12dz Chapter 143 Childhood Sweethearts
Chapter 143 Childhood Sweethearts
After a violent storm, the sun rose again in the clear blue sky like a wash of water, and the air was filled with the fragrance of earth.
"Luckily I picked a few watermelons this morning, so I can take them with me." Song Li smiled and handed the three watermelons on the eight-immortals table to Jiang Qingzhou, who then carefully put them into the backpack.
After putting the watermelons away, Jiang Qingzhou walked into the yard and looked at the setting sun. He turned around and said to Song Li who was standing at the door of the main hall, "Xiao Li, let's go quickly. We can go now just in time for the school to finish."
"Okay, let's set off now." After saying that, Song Li turned around and picked up the basket on the eight-immortals table. Jiang Qingzhou picked up the backpack on the ground, and the two of them walked out of the yard one after the other.
The heavy rain diluted the summer heat. Although the rain stopped, the breeze was still there.
Song Li felt very comfortable walking in the breeze, but this feeling only lasted until the entrance of the village. When she saw a large area of corn lodging on the roadside, she suddenly became worried. Although she did not grow corn, the Song family grew a lot, not to mention that only Zhang and Song Yue were at home.
Jiang Qingzhou saw what was on Song Li's mind, and he comforted her, "Don't worry too much, Xiaoli. The wind is strong here, but it may not be the same in Wuzhuang Village. Let's go and have a look tomorrow."
Song Li nodded. In the next two days, many people would go to the fields to pick corn, and the road would be much safer.
Along the way, Jiang Qingzhou told Song Li a lot of interesting stories, which made Song Li laugh and also made Song Li no longer pay attention to the corn that fell on both sides of the road.
When the two of them arrived at the library, the class had just begun. Master Li and a young man in a green gown were standing at the door of the library talking. Children came out of the library one by one, either alone, in pairs, or in groups of three or five. They were talking and laughing, jumping and skipping, and disappeared at various intersections around the library.
Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou stopped not far away. They waited until all the children had left before walking towards Master Li at the gate of the courtyard.
When Master Li heard the footsteps, he raised his head and asked Jiang Qingzhou happily: "Qingzhou, why are you here?"
"Master, it rained today, the weather is cool, and there are many people on the road. Xiaoli and I wanted to come and see Xiaoxing and Qingye. We are sorry to have caused you trouble during this period of time." Jiang Qingzhou replied to Master Li with a smile.
Master Li quickly waved his hands in response, "No trouble, no trouble. The two of them here are much more interesting than just Nian Nian and I."
After Master Li finished speaking, he smiled and introduced the young man next to him to Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou: "Qingzhou, Madam Jiang, this is Master Yang, the newcomer in the library, and he is also a scholar."
"How are you, Master Yang?" Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou greeted Master Yang at the same time.
Master Yang bowed first, then smiled and said to Song Lijiang Qingzhou: "You two are too polite."
When Master Yang saw that Master Li was going to entertain the guests, he said goodbye. After Master Yang left, Master Li led Jiang Qingzhou and Song Li into the study.
"They should be in the backyard. Qingye is a good cook. Ever since he moved in here, Nian Nian has stopped me from cooking. Xiaoxing is also very hardworking. Every day he waters the vegetables and cleans the chicken coop. If I had two grandchildren like this, I would probably wake up laughing in my dreams at night." Master Li smiled and touched his goatee. He led Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou to the backyard through the path on the right side of the lecture hall.
Song Xing, who was feeding grass to the chickens, didn't bother to throw the grass in the chicken coop when he saw Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou. He ran directly to Song Li with the grass in his arms.
Song Li reached out and touched Song Xing's head. She kept looking at Song Xing, whom she hadn't seen for half a month. Seeing that Song Xing had grown taller, she suddenly felt a little sore in her eyes.
"Xiaoxing has grown taller again and will soon be as tall as me." Song Li said in a slightly sobbing voice. She turned her head to the side, afraid that Song Xing would notice something.
Song Xing also kept looking at Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou with tearful eyes. He whispered, "Sister, brother-in-law, I miss you too." After that, he wiped his eyes with his hand, smiled and said that his eyes had been uncomfortable recently.
Jiang Qingzhou on the side hugged Song Xing, and Song Xing lay in Jiang Qingzhou's arms and rubbed against him hard.
The sound of cutting vegetables came from the kitchen. Song Li followed the sound to the kitchen door and saw Jiang Qingye cutting vegetables. Li Yi stood by to help Jiang Qingye carry the vegetable basket. Song Li looked back at Song Xing who was still lying in Jiang Qingzhou's arms. She thought that Song Xing and Jiang Qingye could live together in the study, but she didn't expect Song Xing to be the loneliest one.
Song Li looked at the two people talking and laughing in the kitchen again, and a poem suddenly popped up in her mind: The man came riding a bamboo horse, playing with green plums around the bed. Living together in Changganli, the two children had no suspicion of each other.
"Qingye, Li Yi." Song Li called the two people's names softly. Jiang Qingye and Li Yi turned around at the same time to look at Song Li at the door. Jiang Qingye dropped the kitchen knife and Li Yi put down the vegetable basket, and the two ran towards Song Li together.
Li Yi hugged Song Li excitedly and asked, "Why is Sister here? Did Sister miss me?"
Jiang Qingye pulled Li Yi away from Song Li. He shook his head like an old man and said to Li Yi: "Li Yi, you are a boy, how can you hug my sister-in-law? Although you are still a child, you have to avoid suspicion."
"I, I..." Li Yi couldn't say that she was also a girl. She was afraid that if she said it, the old man Jiang Qingye would stop playing with her. She ran to Master Li angrily and muttered softly: "Humph, if you don't want to hug me, then don't hug me. I'll hug my grandfather." Then she smiled and hugged Master Li.
Although Jiang Qingye had Li Yi to accompany him in the study all day, he still missed Jiang Qingzhou and Song Li. He first greeted Song Li with a smile, then slowly walked towards Jiang Qingzhou. He first smiled, then pursed his lips, and then lay in Jiang Qingzhou's arms with red eyes.
Jiang Qingzhou looked down at the two heads that were struggling in his arms, and he felt sad. Although the family would be separated sooner or later, he sincerely hoped that day would come later.
Master Li looked at the scene in the backyard and thought that perhaps this was the bond between family members.
"It's still some time before dark, Qingzhou and Madam Jiang should have a meal together." Master Li smiled and tried to keep Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou.
After hearing what Master Li said, Song Xing and Jiang Qingye raised their heads from Jiang Qingzhou's arms and looked at Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou with pleading eyes.
Jiang Qingzhou patted their heads again, smiled and nodded in agreement.
Li Yi jumped up with cheers. She skipped to Jiang Qingye and urged him to cook quickly.
Song Li stopped Li Yi and Jiang Qingye. She smiled and asked them to help her. She wanted to cook a "home" meal for Song Xing and Jiang Qingye.
Song Xing also threw the grass in his hand into the chicken coop. After washing his hands, he went to the kitchen to help.
There were bursts of laughter in the kitchen, leaving Jiang Qingzhou and Master Li in silence in the backyard. Jiang Qingzhou thought of the watermelon in the basket, and he gave it to Master Li, saying that it was grown in his own home, and Master Li reluctantly collected it.
The four of them quickly prepared the meal. Li Yi carried the bamboo basket containing steamed buns, Jiang Qingye carried the dishes, and Song Li and Song Xing carried the noodle soup. They quickly placed the meal in place.
The five of them sat around a stone table in the backyard.
During the dinner, Master Li joked with a smile that he was old and did not have enough energy to manage the library, so he invited Master Yang.
Li Yi, who was eating, put down his bowl and chopsticks when he heard this and said, "Grandpa is still young. He hasn't even taken Nian Nian to find Dad yet. How can he be old?"
Master Li lowered his head and hid the sadness in his eyes in his heart, then raised his head and smiled and promised Li Yi that he would take her to find her father in three or four years.
Li Yi smiled and shook hands with Master Li, then continued to eat.
Song Li, who was sitting on the right side of the stone table, could just see the wall of the backyard. She saw a line of mottled words on the wall and could barely recognize the words "Spring", "Return", "Forest" and "Mu".
When Master Li saw Song Li staring at the wall, he smiled and asked Song Li what he saw.
"The spring swallows have returned and built their nests in the trees." Song Li expressed his guess.
Master Li looked at Song Li in surprise. He asked excitedly, "How did Madam Jiang recognize it? I heard this sentence from a scholar from a local family at a party when I went to Bianzhou to participate in the provincial examination 20 years ago. At that time, someone said this sentence was very meaningful, and the scholar even mocked it."
"I only recognized four of the seven characters and guessed them casually." Song Li hurriedly explained to Master Li.
Jiang Qingye had been listening attentively to the conversation between Song Li and Master Li. He asked Master Li why the scholar wanted to mock the person who said this meaningful sentence.
Master Li stroked his goatee, squinted his eyes, and tried hard to recall what the scholar said at that time.
"Qingye, swallows build their nests under the eaves in spring. Under what circumstances would they build their nests in the woods?" Song Li asked Jiang Qingye.
Song Xing didn't wait for Jiang Qingye to speak, and quickly replied: "Sister, only when there is no house will the swallows build their nests in the woods."
Song Li touched Song Xing's head with relief.
"That scholar said almost the same thing as Madam Jiang." Master Li also returned to reality from his memories.
Master Li asked Song Li where he heard this sentence from. Song Li said that he learned it from a storyteller in the county town.
Song Li went on to say, "The storyteller also said that at that time, the Northern Wei conquered the six northern states of the Liu Song. All the counties and prefectures passed by the Northern Wei army were barren, and the spring swallows returned and nested in the trees. Yuan Jia was hasty, and Fenglangjuxu won a hasty look north. This is what he was talking about."
Master Li couldn't help but applaud. He first praised Song Li for his good memory, and then praised the storyteller in the county town for being much better than the one a few years ago.
Song Li smiled awkwardly, and then asked Master Li: "Master, the storyteller also said that great works will be collected by dignitaries at home as a collection of books, and ordinary people cannot borrow them. Ordinary people can only access popular books such as classics, history, and collections on the market."
"Yes, these books should be read by students all over the world, but unfortunately they have become a means of showing off for those people. However, if you pass the imperial examination, you can borrow books from the collection in the county government office." Master Li stroked his beard again, and he smiled as he looked at Jiang Qingye, the student with the most potential in his study.
After dinner, Song Li took out two sets of summer clothes from the basket and handed them to Jiang Qingye and Song Xing, saying that they were newly made for them. Then she took out a sandbag and gave it to Li Yi, asking him to play with it when he was bored.
Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou stayed in the academy for a while, then said goodbye to a few people and went home.
Here, Master Yang stopped when he passed by his cousin Yang Cheng's house. He stood by the courtyard wall and listened to the quarrel coming from inside.