Shocking! A three-year-old brings his aloof mother to their door.

Tongtong tilted her head, her little face full of curiosity: "Is it fun?"

Mo Yunqi nodded: "That sounds fun. Let's go buy some firecrackers from Grandpa Niu first."

The two of them ran one after the other to the village store.

Niu Qiang was sitting behind the counter, drinking tea from an enamel mug.

Seeing the two little brats come in, he put down his teacup and asked with a smile, "Buying firecrackers?"

Mo Yunqi nodded: "Buy four boxes."

Niu Qiang pulled out four boxes of Monkey King matchboxes from under the counter: "Is that enough?"

Mo Yunqi added, "Two more lighters, please."

Niu Qiang handed over two more red lighters, adding, "Don't blow anyone up."

Mo Yunqi put the money on the counter, grabbed Tongtong, and ran out.

Tongtong clutched a box of firecrackers, unwrapped it, pinched out a red paper firecracker, and examined it from all angles.

"Brother, how do you play this?"

Mo Yunqi picked up a matchstick, struck it on the matchbox, and tossed it away casually.

The paper firecracker emitted a plume of white smoke from the ground and exploded with a "bang" several seconds later.

Tongtong's eyes lit up as she looked at the white smoke and the small crater on the ground. She imitated Mo Yunqi, lit a cigarette, and threw it out.

White smoke rose, followed by a "bang." She jumped up excitedly, and after realizing she could control it, she became much bolder.

"Brother, where is the cow dung?" Tongtong asked, holding a firecracker that hadn't been lit yet.

Mo Yunqi took her hand and led her through a bamboo grove: "Come with me, that cow dung belongs to the village chief."

As the two approached the cowshed, they encountered two familiar figures.

Chen Dameng and Chen Shu were squatting on the earthen embankment by the roadside, holding something in their hands, and whispering to each other with their heads down.

Chen Shu saw Tongtong, paused for a moment, and then called out, "Boss?"

Tongtong saw him too and waved, "What are you two doing here?"

Chen Shu raised the green torpedo in his hand: "Go blow up cow dung!"

Mo Yunqi looked at the torpedo in his hand, then at the thing in Chen Dameng's hand—four firework tubes with a fuse sticking out from the top. "What's this?"

Chen Shu: "This is a bomb, filled with gunpowder powder. We collected firecrackers from most of the village to make it."

Mo Yunqi looked at the firecracker in his hand, then at the firework barrel, and paused for a moment:

"I was planning to pick up some firecrackers to set off later, but you guys beat me to it."

Chen Dameng grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "Since we have the same goal, let's hurry up and go."

The four men stealthily made their way to the cowshed.

Four children squatted in front of the cow dung pile. Chen Shuxian started by sticking matchsticks into the cow dung one by one, lighting them with a lighter, and then quickly backing away.

The cow dung was blasted open, and black mud splattered out, landing on the hay.

Tongtong stomped her feet excitedly as she watched the rising black smoke and the scattered specks of feces. The children took turns playing with it for a while.

Feeling a bit bored, Chen Dameng pulled out the torpedo: "Not powerful enough, try mine."

Tongtong looked at the green torpedo and said, "I want to launch it."

Chen Dameng said, "Okay, boss, you take it." He then handed over the torpedo.

Tongtong reached out and caught it, and Mo Yunqi stood next to her in case she lit it and then dropped it.

After lighting it, Tongtong took a breath, gave it a strong flick, and threw the torpedo right into the middle of the cow dung pile.

It sank into the damp muddy dung, and twenty seconds later, a dull thud came from the pile of cow dung.

Green cow dung shot into the sky like a volcanic eruption, then fell back to the ground with a clatter.

The four people were stunned at the same time; none of them had expected it to be so powerful.

Chen Shu and Chen Dameng exchanged a glance, then their eyes simultaneously fell on the fireworks barrel.

The two men simultaneously let out a "hehehe" laugh, squatted down, and stuck the firework barrel into the pile of cow dung, leaving the fuse sticking out.

Mo Yunqi walked over and took a look, then stepped back and said in a low voice, "This is very powerful, let's go further away."

Tongtong excitedly raised her hand: "I want to let go!"

Mo Yunqi shook his head: "No, this will be too fast."

Chen Dameng chimed in from the side, "It's alright, this fuse isn't burning red all over the ground, it's the kind that burns slowly, so don't worry."

Mo Yunqi looked at the fuse; it was indeed slower to burn than the ordinary one.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."

Four people, each with a lighter, squatted in a circle.

Tongtong's chubby little hands held the lighter, her thumb resting on the roller, her palms slightly sweaty.

Mo Yunqi looked up at her and asked, "Are you ready?"

Tongtong took a deep breath, her little face tense, and nodded vigorously.

Mo Yunqi called out in a low voice, "Three—two—one—point!"

Four lighters were pressed at the same time, and with a "click," four flames simultaneously approached the fuse, sparks flew, and the four men turned and ran.

They ran for more than twenty meters before stopping and turning around to look back.

The fuse did not burn very quickly; they could even see the trail of the tiny spark slowly crawling on the paper twist.

The four men held their breath, waiting for the loud bang.

Then, the blasted cow dung, like a black wave, swept towards them from all directions.

Before the four little ones could react, the wet, grass-covered mud was smeared all over them, covering their clothes, pants, hair, and noses.

Tongtong was alright; she didn't get any on her face.

Chen Dameng wasn't so lucky; a clump of cow dung landed right on his left cheek.

The air fell silent for a moment.

Chen Dameng wiped his face, looked at the black marks on his hand, and let out a low, eerie exclamation: "Holy crap..."

Before the words were finished, an angry voice boomed from the direction of the cowshed:

"Which little brats are blowing up my cow dung again?! Damn it! My cow dung! You four little brats, don't run! Don't let me catch you!"

The village chief's voice, like a thunderclap, rolled in from behind the cowshed.

The four people jumped up at the same time, like cats whose tails had been stepped on. Chen Shu shouted, "Run!"

Then, like four marbles being shot, the four of them dashed off into the bamboo forest, their footsteps rustling on the dry bamboo leaves.

They ran all the way to the edge of the field before bending over and panting heavily.

The four of them caught their breath for a while. Chen Dameng looked up, wiped his forehead, and then smeared cow dung on it again: "They shouldn't have caught up with us..."

Mo Yunqi looked back and saw that the village chief was indeed not on the ridge of the field. However, none of the four noticed that the small camera newly installed on the utility pole next to the cowshed was pointing at the spot where they had just squatted, and it was slightly red.

The village chief just installed it last night. He was terrified of being bombed, so he specifically adjusted the location to face the cow dung area.

To his utter surprise, he caught four small fish the very next day.