The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

After hearing what Darong said, Xiao Ling went home with red eyes. Darong shook her head helplessly. It is really difficult to explain things like feelings clearly.

When Darong returned home, her mother had already gone to work. Darong changed her clothes and started preparing the fillings to make dumplings in the evening. Today is the winter solstice, and people in the north like to make dumplings during festivals.

"Da Rong, are you at home?"

Darong had just put the leeks on the plate when she heard Qiaozhen's voice in the yard.

"I'm here, come in quickly Qiaozhen."

Darong didn't treat Qiaozhen as an outsider. She called her into the house while continuing with her work.

"You're not going to work today?"

"I got off the night shift today and slept at home this morning. I came to talk to you when I woke up."

"How did you know I was home?"

"I ran into Huazi when I was leaving get off work this morning, and he said you were working the early shift today."

Darong and Qiaozhen haven't seen each other for a long time. They haven't had time to talk since they came back from the market last time.

"How are you and Lezi doing?"

Darong looked at Qiaozhen with a smile. Lezi was Qiaozhen's boyfriend. Since the two of them got together, Qiaozhen hadn't looked for Darong for a long time.

"Let's go." Qiaozhen sighed when Darong mentioned fun.

"Ah? Last time I heard that you two were going to get married next year, how come you broke up?" Darong blurted out with a little surprise.

"Who said that?" Qiaozhen immediately raised her eyes.

"I have forgotten who said it. Why did you two break up?" Darong paused and quickly returned the question.

Although Qiaozhen gossips about other people all day long, she becomes very petty and sensitive when it comes to herself.

"My mother dislikes his inability to do things. We did plan to set a date, but in the end we canceled it." Qiaozhen looked a little lonely, leaning against the bed with her eyes downcast.

Darong didn't know how to comfort her, so she pursed her lips and blinked her eyes.

Fortunately, Qiaozhen is not a petty person. While Darong was still thinking of words to comfort her, Qiaozhen had already adjusted her mood.

"Do you know why Zhou Xiaomei got divorced?"

When talking about other people's gossip, the gloom in Qiaozhen's eyes disappeared and immediately lit up.

Darong had been with Qiaozhen for many years, and even though she was very familiar with her personality, she still couldn't switch her emotions so quickly. After being stunned for two seconds, she shook her head honestly.

"She was beaten by her husband before she was out of confinement. After the beating, she was locked in a dog cage and exposed to the sun for an entire afternoon. By the time her family came, she was dehydrated... Tsk tsk tsk... It was too cruel."

"Didn't he treat her well? How could he do such a thing?" Darong widened her eyes in shock. It was hard for her to understand how such a thing could happen in modern society.

"What's good about it? People who know about it say that Zhou Xiaomei was the one who was chasing after you. She took the initiative to follow you, but you don't even know about it. What they say...ah...is hard to listen to." Qiaozhen pouted and shook her head.

"What about the child? The child is still so young. What will happen to the child if they get divorced?"

"It was left to the man's family. Zhou Xiaomei didn't take good care of herself during the confinement period. She seems to be in poor health. She couldn't even get off the kang when she returned home."

Zhou Xiaomei has devoted half of her life to this marriage, but she didn't even get a simple sympathy. Human relationships in the secular world are so fragile that no one can really empathize with others. Most people just watch other people's stories coldly.

There is no such thing as the carefree attitude of "everyone else is drunk but I am sober", it's just that you are incompatible with the world.

"Poor child." Darong sighed with some regret.

"Da Rong, have you ever kissed someone?"

Qiaozhen suddenly said this, and Darong was a little confused at first. After hesitating for a second, her cheeks instantly turned red.

"What nonsense are you talking about? There is no seriousness at all."

"Hehehe...there's nothing to be shy about. It's not like you've never had a boyfriend before."

Although Darong had had brief relationships with Cheng Laoxiao and Pei Bin, she had never done anything intimate. At most, when she met the white-haired old lady, Pei Bin subconsciously held her in his arms.

"I'm not as bold as you. You're not ashamed to tell others about it." Darong blushed and threw a handful of green onion leaves at Qiaozhen.

"Actually, I don't want to break up at all. Xiao Lezi and I get along very well. It's just that my mother is too troublesome and always finds fault with him." After laughing for a while, Qiaozhen suddenly said in a low voice with a sad expression.

Qiaozhen's words also reminded Darong of her worries. Wasn't it the same between her and Pei Bin? Thinking of this, Darong could understand Qiaozhen's sadness.

"Don't think about it. Now that it's all in the past, don't dwell on it anymore. Come and help me get rid of the trouble."

While they were talking, Darong had already kneaded the dough, prepared the stuffing, and called Qiaozhen to help make dumplings.

With Qiaozhen's help, the dumplings were wrapped quickly. Darong originally wanted to invite Qiaozhen to have dinner at home, but Qiaozhen said she had an appointment to see a movie in the evening and did not stay.

After Qiaozhen left, Darong tidied the house by herself. Seeing that it was still early, she wanted to go to the inner room to rest. However, before she entered the inner room, she heard Sibeier's shouting coming from the back window.

"Sister, sister, are you at home? Come out quickly."

When Darong heard that Sibei'er's voice was not right, she rushed out quickly.

The fourth brother, all wet, was seen carrying the third brother, who was also soaking wet, and struggling to rush home.

Da Rong quickly ran towards the two men. When she got closer, she found that the cotton on one leg of the third brother's cotton trousers was exposed, and blood had flowed down his calf and dyed his cotton coat red.

"What happened?" Darong, with a look of horror on her face, quickly supported Sibei'er.

"Sister, go push the cart. I can't carry it anymore. Let's go to the hospital quickly." Sibeier put the third child on a high earthen step with exhausted strength.

Darong didn't have time to ask more questions, so she turned around and ran back to the yard, went into the house, grabbed her schoolbag, and rushed out again pushing the bike.

"I'll take him to the hospital. You change your wet clothes quickly and bring a set of dry clothes to meet us at the hospital."

Darong got in the car and rushed to the hospital with the third child. When the fourth child arrived at the hospital, the third child had already been sent to the suture room for stitches.

"Sister, what happened?" Sibeier, breathlessly holding his cotton coat, found Darong who was waiting in the corridor.

"The doctor said it was just a skin injury and it would be fine after suturing. It's not a big deal. What happened?"

After making sure that the third brother was fine, Darong calmed down and asked about the whole story.

"He skipped classes this afternoon and went skating in the river with some friends. Luckily he fell on the shallows. If he hadn't found his footing and had been pushed under the ice, there would have been no way to save him."

"Why are you there?" Sibei'er should not have gotten off work at this time, so Darong couldn't understand why Sibei'er carried Lao San back.

"I don't know what scraped Huazi's leg under the water. When he fell in, the water turned red. The others who went there with him didn't dare to go forward. Fortunately, it was next to my workplace, so my two friends ran directly to the factory to find me."

This is probably the difference between friends and relatives. When the brother arrives, even if he knows there is a knife in the water, he will go down to save people without hesitation.