Zhuang Rui noticed that most of the dishes were quite light, which was his mother's favorite. He knew that his grandmother had put a lot of thought into them, and he was touched. Indeed, there are no bad parents, only bad children.
"Child, eat more, these are all Wan'er's favorite foods..."
"Grandma, please let go of Xiao Rui. How can he eat like this?"
Seeing the old lady holding Zhuang Rui's hands and urging him to eat, Ouyang Lei smiled.
"Yes, yes, look, Grandma is getting senile. Xiao Lei, get some food for your little brother. He's not as lucky as you guys."
The old lady released Zhuang Rui's hand and instructed her grandson who was standing beside her.
"Grandma, I can do it myself."
At this moment, Zhuang Rui was deeply enveloped by a strong sense of family affection. Apart from his mother, he had never felt this kind of love and care before, and he felt very relaxed.
Although it was the first time Zhuang Rui had met his grandmother and his cousin, who was a division commander in a special forces unit, he felt no restraint. He ate heartily the food that Ouyang Lei had put on his plate, but before he knew it, tears were welling up in his eyes.
"Good boy, eat slowly."
The old lady didn't touch her chopsticks, but kept smiling at Zhuang Rui with a kind expression on her face.
"Um……"
Zhuang Rui agreed, but lowered his head, not wanting the old lady to see the tears in his eyes.
The old lady looked around and saw that her youngest son and eldest grandson hadn't touched their chopsticks. She said, "You guys should eat too. You're all staring at my grandson like that. He's getting embarrassed..."
"Yes, yes, we'll eat too, Mom, you should eat too..."
Ouyang Zhenwu brought a bowl of porridge to the old lady. Elderly people have poor digestion and can only drink porridge in the evening. In other words, this whole meal was prepared for Zhuang Rui.
"You little brat, you're already inside and trying to run out again. Do you want me to hit you with my cane?"
The old lady was sitting directly opposite the room door. Her sudden shout made Zhuang Rui look up. Following the old lady's gaze, he saw a head peeking out from the doorway. The head looked around furtively before pushing the door open and walking in.
Of course, according to Ouyang Jun, this was called reconnaissance. In case the old man got up, he could make a quick escape. In this house, Ouyang Jun feared nothing but the old man.
"Grandma, your eyesight is really good..."
Ouyang Jun walked in with a grin, and said, "Okay!"
Before he could even utter a word, he suddenly remembered that the old woman's eyes had been failing her for over a year, and he gaped open, frozen in place.
"You brat, are you out of your mind? Come sit down and eat..."
Ouyang Zhenwu's cold snort jolted Ouyang Jun awake. Forgetting about dealing with his elder brother and Zhuang Rui, he rushed to the old lady, held out a hand, and said, "Grandma, how many is this? Can you see it?"
"You little rascal, you're so unsteady. Learn from your brother. Look how good my grandson is."
The old lady tapped Ouyang Jun on the head, then looked at Zhuang Rui with a smile. The old lady was in the same mood as a child who had finally gotten a toy he had been wanting for a long time, and couldn't help but praise and show it off to everyone he met.
"Grandma, are you being unfair to me? Am I not good enough?"
Ouyang Jun grabbed the old lady's arm and said persistently that he just wanted to make a joke. He had been raised by his grandparents since he was a child and was the most spoiled by the old lady among his grandchildren.
"Okay, all good. Come on, sit down and eat. Go check on that old man later..."
The old lady couldn't stop smiling. She took Ouyang Jun's hand and made him sit on her right. The room was instantly filled with the joyful scene of her children and grandchildren surrounding her.
Ouyang Jun agreed and sat down. His quick wit made the old lady laugh, but he barely touched his chopsticks. He was afraid that the old man would be there, so he deliberately ate outside before coming.
"Mom, please don't spoil him all the time."
Ouyang Zhenwu couldn't stand it anymore. His son had lacked discipline since childhood, and would always hide at the old lady's place whenever something happened, making it impossible for him, as the father, to manage him.
“My grandson, I’m happy to…”
Everyone says that grandparents love their grandchildren more, but what the old lady said is a bit unreasonable. It's true that he's your grandson, but he's also Ouyang Zhenwu's son.
Ouyang Zhenwu was speechless with anger at his mother's words, but thinking that his son hadn't done anything outrageous except for liking a celebrity, he kept quiet.
With Ouyang Jun there, the atmosphere in the house became much livelier. While coaxing his grandmother, he also took the time to chat with Zhuang Rui and Ouyang Lei, making for a very pleasant meal.
"Child, have you eaten enough? I'll take you to see your grandfather. I haven't seen the old man for over a year."
After the meal, the old lady held Zhuang Rui's hand tightly, as if afraid he would run away, while her other hand held Ouyang Jun.
Zhuang Rui and Ouyang Jun helped the old lady up on either side and walked towards the backyard.
"The commander is asleep, please keep your voices down..."
Led by the old lady, the group entered the main house in the backyard, where a special nurse in his thirties immediately came to greet them.
Chapter 295 The Tiger's Might Remains
The room had air conditioning on. There was also a dehumidifier. The air conditioning wasn't very hot. Zhuang Rui had just eaten, and he felt a bit hot after entering the room.
The room was simply furnished: a wardrobe, a table with a pair of reading glasses and a newspaper on it, a recliner by the door, and a single cot where an old man was lying on his back, snoring softly.
"Keep your voice down, don't wake the old man..."
Ouyang Jun whispered to Zhuang Rui that he was not that filial, but he was afraid that he would be scolded after the old man woke up. Ever since the old man sent him to the army more than ten years ago and he secretly discharged himself, the old man had never given him a good look. He would scold him every time he came. Even if he was in a good mood and forgot to scold him one day, he would make up for it next time.
Neither Ouyang Lei nor Ouyang Zhenwu came in. They were talking outside when the old lady led Zhuang Rui and Ouyang Jun to the bedside. By the soft light of the bedside lamp, Zhuang Rui could clearly see his grandfather's face.
The old man was a bit overweight, wearing a white undershirt. The muscles in his arms looked loose and drooped slightly. Age spots had appeared on his face. His eyes were closed and his eyebrows were raised. He looked like an ordinary old man with nothing special about him.
Seeing the old man fast asleep, Zhuang Rui was secretly delighted. He had once used his spiritual energy to cleanse his niece's body while she was asleep. When she woke up, she only said that she had slept very soundly and comfortably, but she knew nothing about the spiritual energy entering her body.
In fact, most people are quite sensitive to spiritual energy. When spiritual energy enters the body, the cool and comfortable feeling produced is something that most people can sense. If it weren't for the fact that the old lady's physiological functions had deteriorated so much, Zhuang Rui wouldn't have dared to use spiritual energy on her just now, because he might accidentally reveal his secret.
However, with his sleeping grandfather at ease, Zhuang Rui could act freely. He deliberately took a step forward, pretending to carefully observe his grandfather's appearance. In fact, he channeled a considerable amount of spiritual energy into the old man's feet, calves, waist, chest, and head. As the spiritual energy seeped into the old man's body, Zhuang Rui's eyes became somewhat dry, and the stinging pain he hadn't felt in a long time returned.
Zhuang Rui knew that this was due to excessive use of spiritual energy, but there was no need to worry. The spiritual energy was slowly increasing all the time. Although it would reach a certain level and become saturated, it would automatically replenish itself after the amount decreased. He no longer needed to absorb spiritual energy from antiques as before. This was a pleasant surprise brought to him by his trip to Tibet.
Some readers might be thinking, "This old man's illness must be quite serious. What if you infuse him with so much spiritual energy at once and cure him?"
In truth, Zhuang Rui had no other choice. Judging from Ouyang Zhenwu's words, the old man might not be able to hold on at any moment, and now that he was asleep, Zhuang Rui naturally did his best. Otherwise, if he waited until the old man was awake to treat him, the secret of his eyes might be revealed.
Another point is that, based on Zhuang Rui's experience treating the injured white lion, it seems that spiritual energy is not as effective in treating the internal organs of living beings as it is in treating external injuries.
In addition, after the spiritual energy entered his grandmother's body, his grandmother's reaction was slow. Zhuang Rui had an idea in his mind that the effect of spiritual energy on natural aging should be average. That's why he increased the amount of spiritual energy used on the old man.
From the moment Zhuang Rui approached the old man to the moment he channeled his spiritual energy into him, only a dozen seconds passed. When he felt a stinging pain in his eyes, Zhuang Rui withdrew. The old lady, seeing Zhuang Rui with tears streaming down his face, patted him and said, "Child, don't be sad. Your grandfather is already very lucky to have lived this long."
The old lady was quite open-minded. She had also lived through the era of gunfire and bullets, and many of her comrades had sacrificed their lives. Few of her contemporaries remained. She knew that such a day would come sooner or later. Her husband had been ill for many years, and she had long been mentally prepared for it.
Zhuang Rui nodded, wiping away his tears. He didn't have much affection for this old man, even though he was his maternal grandfather. After all, he was the culprit who had driven his mother out of the house. If it weren't for the fear of upsetting his mother, Zhuang Rui might not have even considered treating him.
Now that he had met his grandfather, Zhuang Rui was about to go out when someone grabbed his arm and hid behind him.
"Fourth Brother, what are you doing?"
Zhuang Rui asked, somewhat puzzled. When he looked ahead, he found that the old man on the bed had already woken up and was staring at him with his eyes wide open.
The old man looked at Zhuang Rui and shouted, "Kid, if you chase him away again, I'll break your legs. Come here."
The old man was furious when he saw Ouyang Jun, but he forgot that he was the father of the father, which made the generational order a bit confusing.
Zhuang Rui was somewhat baffled. This old man was being incredibly unreasonable! No wonder his mother had severed ties with him. Feeling angry, Zhuang Rui ignored the old man and turned to walk out of the house.
"Hey kid, come back here right now! You think you're so tough?"
In his excitement, the old man braced himself against the bed frame and sat up. He stretched his legs out to look for his shoes, but didn't notice his wife standing dumbfounded at the head of the bed.
"What are you doing standing here? That little brat is spoiled rotten by you, and that girl too..."
The old man searched for a long time but couldn't find his shoes. He looked up and saw his wife standing at the head of the bed. He muttered a few words of dissatisfaction, but his voice was very loud, as if he were arguing.
"You old fool, Wan'er is so angry with you that she won't come home, and now you've driven my grandson away too. I'm not staying here anymore, I'm going with my daughter..."
Seeing that Zhuang Rui seemed angry, and hearing the old man's words, the old lady became even angrier. She turned and walked out, while the old man called after her, "Hey, I said, find my shoes for me!"
Hearing the commotion inside, the people outside came in one after another. When the special nurse saw the old man sit up, he quickly went over and said loudly, "Sir, you should lie down first. Just tell me what you need and I'll do it."
"Why are you shouting so loudly? It's not like you can't hear me..."
The old man didn't realize that his voice was louder. He had hearing problems and had to use a hearing aid, so people around him had to raise their voices so he could hear them clearly. Over time, he also started to speak louder.
"Dad, Grandpa, you should lie down first."
Ouyang Zhenwu and his nephew also entered the house and tried to persuade the old man.
"Oh, Xiao Lei is here. Why didn't you wake me up?"
The old man's expression improved when he saw Ouyang Lei, but he immediately looked into the house and saw Ouyang Jun. He called out, "Xiao Jun, come here."
Ouyang Jun couldn't avoid it any longer, so he walked over hesitantly, bowing his head and calling out, "Grandpa..."
Ouyang Jun's fear of his grandfather has a story behind it. Ouyang Gang only had one son, Ouyang Zhenwu, in Beijing. Ouyang Zhenwu was usually busy, so he left Ouyang Jun with his parents to take care of him.
The old man, who had led troops his entire life, felt incredibly bored during that period of leisure. So he started training Ouyang Jun, making the three- to five-year-old Ouyang Jun stand at attention, stand at ease, and march in formation all day long. This cast a shadow over Ouyang Jun's childhood, which was one of the main reasons why he dared to disobey his grandfather and not join the army.
"Hey, weren't you wearing these clothes just now? Who was that person just now?"
The old man was very sharp-minded; he realized that the person he had glared at earlier wasn't his grandson.
Ouyang Jun trembled slightly when the old man glared at him, and said obediently, "That's my aunt's child, your grandson..."
As soon as Ouyang Jun said this, the room fell silent. Everyone knew that Ouyang Wan was a taboo subject in the old man's heart. Usually, apart from the old lady, no one dared to mention her. Now that she was suddenly brought up, no one could guarantee how the old man would react.
"My grandson?"
Ouyang Gang was taken aback. He was unfamiliar with the term. He had quite a few grandsons, but it seemed that only those born to his daughters counted as grandsons from his mother's side.
"Are you Xiaowan's son?"
Ouyang Gang looked at Zhuang Rui, not angry, but his eyebrows stood up. Coupled with the murderous aura of a veteran of countless battles, he exuded an imposing presence without anger. The old tiger's majestic spirit was perfectly suited to this old man.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became oppressive.
"You old geezer, you dare to lay a finger on my grandson?"
The old lady blocked Zhuang Rui's way.
"yes!"
Zhuang Rui didn't call him "Grandpa," nor did he back down. Instead, he stepped aside from his "Grandma," took a step forward, and stared intently at the old woman in front of him.
Two or three minutes passed like this, and Ouyang Zhenwu and the others were on tenterhooks. They weren't afraid that the old man would do anything to Zhuang Rui, but they were worried that the old man's health wouldn't hold up and that something bad might happen to him, which would be a real problem.
"Good, good lad, you look like your mother, and you look like your father too. That's how your father looked at me back then..."
The old man suddenly reached out and slapped the edge of the bed heavily, but what he said made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.