The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

Darong didn't want to be helped for nothing, so she carried Xiaoying out of the hospital gate. However, Pei Bin was really enthusiastic and rode his bike to catch up with Darong in no time.

"We are colleagues, you are being too distant. I'm just helping you send your sister off." Pei Bin was indeed a little angry when he saw that Darong didn't wait for him.

Darong stopped and glanced at Pei Bin. If she refused again, it would seem hypocritical.

"Thank you for your help, Master Pei." Darong helped Xiaoying to Pei Bin's car, and asked Sibei to help help Xiaoying, while she continued to walk home.

Pei Bin rode a 28-inch bicycle and carried Sibei and Xiaoying to take them home.

In the past, Pei Bin only knew that Darong's family lived in the Nanjian dormitory, but he didn't know which family it was specifically. This time, Xiaoying and Sibei were sent back directly, so he finally recognized the family.

After dropping the two off, he turned around and pedaled towards the hospital. On the way, he saw Da Rong hurrying home.

"Let me take you home." Pei Bin stopped the car and tapped the ground with one foot.

"No, I'm very grateful that you brought my brother and sister back. You should go back to work. The one with you in the hospital is Uncle Pei, right? I think his legs and feet don't seem to be very convenient. You should go back and take care of him."

Darong brought up Pei Bin's father who was limping. Pei Bin didn't know what to say to Darong. He could only nod and ride towards the hospital. But along the way, Pei Bin didn't know why he always wanted to hum a little tune and grin.

"Sister, you're back." The fourth brother and the third brother greeted Darong who had just entered the house.

"Well, Xiaoying is lying down?" Darong didn't see Xiaoying in the outer room, so she took off her coat and walked into the inner room.

"Well, she said she was still dizzy and wanted to vomit, so I helped her lie down." Sibei followed Darong into the inner room.

"Ying'er, you didn't eat lunch. Are you hungry? Shall I make you some porridge?" Darong asked with concern as she looked at her old sister lying on the bed.

"Sister, I want to sleep for a while and eat after I wake up, okay?" Xiaoying felt uncomfortable in her stomach and didn't want to eat at all. She looked at Darong pitifully.

"Okay, then take a nap first. I'll make you some rice porridge. Your stomach discomfort might be caused by the sour soup."

After saying this, Darong and Sibei let down the curtain and left the inner room, leaving Xiaoying to have a good sleep.

"Sister, I really didn't mean it. I was just worried that Xiaoying wouldn't know how to light the stove and would be cold at home."

The third brother looked at Da Rong and Si Bei'er who had retreated, and stood by the wall with his head lowered, looking guilty.

"Hua Zi, Xiao Ying won't blame you. You mean well, but our mother has a bad temper. She knows you are not sincere and she might beat you if she is angry. That's why she won't let you speak."

Darong walked over and led the third child to sit down beside the bed.

"But even if I don't say it, I feel suffocated inside. Mom, just hit me. It's really me who caused Xiaoying to suffer so much."

Yuan Fuhua's greatest characteristic is that he speaks the truth. If he thinks something is right, he will not change his mind even if Darong's mother breaks the stick. If he thinks something is wrong, he will just stand there and take the beating without making any excuses or begging for mercy.

In this respect, he and the fourth brother are completely opposite. The fourth brother seldom got beaten even though he got into trouble since he was a child, but the third brother, apart from the beatings he got for getting into trouble, was often beaten just for being stubborn and obstinate.

In the evening, after Darong's father and mother came home from get off work, they saw that Xiaoying was fine and felt relieved.

After Darong's mother walked around the chimney twice, she sat down and started picking wool.

"Dad of Darong, please take some time tomorrow to buy a few new chimneys and replace them."

In fact, Darong's mother didn't see anything wrong with the chimney, but Xiaoying's matter still made her feel uneasy. After all, the safety of the whole family is more important than anything else.

"After replacing the chimney, will the family have enough money to get through the New Year?" Darong's father took a puff of the cigarette in his hand and slowly exhaled.

In fact, the salaries of Darong's father and mother are quite good, but because they have to help Darong's grandmother's family from time to time, their financial situation seems a bit tight.

Darong's mother was adopted and raised in her own uncle's home since she was a child. Because the conditions of her adoptive parents' home were poor and her adoptive father, who was also Darong's mother's biological uncle, died early.

When her adoptive father died, Darong's mother was only a teenager, and her oldest brother was less than ten years old. The family suddenly lost its pillar, and life was extremely difficult.

Later, after Darong's mother got married, the couple sent Darong and the others to live with their grandmother in order to work and earn money to support the family. Darong's father is also a grateful man. Now that the family conditions are better, he has always helped Darong's grandmother's family.

"Almost. If it doesn't work, go to the cashier's shop behind the house and pay it back after the New Year."

Darong's mother calculated that the money she could get back from the wool-picking before the New Year and Darong's temporary worker salary should be enough to support her after the New Year. She just had to buy less things for the New Year.

"Mom, there's no need to change the chimney. Xiaoying got poisoned by the gas this morning because I didn't fix the stove properly and didn't open the chimney valve. It's not the chimney's fault, it's my fault."

The third child had been struggling with himself all night over whether to tell the story or not. But when he heard that his parents might have to go out and borrow money to replace the chimney, he could no longer hold it in and admitted it.

"I tell you every day not to touch the stove, why did you touch the stove?"

Darong's mother put down the wool in her hand, raised her head, stared at the third child and asked with a frown.

"Mom, he's worried that Xiaoying won't be able to light a fire if the stove falls down at home."

The fourth brother quickly took over the conversation, fearing that the third brother would become anxious and angry again. He was always the kind of person who would get anxious even when saying something nice, and most of the time he got beaten because of this.

Darong's mother looked at the third son who was keeping his head down and not saying anything, took a deep breath and continued to pick wool. Although she had a bad temper, she was not unreasonable. The third son did the wrong thing with good intentions, and she did not really blame her son in her heart.

"Mom, won't you hit me?" The third child waited for a long time, but when he saw that his mother stopped talking and continued to pick wool, he felt uneasy.

"Do you think your mother is a demon? You were beaten because you were stubborn. If you had your brother's attitude of admitting your mistakes, I wouldn't have beaten you every time."

Darong's mother rolled her eyes at the third child in annoyance, and now she knew the reason. She could save the money on the chimney.

Seeing that the third brother did not argue today and had no intention of getting beaten, Darong and Sibei felt relieved.

"Today, I am so grateful to Xizi. After I entered the room, I saw the quilt and mattress were dragged all over the floor. It must be Xizi who dragged Xiaoying from the inner room to the door."

While picking wool, Darong touched the fine hair at her feet.

Xizi has recovered by now, and it seems that he has recovered faster than Xiaoying. This is probably because the stove is in the inner room. By the time Xizi noticed it, Xiaoying had already been smoked for a while, so she was more seriously poisoned.

"Our efforts to raise Xizi were not in vain. Rong, stop picking them and go in and go to bed early." Darong's mother looked up at Xizi and said to Darong.

Darong had to get up early in the morning to go to work, so Darong's mother would always send her to bed early at night. After Darong entered the inner room, she touched Xiaoying and saw that she was fine and sleeping soundly, so she took off her clothes and lay down.

The next day, Darong got up early, packed her things and just opened the door, she saw a figure standing opposite her. The alley was pitch black in the winter, and Darong was so scared that she almost screamed.