Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"You look so serious, as if you are preparing for a banquet." He Yuzhu stood aside and watched, and couldn't help but teased.

Li Xiangqian smiled, his tone revealing a bit of seriousness: "This is the most sumptuous meal I've had recently, so of course I have to be serious about it."

He Yuzhu's smile faded slightly after hearing this. He didn't say anything else, but just nodded, seeming to be deeply touched by Li Xiangqian's seriousness.

Everything was ready. Li Xiangqian lit the stove and boiled a pot of water. After the water boiled, he added slices of ginger, scallions and peppercorns. Suddenly, a fragrance filled the air. He took a deep breath and felt that the fragrance carried a long-lost warmth.

"Almost done." He whispered to himself and poured the cleaned shrimp into the pot. As soon as the shrimp entered the water, the originally blue-gray shell immediately began to turn red, a layer of fine foam emerged on the water surface, and the aroma of the shrimp gradually became stronger.

He Yuzhu stood aside, looking at the shrimps in the pot, and couldn't help swallowing his saliva: "Okay, Xiang Qian, your cooking skills are not worse than mine."

Li Xiangqian smiled and shook his head: "Don't laugh at me, my skills are not good enough in front of you."

He Yuzhu laughed and suddenly asked, "Can you finish all these shrimps by yourself? Do you want me to help you?"

Li Xiangqian was stunned for a moment, then realized that he was joking, so he smiled and replied: "I won't bother you today, I will definitely treat you to a meal next time."

As the two chatted, the shrimps in the pot were cooked. Li Xiangqian turned off the fire, scooped out the shrimps with a colander, and put them in a large bowl. The bright red shrimp shells shone with an oily luster under the light, and the aroma was so fragrant that people couldn't help but pick up their chopsticks immediately.

He walked to the table with the shrimps in his hand and put the bowl down, feeling a sense of satisfaction. This bowl of shrimps was not just a meal, but more like a reward for his hard work. He sat down, peeled a shrimp, put it in his mouth, and the tenderness of the shrimp meat made him squint his eyes involuntarily.

"It smells so good." He whispered, his tone full of satisfaction.

He Yuzhu stood aside, looking at Li Xiangqian's appearance, grinning: "Eat and enjoy. I'll go back first, call me if you need anything."

Li Xiangqian nodded, and as he watched He Yuzhu leave, he suddenly felt a little emotional. He knew that although He Yuzhu liked to joke, he was actually a warm-hearted person. However, he was not sure whether this enthusiasm could be preserved in the complex interpersonal relationships in the courtyard.

Li Xiangqian's recent mood is like a taut string that will break if you apply a little force. He himself doesn't know why, but he always feels blocked in his heart, as if there is an invisible pressure pressing on his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe. Every time he encounters something unpleasant, he can't help but lose his temper. Even some trivial things can make him so angry that his face turns blue.

This morning, he was preparing to clean up the debris piled in the yard. Just as he picked up the broom, he heard Liu Daqiang's loud voice coming from next door: "Hey, Xiang Qian, you have been very angry recently. I heard that you had a quarrel with He Yuzhu yesterday?"

Li Xiangqian frowned, and suddenly he was furious. He stood up straight and replied coldly: "You are well-informed. You can even hear such a small thing."

Liu Daqiang chuckled, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone: "This yard is so small, if anyone makes any noise, everyone will know about it. Don't mind it, I just said it casually."

Li Xiangqian suppressed his unhappiness, ignored him, and turned around to continue sweeping the floor. But his hands were shaking slightly because he was using too much force, and the broom made a harsh sound when it rubbed against the ground. Liu Daqiang's words were like a thorn in his heart, making him unable to calm down.

"Can't these people keep quiet?" Li Xiangqian cursed inwardly. He knew that people in the yard loved to gossip, but he had been too sensitive recently. He always felt that everyone's eyes were filled with an inexplicable meaning, as if they were examining him, or waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

After sweeping the floor, he sat on the steps at the door of his house, lit a cigarette, and took a deep puff. The smoke slowly dissipated in the air, but his thoughts became more and more confused. He thought about Liu Daqiang, those gossipers in the yard, and even Yi Zhonghai's affairs came to his mind.

"What happened to Master Yi?" He asked himself in a low voice, with a hint of fatigue in his tone. Ever since the anonymous letter appeared, the atmosphere in the entire courtyard has become weird. Some people secretly discuss, some deliberately keep silent, and some people like Liu Daqiang, openly or secretly stir up trouble.

Thinking of this, Li Xiangqian's emotions began to get agitated again. He put out his cigarette, stood up and paced back and forth in the yard, feeling irritated as if there was a fire burning in his heart. He felt that he couldn't go on like this, and he had to do something to divert his attention.

"Why don't I go out for a walk?" He whispered to himself, then picked up his coat by the door and walked out of the yard.

The wind on the street was a little cold, and it sobered him up when it blew on his face. He walked aimlessly along the street, but his heart was still restless. He thought of a series of bad things that had happened recently: the food at home was almost gone, he had no idea about Yi Zhonghai's affairs, and even his temper had been getting worse and worse.

"What went wrong?" he asked himself, but he couldn't find the answer.

As he walked, he stopped unconsciously in front of a familiar snack stand. This was a place he often came to before. The stall owner was a middle-aged man with good cooking skills, especially the bowl of steaming hot noodle soup, which always made him feel a little comforted.

"Xiang Qian, I haven't seen you for a long time." The stall owner greeted with a smile, and there was a hint of familiarity in his tone.

Li Xiangqian forced a smile and nodded: "I've been busy lately, so I came here to have a quick bite today."

The stall owner smiled and nodded, and began to prepare the noodles quickly. Li Xiangqian found a corner and sat down, crossed his hands on the table, his eyes fixed on the boiler next to the stall, but his thoughts had already drifted away.

He recalled the days when he lived in the countryside with his parents when he was a child. Although they were poor at that time, there were no complicated interpersonal relationships like today, and no such ubiquitous pressure. He felt that he seemed to have changed and was becoming less and less recognizable to himself.

"Your noodles are here." The stall owner's voice interrupted his thoughts, and a bowl of steaming hot soup noodles was placed in front of him.

"Thank you." Li Xiangqian whispered, picked up his chopsticks and started eating noodles. The soup still tasted delicious, and the noodles were chewy, but his mood did not improve. He ate slowly, as if he was stalling for time, not wanting to go back to the courtyard that made him feel depressed.