Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"All this can't be a coincidence." Li Xiangqian frowned. He had a strong intuition that everything that happened in the yard recently might have some connection behind it that he hadn't noticed yet. And the clues to all this might be hidden in the details that he had overlooked.

He sat down again and took a sip of the teacup on the table. The tea was cold, but he didn't care. He just let the slightly bitter taste help him calm down. He had to sort out all the clues and find the key points before he could make an accurate judgment on what would happen next.

The stick, the shovel, the wasteland, the old man…these fragments formed a vague picture in his mind, but there was always a crucial puzzle piece missing. That puzzle piece might be a sentence he ignored, or a movement he didn’t notice.

"Banggeng wouldn't go to the wasteland to dig for no reason." Li Xiangqian muttered to himself. His thoughts became clearer and he felt that the wasteland might hide something important. Although Banggeng said "I didn't dig anything", children of his age often don't know what they are doing. Those things that he thinks are unimportant may be the key.

He suddenly felt that he should go to the wasteland himself. Banggeng's behavior, plus the dirt on the shovel, all pointed to that place. If he could find any clues, he might be able to connect the whole mystery.

"Forward!" A familiar voice brought him back to reality. He looked up and saw He Yuzhu striding into the yard, with a bit of fatigue on his face, but more of concern.

"Why are you here?" Li Xiangqian put down the teacup, a hint of confusion on his face.

"I heard from the old man that you haven't been feeling well lately, so I came to check on you." He Yuzhu stood at the door, glanced around the room, then walked in and sat down, "Are you hiding something from me recently?"

Li Xiangqian was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: "No, what could be the matter?"

He Yuzhu stared at him, his expression gradually becoming serious: "Xiang Qian, we have known each other for so long, how can I not see it? Your eyes are full of worries, are you in trouble?"

Li Xiangqian was silent for a while and sighed: "Yuzhu, there are some things that I don't want to say, but it won't help if I say it out. You just need to know that I have to be careful now and can't make any mistakes."

He Yuzhu frowned, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes: "How can I feel at ease with you like this? We are brothers, it's better for us to share the burden than for you to bear it alone."

Li Xiangqian felt warm in his heart, but also had mixed emotions. He knew that He Yuzhu was genuinely concerned about him, but in the current situation, the fewer people involved, the better. He raised his head and looked at He Yuzhu, his tone low but firm: "Yuzhu, I can handle this by myself, just promise me not to ask too many questions and not to interfere."

He Yuzhu wanted to say something, but seeing Li Xiangqian's determined eyes, he could only sigh: "Okay, you should be more careful. If you need any help, remember to find me first."

Li Xiangqian nodded, and as he watched He Yuzhu leave, his heart was once again filled with mixed emotions. He knew very well how dangerous what he was doing was, but he had no choice. Now, he could only rely on his own calmness and judgment.

He stood up and looked out the window with a determined look. The sky was gradually getting brighter, and the sun shone in the yard, giving people an illusion that everything was calm. But he knew in his heart that this was just the calm before the storm.

"We must hurry up," he said to himself. Thinking of this, he picked up the shovel in the corner, pushed open the door, and strode towards the path leading to the wasteland.

Li walked forward with steady steps, all the way to the wasteland. Every step he took was like stepping on the drumbeat, and the tension and doubt in his heart extended along with the dirt road under his feet. He stared ahead, and his mind kept recalling every word Banggeng said and every detail he observed last night.

It was already bright, and a breeze blew across the wasteland, bringing with it a damp, earthy smell. Li Xiangqian stood at the edge of the wasteland and looked around. This area had not been cultivated for a long time, and was overgrown with weeds. Those messy weeds were like some untamed creatures, swaying in the wind and making rustling sounds. Although it looked quiet, this place inexplicably made people feel a little uneasy.

He raised his hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and slowly walked towards the place Banggeng mentioned last night. The soil here was softer than he thought, and it made a slight "crunching" sound with every step. He squatted down and gently picked up a handful of soil with his hand, and found that the soil here was almost exactly the same as the soil on the shovel in the yard.

"Sure enough, this is where Banggeng came last night." Li Xiangqian whispered to himself, then stood up and looked around.

He scanned the wasteland and noticed a small area in front of him where the grass was shorter than the surrounding area, and it looked like it had been turned over. He walked over quickly and squatted down to observe carefully. Sure enough, the soil there had obvious signs of freshness, and the soil color was darker than the surrounding area. He could even see some signs of weeds that had been pressed down.

"What did Banggen dig here?" Li Xiangqian frowned and analyzed quickly in his mind. He picked up the shovel, thrust it into the soil, and began to dig. As the shovel turned, clods of soil kept falling, and the air was filled with the smell of moist soil. He felt inexplicably uneasy, as if all this seemed to hide some unknown truth.

Not long after digging, the shovel suddenly hit something hard, making a dull sound. Li Xiangqian stopped, held his breath, squatted down, and pushed away the soil covering it. Soon, a shabby iron box appeared in front of him.

He stared at the iron box, and his palms were sweating slightly. Although the box was rusty, it was obviously carefully hidden in the soil. Banggeng might not know its true value, but his intuition told him that there must be something important hidden in this iron box.

Li Xiangqian carefully took the iron box out of the soil and placed it beside him. He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to him, then slowly opened the lid of the box. With a slight "creak", the lid of the iron box was opened, and the contents inside made his eyes widen instantly.

There were some scattered nails, broken copper pieces and a few blurred pieces of paper in the box. Although these things seemed insignificant, their placement was very particular and seemed to have some meaning. Especially the pieces of paper, although the writing was blurred due to moisture, some simple lines and patterns could still be vaguely seen.