Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

Li Xiangqian raised his eyebrows slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed through his mind. The old lady had not shown up for a few days. Although she didn't talk much on weekdays, she was always the first to know who went out late and who brought strangers back to the yard, as if nothing in the yard escaped her eyes. But this time, she hadn't shown up for several days, and even Xiao Cui next door was a little puzzled when he mentioned it: "The deaf old lady has disappeared for a few days, could it be..."

"Oh, old lady, you are finally back!" The voice of a middle-aged woman broke Li Xiangqian's thoughts. Xiao Wang's wife from the next door yard was standing at the door of her house. When she saw the deaf old lady coming back, she hurried to greet her, "We haven't seen you these days. Everyone thought you went to your relatives' house!"

The deaf old lady raised her eyes, glanced at her calmly, moved her lips slightly, and said in a hoarse voice: "I didn't go anywhere, I just rested at home for a few days."

Xiao Wang's wife blinked, seeming a little surprised: "But no one saw you come in or out?"

The old lady didn't say anything else, but continued to carry the basket towards her house. Her steps were still so steady and slow, as if she was a part of the yard and had not changed in decades.

Li Xiangqian looked at her from behind, wondering what the old lady had been doing these days. But he didn't ask any more questions, he took a sip from the teacup slowly, and in the midst of the steam, he saw the old lady standing at the door for a moment, as if she noticed his gaze, she tilted her head slightly and glanced at him, with a hint of meaning in her eyes.

"Li Xiangqian." She spoke suddenly, her voice hoarse with the passage of time.

Li Xiangqian put down his teacup and said lazily, "Hey."

The old lady stared at him for a while, then slowly said, "You have seen a lot of people in the yard these days, right?"

Li Xiangqian blinked and smiled: "People coming and going in the yard, you can always see them."

The old lady nodded, said nothing more, and went into her room carrying the basket. The door slammed shut, isolating her figure behind it.

Li Xiangqian looked at the door, tapped his fingers on the armrest of the chair, and suddenly felt a little uncertain. The old lady's question seemed to be a casual one, but there was a hint of inquiry in her tone, as if she was hinting at something.

He frowned, looked down at his reflection in the teacup, a trace of thought between his brows.

In this yard, there are always some people who see more and know more deeply than others.

The wind blew through the yard, and the fallen leaves tumbled gently, as if even the air held some unspoken stories.

Li Xiangqian stared at the closed door of the deaf old lady, tapped the armrest of the chair with his fingertips, and frowned slightly. The old lady's words always made him feel a little interesting. She was not a talkative person. Even if she saw something happening in the yard, she would just watch quietly. At most, she would say something meaningful at an appropriate time, which made people think about it. But today, she took the initiative to speak and asked such a question. There was something wrong.

He finished the last sip of tea, put the cup back on the stone table, stood up, patted his clothes, and walked slowly to the old lady's room. Her door was ajar, not completely closed, the threshold under the door frame was a little worn, the wood was polished smooth, obviously trampled too many times by the years.

Li Xiangqian stood at the door, raised his hand and knocked on the door, his voice neither light nor heavy: "Old lady, let me have a drink of water."

The room was quiet for a while, and then the old lady's calm voice came: "Come in by yourself."

He pushed open the door. The room was not bright. The old paper on the window had turned yellow. When the light came in, it was cut into pieces and cast in the corners of the room. The room was not big, but it was very clean. The wooden table, benches, and thermos were all placed meticulously. Even the old palm leaf fan in the corner was neatly placed.

The old lady was sitting at the table, slowly peeling a peanut. Her fingertips were dry but strong. She gently pinched the shell and the peanut kernel fell into the porcelain plate on the table. She looked up at Li Xiangqian with a faint smile in her eyes, as if she had known he would come.

"Please sit down." She gestured to the stool next to her.

Li Xiangqian was not polite either. He pulled out a chair and sat down. His eyes fell on the porcelain plate on the table and he found that there was already half a plate of peeled peanuts. It seemed that she had been working for a while before he came.

He didn't rush to speak, but picked up a peanut and put it in his mouth. He chewed it and the peanut kernel was slightly sweet with a hint of fried aroma. He chewed it and then slowly said, "Old lady, what did you mean by that just now?"

The old lady continued to peel peanuts without stopping, and said calmly: "What sentence?"

Li Xiangqian stared at her and saw that she looked normal. He knew that she was pretending to be ignorant, so he smiled and said without beating around the bush: "You asked me if I saw a lot of people in the yard these days. Do you think there is anything different in the yard recently?"

The old lady peeled a peanut, put the kernels into a plate, patted the corners of her clothes with her palms, as if to shake off the non-existent dust, and then said slowly: "What do you think?"

Li Xiangqian was not impatient, tapping his fingers gently on the table, recalling the activities in the yard in the past few days. On weekdays, this yard has such a rhythm, the elderly people basking in the sun, the women visiting each other, the young people occasionally coming back to stay, the neighbors quarreling, nothing new. But thinking about it carefully, it seems that... there is indeed something different recently.

For example, Xiao Cui, who is usually a talkative guy, has been absent-minded these days, always in a daze. Another example is the old neighbors in the yard, who greet each other as usual, but their expressions seem to lack the usual ease.

Also, the deaf old lady disappeared for a few days for the first time in history.

Li Xiangqian's gaze fell back on the old lady's face and asked tentatively, "You haven't been staying in the house these few days, have you?"

The old lady finally looked up at him, her eyes were deep and contained a hint of meaning that was hard to fathom. After a while, she said casually, "I went out for a walk."

"Where have you been?"

"Not far, just wandering around."

Li Xiangqian smiled and said, "Old lady, are you deliberately trying to keep me in suspense?"

The old lady didn't say anything, she reached out to pick up the teapot, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it in front of him. Li raised the teacup forward and blew gently. The tea was steaming lightly, as if covered with a layer of mist. He took a sip and raised his eyebrows slightly. The taste of this tea was a little different, with a little medicinal fragrance, not bitter, but with a faint warm sweetness.