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墨書 Inktalez
Several Little Ones, dressed like little balls, wobbled into the open space outside the Cattle Shed, standing in a row to watch Xu Li skinning a wolf. He extinguished the cigarette he had just taken a couple of puffs from and glanced at the Little Guys with a grin: "Aren't you all supposed to be at home warming up in this cold weather?"
A girl wearing a pink wool hat blinked her big eyes and pulled her right hand from behind her back, tightly clutching a long firecracker. She giggled, "My grandpa said Village Chief Grandpa has more firecrackers. We want to set them off!"
Xu Li's eyelids twitched as he turned to see Valery peeking out from the canteen door, winking at her granddaughter. "Maozi, can't you buy your own? You set off firecrackers from my house every day."
Realizing she had been caught, Valery leaned against the doorframe. "All the ones from my house are gone. What's wrong with letting the kids have some? When your Oleg has kids and comes back to play in the village, I'll buy a big box of firecrackers. That should be fine, right?"
"Alright, you say so."
Xu Li jabbed the skinning knife into the wolf carcass, grabbed two handfuls of snow from a nearby pile to warm his hands, and then took several Little Ones back home. The Little Guys sat on the sofa, some petting the Siberian cat while others lay on top of the Siberian Hamster, tugging at its round ears.
Hearing the children's laughter, Anna and Eva emerged from the study. The little ones quickly sweetly called out, "Anna Grandma! Grandma Eva!"
"Good grandmas brought you treats."
Eva loved being called by the children. She went to the storage room and looked around; it was a small room with wooden shelves built by Xu Li, filled with various snacks. She handed each child a bottle of Wang Wang Milk and calcium milk, then grabbed a pack of shrimp chips and candy. After thinking for a moment, she took a big handful of lollipops before returning to the living room to distribute them to each Little One.
Xu Li brought out a tray of firecrackers that made loud popping sounds and sat down in a chair slowly unwrapping them with scissors. Anna also brought over some disposable rubber bands and a bundle of cotton rope. Ten small firecrackers were tied together with rubber bands, and ten bundles were tied with cotton rope before being secured to the arms of the Little Guys' clothing.
"Alright, everyone gets two hundred. Go play!"
Anna lit several incense sticks and gave one to each child. After finishing their snacks, the Little Guys stood in a row with their lit incense sticks: "Thank you Village Chief Grandpa! Thank you Anna Grandma! Thank you Grandma Eva!"
Once they finished their thanks, they rushed outside amidst bursts of laughter and explosions. Anna and Eva put on their coats and snow boots to head outside, ensuring that these Little Ones wouldn’t throw firecrackers at other children.
Xu Li lit another cigarette and continued unwrapping firecrackers. With winter break approaching, he could already imagine dozens of children surrounding him asking for firecrackers. Since he had already started unwrapping this roll of firecrackers, he might as well finish it.
Valery walked in carrying a bundle of processed leather and spread out the wolf skin on the table. "The wolf you picked has been skinned; it's quite damaged though. I have some extra skins at home; you can take those."
"I won't need them."
Xu Li smiled: "Have your sister help Irina make a wolf fur hat."
"That works too."
Valery glanced at the neatly bundled firecrackers on the table, her eyes twinkling mischievously as she stood up and grabbed the wolf skin. Then she stuffed as many bundles of firecrackers into her pockets as she could until they were overflowing before waving her hand dismissively: "You keep busy."
Before leaving, she snatched two more bundles in her hand and swayed out of his house, leaving Xu Li fuming.
While he continued unwrapping firecrackers, another villager arrived at his home along with his eldest son: Makarov.
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