When the pears are green

Jiang Qingzhou was afraid of making more mistakes if he said too much, so he stopped talking to the Jiang family about Chen Yuan. After borrowing the plow, he hurriedly left Zhang's house with the plow on his back, using the excuse of going home to work.

When Jiang Qingzhou returned home, Song Li was preparing to go to the new house to dry the steamed vegetables.

"Didn't you agree to steam them after I came back? How much is left to be steamed?" Jiang Qingzhou, who had washed his hands, took the bamboo basket full of dried vegetables from Song Li's hand and asked.

Song Li rubbed her sour wrist and replied, "There will be nothing left in the basket after drying it. After drying it this time, we can steam it again and deliver it to Mr. Hu. I also wanted to wait for you to come back before steaming it, but you haven't been back for a long time. I'm restless at home, so I have to find something to do to kill time waiting for you."

Jiang Qingzhou felt as if he had eaten honey after hearing this. He held the bamboo basket in one hand and pulled Song Li with the other hand towards the new house. As they walked, he told Song Li about the unexpected incident that happened to Master Li and the fact that Chen Yuan stayed at Zhang's house last night.

"Alas, losing my memory is better than losing my life. I originally thought that thieves would not target someone as famous as Master Li, but I didn't expect that they would target anyone the same when they were angry. Things that are forgotten will be remembered again one day. When I'm done, I'll go clean up Xiaoxing's room and let Master Li stay there temporarily."

Song Li paused for a moment, and then told Jiang Qingzhou about Chen Yuan: "The matter between Constable Chen and Ruyi is not something you and I should have cared about. However, Constable Chen exposed us in front of the aunt, so we have to use this incident to teach Constable Chen a lesson. I'm afraid that he will get greedy and take advantage of Ruyi's interest in him to find various reasons to stay at my uncle's house as a woman again and again."

Jiang Qingzhou felt that what Song Li said made sense, and he did not expect Chen Yuan to be so bold. He could take advantage of the opportunity to have a good talk with Chen Yuan when he went to the government office to report the case in the afternoon.

After several rounds of drying, the dried vegetables that originally required three ropes can now be hung on two ropes.

"Along the way, I saw many people plowing the fields and planting wheat. Although it didn't rain, no one wanted to miss the season. Let's start tomorrow. My uncle and brother Jixiang haven't come back yet. After we plant and water the crops, I still have to go help my aunt with work." Jiang Qingzhou said to Song Li who was holding a bamboo basket while putting dried vegetables on the rope.

Song Li hurriedly asked herself if she needed to go.

Jiang Qingzhou first reached out and touched Song Li's face, then replied with a smile: "Xiao Li, you don't have to go, I can do it myself. The work is very tiring, so when the time comes, just say you need to make cotton clothes at home."

Song Li tilted her head and stared at Jiang Qingzhou, her pair of affectionate eyes curved into crescent shapes with the smile on her face.

Seeing this, Jiang Qingzhou couldn't help but pinch Song Li's ears. He suppressed the throbbing in his heart and said to Song Li, who was flirting without knowing it, "Hurry up and work. We need to do other things later."

Song Li still smiled and nodded.

After drying the vegetables, Jiang Qingzhou fetched water to irrigate the somewhat dry vegetable field. It had not rained for nearly two or three months, and the water level in the well had dropped a lot. In the past, the long rope on the reel only needed five turns to reach the water, but now the entire rope needed to be put into the well.

Song Li put all the books and clothes in Song Xing's room neatly into the empty wooden box in the east room. When she went to help Jiang Qingzhou water the plants, she caught a glimpse of the plow that Jiang Qingzhou had placed under the window.

Song Li sometimes touched the plow shovel, and sometimes lifted the plow tip and tried to push it.

The sound of the plow hitting the ground attracted the attention of Jiang Qingzhou, who was watering the vegetables. He hurriedly poured the remaining water in the bucket onto the last piece of dry and cracked land, then quickly walked to Song Li and asked with a smile, "Is it fun?"

"I'm not playing, I'm just curious." Song Li whispered to defend her behavior.

Jiang Qingzhou turned to ask Song Li: "Xiao Li, haven't you seen it before? Our father is a carpenter, so there should be one at home."

"Yes, I have. I've only seen it but never used it. Is it a curved plow?" Song Li asked, touching the curved wooden plow shaft.

"It's a curved plow, but people generally call it the Jiangdong plow." Jiang Qingzhou's eyes followed Song Li's fingers as they moved on the patinated plow shaft. The slender index and middle fingers also jumped back and forth on his chest.

Jiang Qingzhou couldn't help but walk forward and caught Song Li's still jumping fingers. He rubbed Song Li's palm with his thumb and asked: "Xiao Li, are you hungry?"

Song Li looked up at the sun which had not yet reached its zenith, and whispered that she was not hungry yet.

Jiang Qingzhou gently stroked Song Li's cheek and whispered that since she was not hungry, she might as well do something else first.

Song Li understood what Jiang Qingzhou meant, and asked what was going on with a feeling of discomfort.

"The sun is too strong today. Why don't we change our clothes first to avoid sweating and catching a cold." Jiang Qingzhou gave a plausible reason. Without waiting for Song Li to express his opinion, he pulled Song Li towards the east room.

Song Li was already accustomed to this, and couldn't help but sigh that the innocent boy in the past had actually become so "shameless".

In the afternoon, Song Li stayed at home to select wheat seeds. Jiang Qingzhou first pulled the cart to the bookstore, and then went to the government office with Li Yi to report the case.

The gatekeeper who had met Jiang Qingzhou twice efficiently helped to find Chen Yuan in the yamen.

After listening to Li Yi's narration, Chen Yuan first took Li Yi and Jiang Qingzhou to take notes, and then told Li Yi bluntly: "Little girl, I am just recording here first. It is hard to say whether the murderer can be caught. Don't hold too much hope."

"Thank you, Constable Chen, for telling me. I didn't have much hope at first. I just thought that if my grandfather and I didn't come to report the case, it would encourage the thieves. I'm afraid they would think about stealing in the bookstore again." Li Yi spoke clearly. After the incident with Master Li, she, who used to be willful and casual, grew up a lot.

These words made Chen Yuan look at Li Yi with admiration. He promised Li Yi that he would try his best to catch the murderer, and if he caught the murderer, he would definitely inform Li Yi as soon as possible.

Li Yi quickly thanked Chen Yuan.

Jiang Qingzhou then asked Chen Yuan if he had time, as he wanted to talk to Chen Yuan about Ruyi's matter.

Chen Yuan looked at Jiang Qingzhou's expression as if he wanted to eat him, and asked him in a low voice whether he knew what happened yesterday.

Jiang Qingzhou nodded with anger on his face, and told Chen Yuan not to do this again. After all, Chen Yuan would have to contact other members of the Zhang family in the future, and if other members of the Zhang family saw the clues, it would directly ruin Ruyi.

Jiang Qingzhou said no more. He knew Chen Yuan was a smart man. If Chen Yuan really loved Ruyi, he would know what to do. If Chen Yuan continued to act like this, he would not stand idly by.

Seeing that Jiang Qingzhou was really angry this time, Chen Yuan quickly said that he would not meet with Ruyi privately again before getting engaged to her, and then asked Jiang Qingzhou to help him keep an eye out for news about the fields.

After hearing this, Jiang Qingzhou's expression eased a little. He said that he also understood Chen Yuan's thoughts, but he also hoped that Chen Yuan could understand that if the love between two people is long-lasting, it doesn't matter if they are together day and night.

"My cousin is right. I will regulate my behavior in the future." Chen Yuan lowered his head and agreed with Jiang Qingzhou.

Jiang Qingzhou sighed and patted Chen Yuan on the shoulder, then left the yamen with Li Yi.

After the class was over, Master Li asked Yang Yu to look after the children in the library before leaving, and said that he would return to teach after the bump on the back of his head disappeared. After studying for half a day, Master Li was surprised to find that he had only forgotten the people in his memory, but not the things he had learned.

Yang Yu assured Master Li not to worry, that he would take good care of the children in the library during this period, and looked forward to Master Li's early return.

After Jiang Qingzhou led the four people back home, Song Li asked Jiang Qingye and Song Xing to help Master Li bring clothes and bedding into the room.

After Master Li heard that Li Yi lived in the west room, he whispered to Song Li, "Madam Jiang, we can just live in one room. This is too much trouble for you."

Song Li guessed that no one had told Master Li that Li Yi was a girl. She imitated Master Li, covered her mouth with her hand and whispered to Master Li: "Master, Li Yi is a girl. Her nickname is Nian Nian. You asked her to dress up as a man. Don't forget it."

Li Yi saw Master Li and Song Li whispering to each other secretly. She asked curiously, "Sister, Grandpa, what are you talking about? It's so mysterious."

Song Li and Master Li quickly shook their heads and said that they were discussing when it would rain.

"Oh, when will it rain? The ground is cracked and even the river water is much less than last year." Li Yi sighed and complained why it hasn't rained yet.

After hearing Li Yi's words, everyone in the yard couldn't help but sigh along with Li Yi.

In the next few days, Master Li and Li Yi did not go to the study again, but stayed in the Jiang family's courtyard to recuperate.

After three or four days of hard work, Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou finally planted wheat in the field where the soil had dried into sand.

On the night when the two were planning to water the plants early the next morning, a drizzle began to fall from the sky, which then turned into a heavy downpour.