When the pears are green

Chapter 171 Mother and Son

Wu Mingde pushed open the gate of the old house and saw Wu Li standing in the yard, staring at her hands in a daze.

With a call of "Mom", Mrs. Wu Li slowly put down her hands. She turned around and saw Wu Mingde standing at the door looking at her.

Wu Li lowered her eyes and asked softly, "Have they all gone back? Where is your elder sister?"

Wu Mingde sighed and closed the gate. He went to the kitchen and moved two stools to place them next to Wu Li.

"Mom, my eldest sister went to Miss Yang's house first. Let's be frank today. I don't understand why you are pushing my eldest sister so hard. Why do you insist that she marry one of my uncle's or aunt's relatives?" Wu Mingde expressed his doubts. He didn't understand why Wu Li was usually a sensible person, but since Wu Mingshu's divorce, she became more and more confused.

When the relatives of the Li family were mentioned, Wu Li's anger surged up. She thought she was doing this for Wu Mingshu's own good, but she never asked Wu Mingshu what she was thinking.

Wu Li suppressed her anger. She sat on a stool and told Mingde: "Mingde, you can't just blame me. I did this for her own good. I told her about the relatives of the Li family, but I was afraid that others would beat her like Yang Cheng did. As long as I am alive, they have to be careful."

Wu Mingde snorted after hearing this, and Wu Li glared at him.

"Mom, even if my eldest sister gets married there, you won't follow her every day. How do you know whether what they say now is true or false? People's hearts are hidden. Just like the cousin of the nephew of my aunt's family whom you asked my eldest sister to meet two days ago, he beat away all his previous wives. Do you think he can treat my eldest sister well?" Wu Mingde asked, staring into Wu Li's eyes.

Mrs. Wu Li turned her gaze away and said stubbornly that as long as the dowry was large enough, the people over there would naturally not dare to take action.

Wu Mingde smiled and asked Wu Li how much dowry she was going to give to Wu Mingshu.

Mrs. Wu Li stretched out her hand and gestured, five acres of land and eighty taels of silver.

"Mom, all of these add up to only a hundred or so taels of silver, how can we spend them all? If it were me, we should sell our fifty acres of land, and then take out all the savings you and dad have made over the years and give it all to your eldest sister as a dowry, which may keep her safe for five or six years. As for human nature, once a person is raised, how can they be content?" Wu Mingde knew that Wu Li had always been brooding over the marriage of Wu Mingxuan and Lin Chunhong, and the fifty acres of land was a hurdle that Wu Li could not get over.

Wu Li reached out and slapped Wu Mingde's arm. As she slapped him, she muttered, "I told you not to talk nonsense. I told you not to talk nonsense."

They didn't stop until Wu Li's anger subsided.

"Mom, have you calmed down? Don't worry about your eldest sister's marriage. Your second sister-in-law will be back in the next few days, so let her worry about it. She has a good relationship with your eldest sister and will definitely find someone she likes." Wu Mingde stretched out his arms and continued to let Wu Li hit him.

Wu Li pushed him away. She felt like she was about to laugh because of Wu Mingde.

"Let Lin Chunhong take care of it? You are afraid that Mingshu can get married. Well, I don't care. If Mingshu can't get married, you and the second brother will just have to wait and support her. You think I'm not capable of doing this, but I've seen what happens after waiting for Minghui to get married in a few years. Which good family is willing to marry a girl whose elder sister can't get married." The reason why Mrs. Wu Li was so eager to remarry Wu Mingshu was partly for Wu Minghui's sake.

Wu Mingde hurriedly tried to comfort Wu Li: "Mother, you are so confused. Whether Minghui can marry well or not has to do with the ability of me, father and second brother. What does it have to do with eldest sister? Don't you think that second brother runs a shop in the city, I am a scholar, and father is the head of the village? Are you still worried that Minghui can't get married? To put it bluntly, Minghui can choose anyone in town. Mother, children and grandchildren have their own blessings, don't be a slave to them. Spare my eldest sister, and spare yourself."

Wu Li stopped talking, she stood up and said she was going to feed the rabbits. When she reached the wall, she turned around and told Wu Mingde who was still sitting on the stool: "Go pick Mingshu up in a few days. She can't stay at someone else's house all the time. I won't take care of her anymore. I'll let you and the second brother take care of her. You three are all ungrateful."

Wu Mingde quickly agreed. He thought that he would wait until Wu Mingxuan and Lin Chunhong came back with the child before picking up Wu Mingshu. By then, Mrs. Wu Li would focus on the child and would naturally not care about Wu Mingshu's affairs anymore.

Before Wu Mingde could even reach the gate, Wu Li came running over from the backyard and told him, "Xiaoyue's family is going to harvest peanuts tomorrow. You drive the ox cart to help pull them back from the field. Xiaoli and her husband also helped us with Mingshu's matter. You should repay them for their kindness."

"Mom, I understand. I'm just about to go to Xiaoyue's house to call Minghui. If uncle and aunt come back, I will tell them." Wu Mingde quickly agreed. He was very happy that he could spend another day with Song Yue openly.

Wu Li actually understands everything, but is easily blinded by impulse.

Li Yun'an first sent Yang Yu, Yang Jing and Wu Mingshu to the Yang family's house. At the door of the Yang family's house, he asked Wu Mingshu again, regardless of Yang Yu's eyes, whether she would consider going to the Li family to keep Lingling company.

"Thank you Yun'an, I'll stay here with Jing'er. I won't come back when I go to the county town during the Mid-Autumn Festival. I'll go directly to Mingxuan." Wu Mingshu expressed her plan. She wanted to pass the message to Wu Mingde through Li Yun'an. If Wu Mingde knew about it, Wu Li would also know about it.

Li Yun'an nodded. He rejected Yang Yu's invitation to come in for a drink of water and drove the ox cart directly to Li's shop.

Feeling extremely melancholy, Yang Yu knocked on the door carelessly, but no sound came out of his fingers on the door panel.

"Third brother, let me do it. Are you tired?" Yang Jing reached out and pulled Yang Yu aside. She reached out and patted the gate.

Yang Zhang opened the door and her eyes fell on Wu Mingshu's forehead. The uneven scar was particularly glaring in the sunlight.

"Mingshu, come in quickly." Yang Zhang reached out and took the bag from Wu Mingshu's shoulders. She held Wu Mingshu's arm as she walked, telling her not to feel restrained here.

Yang Zhang glanced at the listless Yang Yu. She thought Yang Yu was tired, so she asked Yang Yu to go back to his room to rest.

Yang Yu didn't move and still sat next to Wu Mingshu, wondering what he was thinking.

Yang Zhang had no choice but to turn around and go to the kitchen to ask Yang Jing who was pouring water: "Jing'er, how long does Mingshu plan to stay in our house? If it's a long time, I will prepare a separate room for her."

Yang Jing paused for a moment, and she repeated what Wu Mingshu had said to Li Yun'an.

"Oh, I see. I'll take the water out first." Yang Zhang had an idea in her mind and understood why Yang Yu was so depressed.

Yang Zhang handed the bowls in her hands to Yang Yu and Wu Mingshu respectively, and then said to Yang Jing who had just come out of the kitchen: "Jing'er, I dreamed of your two uncles last night. They both said they missed me. Come with me to see them."

"Mom, okay. When are we going?" Yang Jing asked while drinking water.

Yang Zhang did not answer Yang Jing directly. She smiled and asked Wu Mingshu to help take care of Yang Yu during the two days she was away. She also said that she and Yang Jing would be back on August 14th.

Wu Mingshu looked at the tall Yang Yu and felt that Yang Yu should not need her care.

Yang Zhang felt that Wu Mingshu wanted to refuse, so she hurriedly continued, "Mingshu, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. Although Yu'er is smart, he has always been in poor health. He will get sick if he is overworked. Look, he has become so listless after just going out. His uncle's home is far away, and I dare not let him go with me, for fear that he will get tired on the way."

Forced to be sick, Yang Yu could only continue to sit on the stool and watch how Yang Zhang used emotion and reason to persuade Wu Mingshu.

"Don't worry, Aunt Wu, I will take care of him." Wu Mingshu finally nodded and agreed. She wanted to go directly to Li's house after Yang Jing and Yang Zhang left, but she couldn't leave Yang Yu alone because he was not feeling well. Although it was uncomfortable to be alone at home, it would be fine as long as they stayed in the house and didn't come out.

When Li Yun'an returned to the shop, he met Kai Xin leading a middle-aged man with a goatee to look for Hu Zhimin.

"Master, the master sent someone to ask if the Mid-Autumn Festival will be held as usual?" the middle-aged man asked respectfully.

"As usual, don't be the first to go, and don't be the last to go. Just go with the Liu and Wang families. By the way, send another piece of silk to the ambassador of the Taxation Department. Kai Xin, let Butler Zhang rest in the restaurant for one night and go back early tomorrow morning." After Hu Zhimin gave Kai Xin instructions, he waved his hand and asked Kai Xin to lead Butler Zhang back to the restaurant.

Lingling asked Hu Zhimin curiously: "Zhimin, what are you talking about? Why does it feel so mysterious?"

"It's about giving gifts to the masters in the government office during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Our family may seem wealthy and prosperous, but we are just an ant that is crushed in the hands of those people. Giving money and sex, neither is indispensable." Hu Zhimin wanted to rub Lingling's hair, but because Li Yun'an was staring at him, he took his hand back.

When Lingling saw Li Yun'an coming back, she asked him if he had seen Song Yue and Wu Minghui today.

Li Yun'an nodded and told Lingling about Wu Mingshu. After hearing what happened, Lingling felt very sorry for Wu Mingshu.

Hu Zhimin waited for Li Yun'an and his sister to finish speaking, and then he continued to say to Li Yun'an: "Yun'an, you must study hard. Lingling and I will be counting on you in the future."

"What do you expect from me?" Li Yun'an asked with a smile.

Hu Zhimin tapped his left palm with the fan in his right hand, and then said to Li Yun'an meaningfully: "Of course I hope you can support us so that we will no longer be bullied by those masters. I will go to the Wenchang Temple every month to burn incense and pray to the Emperor Wenchang to bless you to pass the imperial examination. When the time comes, I will donate money to you to get an official position."

Seeing that Hu Zhimin was promising him so much, Li Yun'an decided to try harder.