Beijing, I will prepare a banquet for you and invite all your relatives and friends to come and recognize you as your relative. I will give you everything you deserve from childhood to adulthood."
"Thank you, Uncle Zhang. It would be a waste to lay out so much space." Shen Li said.
"How can I say that? You are my daughter. I must make sure that my daughter is happy every day and lives happily every day. Only in this way can I, as a father, fulfill my responsibility and feel better." Zhang Chengping said.
Three days later, we finally arrived in Beijing.
Zhang Chengping took Shen Li and Lu Jingchuan to a top-notch private kitchen hotel for dinner. They went to a private room with great privacy.
The decoration inside the private room is extremely luxurious, with a new view at every step, and it has a very European retro style.
"Xiao Li, take a look at what you want to eat?" Zhang Chengping handed the thick menu to Shen Li.
This menu has two versions, Chinese and English. Every dish on it is very exquisite and looks very good. Of course, the price is also very expensive.
"Uncle Zhang, are the dishes here a little too expensive?" Shen Li said as she flipped through the menu.
"What's expensive? Not expensive at all! This restaurant is the best in the city, with a good reputation and good service! The chef of this restaurant studied abroad, so you can eat with confidence, and I'll pay for everything." Zhang Chengping looked at Shen Li in front of him lovingly.
The more I look at her, the more I feel that Shen Li and Qiu Rong when she was young are very similar in their features.
If only Qiu Rong were still alive, she would be able to see her precious daughter grow up to be so beautiful and graceful.
He really wanted to tell Qiu Rong that his precious daughter was really outstanding. She was a great military wife, outstanding and dazzling in every aspect.
If Qiu Rong could be alive, she would be so happy to see such a good daughter.
Thinking of Qiu Rong, Zhang Chengping wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and quickly suppressed the bitterness.
If he wants to have a good life with his daughter back, he has to be happy.
"Okay then, I'll order French foie gras, Italian beef brisket stew, and sirloin steak with black pepper." Shen Li handed the menu to Lu Jingchuan, "Jingchuan, do you want to eat anything?"
"I'll just order the same as you." Lu Jingchuan said.
"Uncle Zhang, this is for you." Shen Li handed the menu to Zhang Chengping.
Zhang Chengping flipped through the menu and tapped on it with his slender fingers, "I want one of each of this, this, this, and this."
The waiter in a waiter uniform beside him quickly took note of it and said respectfully, "Okay, I'll go inform the kitchen right away."
"Uncle Zhang, you ordered so much and we ate it too." Shen Li felt a little distressed.
This meal will cost one dollar.
According to the prices of that era, some ordinary workers could earn 1,000 yuan even if they worked diligently for a year and ate and drank.
This meal is really a luxury.
For Shen Li, the ingredients for these dishes are not expensive. What is expensive is the decoration style of the restaurant and the presentation of the dishes. The meals she makes herself taste very good.
"It's okay. Just try every dish when you're done eating." Zhang Chengping looked at Shen Li lovingly.
"But that would be such a waste." Shen Li frowned and said.
Realizing that his behavior had made his daughter happy, Zhang Chengping quickly explained, "It will be a waste. We can pack up the rest and take it away. Then we can heat it up at home and continue to eat it."
"Of course I am usually very frugal. When I eat out at a restaurant, I always take the food away."
Shen Li nodded, and she curled the corners of her lips and smiled slightly.
Zhang Chengping finally relaxed, and at this moment there was a knock on the door of the private room.
"Dad, are you in there?" Zhang Haibo's voice came from outside the door.
"Xiao Li, your brother is here. It's time for you to get to know your brother." Zhang Haibo stood up and went to open the door.
The moment the door opened, Shen Li saw Zhang Haibo outside the door.
This person also looks familiar, as if I have seen him somewhere before...
"It's you?" Zhang Haibo looked at Shen Li in surprise.
"Dad, you said you found your sister..." Zhang Haibo turned and looked at Zhang Chengping again.
"Yes, this is your sister, Shen Li." Zhang Chengping introduced her to him with a loving smile.
"What..." Zhang Haibo looked at Shen Li in surprise. He didn't respond for a moment, "Dad, are you mistaken? How could she be my sister?"
"What's wrong with you, little kid? You recognized your own sister even when she was standing in front of you, right?" Zhang Haibo patted his head heavily. His face turned cold and he said seriously, "I have investigated countless times during this period and the result is that this is your mother's biological daughter, Shen Li!"
For a moment, Zhang Haibo stood still and his mind went blank.
If Shen Li is his biological sister, then helping Zhang Yuanyuan, his adopted sister, to bully his biological sister...what a stupid thing had I done?