Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"Am I a little conflicted?" Li Xiangqian smiled bitterly. He hoped that his daughter would be less noisy, but he also didn't want her to mature too early and lose her childlike innocence. His eyes fell on his daughter's face. There was a smile on her little face, as if she had a good dream. His heart suddenly softened, and he felt that no matter how noisy this child was, she was worth loving.

"Xiang Qian, don't think too much." Liu Cui'e looked at his face and said softly, "My daughter is still young, it's normal for her to be noisy now. As long as my husband and I work together to give her a stable home, she will naturally understand the hard work of her parents when she grows up."

Li Xiangqian nodded, but he was not completely relieved. He knew that Cui'e was right, but this "stable home" was not so easy to maintain. The family expenses were like a bottomless pit, and the little money earned every month was almost gone before the end of the month. He looked at Liu Cui'e's hands, which were roughened by labor, and felt a pang of pain in his heart.

"Cui'e, wait a few years, I will find a way to make more money so that you and the children can live a better life." He said it with a lack of confidence, as if he was comforting his wife, but more like he was cheering himself up.

Liu Cui'e smiled gently, with tenderness in her eyes: "Although our family's life is not rich now, it is good enough to have food and clothes. I have never thought about how good my life will be. As long as my family is healthy and safe, it is better than anything else."

Li Xiangqian felt bad after hearing this. He always felt that a man should make his family live a better life instead of being satisfied with the current difficulties. He looked at Liu Cui'e's face and found that there were more fine lines on her face than before, and he felt more guilty.

"Cui'e, thank you for your hard work." He said in a low voice.

Liu Cui'e glanced at him, smiled and shook her head: "Why are you saying this? We are a family, who doesn't work hard? Well, stop thinking about it, go to bed early, you still have to go to the construction site tomorrow."

Li Xiangqian nodded, but he did not go back to the house immediately. Instead, he continued to sit on the chair and stared at the starry sky. He thought of helping the old man in the field during the day, and suddenly felt a little comforted. He thought that although the pressure of life made him breathless, as long as he could still help others and do something for his family, his life would not be wasted.

Li Xiangqian's life has been full of ups and downs lately. He leaned against the cement pillar at the construction site, looked down at his muddy shoes, and felt upset. He felt that he hadn't done anything bad, so why was it that everything went wrong as if he had been possessed by evil spirits?

For several days, he was either scolded by the foreman or his tools suddenly broke, affecting the progress of the work. That was not all. Last night, he finally bought some meat home in time to add a snack to Liu Cui'e and his daughter, but he forgot to turn off the fire and the meat was burnt. Although Liu Cui'e didn't complain, the fatigue and disappointment in her eyes made him feel even worse.

"What on earth is going on?" Li Xiangqian wiped his face with a towel and muttered to himself. He never believed in luck, but the recent series of bad luck made him start to doubt whether God was playing a big joke on him.

Liu Ergou, a worker beside him, came over, handed him a cigarette, and said with a smile, "Xiang Qian, look at your face. Did the foreman scold you again?"

Li Xiangqian waved his hand, took the cigarette, lit it, and took a deep breath: "Don't mention it. This life is just like a mouse falling into an oil bottle. No matter how hard you try, you can't get out."

Liu Ergou laughed twice and patted him on the shoulder: "It's okay. We are working here, and we get scolded every day. Think positively, we just want to make a living."

Li Xiangqian did not respond. In the smoke, his eyes drifted into the distance. It was not that he had not thought it through, but he felt that this bad luck was like a needle, piercing into his bones little by little. After a long time, he was afraid that even his bones would be broken.

At mealtime, the rice in the construction site's big pot was so watery that you could see your reflection in it, and raw rice grains in the dishes were almost commonplace. Li Xiangqian held the bowl and scooped a few mouthfuls, but still couldn't eat it. Although he was hungry, the rice tasted like chewing wax and made him feel uneasy.

"You don't want to eat?" Liu Ergou sat next to him with a bowl in his hand, lowered his head to eat rice, and asked vaguely.

Li Xiangqian shook his head and put the bowl aside: "I can't eat it. I have a poor appetite recently."

Liu Ergou smiled and said in a low voice: "It's good to save food even if you have a poor appetite. Besides, it's a blessing to not eat this crappy meal. Who would be willing to eat the meal at our construction site if it wasn't for the purpose of saving money?"

Li Xiangqian listened to his words, but he felt an indescribable feeling in his heart. It was not that he couldn't eat, but he felt that he had let down the two children at home. Liu Cui'e worked hard to do housework every day, and his daughter was growing up, but he couldn't even give them a decent meal. He clenched his fists, and a trace of struggle and guilt flashed in his eyes.

"Xiang Qian, are you okay?" Liu Ergou noticed that his expression was not right and asked in a low voice.

Li Xiangqian forced a smile and shook his head: "It's okay, I just think too much."

After dinner, Li Xiangqian sat in a corner of the construction site, smoking a cigarette and looking at the scattered tools at his feet. He turned a small stone over and over in his hand, his mind in a mess. He had made many mistakes recently, and his work was not going well, so his income naturally shrunk a lot. This made him even more afraid to go home and face Liu Cui'e's gaze.

"Did I do something wrong? Or is it my destiny to live this hard life?" He asked himself, but there was no answer. He looked up at the sky, which was gray and without a single ray of sunshine, just like his mood at the moment.

Just as he was thinking about it, the foreman's voice suddenly came from a distance: "Li Xiangqian! The tools haven't been repaired yet? What are you dillydallying about!"

Li Xiangqian quickly stood up, threw away the stone in his hand, and responded repeatedly: "It's coming, it will be ready soon!"

He hurried to the tool room and took out the broken hammer to check. The handle of the hammer was broken and he had to get a new one. But he had broken a lot of tools recently and the foreman was getting impatient. If he asked for a new one, he would be scolded.

"How about we just fix it?" He picked up the hammer and tried to put the handle back in, but failed after several attempts. He started to get anxious, his hands were sweaty, and he gripped the hammer tighter.

"Xiang Qian, can you fix this thing?" Liu Ergou came over, glanced at him, and said sarcastically, "Don't let the foreman take the opportunity to scold you when you fail to fix it."