Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"The money issue must be resolved, otherwise nothing can be done next. There can't be any more mistakes on the boss's side. I have to go there early tomorrow and try to make up for today's losses." He thought so and felt a little more at ease.

About half an hour later, He Yuzhu came back. As soon as he entered the room, he looked apologetic: "Xiang Qian, I asked a few acquaintances, but they are not well off, and can only get a few dozen yuan at most. Do you think this little money can help me out in an emergency?"

Li Xiangqian took the small change He Yuzhu handed over, feeling mixed emotions. He knew He Yuzhu had done his best, but the money was just a drop in the bucket for his current predicament. He forced a smile and said, "Thank you, Yuzhu. I'll take the money first and think of other ways later."

He Yuzhu nodded and patted his shoulder: "Don't be too stressed. No matter how difficult the days are, you can get through them. If it really doesn't work, I'll think of other ways to help you."

After Li Xiangqian came out of He Yuzhu's house, the sky had darkened slightly. The street lights gradually lit up, illuminating the street brightly but also a little deserted. He was walking on the way home, but his heart was full of emotions. Although he tried to calm himself down, the pressure of life and the current predicament made him unable to relax anyway.

Just as he reached the entrance of the alley, he heard someone calling his name not far away: "Xiang Qian, are you back?"

He looked up and saw Jia Zhang standing in front of the door. She was holding a broom and seemed to have just come out to get some fresh air after cleaning the yard. Li Xiangqian nodded at her and forced a smile: "Yeah, I just came back."

Jia Zhang took two steps forward, frowning, and complained, "Xiang Qian, the cockroaches in your house have crawled over to my side again. The rice jars in our house have been almost completely eaten up these past few days. Don't you have to think of a solution?"

Li Xiangqian was immediately annoyed when he heard this. He knew about this matter. There were indeed more cockroaches in the house recently. He wanted to deal with them when he had time, but he had lost his wallet and didn't have the energy to take care of these trivial matters. Now that Jia Zhang had said this to him, he felt even more helpless.

He forced a smile and said, "Auntie, don't worry. I've been thinking about solving this problem these past two days. How about this, I'll go buy some medicine tomorrow, and when I come back we can use it together and solve this problem."

Jia Zhang curled her lips, obviously not satisfied: "You have said it several times in the past two days, but you have not made any move. Okay, this time it depends on your actions."

Li Xiangqian responded with a few words and hurried home. After entering the house, he slumped down in a chair and rubbed his temples with his hands. He felt a severe headache. The lights in the house were dim, and the sundries piled in the corners made the whole house seem even narrower. He swept his eyes across the corners of the room and saw a few cockroaches quickly crawling through the gaps on the edge of the floor.

"These days are becoming more and more difficult." He sighed and swore secretly in his heart that he must solve this matter tomorrow no matter what, otherwise Jia Zhang would not let him go easily.

The next morning, Li Xiangqian got up earlier than usual. He packed up and went straight to the small market. The money he borrowed from He Yuzhu was a small amount. He held the money in his hand, and his heart felt heavy as if he was carrying a stone.

The market was already bustling with the shouts of vendors. He searched for a long time and finally saw a stall selling cockroach medicine in a corner. The stall owner was a middle-aged man who was recommending medicine to a customer.

Li stepped forward and asked, "Boss, how much is this cockroach medicine?"

The boss looked up at him, then picked up a small packet and handed it to him: "This is the most effective, ten yuan a packet, it will definitely work after one use."

Li Xiangqian took it and looked at it, but he was thinking in his heart: "Ten yuan for a bag, this is too expensive. I have to save this little money to buy vegetables, and I have to find a way to pay back Yu Zhu later..." He frowned and asked, "Is there anything cheaper?"

The boss smiled, put down the medicine in his hand, and took out a pack from under the stall: "We have cheaper ones, this one is five dollars, but the effect is not as good, you have to use it more often."

Li Xiangqian hesitated for a moment, but finally chose the five-dollar bill. He took out the crumpled note and handed it over, laughing at himself: "As a grown man, he has to be so careful with money even when buying cockroach medicine. He is such a loser."

After returning home with the cockroach medicine, Li Xiangqian immediately started cleaning. He carefully sprinkled the powder in the corners of the kitchen, under the cabinets, and in the cracks of the wall, sweating profusely. After spreading the medicine, he stood in the kitchen and looked at the results of his labor, feeling a little satisfied: "At least, this time, Jia Zhang will be quiet for a while."

After finishing his work, he was about to sit down and take a rest when Jia Zhang's voice came from outside the door again: "Xiang Qian, did you buy the medicine? Did you use it?"

Li Xiangqian quickly opened the door and said with a smile, "Auntie, it's working. I've sprinkled the medicine all over the kitchen and several corners of the house. You won't see cockroaches in a few days."

Jia Zhang nodded, her expression softened a little: "Okay, let's see how it works. If it doesn't work, don't blame me for going to the streets to seek justice!"

Li Xiangqian nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, Auntie, we can definitely solve it this time!"

After watching Jia Zhang leave, Li Xiangqian leaned against the door frame and sighed deeply. He looked up at the sky, but felt lost in his heart: "These trivial matters may seem simple, but why do they make me feel so tired? Is this how I have to endure day by day?"

Li Xiangqian walked into the yard, his mind still occupied by those troubles, and his footsteps unconsciously moved towards the pond. The pond is part of his backyard, and he rarely pays attention to it. The water in the pond has become turbid, with moss and water plants intertwined, and occasionally a few tadpoles can be seen swimming in the water. The side of the pond is full of weeds, almost covering the originally clean water surface. Despite this, this place always gives people a sense of tranquility, making people unconsciously want to stop and empty themselves.

He approached the pond, and suddenly, a frog jumped up from the water, fell into the water with a splash, and splashed a circle of water. Li Xiangqian was slightly stunned, and his eyes were involuntarily attracted by the frog. The frog jumped very vigorously, and seemed to be enjoying the peaceful life in the pond. Its skin was dark green, with some spots on its back, and its eyes were large and bright, giving people a sense of presence that could not be ignored.