Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

The stall owner frowned after hearing this and said, "The soil here is indeed not suitable for growing things that are difficult to grow. However, if you plan to grow some vegetables, you can consider beans, carrots, or some fast-growing vegetables, which are highly adaptable."

Li nodded forward, "Then give me some carrot seeds and beans."

The stall owner picked out some seeds and handed them to him. Li Xiangqian paid for them, but his heart was still filled with mixed emotions. He held the small packet of seeds as if he had received a glimmer of hope for life. However, he was not sure whether this hope could turn into a real harvest.

When Li Xiangqian got home, he handed the seeds to his wife. Seeing her frowning as she held the tiny seeds, he felt a little uneasy. "What if they don't grow?" his wife asked in a low voice, her voice full of doubt.

"Even if I can't survive, I have to try." Li Xiangqian insisted.

Li Xiangqian returned home with mixed feelings. He placed the small packet of seeds on the table, and his wife looked at it with both anticipation and uneasiness in her eyes. She sighed softly, "Are you sure this will work? Can these seeds really survive on this land?"

Li Xiangqian did not answer immediately. He pursed his lips, as if he was making a final struggle in his heart. He was not sure that he could make these seeds germinate. After all, this land was no longer the fertile field in his childhood memory. But he also understood that if he didn't try, there was no other way. The dilemma in front of him seemed to be full of unknowns at every step, and this step, even if it was a faint hope, he was willing to grasp it.

"Let's try it. We have to do something." Li Xiangqian finally said, his voice low but with an unquestionable determination.

However, just when he decided to plant the seeds and try an adventure, things took a subtle turn.

That evening, Li Xiangqian prepared everything and planned to clear the land before sunset to plant the seeds. Just as he walked into the yard with a shovel, suddenly, an uninvited guest appeared at the gate of the courtyard.

It was a middle-aged man he was not familiar with, wearing an old jacket, with a slightly weathered face. He looked anxious, even threatening. When Li Xiangqian's eyes fell on him, his heart tightened.

"Who are you...?" Li Xiangqian stopped and asked subconsciously.

"Li Xiangqian, right?" The man's voice was low and calm. "I have something to tell you about the land."

Li Xiangqian was a little stunned. He didn't know the person in front of him, but the unfamiliar sense of oppression made him dare not act rashly. The man standing there had sharp eyes, like a sharp knife, which made people dare not look directly at him.

"Land?" Li Xiangqian frowned, feeling uneasy. "What do you want from me?"

The man didn't answer immediately. He just glanced around and whispered, "Are you going to plant some crops? I know the condition of your land. The soil is not good. Nothing will grow well."

Li Xiangqian subconsciously straightened his chest. Although he felt a little unhappy, he tried to answer calmly: "This piece of land is indeed difficult to grow crops, but I can only give it a try."

The man smiled slightly, but the smile was not warm, but rather had a strange meaning. He took a few steps closer, and his eyes became sharp, as if he was examining Li Xiangqian's every reaction. "Do you think you can grow anything on this land? Don't you know? The land here is not under your control. Farming? You'd better stop daydreaming."

Li Xiangqian felt an inexplicable uneasiness in his heart. He wanted to refute, but he didn't know where to start. Although the man's words did not threaten him directly, the hint in them made him shudder. He didn't dare to offend the person in front of him easily, but he vaguely felt that this strange man seemed to be not simple.

"You are..." Li Xiangqian hesitated for a moment, suppressing the doubts in his heart, "Are you someone related to this land?"

The man did not answer. Instead, he suddenly looked down at the shovel in Li Xiangqian's hand and sneered, "You know, Li Xiangqian, this piece of land is not a place where you can plant whatever you want. It does not belong to you, or anyone else."

Li Xiangqian's heart skipped a beat. These words sounded meaningful and gave him a creepy feeling. He tried to stay calm and not show his panic, but the turmoil in his heart was hard to suppress.

"Who are you?" Li Xiangqian finally couldn't help asking, with a hint of wariness in his voice.

The man paused, then suddenly raised his head and looked into Li Xiangqian's eyes, with an unfathomable cold light in his eyes. "You just need to know that I'm an experienced person. The land here is not a place you can just plant anything. There are many things that you may not understand at all." After he said this, he turned around and prepared to leave, but suddenly stopped and looked back at Li Xiangqian coldly, "Don't try to do those futile things again. Remember, you'd better never know the secrets of this land."

Li Xiangqian was stunned, his mind full of confusion and uneasiness. The man in front of him gave him a very strange and strong sense of oppression, which made him feel even more depressed. The words "the secret of this land" exploded in his mind like a bomb, forcing him to re-examine his environment. The courtyard was originally just his simple residence, but today, he realized that this seemingly ordinary land seemed to hide something unknown.

He stood there for a long time without moving. What surged in his heart was not hope for the future, but an inescapable fear. The man's words were still echoing in his ears, "You'd better never know the secret of this land." Li Xiangqian felt as if he was trapped in some invisible net, and everything in front of him suddenly became confusing.

He came back to his senses, watching the man's back disappear at the alley, and he couldn't help but feel an inexplicable panic in his heart. Farming was his only hope to change his life with his own hands, but now it seems that this simple wish may not be so easy to achieve. Perhaps farming is just a superficial means, and the real problem has long been hidden deep in the land.

Li Xiangqian stood there, watching the mysterious man disappear at the alley entrance. His heart was still full of doubts, as if an invisible shadow was covering the land. He tightly grasped the handle of the shovel, and his fingertips almost turned white from excessive force.