When the pears are green

Chapter 217 Winter passes and spring comes

Song Li noticed that Song Yue's hands were shaking a little, so she gently told Song Yue not to be afraid. Then she picked up the shoe uppers in the sewing basket and asked Song Yue to help embroider a few patterns.

"Sister, what pattern do you want to embroider?" Song Yue asked, holding the shoe upper.

Song Li thought about it again and again. Her previous shoes were all plain, so she really couldn't think of what to embroider for a moment.

Seeing Song Li frowning and in a dilemma, Song Yue smiled and suggested to Song Li that they embroider a few green bamboos on it.

Song Li looked at the royal blue upper of the shoe. The royal blue and light green matched well, so she nodded in agreement.

Song Yue lowered her head and found the colored thread she wanted in the sewing basket. She picked up the shoe upper and concentrated on embroidering the green bamboo. The white bones were thrown out of her mind.

Seeing how serious Song Yuexiu was, Song Li quietly left the main room and lay on a rattan chair, basking in the sun leisurely. The thin quilt she was wearing was made by mixing chicken feathers and cotton that she had saved up over the past two days.

Jiang Qingzhou returned home and saw the thin quilt placed on the rattan chair. He frowned and discussed with Song Li who was carrying the wooden box: "Xiao Li, the weather is getting colder. I'd better move it to the room."

Song Li smiled and nodded, then asked Jiang Qingzhou in a low voice about the bones in Zhanggou Village.

"It's Zhao Xuan. Some brave people took a closer look and recognized Zhao Xuan's clothes. The people in the yamen immediately asked Zhao Lao Da and Old Man Zhao to identify the body. The two were so scared that they wet their pants when they saw Zhao Xuan being dug out. Some people said that they heard screams coming from the Zhao family before Zhao Xuan disappeared. Constable Chen and his men took Zhao Lao Da and Old Man Zhao away directly. The two cried and accused each other of killing Zhao Xuan." Although Jiang Qingzhou had guessed that Zhao Xuan's disappearance was related to Zhao Lao Da, he didn't expect that Old Man Zhao was also involved.

Song Li was deeply moved after hearing this. These few simple words summed up the tragedy of brothers fighting each other and fathers and sons killing each other.

Jiang Qingzhou rubbed Song Li's hair, and then said to Song Li: "This matter is very strange. I don't know who dug Zhao Xuan out, and the land has been almost dug up. It seems that the person who dug Zhao Xuan out only knew that Zhao Xuan was buried in that land, but didn't know where exactly he was buried. Then this person must not have dug Zhao Xuan out at this time to avenge Zhao Xuan, but must have other purposes."

"Qingzhou, no matter what the other party's purpose is, it certainly has nothing to do with us. Instead of worrying about this, you might as well worry about what we're going to eat for lunch?" Song Li said as she pulled Jiang Qingzhou into the kitchen to prepare for feeding.

Jiang Qingzhou chuckled and asked, "Xiao Li, do you have any suggestions?"

"Boil noodles, steam noodles or steam rice. The rice I bought a few days ago hasn't been eaten yet." Song Li said, and stretched out three fingers for Jiang Qingzhou to choose.

Jiang Qingzhou held Song Li's ring finger and said softly, "Then let's steam the rice."

Song Li showed a triumphant smile, hummed a little tune and walked towards the big vat of rice.

Two days later, Song Li and Song Yue went to deliver bean sprouts to the restaurant together. They heard a shocking news from Hu Zhimin: it turned out that Zhao Xuan's death was related to Liu Shulin.

Song Li looked at Hu Zhimin in surprise. She really didn't expect that it was Liu Shulin who instigated Zhao Xuan to seduce Liu Zhen's concubine.

"Liu Zhen's concubine is also Liu Shulin's aunt. Why would he find someone to cuckold his uncle? Besides, I heard that Liu Zhen is not good to Liu Shulin." Song Li really found it hard to understand, unless the concubine herself had an unspeakable secret with Liu Shulin.

Hu Zhimin looked at Song Li and Song Yue, and thought it was better not to let their ears be polluted by the dirty things inside, so he changed the subject and said to Song Li: "Mrs. Jiang, don't worry too much. Remember to supply tofu to the restaurant tomorrow, 20 catties a day, four cents per catty, this price is the same as Liu Shulin's. Liu Shulin is now being pushed down by everyone. I heard that he was beaten up again yesterday. This time the beating was very heavy, and his legs were broken."

Song Li had previously overheard the conversation between Manager Sun and Liu Shulin, so she was naturally aware of the price of tofu purchased by the restaurant. She then told Hu Zhimin about bean sprouts. The weather had suddenly turned cold, and after sending bean sprouts to the restaurant five or six times, they would stop growing.

While the two were talking, Hu Zhijian and Liu Ruyu entered the backyard together.

Song Li pretended not to know Hu Zhijian, and hurriedly took Song Yue to say goodbye to Hu Zhimin. Before leaving, she secretly glared at Hu Zhijian who was making fun of Hu Zhimin.

"How come the second brother is willing to come downstairs? I thought you were a girl who never goes out of the house." After mocking Hu Zhijian, Hu Zhimin smiled and asked Liu Ruyu what she was going to eat.

Before Liu Ruyu could answer, Hu Zhijian held her in his arms and showed off to Hu Zhimin: "Poor old man, your eyes are red with envy. When you get married again, Ruyu and I's children will be gone."

"Tsk tsk, second brother, you still have the nerve to speak. You have been wandering around with women for many years, but you have never seen any woman come home to make trouble claiming to be pregnant with your child. Second brother, are you capable of this?" Hu Zhimin spread his hands in a helpless manner, with a mocking look in his eyes.

Hu Zhijian didn't bother to argue with Hu Zhimin, and hurriedly looked at Liu Ruyu in his arms, only to see that Liu Ruyu was also looking at him with questioning eyes, which made him even more upset.

Hu Zhijian let go of Liu Ruyu and walked towards the kitchen in a daze.

Liu Ruyu looked at Hu Zhijian's lost back, and with the idea of ​​watching the fun and not minding the trouble, she discussed with Hu Zhimin: "Brother-in-law, if you have more children in the future, you can adopt a pair of children for me when the time comes."

"Second brother, are you willing? If you are, I will agree to Ruyu." Hu Zhimin shouted happily to Hu Zhijian.

Hu Zhijian turned around in shock and returned to Liu Ruyu angrily. He wanted to blame Liu Ruyu, but then he thought of what he had done before, so he could only say softly: "It's getting late, go eat. After dinner, I'll take you for a walk on the street."

Liu Ruyu nodded slightly, took Hu Zhijian's arm and walked towards the kitchen.

Hu Zhijian turned around and looked at Hu Zhimin, who had a smirk on his face, with a threatening look.

At noon, Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou sent Song Yue to Old Man Wang's ox cart. Song Li whispered to Song Yue again about the amount of gypsum powder to be used, and then told Song Yue again to put the gypsum powder in a ceramic jar after returning home.

Song Yue smiled and assured Song Li that she had already remembered all of this.

A month later, Song Li heard the news of Liu Shulin's death while setting up a stall. Everyone said that Liu Shulin died of syphilis.

Some people also mentioned Liu Shulin's wife who ran away. She was not in the Zhou family or the Wang family, and no one knew where she ran off to.

Chen Yuan went to the dilapidated house again to find Wang Sanyuan and asked him if he still wanted to become a commoner.

Wang Sanyuan knelt on the ground excitedly, and kept saying that he was willing. More than half a year had passed, and he still thought that Chen Yuan had forgotten about this matter.

"You have to think clearly. To become a commoner, you have to pay land tax, head tax and perform labor service. Buying land and houses is not a small amount of money. In a disaster year, the land and house may be sold again." Chen Yuan confirmed with Wang Sanyuan again. He did not think there was anything wrong with the life of a beggar. Many poor people who cling to the few acres of land in their hands are even worse than beggars.

Wang Sanyuan did not answer Chen Yuan immediately. Instead, he ran into the shabby house and took out two pottery jars and said to Chen Yuan, "I know what Constable Chen said. It is said that having a house but no land is a hooligan, and having land but no house is a gangster. I have lived for most of my life, but I am not even as good as a gangster. In order to pay taxes and save my mother, I sold my house and land, and I couldn't even protect my wife and only daughter. Now they are in these two pottery jars, and they don't even have land to bury them. No matter what happens in the future, I must let them rest in peace."

Chen Yuan asked Wang Sanyuan to buy land and a house first, and then take the documents to the government office to apply for household registration.

Wang Sanyuan nodded in agreement, then hugged the pottery jar and whispered, "I can finally bury you."

Chen Yuan couldn't help but sigh, shook his head and left the dilapidated house. Everyone has obsessions, and perhaps Wang Sanyuan's obsession is to have a piece of land to bury his wife and daughter.

The winter snow came one after another. After the first snow, Chen Yuan helped Wang Sanyuan to register his household registration, and then helped Wang Sanyuan write tablets for his wife and daughter.

When Chen Yuan heard "Love Queen Qin Niang", he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and then he thought that he was overthinking it, and the girls in Hua Mian Tower might not use their real names.

Wang Sanyuan explained to Chen Yuan: "To be honest with you, Detective Chen, the Qin lady in Huamian Tower is my daughter."

Chen Yuan did not ask more questions. Since the person was gone, there was no need to reveal her miserable life. For Qin Niang, death was a relief.

The next day, Chen Yuan rushed to the county town with two letters he had written. He asked the postman at the post station to take one to Bianzhou, and asked the caravan to take the other to Yingzhou. The letters stated that he and Ruyi would get married in April of the next year.

Time slowly came to the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, and Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou took Jiang Qingye to attend the wedding banquet of Yang Yu and Wu Mingshu. After much deliberation, she asked Li Yun'an to draw a picture of a hundred children as a wedding gift for Yang Yu and Wu Mingshu.

In February after the New Year, when Li Yun'an and Yang Jing got married, Song Li asked Wu Mingde to paint a picture of a hundred children as a wedding gift for them.

Jiang Qingzhou couldn't help but tease Song Li: "Xiao Li, what about when Chen Yuan and Ruyi, Mingde and Xiaoyue, and Hu Dongjia and Miss Li get married?"

"Please ask Mr. Li to draw three more pictures and prepare them all at once." As soon as Song Li finished speaking, she couldn't help but lean on Jiang Qingzhou's arm and laughed.

As thunder roared, the weather gradually warmed up. Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou bought pomegranate trees, apple trees, pear trees and persimmon trees and planted them in their new house.

The tofu business continued. After Jiang Qingzhou left home, Song Li moved the rattan chair in front of the blooming peach blossoms and lay on the rattan chair with her long hair loose to bask in the sun.

The pink clouds swayed in the sky with the spring breeze, and from time to time a few petals were blown off and landed on the sleeping Song Li.

In the dream, I vaguely heard someone singing: The peach tree is young and tender, and its fruits are abundant. The daughter is getting married, and she is suitable for her family.