Chapter 230

“In-laws, please start eating too,”

“Li, don’t be shy, eat a bit more, it’s good for your health,”

Gradually, the table became lively again, but Lin Mo could feel that his parents’ mood was actually quite heavy. Although the doctors said his younger sister had no substantial injuries, she seemed as if she had lost her soul, which was heartbreaking to see.

After dinner, everyone helped to clear the tableware, with Lin Mo and Lin Jinwen in charge of washing the dishes.

With many hands making light work, the living room was swiftly tidied—nine people in total walked out of the house.

Xu Qin and Zhang Li couldn’t stand for long, so they had to sit in wheelchairs, while Lin Changshui, wielding a walking stick, walked excitedly at the front of the family.

Even though he had worked away from the village for many years, his affection for the village was still profound.

Tonight, they were finally going to win the firework competition against Zhangruji Village—how could he not be excited?

Above all, it was his son who had donated the most money!

The village was crowded, and at Lin Changshui’s age, he was considered an elder. Moreover, the news of Lin Mo donating one million in Lin Changshui’s name had spread, so whenever people saw Lin Changshui, they would warmly greet him and wish him a Happy New Year.

Before long, Lin Mo and his family arrived at the street outside the village committee building.

The courtyard of the village committee was piled with heaps of fireworks, visibly more than in previous years.

Many people began to discuss it.

“What’s going on? Why are there so many fireworks this year???”

“Did the village chief strike it rich?”

“It’s more than double last year’s amount; surely we can beat Zhangruji Village this year, right?”

“Don’t you know? The Lin Changshui family donated one million, that’s why we could buy so many fireworks. Without Changshui’s family, our village would still lose!”

“How much?”

“One million?????”

“Haha, who was it that said yesterday Lin Mo’s car was just a leased jalopy? Could someone who leases cars just casually take out one million for fireworks?”

The villagers had various discussions.

Especially after hearing that Lin Changshui had actually spent one million on fireworks, everyone’s expressions became very shocked.

After all, having money and being willing to contribute to the village are completely different things.

Quite a few people surrounded Lin Changshui, chatting with him enthusiastically.

Most weren’t very familiar with Lin Mo, and though they wanted to say something, they couldn’t chat much, so Lin Mo, the biggest sponsor, ended up having a bit of peace.

As time slowly passed, by 8:30 p.m., the first batch of fireworks had been set up, and the village chief, along with the village officials, walked out from the courtyard.

They found Lin Mo in the crowd, handed him the remote control, and said with a smile, “Nephew, since you contributed the most money, you should be the one to light the first firework.”

Finishing his sentence, he looked toward the nearby villagers and said, “Everyone agrees, right?”

“Yes!”

“No problem!”

“Haha, I really want to see how those folks from Zhangruji will handle this year!”

“Zhong Juncai from their village has been arrogant long enough; it’s time to take him down a peg.”

The surrounding villagers also began to make a commotion.

Lin Mo initially wanted to pass the remote control to his dad, but Lin Changshui waved his hand, signaling that Lin Mo should do it.

Lin Xiaoxiao jumped excitedly and said, “Daddy, let me do it, let me do it… I want to play!”

“Okay, you can do it.” Lin Mo picked up Lin Xiaoxiao, placed her on his shoulders, and handed her the remote control, instructing, “Just press the red button in the middle, push it down hard.”

There were too many people around, and his daughter was too short to see much while standing on the ground.

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded vigorously and then, under the watchful eyes of all the villagers, stretched out her small hand and firmly pressed the button.

Sss…

The sound of gunpowder burning rose,

and the next instant,

a series of fireworks in the courtyard were ignited, shooting up into the dark sky with dazzling brilliance.

Bang!

At their highest point, the fireworks burst open in an instant, blooming in the sky with colorful patterns.

Almost at the same time, the sky east of Zhangzhuang village was also lit up by brilliant fireworks.

The neighboring villages’ annual fireworks competition had begun!

In the first hour, both sides engaged in a back-and-forth battle, each launching a large firework display after another, a set of frame fireworks followed by another set.

Even though they never coordinated their actions, it was as if they were two online gamers in a live-streaming room battling it out.

However, they weren’t fighting over which female live streamer would win; it was about the pride of the entire village for the coming year!

Lin Mo’s family had no competitive spirit; instead, they took greater pleasure in appreciating the fleeting beauty of the resplendent fireworks.

So the competition went on for nearly two hours, until the sky above Zhangruji gradually darkened, with their fireworks’ frequency and variety far less than before.

Seeing this, Village Chief Lin Xueyi shouted excitedly, “Haha, it’s finally time to hold our heads high!”

“Bring out all the fireworks, let them off now!”

At his command, a dozen robust young men in the village sprang into action, quickly clearing away the spent fireworks packaging on the ground and then swiftly lighting the new fireworks.

The next moment,

Zhangzhuang’s sky was once again alight with various fireworks patterns, one after another, brightening the whole village.

On the other hand, even though Zhangruji Village followed with a few more, they gradually fell silent.

“Awesome!”

“Hahaha, come on, who’s coming with me for a walk over to Zhangruji Village?”