Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"Yuzhu, can you move faster?" His tone was a little impatient and anxious. His mood was more tense than the night wind, as if there was an invisible string pulling in his mind, which could break at any time.

He Yuzhu didn't raise his head, and his hands moved slowly, as if he didn't hear anything at all: "This thing is buried deep, I can't use too much force, what if I dig it up? If you urge me again, I have to be careful with my hands."

"You've taken enough time for me to dig three pieces!" Li Xiangqian's voice was low, but it revealed a suppressed anger. He stamped his feet on the ground twice, wishing he could just take over He Yuzhu's hoe and do it himself.

He Yuzhu finally raised his head, his face covered in mud, but his eyes showed that he was not to be outdone: "If you can do it, then do it! This job looks simple, but who can guarantee that every piece can be dug out intact? Do you think I'm a little slow? But we can't make any mistakes when digging this thing. If one piece is missing, we will miss a meal."

After hearing this, Li Xiangqian was a little speechless. He knew that He Yuzhu was right. Digging these tubers seemed simple, but it was very labor-intensive and required patience. Some tubers in the soil layer grew in strange shapes. If you were not careful, they would be scratched by the hoe or buried deeper, and then it would be a waste of effort.

He was silent for a while, took a deep breath, and suppressed his anger. But even so, the impatience still lingered in his chest. He knew that his anxiety was not because He Yuzhu was slow, but came from a deeper worry - how long can the people in the yard hold on? How long can these tubers be dug? What if one day, everything in the field is dug up, what should they do?

"Xiang Qian, what are you so anxious about?" He Yuzhu's voice pulled him back from his thoughts, "We are doing long-term work, don't always think about making a fortune in one night. Besides, you are so anxious as if you are going to the battlefield, is there something on your mind?"

Li Xiangqian pulled the corners of his mouth and forced a smile: "Nothing, I just want to finish it quickly and go back early. This place is too empty, I always feel uneasy."

He Yuzhu groaned, lowered his head and continued to work: "You, you just think too much. What we did was not stealing or robbing, if anyone really asks about it, we have nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, this land is so big, how could we be bumped into by such a coincidence?"

Li Xiangqian did not reply, but turned around and stared at the darkness in the distance. Various thoughts were surging in his mind, and a feeling of depression silently enveloped him, making his breathing a little heavy. The wasteland in the distance was strangely quiet, and occasionally a few night birds chirped, as if reminding them that this silence was not safe.

At this moment, He Yuzhu's voice suddenly rang out: "Okay, it's dug out! Come and help pack it into the bag, this piece is really big!"

Li Xiangqian came to his senses, took a few steps to He Yuzhu, looked down, and saw that it was indeed a round and large tuber with moist soil on the surface. He breathed a sigh of relief, squatted down, picked it up, and put it into the bag. When his fingers touched the tuber, he felt its heavy weight, and for a moment he had an inexplicable sense of solidity.

"This is the biggest piece of our harvest tonight, right?" He Yuzhu raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, a hint of pride on his face, "You see, I am slow, but this work is meticulous!"

Li Xiangqian didn't respond, but just nodded. He knew that He Yuzhu's slowness made sense, but his heart was still hanging, unable to completely relax. He lowered his head to tie the mouth of the bag tightly, then stood up and looked around.

"Yuzhu, it's almost time, let's call it a day." His tone was not as impatient as before, but it revealed a hint of anxiety, "If we stay any longer, I'm afraid something might happen."

He Yuzhu originally wanted to dig another piece, but seeing that Li Xiangqian looked unhappy, he didn't say much, but just sighed: "Okay, I'll listen to you. What we bring back is at least enough for the children in the courtyard to have two meals."

The two packed up their things and walked back with the cloth bags. Along the way, Li Xiangqian walked very fast, as if he wanted to leave this place that made him feel uneasy as soon as possible. He Yuzhu trotted behind him and asked, "Xiangqian, is there something you didn't tell me? Don't keep it to yourself, tell me and we can find a solution together."

Li Xiangqian was silent for a while, and his pace slowed down a little. He looked down at the dirt road under his feet, and said in a low voice: "Yuzhu, how long do you think we can last like this? We only have this piece of land, and there is a limit to what we can dig out. What if this piece of land is empty? Where else can we find it?"

He Yuzhu was silent after hearing this. They both knew that although these tubers solved the immediate problem, they were far from a long-term solution. But now, they had no other choice but to move forward step by step.

"Don't think too far ahead." He Yuzhu finally spoke, with a rare sense of ease in his tone. "We can survive one day at a time. We may be able to find a better way tomorrow. You have a very clever brain, you will definitely be able to come up with something!"

Li Xiangqian listened and forced a smile, but said nothing more. He knew He Yuzhu was trying to comfort him, but the worry in his heart did not diminish. When he returned to the courtyard, it was almost dawn, and the stars began to disappear little by little in the gray clouds on the horizon. The courtyard was still quiet, with only a few barking dogs breaking the silence of the night.

An idea suddenly flashed through Li Xiangqian's mind. It was the stick stem he had seen in the field a few days ago. He had seen that thing before. It was as strong as iron and had thick rhizomes. Although it looked inconspicuous, it had strong vitality and could grow tenaciously in poor soil. Li Xiangqian remembered that he squatted down and touched the rough rhizome, and he felt a little strange in his heart. At that time, he didn't think much about it, but just felt that this thing seemed to have a deep relationship with the soil and might be able to provide some help.

Now, thinking back, the root shape of the stick and the location where it grew suddenly made Li Xiangqian realize that it might not only be an edible ingredient, but also a hope that could grow in this wasteland. Without thinking too much, he turned to He Yuzhu and said, "Yuzhu, let's go and see if the stick can be used for anything else?"

He Yuzhu was stunned, looking at Li Xiangqian's expression, "What are you looking for?"

"Banggen, remember the one on the ground? I think it's not only edible, but it can also be made into something else, or used to dig things." Li Xiangqian's tone was more determined than usual, as if he had found a breakthrough from uncertainty in an instant, "In addition to tubers, there may be these things in this field that can help us."