When the pears are green

The heat that lasted for two or three days ended with a rainstorm.

Song Li was awakened by a muffled thunder. The rumbling and crackling sounds resounded through the sky, and through the window one could see flashes of white lightning.

The locust tree in the yard was rustling in the wind, but the room was still stuffy. Song Li took advantage of the white light of lightning and touched the fan beside the pillow. She fanned herself and Song Yue from time to time.

Baidiandian kept barking in the yard, and Song Li thought it might have been frightened by the thunder and lightning.

Song Li climbed out of bed, found the tinder, and lit the oil lamp.

Song Li opened the door carefully, and through the white light of lightning, she saw Bai Diandian barking at the gate. Song Li looked at it in confusion for a while. If Bai Diandian was afraid of thunder and lightning, she should have curled up on the ground, but Bai Diandian was barking at the gate, which meant there must be someone outside.

Song Li didn't dare to act rashly. She pulled a sheet from the bedside and wrapped herself up, then spread her hair and covered her face, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed. No matter what was outside, Song Li would take the initiative to attack.

Song Li placed the oil lamp at the door of the room, then picked up the wooden stick that had been placed at the door and slowly walked towards the door.

Song Li walked over gently. Bai Diandian circled around her after seeing her, and then continued to bark at the door. Song Li heard a "sizzling" sound, and saw a shining knife tip constantly moving on the bolt of her door.

Song Li stared at the tip of the knife. Whenever the tip moved, she pinched it with her hand and then released it. This happened over and over again. A man muttered outside the door, "Damn it, what's going on?"

Another muffled thunder resounded through the sky. Song Li pinched her throat with her fingers and said with a long tail tone: "Old woman, old woman, who is opening our door? But my son Changhe is coming over."

Song Li took her hand away from her throat, continued to hold the tip of the knife with her hand, and shouted in a trembling low voice: "Old man, it must be Changhe who is coming. Tell him why his wife put up a door god at the door and doesn't let us in. I want to go in, I want to go in..."

As soon as Song Li finished speaking, Baidiandian screamed even louder. Then, several muffled thunders sounded together, and the "crackling" lightning lit up half of the night sky.

Song Li decided to try harder. She still shouted in a trembling low voice: "Changhe, Changhe, why don't you open the door? Mother is waiting here. Mother wants to go in."

At this time, a stronger wind blew, and Song Li continued to shout: "Changhe, open the door for mother."

The man pulled out the knife with all his strength, but Song Li grabbed the tip of the knife with her hand. The man immediately let out a loud "Ah" and ran away, not even taking the knife with him.

Song Li loosened her hand that was holding the tip of the knife, and suddenly there was a "pop" sound at the door, probably the knife falling to the ground.

Song Li looked back at the oil lamp that was flickering in the wind. She smiled at Bai Diandian, then continued to stand at the door with the stick in her hand. She was afraid that the man would notice something was wrong and come back again.

Baidiandian rubbed against Song Li's feet, making a "hmm~hmm~" sound. Song Li squatted on the ground and stroked its head with her hand.

Song Li didn't know how long she stood at the gate, until the raindrops fell on her body, making a "patter" sound. Song Li took the stick, held Baidiandian in her arms, and went back to the house.

Song Li picked up the oil lamp at the door and put Bai Diandian on the ground. Bai Diandian opened her eyes, looked at Song Li, and soon fell asleep again.

Song Li untied the bed sheet and saw that there was a lot of dirt underneath it. She folded the sheet roughly and put it on the stool, then took out the wooden comb that Jiang Qingzhou gave her and combed her hair.

Song Li blew out the oil lamp and lay on the bed listening to the sound of rain falling on the eaves. Song Li listened to the sound of rain in the middle of the night and closed her eyes when it was dawn.

When Song Li opened her eyes, it was already early morning. Song Li saw Song Yue sitting by the bed embroidering a handkerchief, with the door open and cool breeze blowing in.

Song Li rubbed her heavy head and called out, "Yueyue, what time is it now?"

When Song Yue heard Song Li's voice, she quickly put down her needlework and said to Song Li with a smile, "Sister, it's almost noon. Mother has left some food in the pot for you. Get up quickly."

After hearing this, Song Li climbed down from the bed, washed up briefly, and hurried to the kitchen to eat. When the warm rice entered her mouth, Song Li couldn't help but exclaimed, "It's delicious!"

After eating, Song Li looked at the closed courtyard door. The door stick had not been removed yet, so Zhang had not opened the door yet. Song Li thought for a while and decided to go to Zhang's room to tell her what happened last night.

At this time, Zhang was making shoes for Song Xing at the door of the main hall, and Song Xing was making small objects next to Zhang using the tools left by Song Changhe.

Zhang saw Song Li running in and said to her with a stern face, "Xiao Li, why did you get up so late? I couldn't wake you up even in the morning!"

Song Li lowered her head and explained to Zhang, "Mom, I had a dream last night and didn't sleep well." As soon as she finished speaking, Song Li yawned involuntarily.

Zhang asked Song Li with a look of disbelief: "What kind of dream could make you so tired?"

Song Li glanced at Song Xing who was standing next to her, then whispered to Zhang: "Mom, I dreamed of my grandparents."

After hearing this, Zhang quickly put down her work and said to Song Li, "Don't talk nonsense, kid. Why are you talking about this on a rainy day? They were gone before you were born."

After hearing what Song Li said, Song Xing also came over. When Zhang saw this, she drove Song Xing out.

Song Li said to Zhang seriously, "Mom, it's true. They told me not to sleep. They said someone pried open our door last night and there was a knife outside the door."

After listening to this, Zhang stood at the door and glanced at the courtyard gate, then smiled and said to Song Li, "Girl, isn't the courtyard gate fine?"

After hearing this, Song Li said, "Mom, can we go and see if there are any marks of knife scratches on the door bolt, or if there is a knife outside the door?"

The rain had subsided by then. Song Li pulled Zhang to the door. Zhang saw that there were indeed new scratches on the door latch, and quickly opened the door.

After Zhang opened the door, they saw their neighbor Wang Li was about to pick up the long knife that had fallen at the door of Song Li's house. Wang Li smiled awkwardly at Zhang, and then said embarrassedly: "I saw it has been here for a long time, I thought no one wanted it, so I thought of picking it up. It would be a pity if it was damaged by the rain."

Zhang looked at the long knife in the rain and felt a chill on her back. If someone had really pried open the door last night, she couldn't imagine what the consequences would be.

Song Li quickly supported the pale-faced Zhang and said to Wang Li, "Aunt, this is not my knife. If you want it, take it. But I have to tell you something. Last night I dreamed that my grandparents told me that someone pried open my door and left a knife at the gate. Now it seems to be this knife. If you are not afraid, take it!"

Wang Li's face was conflicted for a while, she gritted her teeth and said to Song Li, "Xiao Li, I'm not afraid, I'll take it away." After Wang Li finished speaking, she picked up the knife.

Wang Li held the knife in her hand, looked at it again and again, laughed at Song Li a few times, and ran home.

Seeing Wang Li had left, Song Li first helped Zhang back to the main room, asked Song Xing, who was watching from the side, to pour a bowl of water for Zhang, and then she went to close the courtyard door.

Zhang calmed down and said to Song Xing, "Xiaoxing, go and call your second sister."

Song Xing hurriedly called Song Yue over. Zhang didn't want to speak, so she asked Song Li to tell her what had happened. After hearing what Song Li said, Song Xing and Song Yue were so scared that their faces turned pale.