Compared to the Lunar New Year celebrations twenty years later, the atmosphere of the Spring Festival in the 1990s was intensely rich—something difficult for Zhou Ziheng, a post-2000s kid, to truly imagine.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year in Guangzhou, firecrackers roared, and every street and alley was filled with the various aromas of New Year cakes. Adults gathered in high spirits to chat, play cards, and shoot the breeze. Children dressed in new clothes held lit incense sticks, their pockets stuffed with firecrackers. They would pick up discarded bottles, carefully drop a lit firecracker inside, and then scurry away instantly to watch it blast.
Laughter and cheers filled the air, lively and thick with festive spirit. Many people toiled hard all year round precisely for this heartwarming atmosphere during the New Year. Children also loved and anticipated the holiday, when they could wear new clothes and eat delicious food. Everyone held a heartfelt longing for the new year.
Chapter 58