Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

After watching Qin Huairu leave, Li Xiangqian returned to the reservoir and continued digging the soil, his hands moving more vigorously than before. Although Qin Huairu's warning made him feel uneasy, he knew he had no way out. All his hopes now depended on this reservoir and the information in Liu Hai's hand, and no opportunity could be missed.

As the shovel turned the soil over and over, Li Xiangqian kept thinking about the next steps. He had to contact Liu Haizhong as soon as possible to confirm the exact location of the water source, and at the same time, he had to consider how to avoid being cheated by him. He couldn't let He Yuzhu's incident happen again.

Before he knew it, the sun had already set, the afterglow of the evening shone on the fields, and a hint of coolness filled the air. Li Xiangqian stood up and looked up at the sky in the distance, feeling an inexplicable sense of urgency. All this made him realize that time was running out. If he didn't act, the current predicament would only get worse.

He wiped his muddy hands, exhaled heavily, then quickly packed up his tools, planning to find Liu Haizhong early tomorrow morning to finalize the water source issue.

As the night deepened, Li Xiangqian returned home and lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. He kept thinking about Qin Huairu's warning during the day and the next plan. He knew that tomorrow would be a decisive day, and everything would depend on his confrontation with Liu Haizhong. He had to find a balance between getting water from this complex and shrewd man and not being used by him.

Thinking of this, Li Xiangqian frowned. Liu Haizhong was an old fox, and it was impossible for him to easily reveal any information that was unfavorable to him. If he wanted to get substantial help from him, he would have to spend more time thinking about it. But the more this happened, the more determined Li Xiangqian became. No matter how many problems there were, he had to face them head-on.

He knew that the difficulties ahead were far more than what he faced at the moment. The livelihood of his family, the crops in the fields, and the delicate relationships between the neighbors were all oppressing him day by day. He was a person who was unwilling to bow to fate, but reality often made him feel insignificant and powerless.

At daybreak, Li Xiangqian finally got up from the bed, with a tired face, looking out the window at the dawn of a new day. He no longer thought about resting, and there was only one thought in his mind: he must find Liu Haizhong today, and solve the water problem by any means.

After getting dressed, he walked to the yard and washed his face with some cold water. The cold water made him a little more sober, and the fog in his heart also dissipated a little. He stood in the yard, looking at the empty courtyard, and felt lonely. This courtyard originally carried his expectations for the future, but now it has become a heavy shackle in his heart.

"We can't go on like this," Li Xiangqian said to himself silently, "We have to make a breakthrough. We can't let the situation remain deadlocked any longer."

Just as he was about to leave, he heard a knock at the gate. Li Xiangqian frowned, wondering who would come so early. He opened the door and saw Xu Damao. He was dressed in decent clothes and had obviously gotten up early to go out. He had a malicious smile on his face.

"Xiang Qian, are you going out so early? It's just right, I have something to talk to you about." Xu Damao said as he walked in uninvited, stepped into the yard and looked around.

Li Xiangqian's heart skipped a beat. He knew Xu Damao would never come to him for no reason, and this man must have some plan. Thinking of this, he asked coldly, "What's the matter? Just say it, I'm busy."

Xu Damao chuckled, walked to the center of the courtyard, turned around to look at the layout of the quadrangle, then looked at Li Xiangqian, lowered his voice and said, "Xiangqian, I heard that you have been running around for water sources recently. It must be very troublesome, right?"

"You know it very well." Li Xiangqian did not deny it, but there was a hint of defensiveness in his tone.

Xu Damao pretended to be mysterious and took a few steps closer, lowering his voice and saying, "I heard that Liu Haizhong is not so easy to fool. He has limited resources at hand right now, so it's not that easy to ask him to show you a way out."

Li Xiangqian frowned, and became more alert. Xu Damao always liked to take advantage of others' misfortunes. In this situation, he was probably trying to see if he could provide any benefits or make some money from it.

"Are you here to remind me to be careful of Liu Haizhong, or do you have other plans?" Li Xiangqian asked directly, obviously not wanting to beat around the bush with Xu Damao.

Xu Damao showed a meaningful smile, shrugged and said: "You are so smart, of course you can guess it. I don't mean anything else, but I think we should work together. I also have some connections for the water source you want, why don't we cooperate, maybe we can avoid some detours."

"Cooperation?" Li Xiangqian narrowed his eyes slightly, and his heart was alarmed. Xu Damao was definitely not a person who was willing to cooperate with others on an equal footing. There might be a trap behind every word he said.

"What do you want?" Li Xiangqian asked calmly, with a tentative tone in his voice.

Xu Damao chuckled and patted Li Xiangqian on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm not greedy. Just give me a 10% share of what you grow. Now that you have water, the yield of what you grow will definitely double. It's a win-win situation for both of us."

Li Xiangqian sneered in his heart. As expected, Xu Damao was not interested in cooperation at all, but wanted to take advantage of him. He glanced at Xu Damao and said in a calm tone: "10%? Xu Damao, you have a big appetite. Water source is my lifeblood. You want so much just to find a way out. Isn't it too exaggerated?"

The smile on Xu Damao's face froze for a moment, but soon returned to normal, "Don't say that, move forward. This way is not something that everyone can find. Besides, haven't you negotiated the matter with Liu Haizhong yet? I can help you get it directly."

Li Xiangqian stared at Xu Damao and weighed the options in his mind. Xu Damao's proposal was indeed tempting, after all, he could save a lot of time and energy. But Xu Damao was never someone who could be easily trusted. Once he got involved, he might bring more trouble. Thinking of this, Li Xiangqian shook his head.

"No thanks," he refused flatly, "I can handle it myself."

Xu Damao's eyes flashed with displeasure, but he quickly concealed it and kept smiling: "Xiang Qian, don't be too stubborn. Sometimes more people mean more paths. Liu Haizhong is not an easy target. I'm afraid you will be trapped by him by accident and end up with nothing."