Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"What is this?" Li Xiangqian muttered to himself, his doubts growing stronger. He picked up a piece of paper and tried to read the contents, but it was too blurry and he could only barely make out some square-like structures.

"Is it a blueprint? Or some kind of record?" He tried hard to think, but he could not piece these clues together into a complete story. He vaguely felt that these things might be related to the recent anomaly in the yard, but he needed more clues to know what it was.

Just as he was lost in thought, he heard a light sound of footsteps behind him. Li Xiangqian turned his head sharply and saw Banggeng standing not far away, looking at him with a complicated expression.

"Bang Geng?" Li Xiangqian frowned, "Why are you here?"

Bang Geng obviously didn't expect to be discovered. His body stiffened for a moment, but he quickly gritted his teeth and said, "I...I saw you go out, so I followed you to check."

Li Xiangqian stared into Banggeng's eyes, trying to read something from his expression. He was silent for a few seconds before he slowly asked, "Do you know this iron box?"

Bang Geng's eyes fell on the iron box on the ground, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes, but he quickly lowered his head and whispered: "I don't know, I was just digging for fun, I have never seen this box."

Li Xiangqian didn't completely believe him, but he didn't press the issue. He sighed, closed the iron box, stood up and said, "Banggeng, this place is very dangerous. Don't come here casually in the future, okay?"

Bang Geng seemed to be frightened by his words and nodded repeatedly: "Got it, Uncle Li."

Li Xiangqian patted Banggeng's shoulder and his tone softened: "Go back, this place is not suitable for you." Then he picked up the iron box and decided to take it back for careful study.

On the way back, Banggeng remained silent, but Li Xiangqian felt that there might be more secrets behind this child's silence. He had to find a way to make Banggeng open up completely, otherwise it would be difficult to dig out the truth.

At this moment, the group of people at the alley suddenly started arguing in low voices. Li Xiangqian barely heard some intermittent conversations, which seemed to mention something about "money" and "transactions". His heartbeat began to speed up, and his intuition told him that there were some unknown secrets hidden in this alley.

Uncle Li glanced at him, a gleam of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. "Look, these people are always doing something shady in secret. Don't you think so? Their transactions are all small-time affairs, completely different from the people you usually meet. If you want to know something, come back someday, and you'll know it sooner or later."

Li Xiangqian had some inexplicable feelings in his heart. He had never been so eager to break the silence and boredom of life as he did now. He had always thought that he was busy and his ordinary days were stable and did not need to be changed. But today, under the guidance of Uncle Li, he suddenly developed a strong curiosity. It seemed that something was leading him to the edge of the unknown.

Li Xiangqian stood at the entrance of the alley, the cold wind gently brushing his cheeks, bringing a hint of chill. His eyes swept across the few people who were arguing in low voices, and then returned to Uncle Li beside him. The old man still stood there leisurely, his eyes narrowed, as if he was enjoying the silence of the moment, rather than paying attention to the undercurrents in the alley.

Li Xiangqian's mood was much more complicated. He wanted to pull Uncle Li away, and he didn't even understand why he followed this mysterious old man around for so long. But when he looked at the old man's calm expression, his inner anxiety was relieved a little. For a long time, his life seemed to be overwhelmed by endless busyness and troubles, and even a moment of peace became a luxury. At this moment, this undisturbed stay made him reluctant to leave.

"Uncle Li, do you really think that there is nothing in this world that can make you anxious?" Li Xiangqian couldn't help but ask, with a bit of confusion in his tone.

Uncle Li turned his head slowly, with a faint smile on his lips, but his tone was still slow and calm: "What's the use of being anxious? No matter how anxious you are, you still have to do things one by one, and take one step at a time. At my age, I know that there is no point in being anxious, so it's better to slow down and see clearly before you speak." As he spoke, he raised his hand, as if pointing to some illusory direction in the distance, "Sometimes, if you stand farther away and look, things will not be so complicated."

Li Xiangqian was stunned. He thought that Uncle Li was just an old man who was bored and always liked to hang around in the yard and the streets, seemingly doing nothing. But today, he suddenly felt that this old man seemed to have an unfathomable wisdom, but no one would pay special attention to it.

"You say it easily, but some things are really not urgent?" Li Xiangqian sighed, his voice low. He thought of the quarrel at home, his wife Li Damei's stubbornness, and Xu Damao's indifference, and his heart suddenly seemed to be blocked by something.

Uncle Li didn't answer, but just smiled meaningfully, took slow steps forward, turned around and called Li Xiangqian to follow.

"Let's go, don't stand here. Since you have something on your mind, find a place to sit down, talk, drink some water, and go back after you have figured it out." Uncle Li's tone carried an irresistible sense of security.

Li Xiangqian hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. He found that he could not resist the old man's proposal, as if the other party could really help him unload the burden in his heart.

The two came to a small teahouse on the corner of the street. Li Xiangqian had been to this place several times. The furnishings were simple and the air was filled with a faint scent of tea. They found a table and sat down. The owner of the teahouse knew Uncle Li and quickly served a pot of hot tea and two coarse porcelain cups.

Li Xiangqian held the teacup, stroking the edge of the cup with his fingers. The hot steam of the tea seemed to dispel some of the chill. He hesitated, not knowing where to start. He looked down at the ripples of the tea, his mind in a mess, thinking about Xu Damao, thinking about Jia Dongxu, and thinking about his wife distributing the grain.

Uncle Li seemed to see through his thoughts. He did not urge him but drank his tea slowly, as if waiting for Li Xiangqian to speak himself.

Finally, Li Xiangqian couldn't help it, sighed, and said, "Uncle Li, what do you say if your family members are always against you?"

Uncle Li raised his eyelids and looked at him calmly, "There is a reason for being stubborn. You have to figure out what she is thinking and why she is stubborn with you." He gently put down the teacup, his voice low and soft, "You always think she is wrong, but she may have her reasons, but you just don't listen to them."