Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"Mom, has something happened to you recently?" Li Xiangqian asked in a low voice, his voice unconsciously carrying a hint of anxiety.

The mother shook her head slowly, with a complex emotion flashing in her eyes, as if she was resisting helplessly, or as if she was suffering from some kind of suppressed pain. She looked into Li Xiangqian's eyes and whispered, "It's nothing, it's just... I think too much about some things, and I feel uneasy." She paused, lowered her head again, "Don't worry... Don't worry, it's okay."

Li Xiangqian's heartbeat suddenly stopped. These words seemed to make him understand something all of a sudden, but he couldn't fully understand them. "Mom..." He couldn't say the words. He felt that his mother's changes were a bit heavy. The heavy emotions seemed to be pressing on his chest, making him feel like he was hitting an invisible wall every time he tried to get closer to her.

"Mom, have you been staying in the yard for too long recently?" Li Xiangqian's words were tentative, his eyes fixed on his mother's face, afraid to miss any change in her expression.

The mother did not answer immediately. After a moment's silence, she forced a smile and said, "It's okay. I like standing in the yard and looking at the locust tree. The tree is old and grows well every year."

Li Xiangqian's eyes fell on his mother's pale face, and his heart suddenly moved. He didn't believe that his mother would become so uneasy because of a tree, especially in recent times, his mother seemed to always avoid certain topics intentionally or unintentionally, and he had long been accustomed to the alienation brought by this silence.

"Don't avoid it anymore, Mom. I know what you know about potatoes." Li Xiangqian took a deep breath and whispered, "Even if you don't want to tell me, I will definitely find out the truth."

The mother's body suddenly stiffened, her hands tightly grasped the bed sheet, and the expression on her face instantly became a little distorted. Li Xiangqian saw this, his heart tightened, and he could almost hear his mother's rapid breathing. At that moment, he suddenly realized that his mother was hiding something in her heart. It was not that he didn't care, but that he had no chance to ask, or in other words, his mother had never thought of telling him these things.

The air in the room froze instantly, and the silence all around made Li Xiangqian feel a little breathless.

He stood up, with an impulse in his heart: "Mom, if you don't tell me, I'll go find someone else to ask."

"Where do you want to look?" the mother suddenly spoke in a low voice, but with a sense of helplessness, "It's useless no matter where you look. No one can tell you, Li Xiangqian." Her voice trembled a little, but her eyes seemed unusually firm, as if she had already made up her mind on this issue and would not tolerate any resistance.

Li Xiangqian was stunned, and the doubts in his heart became even stronger. "Mom, what does this mean?" His voice was mixed with a hint of anger and disappointment.

The mother slowly lowered her head and sighed, as if she had made some kind of decision, and said, "It's not important what potatoes you went to find. What's important is that you should have known it at that time."

Li Xiangqian's mind went blank. His mother's words were like a bomb that instantly blew up all his thoughts. He could hardly understand what she meant, and didn't know how to react. His mother seemed to feel that her words were a little too straightforward. She coughed lightly and continued, "I haven't told you because you are too naive. There are some things you shouldn't know."

"Mom, what happened?" Li Xiangqian could no longer hold back the questions in his heart, and his voice sounded a little anxious.

The mother was silent for a while, and finally spoke slowly: "You have been to that place, right?" She looked into Li Xiangqian's eyes, as if testing, but also as a reminder. "Do you find it strange that you always see some strange people?"

Li Xiangqian was stunned. "Where?"

The look in his mother's eyes became more and more complicated, as if she wanted to say something but was hesitant. Her fingers tightly grasped the bed sheet, as if she was determined to say something, but was restrained by some invisible force. At that moment, Li Xiangqian saw the pain and struggle flashing in his mother's eyes, and he knew that the secret hidden behind his mother was far more complicated than he had imagined.

He took a deep breath, forced himself to stay calm, and said patiently: "Mom, if you don't explain clearly, I won't let you go easily today."

The mother closed her eyes tightly, as if she had made some kind of decision. She whispered, "The sweet potatoes you bought outside are not important at all. The key is your shoes today." She raised her head, her eyes a little blurry, "Do you know, Li Xiangqian, your shoes today are already in the dirt."

Li Xiangqian was shocked. Dirt stuck in his shoes? He was stunned, and a picture flashed through his mind: when he returned home during the day, his soles were covered with mud, and he didn't even notice it when he entered the door. At that time, he hurried into the yard and saw the empty corner. His mind was in a mess, and he didn't pay attention to the mud on the soles of his shoes. But this detail mentioned by his mother made him feel an unprecedented tension, as if all the clues were suddenly connected at this moment.

"Mom, what does this mean?" Li Xiangqian's voice almost trembled.

After listening to his mother's words, Li Xiangqian's mind was in a mess. His thoughts were in a mess, and his mind was full of various questions, but each question seemed to be unable to touch the root. The pain and fear in his mother's eyes, as well as the details she just mentioned about the shoes being stuck in the soil, were like an insurmountable barrier, blocking his way forward. He knew that his mother had not finished speaking, and her words were just an introduction, but this introduction made him feel more confused and uneasy.

"My shoes are stuck in the dirt..." These words echoed in Li Xiangqian's mind like a brand. Whenever he wanted to recall the scene of walking into the courtyard that afternoon, his mother's eyes always appeared in his mind, the kind of eyes that hid secrets, as if they could see through everything, even all his thoughts. Li Xiangqian didn't dare to think about it anymore, because he knew that his thoughts had begun to become confused and he could no longer sort them out as usual.

He lowered his head and looked at his mother's pale face, feeling guilty and depressed. It seemed that his mother knew everything, whether he had done something or not done something, and even had a premonition of some unspeakable secret. Li Xiangqian gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down - he had to stay rational and find out the truth of the matter.

"Mom, what do you want to say today?" He couldn't help but ask again, his voice heavy and low.

The mother did not answer immediately, but lowered her head even more, as if she was thinking about something, or struggling whether to continue speaking.