Guo Dongyue didn't care about Zhang Zian's suspicious look. He casually swung his ponytail and smiled. It was the first time Zhang Zian had seen him smile. Ever since Guo Dongyue showed up, although he didn't always look serious, he had never really smiled, as if he had something on his mind.
"I can see that your parrot is very smart and articulate. May I ask if you taught it to speak like this? Don't misunderstand, I don't mean anything else. I just want to know who taught it. If it's not you, as long as you tell me who taught it, I'll design and decorate it for you for free. "He seemed to be speaking calmly, but the deep interest in his eyes could not be concealed.
"Just take it as me," Zhang Zian said vaguely.
Before Zhang Zian completely understood Guo Dongyue's intention, he didn't dare to reveal or agree to anything, even if Guo Dongyue offered very good conditions. When Zhang Zian was a kid, he used to teach the parrots in his pet shop to talk. However, he soon gave up because of kids' enthusiasm. He knew that teaching a parrot to talk required patience and perseverance. When he grew up, he realized that besides patience and perseverance, the choice of parrot's breed was even more important.
Guo Dongyue had dealt with many types of people. He found that Zhang Zian was not as simple-minded as he seemed to be. He was very good at playing Tai Chi when it came to key issues. After thinking for a while, he decided to be honest. If he wanted to get Guo Dongyue's sincerity, he had to show his sincerity first.
"Well, I want to give someone a parrot as a gift. Of course, a parrot that can talk," Guo Dongyue explained.
"I'm not selling this one," Zhang Zian said in advance.
"I know. I'm not asking for it to be sold," Guo Dongyue responded. "I just want to find an expert to help me train a parrot to talk. Of course, my request is not that simple. It might even be a bit complicated. If you can do it, I will pay you handsomely. "
"What kind of complicated request is it? You can tell me, and I'll see if I can do it. "
Zhang Zian's interest was piqued. It wasn't that he really wanted the generous payment, but he was curious about Guo Dongyue's request. He wouldn't get pregnant if he just asked.
Not only him, even Richard, who had been itching to talk, stopped scratching the feathers on his chest and stared at Guo Dongyue curiously.
Guo Dong Yue stood up from his chair and paced back and forth with his hands in his pockets. His face kept changing, which showed that he was having a very complicated psychological struggle. Finally, he let out a long sigh and said, "Mr. Zhang, have you ever heard of Alzheimer's disease?"
Alzheimer's syndrome?
The name sounded familiar to Zhang Zian, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before. However, Richard immediately replied, "Alzheimer's!"
Although what it said was right, Zhang Zian still flicked its head with his finger. First, he wanted to warn it to stop talking nonsense, in case it got caught and dissected. Second, Guo Dongyue deliberately used the scientific name of the disease, which might mean that his family or friends had this incurable disease. According to Guo Dongyue's age, it was probably an elder, and the word "Alzheimer's" seemed rude.
"Aiya! Hitting is a sign of affection, scolding is a sign of love! "Richard spread its wings and covered its head.
Guo Dongyue was stunned to see the interaction between Zhang Zian and the grey parrot. He was sure that Zhang Zian was joking with the grey parrot when he walked in. At the same time, a glimmer of hope was ignited in his heart.
This grey parrot … No, this shop owner was amazing. How did he train a parrot to such an extent? It was not a big deal to greet someone when they walked in, or to say "hitting is a sign of affection, scolding is a sign of love" when they were flicked, but hearing the words "Alzheimer's disease" and immediately said the common name "Alzheimer's disease" … That was incredible! Although it was a conditioned reflex, how much vocabulary did it have?
"My parrot is a bit funny, please don't mind it!" Zhang Zian noticed that Guo Dongyue was looking at him strangely, so he quickly explained.
"Not as funny as you," Richard retorted.
Zhang Zian pretended to flick its head again, but it smartly jumped to the side, just out of arm's length.
"Ahem, please go on." Zhang Zian coughed to cover up his embarrassment.
Since Guo Dongyue had made up his mind, he didn't hide it anymore. He said directly, "To be honest, Mr. Zhang, my mother has this disease, and you probably know that this disease can't be cured, so we can only …"
His heart was filled with sadness. He couldn't say the words "can only wait for death" no matter how hard he tried.
"Only conservative treatment?" Zhang Zian suddenly interjected.
A gentle warmth flowed into Guo Dongyue's body. He forced a smile, "Yes, conservative treatment."
In the hospital, the doctor said the same thing in front of him — conservative treatment. The doctor's tone was positive and sunny, which made Guo Dongyue feel hopeful. However, after he left, he remembered that he forgot to ask something, so he went back immediately. At the door of the infirmary, he heard an intern asking if there was any possibility of curing her mother. The doctor who was full of sunshine and hope just answered coldly, "She can only wait for death."
Although Guo Dongyue already knew that this was the inevitable ending — after all, this was the era of information explosion, and it was very easy to find out anything — he was still furious when he heard someone say that his mother could only wait for death. He almost had a conflict with the doctor, and it almost became a "medical dispute" on TV, newspapers, and the Internet. Luckily, the intern students stopped him before the situation got out of hand.
"Conservative treatment for now. Nowadays, science is advancing very fast. Diseases that are difficult to cure may be cured very soon," Zhang Zian said.
Guo Dongyue looked at his face carefully, and found that he didn't seem to be perfunctory, but serious. He could even tell from his expression that Guo Dongyue really thought so.
Zhang Zian did think so. The rapid advancement of science was unreasonable. There was even a game that could capture virtual elves and turn them into real entities. What else was impossible?
Guo Dongyue continued, "My father passed away when I was young, and now my mother is the only family I have left."
Zhang Zian nodded. He could understand how Guo Dongyue felt.
"But …" Guo Dongyue clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and said with great effort, "But she can't recognize me …"
Zhang Zian was dazed at first, and then he remembered the common name of "dementia," and understood what Guo Dongyue meant.
If the most painful thing in the world was the death of a child, then the most tragic thing was the death of a child who wanted to raise his parents but couldn't recognize them.
But he didn't understand what this had to do with parrots.
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