Chapter 74

Celebrate Chinese New Year

When he woke up in the morning and saw Tiantian sleeping next to him, Erdan was so happy that he hugged Chen Tiantian and said, "Oh, Mom, Tiantian sleepwalked into our house."

Well, after two years at the base, this home is finally beginning to feel like an established place.

As usual, mom fried sweet and crispy small twisted dough sticks at home, and the meatballs were piled up like small hills. They also got half a basket of cucumbers, rapeseed and tomatoes grown in the greenhouse, and they ate as much as they wanted today. Nie Weimin only ate the vegetables, while Erdan had a meatball and a small twisted dough stick every now and then, and his mouth never closed.

Originally, there was no custom of posting couplets at the base.

Of course, they are all rough people, and there are no elderly people in the family, so there is no one to urge everyone to celebrate the New Year properly. This year, Chen Lina hurriedly asked Nie Bozhao to post a couplet for her house. Well, every household came to come.

As soon as the red paper is spread out, what is more pleasing than the thousands of miles of snow on the Min Mountains? After the three armies have passed, everyone is full of smiles. If the sky has feelings, it will also grow old. The right path in the world is to live in the world of sorrow.

Less than half a day later, when the milkman came to the base for the last time to deliver milk, he almost dropped his eyes out of his wits.

The big characters, like flying dragons and dancing phoenixes, are so beautifully written.

"Nie Gong, I have finished writing the couplets and posted them all over the family area. How is it? Don't you feel a sense of accomplishment?"

"Yes, it's a great sense of accomplishment, but my back is also very sore. Oh, where are my sons?"

"It is said that he went to Wang Fan's house to listen to the tape. Come in quickly. It looks like it will snow soon, right?"

"Dad, dad, Wang Fan's cannon is so big." As he was speaking, Erdan ran in like a little tiger and said as soon as he greeted the door.

Nie Weimin followed behind him, not knowing how to describe "Wang Fan's father yelled, Dad, didn't you hear it?"

When it comes to Chinese New Year, everything else can be missing except firecrackers, especially for children, who love setting off firecrackers during Chinese New Year.

Just as they were talking, someone threw in a big firecracker from the door. It exploded at Sandan's feet with a bang, and the frightened child screamed.

"Da Dan, you're scared, right? If you have firecrackers, come out and fire them." It was Qian Gou Dan. His father bought a lot of firecrackers, so he held a stick of incense and set off firecrackers at the door of Nie Weimin's house.

The three children came to see Chen Lina at this moment, "Mom, is our gun ready?"

"It's in the small storeroom. Come on, I'll take you there." In order to prevent them from firing all their weapons too early, Chen Lina locked them in the small storeroom.

As a result, the wooden board behind the small warehouse broke at some point, and the snow fell inside.

Fortunately, the potatoes and cabbages were not placed here to prevent rats, otherwise all this year's winter vegetables would be ruined.

"Mom, our small warehouse was robbed." said Nie Weimin.

Erdan thought for a long time, “The firecrackers are gone.” It’s just the New Year, and he’s not happy yet. The firecrackers are gone.

But Qian Gou'er wasn't outside shouting, "Big Egg, come out and compete with your cannons. Whoever doesn't dare to fire is a coward."

Brother Nie Weimin was stunned as if he was hit by a grenade.

"What's missing?"

"Besides the cannon, there is also coal, but one bag is missing."

"Do you want me to help you check the footprints and find the thief?" Nie Gong said, and was about to check the footprints. But Chen Lina stopped him and said, "Okay, hurry up and find a few firecrackers for the children. Don't worry about other things. Coal is something that every family has. She took mine, so I must ask her to give it back to me."

"Comrade Xiao Chen, I think you have a sinister look in your eyes."

"Why, are you scared?"

"Afraid." It's New Year's Day, and I'm afraid she's going to quarrel with someone again.

"Go ahead, grab a pack of cigarettes, and go ask other people if they have any extra firecrackers. Have them bring out a few for your son to set off."

"Xiao Chen, it's just a few cannons. They can just take a nap and they will be gone by tomorrow morning. Is it necessary to go to other people's houses to beg for them?"

“As for.”

Chen Lina said this and went into the house to look for cigarettes.

Today's leaders are basically all big smokers. When a worker goes on a business trip, no matter which base he goes to, whether it is Hongyan, Yanbian, Beijing, etc., as long as he goes there, the leaders must give him the opportunity to smoke.

He doesn't smoke himself, but takes them all back and gives them to others at critical moments so that they can be talked into conversation.

The worker got the cigarettes, but was too lazy to change the cannons, so he said, "How about giving each of them a cigarette to light up for fun?"

"Well, offer two more bowls of rice, and put you one elbow into the shrine and worship you as an ancestor. They will even kowtow to you." Chen Lina said, and she actually brought out a bowl of rice and offered it on the table.

There was a photo on the table today, black and white, with a wooden frame and a black flower on it.

This is a photo of the children's mother, Sun Gong.

Of course, the deceased grandchildren always have posthumous passports. After all, no matter how high-tech they are, they are still the children of their parents. If they are the children of their parents, they must have a posthumous passport.

Last year, when Chen Lina was cleaning the sanitation, she discovered that Nie Bozhao had hidden Sun Gong’s posthumous photo in the deepest drawer.

It's okay on ordinary days, but on New Year's Day, you have to invite them out to burn incense and let the children burn some as well.

The offering meal was well prepared, with rice and meatballs, and topped with yellow, diamond-shaped egg slices. Chen Lina handed the meal to Nie Bozhao and said, "Okay, call the children in and kowtow to their mother."

Nie Bozhao then turned around and called his three sons in.

Nie Weimin recognized that this was his mother. He took the incense, burned it earnestly, kowtowed, and looked at the photo with his eyes a little red. Erdan broke the incense stick in his hand. Of course, he had long forgotten his mother. He just followed Nie Weimin's example and lit a stick of incense.

Only Sandan didn't dare to go. He hugged Chen Lina's legs and said, "Mom, I'm scared."

"That's your mother too. It's New Year's Day and she wants to see you too. Go and kowtow to her. Then she'll know that you are plump, healthy and free of disease."

"You are lying to the children again." Nie Weimin wiped his nose and said with his head down, "I am a materialist and don't believe in ghosts and gods. My mother has been cremated. According to her will, her ashes were scattered throughout the three major bases in the mining area. This is recorded in the mining area chronicles."

This kid really knows everything.

"Even if there are no ghosts or gods, she is still your mother. It is a courtesy to burn incense to her during festivals to show that you still remember her and have not forgotten her. It is the same as standing up and greeting the teacher when she enters the classroom. Dandan, go over now and kowtow to her." Chen Lina then said.

The woman in the photo is smiling, and the image is so clear that you can clearly see the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

How should I put it? Apart from her masculine appearance, Gong Sun is actually very pretty. Her slightly permed short hair shows how high-spirited she was when she was in this desert and the entire base was filled with men.

"You just don't want to change your gun?" After closing the door of the study, Chen Lina said, "Come on, let me tell you a story."

"Well, you always have a story. Tell it to me."

"That was a lifetime ago. Your Nie Weijiang told me this. He said that when he was little, you were always working outside, and only the elderly were at home to take care of him. Then, during the New Year's Eve at the base, he couldn't get up because he was paralyzed. His second brother wanted to ask for money to buy firecrackers but failed, so he stole a firecracker from next door, carried him out on his back, and the three of them set it off together. The person who took care of him at the time should have been your biological mother Huang Guilan, who told you about the incident. For this, you beat him with a belt several times, and he ran away, and hasn't been home for several years.

The reason your son became a gangster was all because of a gun."

In the previous life, there was no Chen Lina. When Nie Bozhao followed him to the base, it was Huang Guilan who took care of the children.

Huang Guilan is only a little more generous than Huang Huacai, and Erdan is a careless person. It is conceivable that after a busy day outside, Nie Bozhao would inevitably take action when he came back to hear that his son had cheated on his wife or had a fight.

Nie Bozhao really didn't dare to listen to the little princess's nonsense about her past life. It was such a happy day, the whole family was reunited and having a great time, but why did it sound so sad?

"Okay, it's just a few cannons, do you have to pull out that apricot tree fork from your last life to offer it as a sacrifice?"

"That's you. You have experienced failure in the first half of your life, but you have great glory in the second half of your life because you have me."

"No, Xiao Chen, I have to get some cannons and blow your apricot tree fork to pieces. Of course, I am also a materialist and don't believe in ghosts and gods. I just want you to know that as long as I, Nie Bozhao, want to do something, there is nothing I can't do."

Okay, let’s do it.

Most people cannot imagine what the laborers want to do.

For example, he planned to make a cannon himself and let his sons blind all the children in the base, so he went to the laboratory.

After returning, he took out the gunpowder used in special hunting rifles from the back of the bookcase in the study. He found some waste manuscripts, picked up the fuse himself, and started to make cannons in the study.

"Dad, can you really make a cannon?" Erdan was so excited.

"The most important thing about a cannon is the gunpowder. Dad has gunpowder. Roll it up in paper, install the fuse and tie it up, and it becomes a cannon." Although Nie Weimin appeared indifferent, he was so excited that he kept rubbing Sandan'er's head. "Dad, can you add more gunpowder? I want to scare Qian Goudan so much that he won't dare to go out."

"No, I'm going to bomb him so hard that he won't dare go out tomorrow."

Under normal circumstances, Nie Bozhao would not tolerate them, but today is Chinese New Year, so what if he helps the children this time?

On the red paper, there were little bits of gunpowder, one bit for each gram. He first took out the gunpowder and crushed it, then handed what he had taken out of the laboratory to Nie Weimin, explaining one thing after another, "This is potassium nitrate, it is a strong oxygen, very good at supporting combustion, it can increase the burning power of gunpowder, okay, look, I'm adding it in."

"Dad, can I take potassium nitrate? Will it taste sour?"

"Erdan, go out and make a cup of tea for Dad. Go quickly."

"This is magnesium powder. Illuminating flares used in military operations are made of it. Do you know why? Because it has a low ignition point and can produce bright light in an instant, which can illuminate the earth as bright as day. And this, barium nitrate, also glows during the combustion process, but it emits green light. You will understand when you see it in a moment."

As he spoke, Nie Bozhao rolled up the homemade cannon and then glued it with paste. The father and son waited quietly for the cannon to dry.

As the sky was about to darken, he asked Nie Weimin, "Are you going to let it go, or am I going to let it go?"

"Let me do it." Nie Weimin went out with the cannon. "Goudan, Qian Goudan, come and see my cannon. I have a cannon too. I'm going to blast you so hard that you won't dare go out for three days."

"What kind of firecracker is so new that it can make me afraid to go out for three days?" Qian Gou'er jumped out.

Chen Tiantian and Xiao Jinbao, along with several other children from Tiantian's grandmother's family, also ran to the door to see what was going on.

Nie Weimin put the firecracker made by his father on the wall, lit it with a stick of incense, and rushed to the door of his house. The three brothers gathered together and watched the fuse burning. When it was about to burn to the bottom, Qian Gou'er jumped up and said, "Hey, a dumb firecracker."

Yes, the fuse has been burning in for a long time, and there is no movement at all.

"Brother, let me go and take a look. Could Dad's gun really be mute?" Erdan hadn't finished his words when a whoosh sound was heard, but the sound was not loud.

However, a blue light suddenly exploded in the sky, and then the light fell down like a meteor.

"Mom, come and see, the cannons made by Dad are so beautiful." Nie Weimin jumped in and said, "Dad, give me a few more. I want more. I want to scare Qian Goudan so much that he will never dare to go out again."

"Why are you in such a hurry? There are better ones out there."

It's just a firework. For Nie Gong, a versatile engineer, it's really nothing.

Blue is just the most basic. His laboratory has everything. Strontium nitrate, sodium salt, copper salt and various chemicals are added to the gunpowder. Well, colorful fireworks, one after another, directly attracted all the adults and children in the base.

Almost everyone gathered outside the door of Old Nie's house and looked up, wanting to see what new tricks Nie Gong could come up with.

And the workers did not disappoint. Sometimes it was red, sometimes blue, sometimes red, blue and yellow, and the fireworks exploded again and again. Well, before the much-anticipated movie tomorrow night, everyone finally had a feast for their eyes.

Only Sandaner noticed a problem. He stood there and watched for a long time, then suddenly grabbed Chen Lina's sleeve and said, "Mom, our sister is missing."

The chubby white rabbit girl was placed outside during the day and moved to the hallway at night. She had not been at home for too long. Chen Lina searched for her inside and outside for a while but couldn't find her.

Next door, Sister Wang has just finished her confinement.

As soon as the firecrackers were set off outside, the newly born baby started to cry loudly. It was a boy, so Sister Wang was really careful when watching the baby, fearing that something might happen. As a result, the child really got a fever.

"Hey, Lina, why are you here?" Sister Wang was taking the child's temperature when she saw Chen Lina come in.

"Today is New Year's Day, I'm afraid you must be exhausted." Chen Lina said, and put half a fat chicken directly on the table.

"We were also given chickens, and we got four at a time. You have many children and a large family, so why do you have to give them to me?" said Sister Wang.

Outside, Sandan suddenly burst into tears, "Mom, my sister is here, my sister."

Chen Lina turned around and went out again. After a while, she came back with a rabbit and put it directly on Sister Wang's kang. Then, an old lady with a stern face chased in and said, "Hey, Director Chen, this rabbit was caught by my grandchildren outside. How can you be sure it belongs to you?"

"Sister Wang, our families have been friends for a long time. You said you were short of eggs or meat, so I gave you some. It's nothing. After all, I have to be busy and the children are eating at your house. But your aunt stole my coal and my rabbits to eat. This is not a decent thing to do."

"Mom, give the rabbit back to the person." Sister Wang was also angry with the old lady.

"This rabbit was caught by my grandchildren."

"The captured rabbit will have a red string tied around its feet. Tiantian, tell your grandma whose rabbit this is?"

"This is my little sister. Dadan'er and I raised her together." Chen Tiantian cried again, "Grandma stole coal and cannons from the neighboring house, and now she wants to kill our little sister and eat her too."

Sister Wang was so angry that she sat up and said, "Mom, I will take care of the child by myself. You are leaving tomorrow. I really can't take care of you anymore."

Aunt Wang said, "No, it's just a rabbit. Our two families have a good relationship. What's the harm if my child eats it? Director Chen, didn't you say that you would let my daughter Tiantian be your daughter-in-law in the future?"

Chen Lina sneered, "That's our family's business, it has nothing to do with you, old lady. My coal, please return it to me, and my chicken is for Sister Wang. You must remember this, next time you dare to dismantle my wood planks and steal my coal and cannons, you will be punished with a big stick."

After Chen Lina left, Sister Wang looked at the chicken on the table, got angry for a long time, and said, "Mom, you should leave after the third year of the Chinese New Year. Take my brother's two kids back with you. You have to rely on your mother to steal things to feed my brother's children. You have thrown away all my people at the base."

Carrying his sister out from next door, Nie Gong became interested and was teaching Nie Weimin how to mix gunpowder, paste cannons and set off fireworks.

Well, okay, separate the gunpowder, roll the tube a little longer, and put on the fuse. This is called a chain gun.

Then package various chemicals separately, connect fuses to each of them, and when they are all connected, hey, the colors of the firecrackers that are fired are all different.

Chen Lina looked at it and said, "Well, so this is how fireworks are made. I have learned a lot today."

Well, Nie Weimin became more and more excited, and made one grenade after another. If Nie Bozhao hadn't forced him to take away the gunpowder in the end, he would have even prepared to make a grenade himself.

The clock ticked, stopped for a moment at the 0 o'clock grid, then jumped over and continued to move down.

"Nie Weimin, take your brothers and go sleep over there." With the big kang crowded with children, Nie Bozhao wanted to do something but couldn't, so he kicked Nie Weimin, trying to get him to leave.

Nie Weimin would not do that. "No, today is New Year's Eve, I want to sleep with you guys."

Well, the spicy smell of gunpowder, the aroma of various meatballs and condiments in the kitchen, the smell of children's stinky feet in the house, the sound of wind and cannons outside, the laborer crawled forward, just like Dong Cunrui blowing up a bunker, throwing a snoring person over, then moving away a person who was grinding his teeth, and carefully taking away a fuse that could explode at any time, and finally, crawling to the side of his lover.

Lying beside his lover, holding her hand, okay, the couple who had struggled hard on the Gobi Beach, he thought to himself, Comrade Xiao Chen, thank you for your hard work, next year, we will continue to work hard.

New Year's Eve has passed, and the new year has arrived with the ringing of a huge bell in the office building.