Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

Li Xiangqian was silent for a while, with a complex emotion in his heart. He knew that Aunt Zhou was not someone who liked to rely on others. She usually took care of herself and lived a relatively independent life. But now, the situation is obviously different. Food is no longer the simplest need in everyone's daily life, but has become an invisible competition between each other. And this kind of competition is very likely to cause deeper suspicion and anxiety.

He sighed: "Yes, there is indeed not much left at home. I have been a little anxious these days. What... can you do to help me?" There was a hint of tentativeness in his tone, and he wanted to get some hints from Aunt Zhou's attitude.

Aunt Zhou did not respond immediately, but slowly handed him the basket and whispered, "I'll give you some rice to last for a few days. After all, we are all neighbors, so we should help each other, right?"

Li Xiangqian looked at the basket in her hand, his heart moved slightly, and the moment he took the basket, his fingertips trembled slightly. He suddenly remembered the bag of chestnuts just now, and those countless similar actions - there always seemed to be too many opportunities for "mutual assistance" in life, but behind these opportunities, few people can really see each other's true colors.

"Thank you." He said briefly, but his heart felt indescribably heavy.

"You're welcome." Aunt Zhou nodded slightly, smiling, but there was no warmth in her eyes. "We have taken care of each other over the years, so there is no need to be polite. Now, whoever can hold on, we all have to work together."

Li Xiangqian watched Aunt Zhou leave, his eyes once again falling on the bag of chestnuts on the table. The anxiety seemed to have been unable to dissipate, but became even more severe. Even these chestnuts still lingered in his mind. Could it be that even the rice brought by Aunt Zhou could be used as a means of exchange, and was there some unknown mystery behind it?

Li Xiangqian stood at the door, watching Aunt Zhou's back disappear into the night. His eyes were a little blurry, but his heart was full of turmoil. Aunt Zhou's words echoed in his ears again and again: "We have taken care of each other over the years, and there is no need to be polite. Now, whoever can hold on, we all have to work together."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling the coolness in the air and the pervasive sense of oppression. After turning around and closing the door, the warmth in the room instantly enveloped him, but he could not find a moment of peace in his heart.

"Work together?" Li Xiangqian smiled bitterly, his eyes flashing with coldness. As he walked back into the house, he muttered, "If everyone really worked together, things wouldn't have turned out like this."

The chestnut bag on the table was still quietly placed there, the bag slightly open, and the aroma of chestnuts was still strong. Li Xiangqian stared at the bag of chestnuts unconsciously, and an inexplicable anger suddenly rose in his heart. He knew that these chestnuts were not simple.

"I just want to pretend to be innocent and caring, and use these things to gain other people's trust." Li Xiangqian's lips moved slightly, as if he was talking to an invisible enemy. "I knew there would be no problem."

He walked to the table and grabbed the bag, with an impulse in his heart. He wanted to see what secrets were hidden behind it, and even wanted to throw all the chestnuts on the ground to see if he could find any clues from it.

However, reason finally prevailed. He stopped, took a deep breath, and his eyes became firm. Li Xiangqian understood that he could not make an impulsive decision based on an uneasy intuition. At this moment, his mind became clearer. He could feel that the situation he was in was completely different from before. The shortage of food had made everyone's nerves extremely sensitive, and the trade-offs and calculations involved became extremely complicated.

"I need to think about it again." Li Xiangqian said in a low voice, and when his eyes swept across the chestnut bag, he suddenly made a decision.

He did not take out the chestnuts immediately, but carefully put the bag back on the table. He began to think over and over again, constantly pondering everything that happened today. Aunt Zhou's arrival, with her seemingly kind care, actually concealed some disturbing hints. He was already very clear that Aunt Zhou's intentions were definitely not simple.

"Since she is willing to come and give me rice, then what exactly does she want?" Li Xiangqian asked himself.

Obviously, Aunt Zhou was not the kind of person who would do good unconditionally, and she must have her own calculations. This thought made Li Xiangqian suddenly understand - Aunt Zhou seemed to want to help him, but in fact she wanted to get something in return from him.

"Reward?" Li Xiangqian repeated the word softly, and suddenly realized that he was actually the object of the "reward." He immediately understood that he had become a chess piece in a chess game in front of the bag of chestnuts.

"Yes, she wants these chestnuts." Li Xiangqian's eyes gradually sharpened, and he began to analyze everything in his mind. Although Aunt Zhou came to give him rice with good intentions on the surface, in fact, she may have known about the food crisis he was facing. She used "concern" to get closer to him and wanted to get more food resources from him, especially the bag of chestnuts.

Li Xiangqian slowly sat back in his chair and gently pressed his forehead. It seemed as if countless voices in his mind were interweaving into a web at this moment, and every clue pointed to a truth hidden in the shadows.

"I'm so stupid." Li Xiangqian suddenly laughed, a little self-deprecatingly, and gently stroked the teacup on the table with his fingers. "These people have never really paid attention to me. They only care about what I have in my hands."

He stared at the chestnut bag, and suddenly Uncle Liu's face appeared in his mind. The man's expression when he left with a smile today was still fresh in his memory. He knew that Uncle Liu must have his own purpose. There might be more unknown transactions behind those chestnuts.

"I have become a hunted prey now." Li Xiangqian gritted his teeth, a trace of anger flashing in his eyes, "They just want to get what they need from me. Their concern and help are all fake."

At this moment, Li Xiangqian felt a deep sense of loneliness. He understood that he was no longer the simple person he used to be. Since the news of food shortage came, everything in the courtyard has changed. People's trust has become fragile, all neighborhood relationships have been replaced by money and resources, and he has become everyone's target.