Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

But at the same time, Li Xiangqian knew in his heart that he might really have no way to help him anymore.

The courtyard is not big. There are some flowers and plants in the middle of the courtyard. In a room near the south, there are several pots of overgrown plants. Some of these plants are old and frail, while others are full of vitality, as if they absorb the spirit of the surrounding old buildings through this courtyard. Li Xiangqian's home is in the east wing of the courtyard. He likes this courtyard because it is quiet and has an ancient flavor, giving people the illusion of going back in time.

On this day, Li Xiangqian went to the market to buy vegetables as usual. As usual, he picked a few fresh vegetables in front of the stall to prepare for dinner in the evening. That day he specially picked some potatoes, wanting to make a simple potato stew with beef, which was light and warm, just what he liked.

When he returned to the courtyard, the sky had begun to set, the sun was shining through the treetops, and the courtyard was so quiet that it made people feel a little depressed. Li Xiangqian, carrying a basket of vegetables, pushed open the wooden door of the east wing and walked into the house. He put down the basket, rubbed his neck, and felt the fatigue of the day coming. At this time, a few birds chirped outside the courtyard, and a delicate moisture filled the air.

After putting down the potatoes, Li Xiangqian began to prepare dinner. He washed the potatoes, cut them into pieces, and prepared to stew them. However, when he turned around to get the pot, he suddenly found that the pile of potatoes on the table was gone. He was stunned for a moment. The table in front of him was empty, with only some traces of dirt that had not yet dispersed. Li Xiangqian's heart sank, and his brain worked quickly. It was clearly placed on the table just now, how come it disappeared in the blink of an eye?

He squatted down and looked around the room, his eyes swept over the desk, sofa, bedside, and even carefully checked the corners. The room was not messy, everything was neatly arranged, the only difference was that the pile of potatoes disappeared.

"Did I put it in the wrong place?" Li Xiangqian said to himself, but he clearly remembered that the potato was on the table.

He stood up, and the feeling of uneasiness in his heart gradually grew, like a thorn hidden in his heart, the more he thought about it, the more painful it became. After a short pause, he decided to go to the yard to have a look. Maybe the wind blew it away?

The path in the yard is winding, the brick and stone ground is covered with traces of time, and the vines on the corners are growing vigorously and green. Li Xiangqian walked quickly through the yard and approached the deserted corner, but he still found nothing. There was a moist earthy smell in the air, which made him feel dazed, as if he had returned to his childhood memories, when he and his mother played in the small yard in front of the house, and his mother always cooked a few delicious dishes. But now, the courtyard in front of him seemed to have become a closed maze, not only lost the potatoes, but also made him lose himself.

After returning to the house, Li Xiangqian suddenly thought of something. He had lived in this courtyard for several years. He knew all the neighbors in the courtyard. They lived in harmony without any major disturbances. However, something seemed to be wrong recently. There were always invisible eyes in this courtyard, secretly observing, as if something was happening quietly.

Suddenly, a sound of footsteps came from outside the yard, breaking Li Xiangqian's thoughts. Li Xiangqian hurriedly opened the window and saw an old neighbor passing by the door at the west corner of the yard. The old neighbor was an old lady in her seventies. She lived a simple life and didn't talk much in her daily life, but she always took good care of her small garden in every season and kept it in good order. Li Xiangqian's heart moved, thinking that maybe she could know something.

"Auntie Wang, what are you busy with?" Li Xiangqian walked over to greet her. His tone was relaxed, but unconsciously contained some tentative elements.

Aunt Wang turned her head, her eyes flickered a little, but soon returned to normal. She smiled and waved her hand: "Oh, Li Xiangqian, I'm not busy. I'm just taking care of the flowers and plants and checking the situation in the yard. Did you buy vegetables today?"

"I bought it. I'm going to make beef stew with potatoes today." Li Xiangqian smiled, but he was still a little confused: "But the strange thing is, I just put the potatoes on the table, how come they disappeared in the blink of an eye. Did you see anything?"

Aunt Wang didn't seem to care too much about the potatoes. She nodded and said slowly, "Oh, potatoes, I didn't see them. But when you mentioned this, I remembered something. You know, a few days ago, I found a lost shoe in the yard. It was for the left foot, and the leather was in good condition."

"The shoe on the left foot?" Li Xiangqian was stunned for a moment. The old lady in front of him did not seem to want to change the subject deliberately, but seemed a little mysterious.

"Well," Aunt Wang continued, "When I found the shoes, I was wondering whose family it was from. Later, I seemed to have seen some strange figures, hurrying and sneaking around. You see, more and more people have lived in the yard over the years. Who knows what stories are behind them?"

Li Xiangqian listened to Aunt Wang's words, and felt a growing sense of uneasiness in his heart. He always felt that there seemed to be some hidden meaning behind these words. The potatoes disappeared, and what about the lost shoes? For a moment, Li Xiangqian did not respond, but nodded silently and watched Aunt Wang slowly walk away. Aunt Wang's back became smaller and smaller, and it seemed to take away the vague doubts in Li Xiangqian's heart.

However, until the evening, Li Xiangqian still couldn't forget the disappeared potatoes. He had planned to cook a good meal, but because of this incident, his appetite was still poor. Late at night, the lights in the courtyard gradually dimmed, and there were a few rustling sounds of mice in the yard. The silence of the courtyard became deeper and more mysterious. Li Xiangqian turned off the lights, lay on the bed, closed his eyes, but the moment when the pile of potatoes disappeared still appeared in his mind. It seemed that something was quietly changing, lurking in every corner of this courtyard, like some unspeakable shadow, quietly shrouding everything.

Li Xiangqian tossed and turned in bed, his mind full of the disappeared potatoes. The inexplicable anxiety was like a fine needle, constantly piercing his heart. Every time he closed his eyes, the scene of the pile of potatoes disappearing from the table would appear in his mind, the emptiness at that moment, and the increasingly heavy mood that followed. The potatoes were gone, which was originally a trivial matter, but for some reason, the whole thing made him feel an indescribable uneasiness, as if there was an invisible force behind it controlling something.