The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

The third and fourth brothers wolfed down the buns and drank half a pot of porridge before climbing onto the bed to rest.

"Oh, I'm so tired. My Third Aunt is so annoying. She even came to our house to talk about refueling the coal. Isn't it just for us to work?"

As soon as the third brother lay down on the kang, he began to complain about his third aunt.

The fourth brother is a trouble-maker, and his thoughts and ideas are usually very simple. But the third brother is different, and his ability to understand reason and stir up trouble is very good.

"You are just being hypocritical. Look at your brother, he doesn't even complain."

Although Darong's mother called the third sister, she was actually very dissatisfied with her in her heart. Originally, when she came home and asked the two children to help, Darong's mother did not feel disgusted at all. After all, they were all her relatives and they did not treat her as outsiders.

But Darong's mother was angry when she saw the two children coming back hungry in the middle of winter. Not to mention that the children helped her with housework, even if they came to visit her, as an elder she couldn't let them come back hungry.

What's more, although her eldest son is younger, can't her two sons-in-law work?

The more Darong's mother sat there and thought about it, the angrier she became, and her face unconsciously became serious.

"Mom, what's wrong with you? The third brother was just joking, don't bother with him."

Sibei was quite clever at this moment. He was the first one to notice the difference in his mother's expression. It was not because he had changed his temperament, but because Xiao Ling was at home today and he was always glancing at his mother out of the corner of his eye.

If you say that Sibei'er didn't like Xiao Ling, he did care about her. If you say that he liked her, he was just stubborn and never admitted it. However, although he didn't admit it, everyone in the family understood that Sibei'er would definitely not escape Xiao Ling's "clutches".

"Well, Mom is fine. Huazi, you are on vacation too. Let's go to the Toudao River tomorrow..."

"What are you going to do? Are you going to complain to my third aunt?"

Before Darong's mother finished her words, the third brother sat up from the kang with a sly smile on his face.

Sibei chuckled and pushed the third brother's drooping calf. The boy hadn't yet realized that Darong's mother was in a bad mood.

"Hehe... Go ahead and complain. See if your great uncle can give your third aunt a good beating."

Darong's mother couldn't hold back and laughed twice at Huazi. Xiaoling and Xiaoying beside her also laughed out loud.

Toudaohezi is where Darongma's grandmother lives, and it is also the hometown of Third Aunt, so when Third Brother heard about going to Toudaohezi, he immediately thought of Third Aunt who had just ordered him to do hard labor.

"Go get a dose of pregnancy-preserving medicine from Doctor Hu in Toudaohezi and give it to Aunt Six in the backyard. Your sister Xiaofen is pregnant with her fourth child now. Her body won't be able to handle it if she loses the baby again."

"Sister Xiaofen is pregnant again? In my opinion, she is taking unnecessary medicine and shouldn't have given birth to a child for his family." The third brother curled his lips with disdain on his face.

"What should we do? Her husband is a worthless person, but Xiaofen is a good child. Maybe we can just keep the child and she will be content."

Darong's mother sighed. As a mother, she felt sad when the sixth son's wife cried.

Xiaofen has been unable to keep the baby since her husband aborted her first child. She lost two more pregnancies in a row. Now she has this one, and Xiaofen's mother has been complaining to Darong's mother about it.

Doctor Hu's family in Toudaohezi has a family tradition of traditional Chinese medicine for prenatal treatment. When Xiaofen's mother heard about it, she found Darong's mother and wanted her to take the medicine to get it. However, Darong's mother was not off work for the next two days, and seeing that it was not easy for Xiaofen to be pregnant, she agreed to let the third child go to Toudaohezi tomorrow to get the medicine and send it to her.

"Don't forget, focus on your business. Xiaofen is a very cute child." Darong's mother gave the third child another reminder.

"Okay, got it. I'll go there early tomorrow morning." The third child is a child who knows what is important. Although he likes to play sometimes, he will never let his important work get delayed.

The next day, when Darong's mother was leaving for work, she called the third child. Although he grimaced in displeasure, he still struggled to get out of the warm bed.

"Oh, don't worry, Mom. I'll be there in a minute."

After the third brother fooled his mother into going out, he dressed leisurely. Toudaohezi was so far away that he was too lazy to walk. He planned to wait for Darong to come back and then ride a bike. It would take less than two hours to get home there and back.

After the third brother finished his breakfast slowly, Darong also arrived at the door after get off work.

"Sister, you are finally back. I have been waiting for you all morning."

"Why are you waiting for me?" Darong parked the car against the window.

"My mother asked me to go to Toudaohezi to get some pregnancy-preserving medicine for Sister Xiaofen." The third child said as he put on his cotton jacket and prepared to go out.

"Oh, Sister Xiaofen is pregnant again?" Darong curled her lips, not looking happy for Xiaofen at all.

"Of course. If you ask me, it's unnecessary to have children with him." The third brother said in the same tone and pushed the cart out.

Darong, who lives in the front and back yards, also knows Xiaofen's situation. She has not been living a happy life since she got married. Her mother-in-law is a very powerful person. She made things difficult for Xiaofen in every way when she first got married.

At that time, mothers-in-law who made things difficult for their new daughters-in-law were not necessarily because they disliked them. Some mothers-in-law simply wanted to "establish their authority". The old people often said, "Take care of the children by taking care of their arms, and take care of the daughter-in-law by taking care of her entering the house." Especially the old ladies in rural areas believed in this theory more.

Xiaofen’s mother-in-law is one of the most pious ones. She has been made difficult by her mother-in-law since she got married. Even though she has to do all the housework, she is still criticized.

Finally, she exploded when Xiaofen got pregnant for the first time. Pregnant women are inherently emotionally unstable, so when her mother-in-law questioned her again, she couldn't help but retort.

Xiaofen paid a heavy price for this resistance. Not only was she beaten, but she also lost the baby in her belly.

However, even so, those evil tendencies and evil ideas still held a strong position. Xiaofen, who had always been steady and obedient in the Nanjian dormitory, became a lazy daughter-in-law who was criticized by everyone for all her mistakes.

Although Darong sympathized with Xiaofen's situation, she also sneered at her cowardice. In the small towns in the 80s, there were too many girls who were swept up in public opinion.

After the third brother left, Xiaoling and Xiaoying also got up and came out.

"Why don't you get up? Look how lazy you are."

Xiao Ling sat down next to Sibei'er's pillow and pinched his nose without any restraint.

Darong turned around and stopped looking at them. She was a little confused. The relationship between Sibei and Xiaoling seemed to be too close.

But it was just a flash of thought, and Darong shook her head in self-mockery. How could that be!