New Year's Eve was cold.
From six in the evening onward, sparse snowflakes drifted down from the dim night sky.
An old man from one of the single-story houses walked to his doorway, looked up at the snowy scene, and called out, "A timely snowfall promises a good harvest. Good, this is good!"
It meant that next year, the crops would be plentiful and the farmers could live Good Days.
With small cotton shoes on her feet, Xue Yuantong scampered outside, clutching a handful of firecrackers.
She flung one firecracker onto the ground. It went pop! with a crisp crack.
It was a Snap Firecracker. It did not need to be lit; it would make a sound as long as it was thrown onto the ground.
When she was little, Xue Yuantong relied on her "great strength" to frighten people with Snap Firecrackers in her hand, and she always succeeded.
Aunt Gu stood behind Xue Yuantong. She still clearly remembered that, many years ago, she had bought Xue Yuantong Pull Firecrackers—the kind with a string linking the firecrackers together.
As long as they were pulled with a little force, they would explode.
Tongtong had gotten a lot of Pull Firecrackers, so one night, she ran outside the home of a local thug and tied more than a dozen of them to the man's door knocker.
When the thug opened his door the next day, there came a bang! right in his face, and smoke rose up at once.
It scared him half to death. He nearly collapsed to the ground and spent half the morning cursing through the village in rage.
Thinking back on it, Aunt Gu could not help but smile.
After setting off Snap Firecrackers outside for a while, Xue Yuantong took out another winged firecracker shaped like