Chapter 213 Fireworks
It was already completely dark before dinner, and when Qi Yuxuan and her group came out, it was a time when every house was brightly lit.
The Lin family's fireworks shop was quite well-known in Lancheng and had been granted permission by the government to operate around the clock. November was approaching December, and as the saying goes, once the Laba Festival was over, the New Year was just around the corner. Tomorrow was a day off, so many adults brought their children to buy fireworks as a way of celebrating the New Year in advance.
Upon arriving at the shop's entrance, Qi Yuxuan looked up and saw four large, elegantly written characters on the shop's three-story signboard: "Fire Tree and Silver Flower Shop."
The name does fit the meaning of fireworks.
As soon as the group crossed the threshold and entered, the waiter and the accountant at the checkout counter recognized several familiar faces and immediately greeted them with smiles.
"Young Master Yao, what brings Miss Fei here in person?!"
The Lin family were the owners, and the younger generation of the owners had never lacked fireworks to play with since childhood. Sometimes, when they were in a good mood, they would bring their best friends and classmates to buy fireworks. Over time, everyone in the shop got to know all the members of the Lin family.
Today, I noticed that they were subtly placing a beautiful but unfamiliar young girl in the center of their attention. I wondered which distinguished person had just arrived in Lancheng and was so important to them.
The waiter and the accountant didn't speak rashly, but exchanged a glance and cautiously served the young master and lady of the house.
"What about Phoenix's Cry Spreading Across the Plains? Is there any more?" Lin Fei asked anxiously.
"Phoenix Cries Spreading Across the Plains" is the name of that new firework.
The waiter glanced at his customers, somewhat embarrassed: "Well... I'm not sure either. The new fireworks are selling very well; we've already received a lot of pre-orders even before they're finished..."
Upon meeting the gazes of the young owners, he immediately changed his tune:
"But it's hard to say. I'll go check the back storeroom right away; maybe they have it!"
The waiter and the accountant went to find fireworks, while Qi Yuxuan stayed in the shop looking at the various fireworks on display for sale.
They have both big and small fireworks, and what's even more commendable is that, in addition to clearly marking the price of each type of firework, they also thoughtfully use a small piece of paper to draw the effect of the fireworks blooming on the back of the price. Although there is definitely a difference between the actual effect and the real thing, this alone makes them far superior to other fireworks shops.
She looked at more than ten kinds of fireworks and was surprised to find that the Fire Tree and Silver Flower Shop had such a complete range of fireworks. The effect pictures and prices were also very good and cheap. There were many fireworks in Shengjing. If it could be spread all over Qi, there would be no shortage of sales. However, she had never heard of this shop in her previous life. She wondered why it had not expanded its business and opened a shop outside of Lancheng.
Thinking this, she asked the question.
Just as Lin Fei was about to speak, Lin Chengyao suddenly interrupted, lowering his voice to make sure no one else could hear him:
“Cousin, you probably don’t know this, although fireworks are beautiful and sell well, every year there are always some people who get injured or killed while playing with fireworks… Our Lin family is already exhausted from taking care of our little corner of Lancheng, we are so careful, where would we have so much energy to take care of business in other places?”
"Besides, the sulfur, saltpeter, and other materials needed to make fireworks all require government approval on a case-by-case basis. Our Lin family runs a small business, so it's fine if the quantity is small, but if it's large, there will inevitably be trouble, won't there?"
Lin Chengyao's words were reasonable and convincing, so Qi Yuxuan nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
As they were talking, the waiter and the accountant came running out from behind, carrying a bundle wrapped in brown paper.
"Found it! Found it!"
The Phoenix Cry Spreads Across the Plains is as thick as a broom handle and as long as an arm, so it can be held in the hand. It also has a base so it can stand on the ground. Unlike Lin Fei and Lin Chengyao, Qi Yuxuan did not risk holding it in her hand. Instead, she sent a servant from the Lin family to light the fuse from a distance, while she stood at a not-too-distant spot to watch.
The fuse was lit, and soon a cluster of bright sparks flew towards the pillar, only to disappear without a trace in an instant.
One breath, two breaths...
"Bang bang bang—"
Three deafening sounds came from the fireworks, and then a dazzling firework soared into the night sky, blooming into a colorful display resembling a phoenix soaring against the deep blue-black night. At the same time, a sharp sound accompanied it, truly like the cry of a phoenix.
Even after the phoenix disappeared, the firework didn't end there. The falling fireworks reignited, bursting into a fiery red color, just as the name "fireworks that startle the prairie" suggests.
Qi Yuxuan was also stunned by the extraordinary fireworks, staring at the now calm night sky, unable to recover for a long time.
"Auntie, isn't it beautiful?!" Lin Fei ran over excitedly.
Lin Chengyao followed behind her, smiling as he walked over and asked if she wanted to try something else. He said that Huoshu Yinhua Fang had other fun and beautiful fireworks, guaranteed to be styles she had never seen in the capital.
"It looks great! What else is fun? I want to play more games."
Qi Yuxuan, like any little girl seeing such beautiful fireworks for the first time, was overjoyed and wanted to try out all the fireworks at the Fire Tree and Silver Flower Workshop.
Lin Chengyao and Lin Fei exchanged a glance, then quickly looked away.
Back at the Lin family home, it was already late at night. Qi Yuxuan still didn't wash up and go to bed immediately because Ren Shun brought news from the Qilin Guard. They believed that this matter could be handled by acting first and reporting later. After the day after tomorrow's rest day, they would personally go to the Lancheng government office and ask the officials to cooperate in providing the files of those who died in the abandoned mine years ago.
Meanwhile, an urgent report was also sent from Lancheng and was already on its way to the Eastern Palace.
Qi Yuxuan felt slightly relieved and then said:
"Check if there are any problems with the Fireworks Factory. The key is their dealings with the government, especially where the sulfur, saltpeter, charcoal, and metal powder used in making fireworks come from."
In Qi Yuxuan's view, why didn't other places have any particularly outstanding or beautiful fireworks? It wasn't that Qi's craftsmanship was incapable, but rather that they simply didn't have enough materials to waste and research repeatedly. After all, fireworks and heavy gunpowder share the same origin, and if something went wrong, it could be misappropriated by someone with ulterior motives to make gunpowder, which would only cause trouble. Therefore, the research and development of fireworks was also shelved.
Lin Fei's repeated reminders about the fireworks were perhaps a way of reminding her that there were some problems with the Fireworks Pavilion.
Adhering to the principle of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free," she still wanted to check if there was anything wrong with the fireworks shop.
The strange thing is that Lin Fei herself is a member of the Lin family. If something bad happens to the Lin family, what benefit would she get? Also, Lin Chengyao's seemingly unwillingness to let Lin Fei talk to or interact with him alone reveals something odd about him.
Ren Shunyi agreed to everything. Before leaving, he suddenly stopped and took out a small brocade box from his pocket.
He placed it on the table, his ears slightly red.
“Master, I saw this when I went out today and I think it would suit you very well. If you don’t like it, just throw it away. You don’t need to return it to me.”
After saying that, he ran away as fast as he could, as if a ghost was chasing him.
Qi Yuxuan was taken aback. She walked over and opened the brocade box, inside which lay a pair of agate butterfly earrings.
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