Chapter 60: That Dazzling Firework Display

Li Luoran sat in her bedroom dazed in the A-line dress her aunt had specially taken her to buy. The dress showed off her legs especially well. Worn by Li Luoran it made her legs absurdly long.

Lately she hadn’t been very happy; her parents had returned her jewelry, but at home her mother watched her closely. That wasn’t the main reason — the main thing was Su Pingnan was too busy, calls were few, and the girl missed him.

Today was Lunar New Year’s Eve. She had waited all day for a phone call that never rang.

Ring ring ring.

Li Luoran sprang to the phone in one step, answering before her mother. Her mother glared at her. Seeing her daughter’s sulky face suddenly blossom into a smile, she immediately knew who was calling. “What’s the use of raising a daughter when she always ends up siding with someone outside the family,” Li’s mother vented at Li Luoyan in annoyance, making the latter pout.

“Mm-hmm,” Li Luoran nodded obediently while covering her huge smile with a hand, which made her mother give Li Luoyan another hard stare and say, “You’ll grow up to be heartless too.” Li Luoyan looked at her sister’s radiant smile and then at their mother, and she suddenly understood how cruel the world could be for the first time.

Li Luoran hung up and rose, smiling. Ignoring her mother’s sullen face, like a happy little bird she pulled Li Luoyan out to their balcony, eyes sparkling. “I’ll take you to see the fireworks.”

The Li family lived in a government-staff apartment building. Xiangnan still had few buildings with elevators. Li Luoran’s father had reasonable seniority and was assigned the fourth floor, which had a great view.

Zhang Tong and some others had been busy setting up all afternoon — he had volunteered to skip New Year at home and come to Xiangnan. When Du Jiu showed up the last time, Zhang Tong hadn’t realized what was going on at all, so he was mad at himself for days. This time, he insisted on coming no matter what.

As he left Su Pingnan had only said, “The bigger the scale the better.” Zhang Tong carried that out thoroughly, choosing only the expensive fireworks. After a busy afternoon, by dinnertime the little square in front of Li Luoran’s building was filled. There weren’t yet professional firework companies like in later years, so Su Pingnan specially sent dozens of men. These uniformed fellows had lit cigarettes in their mouths, all waiting for Zhang Tong’s order.

Zhang Tong was waiting, his eyes unblinking as he stared at the Li family’s balcony. When Li Luoran appeared with her sister, her delicate features made Zhang Tong immediately realize she was the host of this firework feast.

Just as Zhang Tong was about to wave, inspiration struck. He bowed toward Li Luoran’s balcony and shouted loudly, “Happy New Year, sister-in-law!” The people below were stunned, then followed suit, bowing and shouting in unison, “Happy New Year, sister-in-law!” The dozens of men’s voices were astonishingly loud, and many people ran out onto their balconies to see what was happening.

Li Luoran’s face flushed, then she smiled as brilliantly as a flower. Beneath the dazzling fireworks, her sister, Li Luoyan, felt her elder sister had suddenly become impossibly beautiful.

Bang bang bang — countless fireworks burst across the sky, instantly filling the horizon. On the last day of 1992, Xiangnan’s largest firework display bloomed like this for Li Luoran.

Mrs. Li suddenly wasn’t angry anymore. Smilingly, she pinched her husband, who was staring at the fireworks from the window, and said, “I’m doomed. This romantic gesture alone is going to make us lose our daughter for sure.”

Just as everyone was shouting, Li Rao had just parked her car under Li Luoran’s building. She was single and used to spending New Year at her elder brother’s. Hearing the deafening shouts and seeing the sky full of fireworks, Su Pingnan’s words from a meal suddenly came to her mind: “I’ll take her to properly see the world’s splendor.” For some reason Li Rao suddenly felt a little jealous of her niece. She watched the fireworks quietly for a while before turning and slowly going upstairs.

Even the best scenery can wear thin. Zhang Tong had more or less emptied the Xiangnan Fireworks Factory’s storage and had been at it for an hour with no sign of stopping. Mr. and Mrs. Li were getting tired of watching and began clearing the table to prepare dinner. Only Li Luoran kept her eyes fixed on the sky, her face full of sweetness.

“How much must this cost?” Mrs. Li, having calmed down, looked at the multicolored fireworks painting the sky and felt sorry for the money. “These kids really know how to waste money.” Li Rao looked at her sister-in-law, who was still doing mental arithmetic, and suddenly said, “Do you remember? We got a fortune-teller to look at Luoran when she was little?” Mr. Li set down his strong tea and nodded, saying, “Yes, he said our Ranran would have great good fortune.”

Li Rao nodded and said, “The money I earn all year running around is probably going to be burned up by your future son-in-law in this one show.” Mr. Li knew his sister’s earning ability and was a bit stunned to hear that.

“So,” Li Rao said, looking at Li Luoran who was still gazing at the sky in fascination, “there’s a saying that’s very true: the blessed don’t need to be busy.” Mr. Li, a fan of well-written literature, blew on the tea leaves floating on the water and said calmly, “When it comes to our own daughter — I’m not asking that they be wealthy for a thousand years. I only ask that even after they’ve been through a thousand storms, they can still hold hands with their fingers interlocked.”