Chapter 148

() One has to admit, the power of that 'fish-type' is indeed not bad, and the effect is quite ideal.

Zheng Tan heard many sounds of liquid splashing, as well as unusually abrupt and sharp shouting and cursing in this night.

Stench spread everywhere; the toothpick guy rushed out of the outhouse before fully pulling up his pants, tripped after two steps over his pants, rolled on the ground, got some feces from the ground on him, and charged into the house covered in shit.

The blast radius of that 'torpedo' exploding the cesspit was too large, even the firewood pile got splattered with some; Zheng Tan was fortunate to have used the firewood pile as a shield, so he wasn't hit, and the trees in the toothpick guy's yard were also splattered. What impressed Zheng Tan was that the outhouse was still quite sturdy, with no obvious signs of explosion visible. Of course, there might have been an explosion he just couldn't see.

Although Zheng Tan really wanted to take another look at the toothpick guy's miserable state, the stench was too strong, making him want to vomit, and he didn't want to stay another second. The commotion had already disturbed some people, and the toothpick guy's household was already in an uproar.

Zheng Tan hurriedly left the toothpick guy's backyard, and while walking he had to avoid those dripping spots carrying the stench.

The villagers living nearby, upon hearing the blast, originally didn't think much of it, assuming some family's brat was again blowing up a water puddle or the like; who would have thought that after the noise came shouting and cursing, just as they opened the door to see what was happening, the evening wind blew in, bringing that outhouse‑like odor……

Zheng Tan took two 'torpedoes' from the toothpick guy's box, detonated one, and the spare extra 'torpedo' he hid under a tile fragment—you couldn't see it unless you lifted that tile, and no one would idly lift a broken tile in a corner of the yard. If he ever saw the toothpick guy provoking his family again, he could use it then.

When Zheng Tan returned to the old house's backyard, he still felt a latrine smell on himself, not knowing whether it was psychological or the stench hadn't dissipated. To be safe, he squatted on the outdoor firewood pile for a while.

While squatting on the firewood pile, Zheng Tan saw the three‑legged tortoiseshell cat, which was carrying a fat mouse and darting past beside the old house's backyard.

Even with three legs it moved faster than some cats—could tortoiseshell cats just be that formidable?

Zheng Tan flicked his ears; regardless, he was quite impressed by that three‑legged cat.

About twenty minutes later, Jiao Lao Yezi returned with Jiao Yuan, and only then did Zheng Tan follow them inside.

Jiao Lao Yezi and Jiao Yuan carried a bit of pigpen odor, so even if Zheng Tan really had a slight latrine smell, it wouldn't be very noticeable; besides, he wasn't the only one carrying odors.

The big yellow dog sniffed near Jiao Lao Yezi and Jiao Yuan, sneezed, then sniffed near Zheng Tan. It wanted to lick him, but Zheng Tan slapped it a few times, whereupon it obediently ran to squat beside the old lady.

The Jiao family didn't deliberately pay attention to Zheng Tan's movements; those left at home thought he had gone out with Jiao Lao Yezi for a stroll, while Jiao Lao Yezi and Jiao Yuan assumed he had stayed in the backyard all along, so they didn't notice any unusual behavior from Zheng Tan.

That night Zheng Tan clung to a small wooden tub while Jiao Ma heated bathwater for him to take a proper wash; otherwise he'd always feel odd and be embarrassed to get into bed.

The next day, which was New Year's Eve.

Early in the morning, the four adults of the Jiao family all got up and busied themselves. Zheng Tan also crawled out of bed, went to the kitchen for breakfast; Jiao Ba and the others had already eaten, so Zheng Tan sat alone on a chair eating the breakfast Jiao Ma had prepared for him.

While eating, Zheng Tan listened to the conversation between Jiao Lao Yezi and Jiao Ba.

"I just said, our dog's physique is fine, not so delicate; after a walk it's spirited." Jiao Lao Yezi pointed at the yard at a plastic toy yellow duck he didn't know where he'd picked up, which was hopping left and right.

"Shouldn't we give it breakfast?" Jiao Ba asked.

"Breakfast? No need, it's not like your cat; who still eats three meals a day?!"

After finishing talking about the dog, Jiao Lao Yezi grinned and told Jiao Ba about the toothpick guy's affair: early this morning, many villagers knew that the toothpick guy had been screwed over while defecating, and to this day still no one knows who did it. According to the toothpick guy's own recollection, he didn't hear anyone opening his backyard gate; the whole time he only heard the faint sizzle when the firecrackers were lit, which he only recalled after racking his brain, and otherwise knew nothing.

Besides, the toothpick guy's newly bought phone also suffered: at that moment of fright, the color‑screen flip‑phone in his hand fell into the cesspit, hard to fish out, and even if retrieved it would be unusable, and no one would use it again.

The toothpick guy was so angry his liver ached; he didn't sleep all night, his mouth never stopped, cursing people until dawn.

Many villagers secretly gloated over his misfortune; the toothpick guy had accrued too much hatred, so few sympathized with him, especially his phone—the money used to buy it was of dubious origin, and after buying it he'd constantly flaunt it in public, acting as if he were a big shot, thinking a phone made him a tycoon.

Since it was New Year's Eve, the village began setting off firecrackers sporadically in the afternoon.

This afternoon Jiao Lao Yezi and Jiao Ba had warned them not to run around, because everywhere firecrackers and fireworks would be set off, blowing up people would be bad, very dangerous, especially for Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi, who aren't familiar with this area and could easily get hurt. Thus Jiao Ba had them stay home directly.

Zheng Tan watched them busily moving tables, setting up candlesticks, incense burners, and so on. For the New Year's Eve dinner they also needed to light candles and incense, and some had to burn paper money. Formerly it was legend, a tradition passed down from ancestors to pray to deities for blessings, fortune, wealth, and longevity; now it's merely a custom that gives people a psychological reliance. In recent years, although many follow the custom, it's not that everything must be done according to the old rites.

Jiao Ba had originally planned to bring Old Master Gu and his wife over to spend the New Year together, but Old Master Gu refused.

Jiao Wei delivered several firecrackers, all rolled by himself and some peers of his age in the village; the big one wrapped in red paper was as thick as Jiao Yuan's arm, making Zheng Tan feel a bit uneasy. The other two, rolled with other paper, were smaller and meant for Jiao Yuan to play with.

Here they call this kind of large firecracker 'spring thunder', which is set off during the New Year's Eve dinner.

Before, Zheng Tan thought too many people in the village were setting off firecrackers, but by the time of the New Year's Eve meal he realized what he'd seen earlier were just trivial.

Jiao Yuan helped Jiao Ba move the purchased firecrackers out, unpack and organize them, then place them on the open ground in front of the old house. Before the meal, Jiao Ba lit the incense.

"Hurry, close the door a bit, everyone's come in."

Jiao Ba ran into the house and pulled the door shut a little; when the firecrackers outside exploded, the fragments were scattered everywhere, and if the door wasn't kept shut a bit, those fragments could fly into the house.

Zheng Tan squatted by the window, watching the outside firecrackers crackle and pop, and the smoke rising from them. If every household in the city were to set off firecrackers like this, one would expect a prolonged haze.

As for the big yellow dog, it had long been squatting beside the dinner table waiting; firecrackers and such were none of its business.

After the firecrackers were finished, Jiao Ba took the 'spring thunder' given by Jiao Wei and went out to set it off; compared with the earlier firecrackers, this time he was farther from the old house.

Boom!

The huge explosion made Zheng Tan feel the whole ground shaking, and the windows emitted a thudding sound.

Outside, the fragments from the firecrackers plus that large firecracker's explosion covered the ground with a layer of red.

Having the New Year's Eve dinner, setting off fireworks and firecrackers, the two kids stayed excited until very late before going to sleep.

Around eleven o'clock at night, few people were still setting off firecrackers and fireworks; the kids couldn't stay awake and had already fallen asleep, making the night much quieter.

Zheng Tan had some insomnia tonight, feeling like he wasn't thinking about anything; he just couldn't sleep.

This was his first lively, bustling New Year.

Last year at this time, in Dongqu Dayuan, the city had many restrictions, and only the Jiao family of four were there, so it wasn't nearly as noisy as here.

Celebrating the New Year, it really is better to be lively.

Zheng Tan had just thought of that when he heard outside the crackling start of firecrackers, with more and more people setting them off. Setting off firecrackers after midnight is the local custom. He twitched his ears, heard Jiao Ba's voice, and before long heard the firecrackers ringing in front of the old house—no matter how deeply he slept, he'd be awakened.

Hearing those sounds, Zheng Tan couldn't help but sigh; actually, being too lively isn't so good either.

Because he slept late, on the morning of the first day Zheng Tan lingered in bed a while, and Xiao Youzi also didn't get up; her sleep quality the previous night wasn't great either.

When Zheng Tan got up, he saw Jiao Ba and Jiao Yuan returning from outside; early on the first day of the new year, Jiao Yuan was dragged up to go tend the graves, and upon returning he was still yawning.

As children, they receive New Year's money. Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi got red envelopes from Jiao Lao Yezi and the old lady, and Jiao Wei's parents came over for the New Year and also slipped one each to Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi.

As a cat, Zheng Tan originally wouldn't get any New Year's money, but this morning upon waking he received two red envelopes from Jiao Ba and Jiao Ma; opening them, he found fish slices and pork jerky……

On the first day Zheng Tan had nothing to do, so he basically lay on the cat‑climbing frame Jiao Lao Yezi made to catch up on sleep. On the second day, Jiao Ba's family of four plus Zheng Tan drove to Jiao Lao Yezi's home—that is, Jiao Yuan's maternal grandfather's house. The Jiao and Gu families aren't far apart; it's a half‑hour drive.

After playing a few days at the Gu household, they returned to the Jiao family's old residence here.

Heard that these days the toothpick guy has been quite honest; heard someone speculate that he was screwed over after offending someone, and during this period he hasn't gone out much. The toothpick guy's situation: one reason is fear of further retaliation, another is saving face, after all, nowadays hardly anyone in the village doesn't know about the incident where his cesspit was blown up while he was defecating.

Visiting relatives and friends and such had nothing to do with Zheng Tan; he watched the big yellow dog running around playing, and he himself couldn't stay idle, so after dinner he went out for a stroll.

During this time at the old house, Zheng Tan became somewhat familiar with the surroundings and could stroll around on his own.

Walking in the fields, the old house behind me grew smaller and smaller, while ahead, in the fields stretching into the distance, lay several graves; some were surrounded by fragments from firecrackers and burnt incense paper, clearly someone had come, and not a few. Others remained overgrown with weeds, not a single incense stick, no one swept, no one paid respects.

Zheng Tan walked forward while observing his surroundings, when suddenly he saw a few people coming from not far away toward the fields.

Huh, aren't those the people from the BMW?

ps:

(Supplement 2.1) Before I knew it, this holiday had already passed in visiting relatives and attending feasts… Really damn fast.