Chapter 4 Chapter Four

Jinghai County is a big market every four and eight.Today is the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the root of the new year. Going to the market is the last time. The number of people buying and selling things has doubled, and the clothes are much more lively; , The sound of explosions was like thunder, as if a war had begun; the cars carrying firecrackers on the embankments on both sides of the bank were lined up tightly, like thousands of troops forming a formation of snakes.Niu Bao and Brother Dou held a pack of "cannonball double lights" and squatted behind a bullock cart, waiting for the evening when there were few people.Niu Bao stared at Chun Zhi through the wheels of the cart.She was still under the crooked willow tree, sitting in the donkey cart, still wearing black clothes, white face, and red scarf, but she was not motionless like the previous two wooden and clay sculptures, but turned her pretty face around, looking around, Like looking for something.The three brothers of the Cai family set off firecrackers and sold firecrackers, but she didn't seem to notice it.

After noon, Paoshi obviously took a rest, the carts parked on the embankment moved away a lot, scattered and out of formation; the gunpowder smoke in the middle of the river bed also became thinner, and a person could be seen.As the sun sank to the west, the scenery, the sky and even the air all darkened, but the firelight seemed extraordinarily bright.Gradually, most of the remaining people were firecracker dealers, yelling and shouting more vigorously, just trying to get rid of the goods that were pressed in their hands.Firecrackers, after the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month, will have to be pressed for a year: the cracked firecracker crumbs on the ground have already been covered with a thick layer, and the Cai family under the crooked neck tree has begun to collect their stalls, and they are going back At this moment, Niu Bao suddenly appeared in front of the Cai family with Brother Dou.

Chunzhi's eyes lit up, as if he had just stopped Hun'er. The three Cai family brothers immediately picked up the guy and walked up.They saw that Niu Bao raised his eyebrows and opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth trembling nervously, and there was a resolute air, thinking that it was not a competition, but just revenge for his predecessors, and he came desperately: But Niu Bao didn't move his hands or his mouth, he put his thick big hands flat on his face. Stretch forward, palms facing upwards, and in the center there is a "cannon-beating double lamp", red cannon barrel, green paper pasted top, and yellow paper covered with a carp stamp pasted in the middle, bright and beautiful, not a painting Niu Bao.Who can dress up the fireworks like this? The three brothers of the Cai family immediately understood what Niu Bao was going to do when they saw it. The boy who bullied others was beaten to death.I saw Chun Zhi's face was pale, without a trace of blood, biting his lips tightly, but his eyes were like a pair of small flames, shining brightly, which made the three brothers of the Cai family not understand.

Niu Bao took the incense head and lit the cannon in the palm of his hand. With the sound of a sound, a pair of bright red and green lights rose into the sky, and others also felt that they rose with them, and they were brilliantly presented in the blue night sky. .One was let go, and Brother Dou handed over another, and the pair of fireballs hit the sky continuously, beautiful, loud, and aggressive.Chun Zhi looked up at the lamps, and these two lamps were her past—her best days and best hopes; and when the two lamps were on and off, it was her rough and difficult years.She is fascinated. Suddenly, there was a loud noise.A cannon exploded in Niu Bao's palm, it didn't jump into the sky, but collapsed horizontally, the palm of his hand split open immediately, and blood flowed down.Brother Dou hastily pulled out the red cloth stuffed in the animal's ears, and was about to bind Niu Bao's hands, while calling, "Brother Niu Bao, don't let it go anymore. Chunzhi won't be with you..."

Niu Bao grabbed the red cloth and threw it, and shouted at Brother Dou, "Bring me the cannon! If you don't give it to me, I will kill you!" He stared at a pair of bull's eyes, like a door god, very scary.The veins on his forehead bulged and throbbed. A cannon was handed over, and the palm of the hand exploded again. The skin was torn apart, and the palm seemed to be holding a plate of fried squid rolls.Brother Dou suddenly thought of Mr. Wan's words, and a sense of ominousness penetrated into his bones. He felt chills and shuddered, and begged with tears: "We have fallen for the words of Mr. Wan. If we let it go, we will die. Please go home quickly!"

Niu Bao remained silent, as if he didn't hear.One by one, the cannons stood on the bloody palms, lighting the gunpowder, some flew up, and some exploded indiscriminately, completely inaccurate, and a piece of blood dripped.The three Cai family brothers and the people around them were dumbfounded.People who dare to die are almost like gods, and they are awe-inspiring.The twin lamps that were turned on seemed to be covered with blood and turned into blood lamps.Niu Bao gritted his back teeth, tried his best not to make Tuo Pao's arm tremble, and fixed his eyes on Chun Zhi.Chunzhi sat motionless in the car, but held tightly to the red quilt covering the car with both hands, as if she would fall out of the car if she let go.

Niu Bao lit another "cannonball double lamp".He never expected that there was so much sulfur in the barrel of the cannon, almost like a bomb. There was a loud bang, the flames flashed with blood, Niu Bao fell to the ground, and Chun Zhi fell to the car. A year later, in the twelfth lunar month, Niu Bao drove to the county town to go to the market, raising his whip with his left hand and tucking his broken right hand into his coat sleeve.He couldn't hold a pen, and he couldn't paint a fish tank anymore, so he sold "Yang's Pao Da Deng" instead, and only sold "Pao Da Double Lanterns".A cart full of fireworks was covered with a big red quilt, and sitting on it was a woman as bright as a flower, who was Chun Zhi.

But when people mentioned the two of them, they shook their heads secretly: Brother Dou unintentionally leaked the fulfilled prophecy of Mr. Wan, and everyone believed that this woman Chunzhi was a fire, a disaster, and a disaster. Look! She hasn't entered the Niu family yet. Just ask Niu Bao to lose one hand first, and it was the hand used to work and paint, which is almost like taking half of his life.When Niu Bao heard these gossips, he smiled innocently and said nothing, because only he knows the joys and sorrows in the world.