The plain truth of life—there is no other truth for him.
“Long time ago. I’ve seen a lot. I love to listen, but I can tell stories myself.”
Well, here Grandpa Zakhar, I think, was being a bit dishonest—he loves to talk; he loves it when people listen to him.
And he’ll invent things on the spot, embellish them. And he twists and turns others in his own way, and then makes them show their own side.