When the pears are green

Chapter 135 The Summer Heat is Long

After Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou returned home, Song Li first handed the cloth bag containing melon seeds and peanuts to Jiang Qingye, and said that this was specially left for him by Zhang.

Jiang Qingye happily took the bag, and then looked at the rabbits in the basket. The two rabbits tied together were biting each other. He found it interesting and wanted to reach out and touch them.

"Qingye, don't touch it with your hands. Be careful of getting bitten by a rabbit." Jiang Qingzhou grabbed Jiang Qingye's hand which had not yet been put into the backpack. Jiang Qingye withdrew his hand embarrassedly like a child who had made a mistake.

When Song Li saw this, she smiled and asked Jiang Qingye to help put some grass into the backpack. She was afraid that the rabbits would be so hungry that they would eat the branches on the backpack.

Jiang Qingye grabbed a handful of grass and put it in the backpack, then returned to the west room.

"Just let them spend the night in the backpack?" Song Li, who was lying beside the basket watching the rabbits, looked up and asked Jiang Qingzhou beside her.

Jiang Qingzhou thought for a moment and replied, "Let's just let them stay in the basket for now. If we put them in the yard, they might run away. If we put them in the house, they might chew the furniture inside. Let's buy some bricks and build a nest tomorrow, then let them out."

Song Li felt that what Jiang Qingzhou said made sense. She hummed a little tune and teased the two rabbits with a piece of grass in her hand.

Jiang Qingzhou smiled and looked at Song Li. After Song Li threw the grass in her hand into the backpack, Jiang Qingzhou asked, "Does Xiaoli like rabbits very much?"

"Qingzhou, I read a book before, but I don't remember the title or the content. I just remember the three protagonists, the brave Big Hair, Hazelnut, and the smart and clever Little Duozi. Ever since I read that book, I think of them whenever I see rabbits." After Song Li finished speaking, she hugged Jiang Qingzhou's arm. Jiang Qingzhou picked up Song Li and asked her to go and have a rest with him first.

The yard became quiet, with only the setting sun and the gentle south wind remaining.

When Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou came out of the room, Jiang Qingye had already written a few big words on the ground.

Song Li asked Jiang Qingzhou to check Jiang Qingye's homework, and she went into the kitchen to cook the pork given by Zhang, half of it was braised and the other half was made into meatballs.

Jiang Qingzhou, holding a book, sat in the yard and randomly checked passages from the book. Jiang Qingye, standing beside him, answered every question seriously.

"Yes, you can read it yourself." Jiang Qingzhou returned the book to Jiang Qingye after hearing the sound of chopping meat coming from the kitchen.

Jiang Qingzhou walked into the kitchen and took the knife from Song Li. He smiled and said to Song Li, "Your hand strength is not as strong as mine. I will do things like chopping meat in the future."

Song Li smiled and patted Jiang Qingzhou on the back, then turned around to do other things.

By the time the three members of the Jiang family had finished their meal and cleaned up the kitchen, the full moon on the sixteenth had risen to the treetops.

Jiang Qingye pointed to the huge white halo outside the full moon and asked Song Li: "Sister-in-law, what is this? This ring is so big."

"This is a moon halo. It is said that sun halo means rain at midnight and moon halo means wind at noon. The weather may change tomorrow." Song Li looked up at the night sky and then lowered her head. She felt that the moon halo was like an eye that could suck people away at any time.

As Song Li said, although there was no strong wind the next day, it turned into a cloudy day.

After breakfast, Jiang Qingzhou and Jiang Qingye went to the kiln factory in the town to buy bricks, while Song Li went to Sangtian with Jiang Qian and Zhang Ying.

Although the weeds in the mulberry fields had been pulled out in the spring, some tender grass grew out again after a few rains, sparsely distributed among the mulberry fields.

"Fortunately there are not many, and I can finish pulling them out in a while." Song Li comforted herself in her heart. She picked up the backpack and walked to the mulberry field to start pulling out weeds.

Although it didn't look like much, it still filled a whole backpack.

Song Li put the basket full of grass on the ridge of the field, and then asked Zhang Ying who was also resting nearby: "Second sister-in-law, when will the baby be born?"

"I was calculating the date with Brother Qian a few days ago. It's almost August. I wonder if we can have a double happiness." After Zhang Ying finished speaking, he looked happily at Jiang Qian who was weeding in the field.

"I've heard from Master Li from Rongxing Bookstore before that my second brother has a talent for studying and is willing to work hard. I think he will definitely be able to pass the exam and become a scholar." Song Li also hoped that Jiang Qian could pass the exam and become a scholar. In this way, the future of both families would be more secure.

After hearing what Song Li said, Zhang Ying smiled and thanked Song Li: "Then I'll take advantage of your good words, sister-in-law."

Jiang Qian finished pulling the weeds quickly. He first put the backpack next to Zhang Ying, then walked to the reeds by the river and broke off a few reeds.

"Brother, are you going to do Kongming fishing?" Song Li asked, looking at the reed rod in Jiang Qian's hand.

Jiang Qian casually handed two to Song Li and said, "Sister-in-law, these two are for you. Go back and ask Qingzhou to make a few Kongming fishing rods. If he is willing, we can go fishing together the day after tomorrow."

"Thank you very much, second brother. I will talk to him when I get back." Song Li took the reed rod. There was nothing to do the day after tomorrow, so it would be possible to catch a few fish to improve her life.

When Song Li returned home, Jiang Qingzhou and Jiang Qingye were unloading blue bricks from a cart in the yard.

Song Li quickly unloaded the backpack. While helping to unload the bricks, she asked, "Qingzhou, how many bricks did you buy?"

"There are two hundred bricks. I asked my dad yesterday. Dad said there is no need to build a pen that is too big. There is no grass to feed the rabbits in winter. We should keep a pair for next year when winter comes, and the rest should be slaughtered." After Jiang Qingzhou said this, he took the last two bricks off the cart, and Jiang Qingye hurriedly pushed the cart aside.

The three members of the Jiang family spent half the afternoon finally building the rabbit pen. Song Li hurriedly put the rabbit in the backpack into the pen. The rabbit, which had been tied up for a day, ran around the pen after being freed.

Jiang Qingye took some green grass from the basket and put it into the circle. The two rabbits finally stopped running and lay down beside the green grass and started eating.

Song Li handed the reed pole thrown on the ground to Jiang Qingzhou and told him that Jiang Qian had asked him to go fishing the day after tomorrow.

"Then the three of us will go together the day after tomorrow. Qingye will be starting school soon, so let's take him there to relax." After Jiang Qingzhou finished speaking, Jiang Qingye and Song Li both jumped up happily.

Jiang Qingzhou cut off the bottom of the reed pole, boiled it in boiling water, and placed it on the stool under the window. Although there was no sun today, the wind could dry it out a little.

Song Li went to see the bean sprouts again. Tomorrow is market day, and she plans to go sell bean sprouts with Jiang Qingzhou.

"The bean sprouts are ready. Let's have a meal first tonight." After Song Li came out of the main room, she said to the two brothers who were watching the rabbits with a smile.

After hearing Song Li's words, the two brothers smiled and nodded at Song Li.

The summer sun had not yet risen from the northeast, but Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou had already set out from home carrying bean sprouts.

There were no edible vegetables at this time of year except for some wild vegetables, so Song Li's bean sprouts were sold out quickly.

"When the cucumbers, beans and the like are ready to eat, we won't need to grow so many bean sprouts." Song Li told Jiang Qingzhou what she was thinking.

Jiang Qingzhou knew what Song Li meant. When the vegetables grown in one's own vegetable garden are ready to eat, people will naturally be reluctant to spend money to buy them.

Song Li poured the last bit of bean sprouts from her backpack into the basket. She thought that if she couldn't sell them, she would take them home to eat.

Suddenly there was a commotion on the street, and I saw an old woman with gray hair arguing with an old man in a long gown.

I don't know what the old woman said, but I saw the old man pointing at her and scolding her: "You ignorant village woman, you foolish woman from Kuaiji."

"Master, you can't take these copper coins. If you take them away, we old couple will starve to death. Our sons said that if you continue like this, they will not support us." The old woman pulled the old man and stopped him from going forward.

The old man kicked the old woman away, pointed at her and continued to curse: "Those little bastards dare, if they dare not support me, I will go to the government office to sue them for being unfilial. I will definitely pass the exam and become a scholar this time. If you continue to do this, I will divorce you when I become a scholar."

People around him kept pointing and talking at the old man. Someone shouted, "You are already old and still taking the exam. Your family can hardly afford to eat. You should save some money for food."

"What do you know, you ignorant boy? How do you know that I am not Jiang Shang, Zhu Maichen, or Su Qin? It's just that my luck has not come yet. I calculated it two days ago, and the fortune teller at the corner of the street said that I will definitely pass the exam this year." After the old man finished speaking, he spat at the young man who had just spoken. The crowd automatically moved a few steps away, still laughing at the old man.

"Only an old man like you can believe what the blind man says. I say this for your own good. You want to be a scholar even though your teeth are almost falling out." The young man looked at the old man with disdain, shook his head and walked away.

The old man's face turned red. He felt so embarrassed that he pushed away the old woman who was holding his ankle and cursed, "Stupid woman." Then he quickly walked deeper into the market.

The old woman seemed to be used to this situation. She sat on the ground, slapping her thigh and crying for a while. Then she wiped the tears from her face with her pudding-covered sleeves, stood up tremblingly, and continued to chase the old man who was walking away with her thin body.

The crowd dispersed. Some people despised the old man's behavior, while others joked that the old man might really pass the exam this time.

Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou looked at the scene in front of them and felt deeply saddened.