Chapter 111: Hunchback
Soon Heath didn't have time to think about these questions, because it was almost time to go to work in the morning and there were more pedestrians on the street. Although it was still a southerly day today, at least there was no thick fog or cold wave, so some people gathered in front of Heath's food truck to buy food.
In the middle of the process, Heath quickly woke up the Onion . After the Onion Duck did not see Junshasi's horrible look, it became much more normal. This made Heath a little amused and helpless. This little guy was really timid.
"Trainer, Trainer! Do you know? When Miss Junsha came over just now, I thought she was a boy!" Zoroark happily squatted beside Heath and said with a smile.
"Oh? Why?" Heath handed the pancake in his hand to the customer, took the money, and then asked himself in his heart.
"Because I read a novel before, in which the hero was in love with his duck-billed fire dragon, but was discovered by a male friend, who then threatened the hero." Zoroya said mysteriously.
"Okay, you can shut up now. I don't want to hear what happens next." Heath was spreading pancakes. He had already guessed what Zoroark was going to say. That male friend must be coveting Charmander and was planning to make a move on the trainer .
"Then, that male friend forced the male protagonist to put on a sailor suit and have sex with him~" Zoroark said proudly. Heath was stunned for a moment and almost dropped an egg on Farfetch'd's head.
Heath looked at Soraya strangely. What kind of weird novels had this guy read? Why would an author write such weird stuff? Although the human XP system is free, Heath thinks that the author of that book should see a doctor.
"When I find a super-powered Pokémon in the future, I will let it clean your brain. Maybe I can wash out enough yellow paint to last the art academy students for more than ten years." Heath rolled his eyes. This guy was really perverted. Heath was very worried that his other Pokémon would be corrupted by this pervert, Zoroark.
After finishing this busy morning rush hour, Heath finally felt a little more relaxed. Then he saw a hunchbacked old man walking towards him.
"Heath...can you give me a soft meal?" When the old man raised his head, Heath realized that the old man in front of him was actually Mr. Ma Zhide.
Heath was a little surprised. Usually, old man Ma Zhide always kept his back straight. Although he was old, he was still a strong man. But why did he suddenly become hunchbacked?
"Soft food? Okay, wait a moment..." Although Heath was very confused, he nodded and began to prepare the food that old man Ma Zhide wanted.
It was the same as usual. The rice cooked this morning was used to make fried rice with eggs, and the chicken legs that had been braised for a long time were added. Except for the chicken leg bones, the meat from other parts was already very soft. After it was done, Heath put it on a plate and planned to serve it to Grandpa Ma Zhide.
As soon as he went out, Heath felt a damp and cold feeling, but the next second, Heath found that on the table where Mr. Ma Zhide was sitting, there was a box of medium size, wrapped in a layer of black cloth.
Heath opened his mouth, having a bad feeling in his heart.
"Grandpa Ma Zhide, this is your fried rice with braised chicken legs... this is..." Heath put it down gently. Old man Ma Zhide raised his head slightly, his back was still bent, and there were some bloodshot in his eyes, as if he had been crying.
"Apen is gone. Joey tried his best, but Apen lost too much vitality and it still didn't survive this spring." Old man Ma Zhide lowered his head, covered the box in front of him with his big hands, and stroked it slowly. His voice trembled a little.
Heath fell silent. The worst thing still happened. The Charizard that had accompanied Grandpa Ma Zhide in battle for a long time and had been with Ma Zhide, the Charizard that had become so old that it had to eat soft food, finally passed away.
Although he knew early on that Charizard's condition was very bad, Heath still sincerely hoped that Charizard could stay with his trainer for a while longer, enjoy his old age, and enjoy these beautiful days together, these rare days of peace.
Heath looked at the box. That box should be Charizard's urn. In the world of Pokémon, dead Pokémon are usually cremated, and after burning into ashes, they are buried according to the circumstances.
There is actually a Pokémon cemetery in Viridian City, and almost every town has one. Heath has heard from Xiaozhi about the cemetery in Pallet Town, where some Pokémon are buried, but most people choose to take the Pokémon's urns back home and place them there.
The alliance also has a special cemetery for cases like that of Mr. Ma Zhide.
"I...hiss...I plan to take Apen to Ziyuan Town. When he and I were on a mission, Apen was seriously injured and dying. He said that if he died, he wanted to be buried in the tall tower in Ziyuan Town." Old man Ma Zhide lowered his head, his back bent, as if he had aged a dozen years overnight.
Heath looked at this old man in his twilight years. When Charizard was still by Ma Zhide's side, Ma Zhide was still a strong, iron-willed old man. Even though he was very old and had countless hidden injuries on his body, he still stood up straight and walked on the road of Changqing City. But...
Moreover, in Mr. Ma Zhide's heart, Apen is no longer a Pokémon, but a family member who accompanies him. When he talks about Apen, he refers to him instead of it.
“It’s such a big Apeng…how come…it becomes so small in the end…” Ma Zhide stroked the box in front of him with trembling hands. His body was shaking constantly. Heath tried hard to open his eyes wide, but his vision was still blurred.
"Grandpa Ma Zhide, let me help you pack it in the box." Heath said softly, then quickly returned to the dining car, put the fried rice and chicken legs that had been prepared long ago into the takeaway box, and worked hard to close the lid.
Zoroark, Farfetch'd and Charmander were all standing quietly in the dining car. The emotional Zoroark was lying in the lounge crying. Heath could hear Zoroark's suppressed crying.
After giving the meal to old man Ma Zhide, he left tremblingly with the Charizard's urn. Heath looked at the hunched-over Ma Zhide and knew that this once strong old man might never straighten his back again.
