Chapter 132: A Chapter Overflowing with Flavor

After Zhou Sinian stepped out with his firecrackers, he sprinted toward the edge of the village, where the sporadic popping sounds indicated the children had gathered. Sure enough, even before he got close, he saw a cluster of little red-cheeked heads.

Goudan was the first to spot him, jumping up in excitement and shouting, "Big Brother! Big Brother!" The other little "potatoes" saw him too and began jumping and yelling, looking exactly like baby birds waiting to be fed.

As Zhou Sinian approached, he pressed down on the jumping children. "How do you play with these?"

Tiedan pointed to a pile of snow they had stacked up. "We bury them in the snow. When they explode, snow flies everywhere—it’s so cool!"

Zhou Sinian tilted his chin to signal, and Tiedan immediately stepped forward to demonstrate.

"Pop!"

The firecracker ignited and burst in a small patch, looking quite pathetic. Compared to the massive firecrackers in Zhou Sinian’s memory, the effect was underwhelming, and he felt a bit disdainful.

However, the children were delighted. Their families wouldn't buy them firecrackers, so these were ones they had scavenged house by house, gathering them together just to hear a bang and enjoy the excitement.

When Zhou Sinian pulled a long string of firecrackers from his coat, the children went wild with excitement, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Big Brother! Big Brother!"

Zhou Sinian’s firecrackers were not only large but also dry, never having been soaked in snow. They went off with an extra loud bang, sending large sprays of snow into the air. Soon, other children in the vicinity were drawn by the noise. He lit them one after another, and the children’s shrieks of joy never ceased, their voices growing hoarse from excitement.

The noise drew villagers out to investigate. "Sigh, those poor children, led astray by a lunatic, and their parents don't even manage them!"

Zhou Sinian was unaware that, following his "persecution" of young educated youth Ming, he had earned a new reputation as the madman who had driven all the village children crazy.

With so many firecrackers, the children quickly grew tired of just blowing up snow piles. Goudan whispered suggestively, "Big Brother, let's go blow up an ice hole! Let's see if we can blast a big fish out of the water!"

The other children echoed his sentiment, all clearly eager to go. Zhou Sinian was tempted, but remembering Ming Dai’s warning, he shook his head. "No, Ming Dai said we can't."

Goudan looked regretful. "But blowing up ice holes is so much fun, way better than snow piles."

Just as disappointment settled over the group, Luo Dabao, who had been watching, spoke up mysteriously. "I know something even more fun than blowing up ice holes!"

Whoosh! All eyes turned to him.

Luo Dabao gave a cryptic smile. "Follow me!"

With a clamor, Zhou Sinian and the group of children ran into the village and stopped outside the wall of Luo Dabao’s house. Tiedan looked at where they had stopped and guessed immediately. He looked at Zhou Sinian with hesitation.

*Mother said Big Brother is very clean, and that we must be careful when playing with him—don't have a runny nose and don't get our hands dirty. Blowing up the latrine is fun, but Big Brother probably won't want to do that, right?*

When Luo Dabao pointed to his family's latrine and made the suggestion, Zhou Sinian’s brow furrowed tightly. "Too dirty!"

Luo Dabao didn't understand. "But it's fun!"

Zhou Sinian remained unwilling. He had grown accustomed to using the toilet in his private space and hadn't been to the educated youth point's latrine in a long time. But he still had the memories—it smelled absolutely foul, and he wanted no part of it.

Luo Dabao grew sulky. Spoiled rotten by the Widow Luo, he wasn't really part of the "Red Scarf Squad" anyway; he just tagged along to play. "If you guys won't play, I'll do it myself!"

With that, he pulled out the firecrackers he had hidden in his pocket—ones he had secretly plucked from his family's stash earlier. Finding the right spot, he lit the fuse. Zhou Sinian frowned and retreated rapidly, the Red Scarf Squad following suit. From a distance, they watched Luo Dabao toss two firecrackers into the latrine.

"Bang! Bang!"

"Ahhhhhhh!!!"

Two muffled explosions were followed by a series of high-pitched female screams. A figure dashed out of the latrine, reeking of filth. Seeing that they had hit someone, the children turned in unison and ran!

Zhou Sinian stood his ground, curious to see who had been hit and why they were so unlucky.

*Hahaha!*

When Tiedan and Goudan realized their Big Brother hadn't followed, they turned back, grabbed each of his hands, and dragged him along. They had to run—the old witch of the Luo family was an expert at making a scene! They’d surely be in trouble if they were caught.

Before they had to exert much effort, a wave of stench hit them. Zhou Sinian scooped up the two little potatoes and sprinted forward, vanishing in an instant. By the time the Luo family came out to investigate, they only saw the back of Luo Dabao, who hadn't managed to run away.

Widow Luo signaled to her daughter-in-law and turned to look into the courtyard. Fang Rou had stripped off everything she could, frantically scrubbing herself against the snow, especially her feet, which were frozen bright red. She was nearly insane—she had just come to visit and use the toilet, only to have her clothes blown apart by two firecrackers, which scared her so much she fell into the pit!

At that moment, she felt completely enveloped by waste! *Oh, it’s all in my pants!*

As Fang Rou broke down, the Luo mother and daughter-in-law watched the show from the side, with no intention of helping. They certainly weren't going to tell her that it was Luo Dabao who had done it.

Feeling cold and reeking, Fang Rou felt like she was dying. She handed over her keys and asked Widow Luo to help her go back and retrieve some clothes. Widow Luo’s eyes flickered; she nodded at her daughter-in-law, took the keys, and sent her to the educated youth point, while she helped Fang Rou into the room and fetched hot water for her to wash. Even after washing, Fang Rou still felt she smelled. She had never suffered such humiliation and broke down in tears.

Widow Luo comforted her with false sympathy, her eyes constantly darting toward the door. When she saw her daughter-in-law return with bags and bundles, her face lit up with glee.

Fang Rou changed her clothes and left the Luo house without a second's delay. She left all her soiled clothes behind, which Widow Luo quickly gathered up, intending to dismantle and wash them. Everything belonging to the educated youth was high quality; she didn't mind the filth, and she certainly wouldn't let it go to waste!

When Fang Rou returned to the educated youth point and pushed open the door, she rushed into her room. Despite her speed, the stench caught the attention of the others. In the end, she sprayed an entire bottle of perfume, turning the smell from "stinky" to "perfumed-stinky," which was so strong it made the other educated youths in the dorms sneeze. She scrubbed herself countless times before feeling slightly better.

Then, she discovered her room had been ransacked—all her food was gone, and the cash and coupons she had left out had vanished!

She was furious and stormed over to the Luo house to demand an accounting. The Luo mother and daughter-in-law took turns crying and acting like rogues, refusing to admit anything. They even went around the village claiming that the educated youth Fang was ungrateful, refusing to thank them for saving her from the latrine, and instead framing them for theft.

Consequently, the whole village learned that the educated youth Fang had fallen into a latrine on New Year's! Fang Rou broke off all ties with the Luo family and stopped walking around the village entirely.

Back on Zhou Sinian’s side, the group had stopped at the edge of the village, panting and chattering excitedly about the "legendary" latrine explosion. They were all eager to try it themselves. Though Zhou Sinian felt the latrine business was too stinky, the way that person had screamed was quite interesting.

He generously contributed his remaining firecrackers, though he was principled—he only distributed them to the children who agreed to target their *own* family latrines, following the logic of "harming one's own family."

The children had a natural curiosity for blowing up toilets, especially the boys, and almost everyone signed up. In the end, only Tiedan and Goudan didn't join, instead following Zhou Sinian in a queue to watch their little brothers' feats. Zhou Sinian even tied his red scarf over his nose and stood upwind, watching as one latrine after another in the village exploded, with people running out mid-motion, unable to even pull up their pants, cursing as they fled. It was hilarious!

The little brothers who couldn't escape were caught on the spot and received a good beating. For a time, the entire village was filled with the smell of waste and the wailing of children.

After the village inspection was complete, Zhou Sinian waved goodbye to Tiedan and Goudan, satisfied. He had to go home and bathe—he felt absolutely filthy!

Passing by the educated youth point, Zhou Sinian remembered how these people had stolen his rice before. His eyes narrowed, and he pulled out the remaining half-string of firecrackers from his coat, lit them, and tossed them into the front courtyard latrine.

After a series of pops, Liu Yan’s wailing cries, accompanied by a wave of stench, filled the front yard.

When Ming Dai stepped out of her space to meet Zhou Sinian, she was startled. "What's wrong with the front yard? Why are they howling so horribly?"

Zhou Sinian blinked innocently. "I don't know!"