Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

He was not sure whether the rhizomes were edible, but he remembered hearing from an old man when he was a child that the roots of this wild vegetable could be boiled into soup to satisfy hunger. He put the rhizomes in his arms and continued to search for a long time until his hands were covered with mud.

On the way back to the courtyard, he heard a low cry coming from the alley. It was a young couple holding their skinny little daughter, their eyes full of helplessness. Li Xiangqian stopped, took out the wild vegetable roots he had dug from his arms, and handed them over: "Take this and try it, soak it in water and boil it, maybe the child can eat some."

The young couple was stunned for a moment, then took the wild vegetable roots and thanked them profusely. Li Xiangqian waved his hand and continued walking forward. Along the way, his mood became heavier. Famine exposed human nature, but the people in the courtyard were still trying to support each other, which made him feel that he had to do something.

After returning to the courtyard, he distributed the remaining porridge to the children of Lao Wang's family. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them wolfing it down. In the next few days, he led a few men in the courtyard who were still strong to find various ways to fill their stomachs.

Li Xiangqian recalled the bird traps he had learned when he was a child. He took a few people to the wilderness and made simple traps with rattan and bamboo strips. They hid the traps in the weeds and used some wild vegetable leaves as bait. Although the harvest was not much, the occasional sparrows caught were enough for everyone to share a sip of broth.

At the same time, Li Xiangqian also tried to discover some neglected resources. He had heard that some tree barks and grass roots could be ground into powder and barely serve as food. He led his men to collect them everywhere, first soaking them in water to remove the bitterness, then drying them and grinding them into coarse powder. Although the taste was hard to swallow, at least it could fill the hunger.

These efforts have made life in the courtyard a little better, but Li Xiangqian understands that this method is only a stopgap measure. If the food problem is not completely solved, life will only become more and more difficult.

Once, when he was discussing countermeasures with the people in the courtyard, he suggested that everyone should jointly open up a piece of wasteland. Although crops could not grow in the fields, wild vegetables and weeds could still grow. They could try to transform the wasteland into a vegetable garden to grow some drought-resistant crops.

This idea was supported by most people in the courtyard. Everyone worked together, some were responsible for clearing the wasteland, some were responsible for finding seeds, and some were responsible for transporting some fertile soil from far away. With the simplest tools, they gradually turned the wasteland into a vegetable garden with vitality.

Every time when it was late at night and the lights in the yard were off, and the children in the yard were groaning with hunger but could still fall asleep, Li Xiangqian would put on a tattered coat, carry a hoe and a rag bag, and tiptoe out of the yard. He didn't want to alarm others, let alone cause the worry of the elderly people in the yard. When he walked out of the yard, he breathed in the air that was slightly fresher than in the yard, but his heart was heavy. In the dark night, his footsteps were light and hurried, and what emerged in his mind were the hungry and skinny people in the yard, and the empty eyes of the children.

That night, he set out again. The moonlight was dim, and the stars hung sparsely in the sky, casting a hazy light over the earth. He tried to avoid the main roads and walked in places with fewer people, walking through the weed-covered paths with one foot deep and one foot shallow. Li Xiangqian pursed his lips, walked quickly, and clenched the hoe in his hand tightly, but he couldn't help but have wild thoughts in his mind.

"We can't always rely on catching birds and digging wild vegetables. Catching birds is difficult. The birds are too hungry to fly. How many can we catch? Wild vegetables are even more scarce. Everyone in the courtyard relies on them to fill their stomachs. If we continue like this, they will run out sooner or later." His brows were deeply frowned. "We have to find a more reliable method. Even if it's just a little more, it can help everyone get through this period."

When he arrived at the vegetable garden, he stopped and looked around. This vegetable garden was cultivated with great effort, but now, the leaves have not grown to the point where they can be eaten, and the seeds buried in the soil have just sprouted. "We can't take it slow, we can't hold out that long." Li Xiangqian clenched his fists, his eyes showing urgency.

There is a wasteland not far from the vegetable garden. It was originally used by the people in the surrounding area to store sundries, but now no one cares about it. Li Xiangqian lowered his head, squatted on the ground, and gently dug up the topsoil with his hands. He remembered someone saying that there might be some abandoned tubers deep in the wasteland, and there might be a chance to find something edible.

He dug for a long time, his fingers were already red from being worn out, and the gaps between his fingers were filled with dirt. He found a piece of rhizome similar to sweet potato, but he didn't dare to get excited immediately. He kept thinking in his mind: "Can this thing be eaten? What if there is a problem with eating it? How can I know if I don't try it?" He put the rhizome into the bag and continued to search. As time went by, the ground was filled with the dug mud and weeds, and his bag also had some miscellaneous things, rhizomes, weeds, and even some strange fungi.

"I'll take these back and try them out first." He said to himself, stood up, patted the dirt on his knees, and carried the hoe to go back. Along the way, although the surroundings were a little eerie, he had some expectations in his heart. Maybe these things could bring a glimmer of hope to the people in the courtyard.

When he returned to the yard, it was almost dawn. He pushed open the shabby wooden door of his house quietly, squatted in front of the stove, and poured out the things one by one. He lit a small dim oil lamp, and with the weak light, carefully sorted the harvest. He picked out a few rhizomes that did not look obviously toxic, and took out some fungi with normal colors, and boiled them in the water in the pot for a while. He knew that if these things were edible, it meant that the people in the yard would have a better chance of survival, but if they were poisonous, those who tried might take huge risks.

Li Xiangqian took a deep breath and stared at the dark soup in the pot. He kept weighing the options in his mind: "Should I try to drink some first? If it is poisonous, the consequences will be disastrous. If I don't try, what will we do?"

He pondered for a long time, and finally scooped up some soup and brought it to his mouth with a small spoon. The taste was bitter and astringent, and a little fishy, ​​which made him frown suddenly. He swallowed it despite the discomfort, and then observed himself for several hours, until he was relieved to confirm that there was no adverse reaction.

At dawn, he divided some of the edibles and quietly distributed them to Lao Wang's family and several families in need, and kept the rest in his room for future use. When Lao Wang took the small piece of cooked rhizome, his eyes were a little red: "Xiang Qian, what are you..." He didn't finish his words, but was full of gratitude.