Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"What kind of person does he look like?" Li Xiangqian couldn't help but ask again, and his alertness seemed to become stronger.

Old Yang thought for a moment before answering, "He looks very ordinary, probably in his forties, and his clothes are quite shabby. It seems like he walked a long way to get here. But his eyes kept looking around, as if he was paying attention to something."

Li Xiangqian's heart suddenly tightened, and that feeling of uneasiness came over him again. "You're right, there's something wrong with his eyes." Li Xiangqian whispered, as if he was talking to himself. He didn't know why, but he always felt that the man was not simple, as if there was something behind him that he couldn't see that was driving the development of this matter.

"Okay, don't think too much about it." Old Yang patted Li Xiangqian on the shoulder and said with a smile, "We are all the same. We all live here. Don't make things too complicated."

Li nodded. Although he said so, the uneasiness in his heart did not dissipate. Instead, it became stronger. He turned and left the store, holding the biscuit bag in his hand, but every step seemed to be stepping into a deeper fog.

When he got home, it was already late, and the sunset stretched the shadows outside the house. Li Xiangqian stood at the door, and suddenly felt that this small yard had become unfamiliar. Those familiar objects and scenes seemed to be changing silently. Potatoes sprouted, strangers visited, and even the little cat at home seemed to be hiding some unspeakable secrets.

Li Xiangqian stood in the yard, holding the two packs of biscuits in his hands, and felt his fingers trembling slightly. The biscuit wrappers reflected a faint light in the sun, but Li Xiangqian's eyes were not on them. He looked at the courtyard wall in the distance, and his eyes became more and more blurred. The various thoughts that flashed through his mind made him feel an indescribable sense of oppression, as if he was trapped in a vortex from which he could not escape.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, but every time he thought of the stranger and his strange look, the uneasiness in his heart surged like a tide, becoming more and more turbulent.

He turned and walked into the house. As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by his wife's gentle smile, as if she had suddenly walked out of a comfortable dream, bringing a touch of warmth to his world. "You're back?" Her voice was gentle, with a hint of concern, "Why did you come back just now? What did you buy?"

Li Xiangqian looked at his wife, and the scene just now flashed through his mind. Her smile was as warm and peaceful as usual, but in his heart, a sense of uneasiness rose. He looked down at the biscuit bag in his hand and forced himself to smile. "I just bought some biscuits, nothing special." As he said, he put the biscuit bag on the dining table.

Seeing this, his wife smiled and said, "I made dinner. Eat something first. Leave the cookies here and eat them later." Her tone was the same as usual, without showing any abnormality. Li Xiangqian hesitated. He looked at her, and doubts began to spread in his heart.

He suddenly remembered what his wife had said that day: "Do you think there is something strange in the village recently? I don't think we need to think about those things anymore. We are all the same. Life is like this. It's better to be plain and simple." His wife seemed particularly comforting at the time, and her words were full of rationality and peace, but Li Xiangqian vaguely felt that something was wrong.

He did not answer his wife immediately, but sat at the dining table and looked at the meal she prepared. The aroma was fragrant, but he could not eat it. His wife's movements were as skillful as always, cutting vegetables, serving soup, and every movement seemed so natural. However, he found that her fingers were a little stiff, and her movements when cutting vegetables paused slightly, as if something was unnatural.

He took a deep breath and tried his best to focus on the things in front of him, and stop thinking about the things that confused him. But the uneasiness in his heart still surged up uncontrollably.

"Eat something." Li Xiangqian's thoughts were interrupted by his wife's voice. She placed a bowl of hot soup in front of him and looked at him tenderly.

Li Xiangqian looked at his wife and suddenly felt that there seemed to be something hidden behind her smile. Her eyes were still gentle and her tone was still calm, but he felt that he could no longer fully trust every word she said. It felt like walking into a maze, where every turn seemed to hide danger, but he couldn't easily turn back.

"I feel like something is wrong in the village recently." Li Xiangqian finally spoke, his voice a little low and even a little trembling.

His wife was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're starting to think too much. There are only a few people in the village, and everyone lives a normal life. There's no need to think too much." She didn't seem to have any special reaction, and still had that warm smile, but Li Xiangqian saw a hint of hesitation in her eyes, which she could not completely conceal.

Li Xiangqian was shocked and couldn't help asking again: "But, what about that stranger? I always feel that he is not simple. His eyes..." He stopped and suddenly realized that he might have spoken too directly or was a little irrational.

The wife was stunned for a moment, but soon regained her composure. She smiled softly and patted Li Xiangqian's hand, "Don't think about those messy things anymore. Didn't you say you wanted to concentrate on farm work? Those things are none of your business. There's no need to cause trouble for yourself."

There was a hint of unquestionable firmness in her tone, and Li Xiangqian was stunned. He had thought that she would show more concern or have some different reactions. However, her tone was not panicked at all, as if she really didn't care about those things, or she had already regarded those things as too simple and not worth paying attention to at all.

He took a deep breath and looked into his wife's eyes, as if he could see a thin layer of mist under her eyes, something he had never noticed before. But he didn't want to delve into it, or rather, he didn't dare to delve into it.

"You're right, I'm just too sensitive." Li Xiangqian forced a smile, but he still felt a heavy pressure in his heart. He knew that he could not ignore those doubts, nor could he let go of the uneasiness in his heart.

His wife did not notice the change in Li Xiangqian's heart. She still smiled and picked up the chopsticks to pick up food for him. "Then you should eat well and stop thinking about it. We still have to live our lives."

Li Xiangqian nodded, picked up the bowl, and ate the food in front of him. The soup was hot, the rice was fragrant, but he felt that everything was getting farther and farther away. He tried hard to return to that simple, warm family, but the unrelieved uneasiness was still surging in his heart.