Chapter 10: Earth Firecrackers (Middle)

Hmm? Why hasn't it exploded yet?" Fang Yi ignored San Pao, his eyes fixed intently on the water's surface. It had been about forty seconds since the first firecracker was thrown in. Could it be that the fuse hasn't burned out yet?

"This thing isn't a real firecracker, it's not easy to ignite, how can you light it?" San Pao chuckled, feeling the wind direction by the reservoir, then took out a lighter from his pocket and said, "See? It's windproof, I specifically bought it from the city for fishing..."

Come, you can choose this one... After Fang Yi threw out the second bottle, San Pao handed him the bottle and the lighter he was holding.

Looking at the three smoking spots forming a triangle, San Pao couldn't help but smacked his lips. He knew that with a hand grenade weighing over two kilograms, he could only throw it about thirty meters at most. This wine bottle was much lighter, yet Fang Yi was able to throw it just as far with ease.

Indeed, as San Pao mentioned, the fuse is not easily ignited. After using a windproof lighter for more than ten seconds, a wisp of blue smoke began to rise from the fuse, accompanied by the hissing sound of burning gunpowder

"Hehe, since we are already doing this, why not catch some more fish?" San Pao chuckled and said, "Later, let's go to the city and bring some back for my dad and the others. The fish sold in the city are all fed with feed, and they taste terrible..."

A few seconds later, the second and third firecrackers also exploded in succession, sending splashes of water across the surface of the water, which was about twenty to thirty meters apart. The originally calm water surface began to ripple, as if a pair of large hands were stirring it from below

Let's go, let's get away from this house, I know where the fish are plentiful

Although the sound of the homemade firecracker explosion was drowned out by the lake water, the surface of the water was violently disturbed, with a massive splash rising up to seven or eight meters above the water. Once the splash subsided, the sound of "gudong gudong" continued to echo.

"Come on, you know you've played this before. It's Yi Ge's first time playing this, let him have an extra turn..." San Pao pushed the fat man and tossed the two fish baskets he was holding to him, saying, "Be quick about it later, we're too close to the village, someone might come by..."

"No way, they should have gone back..." The chubby man scratched his head, turned to Fang Yi, and said: "Yi Ge, you are nimble, could you go over and see if there is anyone in that room? I suspect they left the lights on intentionally because they are afraid of being checked..."

Although it is nearing summer, the lake water in the evening is still quite cool. The fat man just brought that bottle of inferior wine from the house, presumably intending to take a few sips before going into the water

The second one, thrown ten meters away from that firecracker... Before Fang Yi could take a closer look, San Pao lit the second firecracker and stuffed it into Fang Yi's hand. At this moment, the wind by the reservoir had calmed down a bit, and the fuse ignited in just five or six seconds.

Seeing Fang Yi's astonished expression, the chubby man smiled and explained, pointing to the surface of the lake: "The elders in the village have said that this lake has never dried up, and the deepest part is about forty to fifty meters. In the past, someone caught a fish over one meter long from it..."

At this moment, the stout man also took a net and began to scoop up the fish that were floating alongside the boat, busily engaged in his task. Despite his size, he exhibited remarkable coordination; as the boat swayed left and right, he stood firmly on it.

"Alright, I will go take a look first..." Fang Yi nodded, bent down, and made his way towards that room. A few minutes later, Fang Yi's head appeared at the window of the brightly lit house, waving at the fat man and San Pao.

"Fatty, pick up a big one and be quick about it. Once we fill it up, we can head back..." San Pao reminded from the shore, occasionally glancing back towards the village. Although the explosion earlier was not loud, it was uncertain if it might alert the villagers.

Seeing that the three firecrackers had ignited two, Fang Yi imitated them and lit the third firecracker, preparing to throw it beside the first two, effectively covering an area of over twenty meters in that section of water.

"Is the reservoir at the foot of the mountain really this big?" Seeing the lake water shimmering with layers of silver ripples under the moonlight, Fang Yi was momentarily stunned. Although he had never descended the mountain until now, he could see the reservoir at the foot of the mountain from up there.

Although the fat man was reluctant, he still picked up two fish baskets and went to the lakeside, where a small rowboat was moored. This boat is typically used by the personnel who guard the reservoir to collect plankton and debris, as the use of polluting speedboats is prohibited here

"Oh, there's no need to go that far, otherwise it will take too much time for the fat guy to row over..." San Pao was startled by Fang Yi's words and said, "Just throw it about thirty meters, arrange three bottles in a triangle, and ensure that not a single fish can escape over there..."

It was merely too far away on the mountain; in Fang Yi's eyes, this reservoir did not seem very large. However, upon approaching, Fang Yi discovered that what had once appeared to be a small pond was now an expanse that seemed boundless, far exceeding Fang Yi's imagination.

If you were to join the army, I reckon no one could throw a grenade better than you

I know, it's not the first time, do I still need you to tell me...

Fang Yi weighed the bottle of wine in his hand, nodded, and said: "Alright, I can throw this bottle over a hundred meters..."

"I have been ready for a long time..." the stout man replied, nimbly jumping onto the wooden boat. With a push of the oar against the shore, the boat swiftly glided towards the location where the firecracker had exploded, surprisingly at a considerable speed

Oh, it hasn't extinguished... Under the moonlight, Fang Yi clearly saw the wisps of blue smoke rising from the spot where the bottle had fallen into the water, indicating that the fuse submerged in the water was still burning

Come, Fang Yi, stand here

Fang Yi was momentarily taken aback, but he still followed San Pao's instructions and threw the bottle of wine. The bottle traced an arc in the air before landing on the water's surface over thirty meters away

I said there was no one... The fat man relaxed all over, chuckling with satisfaction. He walked over to the few houses with San Pao and said, "Now this is good, we even have a boat, saving me the trouble of going into the water to catch fish..."

Isn't this already available

San Pao smiled and pointed, and sure enough, a fish weighing about four to five jin turned over, showing its white belly as it floated to the surface. Following that, more than ten fish also surfaced, all of them belly up, and it was unclear whether they had been killed by the explosion or were merely stunned.

As he spoke, San Pao took a pack of Hongmei cigarettes out of his pocket, pulled out one stick, and handed it to Fang Yi, saying: "Would you like one?"

So it is like this... Fang Yi nodded upon hearing this. When he was with San Pao and the Fatty, he spoke less. This was because Fang Yi knew that his understanding of this world was too limited, and that saying less and listening more would allow him to learn.

"Hey, why should I go rowing?" After hearing San Pao's words, the chubby man said discontentedly, "I also want to set off a firecracker. Didn't you set off three? We can each set one off."

As Fang Yi's words fell, a muffled sound emanated from the water surface several dozen meters away, akin to someone striking a broken drumhead. The sound was not particularly loud, yet Fang Yi faintly sensed a tremor beneath his feet.

"Three cannons, why are there no fish here?" After the chubby man rowed the boat over, the surface of the water gradually calmed down, but Fang Yi, who had keen eyesight, noticed that there were no fish surfacing.

San Pao glanced around and said, "Fatty, you go row the boat. I will set off firecrackers with Yi Ge. After all three firecrackers have gone off, you can row the boat back. Make sure not to come over before that..."

The reservoir is located approximately over one li from Weijia Village, which would take just a few minutes to reach during the day. However, at night, with darkness and no streetlights, it took the three of them nearly ten minutes to arrive at the edge of the reservoir

"Hey, wait a moment, bring that bottle of wine..." As a few people were about to leave, the chubby man reached out and tucked the remaining bottle of wine from the table into his bosom, and then followed Fang Yi towards the direction of the reservoir

This was originally a lake, which was later transformed into a reservoir

Bang

After San Pao lit the fuse, he immediately stuffed the bottle into Fang Yi's hand, pointed at the distant water surface, and whispered, "Hurry up and throw it..."

"Why are you smoking like the fat guy?" Fang Yi shook his head and asked, "It can't be that you're using a cigarette to light this fuse, can it?"

Fang Yi also understood why San Pao had taken two such large fish baskets, because that one fish weighed several pounds, and a smaller fish basket simply could not accommodate it

"Fatty, hurry up..." Upon seeing the three firecrackers go off, San Pao clenched his fist tightly and shouted at the Fatty not far away.

After the fat man left, San Pao pulled Fang Yi and walked forward for more than 20 meters, standing by the lake. He handed Fang Yi a homemade firecracker, pointed at the water surface ahead, and said: "Once you light the fuse, throw the bottle into the lake, try to throw it as far as possible, there are deep waters and many fish over there..."

Hmm? Upon hearing San Pao's words, Fang Yi and the Fatty simultaneously looked towards the several small bungalows built by the reservoir over fifty meters away, and indeed, one of the rooms was still lit.

"Let's go, move a bit faster for a while, and once we fill these two baskets with fish, we will come back..." San Pao took out two fish baskets from behind the door, holding one basket in each hand while slinging the backpack over his shoulder, his movements appearing quite skilled

Is one not enough?" Fang Yishun casually took a fish basket and asked with some confusion, as he noticed that these two fish baskets were nearly one meter tall, and they could definitely hold dozens of kilograms of fish.

Ah, won't it be extinguished if thrown into the water

"Enough, Fatty, stop talking nonsense..." San Pao interrupted Fatty's words and said irritably, "Didn’t you say there was no one on guard? Then why is the light still on in that room over there?"