When the pears are green

Chapter 213 Rattan Chair

Jiang Qingzhou, who had gone to the restaurant to deliver garlic sprouts, returned home and saw Song Li listlessly sitting on a stool basking in the sun. He quickly walked over and touched Song Li's forehead and asked, "Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere, or did your aunt refuse again?"

Song Li smiled and grabbed Jiang Qingzhou's big hand that was covering her forehead, scratched the calluses on his palm and replied, "I'm not feeling uncomfortable. My aunt wants to meet Constable Chen tomorrow. I'm afraid that my aunt or my cousin's wife will find out that Constable Chen is Chen Shu, especially my cousin's wife. Although she doesn't like to talk on weekdays, she is very thoughtful. Brother Jixiang always listens to her."

"Xiao Li, there is no need to worry about Constable Chen. Constable Chen is a smart man and he will have a plan. Besides, your cousin's wife has a good relationship with Ruyi. Even if she sees something, she won't say anything. I met Mr. Hu when I went to deliver garlic sprouts today. Mr. Hu wants you to go to the restaurant tomorrow because he has something to discuss." After Jiang Qingzhou finished speaking, he reached out and pinched the tip of Song Li's nose.

Song Li knocked Jiang Qingzhou's hand away and asked in surprise, "What did Mr. Hu say again?"

"No, Mr. Hu and Kai Xin and the others wanted to follow Master Yang to the Wu family to propose marriage. They left in a hurry and didn't say anything in detail. It's getting late, so let's load the tofu. I'm afraid Ping An will be worried." Jiang Qingzhou pulled up Song Li, and the two of them walked into the kitchen hand in hand and lifted the tofu in the wooden box onto the cart.

Not long after Jiang Qingzhou left, the brothers Jiang Chen and Jiang Ming came to get tofu. Song Li helped them divide the tofu, and then reminded them not to walk too fast on the way because the tofu was relatively soft.

After Jiang Chen and Jiang Ming left, Song Li went to the new house to water the sprouting rapeseed. The temperature was still acceptable now, and when the rapeseed grew to the height of a palm, it could be transplanted to the mulberry field.

Song Li looked at the empty yard from time to time, and a feeling of loneliness arose spontaneously. It turned out that she had unknowingly become accustomed to Li Yi's company.

"Habits are really scary. I wonder how Li Yi and Zhang Feng get along?" Song Li muttered to herself while pouring water on the soil.

A few sparrows landed on the phoenix tree and chirped. Song Li threw a piece of mud between the trees, and the sparrows flew away and landed on the bamboo branches of the study.

Zhang Feng was holding two cabbages and carrying a bag full of pudding, which contained his only thick cotton coat. He wandered in front of the library with both expectation and anxiety, and finally gritted his teeth and prepared to knock on the door of the library.

Before Zhang Feng's right hand touched the courtyard door, the door creaked open a crack, and Li Yi's little head popped out from the crack. She smiled and said to the embarrassed Zhang Feng, "Come in quickly. I heard you walking back and forth in front of the door for a long time. Why are you still holding the cabbage?"

"I grew the cabbages, and I have quite a lot at home. I don't have a backpack or a basket, so I can only bring two here." Zhang Feng scratched his head and explained to Li Yi, then slowly followed Li Yi to the backyard of the study.

Li Yi stopped in front of the guest room door and said to Zhang Feng, "Put your things in. You will live here from now on. I will make the bedding for you. If it is too thin, I will add another quilt for you."

Zhang Feng hesitated, fearing that he would dirty the clean room with his dirty body.

Li Yi smiled and pushed Zhang Feng into the room, then opened the wooden cabinet against the north wall and asked Zhang Feng to put his clothes inside.

Zhang Feng stood there at a loss, hugging the cabbage tightly in his arms.

"Put the cabbage on the table by the window first. The ceramic basin on the wooden stand can be used to wash your face and hair. The towel on the edge of the basin was given to me by my sister. My sister gave me many towels. You are my friend, so I will give you one too. The wooden basin on the ground can be used to wash your feet, and the cotton cloth in it is for wiping your feet." Li Yi said as he pulled Zhang Feng's arm and walked towards the window. At Li Yi's urging, Zhang Feng put down the cabbage in his arms and then hugged his bag tightly.

Li Yi looked at the small bag in Zhang Feng's arms, ran out of the room like the wind, and ran back in like the wind, holding two or three cotton coats.

"We are about the same height, and you are thinner than me. These are my cotton-padded clothes. Try them on first to see if you can wear them." Li Yi put the cotton-padded clothes beside the bed and turned to walk towards the door.

Zhang Feng hurriedly stopped Li Yi, and said with a red face that he had not taken a shower for a long time and could not try Li Yi's clothes, so he asked Li Yi to take it back and wear it himself.

"Put it here first. When school is over at noon, I will ask grandpa to take you to the perfume shop (public bathhouse) to take a bath. Try again after you are clean." Li Yi pulled the bag out of Zhang Feng's arms, put it next to the cabbage, and then took Zhang Feng to familiarize themselves with the environment of the study room.

Zhang Feng looked at Li Yi, who was talking, laughing and jumping in front of him, and secretly swore in his heart that he would love Li Yi as his own brother.

At the Jiang family, Song Li felt exhausted after watering the rapeseed. She quickly dropped the bucket, staggered into the east room, and fell asleep.

Song Li didn't know how long she had slept. She was half-conscious and realized that someone was covering her with a blanket. She opened her heavy eyes, hooked her hand around Jiang Qingzhou's neck as he lowered his head to pull the blanket, and said softly, "You're back."

"Why don't you go to bed without a blanket? It's cold and you'll catch a cold." Jiang Qingzhou gently scolded Song Li, took Song Li's hand away, and prepared to go to the kitchen to make some ginger soup.

Song Li grabbed Jiang Qingzhou's sleeve and pleaded, "I just felt dizzy all of a sudden and had to go to bed. I feel much better now. Maybe I forgot to lock the door. Don't go. Just lie down with me."

"You, tell me next time you feel uncomfortable. I will take you to see a doctor in the afternoon. I'll go make ginger soup first. After you drink the soup, I'll lie down with you." Jiang Qingzhou touched Song Li's forehead, smiled and asked Song Li to wait a moment.

Song Li was no longer sleepy and was bored lying in bed, so she followed Jiang Qingzhou out of the room and saw a brand new rattan chair placed in the yard.

"Qingzhou, did you buy this?" Song Li asked excitedly, shaking Jiang Qingzhou's arm.

Jiang Qingzhou held Song Li's hand, which was shaking him, and answered, "Yes, I saw you often sitting in the yard to bask in the sun, so I thought it would be more comfortable if you had a rattan chair. I ordered one from a carpenter in town a few days ago and brought it here today. Go and try it out and see if it's comfortable."

Song Li happily lay on the rattan chair, swaying back and forth with her hands on the armrests, and told Jiang Qingzhou with her eyes closed: "Qingzhou, this is much more comfortable than sitting on a stool, I love you so much!"

After hearing this, Jiang Qingzhou's ears turned slightly red. He turned around and went back to the east room to get a thin blanket to cover Song Li.

"You stay here in the sun first, I'll make you some ginger soup."

"Well, I don't have to go to the doctor this afternoon. I feel much better now."

"Let's go and have a look to make sure we are at ease."

"No, I want to stay with you this afternoon."

"Uh… okay then."

Song Li looked at Jiang Qingzhou's back as he walked towards the kitchen, buried her head in the quilt and laughed secretly.

After resting for a day and a night, Song Li felt refreshed and went to Hu's Restaurant carrying a backpack. As she expected, Hu Zhimin asked her out because of Liu Shulin's matter.

After Zhang Er finished weighing the garlic sprouts, Hu Zhimin took Song Li and Kai Xin to the second floor.

"Mrs. Jiang, I have an idea. How about the golden knife?" Hu Zhimin asked Song Li who was drinking water from a cup while sitting behind the desk.

Song Li almost choked on her tea and asked Hu Zhimin in disbelief, "Is Mr. Hu talking about the Golden Knife Prophecy or the Golden Knife Scheme?"

"Of course it's the Golden Knife Prophecy. Madam Jiang can tell the Golden Knife Prophecy, so she must know the Golden Knife Prophecy's lethality to the Liu family." Hu Zhimin explained to Song Li with a smile.

Song Li frowned, put down the water cup and said to Hu Zhimin seriously: "Boss Hu, you and I just want Liu Shulin to withdraw from the tofu business of the restaurant, not to know how many people there are in the nine clans of Liu Shulin's family. Although the Golden Knife Prophecy was popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and few people have mentioned it since the Tang and Song Dynasties, its power is still there. Once things are linked to imperial power, the follow-up is not something you and I can control. Boss Hu should know about the two witchcraft disasters during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, in which nearly 100,000 civilians died. If it is used by someone with ulterior motives, can Boss Hu rest assured and sleep peacefully? What's more, Lingling's mother is also surnamed Liu. Isn't Boss Hu afraid that Aunt Liu will also be implicated?"

Hu Zhimin was speechless for a long time. His original intention was to take the opportunity to let Liu Shulin and Liu Zhen fight each other, but he ignored other members of the Liu family in the town and the terrible consequences if they were used by someone with ulterior motives.

"Madam Jiang is right. I didn't think it through. I just wanted to make Liu Shulin and Liu Zhen fight each other. I never meant to harm other people." Hu Zhimin also felt a little scared and was glad that he did not act impulsively.

Song Li pondered for a moment, then whispered to Hu Zhimin, "In that case, why not just write: Gold and wood, Liu and Liu, how can one mountain support two tigers?"

After hearing this, Hu Zhimin smiled and applauded.

Kai Xin, who had been listening to the conversation, asked in confusion: "Boss, I understand the latter part, but what do these gold and wood mean?"

"Liu Shulin's home is in Xiguan, and Liu Zhen's home is in Dongguan. In the five elements, the west belongs to gold, the east belongs to wood, and gold overcomes wood." Hu Zhimin explained to Kai Xin with a smile.

Happy scratched his head and asked again: "Boss, if this gets out, will others understand it?"

"Don't worry, there are people who understand. The more mysterious it sounds, the more people will spread it." Hu Zhimin kept tapping the table with the fan in his hand. Now that the content has been decided, let's take action in the next few days.