Early morning on April 18th.
Li Xuemei and Gu Ruhai were already up and busy.
Gu Ruhai was dressed in new clothes, a light gray jacket and dark blue pants, with a smile on his face and cigarettes and matches in his pocket.
His usually slouched back was now standing incredibly straight.
He had an air of energy and vitality, looking several years younger.
Standing at the gate, he looked at the bright red couplets and the "Fu" character, smoothing them over and over, worried about any uneven edges or corners.
With a broom, he had already swept the entrance spotlessly clean.
The two strings of firecrackers, each with three thousand bangs, were already hung above the gate with a bamboo stick, just waiting to be set off.
Some firecrackers were placed conspicuously beside the roadside.
