When the pears are green

When Song Li woke up, Jiang Qingzhou was no longer by her side, and the secret book of martial arts that had been casually thrown aside was also placed next to Song Li's pillow.

Song Li got up hurriedly and looked around the somewhat unfamiliar room while getting dressed.

The lights were dim last night and Song Li couldn't see clearly.

It was bigger than the house where Song Li lived in the Song family. There was a simple bed inside. There was a cabinet against the wall to the north of the bed, and a wooden box to the west of the cabinet.

There was a wooden stand next to the door, on which stood a ceramic basin, the water in the basin still steaming, a handkerchief draped over the edge of the basin. On the table next to the stand was a cup, in which was a willow branch.

Song Li washed her face with hot water and chewed the willow branch in her mouth.

Song Li had just finished washing up when Jiang Qingzhou pushed the door open and walked in. He smiled and said to Song Li, "I saw that you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't call you. There are only you, me and Qingye in the house now. There are no elders and no rules. I have already prepared the meal, let's go eat!"

Jiang Qingzhou's words made Song Li feel a little embarrassed. Song Li said angrily, "You should have woken me up."

Jiang Qingzhou whispered in Song Li's ear: "Okay, Xiaoli, your husband was inconsiderate. Let's go out, Qingye is still waiting."

Song Li's face turned red. Jiang Qingzhou looked at Song Li's shy expression, smiled, and then pulled Song Li out.

Jiang Qingye, who was serving rice, saw Song Li and called out sweetly, "Sister-in-law."

Song Li responded in a low voice, and took out a purse containing twenty copper coins from his sleeve and handed it to Jiang Qingye.

After Jiang Qingye took it, he smiled and said to Song Li, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

After the three of them finished their meal, Jiang Qingzhou said, "Qingye, Xiaoli and I will go to visit our parents' graves. You stay at home and look after the house."

After Jiang Qingzhou finished speaking, he took the offerings he had prepared in advance and led Song Li to the graves of Jiang's father and mother.

The cemetery is not far from the Jiang family and can be seen as soon as you leave the village.

Jiang Qingzhou pointed to the front and said to Song Li: "This is it. This piece of land has not been rented out. Qingye and I planted radishes and cabbages in it."

Song Li looked at this small piece of land. There was new soil on the two graves. It should be that Jiang Qingzhou came to pay homage before getting married.

Jiang Qingzhou walked over carrying the basket, and Song Li followed.

Jiang Qingzhou took the offerings from the basket, a piece of pork, a chicken and a plate of steamed buns.

Jiang Qingzhou lit three incense sticks and knelt down. Seeing this, Song Li also knelt down. When Jiang Qingzhou kowtowed, she kowtowed too.

Jiang Qingzhou placed the incense in front of the grave, and then said softly: "Dad, Mom, my son got married yesterday, and today I brought my wife to pay homage to you, so you can have a look. Don't worry, I will treat her well and will not let her suffer any grievances in the Jiang family."

After Song Li heard what Jiang Qingzhou said, she also said: "Dad, Mom, don't worry, I will take good care of Qingzhou and Qingye for you. I will treat Qingye as my own brother."

After listening to Song Li's words, Jiang Qingzhou began to cry softly.

Song Li patted Jiang Qingzhou's back gently and said to him, "Qingzhou, don't cry. Your parents will be relieved when you get married."

Jiang Qingzhou hugged Song Li and cried for a while before he slowly calmed down.

The wind in October was already chilly. Jiang Qingzhou felt Song Li shivering slightly. He touched Song Li's cold hands and whispered to her, "Xiao Li, let's go back!"

"Well, don't let Qingye wait anxiously at home alone." Song Li said as she stood up.

The two of them brushed the dirt off each other, smiled at each other, and went home.

As they walked, Song Li asked Jiang Qingzhou, "Qingzhou, are you going to pay your tax too?"

Jiang Qingzhou nodded and said, "Yes, I will pay it, but Qingye doesn't have to. Qingye and I are orphans, so we don't have to pay until we turn fifteen. I transferred our family's land to Qingye's name last year, so we don't have to pay land tax until Qingye turns fifteen."

After Jiang Qingzhou finished speaking, he continued to ask Song Li: "Xiao Li, should we take back our land or continue to rent it out?"

Song Li thought for a while, and then she said to Jiang Qingzhou: "Qingzhou, I think it's better to continue renting it out."

Jiang Qingzhou smiled and said, "Xiao Li and I think the same thing. The three of us can't grow it well, so we might as well use this time to do something else."

When Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou were almost home, they heard someone talking to Jiang Qingye at the door.

"Qingye, is your sister-in-law good to you?" said a boy who looked about the same age as Jiang Qingye.

Jiang Qingye patted the boy's shoulder and said, "Xiaoshan, don't worry. My sister-in-law treats me very well. She treated me well before she and my brother got married."

The boy continued, "But my mother told my father that you will not have a good life soon. She said your brother will not love you anymore after he gets married, and she will love you even less after your sister-in-law gives birth to a child."

"Impossible, my sister-in-law is very good to me, and she returned it this morning..." Before Jiang Qingye finished speaking, he heard Song Li calling his name loudly.

"Qingye, is this your friend? Why don't you go in?" Song Li walked over with a smile.

The boy looked at Song Li embarrassedly, and said to Jiang Qingye, "Qingye, I'll go back first, I still have work to do!" After that, he ran away quickly.

When Song Li saw the boy leave, she said to Jiang Qingye, "Qingye, don't believe what others say. There is one more thing, Qingye, you must remember that you must never tell others about money. It's not that sister-in-law doesn't trust your friend, but money has always moved people's hearts. If your friend accidentally tells others, the speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it to heart, do you know that?"

Jiang Qingye saw that Song Li was not angry, so he whispered, "Sister-in-law, I understand. I don't believe what he said."

Jiang Qingzhou also came over. He rubbed Jiang Qingye's head, held Song Li with his left hand and Jiang Qingye with his right hand, and walked into the house.

When it was evening, Song Li asked Jiang Qingzhou: "Qingzhou, what are your plans for Qingye's future?"

Jiang Qingzhou stared at Song Li for a while, then said, "Xiao Li, I don't know either. Actually, I want him to study. He is very smart and can learn things quickly. I have taught him everything I know. He and I were living from hand to mouth before, and I never thought about making any plans. I just wanted to live one day at a time."

After hearing this, Song Li said to Jiang Qingzhou, "Qingzhou, I heard from my father a few days ago about the land tax and the head tax. It's really too difficult to make a living just by farming. I also want Qingye and Xiaoxing to go to school. It doesn't matter if they can become officials, as long as one of them can pass the exam to become a scholar. I learned about it before, saying that in ancient times... uh, scholars in your era are exempt from taxes. Do you understand what I mean?"

Jiang Qingzhou smiled and said to Song Li, "I see. I've heard others say this before. However, it's not easy to support a scholar."

"I know studying is not easy, but as long as Qingye wants to learn, we can always find a way to make money. Don't tell Qingye about this for now. After a few days, we can go to the academy in town and ask how much tuition it costs so that we can have an idea in mind." Song Li said.

"Well, listen to Xiaoli." Jiang Qingzhou pulled Song Li over and said to her with a smile.