As soon as Grandfather Zhang entered the villa, he immediately rushed to the washroom. He had been holding his piss the whole time! At the age of sixty five, the old man could be considered as pretty robust; apart from his worsening dementia, his regular checkups suggested that he was healthy and that all his other bodily functions were normal.
Although he suffered from dementia, Father and Mother Zhang didn't have to worry as Xero had blessed the hoverboard with the ability to guide itself. It didn't take the old man effort to ride it at all.
Otherwise, there was no way the old man could ride here under his own stream from the neighbouring city suburb...
Hearing that the old man had arrived, Father Zhang quickly finished his work. Apart from Mother Zhang and Xero when he was in a rage, the only person whom he had been in awe of was this man in the Zhang Family. When Xero's grandmother had still been alive, Father Zhang had in fact been even more afraid of her. Unfortunately, she had passed away four months after Xero's birth. Apparently from a heart disease.
Father Zhang had grieved for a while until Xero's first steps, (which he would be walking on air occasionally...) he would always muse that — if Xero was born a few years prior, maybe the old mother would've been alive.
Sadly, there was no "if" in life, the cycle had to continue...
It was also after Xero's grandmother died, that Grandfather Zhang was suddenly stricken with dementia. When he was young, Grandfather Zhang had always been the curious type, but this first wife was whom he loved the most second to his great-grandmother. The death of Xero's grandmother thus had a huge blow on the old man.
In the living room, Father Zhang lit a cigarette. "Have we made the restaurant booking tonight?"
Mother Zhang nodded. "I've made reservations at Pearl Pavilion. I initially booked at Silken Bamboo but the boss was busy. I also heard that the shrimp, egg and rice dish's price had increased! Originally it was three hundred and eighty nine, now it's seven hundred and eighty nine. That's practically just robbery!"
Xero: "..."
Xero knew that there was a really popular place called Silken Bamboo. With just one bowl of fried rice and eggs, they managed to attract thousands of customers and they caused local shopkeepers to fall to their knees for the eagerness of promoting them.
He felt that this restaurant was a little suspicious. They were either a veteran senior in the cultivation world or a time-consuming big shot... if not, it was possible that this person had some kind of system on them used to boost their strength! A portable system wasn't anything new, but, Xero knew that this was a research project which Tianrui had been vigorously working on in recent years; right now, he had conducted multiple experiments and systems around the world.
"Hm... It's alright. Pearl Pavilion isn't that bad."
Father Zhang's eyes glanced over to the back garden where the hoverboard was conveniently placed. "Why are there so many fruits?"
"Dad brought them. He remembered that Xiaoluo liked to eat berries when he was younger, unfortunately he brought the wrong thing..."
"..." Father Zhang covered his face and sighed in his heart; his dementia is getting worse and worse!
And it seemed... constipation had also been a major issue, the old guy had been in the washroom for a while! He's fighting a battle only us soldiers can dream of!
Xero also felt a bit helpless. With his current abilities, he could eliminate cancer cells completely. However, he had no way of curing a mental illness such as dementia.
What was worse, was that Grandfather Zhang's dementia was real complicated since it had been caused because of a broken heart. If it had been a physical problem, Xero would have directly cured it a long time ago. His treatment was quite outstanding; in the area of rheumatology, his methods had developed in the last few years, and was even better than those Switzerland rheumatologists!
A few minutes prior, there was a sound of the toilet flushing and the old man strolled out in a sedated pace. When he reached the living room, he gripped Xero's hands tightly and looked at him strangely. "Hua... I haven't seen you in months, how have you become so young? Don't tell me you did those age lowering surgeries... the thing has risks in it!"
"..."
"..."
Father Zhang: "Dad, what the hell! I am your son!"
Grandfather Zhang looked blank for a second before patting his head. "Oh! Right, right, right! You're my son! Then this boy... this is Kongji right? Where is our Xiaoluo?"
"..."
Grandfather Zhang was a man who was fond of playing tricks; when he had entered the house earlier, his dementia indeed was acting up. Now, however, Xero could tell with one glance that this old man was pretending. Sure, he could fool Father Zhang and Mother Zhang but not him.
When Father and Mother Zhang saw Xero's expression, they immediately understood. "Dad... you're old, and you're still playing tricks? Ai... doesn't get boring though..."
Seeing that his prank was blown off, Grandfather Zhang laughed joyfully. "Finally caught on! Alright, you got me. Anyways, what are we doing this evening?"
"We're going out to eat at a restaurant, we were just waiting for you."
"No, no, no, what do you mean restaurant? Nowadays, it's expensive. Are there any groceries in the house?"
"Well, there's...—"
"Tten that's good enough!" The old man took off his cap and rolled up his sleeves. "Tonight, all of you don't have to worry, I will take over this time."
"I think it's better if you don't... what if your dementia flares up while you're cooking?"
"What does dementia have to do with cooking! Even if I forgot you all, I will never forgot my skills!" The old man said angrily.
Grandfather Zhang was actually pretty stubborn when it came to cooking because before he retired, he was a star chef in a very popular cultivation restaurant. Even though he had to make two meals a day for three hundred and sixty five days, his dish wasn't the same repeated, only if he ran out of ingredients would it be this way.
The old man was an impressive person whom had previously taken in numerous apprenticeships, young and old, when the culinary industry had been at its peak, and they all inscribed to the philosophy of happy cooking. It was the old man's shifu who had thought him this philosophy, but even Xero didn't know who this shifu was. Now that the old man had dementia, his memories had become complicated; even if Xero used his Memory Manipulation Set Skill on Grandfather Zhang, he wouldn't necessarily find any useful clues. Moreover, a force reading would damage the man's brain to an agitated state.
After all, the person in question was his won grandfather... even if he was very curious, it wasn't till the extent of stirring up gossip.
"None of you lift a finger! I may be old, and my brain might not work too well, but my body is still healthy! My loving grandson had participated in the four-day exchange, look at how thin he has become!" The old man looked at Xero and smiled, then took the apron Mother Zhang had hung on the kitchen door and tied it skillfully around his waist.
"Dad, need help?"
"Find me some oil, sauce, salt and whatnot. Then help me check if they're any ingredients in the fridge."
"There's leafs, lemon, spinach and some pork in the fridge... "
"Mm, I saw some oranges on the table in the living room. I can make a fruit platter later, mixed with the fruits in my bag. My elegant oranges were one of a kind!"
The old man opened the refrigerator and his eyes lit up. "Pig leg? Yeah... this could maybe be a good meal idea!"
For some reason, Xero felt as if this style of cooking was familiar....
[0] The chapter title is actually a title of a wuxia web novel written by The Whitest Crow.