When the pears are green

"Qingzhou, the village head said that we are going to reclaim wasteland tomorrow. It's on the riverbank. Do you want to go?" A voice came from behind Jiang Qingzhou and the other two.

Jiang Qingzhou stopped opening the door, and the three of them turned around and saw that it was their neighbor Jiang Ping.

Jiang Qingzhou looked at Song Li and Jiang Qingye beside him, and replied with a smile: "Uncle Ping, my family will also go tomorrow."

Jiang Ping smiled widely, pulled at the wrinkles on his face and said, "Okay, okay, it's just right for your wife and the second son's wife to keep each other company. I'll call you tomorrow, you guys go home quickly, I want to go back too."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Ping coughed a few more times. He smiled embarrassedly at Jiang Qingzhou and the other two, turned around, and slowly went home.

"I'll go boil some water, Qingzhou go find some tools, and Qingye go play by himself. I'll call you when the water boils." Song Li said as she walked towards the kitchen.

Song Li was just sitting by the stove lighting the fire when she heard footsteps at the door. She looked up and asked with a smile, "Qingzhou, have you found all the tools?"

"They are all in the west room. Just go and get them after breakfast tomorrow." Jiang Qingzhou walked up to Song Li and said with a smile.

Jiang Qingzhou watched Song Li adding materials and said softly, "Xiao Li, you and Qingye should stay at home tomorrow. The riverbank is windy."

Song Li paused for a moment, and asked with a smile, "Is Qingzhou not afraid of the cold?"

"Of course I'm not afraid. I'm a man, and this little bit of cold is nothing." Jiang Qingzhou answered seriously.

Song Li looked at her mature young husband in front of her, she smiled softly, and then said: "Qingzhou is not afraid of the cold, so Qingye and I are naturally not afraid either. If we can only hide behind Qingzhou to avoid the wind and rain, Qingye and I will never grow up. You can spoil us at ordinary times, but you can't spoil us regardless of the occasion. Let's go together tomorrow."

"Brother, sister-in-law is right. Let's go together tomorrow." Jiang Qingye, who had been standing at the kitchen door at some point, said loudly to Jiang Qingzhou.

Song Li and Jiang Qingye both stared at Jiang Qingzhou. Jiang Qingzhou looked at Song Li, who had a determined look in his eyes, and then looked at Jiang Qingye, who looked determined, and said with a smile, "Okay, let's go together. Just don't complain about the cold when the time comes."

After saying this, the three of them laughed softly.

Song Li asked Jiang Qingye, who was standing at the door, to move a stool and sit next to Jiang Qingzhou, where it would be warmer next to the stove.

After dinner, Jiang Qingzhou told Jiang Qingye to wear an extra piece of clothing tomorrow and let him go back to his room to rest.

Silent all night.

There were bursts of knocking sounds coming from the gate of Jiang's courtyard. Song Li wiped the water off her hands and hurried over.

Song Li opened the courtyard door and it was Jiang Ping whom she had met yesterday. Jiang Ping smiled and asked, "Niece-in-law, have you eaten yet?"

Song Li looked at the woman in grey cloth who was carrying a backpack and a three-toothed rake behind Jiang Ping. She smiled and said, "We have eaten. Qingzhou has gone to get the tools. We can set off soon."

Jiang Ping smiled and nodded after hearing this. He pointed at the woman behind him and said to Song Li, "Niece-in-law, I'll let the second brother's daughter go with you. Please take care of her."

The woman slowly walked to Song Li's side, lowered her head and said, "Dad, you go back. I will go with my brother and sister-in-law. Don't worry, don't come out again. The doctor said you can't be exposed to the wind."

Jiang Ping looked at the thin woman, sighed and said, "It's all my fault that I'm useless and you have to suffer." After that, there was another burst of coughing.

The woman hurriedly urged Jiang Ping to go back. Jiang Ping sighed and walked home.

Song Li asked the woman to come into the yard, but she shook her head and said, "No, sister-in-law, you guys go and do your work. I'll just wait here."

Song Li left the courtyard door open, walked to the kitchen and quickly washed the unwashed dishes, then urged Jiang Qingzhou and Jiang Qingye, and the three of them walked out together.

Jiang Qingzhou looked at the woman standing alone outside the door with some surprise. He called out, "Second sister-in-law!" and then walked forward carrying a three-toothed rake and a shovel.

Song Li picked up the backpack from Jiang Qingye's hand. She looked at the woman, who smiled at her and then walked forward beside Song Li.

The wind on the riverbank was a bit strong. Song Li looked at the riverbank covered with weeds and trees, and clumps of reeds swaying in the wind on the water.

It is the dry season now, and the water level is much lower than the riverbed.

Song Li asked Jiang Qingzhou with some concern: "Qingzhou, will there be water on the riverbank in summer?"

"No, this river beach was left over from the flood more than ten years ago. Because it is saline-alkali land, it has been left here." Jiang Qingzhou answered Song Li.

Song Li took the shovel from Jiang Qingzhou's shoulder. As she looked at the terrain, she said, "You can't grow crops on saline-alkali land, but you can grow mulberry trees or jujube trees. We shouldn't be greedy for being close to a water source. If we reclaim land and it rains heavily next year, it will be a waste of work."

The woman standing next to Song Li also continued, "Sister-in-law is right. Let's find a place with higher ground. More and more people are coming. Let's find a place quickly, otherwise the good places will be taken by others."

The four of them looked around the river beach again and again and decided to reclaim the land in the place farthest away from the river beach.

Jiang Qingzhou used a shovel to dig up a few trees, then inserted the tree trunks in the corners of the four sides and marked them.

Seeing this, the woman borrowed a shovel and made marks like Jiang Qingzhou did.

Song Li and Jiang Qingye slowly cut the weeds on the ground. She put the weeds in a backpack, put branches on top, and prepared to carry it home to use as firewood.

Listening to the whistling sound of the wind, Song Li put the fire starter in her hand back into the backpack. With such a strong wind, she didn't dare to set fire to the grass.

Jiang Qingzhou started to turn the soil with a three-toothed rake. Jiang Qingye squatted beside him and picked up the grass roots from the soil, shook off the dirt on them, and threw the grass roots into the basket in his hand, preparing to take them home to dry.

The riverbank also became lively. Besides the whistling wind, there were also noisy voices.

Song Li took a shovel and slowly lifted the soil. As she lifted the soil, she bent down and threw the grass roots to Jiang Qingye.

Jiang Qingzhou felt a little sweaty and wanted to take off his outer clothes.

When Song Li saw this, she quickly stopped him. She walked over to him and said, "Qingzhou, don't take it off, you'll catch a cold."

"I feel a little hot and uncomfortable." Jiang Qingzhou explained to Song Li.

Song Li touched Jiang Qingzhou's hand, which was already sweaty. She took the three-toothed rake from Jiang Qingzhou's hand and said, "Take a break first, and then work again after the sweat subsides. We'll go back later, go home to eat first, and come back in the afternoon."

Song Li looked at the woman who was digging the soil next to her. She walked over to her and said, "Sister-in-law, let's go home and eat first, and come back in the afternoon. We can't work well when we are hungry."

"Okay, sister-in-law." The woman said, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.

Song Li went back and continued to work with a three-toothed rake. She heard someone say, "Look at the wife of Jiang Ping's second son. Jiang Ping is lying at home, and the second son is studying in town. She has to do all the work. If the second son becomes successful in the future, and if he has no conscience, she will have no place to cry."

The voice was very loud and Song Li and the others could hear it clearly. Song Li looked up at the woman and saw that her face was flushed. She was holding a three-toothed rake in both hands, and the veins on her hands were bulging.