Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

But he knew that this was his best effort. Before leaving, Li Xiangqian gave him some special instructions: "Da Mao, you can't just pull out the weeds on the surface of the cucumber field. You have to go deeper and clean the roots, otherwise they will grow again soon. If there are insects, you can spray some of the medicine I put at the edge of the field. Don't be afraid of trouble, the cucumber seedlings are still tender."

Xu Damao smiled and waved his hands, "Don't worry, Brother Li! I've always been efficient at work, so you can rest assured! I, Xu Damao, have never been afraid of weeding!"

Li Xiangqian knew Xu Damao's character. Although he always liked to act quickly, he also trusted his words. He looked back at the cucumber field and knew that although Xu Damao refused to admit defeat, he would help sincerely in his heart. As long as he didn't feel that he was being taken advantage of, things would basically be safe.

After explaining all this, Li Xiangqian repeatedly asked Xu Damao to take good care of the cucumber field during his absence. Xu Damao patted his chest and promised, "Brother Li, just go and do your work! When you come back, I guarantee you'll see a neatly planted cucumber field without a trace of weeds!"

Li Xiangqian nodded, and finally took a deep look at the cucumber field, with some comfort and expectation in his heart. Before leaving, he specially called Xiaozhi over and told him to manage the cucumber field with Xu Damao. During this period, he saw that Xiaozhi was quite interested in planting, and wanted to let Xiaozhi have more contact, so that he could learn some basic knowledge of planting. Xiaozhi naturally agreed excitedly, patting his chest and promising, "Uncle Li, don't worry! I will take good care of the cucumber field with Uncle Xu!"

Li Xiangqian couldn't help feeling warm in his heart. He patted Xiao Zhi on the shoulder and said in a soft voice, "Good boy, remember, you must take good care of the cucumber seedlings. When Uncle Li comes back, we will watch them grow into cucumbers together." There was warmth and encouragement in his voice, and a soft light flashed in his eyes. He looked at Xiao Zhi with some expectation and relief.

There was a vegetable patch in the corner of the yard, which he had carefully cultivated recently. There were some cabbages, radishes, potatoes, and a few tomato seedlings planted in the patch. He carefully checked the growth of the vegetables and felt satisfied when he saw the green leaves. However, today his eyes were attracted by a patch of grass beside the vegetable patch. There was some movement around the patch of grass, as if something was hidden in the grass.

He approached slowly and carefully pushed aside the grass. Suddenly, a silver-grey snake flashed by, and disappeared into the dense weeds with a flash of cold light. Li Xiangqian took a deep breath and his heart beat faster. He recognized it as a silver ring snake, with circles of silver-white markings on its body, which was particularly dazzling in the early morning light. This kind of snake is extremely poisonous. An old man in the village once said that if a person bitten by this snake is not treated in time, he may lose his life.

Li Xiangqian stood there, holding his breath, with a complex emotion in his heart. On the one hand, he secretly regretted that he had rashly pushed aside the grass, which was a bit reckless; on the other hand, he could not hide his curiosity and excitement. As a person accustomed to urban life, encountering a snake in the wild is scary, but it also seems to bring a sense of adventure, and even gives him a primitive sense of excitement. Facing such a venomous snake, fear and excitement intertwined in his heart, making his palms sweat and his heart beat fast.

After calming down, he decided not to provoke the snake. After all, its existence might be a part of nature, or it might have just strayed into his vegetable garden. So he slowly backed away, intending to go around the bush and continue to check his vegetable garden. However, the existence of the snake was like a restless shadow, always lingering in his mind.

In the following days, Li Xiangqian carefully took care of the vegetable garden, but he always remained vigilant and kept an eye on the snake. The occasional rustling sound in the grass always made him nervous, as if the snake was always lurking nearby, waiting to suddenly appear at some moment. However, after a few days, the snake did not appear again, and his nerves gradually relaxed. So he began to think about how to further expand the scale of the vegetable garden, and had various ideas in his mind.

He planned to cultivate the vacant land to the south of the courtyard, plant some fruits and vegetables, and even try to raise a few chickens to make the yard full of life. However, just as he started to turn the soil with a hoe, something unexpected happened. He dug the hoe hard and found a curled-up snake in the soil. It was a black snake, thicker than the previous coral snake, and its scales shone with a dark luster. Li Xiangqian screamed in fear, and the hoe slipped from his hand. He stepped back repeatedly, his heart beating like a drum.

The black snake seemed to be startled, and it raised its head, spitting out its tongue, and stared at him coldly. Li Xiangqian suppressed his fear and stared at the snake's every move, not daring to act rashly. He thought quickly about the countermeasures in his mind, should he escape or find something to drive it away? However, the snake unexpectedly did not attack, but slowly retreated a few steps, and then quickly slid into the grass next to it.

Li Xiangqian took a deep breath and felt his heart still beating fast. He thought to himself, he had encountered snakes twice in the courtyard. Was it because there was a snake nest nearby, or did he disturb their territory by reclaiming the land? He began to hesitate whether to continue to expand the vegetable field. After all, safety was more important than the harvest.

After some thought, he decided to ask the old man in the village for advice. There was an elderly farmer in the village who knew a lot about fields, plants and animals. It was said that he had lived in the mountains for many years when he was young and had a deep affection for nature. Li Xiangqian told the old man about his encounter with a snake, but the old man smiled with a mysterious light in his eyes and said, "Snakes are spiritual creatures in the mountains and will not hurt people casually. Encountering snakes means that the land you planted is spiritual, and snakes also like this land. This land is their home."

Li Xiangqian thought for a moment and asked, "Should I not expand this land to avoid conflicts with them?" The old man waved his hand and said, "Snakes are intelligent and will not intentionally harm people. If you really want to cultivate the land, it's not impossible. Just sprinkle some wormwood and lime on the ground to let them know that the land is for your use and they will retreat on their own."

So, Li Xiangqian followed the old man's advice and went to the mountains to pick some mugwort, dried it and spread it on the ground.