CHAPTER 225: CHAPTER 225 ORIGINAL SIN 34

Although Qiangqiang seemed to really enjoy eating the white jade cake, after having three pieces, he couldn’t eat anymore. Yun Shuangshuang scooped two spoonfuls of egg custard into a small bowl and handed it to Qiangqiang. The egg custard had a beautiful color, and the sauce drizzled on top looked very tempting. Qiangqiang took the palm-sized bowl without much resistance and finished the egg custard in a few mouthfuls.

Smacking his lips, Qiangqiang rubbed his little tummy, his eyebrows furrowing as he stared at the food on the table, but didn’t reach out for more. Yun Shuangshuang wasn’t very familiar with Qiangqiang and didn’t quite understand, but Professor Zhang knew his grandson very well.

Qiangqiang, being introverted, didn’t like to talk. The only way Professor Zhang could communicate with his little grandson was by carefully observing Qiangqiang’s every gesture and facial expression. As soon as Qiangqiang made that expression, Professor Zhang knew that Qiangqiang couldn’t eat anymore, but he still wanted to.

Professor Zhang excitedly wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye. A strong sense of hope rose in her heart. Her little grandson was not only speaking and eating, but also had a good appetite.

Professor Zhang, who was almost in despair, finally saw hope for her grandson’s recovery. However, after her excitement subsided, she took the food away from in front of Qiangqiang. Qiangqiang’s stomach had been in a state of hunger for too long, and she didn’t dare let him eat too much, fearing his body couldn’t handle it.

After quickly eating some roasted meat to fill her stomach, Professor Zhang didn’t even notice the exquisite taste. In stark contrast, the driver, who originally wasn’t keen on working overtime at night, devoured the food with his head down, feeling that just for this meal, the overtime was completely worth it!

The driver ate and calculated in his heart, thinking that he should monopolize this job in the future. No need for overtime pay; as long as the boss treated him to a meal at Red Dust each time, he would be satisfied!

After eating to his fill, Professor Zhang generously slapped down thirty thousand yuan on the counter, stating that this money was a deposit, and from now on, she would stay here with her little grandson. All expenses would be deducted from this money, and she would top it up once it ran out. Professor Zhang, who had advocated against extravagance and waste her whole life, was splurging for the sake of her beloved grandson.

Yun Shuangshuang really liked Qiangqiang and spent the past few days making various delicious foods for him every day. Qiangqiang seemed to appreciate this, eating heartily, although he couldn’t eat much each time, but his appetite was indeed increasing daily.

Qiangqiang was happy every day. Yun Shuangshuang and Feng Jinyan were also delighted to have such a major client, but of course, Professor Zhang was the happiest of all. The worry that she couldn’t hide in her eyes had lessened considerably.

On Saturday, Liu Ying and Lu Jian came again. This time, they came for a relaxing trip, bringing nothing to eat, only a change of clothes, planning to spend the weekend here.

Ever since Liu Ying and Lu Jian wore the traditional costumes last time, Yun Shuangshuang took the opportunity to go to F City and had over a hundred sets of men’s and women’s traditional costumes custom-made. She also had many wigs and traditional accessories made, and specifically opened two large fitting rooms, one for each gender, to store these costumes.

This time, Liu Ying and Lu Jian immediately sought out Yun Shuangshuang to dress up in traditional costumes as soon as they arrived. Being at a place like Red Dust, not wearing traditional costumes felt out of place, especially when seeing that everyone inside, including Professor Zhang and her grandson, was wearing traditional costumes.

That’s right, when Yun Shuangshuang custom-made the traditional costumes, she divided them by age group: dark colors suitable for the elderly, bright floral styles for the young, and cute styles for the children.

Because Qiangqiang was very interested in wearing traditional costumes, as soon as the clothes arrived, Professor Zhang had Yun Shuangshuang help dress Qiangqiang in them. However, Qiangqiang’s body was still too thin, and he didn’t look very good in the outfit, but Qiangqiang was very happy, showing a joyful smile on his face.

Yun Shuangshuang and Feng Jinyan had been wearing traditional costumes all along, and now that Qiangqiang was also dressed in them, Professor Zhang felt a bit odd being the only one not wearing them. Fortunately, there were traditional costumes suitable for the elderly among the ones Yun Shuangshuang had made, so with a firm decision, Professor Zhang wore a set too. With Liu Ying and Lu Jian, who had just arrived also wearing traditional costumes, Red Dust now had an even more time-travel-like atmosphere!

A short while after Liu Ying and Lu Jian arrived, another woman came driving a car. The driver was the same familiar face, the one who had brought Professor Zhang and Qiangqiang last time.

After the driver got out of the car, a well-dressed, competent-looking woman with a strong presence stepped out of the car. As soon as Yun Shuangshuang saw the driver, she knew this woman must be Professor Zhang’s daughter, Qiangqiang’s mother, Zhao Ying!

Perhaps because Qiangqiang particularly liked Yun Shuangshuang, Professor Zhang developed a special fondness for Yun Shuangshuang and Feng Jinyan and would casually mention her family matters after they became familiar. So Yun Shuangshuang had long heard about this extraordinary woman of strong character.

As soon as Zhao Ying entered, she was taken aback. She saw her mother, who had spent her whole life in teaching and was extremely strict, wearing traditional robes. Moreover, her son was also dressed in traditional attire, and, most notably, Zhao Ying realized her son seemed to have gained weight!

Professor Zhang had always been watching closely over Qiangqiang, and since Red Dust had everything but a scale, she felt her little grandson had gained weight, but she had no concrete evidence.

Zhang Ying felt differently; she hadn’t seen her son for nearly a week, so the change she perceived was particularly significant. Her son Qiangqiang, who once looked like a living skeleton, now at least appeared to be a skeleton with some flesh, not as scarily thin as before.

What excited Zhang Ying the most was seeing her son speaking with a girl who was also wearing traditional attire, even showing a slight smile on his usually expressionless little face! Her mother sat off to the side, looking quite accustomed to it.

Seeing Zhang Ying and the driver standing not far from the door, lost in thought while watching Qiangqiang, Yun Shuangshuang gently pulled Qiangqiang’s little hand, leading him step by step to Zhang Ying’s side and said with a smile, "Hello, beautiful lady, are you Qiangqiang’s mother, Ms. Zhang? Are you here to see Qiangqiang and Grandma Zhang?"

Zhang Ying snapped out of her daze and quickly composed herself, managing a gentle smile and said, "I am. How did you know, little girl?"

"I heard about you from Grandma Zhang, and since this gentleman brought Grandma Zhang and Qiangqiang here last time, I guessed it. Qiangqiang has been having a lot of fun these past few days. You can stay here for a couple of days to accompany Qiangqiang and witness it firsthand."

Yun Shuangshuang found herself a bit flustered over how to address people. When it came to Professor Zhang, considering her age and the unique wise aura she exuded, calling her Grandma felt natural.