The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

"Brother, why are you back?" The third brother lifted the curtain and welcomed the fourth brother into the house.

"I just arrived at Daxiqiao and happened to meet Uncle Wu. He said that our mother is back and asked me to go home first." Sibei went into the house and drank a sip of water first. He was in such a hurry just now that he had not had time to eat.

"Mom, how's my dad?" Sibei put down the teacup, looked at Darong's mother with concern and asked.

"His collarbone was broken. Your sister and Xiao Zhong stayed in the hospital to accompany him. I will go there to replace them tomorrow." Darong's mother sat on the sofa tiredly.

"I'll go tomorrow. I'll leave early in the morning, ask for leave from the factory and go straight there. It won't take me more than two hours to get there by bike, so I don't have to wait for the bus until noon."

"Then I have to go too. You kids can't do it alone."

"Then you can take the bus later. Don't worry. I'll go first."

For us today, students aged 18 or 19 may still need to be picked up and dropped off by their parents, but for Darong and her generation, they are already the main force in the workplace.

People nowadays often complain about the harsh treatment society has on the post-80s generation, but the fact is, they are just better at expressing themselves.

Although Sibei is extremely lazy on weekdays, he rode a broken bicycle and rushed to the hospital at 8 o'clock in the morning. You may say that he is unusual, but he is indeed a filial child.

"Dad, how are you?" As soon as Sibei entered the ward, he ran straight to Darong's father.

"It's okay, it's okay. Why are you here so early?"

Darong's father was very pleased when he looked at Sibei'er. He knew very well that his eldest son had been lazy since he was young. In the past, he would stay in bed as long as he was not working.

"I got up early. I'll go buy some breakfast." After seeing that his father was really fine, Sibei'er finally felt relieved.

"Sister, brother, you can go back when the shuttle bus arrives. I'll stay here to take care of dad, and mom will come over at noon." Sibeier looked at Zhong Yunxing with gratitude in her heart.

In fact, accompanying a patient in the hospital is very tiring. Darong hardly slept that night. Fortunately, Zhong Yunxing accompanied her.

At night, Darong's father didn't have the strength to get up, and it was Zhong Yunxing who helped him up. If he wasn't there, Darong herself would not be able to support Darong's father's tall and strong body.

"I'll take you back on my bike later. It's a long way, but it's better than you getting carsick and vomiting." After hearing what Sibei'er said, Zhong Yunxing nodded and turned to Darong and said.

When Darong thought about the feeling of motion sickness, even though she knew the journey was long, she still nodded and agreed to Zhong Yunxing's request. She was really a leader in motion sickness, and sometimes it took her half a day to recover after a ride.

"Xiao Zhong is a very good child. I didn't sleep much last night because of the pain, and he also stayed up all night, taking care of me and Darong. He is a very patient child."

As soon as Darong's mother arrived at the hospital, Darong's father rushed to praise Zhong Yunxing. He knew Darong's temper very well. If she couldn't find someone who was willing to give in to her, she would inevitably encounter bumps in her life in the future.

"Yes, even though you are dating Darong, it's embarrassing to let someone else's child serve you here. Fortunately, Darong will be old enough after the New Year."

The implication of Darong's mother's words was quite clear. Darong's parents had already accepted Zhong Yunxing as their son-in-law.

"Are you cold?" Zhong Yunxing asked Da Rong in the back seat with concern while pedaling the bike.

"It's not cold. If you're tired, just stop and rest. We can even take a walk."

"It's okay, good wind."

Zhong Yunxing rode his bicycle happily, carrying his beloved girl. Boys at that time were not as sickly as they are now, and a bicycle could often travel thousands of miles regardless of wind or rain.

When the two of them arrived at the southern suburbs, it was already past lunch time. Zhong Yunxing hadn't rested on the way. Perhaps because he was almost home, he felt a little tired.

As soon as the car turned into the small alley of the dormitory area, Darong saw her grandmother sitting at the door.

"Grandma? Why are you here? When did you come?" Darong jumped out of the car and ran quickly to her grandma.

"I've been here since noon. Did you just get off work?"

Darong's grandmother glanced at Zhong Yunxing who was pushing the cart in the back. Although she knew that Darong was dating someone, she had never met Zhong Yunxing.

"Grandma, my dad fell at the construction site yesterday. I just came back from the hospital. My mom and my brother are in the hospital now."

Communications were not well developed at that time, and Darong’s grandmother didn’t know that Darong’s father was injured.

"Ah? Was he seriously injured? Where did he fall?" When Darong's grandmother heard that Darong's father was injured, her face immediately became tense.

"He broke a piece of his collarbone, but everything else is fine. The doctor was just worried, so he kept him in the hospital for two days for observation."

Darong opened the door, comforted her grandmother, and helped her into the yard.

"Hello, grandma. My name is Zhong Yunxing." Zhong Yunxing also pushed the cart into the yard and quickly interrupted to greet grandma.

"Good, this child is so good." Grandma walked in and looked at Zhong Yunxing carefully. Looking at the young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes in front of her, she liked him quite a lot.

"You sit with grandma for a while, I'll go make something to eat." Darong knew that Zhong Yunxing must be tired, so she quickly went into the kitchen to prepare something to eat.

"Where are you from? How many people are there in your family? Where do you work? How old are you..."

The old man's way of chatting is always so simple and direct. Zhong Yunxing explained his family background in detail like a prisoner on trial.

But you know what, although grandma's questioning was more detailed and tedious, Zhong Yunxing didn't feel as nervous as when he met Darong's father.

"Grandma, you haven't eaten yet, right? Drink something while it's hot." Darong quickly made a big pot of noodle soup and served a big bowl to grandma first.

Grandma took the noodle soup brought by Darong and drank it slowly with sips without saying anything. The cold wind at noon really blew through grandma's frail body.

Darong was just about to go to the kitchen to get another bowl of noodle soup. As soon as she opened the curtain and stepped into the yard, she saw a man pushing a cart standing at the gate. It was just a casual glance, but Darong was stunned on the spot.

"Da Rong!"

Pei Bin's call of "Da Rong" brought back memories. It was once this tall and graceful young man who had pushed this familiar car and waited in front of the door many mornings.

"I saw that Sibei didn't go to work today. I heard that my uncle was injured, so I came to see..."

Pei Bin's lips trembled slightly as he spoke. He wandered at the entrance of the alley for a long time, but still couldn't calm the waves in his heart.