Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

Li Xiangqian always felt anxious when he looked at the grain bags at home every night. Since the "care" from Lao Hu stopped, his family's food reserves had gradually run out. Especially when the children were eating every night, Li Xiuying always secretly gave more rice to the children, but only ate a few symbolic bites herself. This made Li Xiangqian feel more powerless and anxious.

"If we continue like this, we will run out of food sooner or later if we don't find a solution." Li Xiangqian thought as he stared at the half bag of corn. This corn was the only surplus food left in his family. Li Xiuying originally planned to use it to barely survive the next few weeks, but Li Xiangqian had other plans.

One night, he sat on the bed, lit a cigarette, and silently thought about what to do to survive. Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind: take this bag of corn to the market to sell! Maybe he could get some money, or exchange it for some white rice. After all, few people in the yard knew the exact food situation of his family, and the market was a place where no one cared, so reselling some food should not be discovered.

When this idea came to Li Xiangqian, he was a little surprised. He thought to himself: "If I do this, what will happen if I get caught? I can't just watch my family go hungry if I don't do something." He thought about it all night and finally made up his mind. The next morning, he mentioned this to Li Xiuying.

"Xiuying, I want to sell the half bag of corn at home and get some money to buy some rice and flour. Otherwise, I'm afraid our family really won't have anything to eat in a few days." Li Xiangqian said calmly, but his eyes revealed some uneasiness.

Li Xiuying became nervous after hearing this: "Are you crazy? This corn is our family's last ration! Besides, we may not be able to get much in return if we sell it. Have you forgotten how difficult it is to get rice and flour now?"

Li Xiangqian sighed and explained, "I know it's a pity, but if we don't do this, we won't be able to hold on. Besides, we can get some things at the market so we don't starve."

Li Xiuying was silent for a moment, with a trace of worry in her eyes: "But if this matter is known to the people in the hospital, or if you are caught, it will be a big trouble...Have you thought about the consequences?"

Li Xiangqian understood her concerns and was also afraid of something happening, but the situation had reached a point where he had to take the risk. He tried to be calm and said, "I've thought about it. The market is a messy place and no one will keep a close eye on it. Besides, I'll go alone and won't let anyone in the hospital know about it, so it shouldn't be a big problem."

Li Xiuying didn't say anything else. She knew that it would be difficult to change Li Xiangqian's mind. Although she was a little worried, she could only acquiesce.

The next day, Li Xiangqian quietly took the half bag of corn from home and put it into a sack before daybreak, and then he carried it on his shoulders and tiptoed out of the house. The air outside was a little chilly, and there were not many people on the street. Only the sound of the market starting to get busy could be heard from afar.

Along the way, Li Xiangqian's heart was beating fast. He always felt that someone was watching him from behind, but every time he looked back, he found that the street was empty. The market was not far away, but it seemed to take him a long time to walk that section of the road. He kept telling himself: "It's okay, it's okay, I'll sell everything and leave, no one will notice."

Finally, he arrived at the market. The market was already bustling with small vendors filling the roadside, selling vegetables, cloth, and some vendors who were secretly reselling grain. Li Xiangqian saw several grain stalls and felt a little relieved.

He put the sack in a corner and began to look around, still thinking about how to avoid attracting attention. After a while, a middle-aged man in an old cotton coat approached him and whispered, "Brother, selling grain?"

Li Xiangqian was startled by the sudden conversation and looked at the man warily, not daring to respond immediately. The man smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, I'm just doing a small business, it's no big deal. I want your corn. Can I exchange it for some money or rice?"

Li Xiangqian relaxed a little, but the uneasiness in his heart still remained. He whispered, "Exchange for rice, for two bags of flour."

The man looked at the corn in the sack and frowned, "Two bags of flour? This corn is not worth that much."

Li Xiangqian knew that the other party was unwilling to exchange, but he had no other choice now, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Then how much do you want to exchange? This is the best corn I have, grown at home, I can't bear to give it out even if I eat it myself."

Seeing his firm attitude, the man thought for a while and finally said, "Okay, I'll give you a bag of flour and some millet. Otherwise, I'll have to pay for it."

Although Li Xiangqian was not satisfied, he did not dare to bargain anymore and nodded: "Okay, that's it."

The man smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "Great! Wait for me to get something for you." Then he turned and disappeared into the crowd. After a while, he came back with a bag of flour and half a bag of millet.

After the transaction was completed, Li Xiangqian finally felt relieved. He quickly put the rice into a sack and left the market in a hurry, fearing that he would be spotted if he stayed any longer.

On the way home, he was still nervous, worried that he would be discovered or targeted by someone. However, he was not completely relieved until he safely returned to the gate of the courtyard and saw those familiar neighbors in the courtyard.

When Li Xiuying got home, she saw that he had brought back a bag of flour and millet. Although she was somewhat relieved, she still couldn't help saying, "Finally, we got something in exchange, but what should we do next? We have used up all our family assets."

Li Xiangqian sighed and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "We'll talk about it later. At least we can hold on for a while. I'll find a way. We can't keep going like this." He knew that this was not a long-term solution, and food was still a big problem. But for now, he had no choice but to take it one step at a time.

After Li Xiangqian returned home, he felt a little relieved. Looking at the flour and millet he had exchanged, Li Xiuying finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Now we have something to eat, at least the children can have a good meal these days." She touched the bag of flour, with a hint of relief in her eyes, but the wrinkles on her face were still not completely smoothed out.

"But how long can this last?" Li Xiangqian knew very well that this amount of food could only last for a few days at most, and it would only provide temporary relief. He knew he had to find a way to get more food, but how to do it was still a difficult problem.