When the pears are green

Jiang Qingzhou had been listening to the noise outside the house. Fortunately, apart from the barking of the big black dog and the two cats, there was no other sound.

The barking of the dog gradually weakened. Jiang Qingzhou got dressed and went to the yard to carefully check the door bolts and corners where people could hide. Finding nothing unusual, he returned to his room with peace of mind.

Jiang Qingzhou looked at Song Li's sleeping face. Afraid that he would feel cold, he lifted the quilt and lay down.

When Song Li woke up, she didn't touch Jiang Qingzhou when she reached out her hand, so she quickly sat up and saw Jiang Qingzhou sleeping with his clothes on. She sighed, touched Jiang Qingzhou's face with her finger, and touched his forehead. Fortunately, his body temperature was normal.

Song Li gave up the idea of ​​waking Jiang Qingzhou up. She got up quickly, took out a quilt from the cupboard and covered Jiang Qingzhou with it.

In the kitchen, Song Xing, who didn't see Jiang Qingzhou, asked, "Sister, where is my brother-in-law?"

Jiang Qingye also asked: "Yes, sister-in-law, where is my brother?"

"The dogs barked loudly last night. There must have been a thief breaking into a house in the village. Qingzhou was afraid that the thief would come in, so he stayed up all night and is still asleep now. You two should eat quickly and don't be late." Song Li urged them.

Jiang Qingye took a bite of the steamed bread, then turned to Song Li and said, "Sister-in-law, I also heard the dog barking yesterday. It was very loud."

"Sister, I heard it too." Song Xing also said.

Song Li thought for a moment, she put down her chopsticks, and said to the two of them: "Qingye, Xiaoxing, even if you hear noise at night, don't come out rashly. Unless Qingzhou and I call you two. Also, don't trust strangers casually, don't eat other people's food, and if someone tells you that Qingzhou or I are in trouble and asks you to follow us, don't believe it. Do you understand?"

Jiang Qingye and Song Xing looked at each other, then nodded to indicate that they understood.

Song Li sent Song Xing and Jiang Qingye to the gate of the courtyard, where they met Zhang Ying who had just returned from outside. The two greeted Zhang Ying and ran towards the village entrance.

"Second sister-in-law, are you sending second brother off so early?" Song Li asked jokingly.

Zhang Ying lowered her head in embarrassment. She said softly, "I sent him to the village entrance. The dogs barked loudly last night. Did you hear it?"

"Second sister-in-law, I heard it too. Qingzhou said that there would always be thieves at this time of year in previous years. I don't know which family had the thieves?" Song Li replied.

"Yes, sister-in-law. Last year, my family lost a bag of grain and we almost didn't make it to the wheat harvest. That damn evil thief. You still have a few chickens at home, so you have to be careful." Zhang Ying instructed Song Li.

Song Li thanked Zhang Ying. She thought of Jiang Qingzhou who had not yet gotten up, so she quickly said goodbye to Zhang Ying and closed the gate.

Song Li originally wanted to go to the east room to see if Jiang Qingzhou was awake, but when she passed the kitchen, she saw Jiang Qingzhou serving rice.

"Would you like to heat it up?" Song Li asked as she walked into the kitchen.

Jiang Qingzhou picked up the rice bowl, took a bite and said, "It doesn't need to be hot or cold."

"What did you say to your second sister-in-law?" Jiang Qingzhou asked.

Song Li stopped washing the pot and said with a sad face, "Of course it's about the thief. Second sister-in-law said that her family lost food last year. She said we have chickens and asked us to be careful."

Jiang Qingzhou heard what Song Li said, and he said, "Starting from tonight, put those chickens in the main room every night. I see that those two ducks don't lay eggs, so we'll kill them soon. It's better for us to eat them ourselves than to have them stolen. Let Dahei go at night, so that he can spot any movement in the yard in time."

"Or, let's sell the ducks!" Song Li suggested.

Jiang Qingzhou put the bowl down and said to Song Li with a smile: "Xiao Li, ducks are not easy to sell. Ducks have a fishy smell."

Song Li said "Oh", and then said: "Leave the duck feathers."

Jiang Qingzhou walked over to Song Li and washed the bowl, then asked with a smile: "Are you still making shuttlecocks?"

When Song Li heard Jiang Qingzhou mention the old story, she glared at him and did not answer. Instead, she continued to ask, "Did you go out at night? Why did you sleep with your clothes on? Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?"

Jiang Qingzhou knew that Song Li would be angry, so he hugged Song Li and said, "I went to the yard to take a look. I was afraid that my body would be cold and you would be frozen."

Song Li tried to break free, but was held tightly by Jiang Qingzhou.

"Qingzhou, I'm not a child, you don't have to treat me like this. If you do this again, I will be really angry." Song Li was a little annoyed.

"Xiao Li, I get it. I won't do it again." Jiang Qingzhou backed down as soon as he was given the chance.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door, and Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou went to open it together.

Zhang Ying looked at the two of them and said to Song Li a little unnaturally: "Sister-in-law, I heard from my father that Li Caixia's house was robbed and a lot of things were stolen from the house. Many people went to see it. Do you want to go?"

Song Li took off her apron and handed it to Jiang Qingzhou. She said softly, "Qingzhou, I'll go take a look."

Jiang Qingzhou nodded.

As Zhang Ying walked, she asked, "Sister-in-law, do you know who Li Caixia is?"

Song Li shook her head and said embarrassedly, "Second sister-in-law, besides you, I don't really know many other people in this village. I seldom go out. I like to stay at home."

Zhang Ying nodded and said nothing more. They turned from an east-west alley and crossed two north-south alleys.

"This is the one, sister-in-law." Zhang Ying said, pointing to a courtyard in front surrounded by many people.

Zhang Ying and Song Li walked over and listened to the people around them talking: "The thieves dug a hole in the wall of Li's house and threw poisoned steamed bread into the hole for the dog. The three chickens in the house and the food in the kitchen were all lost, and even the dog that was poisoned was taken away."

Someone asked, "Sister Wang, how do you know so much?"

"I heard from the head of the village that the hole in their wall is still there. The head of the village asked them to go to the government office to report the case, and the constables will probably be here soon," continued Mrs. Wang.

"Second sister-in-law, I'll go take a look and be back soon." Song Li whispered to Zhang Ying.

Zhang Ying nodded. She also wanted to go to the front to take a look, but she was pregnant and did not dare to squeeze forward rashly.

Song Li squeezed through the crowd and walked to the wall of Li's courtyard. She saw a hole big enough for one person to crawl through.

The Li couple were sitting outside the gate of their yard, cursing loudly, while two little girls and two young men were crying behind them.

Song Li quickly glanced at the Li family. It turned out to be the girl who had asked her if she was deceived and was engaged to Jiang Qingzhou.

Song Li returned to Zhang Ying and continued to listen to others discussing this matter.

After a while, a young man ran over and shouted, "Get out of the way, the police are coming."

The crowd automatically made way for a path, and two constables in uniform walked over.

Song Li recognized that the two constables were the ones who dressed up as door gods during the Nuo ritual on New Year's Eve.

The Li couple stopped crying immediately after seeing the constables. Mrs. Li stood up quickly and said in a sad voice, "Please help us, constables. So much food has been lost. How are our family of six going to survive?"

One of the older detectives held out his hand and said, "Stop crying. Take us to see it."

The Li family immediately led the older constable in, and the younger constables stopped the crowd from entering and said loudly, "Everyone, disperse. The government will notify you when we catch the thief."

The crowd slowly dispersed, and someone muttered, "Tsk, they say that every time, but they never catch them."

"You don't want to live anymore. How dare you say anything nonsense? Go home now." Someone nearby pushed the person who had just complained forward.

Song Li and Zhang Ying also followed the crowd.

After returning home, Song Li described the scene she saw to Jiang Qingzhou who was slaughtering a duck.

"Qingye and Xiaoxing have to study during the day, so let's divide the work. You watch the first half of the night and I'll watch the second half." Song Li suggested to Jiang Qingzhou.

Jiang Qingzhou looked at Song Li and said with a smile, "No, I'll guard the second half of the night and you guard the first half."

The two argued endlessly and finally decided by tossing a coin. Song Li would guard the first half of the night and Jiang Qingzhou would guard the second half.

Nothing happened for several nights in a row, and Song Li thought that tonight would be the same, but just when she was about to relax her vigilance, she heard a dull sound coming from the yard. There was no sound of Dahei, only two cats meowing.