The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

Chapter 242 Smooth Transition

Wenying and Darong worked together and soon finished the meal. As soon as the food was served on the table, Zhong Yunhong arrived home.

He looked very tired and was obviously not in good condition. After entering the room and saying hello, he actually sat down on the sofa and dozed off.

Mother Zhong turned up the air conditioner by two degrees, covered him with a small sheet, and then got up and sat at the dining table.

The meal was eaten quietly. Everyone could see that Zhong Yunhong was not in good condition, so no one spoke for fear of waking him up.

After dinner, Mother Zhong sat on the sofa to look after Zhong Yunhong, while Wenying and Darong went to the cabin to sit and chat.

"I think his uncle seems to have not slept for several days. I don't know what happened." Wenying whispered to Darong.

"With the pandemic situation so chaotic outside, these civil servants are working like a top. They must be exhausted."

"He's already the director, how could he be allowed to go out to prevent the epidemic? There must be something going on." Wenying pouted and spoke with certainty, as if she knew some inside story.

In fact, Darong has always had a good impression of Zhong Yunhong. Although she and Wu Meifeng do not have a good relationship, there is actually no essential contradiction between them. So Darong still does not want him to encounter any difficulties.

"You just said that Xiao Gao's business is not going well. What's going on?"

Darong changed the subject. Rather than speculating about Zhong Yunhong, she was more concerned about how Xiao Gao and Xiao Ping would maintain their lives.

"Everything is bought online now, and Xiao Gao's store has a lot of unsold goods. I heard from a friend that he can't even pay the staff. He has already closed the counter in the mall, and has lost a lot of money."

The oldest large shopping mall in the southern suburbs had already fallen into operational difficulties long before the outbreak of the epidemic. Xiao Gao liquidated the counters inside and moved to the newly built Landmark Plaza.

However, he had just moved in for less than half a year when the outbreak of the epidemic caused major shopping malls to close one after another.

All the money Xiao Gao invested was locked up, and his own franchise stores also lost customers.

"Sister-in-law, do you know that Xiao Gao may have someone outside?" Wenying lowered her head and thought for a while, then spoke mysteriously in Darong's ear.

In fact, Darong had already roughly known about this matter as early as the time when Xiaoping fell ill, but when she heard Wenying say this, she still looked very surprised and widened her eyes.

"Men are all like that. Once they have a little money, they don't know who they are." Wenying said while rolling her eyes at the door.

"Don't say such nonsense. You are already this old, why are you still making such nonsense?"

Darong frowned and to be honest, she really didn't trust Xiao Gao's character.

"How can I say such nonsense? Xiaoping actually knows that the girl is from our local area. Outsiders said that she had looked for Xiaoping, but Xiaoping just didn't tell us."

After hearing what Wenying said, Darong immediately understood where Xiaoping's illness came from. What middle-aged couples fear most is emotional betrayal. Many couples cannot get through this stage and end up with a miserable ending.

"Don't even mention people like Xiao Gao who are good at talking. Look at your uncle. He doesn't talk much, does he? He has to keep an eye on him every day. He can't resist the little sluts outside who keep sticking to him. Who lets him earn money?" Wenying snorted coldly after she finished speaking.

Darong blinked and looked at Wenying speechlessly. Is it because other people’s melons are not sweet enough?

Wenying and Darong chatted for a while before leaving Zhong's mother's house with Zhong Yunsheng.

Zhong Yunhong didn't sleep for long, but maybe it was because his mother was watching over him, but he seemed to sleep very soundly.

"Where did you come from? Why are you so tired?" When Zhong Yunhong woke up, Mother Zhong looked at him with concern and asked.

"I didn't sleep well last night because I was on duty, and I was a bit busy this morning. As I get older, I don't sleep well. This time I slept quite soundly, and I felt much more comfortable."

Zhong Yunhong stretched his back, as if he had not slept so soundly for a long time.

"Eat some food. Your sister-in-law has saved some for you. I'll go heat it up." Mother Zhong said as she prepared to get up and heat up food for Zhong Yunhong.

"I'll go, please don't move." Zhong Yunxing got up and went to the kitchen to heat up the food for Zhong Yunhong, and then used another small pot to make a bowl of soup for him.

Mother Zhong kept rummaging through her small box for snacks for him. Zhong Yunhong sat quietly on the sofa, watching his mother and elder brother busy taking care of him.

"Mom, my brother is going to retire soon, right?" Zhong Yunhong suddenly asked.

"That's right. Daxing is two years older than you and he will retire in two years."

After she finished speaking, Mother Zhong was stunned for a moment, as if she had just realized that even her son was already 60 years old. She couldn't remember exactly when time had slipped away.

"That's great. Now I want to quit too. I'm too tired."

Mother Zhong is already old, and she could not understand the helplessness and sadness in Zhong Yunhong's words. With his current cadre position, how many people can look forward to retirement?

After Zhong Yunhong left, Zhong Yunxing was cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen alone. Darong took a bottle of sugar-free drink from the refrigerator and handed it to him.

"Let me clean up, you go in and rest for a while."

Zhong Yunxing didn't say anything. He just took the drink and went into the house quietly. He had guessed a little bit about what Zhong's mother didn't understand.

"You don't have to worry too much. We are all fighting the epidemic now. He may just be too tired. It's nothing serious."

After Darong cleaned up the kitchen, she saw Zhong Yunxing sitting listlessly on the bed and comforted him.

"His hair is whiter than mine. He is almost 50 or 60 years old. It's good enough for him to land safely. Don't fight or compete with him."

Zhong Yunxing sighed. He just hoped that his family could be safe and sound.

"Otherwise, the old people would say that marrying a good wife is the most important thing. If that business wasn't so ostentatious, maybe he wouldn't be in such a dilemma now."

After Zhong Yunxing was silent for a while, he suddenly took Darong's hand and said.

Although Zhong Yunhong did not encounter any major crisis, he was transferred from his original unit not long after, from the southern suburbs to the same department in the far suburbs.

Although they are both directors, Nanjiao is after all a suburb around the city. On the surface it is a horizontal transfer, but in fact it is equivalent to a demotion.

But for Zhong Yunxing, such setbacks were no longer something he needed to worry about. He just needed to know that everything was fine.