过年三记 - 放烟花

村里只有我们一家汉族人，遇上古尔邦节啊开斋节啊等穆斯林节日，也会跟着大家一起高兴高兴。

We are the only Han family in the village, and during Muslim festivals like the Korban Festival and Eid al-Fitr, we happily join in the celebrations with everyone.

而汉族自己的旧历年却似乎很多年都不曾正经地过过。

However, it seems that our own Lunar New Year has not been properly celebrated for many years.

但今年却决定认认真真过个年。为此我还特意在城里买了几个大大的烟花，决定大年三十晚上也热闹一下。

But this year, I decided to seriously celebrate it. For this purpose, I even specially bought several big fireworks in the city, planning to make New Year's Eve a lively occasion.

回家的路五百多公里，倒了三趟班车。一路上一直很怕被发现，据说带烟花爆竹上班车是违法的。

It’s about five hundred kilometers home, and I had to change buses three times. All along, I was worried about being discovered, as it’s said that taking fireworks aboard a bus is illegal.

回想一下，长到这么大，还从来不曾放过炮仗烟花这些玩意儿呢。小的时候看邻居家孩子玩，也并不特别向往。

Reflecting back, I’ve grown up without ever lighting firecrackers or fireworks myself. As a child, I watched the neighbors' kids play with them, but I wasn’t particularly envious.

长大后更没啥感觉了，反正我们家又从来不过年的。再说了，花那么多钱买回来，点燃后“砰砰”几下就烟消云散、一地碎纸——实在不划算。

As I grew older, I felt even less nostalgic since my family has never actually celebrated the New Year. Besides, spending so much money only to have it go “bang” and leave just a pile of scraps didn’t seem worth it.

但这一次却不知想到了什么。从来都没过过年的人，却突然那么想过年……莫非，年岁不饶人？

But this time, something made me feel differently. A person who has never celebrated the New Year suddenly has an urge to do so… Could it be that time is catching up with me?

吃过年夜饭，还一起兴致勃勃看了春晚——很多年来这也是第一次。

After dinner on New Year's Eve, we eagerly watched the Spring Festival Gala — the first time in many years.

然而信号太差，电视屏幕上的噪音与雪花点势均力敌。看这样的电视，除了视力外，还得运用非凡的想象力。

However, the signal was too poor, and the noise and static on the TV screen were equally distracting. Watching such TV required not only eyesight but also extraordinary imagination.

看到后来实在忍受不下去了，便出去踢了两脚天线锅。回来时发现情形更糟，索性关了电视，决定开始放烟花。

Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore and went outside to kick the antenna pot. When I returned, it was even worse, so I turned off the TV and decided to start lighting fireworks.

没有月亮，外面漆黑一团。但星空华丽，在世界上半部分兀自狂欢。

Without a moon, everything outside was pitch dark. But the starry sky was magnificent, still reveling in joy in half of the world.

星空的明亮与大地的黑暗断然分割。站在院门口，一点也看不到村子里的其他房屋。

The brightness of the stars sharply contrasted with the darkness of the earth. Standing at the gate, I couldn’t see any other houses in the village.

没有一点灯火。这时候村子里的人都睡下了吗？又站了一会儿，才渐渐看清邻居家的院墙。

There were no lights at all. Had everyone in the village gone to sleep? After standing there for a while, I gradually made out the wall of the neighbor's yard.

我妈打着手电筒照着我，看着我踩着墙角的柴禾垛把烟花小心放到黑乎乎的屋顶，插在屋顶积雪上。

My mom shone a flashlight at me, watching as I carefully placed the fireworks on the dark roof, inserting them into the snow.

又递上来几块石头，让我抵住烟花，防止它喷燃的时候会震动翻倒。四周那么安静。

She handed me several stones, urging me to weight the fireworks down to prevent them from wobbling and toppling over when ignited. It was so quiet all around.

我没穿外套，时间久了，冻得有些发抖。牙齿咬得紧紧的，却非常兴奋。

I wasn’t wearing a coat, and after a while, I started to shiver. My teeth were chattering, but I was very excited.

接下来我们商量由谁来点燃。从没干过这种事，居然有些害怕。

We then discussed who would light them. As I had never done this before, I was somewhat afraid.

“不会炸掉吧？”

“Will it explode?”

“应该不会……”

“It shouldn't…”

“导线会不会太短？”

“Is the fuse too short?”

“应该不会……”

“It shouldn’t be…”

“会不会引起火灾？”

“Will it cause a fire?”

“应该……”

“Probably…”

讨论完毕，我俩都冻得抖抖索索的了。加之害怕，打燃火机后好半天才能瞄准引火线。

After our discussion, we were both shivering from the cold. Coupled with fear, I took a long time to aim at the fuse after lighting the lighter.

烟花一点问题也没有。和曾经看到过的一样，一串串缤纷闪亮的火球从筒子里迸出，高高地冲向漆黑的空中，然后喷爆出一道道金波银浪。

The fireworks went off without a hitch. Just as I had seen before, a cascade of colorful fireballs shot out from the tubes, soaring high into the pitch-black sky, and then bursting into waves of golden and silver sparks.

四周寂静无声，白雪皑皑。这幕强烈的情景非但没能撕破四周的寂静，反而更令这寂静瞬间深不见底。

The surroundings were silent, blanketed in white snow. This intense scene failed to break the surrounding silence; instead, it made the stillness even deeper.

不远处的荒野在烟花的照耀下忽明忽暗。更远的地方，沙漠的轮廓在夜色中脉动了两三下。

The wilderness nearby flickered in the glow of the fireworks. Further away, the outline of the desert pulsed a few times in the night.

时间非常短暂，我赶紧进房子去拉外婆。我妈也四处去唤赛虎和蛋蛋出来看。

The time was very short, so I hurried into the house to fetch my grandmother. My mother also went around calling Saihu and Dandan to come out.

外婆走得太慢，等拄着拐一步一步挪出门，都已经结束了。只看到残落的星星点点碎花最后飞溅了两三下。

Grandma was moving too slowly, and by the time she hobbled out with her cane, it was already over. All she saw were the last few scattered sparks.

尽管如此，她还是很高兴，惊叹了好几声。然后赶紧躲回屋子。外面太冷。

Despite that, she was still very happy, exclaiming several times. Then she hurried back inside. It was too cold outside.

赛虎是个大笨蛋，一看到外面亮晶晶的，就一头钻到床底下死活不肯出来了。

Saihu is a big silly dog, and when he saw the bright lights outside, he dug under the bed and refused to come out.

小狗蛋蛋还跑到门口对着天空叫了几声呢。老狗阿黄则见怪不怪，卧在门口的狗窝埋头大睡，一点兴趣也没有。

The little dog Dandan even ran to the door and barked a few times at the sky. Old dog Ah Huang, however, showed no interest, curled up in his doghouse, sleeping soundly.

我开始点燃第二个烟花筒。这回这个是喷花。

I began to light the second firework tube. This one was a fountain.

彩色的火花像喷泉一样滋啦啦地四面乱溅，还甩得噼里啪啦直响。特别热闹。

Colorful sparks splashed out like a fountain, crackling loudly. It was particularly lively.

我和妈妈并排站在雪地里仰着头，看着烟花不顾一切地挥霍着有限的激情。这烟花之外，四面八方茫茫无际的荒野沙漠……

My mom and I stood side by side in the snow, looking up at the fireworks extravagantly squandering their limited passion. Outside of the fireworks, the endless wilderness and desert surrounded us…

我们是在戈壁腹心，在大地深处深深的深深的一处角落里，面对着这虚渺美好的事物……

We were in the heart of the Gobi, in a profoundly deep corner of the earth, facing this ethereal and beautiful spectacle…

此时若有眼睛从高远的上方往下看到这幅情景，那么这一切将会令他感到多么寂寞啊！

If someone were to look down from a lofty height and see this scene, how lonely it would feel!

同上回一样，外婆好容易走到大门外，又只看到了点尾巴。

Just like last time, my grandmother managed to walk out to the door and only saw a bit of the tail end.

于是我不许外婆回去了，就让她在雪地里等着，当着她的面点燃第三个烟花。我妈也把赛虎硬拖了出来。

So, I wouldn’t let her go back and made her wait in the snow while I lit the third firework in front of her. My mom also dragged Saihu out.

火花刚刚一闪，赛虎“嗖”的一声就没了，消失在远处的夜色里。

As soon as the spark lit, Saihu “whoosh” disappeared, vanishing into the distant night.

但没过一会儿，大约觉得独自一人没安全感，又想回到我们这边来。便以烟花为圆心，绕了五六米的半径迂转回来。

However, not long after, perhaps feeling insecure being alone, he circled back to our side. He lingered around a radius of five or six meters, weaving his way back to us.

这时，在火光中，才看清院墙外黑暗中的高处不知什么时候已经站了两三个人，正静静地仰头凝视着这幕绚烂的——对遥远闭塞的阿克哈拉来说根本就是“奇迹”般的情景。

At this moment, in the glow of the firelight, I noticed that two or three people had quietly appeared on the high ground outside the wall, gazing up at this magnificent scene that, for far-off Akhara, was nothing short of a "miracle."

我认出其中一个女人是我们的邻居。她穿着破旧的长裙，裹着鲜艳的头巾，笔直单薄地站在那里。

I recognized one of the women as our neighbor. She stood there in a tattered long skirt, wrapped in a brightly colored scarf, standing straight and thin.

有一瞬间我看到她宁静冷淡的大眼睛在烟花的照耀下是那样年轻。

For a moment, I saw her tranquil and indifferent large eyes glowing under the fireworks, looking so young.

远处有一两幢房子的灯亮了，有人正在烟花的照耀下披着衣服往这边走。

In the distance, a house or two lit up, and someone was walking over towards us, draped in clothing under the light of the fireworks.

但这一次同样很快就结束了。

But, just like before, it quickly came to an end.

我一共只买了三个烟花。再也没有了。

I had only bought three fireworks in total. There were no more left.

他们又站了一会儿，等了一会儿。彼此间低声说了几句话，才安静地消失在黑暗中。

They lingered for a while longer, exchanged a few quiet words, and then quietly vanished into the darkness.

谁知到了第二天，从荒野散步回来，一路上遇见的人都会由衷地赞美一声：“昨天晚上，你们房子那里好漂亮啊！”

The next day, as I walked back from the wilderness, everyone I met genuinely praised, “Last night, your place was so beautiful!”

真让人纳闷，深更半夜的，怎么会有那么多人看到呢？

It puzzled me how so many people could see it deep in the night!

甚至，连住在远远的河对岸的老乡套着马爬犁子（马拉雪橇）来我们村里买东西时也这么说：“昨天晚上你们那里真漂亮啊！你们家过年了吗？”

Even the neighbors who lived on the far side of the river came to our village to shop and said, “Last night, your place was amazing! Did you celebrate the New Year?”

别说，这还真是阿克哈拉第一次有人放烟花呢！明年过年的时候我再也不买这种便宜货了，一定要买那种最粗最大的，可以看好长时间的。

To be honest, it was indeed the first time anyone set off fireworks in Akhara! Next year for the New Year, I won't settle for this cheap stuff again; I must buy the largest ones that can be enjoyed for a long time.

一定要买好多好多，让所有人好好看个够。

I’ll be sure to buy many, many so everyone can have a good look!