The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

Because of the "100-day hard work" production plan during the Spring Festival this year, Darong's unit did not have a holiday, and all workers in the factory went to work according to normal shifts.

"My 30th and 1st days are the right days for me to rest, so I will miss two days of triple pay." Darong counted her shifts and felt a little regretful.

"It's okay. We can still spend the New Year quietly at home." Darong's father took a sip of wine and replied happily.

The project that Darong's father was working on was finally completed before the Chinese New Year. He no longer had to live on the construction site and he could go home and have a good rest.

"When are you going to take a break?" Darong's mother had just finished cleaning up the small pile of coal in the yard and was standing at the door dusting off the coal dust on her body.

"It must be around 28 or 29. I haven't been notified yet, but the team doesn't have much work to do these two days. Just tell me what you have planned."

"I was thinking of asking you to bring some wood to her grandmother. I went there a few days ago and saw that there was not much wood left at home. We have two whole logs left at home. Go and bring one to her."

Darong's mother washed her hands, sat on the sofa and poured herself a glass of water. At her age, she could feel tired after doing some work.

"How can we pull the whole tree? I'll borrow a chainsaw from the team someday and cut the tree into pieces so that it can be split easily when pulled over."

Darong's father is actually a very good son-in-law. He doesn't care too much about gains and losses. As long as it is within his ability, he will agree readily. Darong's children have actually inherited their parents' selfless temperament.

"I'm going to his cousin's house tomorrow. It's almost Chinese New Year, so I'll go visit her and have a chat."

Darong's mother muttered something to herself, but Darong's father did not continue the conversation.

Most people in the southern suburbs like to visit relatives and elders before the New Year. Generally, they will not go empty-handed when visiting relatives at the end of the year. They will bring gifts more or less.

This custom has been passed down for many years. I don’t know when it started, but it has been passed down from generation to generation.

The next morning, Da Rong's mother bought gifts and took Xiao Ying to her cousin's house.

My cousin aunt and Darong's mother are of the same generation. Darong's mother came mainly to visit my cousin aunt's mother, Darong's mother's aunt.

Darong's mother's aunt is the biological sister of her adoptive mother. When the two sisters were young, they seemed to be under some kind of curse. They gave birth to many children, but most of them could not be raised.

Later, after Darong's grandmother adopted Darong's mother, all the children born to her survived. However, Darong's mother's aunt was not so lucky. She didn't give birth to this little daughter until she was in her forties, leaving behind the only child who grew up.

"Aunt, you are in good health." Darong's mother said auspicious words as soon as she saw Aunt as she entered the door.

"Okay, okay, come in quickly. It's so cold and you've made another trip."

Darong's great aunt is now nearly 80 years old. In that era, living to 80 years old was considered very long-lived.

"I just got off work today, so I came to see you right away. I'll go see my uncle tomorrow."

After Darong's mother and great aunt exchanged greetings for a while, they naturally started talking about how the fourth brother and the third brother were moving coal at the third aunt's house and didn't even have to take care of their meals.

"Third sister is just like that. Only she can do such a thing." The old cousin came in and heard this. She curled her lips and snorted coldly.

The third cousin is the daughter of Darong’s great uncle. In fact, she should have a closer relationship with the eldest cousin, after all, their elders are siblings.

However, because the third cousin was so stingy, even though they lived in the same town, the first cousin hardly ever interacted with her. Instead, she was closer to Darong's mother.

"Big sister, does our Darong have a boyfriend?"

Although the older cousin also couldn't stand the third cousin's behavior, after all, it was not her own child who was wronged, so her mood was different from that of Darong's mother, and she changed the topic after just a few words.

"Not yet. Do you have anyone suitable?" Darong's mother looked at her cousin's expression and guessed that she was thinking of finding a partner for Darong.

"Well, there really is one. My colleague brought me a photo a few days ago. The guy is good-looking and works as a worker. He's just 6 years older than me, Yuling. I think the difference is a bit too much. Do you think Darong is suitable?"

As my cousin was talking, she stood up and took out a black and white photo from the drawer.

When Darong's mother saw the young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes in the photo, she liked him instantly. At that time, the mainstream aesthetic for boys was still to imitate Teacher Tang in the movie "Little Flower", and the young man in the photo was really handsome like Teacher Tang.

"Wow, this guy is really good-looking. I think he is worthy of my Darong. He has thick eyebrows and big eyes, like a movie star."

Although Darong's mother said this, she was actually very happy in her heart. The more she looked at the boy, the more she liked him. She even had an inexplicable feeling of déjà vu.

"Isn't our Darong like a star, so fashionable and knows how to dress up. If you like her, I can tell you about her." The old cousin saw that Darong's mother was excited and quickly took over the conversation.

"He looks good, but what about his family? He's not young anymore, how come he hasn't found a partner yet?" Darong's mother was indeed attracted to the boy and began to inquire about his family background.

"His family is from an agricultural cooperative. He and his father are workers. He is the eldest in the family. He has two younger brothers and a younger sister. They are all in school. The young man is a team leader in the unit, in charge of technical personnel, and earns a lot of money."

The old cousin told me everything she knew in one breath. It's not that the boy didn't have a girlfriend. The girl was already at the age of getting married, but he found out that the girl's family had a genetic disease and many children died from a genetic blood disease.

Because the medical level in our country was limited at that time, there was no way to diagnose the type of disease in the southern suburbs. If it weren't for the boy's cousin working in the city's hospital and coincidentally having come into contact with the girl's family case, the two would probably have gotten married in a daze.

After the boy's mother learned that the disease was hereditary, she refused to agree to the marriage no matter what, which eventually broke up the two people.

After leaving her cousin's house, the boy in the photo was still on Darong's mother's mind. She didn't know if it was really fate, but she always felt that she had seen the boy somewhere.

"Sister, my cousin wants to introduce you to someone. She has already told our mother."

As soon as Darong came back, Xiaoying followed Darong into the inner room and started to report everything in a mysterious manner.

Darong did not answer. Since she got a permanent job in the factory, many people proposed to her, but she rejected them all on the grounds that she was still young without even meeting them. This time she did not take it to heart.