The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

Ever since Darong and Zhong Yunxing's marriage was finalized, Zhong Yunxing, who was already traveling frequently, has been eager to see Darong every day.

"Aren't you on the afternoon shift today? Why are you here again?"

As soon as Darong opened the door, she ran into Zhong Yunxing who was pushing a cart to the door.

“It’s closer to the factory from here.”

Zhong Yunxing has a row of small white teeth that sparkle with dazzling white light. Ever since he and Darong set the wedding date, his two dimples have been on his face and have never gone away.

Darong rolled her eyes at Zhong Yunxing, pursed her lips and smiled as she carried the basket and went out.

After Zhong Yunxing parked the car in the yard, he trotted a few steps and caught up with Darong.

"What's for lunch?"

"Noodle."

"Sautéed or fried?"

"Fried sauce!"

"delicious."

"It's none of your business!"

Zhong Yunxing walked and talked with Darong, and soon they arrived at a small market on the street. Darong came out to buy some noodle sauce. In the middle of winter, there were not many vegetables, so frying some sauce and blanching some cabbage for a meal of noodles would be enough.

"After the New Year, I'll take you to the department store in the city to buy two sets of ready-made clothes."

Zhong Yunxing and Darong have been together for such a long time, but he has never formally given Darong anything. It’s not that he doesn’t want to, but she never wants it.

The only things left were two pieces of cloth, and she turned around and made a skirt for Xiaoping. Darong has engraved her mother's teachings into her bones.

"I don't want it. The ready-made clothes in the department store are so expensive. The ones made by the tailor shop are not bad."

Darong refused as usual, but this time Zhong Yunxing's attitude was very tough.

"You didn't let me spend money before, and I know it was because you were well-educated. But now that we're engaged, why are you still being so clear with me? Besides, what girl doesn't buy some new clothes when she gets married?"

Darong looked at Zhong Yunxing with some confusion, not understanding why he suddenly became so powerful.

"What's wrong with you today? You seem weird."

"Darong, you really want to marry me, right?" Zhong Yunxing suddenly took a step forward and stood in front of Darong face to face.

Darong stared with a puzzled look on her face.

"Yesterday, Sister Liu said that you don't want to spend my money because you are still distant from me. When you are distant from me, you are afraid of owing me, and when you are afraid of owing me, then..."

Zhong Yunxing pursed his lips and swallowed the rest of the words.

Darong suddenly found it very funny. The man in front of her, who was four years older than her, seemed so childish that he was somewhat cute.

"What will happen if you're afraid of being indebted?" The more embarrassed he became, the more interested Darong became in teasing him.

"Anyway, you can't be at odds with me in the future. Let's live a good life together."

Zhong Yunxing's tone sounded more like a spoiled child, which made Darong's smile even more intense.

Darong walked around Zhong Yunxing and went straight into the department store.

As soon as she entered the store, Darong felt as if someone was always looking at her. Because it was the end of the year, there was always a constant stream of people in the department store, most of whom came to buy cigarettes, alcohol, fruit and tea, but there were not many people at the cloth stalls.

"Sister, please show me that plaid cloth."

Darong took a stroll and saw a brick red (brick red refers to a color close to red brick) plaid cloth. This color is not easy for most people to pull off, but Darong's biggest feature is her fair skin, which really brings out the elegance of the cloth.

"This piece of cloth has just arrived. It's a new style. The girl has really good taste." The salesperson took out the cloth from the platform while chatting with Darong with a smile.

Darong held the cloth against her chest and looked left and right in the mirror on the side of the counter. She wanted to see if the color of the cloth suited her, but from the reflection in the mirror, she saw a woman in the distance who seemed to be staring at her.

Darong turned quickly and looked towards the woman.

Maybe she didn't know that Darong had discovered her. The woman behind her visibly shuddered her shoulders, looked at Darong, and turned to leave the department store.

"what happened?"

Zhong Yunxing, who was still looking at the fabrics, saw Darong looking towards the exit, so he followed her gaze, but the strange woman had already left the department store and Zhong Yunxing did not see her.

"I felt like someone was staring at me when I came in. I just saw a woman looking at me in the mirror, and she left when I turned around."

"do you know it?"

"I don't know him." Darong thought about it carefully and realized that she had never seen that person before.

"Maybe I recognized the wrong person, or maybe the piece of cloth you pointed at is beautiful."

Since Zhong Yunxing didn't see anyone, he didn't think too much about it.

"Let's go home and cook."

Disturbed by this inexplicable episode, Darong lost interest and left the department store and went home.

But along the way, Darong was paying attention to the woman's expression. Although she was very sure that she didn't know her, the look in her eyes was definitely not just a simple scrutiny between strangers.

After lunch, Zhong Yunxing went out early. Darong had to work the night shift, so she packed up and prepared to go into the inner room to rest.

"Sister, I want to go to Mei Zi's house this afternoon to do homework with her." Xiaoying has packed her schoolbag and is ready to go out.

"Go ahead, and don't come back too late." Darong responded and instructed Xiaoying.

Darong had just laid down when there was a knock on the door outside.

Because Nanjian lived in a large courtyard and there were very few migrant workers in that era, the door to the courtyard was usually not closed during the day.

Generally, when friends and colleagues come to my house, they will go directly into the yard and knock on the door, or stand in the yard and call out to the people inside.

So the sudden knocking sound on the big iron door immediately perked up Darong.

Darong walked into the yard and looked at the woman standing at the door. This woman was the one who had peeked at Darong in the department store in the morning.

"Who are you looking for?" Darong looked at the woman and asked vigilantly.

"I find you."

The woman looked about the same age as Darong, with big eyes, wearing a plaid cotton jacket, and two long braids that were black and shiny hanging in front of her chest.

"I don't think I know you?" Darong looked at the woman in front of her from the side.

"But I know you. You are Yuan Furong, Zhong Yunxing's girlfriend."

There was no expression on the woman's face when she spoke. Although her voice was not loud, every word she said was very clear and powerful.

Since Zhong Yunxing was mentioned and the one who came was a woman, Darong of course understood that something must be going on.

"Do you know who I am?" the woman asked Darong.

Darong just felt that this woman had something wrong with her brain. She had already told her that she didn't know her, but she still asked such a question.

Darong just looked at her without saying anything, with an expression that said "I love you so much" written all over her face.

"We almost got married." The woman's eyes suddenly turned red, and her eyes became complicated when she looked at Darong.

Darong immediately remembered the woman with a genetic disease that her cousin had mentioned when she first met Zhong Yunxing.

"Ding!" Darong slammed the big iron door shut.