When the pears are green

After breakfast the next day, brothers Jiang Chen and Jiang Ming came to find Jiang Qingzhou to go to the riverbank to dig ditches.

Jiang Ming, who was carrying a shovel, placed the leek roots in front of the pig pen, and said to Song Li who was feeding the pigs: "Sister-in-law, this is what my mother asked me to bring. She said that if you plant it and water it, it will survive. You can cook it or make dumplings."

Song Li hurriedly thanked Jiang Ming. Jiang Ming scratched his head embarrassedly and smiled, making his already dark face look even darker.

Jiang Qingzhou took the shovel from the west room. He first helped Song Li take the wooden barrel used to feed pigs out of the pigsty, and then went out of the yard with Jiang Chen and Jiang Ming.

Worried, Song Li quickly caught up with Jiang Qingzhou and warned him again: "The wind is strong on the riverbank. Even if you feel hot from working, don't follow others and take off your clothes. You will catch a cold."

Jiang Qingzhou smiled and said that he understood. He had heard this sentence countless times from yesterday to now.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen, who was parked under a tree nearby, couldn't help but laugh and tease Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou: "Everyone in the village says that Big Brother is always outshined by his sister-in-law. I saw it with my own eyes today and realized that his sister-in-law really loves Big Brother and doesn't want others to see Big Brother shirtless."

"What are you talking about, brother? We'll wait for you in front." Jiang Ming pulled Jiang Chen forward a few steps. He threatened Jiang Chen that if he made jokes again, he would go and complain to Jiang Ji.

Jiang Qingzhou told Song Li not to care about what Jiang Chen said.

Song Li smiled and said that she would not argue with a fourteen or fifteen-year-old child. She asked Jiang Qingzhou, Jiang Chen and Jiang Ming to go to the river beach quickly and not be late on the first day.

Jiang Qingzhou rubbed Song Li's hair and told her to be careful when picking radish tops. If a man asked her to go into his house to buy them, she should not go in.

"I understand. I've heard Qingzhou say this many times, and we've both been nagging about it." After Song Li finished speaking, she smiled and urged Jiang Qingzhou to hurry up and not to keep the two brothers waiting anxiously.

After Song Li finished planting the chives, she drove the cart to Zhanggou Village. After she explained her purpose to Jiang, Jiang immediately asked Jiang Qingwan, who was spinning in the yard, to call Ruyi and Zhang Pingan to the yard.

"Ruyi, Ping'an, your cousin wants you two to accompany her to buy some radish tops in the village. Go with her." Jiang had just finished speaking when she specifically whispered to Zhang Ping'an not to take Song Li and Ruyi to buy from those families in the village who had a bad reputation.

Zhang Pingan nodded. He thought to himself that he should go to the homes of a few friends he usually plays with to ask, and then let them go with him. No one would dare to have any bad ideas.

Song Li received nearly 100 kilograms of radish leaves in the morning. Zhang Pingan and his friends volunteered to help Song Li pull the radish leaves home. Song Li quickly gave the children a handful of hawthorns for them to share.

Three or five children shouted that it was sour, wiped their saliva and continued to stuff hawthorns into their mouths.

Song Li secretly gave Zhang Ping'an a small cloth bag of hawthorns and asked him to take it home and share it with Jiang Qingwan and Zhang You.

When the children were leaving, an older boy asked Song Li, "Sister, if there are still people selling them, would you like some?"

"Yes, but you have to bring it here to sell. We collect it in the morning and evening every day." Song Li replied with a smile.

The boy nodded, and the children went back to Zhanggou Village playing and playing.

Because she was going to see Chen Yuan in the afternoon, Song Li kept Ruyi under the pretext of asking her to help wash the radish leaves.

Ruyi thought Song Li really wanted her help washing the radish leaves, so she even asked where the basin for washing the radish leaves was.

"Silly girl, Qingzhou asked me to pass a message to Constable Chen this afternoon. I'm afraid Constable Chen won't see me, so I want you to go with me." Song Li's joking words made Ruyi blush.

The shy Ruyi pretended to go home, but Song Li stopped her with a smile. She asked Ruyi to help her cook for a while and she would go to find Chen Yuan in the afternoon.

"Why would I look for him? I won't go." Ruyi replied to Song Li with a smile.

Song Li shook Ruyi's arm and begged her to go with her. While the two sisters were chatting and laughing, Jiang Qingzhou returned home from the riverbank.

"Qingzhou, why is it so early?" Song Li asked in surprise. She looked up at the sun and it was indeed not yet noon.

Jiang Qingzhou explained with a smile that it was the head of the village who told them to come back early, and that there was no need to go too early in the afternoon, and that they could just rest at home for a while after dinner before going.

Song Li asked Jiang Qingzhou to rest first. Jiang Qingzhou told Song Li again about the river water situation: "Don't worry too much about the drought, Xiaoli. Even if it doesn't rain recently, there is still river water to irrigate the land. I think the current water level is not much different from last year. When the ditch is dug, we will irrigate the mulberry fields again."

Song Li nodded. She urged Jiang Qingzhou to go and rest, and then went to cook with Ruyi.

After dinner, Jiang Qingye and Song Xing wanted to help Song Li and the others wash the radish leaves, but Song Li had already sent them to the study.

After the two left, Song Li, Jiang Qingzhou and Ruyi washed the radish leaves together and hung them on the hemp ropes prepared in the new house. The three long ropes full of radish leaves swayed back and forth in the dazzling sunshine with the west wind.

After Jiang Qingzhou went to the river beach, Song Li, Ruyi and others went to the town government office to look for Chen Yuan.

All the fields we saw along the way were temporarily abandoned, and no one was plowing the land to grow wheat.

Although Jiang Qingzhou's words temporarily relieved Song Li of some of her psychological pressure, the scene she saw on the road made Song Li nervous again.

Ruyi also sighed continuously. She told Song Li, "Cousin, my father and elder brother went to work in the county town instead of waiting for the rain at home. They said they would come back to plant wheat after the rain. I guess they also think that it won't rain for the time being."

"Ruyi, what uncle and brother Jixiang did is right. We can't just wait for rain at home. They should go out to earn some money. Even if the drought worsens in the later period, your family will have room to plan a way out of the famine. When you go home, ask aunt to tighten the daily food first, in case the autumn drought continues until next spring! It is much better to make plans early than to be helpless when the time comes." The more Song Li spoke, the more uncertain she felt. She looked up at the cloudless sky again and became annoyed.

When the two of them just walked to the market, they met Chen Yuan and Li Sheng coming from the alley in the east.

Chen Yuan smiled and glanced at Ruyi who was looking down. He asked Li Sheng to ask for leave for him, then smiled and asked Song Li and Ruyi: "Madam Jiang, Ruyi, what are you doing in town?"

Song Li first glanced at Ruyi who looked uneasy, and then told Chen Yuan that someone in Jiangjia Village was planning to sell land.

"Thank you, Madam Jiang, for coming to tell me. I will go and take a look tomorrow and buy it if it's suitable." Chen Yuan walked to Ruyi and pulled her sleeve.

Ruyi pulled her sleeve out of Chen Yuan's hand and deliberately asked Chen Yuan: "It's not raining, why did you buy the land?"

"Alas, Li Sheng and I also moved the Dragon King out of the temple and exposed him to the sun for a whole morning in order to make it rain. If it doesn't rain, the county masters are ready to beat the Dragon King. Ruyi said why should I buy land? If I don't buy land, what should I do if you marry someone else?" Chen Yuan held Ruyi's sleeve in his hand again. Ruyi reached out and patted Chen Yuan's hand. Chen Yuan smiled and held Ruyi's hand.

At this moment, Song Li felt that she should leave tactfully.

“Why do we need to expose the Dragon King to the sun? Even though we begged him to do so, it didn’t rain. Now expect it to rain if we expose it to the sun?” Ruyi asked puzzled.

Chen Yuan smiled and replied: "Maybe the Dragon King refused to accept my toast and had to drink a penalty drink."

The three of them laughed. Song Li glanced at the Li family shop not far away. She asked Ruyi if she wanted to go to the shop with her to buy some writing paper for Song Xing and Jiang Qingye.

Ruyi quickly said that she wanted to go with Song Li, but Chen Yuan did not let go. He smiled and said to Song Li, "Cousin, go by yourself. I will take Ruyi to see our new home and let her get familiar with the way first. I will send her back."

"Why are you shouting? That's my cousin, not your cousin." Ruyi blushed and patted Chen Yuan's arm a few times.

Chen Yuan retorted in a low voice: "Isn't your cousin my cousin? Am I right, cousin?"

Song Li got goosebumps under Chen Yuan's sincere gaze. She nodded randomly, then hurriedly found an excuse to leave.

"You scared my cousin." Ruyi said to Chen Yuan with dissatisfaction as she looked at Song Li's back.

Chen Yuan pulled Ruyi towards Nanguan, explaining as he walked that he didn't have one.