The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

After Pei Bin sent Darong back home, he got on his bike and hummed a little tune all the way home.

"Ying'er, how are you?"

As soon as Darong entered the room, she saw Xiaoying sitting on the bed.

"I'm fine, sister. I walked back by myself after the infusion." Xiaoying jumped off the bed and ran to her sister.

In the morning, before going to work, Darong's father rode his bike to take Xiaoying and Sibei to the hospital for infusion. After the infusion, Sibei sent Xiaoying back and no one knew where he went to play.

Only the third child has been at home with Xiaoying.

Seeing that Xiaoying was in good spirits, Darong felt relieved. She changed her clothes and went to the small kitchen to prepare lunch.

"Sister, was the person who just sent you back your boyfriend?" The third brother leaned on the door frame of the kitchen and asked Darong.

"Go away, little brat, stop talking nonsense." Darong blushed and quickly turned her back to the third brother.

"I saw it all through the rear window just now. I could even see the big brother's back teeth clearly." The third brother laughed.

"You and my brother always treat me like a kid, but it's obviously you two who are always silly, especially my brother."

"What's wrong with your brother?" Darong cut a piece of radish and handed it to the third brother.

"Xiao Ling broke her leg a few days ago, and he kept saying that he didn't like her, yet he still ran to her house to see her. How can he not care about her?"

Darong knew that Xiao Ling had always been trying to please Sibei, but Sibei always told his family that he and Xiao Ling were just classmates and that he didn't like her.

Plus, both of them were still young, so no one really took it seriously.

"Sister, you're only 18 after the Chinese New Year. Would our mother agree if you start dating so early?"

"Why don't you agree with her asking me to meet Cheng Dinghua?"

Darong was like this every time, and all her rebelliousness was thrown into Darong's mother's arms. Even though she was a girl, she had been beaten a lot since she was a child.

Seeing that his sister seemed a little unhappy, the third brother stopped talking and turned back to the room to talk to Xiaoying.

Sibeier didn't come back at noon again. When Darong, Laosan and Xiaoying had finished their meal and were about to clean up the dishes, their little sister Qiaozhen knocked on the door.

"DaRong, are you home?" Qiaozhen called out while knocking on the door.

"I'm here." Darong put down the bowl and chopsticks in her hands and walked towards the door.

"Qiaozhen? Why are you here? Aren't you going to work today?" Darong welcomed Qiaozhen into the house with surprise.

Darong and Qiaozhen were classmates in middle school. They had a good relationship since school, but after graduation they were busy with work and spent less time together.

"I'm off work today, so I came to play with you and talk for a while." Qiaozhen helped Darong clean up the table as soon as she came in.

"Put it there quickly. I can handle it myself. You sit down and take a rest."

Darong asked Qiaozhen to sit down, and the third brother also came over and took the dishes from Qiaozhen's hands.

"Sister Qiaozhen, please sit down and talk to my sister. I'll just wash these two dishes."

The third brother turned to Darong and said, "Sister, don't worry about it. Sister Qiaozhen finally came here. You two can go and talk."

"It's okay. We won't waste our time talking." The work in the kitchen was handed over to the third brother. Qiaozhen pulled a stool and sat next to the wool. She knew that even if Darong didn't clean the kitchen, she would still have to continue picking the wool.

Darong didn't bother to be polite with Qiaozhen, and the two of them started chatting while picking wool.

"Da Rong, did you know that Cheng Lao Xiao and his mother broke up?"

Qiaozhen is also a straightforward girl. She came here today because she knew about what happened in the Cheng family and came to gossip with Darong.

Qiaozhen's family lives in Block 2 of Nanyun Dormitory. Although they belong to the same company, they are not in the same courtyard. She heard about Cheng Laoxiao's family from Aunt An who lives in the same courtyard.

"How would I know about his family affairs?" Darong glanced at Qiaozhen and answered softly.

"Ever since you broke up with him, Cheng Lao Xiao has been quarreling with his mother. He even refuses to eat the food his mother cooks. He also ignores her when she talks to him. He has lost a lot of weight."

Qiaozhen was chatting excitedly about the gossip of the Cheng family. Firstly, Darong was her good sister, and secondly, Cheng Laoxiao's mother looked down on Darong, which meant she looked down on them, a group of temporary workers, so she got angry too.

"That's his family's business. It has nothing to do with me anymore."

Darong never stopped picking the wool in her hand. Although she said she didn't care, she still felt a little touched in her heart. After all, during the time they had been together, Cheng Laoxiao had always been very good to her.

The sisters haven't seen each other for a long time, so they always have endless gossip to talk about. Qiaozhen knows a lot because she usually goes to work and visits relatives and friends, so she knows a lot.

"It's okay now, but it makes me feel better to listen to it. Who made his mother so arrogant all day? She deserved it because her son punished her. Now she only has this one son, and she doesn't care about him anymore."

Qiaozhen said this with a pout, as if she was the one being disliked.

"Hey, do you know that Zhou Xiaomei is getting married? I heard that the wedding will be held before the New Year." Qiaozhen said mysteriously to Darong.

"Get married? Isn't she only one year older than us? How do we get the marriage certificate?" Darong looked at Qiaozhen in confusion and asked.

"Then let's not get the marriage certificate yet. We have to get married anyway." Qiaozhen doesn't have a good relationship with Zhou Xiaomei, and her words are full of a tone of watching the fun.

"People say that Zhou Xiaomei got pregnant before marriage, and her family didn't dare to ask for anything, fearing that the man would not marry her."

"Ah? Why is she so stupid?"

Darong was a little bit unbelievable. After all, in that era, unmarried pregnancy was a big deal and if it was not handled properly, something bad could happen.

"Who says it isn't?"

While Darong and Qiaozhen were gossiping, Sibeier pushed the door open. It seemed that the boy had been fighting with someone outside again. There was a big hole in the back of his cotton-padded jacket, with cotton wool sticking out.

"Hey! What's going on?" Darong quickly stood up and checked on Sibei'er.

"It's okay, it's okay. I was scratched by a branch." Sibeier unbuttoned his cotton coat and took it off.

"Are you stupid, or do you think your sister is stupid? Look at yourself in the mirror. Anyone can tell that you just had a fight." Qiaozhen on the side teased.

"Sister Qiaozhen, aren't you going to work today? Come to my house and sit down when you have time." Sibeier scratched his head embarrassedly and asked with a smile.

"Why, you don't welcome me?"

Qiaozhen usually likes to bicker with Sibei. Sibei is energetic and has a good temper. Whenever Darong's sisters come to visit, they like to tease him.

"Don't dare, don't dare. If I say something, the whole South Suburbs will know it tomorrow. You're as talkative as the Bound-Foot Detective Team. You're the gossiper of all the South Suburbs."

"Hey, you little brat, I'll tell Sanniang that you got into a fight and caused trouble again!"