The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

Ever since Darong bought that meal that night, Mother Zhong finally stopped praising Wu Meifeng. Although she still wouldn't mention Wu Meifeng's bad points to others, at least she stopped making excuses and excuses to praise her achievements.

From the beginning, Darong was concerned about the biased lies of Zhong's mother. She did not think about whether Wu Meifeng came to take care of the elderly. After all, she knew her too well. After Zhong's mother stopped saying anything, Darong naturally stopped having conflicts with her.

During the time when Mrs. Zhong was in the hospital, Zhong Yunxing and Darong were actually still the ones who took the main care of her.

Especially Mr. Zhong at home, he needs someone to take care of him 24 hours a day, and Zhong Yunsheng doesn't have much time to help Zhong Yunxing except cooking at home after get off work.

Although Zhong Yunhong came once in the middle, he just sat for a while and then went back. He didn't even have time to help Zhong Yunxing cook a meal.

So before Zhong's mother was discharged from the hospital, Zhong Yunxing had two big dark circles under his eyes and looked thinner.

"Brother, I'll stay here tonight while you catch up on some sleep. I've finished my work and told the station that I'll take two days off. You've been so tired that your eyes are black."

After Zhong Yunsheng finished cooking, he sent Zhong Yunxing home to rest after eating. He had worked hard over the past few days and had finally finished all the work that needed to be done.

Mr. Zhong didn’t know why, but his sleep deteriorated severely. His sleep during the day was fragmented and he often fell asleep while sitting on the sofa.

Zhong Yunxing didn't dare to sleep when he was taking care of him. At night, his body was stiff and numb, and he couldn't lie down for long, so he got up and sat down back and forth.

When Zhong's mother and Zhong Yunxing were taking care of him together, they could at least take turns sleeping. But now Zhong Yunxing can't sleep day and night by himself. After three days, his overall condition has deteriorated a lot.

"Okay, you stay here tonight, I'll go back to sleep and come back tomorrow."

Zhong Yunxing was indeed a little overwhelmed, so after helping Zhong's father wash and change his clothes with Zhong Yunsheng, he drove back home.

The next morning, Zhong Yunxing had already arrived downstairs at Zhong's father's house. After buying breakfast from the breakfast shop and getting off the elevator, he heard Zhong's father's swearing and Zhong Yunsheng's impatient criticism.

"What's wrong?" Zhong Yunxing opened the door and looked at the two angry people and asked with a helpless smile.

"It's so infuriating. He wouldn't listen to me, and kept doing this all night. At dawn, he insisted that I take him to see our mom. When I said I couldn't go, he kept scolding me. The neighbors even knocked on the door twice."

Zhong Yunsheng had never really taken care of Zhong's father, so after his first experience of taking care of a patient with cerebellar atrophy and hemiplegia, he completely broke down emotionally.

"You're fine, it's because you didn't have your cane in your hand, otherwise you would have been hit a long time ago."

Zhong Yunxing found Zhong Yunsheng's angry look very funny. His son, who had never been scolded when he was a child, got it back this time.

"Dad, take a break. Let's stop scolding for a while. We'll continue scolding after we're full and have more energy."

Zhong Yunxing handed a tea egg to Zhong's father while smiling. Zhong's father was probably still angry, so he threw the tea egg out and started scolding Zhong Yunxing as well.

Zhong Yunxing had long been accustomed to his father's occasional temper tantrums. He caught the egg he threw, peeled it himself, and put it in his mouth to eat.

"My eggs! Why are you eating my eggs?" When Mr. Zhong saw Zhong Yunxing eating the eggs he threw out, he glared at him and questioned him like a child.

Although Mr. Zhong has cerebellar atrophy, he does not have true Alzheimer's disease. He is actually in a stage of degeneration of thinking consciousness. He has cognition and thinking ability, but his cognitive level and thinking ability deteriorate faster than those of ordinary elderly people.

"You just threw it away, so I'll eat it if you don't want it." Zhong Yunxing looked at his father seriously.

Mr. Zhong blinked and looked at Zhong Yunxing for a long time, then said sullenly, "Give me another one."

In fact, Mr. Zhong’s fuss was only because he lacked a sense of security after he became paralyzed. Without Mother Zhong around, he could not see Zhong Yunxing who had always taken care of him.

So the old man developed a certain degree of fear in his heart, which then turned into anger. He was just very afraid that Mother Zhong and Zhong Yunxing would no longer care about him.

After Zhong Yunxing came back, Zhong's father gradually felt at ease. After finishing breakfast, he leaned on the sofa and took a nap.

"You should go back and have some rest too. You didn't sleep all night, did you? Our dad usually makes a lot of noise at night." Zhong Yunxing said to Zhong Yunsheng.

After seeing that Mr. Zhong had fallen asleep, Zhong Yunsheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother, it's hard for you."

No one can truly empathize with others without personal experience. Zhong Yunsheng only stayed with Zhong's father for one night, and he finally realized how difficult it is to take care of a sick elderly person.

However, his one night was far less than the hard work that Zhong Yunxing put in over the past year.

During that period, Zhong Yunsheng spent more time helping Zhong Yunxing every day. Although the two brothers didn't say much to each other, they understood each other's feelings in their hearts.

Because of her old age, Mrs. Zhong's injuries healed very slowly and she was finally discharged from the hospital after two weeks of hospitalization.

"After Mom is discharged from the hospital, she won't be able to help you. Now you have to take care of two patients. How can you handle it?"

After Darong and Zhong Yunxing took Zhong's mother home, they went out together to buy groceries. Darong talked to Zhong Yunxing as they walked.

"It's okay, I can do it. Mom just doesn't have the strength to take care of Dad, but I don't have to take care of her. I'll just take care of Dad myself. Besides, Mom can at least help me pick vegetables and wash rice, which will make things a little easier."

Zhong Yunxing knew that Darong felt sorry for him, but there was nothing he could do.

Zhong Yunhong and his wife cannot be relied upon. Zhong Yunsheng and Xiaoping's children are both senior high school students and will soon face the pressure of the college entrance examination. Especially since Xiaoping has been accompanying her children in the city, it is even more difficult for her to come over.

So Zhong Yunxing could only bear it all by himself. After all, they were his parents and brothers. Even if Darong was dissatisfied, he could only slowly reconcile them.

But this time, Darong didn't complain to him. She was silent for a long time, and then she said as if she had made up her mind: "I'll come and stay for two days and help you."

After hearing Darong's words, Zhong Yunxing felt mixed emotions and extremely warm. He said nothing, but just bared his little white teeth and held Darong's hand tightly.