Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

Li Xiangqian took a deep breath, and suddenly an idea flashed through his mind. He paused and asked, "How much is one pound?"

"Rice grains are cheap, four yuan per pound." The man seemed to have started packing up, and his tone was a little impatient. "How much can you buy? Take it early. We won't sell it in the evening."

When Li Xiangqian heard the price, his heart tightened. Four yuan per pound was already a big burden for him and his wife. Usually, he and his wife lived frugally and could barely make ends meet, but now the price of food was almost suffocating them.

"I... only need ten kilograms." Li Xiangqian hesitated for a moment before saying this number. Ten kilograms of rice, forty yuan, this was the maximum he could afford at the moment.

The middle-aged man nodded and turned to get the bag of rice, but Li Xiangqian felt an indescribable heaviness in his heart. He looked at the bag of rice and suddenly felt that the rice grains were like broken dreams that fell into an endless abyss and could not be recovered. He and his wife had now entered a vicious cycle and could not escape. He could not help but begin to doubt whether such a life could continue.

Li Xiangqian held the bag of rice and felt that it was much heavier than it actually was. With every step towards the courtyard, he kept thinking about the next countermeasures. Forty yuan for ten kilograms of rice, the money he could afford was almost gone, but the bag of rice carried more pressure, not only the food itself, but also the current predicament and the anxiety from the heart.

He didn't dare go home. His instinct told him that he needed to calm down. The atmosphere at home was already heavy enough. His wife had already vaguely shown panic and anxiety about the future last night, and he couldn't even find a way to deal with this situation. The frustration of being powerless in life was like countless heavy stones pressing on his chest, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

He stood at the gate of the courtyard for a long time. The courtyard in front of him seemed particularly quiet under the moonlight. The shadow of the courtyard wall was projected on the bluestone slabs, like invisible chains, binding this place tightly and making it impossible to escape. Li Xiangqian slowly put down the rice bag, squatted down, leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"How did I become like this?" He whispered to himself, his voice full of self-mockery. He used to be proud of his ability to work hard outside and bring enough income to his family, but now, even for a bag of rice, he has to rely on stealing. This feeling made him want to escape and stay away from it all.

But no matter what he thought, the facts were before him. His wife's anxiety, the neighbors' whispers, and his own deep confusion about the future all reminded him that life was no longer that simple, and the so-called stability was only a short-lived illusion. Once it was broken, all that was left was a situation of being surrounded by enemies.

"I have to think of a way." Li Xiangqian gritted his teeth and looked towards the gate of the courtyard with a determined look. At that moment, an idea suddenly popped up in his mind - he could use the bag of rice to trick the neighbors and temporarily get by. This was the only way to solve the problem.

There are several families in the courtyard, and the relationships between them are complicated. Some neighbors are familiar with each other and take care of each other; some neighbors keep their distance, and everyone lives on their own, maintaining superficial peace. But Li Xiangqian knows that the resources in this small community of the courtyard are tight, and food is even more scarce. If he and his wife can get a share of it, maybe they can get through this difficult time. More importantly, the "mutual help" between neighbors is not just a superficial goodwill, but more often, it hides a subtle competitive relationship - whoever can gain an advantage in this resource-scarce environment can live a little better.

Li Xiangqian took a deep breath and decided to take the first step. He stood up and picked up the bag of rice, with an idea in mind. His neighbor Aunt Liu was a widow. She had a good relationship with his family and often gave his wife some advice on life. Although she was not rich, she seemed to have more food reserves than others. Li Xiangqian thought that if he could get some food from her or borrow some rice, he could at least survive for a few days.

He looked up in the direction of the courtyard, took a step, and walked towards Aunt Liu's yard. The yard was silent, with only a few old cats pacing back and forth in the yard, making slight meowing sounds. Li Xiangqian stood at the gate of her house, hesitated for a moment, and then knocked gently on the door.

"Who is it?" Aunt Liu's slightly hoarse voice came from inside.

"It's me, Li Xiangqian." He tried to make his voice sound steady. "Auntie, I have something to tell you."

After a moment, the gate creaked open and Aunt Liu, wearing reading glasses, looked at him with a hint of confusion on her wrinkled face.

"What's wrong? Why are you coming to see me so late?" There was a gentleness in her tone, but a hint of alertness in her eyes.

Li Xiangqian lowered his head and looked at the rice bag in his hand. He suddenly felt suffocated. But he knew that he had no choice. So he took a deep breath and said, "Auntie, there are some urgent matters at home. Food is tight recently. I really have no choice. Can you lend us some rice first? I will definitely pay you back when I come back."

Aunt Liu frowned, a trace of doubt flashed in her eyes. She stared at the rice bag in Li Xiangqian's hand, then looked at Li Xiangqian's face, as if thinking about something.

"Borrow some rice?" There was a hint of hesitation in her voice. "Hasn't your family always been doing well? Why are you suddenly..." She didn't continue asking. Instead, she looked at the empty yard and sighed. "I don't have much rice left these days. It can barely sustain me for a few days. I can give it to you, but I don't dare to lend it to others easily."

Li Xiangqian's heart sank, knowing that he had to make more efforts. "Auntie, don't worry, I will definitely pay you back. My family is really out of options, so we neighbors should help each other." He deliberately lowered his tone to try to gain Auntie Liu's trust.

Aunt Liu looked at Li Xiangqian's anxious face, and a complicated look flashed in her eyes. She knew that everyone in the yard could hear about the situation in Li Xiangqian's family. But in the current situation, no one was having an easy time. She moved her eyes away from the rice bag in Li Xiangqian's hand, and after a short silence, her tone became a little more relaxed: "Okay, since you said so, I will lend you ten kilograms first, and you can pay me back when you have rice." She said, her tone was soft, but also with some unquestionable determination.