Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

His mother was standing by the window, looking a little puzzled, as if waiting for him to come in. Li Xiangqian paused, and finally decided to go in, holding the dog, and slowly walked towards his mother. "Mom, I...I brought back a dog."

The mother's face was not too surprised, but with a gentle smile, as if she had seen through Li Xiangqian's thoughts. "Are you going to keep it?" Her tone was a little teasing, but also concerned.

Li Xiangqian nodded and looked at his mother, with mixed emotions in his heart. He didn't expect that his mother would accept the dog so calmly. Maybe she was used to Li Xiangqian's impulsive decisions, or maybe she saw through him too clearly and knew that he was in a state of loneliness.

"It looks quite pitiful, maybe it needs a home too." Li Xiangqian whispered, his eyes unconsciously falling on the puppy. The dog still nestled quietly in his arms, seemingly not caring about everything around it, it just wanted a warm place, nothing more.

The mother was silent for a while, and suddenly said: "Do you know what it will bring?"

Li Xiangqian was slightly stunned, looked up at his mother, and was a little puzzled: "What did you bring?"

"Bringing responsibilities." The mother said softly, her eyes gentle but with a hint of deep meaning, "Bringing it back means it is no longer a stranger, no longer an insignificant existence. You will take care of it, give it food, give it warmth, and it will rely on you and become a part of your life. And life is not just about cabbage and dogs, but also about the choice in your heart, responsibility."

Li Xiangqian was suddenly shocked when he heard this. He looked up at his mother, and that sentence seemed to echo in his mind for a long time. Yes, responsibility - he had heard this word too many times, but until this moment, he really felt its weight. Every choice will bring consequences, and every spiritual dependence means an unavoidable responsibility. And he should have understood long ago that his life has never been simple.

"I know." Li Xiangqian responded softly, and he felt surprisingly clear-headed. He looked down at the puppy in his arms and found that it seemed to be quietly looking at him, with a silent trust in its eyes. At that moment, Li Xiangqian suddenly felt that perhaps all this was not important. Whether it was the confusion of the past or the uncertainty of the future, the company of this dog and his mother was enough to make him feel a little comfort and warmth.

"I'll take it to take a bath and give it some food." Li Xiangqian lowered his head and said softly, with a hint of tenderness in his tone. He suddenly felt a little happy, and the heavy emotions in his heart seemed to be partially resolved by this simple sense of responsibility.

The mother smiled and nodded: "Go, give it a bath. After all, it is also a living being."

Li Xiangqian looked back at his mother, then turned around and walked out of the house with the puppy. The yard was still the same familiar look, but tonight, there seemed to be a different smell in the air. Walking into the corner of the yard, he found a bucket, fetched some water, gently put the dog into the bucket, and began to wash it.

The puppy was thin and looked like he had little strength. Li Xiangqian gently washed it, and his hands became more gentle. The water gradually became turbid, and the dog's hair slowly returned to its original appearance in the water. Its eyes gradually relaxed and were no longer so vigilant, as if it trusted Li Xiangqian and felt the long-lost care.

After cleaning, Li Xiangqian took some leftover food from the yard and gently handed it to the dog. It sniffed it and finally began to eat it voraciously, its eyes full of desire and satisfaction. Li Xiangqian looked at it, and suddenly a strange emotion surged in his heart - a long-lost feeling of warmth, as if the world was not so indifferent. Everyone has his own loneliness, and every life has its own story. Perhaps he and the dog can also find comfort in each other in this loneliness.

Suddenly, he remembered his mother's words about "responsibility". He looked down at the puppy and suddenly had a new determination in his heart. Perhaps, this dog is the simplest companion in his life, and perhaps its arrival is to remind him that no matter what, life still needs to move forward and cannot stagnate.

Li Xiangqian had just finished bathing the dog, and he felt a little relieved, as if he had been relieved of some unsolved mysteries. He placed the dog in the corner of the yard and gently patted its fur a few times, so that it could adapt to the new environment as quickly as possible. The puppy lowered its head and sniffed, seeming to be getting used to the smell here, and Li Xiangqian was also touched by its innocent eyes, and the heaviness in his heart began to ease a little.

However, when he turned and walked into the house, the relief in his heart did not last long. The air in the house was still filled with a depressing atmosphere. His wife Lin Na was standing at the kitchen door, looking at him sternly, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised, as if she had been waiting for a long time.

"Why are you back so late?" Lin Na's voice sounded more like a reproach than a concern. She stood there with her arms folded, staring straight at Li Xiangqian, her dissatisfaction obvious.

Li Xiangqian's heart sank, realizing that this scolding might have been destined the moment he stepped into the door. He knew that his behavior today might cause dissatisfaction with his wife, especially the dog that suddenly appeared in his arms, breaking the original peace at home without any warning. She was always extremely sensitive to these sudden things, and he seemed to always be stupid and made a lot of choices that she didn't understand.

"I went to buy some cabbage and saw the dog..." Li Xiangqian paused, intending to explain, but found that his words were a little pale and powerless. His explanations never seemed to make Lin Na understand, perhaps because she always thought that he was always avoiding problems and always making decisions that did not meet her expectations.

Lin Na's expression became even uglier, with a hint of disappointment in her eyes. "Li Xiangqian, do you like to make decisions impulsively? You already know that your family is not well off recently, why don't you consider this family? What are you thinking about?"

Li Xiangqian's heart tightened slightly. Every word his wife said was like a needle piercing his heart. Although he knew that Lin Na's mood was also complicated, especially when the family pressure increased, her emotions were always easy to get out of control, but this time, he suddenly felt a kind of powerlessness he had never felt before. He had no way to refute, because he knew in his heart that she was not completely wrong - the family was indeed not rich, and he did not consider the impact of his decision on the family.