Two days after Zheng Tan arrived at the Jiao family's old mansion, he finally understood what the "New Year's flavor" was that Jiao Yuan had spoken of and longed for.
In Jiao Yuan's definition, the New Year's flavor was the smell of fireworks.
Bang!
Following the sound came the children's cheers.
Zheng Tan was lying on the roof tiles of the old house, watching Jiao Yuan with Little Youzi observing several village children setting off fireworks in the empty lot next to a vegetable patch in front of the house.
In the city, such things were strictly regulated, and random setting off was not allowed, but once here, there were no constraints—you could set them off however you liked. These sorts of small fireworks were sold in town and in rural markets, and they were quite cheap. The simpler firecrackers could even be made by some of the older boys themselves.
