When the pears are green

When Song Li and her brother stepped into the house, Song Changhe and Zhang were sitting under the old locust tree in the yard, talking and laughing.

Song Xing shouted, "Dad, Mom, we're back." Then he ran into the yard with a smile and threw himself into Song Changhe's arms.

Song Changhe reached out and rubbed Song Xing's head. Song Xing happily pulled her head out from under Song Changhe's arm, turned her head and shouted to Song Li and Song Yue: "Big sister, second sister, come here quickly!"

Song Li and Song Yue smiled at each other and walked over one after the other.

Zhang pulled Song Xing out of Song Changhe's arms, pointed to the stool next to them, and asked the three siblings to sit down.

Song Changhe and Zhang smiled and looked at the Song Li siblings. Song Changhe thought for a moment, then said to Zhang: "Xiangxiang, you should say it!"

Song Li watched Zhang glance at her from time to time, and she instinctively felt that what Song Changhe and Zhang had just said should be related to her.

What could it be? She thought of Erya, the girl next door who had recently gotten married. Could it be her own marriage?

Song Li put her thoughts aside, she looked at Zhang with a smile, and listened to what Zhang had to say first.

Zhang looked at Song Li again, then smiled and said, "Xiao Li, someone proposed a marriage to me a while ago. I think it's good and I want to agree to it."

Song Li looked at her frail body, lowered her head, pretended to be embarrassed, and said softly to Zhang: "Mom, I'm still young, I want to stay with you for a few more years."

Zhang waved to Song Changhe, and Song Changhe led Song Yue and Song Xing to the backyard. Only Zhang and Song Li were left under the locust tree.

Zhang moved a stool to sit next to Song Li. She said softly to Song Li, who lowered her head, "Xiao Li, mother doesn't want you to marry into another family so early. But there is no other way. If you don't get married before your sixteenth birthday, not only will you be fined one or two taels of silver, but your father will also be forced to do hard labor for half a year. You are timid by nature, and this family has a simple population and no complicated relationships..."

Without waiting for Zhang to finish speaking, Song Li lay in Zhang's arms and pretended to be sad.

Zhang stopped talking and patted Song Li's back gently.

"Xiao Li, I once thought about marrying you to our village, right in front of my mother. However, ever since you fell into the water last time, there has been a lot of gossip in the village, so I gave up the idea. Although it's okay to be criticized by others, if you really marry into our village, you will be slandered by rumors sooner or later." Zhang went on to say to Song Li.

Song Li raised her head and asked softly, "Mom, is it far?"

"It's not far, it's very close to your grandma's house. With your uncles there, they naturally won't dare to bully you." Zhang replied.

Song Li thought for a moment, then asked again: "Mom, is she from grandma's village?"

Zhang smiled and continued, "No, it's from the next village. It's getting late. I'm going to cook. You go find Xiaoyue. I'll tell you in detail after I'm done with the housework in a few days."

After Zhang finished speaking, she hurried to the kitchen. Villagers usually finish their meals before dark, so they don't have to light oil lamps at night.

Song Li watched Zhang leave. She sat motionless under the locust tree and whispered to the rustling tree, "Should we accept the arrangement or fight back? However, with my current ability, I'm afraid I can't even get out of this plain safely. Now that we are here, let's make the best of it."

When Song Yue came out from the backyard, she saw Song Li squatting under a locust tree, looking at the ground seriously.

"Sister, what are you doing?" Song Yue asked curiously.

"Yueyue, I'm counting ants." Song Li said without raising her head.

Song Yue also squatted down. She pointed at the ants carrying food on the ground and began to count them carefully.

Song Li would inadvertently teach Song Yue and Song Xing to count. Although they were already in their teens, they had never been exposed to numbers and only occasionally learned some from Song Changhe.

"Yueyue, mother said that after I fell into the water, there were some rumors in the village. Did you know that?" Song Li asked Song Yue softly.

Song Yue stopped counting the ants, raised her head, and said to Song Li seriously, "Sister, those are just some people gossiping. It's been so long, no one is talking about it anymore."

Seeing that Song Yue refused to speak, Song Li did not ask any more questions. Anyway, Zhang and Song Changhe had already planned to marry her off somewhere else, so there was no need to care about the rumors. However, Zhang did not finish her words. Which family could this young man be from?

When she went to bed at night, Song Yue, who was yawning, looked at Song Li, who was awake, and asked, "Sister, are you thinking about what mother said?"

"Yes, mother went in a hurry to cook before she finished talking to me. I wonder which family the young man might be?" Song Li said dimly.

Song Yue hugged Song Li and comforted her with a yawning voice: "Sister, don't think too much. Given how much our parents love you, they will definitely find a good family for you."

"Yes, they love Song Li very much." Song Li said softly.

After Song Yue heard what Song Li said, she asked in confusion: "Sister, what did you say?"

Song Li patted Song Yue's back and coaxed her softly: "I didn't say anything. I just said that my parents love me very much. I don't need to worry. Go to sleep quickly. You still have to work tomorrow!"

Song Li wanted to recall more information, but every time it was the same, her head started to hurt again. She held her head, sweating coldly from the pain.

Song Yue, who was about to fall asleep, quickly got up and helped Song Li massage her head. She said to Song Li, "Sister, if you can't remember, don't think about it. If you forget, just forget it and remember it again."

Song Li wiped the cold sweat from her head with her sleeve. She rested for a while and said to Song Yue, "Yueyue, don't press it anymore. It doesn't hurt anymore. I just don't want to do it anymore."

Song Li paused for a moment, then continued, "Yueyue, you said, I'm average looking and I can't do anything, what do they like about me?"

Song Yue looked at Song Li, whose expression had returned to normal, and breathed a sigh of relief. She said to Song Li, "Sister, you used to be very good at cooking and sewing, except that you were a little shy. You just forgot, but you can't belittle yourself like this. My sister is the best in the world. My sister is very capable, very kind, and very good to me."

After listening to Song Yue's words, Song Li remembered the "Song Li" that Song Yue once described to her, a girl who was a little weak but very kind, and couldn't help feeling a little sad.

When Song Yue saw Song Li's sad expression, she quickly said, "Sister is not only gentle and kind, but also beautiful."

Song Li was amused by Song Yue's words.

Song Yue and Song Li grew up together. They ate together, slept in the same bed, and worked together. Song Li, the elder sister, took good care of Song Yue. Although they sometimes quarreled, their relationship was very deep.

So when Song Yue heard Zhang say that someone was matchmaking for Song Li, she felt happy for Song Li, but also worried about her.

The good news is that if Song Li’s marriage is settled, the rumors will naturally end.

What worries me is that, I don’t know whose family this boy is from, will he be a good person, will he care about those rumors, will he be nice to Song Li?

Seeing that Song Yue's eyebrows were almost wrinkled together, Song Li hurriedly said to Song Yue: "Okay, Yueyue, go to bed quickly and don't think about it. Don't worry, your parents are not the kind of people who would sell their daughter. They won't sell me now, and they will definitely not sell Yueyue in the future. When you grow up, your parents will find a good marriage for you."

Song Li knew that Song Yue was worried about her now, but wasn't Song Yue also worried about her future self? In this era of digging for food in the fields, this kind of tragedy was not uncommon in this small village.

Song Li had a dream all night. She dreamed that a matchmaker led a group of people to her house to propose marriage to her. She was running in front and they were chasing her from behind.

Song Li had dark circles under her eyes, and she couldn't help but curse in her heart, "Asshole!"

In the early summer morning accompanied by the morning light, the woods in the distance appear foggy, as if covered with a layer of white gauze.

"A-choo, A-choo" A dozen miles away, a young man kept sneezing. While sneezing, the boy said, "It's not cold today, why am I sneezing?"