Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

Li Xiangqian quickly agreed: "Of course, I will definitely not let you down!"

After hanging up the phone, Li Xiangqian breathed a sigh of relief, but he was not at ease. He knew that his words were a little too eager for quick success and even a little calculating. Sha Zhu was not smart and was easily persuaded. Li Xiangqian knew clearly to some extent that he had taken advantage of Sha Zhu's trust, and this trust would not necessarily bring good results.

However, the anxiety and pressure deep in his heart made Li Xiangqian not think too much. He just thought that he needed the money and had to solve the problem as soon as possible. Although Sha Zhu was careless, in his opinion, Sha Zhu's kindness was enough to give him time to sort out the follow-up matters.

The next day, Sha Zhu really gave the money to Li Xiangqian. Although he did not fully understand Li Xiangqian's specific needs, he still lent him a considerable amount of money as he asked. After Li Xiangqian received the money, his inner burden was somewhat relieved, at least the current predicament had a temporary solution.

However, things did not go as smoothly as Li Xiangqian had imagined.

A few days later, Li Xiangqian found that Sha Zhu seemed to be acting strange. Sha Zhu began to call frequently to ask about the money, and his tone became more and more urgent, and Li Xiangqian gradually felt uneasy. He began to feel guilty. Although he knew he had done nothing wrong, Sha Zhu's questions made him wonder if he had rushed things too much and even pushed Sha Zhu into an unpredictable situation.

Sha Zhu's calls became more and more frequent, and each time he called was filled with anxiety and confusion. "Li Xiangqian, I'm really worried. What are you planning to do this time? Can I get the money back as scheduled?"

Li Xiangqian always used vague answers to deal with it, but his inner anxiety was accumulating little by little. He began to fear Sha Zhu's questioning, and began to wonder whether he should continue to "borrow strength" in this way. He dared not face Sha Zhu's simple trust again, because he knew that everything he did was invisibly putting Sha Zhu in trouble.

Until one day, Li Xiangqian received a text message from Sha Zhu: "Old Li, I feel like something is not right with you lately. You keep saying you will pay me back, but I haven't seen you take any action. I may not know much, but I feel like you've ripped me off." The text message was simple and clear, but it made Li Xiangqian's heart feel like it was stabbed by a knife.

He held the phone tightly, feeling mixed emotions, and cold sweat instantly covered his whole body.

However, a recent incident made Li Xiangqian upset.

This morning, he bought several kilograms of potatoes at the market, thinking of making a potato stew with meat in the evening, for himself and his mother to try. He always felt that home-cooked dishes like potato stew with meat could make people feel the warmth of home the most. Back at the courtyard, the morning sun was already shining on the ground, and there was a layer of dew on the tiles in the courtyard. Li Xiangqian placed the potatoes he bought from the market in a corner of the courtyard, next to a pile of firewood, and planned to cook it later.

However, when Li Xiangqian was preparing to cook in the evening, he found that the potatoes were missing.

He first went to the corner and looked through the woodpile, but he didn't see any potatoes. Li Xiangqian frowned and thought: Could it be that I remembered it wrong? But how could it be possible? He clearly remembered that he had put it there. So he went into the house, opened his mother's room, and looked inside. His mother was sitting at the head of the bed, sewing an old dress.

"Mom, where are the potatoes? Where are the potatoes I bought today?" Li Xiangqian couldn't help but ask.

The mother looked up with a trace of confusion on her face: "Potatoes? I didn't touch them. Didn't you leave them in the yard?"

Li Xiangqian was stunned. His heart sank at his mother's answer. She obviously didn't realize that the potatoes were missing. So he walked back to the yard and checked every corner again, even digging through some piles of debris, but still found nothing. Li Xiangqian began to feel that something was wrong. Although the courtyard was small, there were some hidden places on all sides, and he really didn't check very carefully. But the potatoes couldn't have disappeared out of thin air.

Li Xiangqian sat on a stone bench in the yard and began to ponder. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the old locust tree. Usually, there were not many people coming in and out of the yard. Apart from him and his mother, there were almost no outsiders. And this morning, he clearly saw the potatoes placed in the corner, how could they disappear all of a sudden?

Just then, there was a sound of footsteps at the gate. Li Xiangqian looked up and saw his neighbor Xiao Zhang walking out of the alley with a sack in his hand. Xiao Zhang was a warm-hearted young man who would come to help his mother clean the yard or chat when he had nothing to do. Li Xiangqian stood up from the stone bench, walked over, and greeted him with a smile: "Xiao Zhang, you came at the right time today. Please help me check if anyone has taken the potatoes in the corner of our house?"

Xiao Zhang was stunned for a moment, then he also laughed: "Potatoes? I didn't see any, Brother Li."

Li Xiangqian was stunned, and his heart was filled with doubts: "You didn't see it? I clearly put it there this morning."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on it for you." Xiao Zhang patted Li Xiangqian's shoulder, "It should be fine, don't worry too much."

Li Xiangqian nodded, but he was still uneasy. After Xiao Zhang left, he checked the yard again and even looked up at the branches of the old locust tree, thinking to himself: "The potatoes are gone. Did I make a mistake or did someone do something?"

At this moment, Li Xiangqian suddenly realized that in recent days, his mother seemed to be always restless, always looking out the door from time to time, as if waiting for something. She seemed not as reassuring as before, and was not careful enough in daily affairs. He remembered that his mother had some inexplicable changes. Could there be something hidden behind this that he had not noticed?

Li Xiangqian began to suspect that this matter might not be as simple as the loss of potatoes. Is there another hidden story behind the loss of potatoes? In this courtyard, besides him and his mother, are there other people? For a moment, he was overwhelmed with emotions and didn't know how to find out the truth behind it.

He sat back on the stone bench in the yard and vowed to himself that no matter what, he would find out tonight. The potatoes were missing, and there must be some unknown secret behind it. And he could no longer let this uneasiness and suspicion linger in his heart as usual.

Li Xiangqian sat on a stone bench in the yard. The dim light shone on his face, revealing a look of fatigue and anxiety. The cold wind outside had already blown into the courtyard with the chill of winter. The branches of the locust tree rustled in the wind, as if it was a sign of some kind of uneasiness.