Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

When he reached the corner of the street, he decided to go to the vegetable market. Today, there were only some cabbages and radishes left at home, and he wanted to buy some decent vegetables to take back. In the crowded market, all kinds of hawking sounds were heard. Li Xiangqian shuttled through the crowd with a cloth bag, and his mood finally improved a little.

"Cuihua likes tofu, I'll buy some more." He squatted in front of a stall and picked a piece of white and tender tofu. When the boss was busy weighing it, he suddenly heard a familiar and unexpected voice: "Xiang Qian, is that you?"

Li Xiangqian froze, his fingers clenched around the bag. He slowly raised his head and saw a woman in a sky blue dress standing not far away, with a hint of surprise and uncertainty on her face. It was her, and Li Xiangqian's heart sank - Liu Yulan, his ex-girlfriend.

"Magnolia..." He stood up and managed to squeeze out two words.

Liu Yulan walked over quickly, stood in front of him, looked him up and down, with some complicated emotions in her eyes: "It's really you, I didn't expect to meet you here."

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Li Xiangqian's face, and he nodded: "Yeah, what a coincidence. How...are you doing recently?"

"Not bad." Liu Yulan smiled, her voice calm but a little distant, "How about you? I heard that you got married later. Are you living well?"

Li Xiangqian didn't know how to answer. If he said yes, his recent life was obviously not satisfactory; if he said no, he didn't want to look embarrassed in front of her. He hesitated for a few seconds and managed to squeeze out a sentence: "It's okay, but life is not always smooth."

"That's right," Liu Yulan nodded and lowered her eyes. "I didn't expect time to pass so quickly. So many years have passed in a flash."

The atmosphere was a bit dull for a while. Li Xiangqian didn't know what to say. He could only lower his head and touch the cloth bag in his hand. His mind couldn't help but think of the past. He and Liu Yulan had a good time. At that time, they were both young, idealistic and courageous. But later, due to various pressures of reality, they gradually drifted apart and finally broke up peacefully.

Liu Yulan seemed to sense that something was wrong with the atmosphere. She looked up at him and suddenly asked, "Are you here to buy groceries today to cook for your family?"

"Well, buy some vegetables for my wife." Li Xiangqian nodded, with a hint of deliberate indifference in his tone.

"You... are fine." Liu Yulan's eyes flickered, with a faint smile on her lips, "Then I won't bother you anymore. Let's talk again some other time when we have a chance."

Li Xiangqian nodded, feeling relieved: "Okay, take care of yourself too."

After the two said goodbye, Li Xiangqian stood there in a daze for a while, until the stall owner next to him called him: "Hey, the tofu is ready, take it." Then he came to his senses and quickly took the tofu and put it in the bag.

On the way home, he was in a mixed mood, and the scene just now kept replaying in his mind. He didn't expect to meet Liu Yulan in such a situation, and he didn't expect that he would be so unprepared for her appearance. He tried to shake off those thoughts, telling himself that these were all things in the past. Now he has a family, children, and responsibilities, and he can no longer be distracted by irrelevant people and things.

When he got home, Wang Cuihua was busy in the kitchen. When she saw him come in, she casually asked, "What did you buy?"

"Tofu and some greens." Li Xiangqian put the bag on the stove and looked at her busy back. He suddenly felt a little guilty. The panic he had felt on the street just now turned into an apology to the woman in front of him.

"Why did you come back so late today?" Wang Cuihua turned her head and looked at him. There was no blame in her tone, just a casual question.

"I met an acquaintance on the road and chatted for a while." Li Xiangqian answered casually.

"Oh, who is it?" Wang Cuihua said as she picked up the tofu and skillfully cut it into small pieces.

"Just an...old friend." Li Xiangqian lowered his voice. For some reason, he didn't want Wang Cuihua to know about Liu Yulan.

During dinner, Li Xiangqian ate silently, feeling a little confused. He looked up at Wang Cuihua and found that there was no special expression on her face, she was still gentle and calm. He suddenly felt that his past dissatisfaction and irritability seemed particularly childish.

"Cuihua..." he spoke in a low voice.

"What's wrong?" Wang Cuihua looked up at him with a hint of concern in her eyes.

"It's okay, I just... I feel like you've had a hard time lately, and I'll try to change my temper." He spoke slowly, but his tone was sincere.

Wang Cuihua was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, as long as you can figure it out. Although our family is a little bit poor, as long as the family is harmonious, we can always get by."

Li Xiangqian pushed open the slightly old wooden door and walked into a small shop. The shop was not big, and the space was filled with a faint smell of dust. The sun shone through the small window and shone on the pile of sundries on the counter. As he closed the door, he looked around to make sure no one was following him.

"Huh..." He let out a long breath, stood against the door frame for a while, and then slowly walked to a small chair in the corner and sat down. He was in a mess, as if a thousand ants were running around in his chest. The unexpected encounter with Liu Yulan just now was like an invisible sharp blade that cut open his past memories, and now, he just wanted to find a place to hide quietly.

This shop was opened by an acquaintance, mainly selling daily necessities and old books. He and the boss had known each other for a long time, and although they were not very close, they were at least acquaintances. There was no one in the shop at the moment, only a few books and a few enamelware pots scattered on the counter, making it seem deserted and quiet.

The boss came out from the small room at the back and was a little surprised to see Li Xiangqian: "Hey, Xiangqian, why are you here? What are you looking for?"

"Old Cheng, I'll just sit there for a while." Li Xiangqian forced a smile, but his expression couldn't hide his fatigue.

Old Cheng squinted his eyes and looked at him for a while. He didn't ask any more questions, but just nodded: "Okay, sit as long as you want. Anyway, there is not much business recently."

Li Xiangqian murmured "hmm" and stared at the floor in silence. He couldn't really explain why he came here, but he was very flustered and felt that he couldn't face Wang Cuihua and the children if he went home, so he simply found a place to hide temporarily.

"You don't look well today. Did something happen in the factory?" Old Cheng sat down opposite him with a cup of tea, his tone containing some concern.

"Nothing." Li Xiangqian shook his head, and then he spoke again as if he couldn't help himself, "It's just that there have been too many things going on recently, and my mind is very confused."

Old Cheng nodded, and instead of asking further questions, he changed the subject: "Would you like some tea? I just brought it home. Although it's not the best tea, it's enough to quench your thirst."