The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

"Keep the coffee for yourself. No one else wants to drink it because it's too bitter. Put the rest away and use it when you go out to visit others." It's not that Darong's mother doesn't love Darong, but she just doesn't know how to express it properly.

"There are these two big cans of malted milk. Let's leave one for Xiaoying and the others." Darong looked at the malted milk in the bag and felt reluctant to give it away.

"Let them drink as much as they want. Pick it up."

Darong's mother sat down again and started picking wool. She knew that Darong usually spent the few spare dollars on her younger brothers and sisters. Although they didn't buy malted milk often, the younger ones were not short of food. Darong, on the other hand, never spent money on herself.

"You should go to bed early. I have nothing to do in the afternoon. I can pick it by myself." After putting away the things, Darong pulled a stool and continued to pick wool.

"I'm not sleepy yet. I'll rest when I get sleepy."

The time that the mother and daughter spent talking to each other passed quickly. It was almost 3 o'clock. Darong once again urged her mother to go to bed quickly, after all, she had a night shift to work in the evening.

"Da Rong, your mother hasn't slept yet?"

When Darong's mother was about to get up, Darong's father's voice came from the yard. She looked towards the window and saw Darong's father who was looking towards the house.

"Why are you back at this time?" Darong's mother looked at the time. It was still early for her to get off work.

"I came back just to find you. When you go to work today, talk to your company and ask them to change your shift back and not work the night shift." Darong's father parked the car and went into the house.

"what happened?"

"There is a village in Shuangjiang that needs to be demolished. I have already agreed with Liu Yisheng that they should be demolished carefully and the materials should be transported directly to Zhouzhuang. We will pay for the transportation fee."

Darong's father finally decided to borrow the waste materials. Seeing Darong's mother working day and night, he felt so distressed.

"Is this what you came back for?" Darong's mother was still very happy to hear that, but this matter was probably not worth him making a trip alone.

"No, I'm here to discuss Darong's job. There's an urgent matter right now. There's a company in the oil field recruiting toll collectors. Once you go there, you'll be a regular employee with a high salary. But it's too far from home. I don't dare to make the decision, so I'll discuss it with you."

"What kind of work do you do?" Darong's eyes immediately lit up when she heard it.

"It's the gas station cashier who checks the meter and collects the fees."

"Why are you still in such a hurry?"

Darong's mother was also quite hesitant. If Darong went here, she would be a formal employee. If she took the exam herself in July, she didn't know whether she would be able to pass it.

"It turned out that the toll collector was ill and there was no one at home to take his place, so the post was left vacant, and people were watching."

There are indeed not many such opportunities. Unless we are recruiting in large quantities, there are rarely any vacant formal positions.

"I can go." Darong thought that this job was easy and the money was high, so she was willing to go. However, if she went there, she would probably only be able to come back once a week.

"No, let's not go. It's too far. She doesn't know anyone there. It's not a good idea for a girl like her to walk around the streets every day." After being silent for a while, Darong's mother still did not agree to let Darong go.

Although Darong felt a little disappointed, she thought what her mother said made sense, so she finally listened to her mother's advice and did not go to work in the oil field.

Darong still worked as a temporary worker in the breakfast department every day. Darong's mother no longer worked the night shift every day, but she did not go back to Changbai either. At that time, most factories had basically reformed their working hour systems, and most places had changed to a four-shift and three-operation work model.

"Hello, Auntie. My name is Pei Bin. I brought you some gifts."

That day, when Da Rong's mother was off work and hanging clothes in the yard, Pei Bin stood awkwardly in front of the door, pushing a cart.

"Oh, do you have something to do? Who are you looking for?" Darong's mother was a little confused for a moment, thinking that Pei Bin came to Darong's father to do something.

At that time, although Darong's father was just a small team leader, there would always be people who would ask him to do some small things.

"Aunt, I... I used to work in the breakfast department of the paper factory... Darong, I was a colleague of Darong... Ah, but I have already joined the factory now." Pei Bin stuttered and finally made it clear who he was.

When Darong's mother heard Pei Bin's words, she naturally understood what was going on.

"Oh, come in and sit down. Darong hasn't come back yet." Darong's mother looked at Pei Bin in front of her. Apart from his small eyes, he was a handsome and energetic young man.

The aesthetic standards of Da Rongma's generation were in the "Little Flower" era. Regardless of whether the boy or girl was a man or a woman, the standard "Teacher Tang" look with big eyes and double eyelids was the definition of handsome men and beautiful women.

Pei Bin is a tall, thin, single-eyed handsome guy. Although Darong's mother also thinks he is quite energetic, this has not shaken her mainstream aesthetic view.

Pei Bin seemed even more nervous after entering the house. Although he had made sufficient preparations, when he really arrived at Darong's house, he was at a loss. He could only sit in the chair awkwardly and uncomfortably, not knowing what to say to Darong's mother.

"How old are you this year? How many people are there in your family?"

Darong's mother couldn't help but find it funny looking at the silly boy in front of her. He was clearly the one who asked for this, but he was sitting there nervously wiping the sweat off his face.

"Aunt, I'm 22 years old this year and I'm a dragon. I have two older brothers, one older sister, and one younger sister. My father is a veteran employee of the paper mill. I passed the exam two years ago on my own. Because I studied cooking, I was transferred to the breakfast department. I just returned to the mill in March this year."

Pei Bin introduced his family in detail all at once, but then he regretted that he spoke too fast. If he had divided the topic into several questions, he could have talked about it for a while longer. But now, he didn't know what to say.

Pei Bin sat there stupidly, glancing at the clock at home from time to time. Darong's mother knew that he was waiting for Darong to get off work and rescue him.

After Darong's mother chatted with Pei Bin for a while, she heard Darong greeting the neighbors in the backyard from the back window. Darong's mother breathed a sigh of relief.

"Da Rong is back." Darong's mother turned and said to Pei Bin.

"Ah? Oh!" Pei Bin stood up and looked towards the window at the door. At this time, Da Rong had already arrived at the gate of the courtyard.

"Da Rong." Pei Bin opened the door and looked at her with a silly smile.

Darong was stunned for two seconds when she saw Pei Bin suddenly appear in her house.

"Why are you here? When did you come?"

Darong has never told her family about her relationship with Pei Bin. Seeing Pei Bin at home, she felt a little nervous. This was probably the first time she met his parents.

"Mom, I'm back." After Darong entered the house, she greeted Darong's mother.

"Well, Xiao Pei has been waiting for you for a long time and bought so many things." Darong's mother pointed to the things on the table and looked at Darong happily.

"Oh, Mom, we used to be colleagues in the breakfast department..."

"Xiao Pei has told me everything. You two can sit down and talk." Darong's mother interrupted Darong and stood up to go into the inner room.

"Aunt, I won't bother you anymore. I just came to see you and will go back first."

Darong's mother exchanged a few polite words with Pei Bin and did not try to keep him, so she asked Darong to escort Pei Bin out of the yard.