When the pears are green

Chapter 136 Self-knowledge

"Qingzhou, let's go back. The remaining bean sprouts are not easy to sell. Instead of wasting time here, we might as well go home and fry them." Song Li put the bamboo basket of bean sprouts into the backpack beside her, then tilted her head to look at Jiang Qingzhou.

Jiang Qingzhou saw Song Li frowning, and knew that Song Li was worried. He nodded, put the scale and the wooden board for the backpack into his backpack, and left the market with Song Li.

When the two of them walked to the stone tablet of Heihe Town, Jiang Qingzhou broke off a few hanging willow branches from the willow tree beside the road. He weaved the branches into a willow wreath and put it on Song Li's head. The size was just right.

"It will be cooler this way." Jiang Qingzhou looked at Song Li again and again and nodded with satisfaction.

Song Li reached out and touched the willow wreath on her head, then asked with a smile: "Qingzhou, why don't you weave one for yourself?"

"I'm a man and I'm not afraid of the sun. Let's go quickly. Once the sun rises above our heads, it will be very hot." Jiang Qingzhou said, urging Song Li to hurry up.

Song Li picked up a few willow branches and tried to make a willow circle for Jiang Qingzhou. She saw that the willow leaves on the branches were almost ripped off, but she still failed.

Jiang Qingzhou looked at Song Li's depressed expression. He reached out and took the willow branch from Song Li's hand. He twisted it a few times with his hands and made a willow ring.

"I'm the worst at making things." Song Li complained about herself, then took the willow wreath and tiptoed to put it on Jiang Qingzhou's head.

The two of them smiled and turned into the small road leading to Jiangjia Village and soon arrived home.

After Jiang Qingye helped Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou take off their backpacks, he showed Jiang Qingzhou the bamboo tips he had sharpened.

Jiang Qingzhou took it in his hand and looked at it carefully. He smiled and praised Jiang Qingye for his good work. He also said that next time they go fishing, he would let Jiang Qingye be responsible for the Kongming fishing.

Jiang Qingye was very happy, and he helped Song Li clean the basket. Song Li took the bamboo basket into the kitchen, poured the bean sprouts into a ceramic basin, washed them, and prepared to fry them for lunch.

In the afternoon, Song Li sat in the yard and studied the dried fish intestines. She first hammered the fish intestines several times with a piece of green brick left over from yesterday, and then slowly tore them into thin strips.

After smelling the fishy smell, the two cats hurriedly ran to Song Li, meowing and wanting to eat the fish intestines in Song Li's hand.

Song Li took out two thin threads and threw them on the ground. The two cats chewed them for a while without any interest, then ran away without looking back.

"Xiao Li, is this right?" Jiang Qingzhou, who came out of the kitchen and saw Song Li slowly tearing the fish intestines, couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know if it's right or not. I won't know until I try. Since I can't meet Constable Chen, I can only try it myself. Fortunately, fish intestines are not rare." Song Li shook her head and answered Jiang Qingzhou.

Song Li tore the fish intestines slowly, and then asked Jiang Qingzhou to help polish the branch.

Jiang Qingzhou took out a dagger and carefully scraped the bark on the branch. He then told Song Li what happened at the market today.

"Qingzhou, do you think what the old man did was right?" Song Li was still tearing the fish intestines. She turned her head and asked Jiang Qingzhou.

Jiang Qingzhou put the dagger aside, first knocked off the bark on his clothes, and then answered Song Li: "I don't think it's right. We can't just pursue our ideals and ignore the most important issue, which is how to live. Xiaoli also saw it today. The old man looked like he was in his 50s, but the old woman looked like she was in her 60s. It shows how much life has tormented her. If a man can't take care of his family and only cares about himself, what's the use of him?"

Song Li didn't expect that Jiang Qingzhou, as an "ancient man", would have such an open-minded idea. She put the fish intestines in her hand into the basket, and then asked Jiang Qingzhou: "What if the old man has real talent and he just feels that his talent is not appreciated, so he keeps taking exams to prove his strength."

"Xiao Li said that you have talent but are not appreciated, so why don't you use this talent to support your family first? When your family financial situation improves, you will naturally have more opportunities to prove yourself. Instead of turning a deaf ear to the world outside the window and focusing on reading books of sages. And not only knowing the classics, history, and literature, but not caring about the daily necessities of life." After Jiang Qingzhou finished speaking, he looked at Song Li with an expression that seemed to be seeking praise.

Song Li stood up with a smile. She walked behind Jiang Qingzhou, laid on his back and said with a smile: "There is a saying that is particularly suitable for describing Qingzhou. When a man has been away for three days, he should be treated with new eyes."

Jiang Qingzhou smiled and held Song Li's hand, then turned around and told Song Li: "Xiao Li knows everything, how dare I just be a fool."

"Where did you see all this?" Song Li asked curiously.

"It's very hard to learn from the books left by the old gentleman and Qingye's books. Xiaoli, won't you reward me?" Jiang Qingzhou looked at Song Li with an aggrieved expression.

Song Li reached out and rubbed Jiang Qingzhou's cheek and asked, "What reward do you want?"

Jiang Qingzhou turned around with a smile. He did not answer Song Li's question, but directly carried Song Li on his back.

"Don't let the cat eat my fish intestines." When Song Li realized that Jiang Qingzhou wanted to go to the east room, she hurriedly patted Jiang Qingzhou's shoulder and shouted.

Jiang Qingzhou kicked the door open, put Song Li on the bed and said with a smile, "It's okay, we're going fishing tomorrow, there's plenty of fish intestines."

Jiang Qingzhou lay beside Song Li and asked, "Xiao Li kept asking me, but you didn't say what you thought."

Song Li didn't expect Jiang Qingzhou to still remember this matter. She rested her head on Jiang Qingzhou's arm and whispered, "He who knows others is wise, and he who knows himself is enlightened. That old man should know himself. If his knowledge is not up to par, why bother to persist? I heard from my second sister-in-law before that a Heihe town can only pass the exam to become a scholar every three years, which is like thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge, and most of them fall into the water. Useless persistence is a burden, so it is better to give up early and seek other ways out. Scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, if you can't be a scholar, there are still farmers, merchants and artisans."

"I think what Xiaoli said is right. We should really let Qingye and Xiaoxing come and listen to our discussion. It will not do them any harm if they know early that studying is not a matter of rote learning." Jiang Qingzhou touched Song Li's hair. He thought of the hibiscus flower in Song Yue's hair. He wanted to buy one for Song Li when he had the chance to go to the county town.

The two of them did not plan to take a nap. After making some noise, they went back to the yard to do their own things.

Song Li walked into the yard and looked at the two cats that had returned with annoyance. They were lying on the ground and lazily chewing the fish intestines that they had dragged out of the basket.

"Let's dry it tomorrow." Jiang Qingzhou comforted Song Li softly, and Song Li slapped the culprit lightly.

Jiang Qingzhou smiled and held Song Li's hand, asking her to sit aside and watch him work.

Jiang Qingzhou was like a hardworking little bee. He first peeled all the branches and then made twelve Kongming fishing rods.

Song Li sat with her chin in her hand in the sunset, watching Jiang Qingzhou busying around. After Jiang Qingzhou finished the last Kongming fishing line, he smiled and asked, "Xiao Li, do you think our meeting was accidental or inevitable?"

The afterglow of the setting sun fell on Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou. Song Li smiled and looked at Jiang Qingzhou, whose hair was shining with golden light, and then whispered, "Of course it is inevitable. There is no accident in history. Accident is equivalent to Liu Xiaozhu and Li Sanlang dying a few years early, and He Liuhun burning the reed marsh in the Battle of Shayuan. So, that is just a hypothesis. All encounters in the world are inevitable in the wheel of history, and the same is true for you and me."

After Song Li finished speaking, they both laughed. The sunset, the evening breeze, the returning birds, and the lovers formed a beautiful picture.