Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"Xiang Qian, today is a really good day. We have planted the land well. When the day of harvest comes, I believe everyone will be very happy." Liu Guangtian said with emotion.

Li Xiangqian smiled and nodded, "Yes, as long as we work together, this land will surely bring us the joy of a good harvest. I also hope that our life in the courtyard will get better and better."

Li Xiangqian had been feeling something was wrong in the past few days. Almost every morning he would find that the leaves of some crops on the land that he and his neighbors had worked so hard to cultivate had been chewed to pieces, and even some newly sprouted shoots had been dug up and torn to pieces. This made him feel depressed, and his intuition told him that the land might have been destroyed by some small animal.

The morning sun shone through the mist onto the fields. Li Xiangqian bent down and carefully checked the situation in the field. He found that some of the soil was loose, and a few gnawed leaves were hanging alone on the stems of the plants, which was particularly dazzling. Li Xiangqian frowned. He knew that this was not an ordinary insect pest. The roots of the plants also had obvious signs of looseness, which seemed to be dug from the ground by some small animal. He felt vaguely that it might be mice that were causing trouble.

With this question in mind, Li Xiangqian returned to the courtyard and found Uncle Wang and Liu Guangtian who had been involved in farming. The three of them stood in the yard, and Li Xiangqian told them his discovery.

"Uncle Wang, Liu Guangtian, I went to the fields this morning and found that there might be rats causing trouble in our fields. The leaves of many crops have been gnawed, and even the soil at the roots has been dug up. I guess the rats sneaked out while we were away." There was some anxiety in Li Xiangqian's tone. He didn't want to see the crops that everyone had worked so hard to grow being destroyed.

Uncle Wang's face became a little serious when he heard this. He nodded and said, "Xiang Qian, you are right. Rats are the most annoying thing. Not only do they eat crops, but they also easily make the soil in the field a mess. Over time, our fields will be ruined."

Liu Guangtian also frowned, "That's right, we have to think of a way to deal with these rats quickly, otherwise all our hard work these days will be in vain."

Li Xiangqian thought that the most important thing now was to find an effective way to prevent the rats from continuing to cause damage. While listening to the advice of Grandpa Wang and Liu Guangtian, he recalled how his grandfather dealt with these troubles when he was a child in his grandfather's farmland.

"I remember when I was a child, my grandfather used a folk remedy, which was to bury some tobacco leaves in the ground. He said that mice would avoid it when they smelled the scent. But our land is so big that tobacco leaves alone may not be enough." Li Xiangqian pondered. As he recalled, he tried to come up with a better solution.

Uncle Wang touched his chin, thought for a moment and said, "Go ahead, we can try some rat poison, but we have to be careful. After all, the drug also has an impact on other organisms, especially the vegetables and fruits we want to grow. Another way is to get some mousetraps and put them in places where mice often appear to see if we can catch a few."

Liu Guangtian also nodded in agreement, "I think the mousetrap method is good. We can set up a few traps around to make sure the mice have nowhere to escape." He felt that the mousetrap method was indeed feasible. So, he decided to act immediately, "Well, let's buy some mousetraps first, and then bury some tobacco leaves to see if we can drive the mice out."

That afternoon, Li Xiangqian took Liu Guangtian to a nearby hardware store and bought a few mousetraps and some tobacco leaves. After returning to the fields, they carefully observed the situation in the fields and found that the soil in several places was particularly loose, which was obviously where mice often appeared.

"Guangtian, let's start with these places and see how effective it is." Li Xiangqian said, pointing to the traces on the ground.

Liu Guangtian nodded, and the two of them divided the work, one buried the mousetrap, and the other buried tobacco leaves in the ground with a small shovel. Although the weather was hot and their clothes were soaked with sweat, the two did not stop their work. They both knew that this piece of land was everyone's hard work, and they couldn't let these thieves ruin everyone's efforts.

When they finished the arrangement, it was getting dark. Li Xiangqian stood at the edge of the field, looking at the whole field, feeling a little relieved, but still not daring to relax completely. He knew that whether the arrangement tonight was effective would depend on the results tomorrow morning. He prayed silently in his heart, hoping that the mice would stay away from the field after smelling the tobacco, or be caught by the mousetrap. Li Xiangqian got up early, with a hint of nervousness and expectation in his heart, and hurried to the field to check the situation. The field was quiet, and everything looked peaceful except for the rustling sound of the breeze blowing through the leaves.

He first checked the position of the mousetraps, and suddenly his heart tightened - there was a gray-black mouse caught in one of the mousetraps, and it was obviously trapped last night. Li Xiangqian felt complicated. Although he saw the mousetrap work successfully, he felt a little reluctant to see the life of this little creature end in front of him.

"Xiang Qian, the effect is good!" Liu Guangtian's voice came from behind, interrupting Li Xiangqian's thoughts.

Li Xiangqian nodded, "Yes, it seems that our method has worked. Although this method is a bit cruel, in order to preserve everyone's hard work, this is the only way."

Liu Guangtian patted Li Xiangqian on the shoulder and said, "Don't think too much. We are doing the right thing. This piece of land is everyone's hope. We can't let these rats destroy it."

Li Xiangqian took a deep breath and gradually calmed down. He knew that his choice was not wrong. Although mice are living things, on this piece of land, the efforts and fruits of human labor are more worthy of cherishing and protecting. He decided to take better care of this piece of land in the future and try to avoid giving mice any chance to take advantage.

In the following days, Li Xiangqian and Liu Guangtian checked the mousetraps regularly and reinforced the protective measures around the fields. Although some traces of mice were still found occasionally, the overall situation had improved greatly. The crops began to thrive and the leaves no longer showed signs of being gnawed. As Li Xiangqian watched the fields gradually recovering, the uneasiness in his heart finally dissipated.

One evening, Li Xiangqian and Liu Guangtian were patrolling the fields. After confirming that everything was fine, they sat at the edge of the field, looking at the sunset in the distance, feeling an indescribable sense of satisfaction in their hearts.

"Xiang Qian, how much do you think we can harvest from this land in the future?" Liu Guangtian suddenly asked, with anticipation in his eyes.

Li Xiangqian smiled, with a hint of longing in his eyes, "I believe that as long as we continue to work so hard, this piece of land will definitely have a great harvest.