Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

He Yuzhu was slightly stunned, and then the smile on his face froze. He quickly adjusted his mood and put on an innocent look, "Xiang Qian, what you said is absolutely correct. The seeds I sold to you are absolutely fine. I am also helping you out of kindness, how could I lie to you?"

Li Xiangqian stared at him coldly, obviously no longer believing these excuses. "Brother Yuzhu, I've already inquired about it. The batch of seeds you bought a while ago was not reliable. Shouldn't you give me an explanation?"

Li Xiangqian stood at the door of He Yuzhu's house, his anger burning even more. He felt extremely frustrated and angry at the guy who kept shirking his responsibilities. But he knew that emotions alone could not solve the problem. If he did not find another solution, his time and energy would be completely exhausted, and he and his family would not be able to survive this winter.

Li Xiangqian suppressed his anger and tried to calm his tone: "Brother Yuzhu, I don't want to have a quarrel with you. You are a sensible person. I have invested my money and planted the land. Now the seeds won't sprout. What do you think we should do? We all rely on this land for our livelihood and we can't afford to delay."

He Yuzhu was obviously a little weak in his heart, but he still held on. He pretended to be calm and acted as if he had no guilt: "Xiang Qian, don't worry. Farming is risky. It's normal for seeds to germinate late. Besides, you can't blame me. You have to consider the weather and the location. Is there not enough water in the ground? The weather has been dry recently, so you didn't water it in time?"

Li Xiangqian frowned, and the evasion and irresponsibility in He Yuzhu's words made him even more annoyed, but at this moment, he suddenly realized that the "water" mentioned by He Yuzhu might really be a problem. He recalled that some old farmers in the town had mentioned that this year's rainfall was indeed much less than in previous years, especially in places with slightly higher terrain. Insufficient soil moisture may affect the germination of seeds.

He made up his mind that since he couldn't rely on the seeds, he had to solve the water problem as soon as possible. Regardless of whether there was a problem with the seeds or not, as long as there was enough water, perhaps the situation could be improved.

"Brother Yuzhu, let's not talk about the seeds first. There is indeed not enough water in the ground, you are right." Li Xiangqian changed his tone and stopped nagging about the seeds for the time being. "But I have to find a way to get some water now. You have a lot of connections in town, do you know where I can get fresh water? My old well has been useless for a long time, and if it goes on like this, I can forget about having a harvest."

When He Yuzhu heard this, his eyes flickered, as if he had caught an opportunity, and he immediately became active. He thought to himself that since Li Xiangqian was not going to pursue the issue of the seeds, he might be able to do him a favor for the water source and get some benefits from it.

He smiled and said, "Xiang Qian, you've asked the right person. I recently heard that there's a new water supply point in town. The water quality is good, and many people go there to get water for irrigation. I also know some people here, and I can help you find out the specific location."

A glimmer of hope flashed in Li Xiangqian's eyes. Although he no longer fully trusted He Yuzhu, he had no other choice but to try this method first. He pondered for a moment and nodded: "Okay, then I'll trouble you to help me find out, the sooner the better."

He Yuzhu patted his chest and promised: "No problem, don't worry, I'll take care of it. You go back first, I'll give you news in the next two days."

Li Xiangqian left He Yuzhu's house, feeling a little relieved, at least he had a clue about the water source. But he knew that he couldn't just wait for He Yuzhu, he had to act quickly. He thought to himself that he had to find other channels to get water as soon as possible, otherwise no matter how good the seeds were, they would not be able to take root and sprout.

After returning home, Li Xiangqian walked straight into the yard and squatted beside the old well, feeling a dull pain in his heart. This well used to be the lifeline of his family, with clear well water continuously supplying farmland. However, with years of use, the well water gradually became turbid, and the water level became lower and lower, and now it can no longer meet the irrigation needs of the fields.

Li Yun saw his brother squatting beside the well with a frown on his face, so he walked up to him and asked softly, "Brother, are you thinking about how to get water again?"

Li Xiangqian looked up at his sister, nodded, and sighed: "Well, the old well is no longer useful, and the water is getting less and less. If we want to have a harvest from this land, we must get a fresh water source. I just found He Yuzhu, and he said there is a new water source in the town. I want to go and check it out and try my luck."

Li Yun was silent for a while, then said softly: "Brother, no matter what, we have to try. As long as we can get the water, there is still hope." Although her tone was gentle, it revealed a firm belief.

Li Xiangqian looked at his sister's bright eyes and felt a little warm in his heart. Although everything was not going well, at least he was not fighting alone. Thinking of this, he decided not to hesitate and took action immediately.

The next morning, Li Xiangqian got up early and prepared to go to the town to inquire about the new water source. He planned to personally find out if the old farmers in the town knew more about the water source. After all, he could only listen to half of what He Yuzhu said, and he had to be more careful about everything.

Li Xiangqian came to the town's agricultural supply market and saw several old farmers gathered together to chat. He recognized one of them as Uncle Wang, a famous farmer in the town. Li Xiangqian walked over and greeted Uncle Wang with a smile: "Uncle Wang, good morning, how are the fields doing recently?"

Uncle Wang narrowed his eyes and looked at Li Xiangqian, then said with a smile, "Hey, Xiangqian! What have you been busy with lately? I heard that there's something wrong with your land."

Li Xiangqian smiled bitterly and nodded, "That's right. The seeds I planted a while ago haven't shown any signs of growth. I'm worried about this, so I want to ask you. I heard there's a new water source in town recently. How's the water quality? My old well isn't working anymore, so I need to find some new water for irrigation."

When Uncle Wang heard this, he became serious and said slowly, "I have heard about the new water source you mentioned. There is a newly dug well in the north of the town. The water quality is quite good. However, it is far away and it takes a lot of effort to fetch water. Moreover, more and more people are fetching water now, so the water flow is not large."

Li Xiangqian's heart skipped a beat. Although there was hope for water sources in the north of the town, the journey was long, which meant that it would take a lot of time and energy. Time was running out for him at home. If he delayed any further, the crops might miss the chance to germinate.

He gritted his teeth and asked, "Besides Zhenbei, do you have any other water sources to recommend? I'm in urgent need of water here, otherwise nothing can be saved."

Uncle Wang stroked his chin and pondered for a while.