Chapter 885: The Grandmother at the Door
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After Electrician Wu and Welder Zhao left, there was no one else in the aquarium. After some period of training, Jiang Feifei and Li Kun were now able to cope with the customers better. They now had no issue answering simple questions regarding aquarium creatures, and they didn’t require Zhang Zian’s constant attention anymore.
When Zian returned to the pet shop, he was surprised to see an acquaintance standing inside.
w.a.n.g Qian’s att.i.tude towards the other customers was learned by imitating Zhang Zian’s coolness. He would never take the initiative to promote pets to the customers, but for the current customer, he wouldn’t dare neglect them. He stood behind the customer, carefully attending to their every need.
It was the same for Lu Yiyun. When there were no customers waiting to check out, she would always be painting, but currently, her eyes were completely fixed on the customer.
w.a.n.g Qian noticed Zhang Zian and squinted at him with a sullen face, meaning to say, “Quickly send this customer away. What if something happens again? It’d be trouble for us.”
The customer was none other than Chu Manhua, the one who fainted by the shop entrance a few days ago. She was a diabetic, and because of a sudden drop in her blood sugar levels, she had fallen unconscious without warning and caused everyone to panic. Fortunately, Masanori Suzuhara, who just so happened to be pa.s.sing by, managed to wake her up. She was then sent away in an ambulance.
At that time, the mini poodle in the store had detected her signs of hypoglycemia in advance, and she had hoped to buy it. Zhang Zian had also agreed to it, but because she had to go to the hospital with the ambulance, she couldn’t take the mini poodle along. She had made an arrangement to return once her condition stabilized.
w.a.n.g Qian and Lu Yiyun looked like they were facing a big enemy, but that was only because they were afraid of her falling unconscious again. They were always on the ready to perform resuscitation measures, however.
Famous, who was always napping or surrounded by fans, had also noticed her. With great interest, it approached her and sniffed around, only to shake its head in disappointment, as it did not smell anything unusual.
Chu Manhua was a little afraid of Famous since it was such a big dog. Thankfully, Famous returned to its spot after sniffing around.
“Doggie, come over.”
She squatted down and waved towards the mini poodle, but the mini poodle seemed to have forgotten her and ignored her call. It was, instead, very interested in the leftover cat food in the food bowl, and repeatedly attempted to get a few mouthfuls.
When she heard Zhang Zian’s footsteps, she turned and smiled. “h.e.l.lo, Mr. Zhang. I’m here to purchase this mini poodle.”
Because it was agreed upon earlier, Zhang Zian gestured for Lu Yiyun to process the pet sales procedure for her.
At that moment, a figure appeared at the door and knocked.
“Ay… that… Can I find out something here?”
Zhang Zian and the others turned their heads to look. There was a grandmother standing outside the door, and she looked to be in her eighties. She was holding onto a bamboo cane; her hair was all white; she didn’t have many teeth; and her face was wrinkled with a dark complexion. She wore a dark purple, oversized s.h.i.+rt, black baggy trousers, and black cloth shoes on her feet. The design of the shoes was very old, but they were clean and did not look drabby.
The grandmother’s right hand was holding onto the cane, and her left hand was holding onto the leash of a Pomeranian.
The Pomeranian looked to be about three to four months old. It didn’t seem to have any energy, as it wasn’t running around or making any noise.
Zhang Zian and w.a.n.g Qian exchanged glances. They both called out in their hearts, Why are the customers today either sick or old and weak?
The grandmother was really old. Her body seemed weak and fragile, as if she could just fall anytime. She also seemed to be the oldest customer in the pet shop.
Coming out alone at such an age, accompanied by no family or friends, was very worrying. The elderly had such fragile bones… If she were to accidentally fall, they might just snap and break.
Zhang Zian and the others could only cry in their hearts, but when customers came to the door, they had to attend to them no matter what. They couldn’t just refuse to see them, right?
“Grandmother, do you need anything?” Zhang Zian quickly walked up to the door, waved his hands, and said, “Quick, come on in. Be careful, the steps might be slippery.”
“Ah, it’s okay, I won’t be going in. I’m just going to ask a few questions by the door,” the old grandmother waved her shaking hands and said. Because of her tooth, she couldn’t p.r.o.nounce some words clearly, which made her speech unclear. She also had a strong accent, so Zhang Zian struggled to understand her.
“It will be better if you come in… There are many people coming and going outside, and it’s not going to be good if anyone b.u.mps into you,” Zhang Zian persuaded.
Because it was the peak period, the pedestrians on Zhonghua Road were all hurrying, especially the naughty children who were late for school. They just spread their legs out and sprinted off, not caring if they ran into someone else.
“Then… I’ll head inside. Come, be good… Come into the house with grandma.” She gently pulled the Pomeranian, then took small steps up the steps, moving slowly like a robot. Anyone watching her would break out in a cold sweat.
Zhang Zian took a few steps forward and wanted to help her, but his arm was tugged on by someone.
He looked back and saw that it was w.a.n.g Qian who was pulling him back.
w.a.n.g Qian desperately made signs with his eyes and mouth. There was no need to ask, for Zhang Zian knew he was trying to say, “Master, don’t help her! She might be a scammer!”
To be honest, Zhang Zian had similar concerns, too. After all, there were many such cases over the year, but when he saw the Pomeranian, he felt that he might have thought too much. He had never seen anyone bring along a pet during a scam. He also believed that, in general, no bad person liked pets… At least not rotten to the core people.
So he lightly shook his head and pushed off w.a.n.g Qian’s arm. Zian then took over the Pomeranian’s leash from the grandmother’s hand, held her left arm, and said, “Grandmother, be careful. Let me help you in.”
“Thank you, thank you…” the grandmother said repeatedly. “It’s always awkward to be old, and others can’t even hide…”
Zhang Zian helped her up the steps, and gave w.a.n.g Qian a look to have him move the chair over.
w.a.n.g Qian quickly brought over a chair with a backrest and handed it over carefully. He then quickly retreated far away.
Lu Yiyun, who was currently working on pet sales procedure, also glanced over curiously.
Zhang Zian asked the grandmother to sit down on the chair. Only then did he let go of his hand and straighten his waist. For those few steps alone, he felt a little more tired than running a kilometer…
The grandmother placed the cane across her thighs and squinted at the inside of the pet shop. She then said, “Great, great. This shop is so beautiful. It makes people feel comfortable… The little girl there is also really handsome. Her smooth, pretty face…”
Chu Manhua and Lu Yiyun did not know who she was talking about, so the two of them embarra.s.sedly lowered their heads.
“Grandma, in fact, I’m also very handsome. My face is s.h.i.+ny smooth too, don’t you see it?” Zhang Zian pointed to his face and reminded her.
The Old Grandmother said, “…Yes, my old eyes aren’t too good. I just noticed. Child, you’re really handsome!”
Zhang Zian, whose vanity was satisfied, was finally happy. He then asked, “Grandma, what did you want to ask earlier?”
“Oh, I would like to ask about this dog,” the old grandmother said, while looking at it with affection.