Reborn during the early days of China’s reform and opening, the narrator finds himself in the 1980s countryside. In this setting, the past is still a cold reference, yet it is also a fresh start....
Wan Feng was awakened by a burst of firecrackers.
It felt like I had only slept for a short time.
Who is this? My uncle should be playing in the ditch. It wasn't him who let the fire out. It must be one of the neighborhood kids.
Wan Feng stretched his head to look out the window and saw this scene.
Luan Feng was wearing a red ski jacket and a red and white woolen hat. She was squatting on the street of her grandmother's house, holding a stick of incense in one hand, with her arms stretched out as if poking something.
The other hand kept fiddling with the white ball of wool hanging from the top of the hat.
The outstretched hand stabbed and then quickly retracted, and the person also made a move to escape.
But he didn't run away. He stretched out his hand and stabbed again. After several times, the man finally jumped up high like a frightened grasshopper, and then there was a snap.
Wan Feng immediately felt like a deflated ball. It turned out that she was the one who set off the firecrackers!
Judging from the volume of the firecrackers, these are not the Hongtou ones, these are the middle whips.
This guy actually took the whip apart and put it away?
The middle whip was not as big as the firecrackers of later generations, but it was more than an inch long and slightly thicker than a cigarette, and its noise was no less than those of the thickly rolled firecrackers of later generations.
The whip fuse at that time was not as slow-burning as the later ones. The fuse used to ignite the fire was a paper-wrapped gunpowder fuse, which burned very quickly, almost like lightning. Sometimes the fuse would explode before you could even pull your hand back after lighting it.
When Zhu Ping used a whip stand to light the firecracker, he would light a one-and-a-half-meter-long corn stalk from a distance and poke it into the fuse of the firecracker, for fear of being hit by the explosion.
How dare this tiger bitch put this.
Wan Feng slammed his head on the pillow with a bang, and felt weak all over.
Was it the wrong time of rebirth? Or did I offend some passing deity? Why did I end up meeting this weird woman?
Just as Wan Feng was sighing, another bang was heard outside.
Wan Feng simply closed his eyes.
As soon as I closed my eyes, I heard Luan Feng's voice asking "Happy New Year". I couldn't hear clearly whether she was asking my grandma or my aunt.
A few seconds later, Wan Feng suddenly had a bad premonition. Just as he was about to open his eyes, he felt his ears tighten.
"Get up! Get up, lazybones!"
Wan Feng opened his eyes helplessly: "Please spare my life, my dear! What are you going to do now, my dear?"
Luan Feng chuckled: "You're still sleeping after sleeping for such a long time."
"How can I sleep for so long? I just came back from the ditch. I sleep like you..." Thinking that today is the first day of the new year, he had to speak politely and swallowed the word "pig".
"Why didn't you come back to sleep when it was daybreak?"
"I went to pay New Year's greetings as soon as I got up, and it's been less than an hour since I got back."
"Is that so? Then come and keep me company. Come to my house and sleep. My parents are visiting my eldest and third aunts, so I'll be alone at home."
Is this woman hopeless? She even dared to ask him to sleep at her house?
Fortunately, grandpa went out to visit relatives, and grandma and aunt were busy out of town. If they had heard her, they would have laughed at her.
"Where do your eldest and third aunts live?"
Wan Feng really didn't know where Luan Feng's aunt lived.
"My eldest aunt lives at the cattle ranch, and my third aunt lives at the Big Yellow Hill."
More than 30 miles down the Inna River is the mouth of the Yellow Sea. Twenty years ago, there was a village called Kanniuchang that specialized in raising cattle at the mouth of the river.
The Cattle Farm is on the east bank of the Inna River. On the west bank of the river, opposite the Cattle Farm is the Dahuangqiu, which is named after a loess hill.
Luan Feng's aunt married first, and later introduced her third sister to him. This is probably how things happened.
"So far? How did they get there?"
"My dad rode his bike and carried my mom there. They stayed there overnight and came back the next day. It was like this every year."
It’s more than 30 miles of mountain road, and the two families are relatives. It will take until tomorrow for each family to have a meal and come back.
I won’t be back until tomorrow! I won’t be back until tomorrow! I won’t be back until tomorrow!
Think three times about important things.
Luan Feng said that she wanted him to keep her company, does that include the night?
If he stayed at her house for company at night, would that mean…?
Drink, drink, drink!
Wan Feng was a little bit excited and horny, but this excitement only lasted for less than ten seconds before he became depressed.
What can he do even if he keeps Luan Feng company and sleeps in the same bed at night?
If it were any other day, he could naturally do something sneaky under such conditions. He was one year older this year, so it didn't seem like a big deal if he stole the forbidden fruit as long as nothing happened.
Of course he knew how to avoid any accidents; he had experience with this kind of thing.
But it’s Chinese New Year now!
According to the experience summarized by Wan Feng in his previous life, it is better for men to behave themselves during the three days of the New Year, from the time when the New Year is celebrated until the third day of the New Year when the New Year is said to be gone.
After all, that thing is not a clean one. If you have sexual relations with someone during this period, it will reduce your luck for the next year.
This is no joke, it's very important.
Not only can you not do it, but even touching places you shouldn't touch is not good.
In this case, it is not a good thing but a painful thing.
It must be so painful for two people to sleep together and only be able to look at each other but not move.
Luan Feng didn't know what Wan Feng was thinking, so she dragged Wan Feng up without saying anything.
"Hurry up, my door has been locked for a long time. I'm going back. Maybe someone will come to wish me a happy new year."
Wan Feng had no choice but to follow Luan Feng out.
"Are you not going out to eat again?" Grandma asked from behind.
"No, I'm not hungry."
During the Chinese New Year, there is plenty of food and no work to do, so I don’t feel hungry at all even if I skip a meal.
The two men walked towards the west ditch.
"Liang Hua doesn't want to study anymore. After he turns fifteen, he'll come to you to be your apprentice."
Luan Feng blinked her eyes and smiled strangely: "Why didn't she tell me? How did she tell you? Tell me the truth, are you still hooking up?"
Wan Feng looked at Luan Feng unhappily.
"Hey, I'm just kidding."
"Don't make such jealous jokes anymore."
"Okay, I won't make such jokes again. You're so narrow-minded!"
The two chatted and laughed as they arrived at Luan Feng's house. Luan Feng suddenly let out a wild cry of surprise: "Xiang Xiang, Lan Lan, Wen Ge!"
The next second, Luan Feng transformed into Superman and flew away like a red lightning.
"Happy New Year, Master!"
The visitors were the six students from Waqian and Xiaoshutun. They came to pay New Year's greetings to Luan Feng.
So several women jumped and danced.
In fact, they had only been apart for five days, but it felt like they hadn't seen each other for several years.
When they had almost finished dancing, Luan Feng opened the door and let them into the house.
With so many women, the place becomes more lively, with people listening to music, eating melon seeds and chattering at the same time.
The six girls stayed at Luan Feng's house until four o'clock in the afternoon before reluctantly going back.
Although they have only been at Luan Feng's house for over a month, they have developed an attachment to this place.
In the evening, Luan Feng heated up the meal. The two of them took a quick bite, and then Luan Feng ran to the yard to set off firecrackers.
Wan Feng stood at the door and watched Luan Feng set off firecrackers with a look of despair.