The happiest people during the Chinese New Year are the children.

Before the New Year, Luo Zhen and Xiaojuan made new cotton-padded clothes for Qiuhua, Xiaohua and Chunhua. Xiaohua took them out and placed them at the end of the bed on New Year's Eve so that he could wear them early on New Year's Day.

After the Chinese New Year, Xiaohua was nine years old. He no longer had a runny nose and had become a young man!

Xiaohua is the oldest among the five or six children who play together in the village. Usually, when he calls out, everyone follows him.

Everyone got up late on New Year's Day, but Xiaohua, who usually likes to sleep in, got up very early.

He put on his new cotton-padded clothes and looked full of energy. The snow had stopped last night. He walked into the yard, leaving a pair of small footprints with every step he took.

Xiaohua stood with his hands behind his back like an adult, looking here and there, as if checking how the flowers and trees in the yard were growing.

The village was unusually quiet. Xiao Hua, bored, picked up a dry branch and drew a few circles on the ground.

His little head was racing, trying to find something fun.

"Mom, I'm going out to play."

He shouted into the house and ran out without waiting for a response.

After turning four or five times along the way, he finally gathered his team.

"Xiaohua, what are you playing?" asked Follower No. 1.

Xiaohua rubbed his chin and thought for a long time without any response. Follower No. 2 said, "How about we have a snowball fight?"

"These are just toys for little kids." Xiaohua pouted to show that it was boring.

"That's right, it's so cold, why have a snowball fight? Your hands will get frozen!" Follower No. 1 echoed.

"Come to my house, I have firecrackers!"

Xiaohua's eyes lit up. He thought that Follower No. 3's suggestion was good. He waved his arm and everyone walked towards Follower No. 3's house.

The others were waiting outside, and Follower No. 3 went back to get firecrackers and matches, and the children headed towards the village with laughter.

Xiaohua held a firecracker in one hand and a matchbox in the other. He pressed the firecracker against the matchbox and it ignited with a "crackling" sound. When it was thrown to the ground, there was a crisp "pop" sound.

There were sporadic sounds of firecrackers in the village, the smell of gunpowder spread over a small area, and the laughter of children woke up the village.

Follower No. 2 was the youngest. Xiaohua taught him how to set up firecrackers step by step. As soon as he let go, the firecrackers exploded under his feet, scaring him so much that his little face twisted.

"Oh, why are you so stupid!" Follower No. 1 said in disgust, "I won't let you play with it anymore. What if it gets thrown at us?"

When the little guy heard that he was not allowed to play, he pouted and started crying.

"Alright, alright, stop crying. He's just trying to scare you. I'll get you a firecracker. You better throw it far away. Don't throw it at your feet!"

As soon as the boss spoke, no one else had any objections. Follower No. 2 sniffed and held back his tears and snot.

"If you give him another shot, be careful, or you'll be thrown on top."

Xiao Hua asked the follower No. 3 to take care of him. The boy readily agreed and took out a firecracker from his pocket. He lit it with a "crack" and handed it to No. 2. His movements were smooth and efficient.

Unexpectedly, No. 2 was young and slow to react, and he was stunned with the firecrackers in his hand.

"Throw it! Throw it quickly!"

The follower number two was frightened by Xiaohua's shout, his hand shook, and the firecracker was thrown out, and it fell right into the pocket of number three who was setting off the firecracker.

Several children were frightened. Number Three was frightened by the crackling sound in his pocket and started crying. No one dared to go forward to help him. Almost in an instant, flames shot out of his pocket, climbed up his cotton coat, and were about to burn his face.

"Hurry, go call the adults!" Xiaohua was the first to react and pushed Follower No. 1.

He turned around and saw a well behind him. Someone had drawn a bucket of water but had not taken it. He rushed over and put the bucket into the well. It was quite difficult to lift a full bucket of water. He used all his strength to pull it up, and the rope rubbed his palms so hard that it hurt.

At this moment, Follower No. 3 stopped crying and started screaming in fear.

"Splash--" A bucket of water was poured on it, the flames went down, the front of the cotton-padded jacket was burned black, and the hands of the follower No. 3 were burned into a bloody mess.

Xiaohua collapsed on the ground, his head buzzing and tears welling up.

It’s over, how can I explain this?

Before he could catch his breath, the fire started again stealthily. Xiaohua was startled and crawled to the well using his hands and feet to fetch water.

This time the fire burned more fiercely, penetrating the front and back of the cotton coat. The fire immediately engulfed the child's upper body and gradually spread downwards.

He rolled on the ground in pain, screaming as he rolled.

At the critical moment, the child's screams attracted Dahua and Xu Guoqing, who brought water to save the child and finally put out the fire completely.

"What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?"

Dahua roared at Xiaohua angrily. He finally couldn't hold it back any longer and burst into tears, crying out, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me."

Dahua threw down the bucket and squatted down angrily. At this time, the follower No. 1 finally came with the parents of No. 3.

"Ah—who did this? You little bastards are trying to kill my child."

His mother's eyes suddenly turned red, and she cried and scolded. At this time, the child's face was charred black, and there was no healthy skin left. The most terrifying thing was that the child was conscious, but he could only whimper softly in his throat because of the pain.

This happened on New Year's Day, and none of the children's families had an easy time.

Although it was number two who threw the firecrackers, Xiaohua was the oldest among the children and should bear the main responsibility.

Xiaohua knelt in front of the living room without saying a word. No one in his family dared to speak up for him. The child's face was burned and he was still in the hospital!

"What's wrong with you bunch of dead kids!" Liang Gen was so angry that he kicked over the stool next to him.

"Why not play with firecrackers? Now you've burned someone to death. Can you afford to pay for it? Why don't you burn yourself?"

Liang Genfa said this out of anger, but not entirely.

If your own child is injured, adults will feel sad and heartbroken, but if your own child causes other children to be injured, then the child is truly guilty of a capital crime, a sin that can never be redeemed in a lifetime!

This time Xiaohua really realized that he was wrong. He lowered his head, not daring to say a word, and his tears dripped onto the ground.

"Cry, you still dare to cry!"

Liang Genfa picked up a stick and hit Xiaohua twice. After all, he was still a child. He groaned and almost fell to the ground. This time he finally couldn't help sobbing.

Dahua and Erhua sat aside. Today was supposed to be the big day when Erhua and Luo Zhen came back, and the family was happily preparing lunch, but now, no one had any appetite.

"Look at how burned he is. His face is no longer a face. What will happen to this child in the future?

I tell you, if he can't save you, even if his family comes to take your life, I won't stop them!"

When Xiaohua heard this, he was really scared and cried out in sobs: "Dad, please don't... I know I was wrong... I was wrong..."