When the pears are green

Chapter 112: Crushing Field

It was not yet Song Changhe's family's turn to use the threshing ground, so Song Changhe asked Song Li to guard the threshing ground, and the others went with him to the fields to pick up wheat heads.

The north and south sides of the threshing ground were filled with wheat stacks of varying sizes. The villagers were afraid that someone would take advantage of the situation, so there were people guarding the wheat stacks in each household.

The wheat stack of Song Changhe's family was right next to that of Song Changsong's family. After Song Changsong entrusted Song Hui and Song Lan to Song Li, he hurried to the fields with his wife Li Hua.

Song Li used the wooden stick that Song Changhe used to guard the haystack at night to draw a nine-square grid on the ground, preparing to teach Song Hui and Song Lan how to play hopscotch. The three of them jumped back and forth in the nine-square grid, soon attracting several little girls to watch.

After getting the consent of Song Hui and Song Lan, Song Li happily invited the girls to play together, and the children soon started playing together. Song Li sat aside and watched them while cutting straw.

Two men were pulling the roller in the middle of the threshing floor with great effort. After the roller passed by, two women on the side hurriedly used the four-pronged forks in their hands to turn over the wheat on the ground to ensure that every wheat head could be crushed.

It takes two adult men to pull the roller. Families that lack labor will beat the wheat with a flail on the east side of the threshing floor.

After grinding the wheat, the villagers will move it to the west side of the threshing ground. They will first pick out the straw with a four-pronged fork, then use a wooden shovel to pick out the broken straw and broken husks, and finally use a winnowing basket to pick out the impurities in the wheat little by little, and finally carry or transport the wheat in cloth bags back home.

Seeing that there was almost enough straw, Song Li put the scissors into the backpack. She looked at the busy threshing ground with a smile.

Song Lan and a few others were still playing hopscotch, but Song Hui joined the game of "Eagle Catches Chicken".

There was also a group of children following Wu Mingde, who was sent by the village head to maintain order. They laughed and watched how the elegant Wu Mingde dealt with the unreasonable woman.

There was a commotion from the north side of the mill, and someone shouted, "Fighting has begun, fighting has begun."

Wu Mingde walked over with a headache, and the boys followed him and cheered: "Let's go, let's go, let's go and watch the fun."

Song Yue, with a sad face, came over carrying a bag of wheat heads. Song Li hurriedly stepped forward to take the bag and asked Song Yue: "Yueyue, what's wrong?"

"Sister, Dad agreed with Second Grandpa a few days ago that they would grind wheat together this year, but this morning Second Grandma changed her mind and forced Second Grandpa not to work with our family. Dad didn't want to embarrass Second Grandpa, so he swore to Second Grandma that he would never grind wheat with her family. But, our dad can't pull the roller by himself." After Song Yue finished speaking, her brows furrowed even more tightly.

Song Li looked at the wheat stack in front of her family, it should be her turn tomorrow. She couldn't blame Song Tian either, Song Ershun's family and her family were grinding wheat together, and it was Song Ershun who felt sorry for Song Changhe who couldn't pull the roller alone.

"Yueyue, I will go home to replace Qingzhou. Let him come to help dad grind the wheat, and I will go home to water the plants." Song Li quickly came up with a solution. She handed the backpack containing straw and sickle to Song Yue, and asked Song Yue to keep an eye on Song Lan and Song Hui.

Song Yue didn't want Song Li to run back and forth, so she tried to ask: "Sister, if it's me, Dad, Mom and you pulling together, will it work?"

Song Li thought about it in her mind, and she didn't know how to answer Song Yue. Grinding wheat would not be completed in a short time, and she was not sure whether the endurance of three women could match that of an adult man.

Just when Song Li was about to shake her head, Song Changhe, Zhang, and Song Xing came over pushing a cart.

Song Li told Song Changhe about his idea. Song Changhe shook his head and said to Song Li, "Don't let Qingzhou run back and forth. He is less than sixteen years old and needs to water the plants every day. If he is asked to pull the roller, he may not be able to handle it. Dad should ask other people to see if there is anyone who needs to be replaced. We can always find a solution."

"Dad, can I change it?" Song Li asked a little worriedly.

Song Changhe smiled and comforted Song Li, saying, "Of course, there are job changes every year. If I can't find a job change, I will ask your third grandfather and others for help, don't worry."

When Song Li heard Song Changhe mention Song Sanshun, she asked Zhang again: "Mom, is Aunt Changrong about to give birth?"

Zhang looked around and whispered to Song Li, "Xiao Li, your aunt had a miscarriage a while ago, and she hasn't left the house for a while."

"Ah? How could this happen?" Song Li was very surprised. Based on Song Changrong's love for Lianlian, it shouldn't be because of labor.

Zhang sighed, then continued, "Who knows, it just happened all of a sudden."

After hearing this, Song Li stopped talking. She helped Song Yue and Song Xing dump the wheat heads on the cart next to the haystack.

Seeing that Song Xing was free, Song Hui and Song Lan ran over and pestered Song Xing to continue teaching them how to count leaves.

Song Xing happily ran to the willow tree beside the threshing ground. He stood on tiptoe and broke off a few willow branches, then counted the leaves on it with Song Hui and Song Lan.

"One", "two", "three"... "Fifty", Song Hui and Song Lan counted loudly together.

Song Changsong and Li Hua, who had just returned from work, happily looked at the two children who were counting seriously in front of them. Li Hua thought of what she had heard from others. She whispered to Song Changsong for a few words, then smiled and walked towards Zhang: "Sister-in-law, I heard from others that Changsong and I have agreed to let Changsong help you when the time comes."

Zhang looked at Song Changhe who was standing by, and Song Changhe asked hesitantly, "Sister-in-law, how is Changsong's hand?"

"Brother, my hand only suffered a superficial injury and it has healed long ago. We had a meal at Xiaoli's house after returning from our labor service. We can never forget the kindness of this meal." Song Changsong hurriedly replied after hearing Song Changhe's words.

When Song Changhe heard Song Changsong say this, he smiled and agreed.

Song Yue took out two colorful ropes from her bag and handed them to Li Hua. She told Li Hua that she had made them last night. People in the town would let the children wear colorful ropes on the Dragon Boat Festival to ward off evil spirits and avoid plague. These two ropes were given to Song Hui and Song Lan, so that they could wear them on the Dragon Boat Festival for good luck.

"Just accept it. This is Xiaoyue's gift." Song Changsong said with a smile to Li Hua who was looking at him.

Li Hua always listened to Song Changsong. She hurriedly took the colorful rope and thanked Song Yue again.

Song Li smiled and asked everyone to go home and rest first. She and Song Yue continued to stay in the threshing ground to guard the wheat stacks of the two families.

Song Li asked Song Yue for two colorful ropes. She wanted to give them to Jiang Qingzhou and Jiang Qingye when she returned, as a small gift for them.

"Sister, the rope I weave is not suitable for your brother-in-law. Why don't I teach you, and then you can weave it yourself and give it to your brother-in-law." After Song Yue finished speaking, she took out the colored rope that Lingling gave her from her bag, and began to teach Song Li how to weave the colorful rope.

The threshing ground gradually became deserted, and the girls who used to guard the haystacks were almost all replaced by young men.

Wu Mingde, who had been engaged in a day-long verbal battle with others, slumped in a chair not far away. From time to time, he looked at the Song Li sisters who were weaving colorful ropes, and then glanced at the two young men who were peeking their heads out not far away.

"Why doesn't he leave yet? Isn't he going home for dinner? Won't the head of the village send someone to look for his precious son?" the thin young man said a little impatiently.

"Why should we be afraid of him? The Wu family has no right to interfere in the affairs of the Song family. If we have to be afraid, we should be afraid of Song Li. We are not doing anything bad. We are just asking if Song Yue is willing to marry you. What's the big deal?" Another thinner young man muttered in a low voice.

The thin young man thought it made sense, and he walked towards the Song Li sisters with courage. But after just a few steps, he saw Song Changhe coming from the east side of the threshing ground with his bedding in his arms, and he hurriedly hid behind a haystack.

"You guys should go back soon." Song Changhe said to the Song Li sisters.

"Dad, we understand." Song Li glanced at Song Changhe. She put the newly woven colorful rope into her bag, then pulled Song Yue out of the threshing ground.

Wu Mingde also stood up, walked out from another direction, and quickly caught up with the Song Li sisters.

The thin young man looked angrily at Wu Mingde who was walking with the Song Li sisters. He encouraged himself and ran up to the three of them.

Song Li and the other two stopped and looked at the red-faced young man in front of them.

The young man rubbed his face, opened his mouth and was about to speak, but he saw Song Yue holding a colorful rope and wanting to pass it to Wu Mingde. He was unsure of the relationship between the two, so he laughed out loud, then turned and walked away whistling.

Song Li looked back at this strange young man and asked Song Yue, "Does Yueyue know him?"

Song Yue shook her head, and Wu Mingde, who got the colorful rope, also shook his head.

Wu Mingde was afraid that the young people would continue to pester him, so he sent the Song Li sisters to the door of the Song family before going home.

The next afternoon, it was finally Song Changhe's family's turn to use the threshing floor.

The five members of the Song family and Song Changsong, Song Sanshun and Song Changrong spread the wheat around the roller. Song Changhe, Song Changsong, Song Sanshun and Song Changrong took turns pulling the roller back and forth.

Song Li and Zhang used four-pronged forks to turn the wheat back and forth. After an hour, all the five acres of wheat of the Song family were finally threshed.

Wu Mingde, who had little experience in farm work, also helped the Song family move the crushed wheat to the west side of the threshing ground. He used the wooden shovel in an unskilled manner, causing dust to fly everywhere.

Zhang hurriedly took the wooden shovel from Wu Mingde's hand and asked Wu Mingde to go aside and rest first.

Wu Mingde patted the dirt off his body embarrassedly. He stood aside and held the cloth bag with Song Xing.

The village head who had just arrived at the threshing ground looked at the dusty Wu Mingde with some disbelief. He said to Wu Lishi beside him, "It is said that when a girl grows up, she cannot be kept. The same is true for a boy. Look at him. When has he ever helped us with any work?"

Mrs. Wu Li was not averse to the Song family. She knew that Song Xing and Song Li's brothers-in-law were both studying. She also knew that Song Yue was a good hand at housework. She also knew that it was difficult to marry into a wealthy family, so she was happy to see this marriage come to fruition.

"Boss, by the time we grind wheat, he will be skilled enough to do it. Then let him do more work." Mrs. Wu Li's words made the head of the village, who was still angry, laugh.