When the pears are green

Song Li was chopping grass for the chickens at home. She was waiting for Jiang Qingzhou, who had gone to the riverbank to dig saltwort, to come home, so that they could go to Zhanggou Village to see Ruyi together.

"Cuckoo...Cuckoo..." Song Li called the chickens while sprinkling chopped grass into the chicken coop. Before she finished feeding the chickens, Jiang Qingzhou came back in a hurry with a basket.

Jiang Qingzhou saw that Song Li had not finished feeding the chickens yet, so he told Song Li not to worry, as it was still early. After feeding the chickens, Jiang Qingzhou helped Song Li pat the grass off her body, then picked up the basket and locked the gate.

Before Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou reached Zhang's house, they heard the fierce quarrel between Jiang and Zhang Jixiang and Zhang You's crying.

"Qingzhou, do you want to go in?" Song Li looked at the half-open gate of Zhang's house hesitantly.

Jiang Qingzhou leaned forward, standing at the gate of the courtyard, and stole a few glances at the scene in the courtyard: Jiang and Zhang Jixiang were arguing, and Xia Lin was holding Zhang You and wiping away tears.

Jiang Qingzhou hesitated for a few seconds, then knocked heavily on the gate a few times, and the quarrel in the yard stopped immediately.

When Jiang and Zhang Jixiang walked to the door and saw Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou, they immediately put away their angry expressions and replaced them with smiles, and invited Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou into the yard.

Song Li didn't see Xia Lin and Zhang You, so they must have gone back to their room.

Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou acted as if nothing had happened. They told Jiang their purpose. Jiang sighed and took Song Li to Ruyi's room.

Jiang pushed open Ruyi's door and Song Li walked in alone.

Song Li saw Ruyi lying on her side on the bed, with untouched food on the table beside the bed.

"Mom, please go out. I don't want to say anything to you. I don't agree with this marriage." Ruyi said without turning her head after hearing the footsteps.

Song Li walked forward, patted Ruyi's shoulder gently, and said softly, "Ruyi, it's me."

When Ruyi heard Song Li's voice, she quickly turned around and slowly sat up.

Song Li looked at Ruyi who looked a little weak and said softly, "Ruyi, I heard from Qingzhou that you haven't eaten for a day. Are you stupid? If you have anything to say, you can just say it to your aunt. Why do you have to treat yourself like this?"

Ruyi lowered her head. She didn't say anything, but just stared out the window with lifeless eyes.

Song Li sat next to Ruyi and asked softly, "Ruyi, can you tell me what you think?"

Ruyi finally responded. She said to Song Li in a weak voice, "Cousin, my mind is in a mess right now. But I know very well that I don't want to marry the man my mother mentioned. People in the village praise him for his good character and ability to make money, but my brother and I have seen him go to that place in town with our own eyes."

Song Li looked at Ruyi's embarrassed expression and understood what place Ruyi was talking about. Jiang Qingzhou had once pointed it out to her and showed it to her.

"Then have you told your aunt?" Song Li asked softly.

Ruyi nodded and said that she and Zhang Jixiang had told Jiang about this matter, but Jiang thought it was a lie made up by the brother and sister to avoid the marriage.

After all, that person had a very good reputation in Zhanggou Village. When the matchmaker came to propose marriage, Jiang was almost stunned by the pie in the sky. How could she listen to Ruyi and Zhang Jixiang's words?

The scene that Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou saw when they first arrived at Zhang's house was because of this incident.

"Ruyi, eat something first. If you starve yourself to death, you will not be able to resist. If I were you, I would eat and drink my fill, and then find a chance to reveal that man's true face." Song Li handed the food on the table to Ruyi.

Ruyi glanced at Song Li, she took the food and started eating it voraciously.

Song Li was afraid that Ruyi would choke, so she hurriedly shouted, "Ruyi, go slower, no one is trying to snatch it from you."

Ruyi nodded, but she didn't slow down her eating speed at all. Song Li had no choice but to pick up the noodle soup still on the table and feed Ruyi a sip from time to time.

After eating everything in swift, Ruyi burped and looked at Song Li with a blushing face.

Song Li did not make fun of Ruyi. She just patted her on the back and told her not to do that again. No matter how big the problem is, there is a way to solve it, but hurting yourself is the most undesirable thing.

Ruyi got out of bed and whispered to Song Li before leaving: "Cousin, I've wanted to eat these things for a long time, but I didn't want to lose face in front of my mother, so I kept forcing myself to eat them. Cousin, I want to find someone to help me. I know a constable named Chen Yuan. He's very nice. He said I could ask him for help if I have any problem. Cousin, do you think Constable Chen will help me?"

After hearing this, Song Li first lit a candle for Chen Yuan in her heart, and then replied to Ruyi meaningfully: "Ruyi, Qingzhou and I also know him. I think Constable Chen should be willing to help you."

Although Ruyi was curious about whether Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou also knew Chen Yuan, she thought that since they often went to the market, it was normal for them to know the constable, so she did not ask. Instead, she happily went to the cabinet to take out her only twenty copper coins, then stuffed her embroidered handkerchief into her arms and put the small sachet into her sleeve.

Song Li looked at Ruyi's actions and had the illusion that she was going to run away from home.

"Cousin, I think I can't go asking for help empty-handed. Are these things I brought enough? Should I exchange the handkerchief and sachet for copper coins first?" Ruyi was a little uncertain. She was afraid that Chen Yuan would not help her because he had too few things.

Song Li tried hard to hold back her smile. She told Ruyi that she didn't need to exchange them for copper coins, as perhaps Chen Yuan would like these things more.

In the yard, Jiang was telling Jiang Qingzhou about her pain. She said that Ruyi and Zhang Jixiang were old now and no longer listened to her as a mother.

Jiang Qingzhou just comforted Jiang and asked, "Aunt, where did Ping An and Uncle go?"

"My dad and Ping'an went to the town. Ping'an was feeling a little unwell, so my dad went with him to check on him." Zhang Jixiang became even more upset when he thought of the sick Zhang Ping'an.

"Brother Jixiang, what disease did Ping'an suffer from?" Jiang Qingzhou asked hurriedly.

Zhang Jixiang covered his aching head and told Jiang Qingzhou, "It's not serious, just a little fever and cough. I probably caught a cold at night."

Jiang Qingzhou felt a little relieved. He handed the basket in his hand to Jiang Shi and told her that these were wild vegetables he had dug up at the riverbank this morning so that they could have a taste of them.

Jiang took the basket and went to the kitchen. She poured the wild vegetables in the basket into her own basket, and then put some vegetable seeds in it, asking Jiang Qingzhou and Song Li to go home and plant them.

Jiang, who had just left the kitchen, saw Song Li and Ruyi coming out. She quickly stepped forward and shouted, "You damn girl, you were going on a hunger strike, so why did you come out? You can't find such a good marriage even if you search with a lantern. I'm really pissed off."

Zhang Jixiang was afraid that Jiang's words would irritate Ruyi, so he quickly pulled Jiang aside and said to her while holding back his anger: "Mom, I've told you that Zhao Xuan sounds like a decent person, but he's actually a drunkard. If he was really that good, why didn't he find a girl in town, but a girl from a small family like ours instead?"

Song Li saw a flash of hesitation in Jiang's eyes but it quickly disappeared. It seemed that only by finding evidence could Jiang's idea be completely dispelled.

"Auntie, please think about it carefully. I heard from Ruyi that the man is capable, has a good reputation and can make money. Our Ruyi is not as beautiful as a flower, and our family is not rich. He and Ruyi don't even know each other well. What does he want from our Ruyi?" Song Li spoke slowly, unravelling the mystery.

"Everyone in the village knows that Ruyi's female workers are good and can make money." Jiang turned her head and answered Song Li.

"Didn't you all say that Zhao Xuan can make money? How could he care about Ruyi's few copper coins?" Jiang Qingzhou ruthlessly exposed Jiang's words.

Jiang glared at Jiang Qingzhou and stopped talking.

Song Li looked at Jiang with a headache. She found an excuse to help Ruyi relax and brought Ruyi out of Zhang's house. She was going to ask Chen Yuan for help together with Ruyi.