When the pears are green

The north wind howled all night.

Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou, who got up early, looked at the thin ice in the water tank and decided to stop reclaiming the land.

The two-month reclamation work was finally completed. Jiang Qingzhou and his two companions reclaimed three acres of wasteland, and Zhang Ying and Jiang Qian also reclaimed two acres of wasteland.

Jiang Qingzhou hurried to the stove and lit the fire, then pulled Song Li to sit on the stool. He touched Song Li's chapped face and said softly, "Xiao Li has suffered with me for the past two months."

"Qingzhou, don't say that. You have been very good to me." Song Li held Jiang Qingzhou's hand and carefully touched the calluses on his hand.

Jiang Qingzhou held Song Li's hand and said with a smile, "The north wind was strong last night. I didn't expect it to freeze today. I don't know if the sun will come out today. It will be warmer if the sun comes out."

"Well, I've been very tired in the past two months. It's a good time to take a break. If the weather is good at night, I'll take you to see my favorite Orion. It's the first constellation I know, and it's the most conspicuous in the winter night sky." Song Li said, and looked at Jiang Qingzhou with a smile.

Jiang Qingzhou stared at Song Li's bright eyes and said softly, "Okay, let's start cooking." After that, he let go of Song Li's hand and walked to the side to pour water into the pot.

"Light boat." Song Li shouted.

"Xiao Li, what's wrong?" Jiang Qingzhou responded with a smile.

"Qingzhou, I want to tell you about the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, lakes and seas that I have seen." Song Li stood up and leaned over to Jiang Qingzhou's ear and said.

"But, the farthest I've been is Linhe County, I..." Jiang Qingzhou was a little depressed.

Song Li hugged Jiang Qingzhou and said softly, "It's okay. I'm very happy that you can listen to me. Later, we can go to see the beauty of this world together."

After Song Li finished speaking, she stood on tiptoe and touched Jiang Qingzhou's forehead, then returned to the stove to continue making fire.

After breakfast, Song Li began to think about how to kill this long time. She thought that since she couldn't go out to reclaim wasteland, it would be better to strengthen the education of Jiang Qingzhou and Jiang Qingye and let them learn more.

In the morning, Song Li taught Jiang Qingzhou and Jiang Qingye to recite multiplication formulas.

In the afternoon, the three of them competed in sandbag throwing in the main room.

The day passed quickly.

When the sun drove its chariot down the mountain, Song Li looked at the gray night sky and returned to her room in disappointment.

At this time, there was a knock on the door outside the Jiang family's courtyard.

Jiang Qingzhou hurried to open the door, it was Jiang Qian.

Jiang Qian smiled and said to Jiang Qingzhou, "Qingzhou, I heard from Yingniang that my sister-in-law asked her about the tuition fees of the library. I guess you want Qingye to study there. I heard from my classmates that the library I used to study in has started recruiting students, so I came to let you know. You can find a good day and go to the school to take a look."

Jiang Qingzhou hurriedly thanked Jiang Qian. Jiang Qian smiled at Jiang Qingzhou and hurried home.

Jiang Qingzhou closed the courtyard door and walked quickly to the room.

Song Li, who was lying on the bed reading a book, heard the sound of the door opening. She looked up and asked, "Qingzhou, who is it?"

"It's my second brother. He said the library has started recruiting students. He asked us to find a good day to take Qingye to have a look." Jiang Qingzhou said as he closed the door.

"This is really good news. Let's see tomorrow. If the weather is good, take Qingye there. It's better to do it today than to wait for another day. It's a pity that we can't see the stars tonight." Song Li said a little annoyed.

Jiang Qingzhou hurriedly comforted Song Li: "Xiao Li, it won't run away. We will see it sooner or later."

Song Li smiled at Jiang Qingzhou and continued to read with her head down.

Jiang Qingzhou saw that Song Li was reading seriously, so he asked softly, "Xiao Li, do you know all of them? I haven't seen you learn the characters here."

Song Li pointed at the words in the book and said, "Dad copied it very neatly. Although I can't write, I can roughly guess some of it."

After Song Li finished speaking, she placed the book between her and Jiang Qingzhou, and the two of them began to read while chatting and laughing.

Song Li slept soundly all night. When she woke up, Jiang Qingzhou had already put up the rain curtain, and the bright sunshine shone into the room through the window.

"What a good day!" Song Li said softly as she stood up.

When Song Li walked out of the room, Jiang Qingye had just finished running. Song Li smiled and said to him, "Qingye, after breakfast, Qingzhou and I will take you to the bookstore in town. My second brother came over yesterday and told Qingzhou that the bookstore has started recruiting students."

Jiang Qingye thanked Song Li with a smile, then quickly ran into the kitchen to find Jiang Qingzhou.

Song Li first started running around the yard. When she finished washing up, Jiang Qingzhou had just prepared breakfast.

After dinner, the three of them happily set off towards Heihe Town.

As they walked, Song Li instructed Jiang Qingye: "Qingye, if the teacher asks you whether you can read or write, you should answer that you can read a few words, just write your own name."

"Why? Sister-in-law." Jiang Qingye asked puzzledly.

Song Li smiled and replied, "Qingye, there is a saying that arrogance brings harm, while humility brings benefit. Although you have learned a lot, there is no need to show it. Just let the teacher think you are worthy of admission. You should know that a man is innocent but a person who possesses a treasure is guilty. You are a child of an ordinary family. Your sister-in-law is afraid that you will be too sharp and will attract jealousy. Do you understand?"

Jiang Qingye looked up at Song Li, then nodded and said, "I understand, sister-in-law."

The three of them quickly found the location of the bookstore according to the address provided by Jiang Qian.

Song Li looked at the quaint courtyard in front of her. The mottled gate was closed, and clumps of slightly yellowed bamboo emerged from the top of the wall.

There is a wooden plaque hanging on the gate of the courtyard, with four big characters "Rongxing Book House" written on it.

The sound of reading aloud continued to come from the courtyard.

Song Li motioned Jiang Qingzhou to go forward and knock on the door.

Soon, a boy poked his head out from the crack of the door and asked softly, "Excuse me, who are you looking for?"

"I heard that the library is recruiting students. I want to send my younger brother to school, so I wanted to come and sign up for him." Jiang Qingzhou said to the boy with a smile.

After hearing this, the boy hurriedly welcomed Jiang Qingzhou and the other two in.

Song Li followed the boy, constantly looking at the scene in the courtyard of the library.

The library is similar to a courtyard house, with clumps of bamboo growing on both sides of the gate. There is a tall tung tree in the yard, and under the tree a group of children are reading books, five in a row, for a total of four rows, twenty people.

A teacher in a blue gown was stroking his goatee and looking at the child in front of him with satisfaction.

The boy walked forward and whispered something to the teacher, and the teacher walked towards Song Li and the others with a smile.

The teacher looked at Jiang Qingye and asked with a smile, "Is this kid going to school?"

Jiang Qingye looked at Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou who were silent, and he quickly replied: "It's me, Master."

The teacher stroked his goatee, smiled with satisfaction, and then asked, "Little kid, you are not afraid of strangers. What's your name? How old are you? Do you know how to read?"

"My name is Jiang Qingye. I'm ten years old and I know a few words." Jiang Qingye answered according to what Song Li taught him.

After hearing this, the Master smiled and said, "Qingye is a good name. It's not too late to start learning at the age of ten. Where are you from?"

"We are from Jiangjia Village, very close to the bookstore." Jiang Qingye replied.

"Oh, Jiangjia Village. Many of my students were from Jiangjia Village." The teacher said casually.

"It was my neighbor Jiang Qian who told my brother and sister-in-law about the library's enrollment, so my brother and they brought me here." Jiang Qingye said, and smiled as he glanced at Jiang Qingzhou and Song Li.

The Master also looked up at Jiang Qingzhou and Song Li. He pondered for a moment and whispered, "I still remember Jiang Qian. He is talented and hardworking. Since you are Jiang Qian's neighbors, then this should be Jiang Wan and Jiang Rong's child."