Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

As he was thinking, he accidentally stepped on a stone, which made a slight sound. The shadow seemed to be startled and suddenly jumped out of the bushes, revealing a brown snake body.

When Li Xiangqian saw the snake, his heart skipped a beat and he even froze. The snake looked ferocious, curled up, and stared at him coldly. The snake raised its head slightly, in an attacking posture, as if ready to pounce at any time. Li Xiangqian instinctively took a step back, with countless thoughts flashing through his mind: "What should I do? If I get bit by it, it will be a big deal."

The appearance of the snake made him break out in a cold sweat. He originally thought that farming in this courtyard was just labor, but he didn't expect to encounter such a situation. He swallowed his saliva again, his heart pounding, and his eyes were fixed on the snake, fearing that it would suddenly attack. He carefully raised the hoe in his hand, took a defensive posture, and tried to calm himself down.

The snake seemed to sense his vigilance, and slowly lowered its head, but its eyes were still fixed on Li Xiangqian, and its tail swayed gently, as if to intimidate him. He did not dare to be careless, and silently thought about how to get rid of the snake. He held the hoe tighter and tighter in his hand, as if the snake would swoop over if he was not careful.

He quickly recalled the various ways to deal with snakes that he had read on the Internet. He knew that it was not wise to provoke a snake, so he had to stay calm. He held his breath, slowly stepped back a few steps, and moved slowly, trying to leave without provoking the snake to attack. The snake did not move, still staring at him.

Suddenly, the branch behind him snapped. The sudden sound made Li Xiangqian's nerves tense. The snake was also startled by the sound and quickly twisted its body, shrinking into the grass and disappearing from sight. Li Xiangqian breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes still showing a look of shock. He could even feel that his clothes on his back were soaked.

Li Xiangqian didn't dare to move until the snake completely disappeared. He looked at the bushes and felt a little scared. "I didn't expect to encounter snakes while farming. It seems that this place is full of unexpected surprises." He muttered to himself and decided to go back and see if there was any way to drive away the snake. He thought that if he encountered a snake again, at least he would be prepared.

Back in the house, Li Xiangqian poured a glass of water, his fingers still trembling slightly. He picked up the glass and took a gulp to calm his still pounding heart. He recalled the confrontation with the snake just now and felt a little unbelievable. When he lived in the city before, at most he would encounter a stray dog ​​on the road, but he never thought that he would confront a snake.

He started looking through his phone to see if there were any good ways to deal with snakes. There were many ways to repel snakes on the Internet, such as sprinkling lime powder, spraying special medicines, and even seeing some locals like to use tiger urine, but he felt that these methods didn't seem very reliable. He sighed, put down his phone, and thought that maybe he should be more careful and not go into the grass or bushes casually.

Just as he was thinking, his neighbor, Lao Zhang, suddenly knocked on the door and came in. Lao Zhang was a "native" of this courtyard. His ancestors had lived on this land and were very familiar with every plant and tree nearby. When Li Xiangqian saw Lao Zhang, he couldn't help but tell him what had just happened, and even described in an exaggerated tone how fierce the snake was and how smart he was.

After hearing this, Lao Zhang burst into laughter. "Oh, Xiao Li, this is just an ordinary snake. Don't make a fuss. Snakes often appear in our area, and they usually don't attack people. If you are really scared, I can get you some herbs to drive away the snake."

When Li Xiangqian heard what Lao Zhang said, his nervousness dissipated a lot. He smiled awkwardly and scratched his head, "I didn't expect that. It turns out you guys are used to it."

Lao Zhang smiled and patted his shoulder. "Young man, don't think farming is a simple job. There are many tricks involved. It's not just about planting, but also about knowing how to deal with everything on the land. You grew up in the city, so it's normal that you haven't seen it before. Just get used to it slowly."

After that, Lao Zhang took out some herbs and handed them to Li Xiangqian, telling him to crush them and sprinkle them on the ground to repel snakes. Li Xiangqian took the herbs and was full of gratitude to Lao Zhang. He returned to the vegetable field, crushed the herbs Lao Zhang gave him carefully, and sprinkled them on the ground according to his instructions, and did not forget to pray that these herbs were really effective.

A few days later, when Li Xiangqian went to the vegetable field again, he really didn't see any snakes, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He thought of Lao Zhang's words, and he had a little more respect for this piece of land, and a different understanding of it. This piece of land seemed no longer just a place where he worked hard to grow vegetables, but a small world with unique creatures and order.

Li Xiangqian stood by the vegetable field, holding a sturdy bamboo pole in his hand, thinking about what had happened in the past few days. Although the appearance of the snake did not bring any real threat, it left a shadow in his heart. This shadow reminded him all the time that life in the courtyard was far more complicated than he had imagined.

He looked down at the bamboo pole in his hand, his eyes firmer, and muttered to himself: "I can't always be so passive. I should think of a thorough way to prevent it." Although Lao Zhang's herbal medicine is effective, it can only dispel it temporarily. What if I encounter another poisonous snake? This thought lingered in his mind, becoming clearer and clearer.

After thinking about it for a few days, Li Xiangqian finally decided to set up a "big formation" himself to prevent snakes and even other possible wild animals. He bought a large net bag from the market. The net bag was strong and elastic enough to catch those lurking guys. Looking at the open net bag in his hand, he felt complicated, a little nervous and a little excited.

"Now, let's see if you can slip in easily." He whispered confidently, as if talking to the snakes. Then, he came to the edge of the vegetable field with a bamboo pole and a net bag, checked the terrain everywhere, and carefully thought about how to set the trap.

At dusk, Li Xiangqian was still squatting on the ground, concentrating on adjusting the angle of the net bag. Sweat dripped onto the ground, but he didn't bother to wipe it off. He just looked up and glanced into the distance, thinking to himself: "It's not easy to farm. This small place hides so many unpredictable dangers. Now that I'm here, I have to keep this piece of land firmly."

As Li Xiangqian arranged the trap, he calculated the possible path of the snake in his mind. He remembered the place where he last encountered the snake and analyzed its possible range and trajectory. He carefully pointed the opening of the net bag in the direction where the snake appeared last time.