When the pears are green

Chapter 224: A Valuable Thank-You Gift

After Ruyi and Chen Yuan left, Jiang often brought Zhang You to see Song Li, adding a lot of fun to Song Li's boring pregnancy life.

"Oh, when will Ruyi come back? I wonder if she can get used to the food in such a far place, and whether anyone will bully her?" Jiang confided to Song Li her concern for Ruyi as usual.

Song Li was about to comfort Jiang, but she saw Zhang You, who was about to be three years old, lying next to Jiang's ear and yelling, "Chen, Chen Yuan is here, don't be afraid."

Jiang and Song Li were both amused by Zhang You's actions. Jiang smiled and patted Zhang You's butt. Zhang You, with a look of grievance, crawled into Song Li's arms.

Song Li held Zhang You's hand and went to the new house to see the goslings. The goslings, which originally had short yellow fur, had their fur slowly turn white after more than a month of growth.

"Aunt, the goose is so ugly." Zhang You pointed sadly at the gosling whose yellow and white colors were a blend of each other, and ran out of the new house sobbing.

Seeing this, Jiang quickly hugged Zhang You and asked, "Xiaoyou, what happened?"

"The goose is ugly." After Zhang You said that, he hugged Jiang's neck, pursed his lips, and sobbed continuously.

Song Li, who followed closely, quickly explained to Jiang, who looked puzzled: "Auntie, the goose is molting. Xiaoyou thought the goose became ugly, so he started crying."

Jiang smiled softly and coaxed Zhang You softly, "Since you don't like the geese at your uncle's house, then how about I take you home to see the rabbits? Your uncle should be back soon."

Zhang You nodded slightly, and Jiang held Zhang You and said goodbye to Song Li.

Song Li sent the grandparents and grandchildren out the door and watched them disappear at the entrance of the alley. She looked up at the blue sky, which was cloudless, with only a golden sun burning in the distant sky.

The draft in the alley blew Song Li's sleeves. Seeing that there was no one in the alley, Song Li walked twice in the alley nervously, then ran around in the alley with her arms outstretched, smiling, like a bird spreading its wings and flying.

Jiang Qingzhou, who was coming back from selling tofu and bean sprouts, turned into the alley and happened to see Song Li's brisk back. He quietly jumped off the donkey cart and quietly watched the scene in front of him.

When Song Li turned around again, she found Jiang Qingzhou. She quickly ran to Jiang Qingzhou and asked with a guilty conscience, "When did Qingzhou come back?"

Jiang Qingzhou held Song Li's hands, which she kept rubbing, and replied with a smile: "I just came back, come up quickly, I will take you home."

Song Li did not choose to ride the donkey cart, but walked side by side with Jiang Qingzhou in the alley where the wind was blowing.

"Xiao Li, do you have anything to say to me?" Jiang Qingzhou asked with a smile, as Song Li seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Song Li nodded slightly when she heard this, put her hands behind her back, stared at Jiang Qingzhou and said, "I thought you would tell me not to run like this again in the future."

"I originally wanted to say it, but when I saw you so happy, I didn't want to say it anymore. I wanted you to be happy, not to be bound by my words. Xiaoli, was that still the spaceship that traveled through light years just now?" Jiang Qingzhou asked, tapping Song Li's forehead lightly.

Song Li didn't expect Jiang Qingzhou to still remember it. She spread her arms again and replied with a smile: "No, it's a bird. I want to learn from Lie Zi to ride the wind."

"Did Xiaoli succeed?" Jiang Qingzhou asked, holding Song Li's hand.

Song Li quickly laughed and told Jiang Qingzhou loudly: "Of course not, I have you in my heart, so I can't reach the state of "selflessness", how can I control the wind."

Jiang Qingzhou felt as if a flower had blossomed in his heart, and a pair of eyes full of tenderness followed Song Li closely.

Song Li pushed open the gate swiftly, helped Jiang Qingzhou drive the donkey cart into the house, and then told Jiang Qingzhou about Jiang and Zhang You coming home today.

"Ruyi has indeed been gone for quite a long time. She has never left her aunt. Now that she has gone so far away, it is normal for her aunt to be worried." Jiang Qingzhou said to Song Li while unloading things from the donkey cart.

Song Li counted the days on her fingers, and she felt melancholy. The durian flowers had just bloomed when Ruyi left, and now she had to harvest new garlic after transplanting watermelon seedlings, growing garlic sprouts, and cutting rapeseed. But Ruyi hadn't come back yet.

"There's a saying that goes, 'When the wheat starts to turn yellow, a girl visits her mother. Ruyi is very filial to her aunt and will definitely come back before the wheat harvest. After I water the watermelon seedlings again, I will take you to see your parents." Jiang Qingzhou's words were like a magical power that calmed Song Li's melancholy heart.

As Jiang Qingzhou expected, on the day when Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou went to the Song family, Ruyi and Chen Yuan returned to Heihe Town.

Two days later, early in the morning, Chen Yuan and Ruyi arrived at the Jiang family with gifts.

"No one has been home for a long time and the kitchen has not been cleaned up yet. It's a good time for me to come to my cousin's house early for breakfast." After Chen Yuan explained, he smiled and took the two bowls of tofu pudding handed over by Jiang Qingzhou.

Chen Yuan first scooped in the stew that Song Li made with onions and wild vegetable leaves, then handed it to Ruyi and said, "My cousin made it very delicious, but I think it tastes better with pickled radish."

Ruyi blushed and patted Chen Yuan, who didn't treat her as an outsider, and signaled him not to continue.

Song Li, who was standing by, quickly said to the embarrassed Ruyi and Chen Yuan, who was eating tofu pudding with his head down, "Ruyi, don't be polite to me and Qingzhou. Since Chen Yuan thinks it tastes good, I'll dry more radishes this winter so you can have a taste."

Chen Yuan nodded quickly with a smile. After finishing two bowls of tofu pudding, he took out the gifts for the Jiang family from the basket he brought.

Ruyi took the wooden box handed to her by Chen Yuan, opened it and placed it in front of Song Li.

Song Li looked carefully at the object that looked like a radish root lying in the wooden box, and asked Ruyi hesitantly: "Ruyi, is this ginseng?"

"Cousin, yes. My eldest sister asked me to bring it to you. She said it was a thank you gift to my cousin and brother." As soon as Ruyi finished speaking, Jiang Qingye and Song Xing came over to look at the ginseng.

The two children, like Song Li, said that ginseng and radish roots are very similar.

After hearing this, Chen Yuan couldn't help laughing out loud. He took out two wooden boxes and handed them to Jiang Qingye and Song Xing, saying that he had bought them specially from Bianzhou.

"Thank you, Sister Ruyi and Brother-in-law." The two children said in unison and opened their wooden boxes at the same time.

A brush is presented in a wooden box. The warm purple bamboo pen holder and the drooping but not loose pen tip all indicate that this is a brush that cannot be bought in Heihe Town.

Jiang Qingye touched the pen tip with his hand and asked Chen Yuan with a smile about the material of the pen tip.

"It's a wolf-hair brush (a brush made of weasel tail hair)." After Chen Yuan explained, he took out a dagger and handed it to Jiang Qingzhou, asking him to carry it with him for self-defense.

Song Li looked at the gift in front of her and thought it was too valuable, so she quickly closed the wooden box and wanted to give it to Ruyi.

Ruyi hurriedly ran behind Chen Yuan and told Song Li: "Cousin, these gifts were chosen by my elder sister and brother-in-law, not bought by me and Brother Yuan. You should accept them, otherwise we will have no way to explain to my elder sister and brother-in-law. If you think they are expensive, Chen Yuan and I can just come and have a few more meals."

"What Ruyi said is a good idea. Let's go first. The house is not cleaned up yet." Chen Yuan took Ruyi's hand and ran out of the kitchen quickly. When Jiang Qingzhou and Song Li chased them to the door, they could no longer be seen.

Although Jiang Qingye and Song Xing were reluctant to part with the brushes in the wooden box, they still obediently handed the box to Song Li and let Song Li decide whether to keep the things.

"Since it's a gift from your sister Ruyi and brother-in-law, then accept it. However, you can only use it at home and cannot take it to the study." Song Li handed the wooden box to Song Xing and Jiang Qingye again, and the two children quickly nodded in agreement.

Five or six days later, the study closed for the summer vacation, and Song Xing returned to the Song family after helping the Jiang family harvest the new garlic and wheat.

When Jiang Qingzhou and Jiang Qingye were picking wheat ears in the field, they were surprised to find that some watermelon seedlings had been stolen. The thief who stole the watermelon seedlings was very smart. He stole a few here and there. If you don't look carefully, it's hard to be discovered.