Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"Today we just want to see if this watermelon is worth it." The first gangster raised a sinister smile.

Li Xiangqian's heart sank, thinking to himself: This is definitely not a good sign. He tried to keep smiling and tried not to look scared: "If you want to buy it, the price can be negotiated."

"Price? How could we possibly be interested in such a small business like yours?" The gangster sneered with a hint of disdain.

Li Xiangqian felt helpless, but he knew that he could not back down at this moment. He tightly grasped the tool in his hand, took a step forward, and kept a smile on his face: "But this is the truth. Watermelon is good and everyone can benefit from it."

The laughter of the gangsters echoed in the air, making him feel oppressed, but he was unwilling to show weakness and tried to appear calm. He secretly thought in his heart that he could not let these people threaten him at will, and his efforts and hard work would not be in vain.

"We don't have time to listen to your nonsense." The voice of one of the thugs became sharp, and there was a spark of disdain in his eyes.

At this moment, Jia Dongxu, who was standing aside, also felt a little angry. He didn't want Li Xiangqian to be threatened, so he immediately said, "What do you want to do? Don't act so pretentiously here!"

"Who are you?" The gangsters turned to look at Jia Dongxu, with provocation flashing in their eyes.

Li Xiangqian secretly cheered in his heart. Jia Dongxu has always been a strong man. Being able to stand up at such a moment really made him feel a little supported.

"If you dare to threaten people here, be prepared to bear the consequences." Jia Dongxu said in a firm tone, with no intention of backing down.

"Oh, listen to what this guy is saying." The thugs mocked, obviously not taking Jia Dongxu seriously. They moved closer, trying to exert further pressure.

There were several neighbors who often came and went in the courtyard, and the most enthusiastic one was Aunt Zhang. She was a capable woman who liked to get involved in everything. When Li Xiangqian first moved in, Aunt Zhang came to help with the cleaning, giving instructions, which made Li Xiangqian a little uncomfortable. But over time, he gradually understood that Aunt Zhang didn't have any bad intentions, she just worried too much.

One day, Li Xiangqian was wandering around the yard. Aunt Zhang came back from outside with a basket of vegetables. Seeing him in a daze, she asked casually, "Little Li, I see you wandering around the yard lately. What are you doing? What's going on?"

Li Xiangqian paused, thought for a moment, and said, "Nothing, I just want to plant some onions in the yard."

"Growing onions? Wow, that's new." Aunt Zhang smiled, "You're still growing vegetables. Onions are not something you can just grow casually."

Li Xiangqian smiled and didn't respond. He didn't know much about growing onions, but he thought it was a simple thing to just throw them in the yard and they would grow. It was no big deal.

Seeing that he didn't say much, Aunt Zhang couldn't help but say something more: "You have to be careful about growing vegetables. You can't just plant them whenever you want. Onions are easy to grow, but you have to see if the land is suitable, and you have to consider the sunlight and water."

Li Xiangqian didn't really care about it. He just wanted to find something to do and thought growing onions wouldn't be that hard. But Aunt Zhang was being serious, so Li Xiangqian didn't feel comfortable interrupting her.

Aunt Zhang added, "If you really want to plant, why not ask Old Sun first? He is a famous farming expert in the courtyard. The eggplants in his backyard grow so well, and the tomatoes too, and the harvest is very good every year. I think he can give you some tips, so that you don't end up wasting your time and effort when you fail to plant."

Li Xiangqian nodded. Although he was thinking, "It's just planting onions. Is it really necessary to go through so much trouble?", he still agreed.

That afternoon, Li Xiangqian went to Old Sun's house. Old Sun was already over 70 years old, and his legs and feet were not very agile. He seldom went out, but he was always very alert to what was happening in the yard. Li Xiangqian knocked on the door, entered Old Sun's yard, and saw Old Sun squatting on the ground fiddling with his eggplant vines.

"Old Sun, are you busy?" Li Xiangqian asked politely.

Old Sun raised his head, squinted his eyes and smiled: "Oh, it's Xiao Li, come in, come in, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Li Xiangqian stood in front of him, a little embarrassed, scratching his head: "I just want to ask, that... I want to grow some onions in the yard, do you think it's okay?"

When Old Sun heard this, he laughed even more happily: "Grow onions? Great, they are easy to grow. Which piece of land do you want to plant them on?"

Li Xiangqian pointed in the direction of his yard and said, "That empty piece of land over there, do you think it's okay?"

Old Sun wiped his hands, stood up slowly, and patted the dirt off his pants: "It's OK, but you have to be careful, onions are most afraid of water accumulation. Your land is low, you have to raise it a little, otherwise it will be flooded when it rains, and the onions will go bad."

Li Xiangqian nodded and made a note of it.

"Also, onions love sunlight. You have to choose a place where the sun can shine. Don't let it stay in the shadow all the time." Old Sun continued to advise, "Don't water it too much. It's okay if the soil is a little dry at the beginning. You can just water it more later."

As Li Xiangqian listened, he felt that this matter was much more complicated than he thought. He thought that he could just find a piece of land, plant the seeds, water it and wait for the harvest, but he didn't know there were so many tricks. However, since he had already inquired about these, he couldn't give up halfway, so he simply did what Old Sun said.

Back in his yard, Li Xiangqian began to prepare. He first dug the land a little deeper, laid some bricks, and covered it with a layer of fine soil. Then he felt that it was almost done. Then he went to the vegetable market and bought some onion seeds. According to Old Sun's advice, he spread them on the land. Although it was a bit clumsy, it was finally completed.

In the following days, Li Xiangqian went to the yard almost every day to check on the onion seedlings. In the first few days, the soil was quiet and nothing grew. Li Xiangqian was a little anxious and couldn't help wondering if he had done something wrong. But Aunt Zhang and Old Sun said that it takes time for the seeds to germinate, so there is no need to rush and just wait.

A week later, Li Xiangqian finally saw the first hint of green. A few thin shoots emerged from the soil, looking like new life. At that moment, Li Xiangqian felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction, as if these small onion seedlings brought some hope to his life.

As the days passed, the onion seedlings gradually grew under Li Xiangqian's careful care. The yard became more lively because of these new lives. Every morning, Li Xiangqian would come out to check on the seedlings first.