The peace of Harmony Alley was disturbed one morning when Li Yuan was awakened by unusual loud noises. It wasn't the sound of festival gongs or children's laughter, but the sound of a heated argument outside his house.
"That land has been our family's for generations!"
"For generations? My father was the first one to plant a mango tree there!"
Li Yuan got out of bed and peeked through the window. In the front yard, two of his neighbors—Mr. Zhou from house number five and Mr. Ma from house number seven—stood facing each other with flushed faces and agitated hands. Between them, several other neighbors stood with uncomfortable expressions, as if they wanted to help but didn't know what to do.
Ah, Li Yuan sighed inwardly. The most ancient human conflict: who owns what.
He quickly got dressed and went outside, not with the intention of immediately intervening, but to understand what was really happening.
"Arguing so early in the morning," Chen Wei approached him, shaking his head. "It's a dispute over the land boundary behind their houses. They've been at it for two hours."
"What's it about exactly?"
"There's a small empty plot of land behind both of their houses. No more than five square steps. Mr. Ma wants to plant vegetables there, but Mr. Zhou says it's his family's inherited land." Chen Wei pointed to the back of the houses. "Even though it's just a vacant plot that hasn't been used for years."
Li Yuan observed the two men who were still arguing fiercely. Mr. Zhou, a usually calm and polite middle-aged man, now looked very angry. So did Mr. Ma, who was usually friendly and loved to joke, now his face was flushed with annoyance.
"Has anyone tried to mediate?"
"Yes. Mrs. Zhou and Lin Sao tried to talk to them, but it only made things more complicated. Now they're even arguing about who lived on this alley first."
Li Yuan felt a subtle vibration in his chest—not from a deep spiritual understanding, but from something simpler: pity at seeing his kind-hearted neighbors arguing over something so small.
"May I try to talk to them?"
Chen Wei looked at him skeptically. "Are you sure? They're both very heated right now."
"There's no harm in trying."
Li Yuan approached the two men who were still arguing with a calm step. Not in a hurry, not with an aura of superiority, just as someone who wanted to help.
"Mr. Zhou, Mr. Ma," he greeted with a voice loud enough to be heard but not so loud as to rudely interrupt. "Good morning."
The two men turned, their expressions a little surprised to see Li Yuan, who usually didn't get involved in neighborly affairs.
"Ah, Qingshan xiong," Mr. Zhou wiped sweat from his forehead. "Sorry, we're causing a ruckus so early in the morning."
"It's alright, sir. I just wanted to make sure everything is okay." Li Yuan glanced at the disputed land—a small patch covered with wild grass and a few shrubs. "Is this what the problem is?"
"Yes," Mr. Ma said in a still-annoyed tone. "I want to use that land to plant chili and tomatoes. But Mr. Zhou says it's his family's land."
"Because it is my family's land!" Mr. Zhou retorted quickly. "My grandfather was the one who cleared that land of shrubs!"
Li Yuan listened with a calm expression, not showing any bias towards either person. "May I see the land first?"
The three of them walked to the back of the houses, followed by a few curious neighbors. The disputed land was indeed small—no more than five square steps as Chen Wei had said. It was covered with wild grass and looked unkempt.
"How long has this land been vacant?" Li Yuan asked.
"About... three years," Mr. Zhou answered with a little hesitation. "Since my wife got sick, I haven't had time to take care of it."
"And Mr. Ma, why are you only now interested in using this land?"
"Because my wife just asked for a small garden. She says she wants to grow her own vegetables for us to eat." Mr. Ma pointed towards his house. "My yard is small, so I thought this empty land could be used."
Li Yuan nodded, walking around the land. He wasn't looking for mystical signs or using spiritual abilities to determine the rightful owner. He was just... observing. Seeing. Listening.
"Mr. Zhou," he said slowly, "is this land important to you because it's a family inheritance?"
"Yes. My grandfather worked hard to clear this land. I can't just let someone else use it."
"And Mr. Ma, is this small garden important to your wife?"
"Very important. She has wanted to garden herself for a long time. She says it's so she knows the vegetables we eat are clean and healthy."
Li Yuan stood in the middle of the small plot, feeling the gentle morning breeze. There was something ironic about this situation—two good neighbors arguing over five square steps of land, while around them lay a peaceful alley and a warm community.
"May I ask you something?" Li Yuan said, looking at both men. "Before this issue, what was your relationship like?"
Mr. Zhou and Mr. Ma glanced at each other.
"Well... it was good," Mr. Zhou answered in a slightly softened tone. "Mr. Ma is a good man. He often helps out if something needs to be fixed at home."
"Mr. Zhou is also good," Mr. Ma added in a voice that was no longer as harsh as before. "When my wife was sick last year, he helped take her to the clinic."
Li Yuan smiled faintly. "So you actually respect each other?"
"Yes..."
"In that case, may I ask you again—what's more important? Holding on to unused land, or maintaining a good friendship with a neighbor?"
Silence fell for a moment. Li Yuan saw the expressions of the two men change—from anger to contemplation.
"But this isn't about importance," Mr. Zhou said, although his tone was no longer as harsh. "It's about principle. If I let this slide, others might just take other people's land."
"I understand your principle, Mr. Zhou," Li Yuan nodded. "And I also understand Mr. Ma's desire to make his wife happy. Both are valid." He paused for a moment. "But maybe there's a way to honor both?"
"What do you mean?"
Li Yuan pointed to the land. "Mr. Zhou, if this land is truly an important family inheritance, surely you would want it to be well-cared for, right? Not left to be a patch of weeds as it is now?"
"Yes, of course..."
"And Mr. Ma, your wife wants to garden for the health of your family, right? Not for commercial gain?"
"That's right."
Li Yuan walked to the middle of the land again. "How about Mr. Ma uses this land for gardening, but with the acknowledgment that it still belongs to Mr. Zhou's family? Like... borrowing with respect. And the harvest is split in half?"
The two men were silent, processing the proposal.
"So, like a collaboration?" Mr. Ma asked slowly.
"Precisely. Mr. Zhou remains the owner, but Mr. Ma can use it for his wife. The land gets taken care of, Mr. Ma's wife is happy, and Mr. Zhou's principle is upheld." Li Yuan looked at both of them. "And most importantly, your friendship is not ruined over five square steps of land."
There was no immediate answer. Mr. Zhou walked around the land, thinking, while Mr. Ma looked at his house where his wife was peeking from the window with a worried face.
"Split the harvest in half?" Mr. Zhou asked finally.
"Yes. And if at some point Mr. Zhou wants to use this land for his own needs, Mr. Ma must vacate it without a problem."
Mr. Ma nodded. "That's fair."
Mr. Zhou glanced at the neighbors watching from a distance, then looked back at Li Yuan. "Do you think this will work?"
"I think what's most important isn't what I think, but what you two feel." Li Yuan smiled. "You're the ones who have to live as neighbors every day. I'm just an outsider trying to help."
Silence again. Then, slowly, Mr. Zhou extended his hand to Mr. Ma.
"Alright. A collaboration. But the first tomato harvest is for my wife. She loves tomatoes."
Mr. Ma shook his hand with a sigh of relief. "Of course! And the first chili for Mr. Zhou's wife too."
A spontaneous applause from the watching neighbors made the two men laugh, a little embarrassed but also relieved. The tension that had been building for two hours finally melted away.
After the crowd dispersed and the two men began planning their small garden together, Chen Wei approached Li Yuan with an expression of awe.
"Wow, Qingshan xiong. You're amazing. Where did you learn how to mediate like that?"
Li Yuan smiled, observing Mr. Zhou and Mr. Ma who were now discussing amiably about what kind of vegetables to plant. "Nowhere. I just... listened to what they needed."
"What do you mean?"
"Mr. Zhou needed the acknowledgment that the land was important to his family. Mr. Ma needed a way to make his wife happy. Neither of those needs had to be sacrificed if we were willing to find a middle ground."
Chen Wei nodded with understanding. "It's simple, after all. But why didn't they think of it themselves?"
Li Yuan looked at the two neighbors who were now laughing together. "Because when you're angry, it's hard to think clearly. Sometimes you need an outsider who isn't emotionally involved to see a way out."
"Are you never angry, Qingshan xiong?"
Li Yuan was silent for a moment, remembering his centuries of life. Angry? Of course, he had been angry. Disappointed. Frustrated. But...
"I have been," he answered honestly. "But I learned that anger is like holding a hot coal to throw at someone else. The first one to get burned is usually your own hand."
Chen Wei laughed. "So wise. You're like a wise old man, even though you're not much older than us."
"If you only knew," Li Yuan smiled inwardly, how old I actually am.
But what he said was: "Perhaps because I have been wandering for quite a while. Seeing many conflicts that could have been avoided if people were willing to listen to each other."
That afternoon, Li Yuan sat in the backyard of his house, reflecting on the morning's events. There was something interesting about dealing with a very... small human conflict. So mundane. There was nothing cosmic or spiritual in it—just two neighbors arguing over five square steps of land.
But it was in that small conflict that Li Yuan learned something important about human nature. How ego can make a small problem big. How pride can obscure a solution that is actually simple. How, in the end, what most people need is not to win, but to be heard and valued.
The Understanding of Existence vibrated gently in his chest—not because there was a great enlightenment, but because Li Yuan had found another way to be present for others. Not as a spiritual teacher or a sage giving advice from above, but as a neighbor who cared and was willing to listen.
"This," he thought, sipping his afternoon tea, "is also a form of cultivation. Cultivation through helping to solve the small problems of everyday life. Cultivation through being a bridge when others are separated by misunderstanding."
The sound of laughter from the direction of the disputed land made Li Yuan smile. Mr. Zhou and Mr. Ma were still there, now starting to clear the wild grass together while planning the layout of their small garden.
The afternoon wind carried the scent of freshly turned earth and the sound of friendly conversation—like the world also giving thanks that there was still a place where humans remember how to be kind to each other in the simplest and most important ways.