When the pears are green

Chapter 114 Heirs

Song Li and Song Yue got up early and went to help Zhang cook. The three of them chatted in the kitchen.

The sound of Song Xing running could be heard in the courtyard. Zhang smiled and asked Song Li, "Xiao Li, is Xiao Xing the same over there?"

"Yes, mother. He and Qingye practice calligraphy every afternoon after school. When the weather is good, they practice on the ground. When the weather is bad, they practice in the sandbox made by Qingzhou for them." Song Li, who was cutting vegetables, nodded and added.

After the continuous footsteps ended, the sound of Song Xing reading was heard, from Three Character Classic to Thousand Character Classic.

The mother and daughter in the kitchen listened attentively. When the reading ended, Zhang suddenly said, "Xiaoyue, I want to find someone to arrange a marriage for you."

Song Li quickly looked at Song Yue who was lighting the fire, and saw Song Yue smiling and answering Zhang: "Okay, mother."

Zhang looked at Song Yue with a smile on her face, feeling a little sad. She said as if to comfort Song Yue, "Mother will find you a good one, someone who can be found in the surrounding villages."

The smile on Song Yue's face deepened, but the smile could never reach her eyes.

Soon, Song Changhe came back with bedding. He first hung the bedding on a rope to dry, then walked into the kitchen and told Zhang what Song Changsong had told him.

"Xiangxiang, I heard from Changsong that Third Uncle wants Changrong to adopt a child. Third Uncle knows that Changrong and his younger brother and sister-in-law have a deep relationship. Instead of trying hard to get them to divorce, it would be better to let them adopt a child first. If this child is destined to have brothers and sisters, maybe Changrong and his younger brother and sister-in-law will keep their own flesh and blood. If not, Changrong and his younger brother and sister-in-law will have someone to rely on in the future." Song Changhe said to Zhang who was cooking noodle soup while sitting on a stool nearby.

"Have Changrong and my sister-in-law agreed?" Zhang used a ladle to stir the boiling noodle soup in the pot.

Song Changhe nodded, and he continued, "I agree. I heard that it's a child from my sister-in-law's family, a girl. There are many girls in the family, so they don't want the child. They should bring the child over in the next few days."

"That's great!" Zhang also hoped that Lianlian could have a child, and even more so that she could have her own flesh and blood in the future.

Zhang then told Song Changhe about arranging a marriage for Song Yue. Song Changhe glanced at Song Yue who was making a fire. He didn't want his daughter to be talked about by others, so arranging a marriage was not a bad idea.

After dinner, Zhang carried a wooden shovel, Song Changhe carried a four-pronged fork, and Song Li and Song Yue carried winnowing baskets to go to the threshing ground to help Song Changsong's family load wheat.

As soon as the family walked to the threshing ground, they saw a large group of people gathered around Song Changsong's wheat. They thought something had happened to Song Changsong's family and hurried over.

Song Changhe kept squeezing into the crowd, and Zhang's mother, daughter and two others followed closely behind Song Changhe and squeezed in. They saw Li Laosan's wife, whose face was scratched, kneeling on the ground holding her child and crying.

The child kept sucking his thumb and looked blankly at the noisy crowd around him.

Song Li looked at the child's swollen face and bulging belly, and guessed that the child must be extremely hungry and didn't even want to cry.

Someone handed a piece of blackened steamed bread to Li Laosan's wife. She looked at the young man in front of her with gratitude. She also wanted to put it in her mouth, but she handed it to the child without hesitation. The child immediately let go of his thumb, held the steamed bread with both hands, and began to eat it in small bites.

After eating half of the steamed corn bread, the child looked at Li Laosan's wife with hesitant eyes, who still had tears in her eyes. He handed the steamed corn bread to Li Laosan's wife's mouth, causing a group of women nearby to wipe their tears.

The spring farm tax was about to be paid, and every family had to carefully calculate their food intake. Even though the villagers felt sorry for Li Laosan's wife and son, they would not use their own food rations to support the mother and son.

A woman gave advice to Li Laosan's wife and her son: "Sister-in-law, take your child and remarry. It will be fine as long as you and your son can have food to eat."

"But will old lady Li agree? After all, the child is the root of their Li family." Some people think that the possibility of remarriage is not very high. The old lady of the Li family wants to kill the mother and son, and then give the house of Li Lao San to Li Lao Da with a legitimate reason.

"That old woman has no conscience. The wheat heads that the third daughter-in-law picked up while holding her child were secretly taken away by the old woman. When the third daughter-in-law went to argue with her, she let her beloved eldest son beat the third daughter-in-law. She doesn't care about the life or death of this grandson. She has other grandchildren anyway." Someone said angrily.

"Even if I remarry, it's definitely not allowed in this village. Otherwise, the old woman will come to my house every few days, which will be too much trouble."

"Then marry far away."

"But where are you going to marry?"

……

The crowd was still talking.

Someone shouted, "The head of the village is here!" and the crowd automatically made way for him.

The head of the village came over with Wu Minghui and Wu Mingde. Wu Minghui quickly ran to Song Li and Song Yue. Song Yue took out a colorful rope from her bag and helped Wu Minghui put it on her right wrist.

Wu Mingde, who was standing next to the village head, kept staring at Wu Minghui's wrist. His burning gaze seemed to be able to burn a hole in Wu Minghui's wrist.

When Li Laosan's wife saw the head of the village, she held the steamed bun in her hand, hugged her child tightly and started crying loudly again.

The village head already knew the whole story. He sighed and looked at the poor woman who was crying.

"Third brother's wife, I already know what happened. If you want to go back to your parents' home, I can ask Old Lady Li to give you a divorce certificate." The head of the village said softly.

Li Laosan's wife shook her head frantically and begged, "Li Zheng, I don't want to go back. It's almost the same here. They definitely can't accommodate a child."

"Then you should take your child and remarry in another village. Find a family that can accommodate your child. The farther away from here and your mother's home, the better." The head of the village continued.

Not all villagers can afford the bride price. When some people saw that Li Laosan's wife was only eighteen or nineteen years old, they thought of their relatives who had not yet found a wife.

"Village head, I have a relative who is almost twenty years old and still hasn't gotten married. Why don't you talk to my relative?" said a slightly plump woman.

"How is your relative?" someone asked.

"I'm not afraid to be embarrassed when I say this, but he does have some problems, and everyone in the village knows about it. But he's a very hardworking man, and his family has three to five acres of land! He even asked me to be a matchmaker for him, saying a widow would be fine. Isn't the third brother's wife just the right one?" the woman continued.

The head of the village looked at Li Laosan's wife, and Li Laosan's wife quickly nodded.

"Mingde, please help your sister-in-law to sign the divorce agreement. I will send someone to get the Li family to sign it. As long as they agree to divorce, Li Laosan's house can be transferred to Li Laotai." The head of the village turned to Wu Mingde and said.

Wu Mingde nodded quickly, handed the cloth bag in his hand to Li Laosan's wife, and then quickly went home to write the divorce documents.

The village head told Li Laosan's wife that there were several steamed buns inside and asked them to eat them first. Then he asked several women to accompany Li Laosan's wife home and wait.

The Li family were all gentle on the surface but sinister behind the scenes. They certainly wouldn't dare to do anything to the mother and son in front of the villagers. Otherwise, they wouldn't be staying at home and not daring to go out because they beat someone up.

The crowd slowly dispersed, and Wu Minghui held Song Yue's hand and refused to go home with the village head.

The head of the village had no choice but to tell her not to forget the time to go home.

Wu Minghui and Song Lan were playing nearby, while Song Yue, Song Li and others continued to help Song Changsong's family pack wheat.

"Minghui, I heard from my mother that my aunt wants to find a husband for Sister Xiaoyue, and she asked my mother to help introduce her to someone!" Song Lan whispered to Wu Minghui.

Wu Minghui opened her eyes wide in disbelief and asked quietly, "Is this true?"

"It's true. I heard my mother tell my father last night. My mother wanted to introduce my uncle to Sister Xiaoyue, but my father disagreed, saying that it would mess up the generations." Song Lan said seriously.

Seeing that Song Lan did not seem to be lying, Wu Minghui lied that she had forgotten to do something, then hurriedly said goodbye to Song Lan and ran quickly home.

When Wu Minghui returned home, Wu Mingde and the village head had already gone to Old Lady Li's house, leaving Wu Li alone at home.

Mrs. Wu Li looked at Wu Minghui who was pacing in the yard. She smiled and asked, "Minghui, what's wrong with you? Why are you walking back and forth in the yard like an old man?"

Wu Minghui shook her head and said, "Mom, I'm fine. I just like walking."

Mrs. Wu Li always knew her daughter well. She asked again if it was related to Wu Mingde. Wu Minghui quickly covered her mouth and ran away.

Wu Minghui locked herself in the room. She waited and waited, and finally Wu Mingde came back.

"Third brother, I have something to tell you, come here quickly." Wu Minghui leaned on the window and shouted to Wu Mingde in the yard.

After hearing this, Mrs. Wu Li smiled and told Wu Mingde to come over quickly, saying that Wu Minghui had been staying in the room for a long time because she was afraid of being asked about the truth.

Wu Mingde walked over with a smile and asked, "Minghui, what do you want to tell me?"

Wu Minghui motioned Wu Mingde to bend down. She leaned over the window and whispered in Wu Mingde's ear, "Third brother, I heard from Song Lan that Aunt Zhang is arranging a marriage for Xiaoyue. Song Lan's mother wants Xiaoyue to marry Song Lan's uncle! Don't you have a good relationship with Xiaoyue? Please help Xiaoyue to check!"

Wu Mingde did not respond to Wu Minghui. He walked straight to the head of the village and Wu Li, then knelt on the ground and asked Wu Li and the head of the village to propose marriage to the Song family on his behalf.