The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

"You kid, you just want to break up. It's your first time to go to someone's house, and you want to break up with them when you come back. Isn't this causing conflicts between mother and son?"

After Darong's mother finally sent away Cheng Laoxiao, who had been nagging for a long time, she went into the inner room to ask Darong what had happened that night.

"The first time I went there, his mother kept pointing fingers at me. If this really happens, I will definitely have a hard time." Darong replied while lying on the bed with her back to the door without turning her head.

After all, they have been together for such a long time, it would be a lie to say that they have no feelings for each other, but to say that they are really in love to death is not true. At least now Darong can analyze future problems rationally.

"What did I say? I've offended you so much in just a few hours."

Although Darong's mother said this, she also agreed with Darong's statement in her heart. If she started to make things difficult for her before she even got married, how could they get along well in the future?

Seeing that Darong had no intention of talking, Darong's mother did not continue to ask questions, but lowered the curtain and went to the outer room to do her side job.

"Where is Darong?" Darong's father had just come back. When he entered the door, he saw Darong's mother was the only one picking wool. He thought Darong had not returned from Cheng Laoxiao's house yet.

The side job that Darong's family took on was picking wool. At that time, textile factories and fiber factories were everywhere, and wool was a very common raw material. However, due to the shortcomings of the shearing technology at the time, a lot of wool was mixed with impurities when it arrived.

In a situation like Darong's, where the children are not too old and don't have any formal jobs to earn a salary, they would go to the fur warehouse to get some wool and bring it back as a side job of picking wool.

"Lie down." Darong's mother still didn't stop the work in her hands, but just looked up and replied to Darong's father.

"Are you asleep? So early?" There was some surprise in Darong's father's tone. Darong was usually the most capable child in the family and had never gone to bed so early.

"I want to break up with Xiao Cheng. It would be awkward to stay in the room by myself." Darong's mother nodded her chin towards the inner room.

"What's wrong? Aren't you getting along just fine?" Darong's father didn't understand what was going on, he just kept blinking at Darong's mother.

"Ask your daughter. How would I know? Just say that Xiao Cheng's mother was picky about her. If you ask me again, I won't say anything."

Darong's mother has never realized how much harm her way of thinking has caused to her children. She always likes to say, "It takes two to tango," and she always blames her children for everything.

Darong's mother's educational method seems to reflect her rigor and humility in educating her children. However, just because she is afraid of being evaluated as "spoiling the children" by others, she has lost her children's support and confidence. Is it really worth it?

It is a very cruel psychological feeling to be wronged outside but not dare to go home and tell your mother. But most of the people of Darong's generation grew up like this.

The fear of "what people say" was a hallmark of the southern suburbs during that era.

"Da Rong, are you asleep?"

Darong's father knew that the relationship between the mother and daughter was not very close. Seeing that he could not get anything out of Darong's mother, he decided to call Darong out himself.

"Dad, you're back." Darong lifted the curtain and walked out from the inner room. She could hear her parents' conversation clearly in the inner room.

Although Darong is not very close to her mother, she has a deep affection for her father, because Darong is the one who does all the housework at home and outside on weekdays. Darong's father also loves his eldest daughter and is somewhat partial to her.

"What happened between you and Xiao Cheng?" Darong's father asked Darong with concern as he looked at her with a grim expression.

"Let's go." Darong took a stool and sat next to Darong's mother and started picking wool with her.

"It's so hard to talk. You have to explain why we broke up. If the matchmaker asks us about it, we won't know anything. What should we say?"

Seeing Darong answering like squeezing toothpaste, Darong's mother got angry again and scolded Darong in a bad mood.

"Your mother is right. You can't keep everything to yourself. If you want to break up, you have to give him an explanation. His father and I know each other, so we will see each other often in the future."

As soon as Darong's father finished speaking, Darong burst into tears. In fact, Darong didn't care much when her mother lost her temper. After all, her mother was the kind of person with a bad temper. Now that she saw that her father was a little anxious, she could no longer suppress the grievance in her heart.

"I went to his house today, and his mother asked me about my work as soon as we met. I knew he had already told his mother that I had quit the factory, so his mother was clearly trying to intimidate me."

Darong shed two tears but quickly adjusted her mood and wiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand.

"While we were eating, he kept chatting with his third sister about the Liu family's son and daughter-in-law, accusing the daughter-in-law of working in an agricultural cooperative, having no job and no salary and relying on others for support. His words were meant for me to hear."

Darong paused, adjusted her breathing, and returned to her calm and composed look.

Darong's father was silent for a moment after hearing this. In those days, there was still a big difference between workers and agricultural cooperatives. When choosing a partner, no matter how rich or poor a person was, they would consider a formal worker as a good condition.

"Uncle Liu just said that the breakfast department is short of a temporary worker. Are you going?"

Darong's father did not pursue the matter of Darong's boyfriend anymore. If Cheng Laoxiao's mother were to criticize Darong now, they would not have a peaceful life after they get married.

Besides, he has no way to arrange a formal job for Darong now, but fortunately Darong is still young, so she can wait a little longer. When the factories start recruiting workers after the New Year or the beginning of spring, he can ask someone to find a job for her.

"go."

"The breakfast department has to get up in the middle of the night every day. You'd better think about it carefully. Don't let it go when the time comes and embarrass Uncle Liu." Darong's mother is like this. Even though she is worried that Darong is working too hard, she always says things that hurt her heart.

But Darong is actually a very capable child. As long as it is a job that can earn money, she has never complained about the hard work.

"I'll go." Darong never liked the way her mother spoke, so she was too lazy to say another word in response.

The breakfast department at that time was different from what it is now, because it was in the early stages of the transition from a planned economy to a market economy, and most shops, restaurants, and physical stores were still publicly owned, so the breakfast department was divided into regular and temporary workers.

"DaRong, come here. This is Manager Li. You must work hard here in the future." Uncle Liu sent Darong to the breakfast department, introduced him to the department, and then went to work.

"Come on, come on, I'll take you for a tour. There aren't many people in our breakfast department, so I'll show you around."

Manager Li was a middle-aged woman in her forties, very friendly and soft-spoken. After she took Darong to greet several people in the store, she arranged for her and Xiao Cui to help Pei Bin fry fruit sticks (fruit sticks: Yutian’s name for fried dough sticks).

"What time is it now? Why hasn't Little Pei come yet? He always acts so arrogantly." While Xiao Cui was teaching Darong how to heat oil in a wok, she was looking at the store door and muttering about Pei Bin.

After Xiao Cui and Darong had finished setting up the stall of fried fruits, Pei Bin hurriedly ran in from the gate.

Darong glanced at Pei Bin, nodded as a greeting, and then continued to work with her head down. Pei Bin steadied himself, changed his clothes, and began to knead the dough and stretch the fruit.

"You go over there and count. Xiao Cui, come here and fry them." Pei Bin glanced at Da Rong who was frying fruits in the wok and said in a cold tone.