The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

Chapter 216 Pancake Face

After the group came back from the seventh day of mourning, Zhong's mother noticed that Zhong Yunhong was not in good condition, but because his nephews and their wives were all there, she had no chance to ask him what had happened.

Because Darong had to go to work, she went straight to the office after coming out of the cemetery and did not go home.

For some unknown reason, Jixiang always needed Zhong Yunhong to pick him up and drop him off during that period, and his time at home was very limited. After returning from the cemetery, Zhong Yunhong put down his things and went to see Jixiang off first.

Because the fillings prepared by Zhong Yunxing were not enough, by the time Zhong Yunhong returned from sending Jixiang away, there were obviously not enough dumplings left.

Wu Meifeng originally reserved a plate of dumplings for Zhong Yunhong, but Lao Jiu's wife, who was unaware of the situation, saw that there were not enough dumplings outside and thought that this was a surplus plate, so she directly brought it out for everyone to eat.

"There's no food left. You can't make it in time, so just eat takeout." Wu Meifeng said to Zhong Yunhong with a cold face in a sarcastic tone.

No one responded to her. She just sat on the sofa, humming, and started ordering takeout.

After finishing their meal, people left Zhong's mother's house one after another. After Zhong Yunsheng went to work, Wenying also went back to her home to rest.

Only Xiaoping, Zhong Yunxing and Zhong Yunhong and his wife were left at home, waiting for takeout.

"I'm going to pick up Ruyi's mother. She only works half a day and she should be almost done by now."

Zhong Yunxing really didn't want to see Wu Meifeng's big, dark face, so he found an excuse and left home.

"Hello, I'm almost done with my work. Come and pick me up later." After Zhong Yunxing waited in the car for a while, he received a call from Darong.

"I'm right at the door, just come out."

"Ah? Okay, okay, okay. Wait a minute. I'll be right out after I finish cleaning this."

After Darong hung up the phone, she hurriedly busied herself finishing the work in her hands.

Since Darong moved to Zhong's mother's house and joined Zhong Yunxing in taking care of the elderly, Zhong Yunxing has been picking her up and dropping her off to get off work every day. This journey has become a rare time for the couple to be alone.

"Why are you here so early?" As soon as she got in the car, Darong saw that Zhong Yunxing looked unhappy.

"It's okay. Her second aunt is there. I was too lazy to see her face at home, so I left early."

"She's acting like a demon again?"

"No, I just didn't buy enough stuffing, so the dumplings weren't enough. I ordered takeout out of spite. I've always had a big face, and this time it's even uglier."

Darong couldn't help laughing. She had been married to Zhong Yunxing for so many years, and this was the first time she heard him comment on someone else's appearance.

"How can you, as a brother-in-law, talk about your brother's wife like that?" Darong laughed and hit Zhong Yunxing's arm.

Zhong Yunxing couldn't help laughing himself: "I'm telling you, she looks like that, don't blame the second brother for not liking her since he was young."

"Whether you like it or not, it's been more than 20 years." Darong said cheerfully.

"Let me tell you, appearance reflects the heart. Why does she become more and more creepy as she gets older? Look at her eyes. Even without glasses, they can scare people to death." Zhong Yunxing said with a sneer.

"Anyway, she and Erhong were embarrassed today. They took out three cigarettes from the same box. If you say it was damp, why did she only put out the one he lit, and put it out twice?"

When we went to the cemetery to burn the seventh day's remains today, the three brothers Zhong Yunxing, Zhong Yunhong and Zhong Yunsheng each lit a cigarette for the old man, but Zhong Yunxing and Zhong Yunsheng's both burned up completely, except for Zhong Yunhong's which broke twice in the middle.

"Those nieces-in-law all said privately that it was her grandfather who knew who was filial and who was not, and he showed it to everyone." After Darong finished speaking, the car fell silent for a moment.

Zhong Yunxing didn't say anything else. Darong looked out the window with red eyes. After all, she had taken care of Zhong's father for so many years. She was really sad to think that the old man was gone.

When Darong and Zhong Yunxing returned home, Zhong Yunhong and Wu Meifeng had already left. Xiaoping sat on the sofa angrily, while Zhong's mother lay in the room wiping her tears silently.

"What's wrong, Ping?" Darong saw Xiaoping's unhappy face and looked at Zhong Yunxing, then asked quickly.

"Our mother was so angry that she cried." Xiaoping raised her chin and nodded towards the inner room.

After Zhong Yunxing left, Xiaoping followed him out because she went to the store to pick up some goods. When Xiaoping came back, Zhong's mother was already sitting on the sofa crying out of anger.

"Dad just finished his seventh day of mourning, and she ordered a takeout bowl of noodles to eat. My second brother is also a fool, and there's nothing wrong with him, but Mom is disgusted."

Xiaoping angrily described to Zhong Yunxing and Darong what she had heard from Zhong's mother.

In fact, in many places including Nanjiao, people are not allowed to eat noodles during the mourning period, because noodles represent a long and steady flow of love.

Eating noodles at happy events is a way of hoping that there will always be happy events in the family, while eating noodles at funerals seems particularly unlucky.

Although these have no scientific basis, and even many young people would discard them as dregs, but for the elderly, these are customs defined in their thinking.

Mother Zhong is nearly eighty years old. In her opinion, Wu Meifeng's actions were an intentional curse on her.

"Your second sister-in-law may not know that many people don't understand these old principles so well."

Darong didn't know how to reconcile them, so she could only find an excuse for Wu Meifeng to comfort Mrs. Zhong a little.

"She doesn't know? Is there something she doesn't know? She thinks she's big by opening a store..."

Xiaoping didn't finish her words until she saw the look from Darong and finally stopped talking.

Zhong Yunxing returned to his room with a gloomy face, while Darong and Xiaoping went to Zhong's mother's room together.

"Mom, don't think about it. Let's get up and talk. I just bought some fruits. I'll wash them for you." Xiaoping said as she reached out and pulled Zhong's mother's hand.

Mother Zhong also sat up and went to the living room with Darong and Xiaoping.

"Sister-in-law, our mother is almost 80 years old now. Your grandparents still live in the house where you and my brother live. I think you should continue to live with our mother in the future. We can feel at ease with you here."

Xiaoping had just finished washing the fruit and sat down when she started talking to Darong directly about this topic, leaving her at a loss for how to respond for a moment.

It is true that my house is given to my parents-in-law to live in, but given their current situation, it is not difficult for them to find a place to live alone.

Staying with Zhong's mother means that I still have to support and care for the elderly myself, although Zhong's mother's health is not as bad as Zhong's father's.

But as long as we live together, I have to worry about her diet and life at home all the time. It is not just a simple matter of living together.