Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

The old man was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head, stroking the edge of the bag with his fingers. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "I think I should do what I like." He looked at the bag in his hand, his eyes softened, as if this bag of chestnuts was the result of his years of hard work. "Doing what I like, being ordinary, not fighting or competing, may be the best."

Li Xiangqian suddenly felt a little lost. His life was full of pursuits and desires, work, responsibilities, and the future. Almost every day he was overwhelmed by an invisible pressure. At this moment, the old man selling chestnuts seemed to have sown a seed in his heart, making him begin to doubt whether what he had been pursuing was really what he wanted.

He didn't say anything else, but just ate the bag of chestnuts in silence, chewing slowly. However, for some reason, he suddenly felt a sense of emptiness in his heart.

Outside the courtyard, night had quietly fallen, and the lights of the street flickered in the distance, as if countless stars were quietly hanging in the sky. Li Xiangqian looked at the lights, and suddenly an inexplicable emotion surged in his heart. He was not in a hurry to get rid of it, because he knew that this emotion, although unfamiliar, was a feeling he had never really faced seriously.

Li Xiangqian pinched the remaining chestnuts and carefully examined their skins. The chestnut shells were slightly cracked, revealing the plump kernels inside, which were golden in color and exuded a faint fragrance. This fragrance made him want to take another bite, but he stopped the action somewhat unnaturally. The chestnut in his mouth rolled on the tip of his tongue, and the taste was still sweet, but a sense of uneasiness inexplicably rose in his heart.

The old man's words just now, "These chestnuts are the little things I brought back from the roads I have traveled over the years," echoed in Li Xiangqian's ears. The words seemed a little heavy, as if they were hiding some unknown secret. In addition, he suddenly felt some strange reactions in his stomach, like some strange omen, as if the chestnuts were not as simple as they seemed. A few small chestnuts actually made him doubt and even a little chilly in an instant.

He suddenly felt that he should not continue eating, and this feeling of uneasiness became stronger. Li Xiangqian frowned, put the chestnuts in his hand back into the bag, and his eyes unconsciously swept to the old man's back. The back was still so hunched, and the steps were slow and firm, as if he didn't care about Li Xiangqian's doubts. But Li Xiangqian knew that he couldn't make a decision based on superficial things. He had to find out the problem.

"This old gentleman." He raised his feet and quickly followed, his voice very low with a barely perceptible urgency.

The old man heard his voice, turned his head slightly, and showed a kind smile. "What? Is there anything else?"

Li Xiangqian stood still, and he felt the doubts in his heart surge up like a tide. The uneasiness seemed to be magnified several times, and began to erode his clear thoughts. "Are the chestnuts I just ate really okay?" Li Xiangqian suddenly asked, his voice a little low, as if he didn't want others to hear, but he couldn't help asking.

The old man still did not show any surprise, but smiled slightly, with a somewhat ambiguous look in his eyes. "Why? Do you think there is a problem?" The old man asked casually, as if he was chatting with a familiar friend.

Li Xiangqian took a deep breath, and his heart beat faster. The sweetness of the chestnut in his mouth seemed to have disappeared at this moment, replaced by an inexplicable sense of tension. "I don't know." He shook his head and paused, "It's just... when I was eating just now, I felt something was wrong." He carefully expressed his doubts, fearing that he would appear too sensitive or suspicious.

The old man's smile gradually froze, his eyes became a little complicated, he did not answer immediately, but remained silent for a moment. The air seemed to solidify, Li Xiangqian could hear his own heartbeat, which was getting faster and clearer.

"You feel something is wrong?" the old man repeated softly, his tone became calm, even a little gentle, "That means you are a little sensitive." He smiled, and did not seem to intend to give a definite answer.

Li Xiangqian frowned subconsciously. He could no longer bear the doubts in his heart and asked directly, "Are the chestnuts you sell really okay?" His tone was a little anxious when he asked this question. The uneasiness in his heart completely broke out at this moment. Every smile of the old man seemed to stimulate the deepest fear in his heart.

The old man stood there, his eyes suddenly turned deep. He looked at Li Xiangqian, a complicated light flashed in his eyes, as if he was thinking about how to answer this question. After a moment of silence, he slowly said: "There is really nothing wrong with these chestnuts. After eating them, they can make you remember something."

"Memories?" Li Xiangqian's heart was shocked, and his eyes became alert in an instant. He stared at the old man's face with traces of time, and suddenly felt that this old man was not as simple as he imagined. What was hidden under that smile made Li Xiangqian's fear intensify.

"Yes." The old man replied softly, "Some things you are willing to recall, or unwilling to recall." He paused and added, "Some memories may not be all good."

The alarm bells in Li Xiangqian's heart rang again. That sentence seemed to remind him of something, and these things, which had been buried deep in his memory, were quietly surfacing. There was a vague fragment flashing in his mind, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not capture it clearly.

"What are you talking about?" Li Xiangqian's voice became a little hurried, his eyes were a little confused, and his inner uneasiness became stronger. "What do you want to say?"

The old man did not answer, but looked down at his cloth bag, as if he was sorting something. After a moment, he shook his head gently, "Some things, knowing too much, may not be a good thing." He turned around, as if ready to leave, but Li Xiangqian could no longer remain calm.

"No! Wait a minute!" Li Xiangqian suddenly reached out to stop the old man, his voice full of anxiety, "What are you hiding? What are hidden in those chestnuts?"

The old man's eyes suddenly became deep, and at that moment, Li Xiangqian even felt an almost tangible sense of oppression. Those eyes seemed to be able to see through everything and reveal his deepest fear.