Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

Li Xiangqian was slightly startled, thinking to himself that Xu Damao's kindness was indeed heartwarming, but the taboo in his heart made him somewhat resistant, not wanting anyone to set foot in his land. So he smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Forget it, Damao, I can handle the land matters myself, so you don't have to worry about it. In this kind of situation, maybe one day the snake will go away on its own."

Seeing that he was determined not to let him help, Xu Damao did not insist. He nodded and smiled: "Okay, then just call me if you need anything." He then stood up and left with an excited look on his face, obviously eager to try the "chili lime method" taught by Li Xiangqian.

As he watched Xu Damao's back gradually go away, Li Xiangqian's nervousness slowly dissipated, and was replaced by a deeper fear. Even in the previous conversation, his fear and uneasiness still lingered. When Xu Damao mentioned the snake's nest, the string in his heart was invisibly plucked, as if he had indeed touched something that he shouldn't have touched.

He walked to the edge of the vegetable field again, looking at the rat poison he had spread, feeling mixed emotions. Even with the protection of the powder, he still couldn't feel completely at ease. The snake seemed to have become a shadow in his heart that he couldn't shake off, lurking in the dark all the time, waiting for a chance to reappear. The cold snake eyes seemed to still linger in his mind, carrying an indescribable sense of threat, making him feel depressed and anxious all the time.

At this moment, the chickens in the yard suddenly made a series of uneasy cries, flapped their wings and fled in all directions. Li Xiangqian's heart tightened, and he suddenly looked up in the direction of the chicken coop, and the image of the snake immediately emerged in his mind. He walked over quickly, but his heart was full of conflicting emotions - he hoped to see the snake and solve the taboo in his heart once and for all, but he was afraid that he would really face the cold snake eyes again.

However, when he walked to the chicken coop, he found nothing but a few scattered chicken feathers on the ground. The yard returned to peace, and the sudden uneasiness seemed to be just a false alarm, but Li Xiangqian's heart could not calm down for a long time. Back in the house, he took a deep breath, sat on the edge of the bed, clenched his hands into fists, and his palms were full of sweat.

Li Xiangqian carefully counted the bottles of purified water he had just bought and neatly stacked them in the corner of the room, and gradually felt a little comforted. Summer was approaching, and drought was approaching quietly again, especially for the vegetables he planted, which required a lot of water. A slight lack of water would affect the growth of the crops. He had put so much effort into this piece of land, and he couldn't let it dry out and wither.

However, all this is not just because of the drought. Ever since he encountered the snake, Li Xiangqian has always had an inexplicable uneasiness. He is afraid that if there is a problem with the water source one day, he will not even have an emergency solution, and this piece of pure water has become his "life-saving straw". In fact, there is a well at home, but he still couldn't help but buy a few more barrels of pure water, always thinking that this would make him feel more confident.

After arranging the water supply, Li Xiangqian wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked out the window at the field. He frowned and thought, hesitating a little, thinking to himself: "The water in the field is enough now, but if the drought really comes, how many days can this pure water last? If there is an emergency, will this water really work?"

As soon as this thought came to his mind, Li Xiangqian suddenly felt a little regretful, thinking that he seemed to be too cautious. Purified water is indeed precious, but it is not realistic to hoard it like this. He stared at the neatly arranged water bottles, unconsciously a little dazed, and reminded himself again and again in his heart, "It is better to be prepared." So he muttered to himself, "It's better to put it aside first than not to use it when the time comes." However, these comforting words did not really dispel his doubts, but made him more suspicious whether he was a little "worrying too much."

Just as Li Xiangqian was deep in thought, He Yuzhu's voice came from outside: "Xiangqian, are you in the room? I have something to discuss with you!"

Li Xiangqian was stunned, and quickly put away his worries, turned around and walked out of the house. Seeing He Yuzhu standing at the door with a smile on his face, Li Xiangqian couldn't help but smile and asked, "What's the matter? Yuzhu, what good news do you have today?"

He Yuzhu scratched his head and smiled naively, "It's not a good thing, it's just that my land has been a little wilted recently, and I wanted to ask you for advice to see if there is any way to save it."

Li Xiangqian nodded, but something was happening in his heart. In the past few days, everyone's fields had a lot of minor problems, some were caused by insect pests, some were caused by lack of water, and He Yuzhu's field was one of them. Although the weather was still normal, the crops in the field were more likely to dry up and turn yellow than before, as if they had encountered some inexplicable situation. He couldn't help but secretly said to himself, "Is there really something wrong with the Feng Shui? Or has the climate changed recently?"

He suppressed his doubts and smiled, "Yuzhu, how about this, let's go to the field together. Maybe it's a soil problem. The climate changes are a bit strange recently. We need to take a closer look."

He Yuzhu smiled and nodded, then followed Li Xiangqian and walked towards the field. Along the way, He Yuzhu chattered about the situation in his field, complaining from time to time: "I don't understand, the crops were not so difficult to raise in previous years, why are there so many problems this year! Xiangqian, do you think our field has been disturbed by something?"

Li Xiangqian raised his lips slightly, thinking to himself, "It's not a big deal, but something has been wrong recently. Maybe we should pay more attention." But he didn't express his concerns. He just comforted him, "Don't worry, Yuzhu. Solve problems when you encounter them. We are all in this business. It's normal to encounter some difficulties."

He Yuzhu nodded, feeling a little better, and the two soon came to He Yuzhu's field. Li Xiangqian squatted down, pushed away the dry soil on the ground, carefully checked the soil, grabbed a few handfuls of soil and smelled it, and felt that the moisture in the ground was indeed a little insufficient.

"Yuzhu, your land is indeed short of water." Li Xiangqian frowned, thinking about how to help. "The well water is not scarce recently. You can increase the frequency of watering. As long as you keep the roots moist, the crops in the field should be able to recover slowly."

He Yuzhu looked embarrassed when he heard this: "I do have the water, but I'm afraid that when the drought comes, our well won't last long."

Li Xiangqian sighed with empathy, patted He Yuzhu's shoulder gently, and said slowly: "I thought so too. So I specially stocked up some purified water at home. Although it's not much, it may be able to help at a critical moment."