Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

He couldn't sleep, so he got up early, got dressed, and prepared to walk around the yard. It was just dawn, and the courtyard was still shrouded in a layer of morning mist, with a hint of moisture in the air. Li Xiangqian pushed open the gate, and the yard was silent, with only a few early birds chirping on the wall. He walked to the field, squatted down, and gently fiddled with the soil, wondering if the biofertilizer could bring miracles.

"Xiang Qian, why did you come out so early?" A deep voice came from behind.

Li Xiangqian looked back and found that it was Xu Damao, a well-known sly man in the courtyard. He was usually smooth and quick, but his brain was even quicker than his hands and feet, and he was a man who liked to make small calculations. Although Li Xiangqian didn't have much friendship with him, Xu Damao was always good at talking, and he could really get a lot of information from him on some things.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep, so I got up and looked at the ground." Li Xiangqian forced a smile, responded casually, stood up and patted the dirt on his hands.

Xu Damao took a few steps closer and looked around the courtyard. His eyes paused on Li Xiangqian's land and he said with a half-smile, "I heard that you asked He Yuzhu to get some biological fertilizer. Is that true?"

Li Xiangqian's heart skipped a beat. He had never expected that the news would spread so quickly. He paused, frowned, and asked, "How did you know?"

Xu Damao chuckled and shook his head: "Hey, what else can be a secret in this courtyard? Not to mention the matter of your land, everyone is watching it. Besides, what good ideas can He Yuzhu have? Do you really trust him?"

Li Xiangqian was silent for a while, and his doubts grew rapidly after hearing what Xu Damao said. In fact, he didn't believe in any rain column from the beginning, but he was anxious at the time, and he was helpless about the land conditions, so he had to grasp this "life-saving straw". But now after hearing what Xu Damao said, his doubts deepened.

"I don't believe him either, but what can I do now? If the quality of my land gets worse, even eating will become a problem." Li Xiangqian said in a low voice, with a hint of helplessness in his words.

After hearing this, Xu Damao narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. Suddenly, he showed an understanding expression. He moved closer to Li Xiangqian and said in a low voice, "Actually, there is another veteran in our courtyard - Liu Haizhong. I heard that he was engaged in agriculture when he was young. Although he doesn't talk much, he knows a lot. I think you might as well go and talk it over with him."

"Liu Haizhong?" Li Xiangqian frowned, and suddenly he became interested. Liu Haizhong rarely showed up. He was a quiet person who was almost silent. He was busy with his own things all day and rarely interacted with others. Although everyone in the courtyard knew him, they didn't know much about him.

"Does he really understand all this?" Li Xiangqian asked with some doubt.

Xu Damao patted his chest, a look of confidence on his face: "Of course! Although he doesn't like to talk, he knows a lot. Otherwise, why do you think he can take care of his small yard so well? Don't the vegetables he grows look more lush than ours?"

Li Xiangqian thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed the case. Liu Haizhong's yard was always green and lush, with all kinds of vegetables growing better than those of other families. Every time he came out of the yard, he always brought some fresh vegetables. Although no one paid much attention to it, in retrospect, it was indeed not something that ordinary people could do.

"Okay, then I'll try." Li Xiangqian was already a little shaken and decided to go find Liu Haizhong to find out the truth.

Li Xiangqian went to Liu Haizhong's small yard that afternoon. The door was half-closed, and through the crack in the door, Liu Haizhong could be seen fiddling with a bunch of plants in the yard. He was wearing a pair of old gloves and was concentrating on trimming the branches and leaves, as if these plants in the yard were his only world.

Li Xiangqian knocked on the door, cleared his throat, and said uncomfortably, "Master Liu, are you busy?"

Liu Haizhong raised his head and glanced at Li Xiangqian, his eyes calm and peaceful. He nodded in response. Li Xiangqian walked into the yard, feeling a little uneasy. This was the first time he had spoken to Liu Haizhong alone. He had always felt that this man was too taciturn and seemed a little difficult to approach.

"Master Liu, I have something I want to ask you today." Li Xiangqian spoke tentatively, standing next to Liu Haizhong, not knowing how to start the topic.

Liu Haizhong put down the scissors in his hand, straightened up, looked at him quietly, and waited for him to continue.

Li Xiangqian took a deep breath and expressed his doubts: "Some problems have occurred on my land recently. All the potatoes rotted. Later, He Yuzhu recommended me to use a certain biological fertilizer. I am not sure about it, so I want to ask you, do you think this biological fertilizer is reliable?"

After listening to this, Liu Haizhong didn't show much expression on his face. He just asked calmly, "Do you believe him?"

This sentence hit Li Xiangqian's heart directly, leaving him speechless for a moment. He really didn't believe He Yuzhu, but he had no other choice at the time. Seeing that Li Xiangqian didn't say anything, Liu Haizhong sighed slightly, walked to the edge of the vegetable field, and gently brushed a few green leaves with his hand, as if talking to himself: "Fertilizers are good, and there are also scams. Biofertilizer sounds good, but you have to look at the source, don't be fooled by those fancy names."

Li Xiangqian's heart tightened when he heard this, and he hurriedly asked, "Then what do you think I should do? My land is not working now. If I delay any longer, I'm afraid it will be completely ruined."

Liu Haizhong was silent for a while, as if thinking, and then he slowly said: "Did you apply too much fertilizer to this land before? You can't be impatient with some soils. The more anxious you are, the more likely it is to have problems. Soil rot is mostly because of water accumulation or too much fertilizer in the land. Don't think about solving the problem all at once, you still have to adjust it slowly."

Li Xiangqian felt a chill in his heart when he heard this. He had indeed applied a lot of fertilizer some time ago, hoping that the potatoes would grow faster, but he didn't expect that it would have the opposite effect. After hearing what Liu Haizhong said, he realized that he might have made a big mistake.

"Can I still save him now?" Li Xiangqian asked anxiously, his heart full of anxiety.

Liu Haizhong did not answer immediately. Instead, he walked to the edge of Li Xiangqian's land, squatted down, carefully observed the soil for a few times, grabbed a handful of soil with his hands, twisted it, and then slowly said: "The land can still be saved, but you have to be patient and not rush for success. Use less fertilizer first and slowly adjust the soil structure. As for the biological fertilizer you mentioned, if you must try it, it's best to use a small amount first, and don't use it all at once."