Chapter 146: Rascal Kids and Firecrackers

After Zheng Tan had been at the Jiao Family's old residence for two days, he finally understood what Jiao Yuan meant by the 'festive atmosphere' he had been talking about.

In Jiao Yuan's definition, the festive atmosphere is just the smell of firecrackers.

Bang!

After the sound came the children's cheers.

Zheng Tan lay on the tiles of the old residence's roof, looking at a vegetable patch in front of the old residence where Jiao Yuan was leading Xiao Youzi to watch several village kids setting off firecrackers on an open patch.

In the city such things are strictly controlled and not allowed to be set off randomly, but once we came here there were no restrictions—you could set them off however you liked. These little trinkets are sold in the town and at rural market fairs, and they're cheap. Simple firecrackers and the like, some older boys can even make them themselves.

After playing together for a while, the kids became familiar with each other; apart from catching rabbits, Xiao Youzi was brought by Jiao Yuan to play firecrackers with them. Often Xiao Youzi just stood aside watching, since this kind of thing was unfamiliar to her—fireworks and firecrackers are different, and watching is different from setting them off yourself. Including Zheng Tan, their experience had only been watching fireworks in the square; when Zheng Tan was still human, he had once asked someone to buy many fireworks for a girl, but he had never actually played with as many varieties of firecrackers as these kids have.

This also counts as a folk entertainment passed down for thousands of years, though it's highly dangerous and causes great pollution. Big cities restrict it strictly, so many kids living in big cities rarely come into contact with such things, and even if they do, they only play with the 'little trinkets' that village kids talk about. The villagers don't really supervise the kids either; these children have been exposed to this stuff from a young age, they're very skilled, and they have many ways to play.

It's obvious that every time Jiao Yuan comes here for New Year he plays with them; although he's now in junior high, he's still basically a ten- or eleven-year-old at heart, full of playfulness. A few kids about his age lead the younger ones in playing, and the parents feel more at ease.

"Try this!"

A seven- or eight-year-old kid produced a battered little aluminum pot from somewhere, turned it upside down on the ground, and placed a firecracker inside. He squatted, lifted the pot, lit the fuse with a burning incense stick, then after lighting it he got up and ran.

Xiao Youzi, Jiao Yuan, and the others standing far away covered their ears.

Zheng Tan, lying on the roof watching, also raised his paw to cover his ears—the firecracker's noise was too loud, and his own hearing is now sharp, so the sound really hit hard.

Bang!

The aluminum pot was flung high up, about ten or twenty meters. Unfortunately the kids weren't satisfied, saying the power wasn't big enough.

Zheng Tan looked at the aluminum pot falling from the air—it had been blasted out of shape.

These little rascals sure have guts.

"There aren't many big ones left; let's play with the small ones and conserve them, or we'll have nothing to play with today." said a kid about Jiao Yuan's age, holding a box full of firecrackers and the like.

Several other kids also held boxes of various sizes, but theirs contained fewer firecrackers than his.

"The small ones aren't fun." muttered a kid about eight years old.

"How aren't they fun? Watch me!"

A kid looked around at the vegetable plots, brought over a burning incense stick, then carried his firecracker box to a nearby vegetable plot.

Since the allotted fields were still some distance from each household, some open ground around the residence had been cleared, and some families had built vegetable plots enclosed by fences.

In the vegetable plot that the kid ran toward, the Chinese cabbage was growing nicely. The weather had been decent, with relatively high temperatures. Moreover, this place never gets as cold as northern winters, where temperatures can drop to minus dozens of degrees; even in a warm winter it doesn't snow.

He picked the best-growing cabbage, pulled apart its leaves, placed a small firecracker inside, lit it with the incense stick, and ran off.

Since it was a small firecracker, the kids didn't run far—they didn't even cover their ears.

Zheng Tan only heard a 'bang,' and then saw that the previously healthy cabbage had its leaves shredded.

Sure enough, little rascals. If the owner saw this, they'd probably be so angry their chest would hurt.

Knowing this couldn't be done too much, the older kids called over the little one who still wanted to keep blowing up cabbage, so he wouldn't ruin someone else's cabbage.

They don't mind blowing up someone else's cabbage—in fact they find it fun—but if it were their own vegetables getting blown up, these kids would probably grab sticks and give them a thrashing.

"If not cabbage, what else should we blow up? Go blow up fish?"

"No way—we got scolded yesterday for blowing up fish. You can only blow up fish-less ponds and rivers, not fish ponds."

"What's fun about blowing up something without fish?!"

Several kids over there were arguing heatedly. Zheng Tan found it amusing—yesterday these kids had blown up several fish in someone's fish pond; the owner saw the fish floating belly-up and was so angry his lungs felt like they'd explode. Every year they cause a ruckus; these little rascals remember to eat but not to be beaten, and after getting hit they keep blowing things up.

So when little rascals meet firecrackers, things get out of hand.

Zheng Tan was thinking that when over there they already had another idea.

The target was a water tank placed in the corner of a vegetable plot.

The village now also has tap water, but most people still prefer well water; every household has a ceramic water tank for storage. The water tank sitting in the corner of the vegetable plot has likely been there a long time—the water inside is murky and gives off a stench, probably used by the owner for watering flowers and vegetables.

"Hey, I just remembered a story from our language textbook," said a kid.

"I know! I know!" a little snot-nosed kid wiped his nose with his sleeve and exclaimed, "That's called 'Sima Guang smashing the vat'!"

Zheng Tan, Jiao Yuan, Xiao Youzi: "..."

Well aware!

The level has upgraded—it's even fiercer than Sima Guang.

After blowing up cabbage and then the water tank, these little rascals really know how to cause trouble.

A kid pulled out a small firecracker as thick as an adult's pinky, coated with a layer of plastic, tip still pointed. According to the kids, this is called a 'fish firecracker'—it's waterproof, comes in large and small sizes, and its explosive power varies; they use this kind when blowing up fish.

After lighting the 'fish firecracker' with the incense stick, the kid pinched it and tossed it into the water tank. Throwing it too early tends to extinguish it; too late raises the chance of mishaps. As experienced players, they've mastered this technique.

The others stood farther back—although the firecracker is small, the water in the tank is too smelly, and the kids just didn't want to get splashed with foul water.

I don't know whether it's because the water tank is too old to withstand an explosion or because the 'fish firecracker' is just too powerful, but Zheng Tan saw the tank burst open. Blackish foul water streamed out of the hole in the tank's wall, and the stench spread everywhere.

The kid who lit the firecracker didn't have time to run far enough; he still got splashed with water, smelled the stench, and hurried back to wash himself.

As lunchtime approached, the firecrackers on hand had mostly been used up; the little rascals each went home, ate, then pulled out some stored supplies to keep playing.

Jiao Yuan traded snacks with a few kids for some firecrackers and the like, since he couldn't just buy them with pocket money—there aren't any small shops or stores nearby, and even if there were, the variety of firecrackers is limited. This place is inconvenient; to buy things you have to go to the market.

When exchanging firecrackers with those kids, Jiao Yuan deliberately picked ones with longer fuses, so he could give them to Xiao Youzi to play with later; short fuses made him uneasy. Jiao Yuan knows his limits—although he's older than those nose-wiping little rascals, in terms of experience he can't match them.

On the way back to the old residence, Jiao Ma was in the kitchen making lunch.

The kitchen is an old-fashioned stove where you light firewood; the pot is a big iron pot, which Grandpa Jiao likes to use. The coal stove is now used to cook braised dishes and fry meatballs and lotus-root pockets; it's not used much in daily life, only lit up for the New Year.

Jiao Yuan pulled out an incense stick, reached into the stove, and lit it.

"What are you lighting that for?" Jiao Ma frowned.

"To set off firecrackers." Jiao Yuan replied.

"Be careful not to hurt yourself, and don't scare Hei Tan." Jiao Ma worried.

"It's fine—Hei Tan isn't scared at all. He's been watching us play all morning, and he even knows to cover his ears." Jiao Yuan grinned, lit the incense stick, then went with Xiao Youzi to play in the old residence's backyard.

The good thing about the countryside is that there's plenty of space and few restrictions.

In the backyard, a tall stack of firewood was being pushed, some cedar trees sparsely planted, and the ground's weeds and leaves had already been swept clean by Jiao Lao Yezi.

There is also a water tank here, but Jiao Yuan doesn't dare to blow up his own water tank. Earlier, to prepare New Year supplies, Jiao Lao Yezi bought some fish and put them in this tank. Yesterday he pickled the fish, rinsed the tank, added some water, and left it sitting there, untouched for a while.

The old lady sat frying lotus root pockets at the kitchen back door, occasionally glancing at the two kids in the backyard. Although village children often play with firecrackers, her own grandson and those little rascals from the village are different—they have little exposure to firecrackers, and the old lady worries.

Zheng Tan jumped onto the firewood stack and looked down.

Jiao Yuan poked a small hole in the ground with a metal rod, inserted the small firecracker into it so it stood upright, making it easy to light.

After being lit, the firecracker made a 'pop' sound.

These are all small firecrackers; Jiao Yuan doesn't dare to play with big ones even in his own yard—first, it's dangerous; second, it would scare the elderly. He's just satisfying an itch.

In their own backyard, Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi relaxed a lot, each holding a stick of incense to light firecrackers for fun.

After playing for a while, Xiao Youzi looked at Zheng Tan climbing the firewood stack and said, 'Hei Tan, do you want to play?'

Zheng Tan twitched the tip of his tail, seemingly feeling a little itch in his paws.

'Here, Hei Tan, you come play too.' Jiao Yuan tiptoed, extending the incense in his hand toward Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan looked at the incense, turned his head, and jumped down from the firewood stack.

Xiao Youzi took out a tissue, wrapped one end of the incense, and handed it to Zheng Tan.

Xiao Youzi is really thoughtful.

Zheng Tan bit the incense wrapped in tissue and walked toward the already placed firecracker.

Jiao Yuan's mouth twitched; his family's cat's cleanliness is really finicky.

When lighting the fuse, Zheng Tan felt a bit nervous; although it's a small firecracker with little power, he lacks experience and feels a little excited. When the fuse hissed and sparked, Zheng Tan turned and ran.

Pop!

Successfully detonated.

The old lady sitting in the house frying lotus root pockets scooped up the fried lotus root pockets with a slotted spoon; while draining oil, she glanced at the backyard and happened to see her son's family's precious black cat holding a lit incense stick to light a firecracker; instantly her hand shook, and several lotus root pockets fell from the slotted spoon onto the ground.

The big yellow dog squatting nearby waiting eagerly wagged its tail and hurriedly rolled up the lotus root pockets from the ground into its mouth, not minding the heat. RS

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