Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

He pushed aside a few leaves with his hands, revealing a small hole in the soil with a few half-eaten seeds scattered around the hole.

"It's a rat." Li Xiangqian was shocked and immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. This vegetable field is the hope of the residents of the courtyard. Everyone has worked hard for so long. If the rats continue to destroy it, all the previous efforts will be wasted.

He stood up and looked around with mixed feelings. The appearance of mice not only meant the loss of seeds, but they might also bring diseases and affect the health of the residents in the yard. Li Xiangqian felt an invisible pressure on his shoulders and had to take immediate action, but he was a little uneasy and didn't know how to deal with this matter effectively.

Li Xiangqian quietly returned to the yard, found Uncle Li, and told him about the discovery of the mouse. Uncle Li's expression became solemn after hearing this.

"Xiao Li, we can't delay this." Grandpa Li sighed, "Once there are too many mice, they will not only eat the food in the fields, but also enter the house to steal food, and even chew furniture and clothes. We have to find a way to deal with it quickly."

"But we are far from the town, and it is not convenient to buy rat poison." Li Xiangqian said with some embarrassment.

"Well, rat poison is one way, but we have to be careful not to let the children eat it by mistake." Uncle Li nodded, then seemed to remember something and frowned, "There is another way, which is the mousetrap we used to use, plus some folk remedies, maybe it will work."

Li Xiangqian felt relieved after hearing this. He was not unfamiliar with the traditional tool of mousetrap. He decided to take action immediately without delaying. They first found a few pieces of wood and wire, and according to the guidance of Grandpa Li, they worked together to make a few simple mousetraps. Li Xiangqian also found some old cans and filled them with oil and food residue as bait.

"We'll set up these mousetraps tonight and see if we can catch a few," Li Xiangqian said to the others as he set up the traps. "Everyone should be careful these nights and look for any signs of mouse activity and report them immediately."

In the evening, Li Xiangqian and a few others patrolled the yard, placing mousetraps around the vegetable plots and on several paths where mice might appear. As the night deepened, the yard gradually became quiet, with only the occasional sound of wind and the barking of dogs in the distance.

Although Li Xiangqian was filled with worry, he knew that he could only wait. He sat on the stone steps in front of his house and lit a cigarette to relieve his inner tension. Various possible scenarios flashed through his mind. He was worried that the mousetrap would not work, that the mice would continue to cause damage, and even that their number would increase and become difficult to control.

Suddenly, a slight noise came from the yard, interrupting his thoughts. He stood up suddenly and looked around nervously. The sound was not loud, but it was particularly clear in the quiet night. Li Xiangqian pricked up his ears and carefully identified the source of the sound. It seemed to come from the vegetable field.

He walked towards the vegetable field cautiously, his steps light, for fear of disturbing anything. As soon as he approached the vegetable field, he saw a dark shadow moving next to a mousetrap, and his heart instantly rose to his throat. With the weak moonlight, Li Xiangqian saw clearly that it was indeed a mouse, trying to break free from the mousetrap.

"I finally caught you." Li Xiangqian felt excited. He quickly walked over, caught the mouse and got rid of it.

Back in the yard, Li Xiangqian felt relieved, at least it proved that the mousetrap was effective. He decided to wait and see if he could catch more at night. As time passed, the night got darker, and Li Xiangqian's eyelids began to droop, but he resisted the urge to sleep and insisted on waiting until dawn.

At dawn, Li Xiangqian and a few young people who got up early checked the mousetraps in the yard. The result made him feel a little relieved. Several mousetraps successfully caught mice. Although the number was not large, it was at least a good start.

"It seems that this method works." Wang Erleng felt a lot more relaxed when he looked at the caught mouse.

"Yes, but we have to continue. We don't know how many rats are hiding in the dark." Li Xiangqian said that although he was a little relaxed, he understood that mousetraps alone were not enough and more thorough measures must be taken. Li Xiangqian and others continued to strengthen their prevention. Not only did they set up more mousetraps around the vegetable fields, they also sealed possible rat holes and cleaned up the debris in the yard to reduce the hiding places for rats. He also proposed to regularly check the food storage area to ensure that the problem of rats would not affect everyone's daily life.

However, despite these measures, Li Xiangqian still felt uneasy. He knew that the appearance of rats was not just a small problem. It might expose loopholes in the management of the courtyard and might also mean that other more complicated problems were about to emerge. He began to think about how to further improve the environment of the courtyard and how to make everyone's life safer and more secure.

Every night, Li Xiangqian would think about this problem over and over again. He stood in the yard, looking at the place he had worked hard to build, with a sense of accomplishment and worry in his heart. He knew that the responsibilities on his shoulders were getting heavier and heavier, and these problems must be solved as soon as possible, otherwise the harmony and stability of the entire courtyard might be threatened. Li Xiangqian's mood became more determined. He decided to further improve the management of the courtyard and formulate some new rules and regulations to ensure the hygiene and safety of the courtyard. At the same time, he also planned to organize everyone to carry out a thorough cleaning, clean up all the places in the yard that might hide dirt and plug all the loopholes.

Li Xiangqian has recently felt an invisible pressure. Although his days in the courtyard are busy and fulfilling, his anxiety is gradually accumulating. Since he led everyone to reclaim wasteland and set up mousetraps, life in the courtyard seems to have improved. However, he has gradually realized that his every move is being watched by everyone, and he can even feel some subtle discussions.

He is never afraid of physical fatigue, nor is he afraid of facing difficulties, but sometimes he worries whether his decision is correct, and whether he will become a laughing stock because of a small mistake. Especially recently, regarding the matter of catching mice, although a lot of mice have been caught, there seem to be some that slip through the net, and the vegetable fields occasionally suffer some small losses. Li Xiangqian couldn't help but worry, if this goes on, will the trust in the yard gradually disappear, and will everyone's view of him become negative? He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. In his mind, he kept echoing the gossip he heard by the vegetable field during the day - "Old Li made such a big fuss,