Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"It's settled. We'll come here tomorrow to block the guys and make a big move." Another person echoed, with obvious excitement and eagerness in his tone.

Li Xiangqian's heart suddenly sank, and he finally confirmed his guess. This group of people really came for his watermelon. They had already planned their actions and were just waiting to take action tomorrow. He was extremely angry at the moment, but he didn't dare to rush out rashly, because the other party was outnumbered and he was obviously no match for them alone. Reason told him that now was not the time to be reckless, he had to deal with it calmly and find a solution.

Several shadows quickly left the melon field, but Li Xiangqian remained hidden in the same place, motionless. He stood up slowly and breathed a sigh of relief until they completely disappeared into the darkness, but the tension and fear still enveloped him. He stood in the melon field, looking up at the crescent moon in the sky. The moonlight sprinkled coldly on his face, as if it had cast a chill over this peaceful field.

"Tomorrow... I can't let them succeed again." Li Xiangqian made up his mind silently. He knew that he had to do something to protect these watermelons, not only for the lives of his family, but also to protect the last glimmer of hope.

He turned and left the melon field, already planning for tomorrow's response. Perhaps, Lao Zhang from the security department could help him once again, or he could find a few brothers from the courtyard to help keep watch. In short, no matter what, he couldn't let those hooligans succeed so easily.

As the night wind blew, Li Xiangqian's back looked even more determined. The lamp in the courtyard was still on, and the warm light shone through the window at the door, like a silent call. Li Xiangqian took a step and set out on the road home. The anxiety in his heart did not completely dissipate, but his perseverance and determination were constantly increasing.

Li Xiangqian returned home, still feeling uneasy, because he knew tomorrow might be a tough battle. This battle was not only against the hooligans who secretly coveted his melon fields, but also the heavy pressure of life itself - life was tight at home, and after the corn was robbed, the family's food supply was almost gone, and now they could only rely on this batch of watermelons.

At night, Li Xiangqian lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. Xiaoying turned over and asked softly, "What's wrong with you? You have been silent since you came back from the melon field. What happened?"

Li Xiangqian was silent for a while, but finally he sighed and whispered, "I'm afraid the watermelon field is not safe. Just now, I saw a few people secretly discussing in the field, planning to steal watermelons tomorrow."

When Xiaoying heard this, a trace of anxiety flashed in her eyes. She sat up, frowned and asked, "What should we do? We are relying on these watermelons. If something happens again, we really won't be able to survive."

Li Xiangqian patted her hands and said calmly, "It's okay, I have an idea. I'll talk to Lao Zhang tomorrow and make some arrangements. We can't let those people succeed." His tone was firm when he spoke, but he knew better than anyone that this struggle was far more complicated than expected.

The night gradually deepened, and the surroundings were so quiet that only the slight sound of wind blowing through the window could be heard. Li Xiangqian closed his eyes and tried to relax for a moment, but his mind was still filled with various worries. He was worried about the revenge of the gangsters, the safety of the melon field, and even more worried about his family's livelihood. If something went wrong with the watermelon again, he didn't know where he would find his next meal.

The next morning, Li Xiangqian got up early and rushed to the melon field before daybreak. As he walked on the road, the sky was gray and the surroundings of the courtyard were still quiet. There were few people on the road, and even the air was damp and cool. Li Xiangqian walked steadily, and with every step he took, the tension in his heart became stronger. He didn't know when those gangsters would come, nor did he know whether the plan he prepared would work, but he always had a belief in his heart: there must be no more mistakes in today's watermelon.

When he arrived at the melon field, it was just dawn and the melon vines in the field were glittering with dew in the morning light. Li Xiangqian bent down and carefully checked the melon field. Everything seemed normal. However, when he walked to the other end of the melon field, he suddenly found something strange - several melon vines were bitten off, and several watermelons that had been bitten to pieces were scattered around the vines.

Li Xiangqian's heart tightened, and he quickly squatted down to take a closer look. He found a lot of small traces on the ground - not human footprints, but claws of small animals. Li Xiangqian frowned, and then realized that it was not those hooligans who did it, but rats! There are rats in the field!

"Damn rats!" Li Xiangqian cursed in a low voice, burning with anger. He didn't expect that he had been on guard against those thugs, but he didn't expect that it was these damn rats who took advantage of the situation and broke in. Several watermelons that had been eaten almost to the point of being piled up on the side seemed to be mocking his powerlessness.

He felt a tightness in his chest, and his irritability and anxiety spread rapidly. The watermelon was eaten by mice before the gangsters could do anything! Li Xiangqian kicked the melon vine on the ground hard, feeling frustrated.

"These bastards are really driving me crazy!" Li Xiangqian muttered to himself, clenching his fists and digging his nails deeply into his palms, almost completely releasing the dissatisfaction and anger in his heart.

However, he also knew that he had to calm down and solve the problem at hand. He squatted down and carefully examined the traces of the rats' gnaws, wondering where they came from. There were several broken places on the edge of the melon field, and it seemed that the rats might have gotten in from there. There were several piles of weeds next to the field, which were the habitats of these rats.

"I have to find a solution as soon as possible, otherwise all these watermelons will be ruined." Li Xiangqian said to himself. He quickly thought about how to deal with these damn rats. Killing rats is a time-consuming and laborious task, and he didn't have any ready-made tools. The most important thing was that he had another tough battle to fight today - the gangsters hadn't arrived yet, and he didn't dare to spend all his energy on the rats.

He stood up and looked in the direction of the melon field in the distance. The sun had begun to rise, illuminating half of the sky. The watermelons were still there. Although a few were stolen, most of them were still intact. Li Xiangqian felt a little relieved. At least the situation was not as bad as he imagined. But he knew that he could not take it lightly. Although the theft of rats was terrible, the threat of those gangsters was greater. In the next period of time, he had to take care of both sides.

Thinking of this, Li Xiangqian took action immediately. He ran home, found some old iron nets and wooden boards at home, and hurried back to the melon field. Although these things may not be able to completely stop the attack of the mice, they can at least delay them for a while. He used iron nets and wooden boards to reinforce the perimeter of the field, trying to block the gaps that might be entered by the mice.