Chapter 153 Fireworks
Fortunately, the weather was very good during this year's Spring Festival.
The coldest time of the year has passed and early spring has arrived.
When we came back from worshipping at the Temple of Poseidon on the mountain, it was around eight o'clock in the morning, and the bright sunshine illuminated every corner of the island.
The last place you need to go to worship gods is the ancestral hall in each village.
Liu Zhiyi is from Shayang Village and went back to the ancestral hall of Shayang Village with her grandfather, while Fang Wei, Cai Ling and A Sheng followed their mothers to the ancestral hall of Donghua Village near the entrance of the village.
My dad was holding a cigarette in his mouth and carrying out a box of firecrackers, claiming that they had 18,000 of them.
Fang Wei didn't count them carefully, but he felt that there were definitely not that many loud ones.
After my mother finished worshipping the gods, the father and son unpacked the firecrackers together and set them off at the entrance of the ancestral hall. The crackling sound lasted for more than half a minute.
After the three families finished worshipping the gods together, firecrackers from each family went off one by one. For a while, the sound of firecrackers continued in the ears. The atmosphere on the whole island was very lively, and the air was filled with the unique smell of firecrackers.
After packing up the things and leaving the ancestral hall with the basket on the shoulder, this morning's worship activities came to an end.
Everyone went back to their homes and began to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner.
The New Year’s Eve dinner is earlier than ordinary dinners, and usually starts at around 4:00 .
Of course, it's still early. Mom, aunt and grandma are preparing various ingredients, while dad, uncle and grandpa are entertaining guests and chatting. During the Chinese New Year, there are always guests coming to visit, and the coffee table is filled with various foods such as melon seeds and peanuts.
The brothers Fang Wei and A Sheng had more free time, so they put a handful of White Rabbit candies in their pockets and rode their bicycles around the village.
Near noon, around eleven o'clock, Xu Cailing received a call from her sister, saying that she was about to arrive at Baitan Pier!
Xu Cailing then asked Shang Fangwei and A Sheng to go to the dock to pick up Sister Caiwei, and then everyone went to the town to buy fireworks.
Just like going to school on any other day, the three of them rode their bikes to Liu Zhiyi's house.
Liu Zhiyi is also idle at home now. After all, Uncle Liu is an old senior on the island. During the New Year period, it is inevitable that distant relatives and guests will come to visit him.
The house was much more lively than usual, but for Liu Zhiyi, dealing with guests was obviously a headache.
Seeing Fang Weiwei asking her to go out and play together, the girl said goodbye to her grandfather without thinking and pushed her bicycle out.
After leaving Pineapple Island, the sound of firecrackers and the bustling noise behind us gradually faded away, and my ears became temporarily quieter.
But not long after, after crossing the Baitan Bridge and arriving at Baitan Island, the same excitement was also happening on Baitan Island.
The four of them waited at the dock for about ten minutes, and finally saw the transport ship returning from the long voyage from Shanghai.
Xu Caiwei was the first to get off the boat, carrying large and small bags of luggage.
After saying goodbye during the Mid-Autumn Festival, we meet again in the New Year.
The two sisters were so happy to meet each other!
"Sister! Did you remember to bring back my new clothes? I didn't buy new clothes, so I'm waiting for yours!"
"I brought it! Xu Cailing, you're just thinking about new clothes, right?"
"No, I missed you so much, sis!"
"Ah, Awei and Asheng, have you both grown taller?"
"That's for sure!"
Fang Wei smiled and helped take Sister Caiwei's luggage and tied it to the back seat of the bicycle with a leather rope.
Xu Caiwei rode a bicycle, carrying her stupid sister, and came to Baitan Town with them.
The town is quite lively, and there is a New Year atmosphere that you can't feel in big cities.
The busiest times are the first day of the new year and the Lantern Festival, when there are dragon and lion dances, and gong and drum performances in the town.
The New Year's goods had been purchased before the New Year, and now the few of them headed straight to the fireworks and firecrackers shop. Since it was New Year's Day, playing with fireworks was a must!
"Zhiyi, what kind of fireworks do you want to play with?"
"I don't know..."
Looking at the dazzling array of fireworks in the store, Liu Zhiyi was a little overwhelmed. In previous years, she only played with fairy wands and the like, but her father would buy some large fireworks.
Large fireworks are relatively expensive, and children cannot afford to buy them. During the Chinese New Year, they basically rely on getting large fireworks from other people for free, and the only fireworks they play with are small fireworks like firecrackers and sky rockets.
Fang Wei, who received a lot of scholarships, was rich and picked two big fireworks.
Then Cailing, Zhiyi and Asheng picked out some fun little fireworks, such as the classic 'King of Kings' double-shot firecrackers and sky rockets. As for the kind of firecrackers, those are for little kids to play with. They are all grown-up kids and they certainly wouldn't play with such childish firecrackers!
After listening to Cai Ling and A Sheng's reasons, Fang Wei felt angry and amused at the same time, thinking that you guys are not that mature!
After buying the fireworks, they returned to the village happily.
After sending Sister Caiwei back home, Cailing and Asheng asked Shang Fangwei and Zhiyi to go play with fireworks again.
In broad daylight, people naturally play with firecrackers and sky rockets.
The way to play is like fighting a war. You can either fry fish in a small puddle, fry cow dung in the field, or find some ant nests to let the ants experience what a dimensionality reduction attack is.
Fang Wei swore that he really didn't want to play together!
Although I felt a little contempt in my heart, my body honestly felt happy.
After all, everyone is fourteen years old after the Chinese New Year. If we don’t hurry up and fry cow dung, we will never have the chance to do so again…
What Ling Fangwei didn't expect was that the one who had the most fun was Liu Zhiyi.
When she first started playing with firecrackers, she didn't dare to throw them with her hands. She could only put the firecrackers on the ground, pinch the incense stick and light them carefully. When she saw the crackling smoke, she covered her ears and ran away.
After being laughed at by Cailing and Asheng, she became bolder. She lighted the cigarette with her hands, and when she saw smoke, she quickly threw it into the puddle.
"Huh? It's gone!"
"It's too early! If you throw it into the puddle, you have to wait for it to burn for a while before throwing it out!"
"I'm afraid it will explode!" "Don't be afraid, come again, throw it when we ask you to!"
"Ok."
Liu Zhiyi tried bravely and relit a firecracker.
The firecrackers were smoking in the girl's hand, and she was so nervous that her whole body was tense and her hands were shaking slightly!
"Can't we throw it away? It's going to explode!"
"Almost done, throw it!"
Like a rookie recruit, Liu Zhiyi hurriedly threw the "grenade" into the small puddle in front of her. The firecracker floated on the water, emitting white smoke for a while. She covered her ears, and then with a bang, the firecracker exploded, splashing a water splash and creating ripples on the water.
"How does it feel?"
“So exciting!!”
After the successful attempt, Liu Zhiyi seemed to have opened up her Ren and Du meridians. She lit firecrackers and threw them into the water. Seeing the splashes, she was excited.
But for Cai Ling and A Sheng, water splashing has long been an eliminated game.
The two men found a pile of dry cow dung in the field, then poked the firecrackers into the soft cow dung, and finally lit them with incense sticks and ran away.
Liu Zhiyi was still looking at it stupidly.
"Zhiyi, run! Shit's going to explode!"
"ah--!"
Liu Zhiyi chuckled and ran away quickly. Behind him, there was a dull "poof" sound! The pile of cow dung was blown into pieces and scattered all over the ground.
After they were done, they ran back to see the results of the explosion. A large hole was blown into the soft cow dung. The hole on this side was a standard radioactive circle, and there was a faint smoke coming out of it...
……
The time passed quickly while we were having fun, and by three or four in the afternoon, it was almost time to get ready to go home for the New Year’s Eve dinner.
The four of them agreed to go out and play together again in the evening, and then went back to their homes.
When brothers Fang Wei and A Sheng returned home, their grandmother was chopping a chicken in the kitchen.
"Awei, Asheng, chicken legs for both of you."
"hey-hey!"
Maybe this is the special treatment for people of this age.
The chicken legs at home are never cut into pieces and served on the plate. They are always chopped off as a whole. The two brothers each get a big chicken leg and can start eating before dinner!
By the time the two brothers finished eating their chicken legs, the New Year’s Eve dinner was almost ready.
A large round table was set up in the living room, on which were a sumptuous feast of dishes, including chicken, duck, goose, pork, fish, shrimp, crab, shellfish, and soup...
This New Year's Eve dinner, which was prepared with great care, brings the taste of home that cannot be found anywhere else.
The two brothers took out cups, poured drinks in them, and passed them to their mothers and grandmothers. They then took out three small wine glasses, poured a glass of white wine in them, and passed them to their fathers and grandfather.
"Cheers~!"
Everyone raised their glasses to celebrate, then put them down and started eating.
There is nothing more joyful than sharing a lovingly prepared reunion dinner with family members.
The tip of your tongue embraces the familiar taste. It turns out that the place where the New Year atmosphere is strongest is always at the dining table.
……
After the New Year’s Eve dinner, the two brothers went back to boil water and take a bath.
When we met again, we had both changed into new clothes.
Night gradually fell, and another lively scene began on the island.
"Awei, Asheng, these are the red envelopes your grandparents gave you. We wish you great academic performance and quick growth in the New Year." The old lady smiled as she took out two prepared red envelopes and handed them to her grandsons.
"Thank you, grandpa and grandma! I wish you good health and always smile!"
In addition to the red envelopes from my grandparents, my uncle also gave a red envelope, and my parents also gave red envelopes.
According to local customs, as long as you haven't started working, you can receive red envelopes during the Chinese New Year.
Fang Wei had not forgotten Teacher Wen. She must have eaten the New Year's Eve dinner, so he asked his father to get his phone and, like he did during the Mid-Autumn Festival, he sent a New Year's greeting text message to Wen Susu who was far away in Shanghai:
[Sister, have you eaten the New Year's Eve dinner? What are you doing? It's New Year! I wish you a happy New Year, not getting fat even if you eat too much, having beautiful dreams, having all your wishes come true, having a smooth journey, much joy, long peace, and a happy New Year~! ——Fang Wei]
After waiting for a while, the text message sound of the mobile phone rang, and Wen Susu replied:
[Ha ha ha! Thank you Fang Wei! I received your blessing! I just finished my New Year's Eve dinner and will go to the party later. Did you set off fireworks on the island? I also wish you unexpected luck and sudden joy in the new year. Happy New Year~! ]
Fang Wei smiled and sent her another text message: [Let’s set off the fireworks now!]
Wen Susu replied: [Remember to put my share in there too!]
The time after the New Year's Eve dinner is when people on the island visit each other to wish each other a happy new year, and it is also a time for young boys and girls to have fun outside.
When the Fang Wei brothers saw Xu Cailing and Liu Zhiyi again, they had also changed into their new clothes. New Year, new look, the two girls looked even prettier.
The four of them came outside with fireworks. Although the elders did not participate in playing with fireworks, they all stood at the door with smiles on their faces, enjoying this rare excitement.
"You two come and release it!"
Fang Wei placed two large fireworks on the open ground, and then handed a burning fairy wand to Cai Ling and Zhi Yi respectively.
The two girls bent down, lit the fuse of the big fireworks with fairy wands, then giggled and ran back to his side.
After a few breaths, with two bangs, shining fluorescent lights shot up into the sky and bloomed into gorgeous fireworks in the sky.
Colorful and magnificent, the entire night sky was instantly lit up.
"Wow--!"
“It’s so beautiful—!”
"Happy New Year--!"
(End of this chapter)
