Chapter 156 Fireworks Celebration

Little did he expect gunpowder to be so overwhelmingly powerful. He had simply wanted to make fireworks, yet he ended up creating a bomb!

Furthermore, Jia Zhengjin had only put in a single portion of gunpowder. If he had added several portions, wouldn't the sheer force have blown the factory to the ground?

Come to think of it, could this be considered stumbling upon a wonderful asset for military enhancement? If he made a stockpile of bombs, and tossed them to ignite right in the midst of an enemy army during a siege, wouldn't that be wonderfully delightful?

However, the primary goal for now was still making fireworks. Reducing the quantity this time, Jia Zhengjin filled the hollow tube with half the amount of gunpowder.

Naturally, he didn't dare to test it himself, so he summoned another kobold miner, handing it a torch to go over and ignite it.

The recruited kobolds lacked intelligence, and the companion blown up just moments ago had no psychological impact on them whatsoever.

The second kobold walked over, lit the firework placed by Jia Zhengjin, and then foolishly stood right beside it as before.

"Boom!" The destructive force was smaller this time, but it still wasn't a firework; it had turned into a giant firecracker instead. Fortunately, no one was injured when it detonated.

"Still too much?" Jia Zhengjin immediately manufactured a third firework, this time using only one-third of the amount.

After three trials, he finally succeeded!

Once ignited, the firework instantly shot up into the sky.

"The problem now is that while the firework was successfully made, there is only a single one!" Jia Zhengjin frowned in deep thought, then suddenly clapped his hands together.

In one go, he made a dozen or so fireworks based on the one-third proportion, and then placed them side by side, binding them tightly together with ropes. Right after that, he used plant fibers to weave and connect a sequential fuse leading into every single firework, inserting them into the gunpowder chambers.

"Keen!" While he was diligently producing the fireworks, Tina appeared at the factory doors out of nowhere. "Everyone has already gathered near the stage. You need to come over quickly!"

"Oh, right away!" Jia Zhengjin began packing the final few fireworks.

"What are you making?" Tina walked over curiously and asked.

"Good stuff!" Jia Zhengjin replied with a smile, continuing his work without lifting his head. "Wait a moment, I'll be right there!"

"Okay!"

Tina headed back first. Jia Zhengjin seized the time to finish packing the last few fireworks, then stashed the bound bundle into his virtual backpack.

Upon finishing the task, he immediately left the factory building and hurried toward the open space in front of the stage.

Goodness gracious! The area in front of the stage was already packed with a sea of people, resembling an open-air concert held by some massive superstar. The level of hustle and bustle was simply astonishing!

The sun had completely set, and the villagers lit bonfires inside the pitch-black city, illuminating the entire area.

Every household spread out their freshly made gold and silver pastries on the tables they had claimed, just like an otherworldly version of a food festival, except the only food item was the gold and silver pastry. It should probably be called the Gold and Silver Pastry Festival!

"Happy Lanlan Festival!"

"Happy Lanlan Festival!!"

People exchanged joyful and cheerful greetings with one another, and some impatient children were already dancing merrily around the bonfires.

"Keen!" Tina emerged from the crowded throng, grabbed Jia Zhengjin while he was lost in emotion, and dragged him over to the spot her family had claimed. "This is our place."

"Oh!" Jia Zhengjin glanced at his parents-in-law, along with Pelin and Christina who had blended into the family circle, and casually picked up a piece of gold and silver pastry to pop into his mouth.

It didn't taste all that great either! Apart from the flavor of the filling and the hint of honey, this pastry was just so-so...

Noticing Jia Zhengjin's expression, his father-in-law Bolint smiled and explained, "Gold and silver pastries are meant to commemorate human heroes fighting against demons and to experience the food of the army back then. The reason everyone finds them delicious is actually because they are consuming a sense of nostalgic sentiment! In truth, those eating this kind of pastry for the first time never think it tastes exceptionally good; only after getting used to eating it do they find it quite decent."

"Oh~~" Enlightened by his esteemed father-in-law, Jia Zhengjin nodded with a smile.

"I think it's delicious!" Christina shoved gold and silver pastries into her mouth aggressively. "Besides, the ingredients of this pastry are somewhat similar to bread. I think ascetic priests could try using these gold and silver pastries as a substitute for bread!"

"Isn't this crossing into the territory of inner demons?" Jia Zhengjin teased.

"So-called inner demons are things that make people unable to stop themselves and ultimately lead to corruption!" Christina answered earnestly. "Gold and silver pastries don't count as that. Even my teacher would agree on this point!"

"It's all right," Pelin said expressionlessly, taking small, dainty bites of the pastry.

"Keen," Tina said, holding a pastry in one hand while taking hold of his hand with the other, "the performances are about to begin! Let's all sit down and watch while we eat!"

Jia Zhengjin looked around and indeed discovered that all over a thousand people on site were seated in front of their respective tables, making for quite a magnificent spectacle.

Everyone quietly ate their gold and silver pastries while keeping their gazes fixed upon the stage.

The adults called back the children who had been playing near the bonfires, having them sit by their sides to eat pastries together.

"Thump, thump, thump..." The performance finally commenced. Four or five elderly men walked onto the stage first, each with a small drum wrapped in animal hide hanging from their chests. Beating the drums, they swayed their bodies to the rhythmic sound and successively seated themselves in various corners of the stage, continuing to beat the drums steadily like that.

Before long, a group of young people dressed in ancient-style cloth garments and holding props such as wooden swords, wooden sabers, and wooden shields marched onto the stage in formation while dancing. Their faces were filled with solemnity, genuinely pulling off the appearance of soldiers.

As the drumming continued, another group of villagers dressed entirely in black, portraying demons, came up onto the stage. The two sides met on the stage and then began a sort of comedic dance-off amidst the drumbeats, seemingly representing combat or something similar.

This was essentially an otherworldly song and dance program, and it looked rather entertaining!

The choreographed dance was not very long, lasting precisely the amount of time it took for Jia Zhengjin to finish eating a gold and silver pastry.

Following the musical dance drama, the village chief selected by Jia Zhengjin stepped up onto the stage, beginning a rigid and formal speech while recounting the story of the human army fighting the demons. All the villagers within the city were in high spirits, repeatedly bursting into cheers during the chief's address.

Once the village chief's speech concluded, there was about an hour of leisure time for everyone to slowly enjoy their gold and silver pastries before the dancing around the bonfire commenced.

Jia Zhengjin stood up, seizing this free moment.

"Keen, where are you going?" Seeing her husband stand up, Tina asked hurriedly.

"The festivities aren't lively enough yet, so I'm going to turn up the heat!" Jia Zhengjin said with a smile. "Wait right here for me!"

"Okay!"

Jia Zhengjin stepped onto the stage and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Happy Lanlan Festival!"

"Happy Lanlan Festival, Lord Keen!!!" All the villagers responded loudly, and the atmosphere became exceptionally enthusiastic.

"To celebrate this memorable day, I have specially prepared a brand-new commemorative event! Come forward!" At Jia Zhengjin's command, the town guards immediately approached.

"Place these around the perimeter of the stage!" He retrieved all the crafted fireworks from his virtual backpack and instructed the town guards to set them up in order.

The villagers looked on curiously at the bundled hollow tree tubes brought out by Lord Keen, guessing amongst themselves what they could possibly be.

Since they had already been tested by the kobolds, it was now certain that these fireworks were completely safe. Therefore, Jia Zhengjin immediately gave the order for the town guards to each take a torch once the placement was complete: "Now, the holiday celebration officially begins! Let off the fireworks!"

Receiving the command, the town guards hurriedly used their torches to ignite the fuses in accordance with Jia Zhengjin's instructions.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—" The beautiful fireworks soared into the sky, making the city's night view all the more magnificent!