Chapter 674: Found a Fool

The mother and daughter whispered in a secluded corner, arranging Jacqueline Spann’s marriage.

"Let’s go with this family. When are they coming to get her? I can’t stand the sight of that little beast for another day." Phoenix Golding agreed without a second thought. She didn’t care if the man was a lunatic or an imbecile—as long as they paid, it was fine. She didn’t want to lay eyes on that little beast for another minute.

"I’ll go give them our reply, then. They’ll come in a couple of days to have a look. If they’re satisfied, they’ll take her away."

"Fine. I’ll be waiting at home."

The mother and daughter slunk away furtively like thieves, not noticing Gentry Chapman behind the corner of the wall. He stood there with a look of surprise, a piece of paper and a wood shard in his hand. On the paper lay some grayish-white crystals he had scraped off.

Jim Thorne had said they were going to make homemade fireworks and had sent him to this old house to collect the ingredients. He’d said there was a lot of it, especially on the outhouse walls. Jim didn’t know what the stuff was called, but he knew the white substance could be used for fireworks. His uncle, Goldie Thorne, had taught him how.

Of course, someone had taught Goldie Thorne how to do it when he was a boy, too. Neither of them understood the scientific principles involved, but that didn’t stop them from making excellent homemade fireworks.

Gentry Chapman had never gotten to play with fireworks growing up. Listening to Jim talk about them made him incredibly envious and full of admiration. He felt like his cousin knew everything and was the most capable person in the world.

Tang Xiaonan was also very curious. She had heard of homemade fireworks and knew the raw material—potassium nitrate, by its scientific name—could be found on the walls of old country houses. But she had never seen how they were actually made and was surprised her third brother knew how. Tang Xiaonan clamored to see the show, and Jim, who doted on his little sister, readily agreed. He and Gentry Chapman split up to search for potassium nitrate.

The spot where Phoenix Golding and her daughter met happened to be at the very old house Gentry had been assigned. He was crouched down, silently scraping potassium nitrate, so the mother and daughter didn’t notice him at all.

Gentry Chapman recognized Phoenix Golding. His sister, Amanda, had called her a shameless vixen who had tried to seduce their eldest uncle in the past, saying she was as brazen as the young widow who sold tofu at the market. Naturally, Gentry didn’t have a good impression of Phoenix, either.

What surprised him, however, was that Phoenix Golding’s daughter was Jacqueline Spann. Gentry remembered the pretty girl from the bookstore; she had been short ten cents for a book. He had wanted to lend her the money, but his sister and cousin had stopped him. Jacqueline hadn’t blamed him, but Gentry had felt guilty about the incident ever since.

He had also heard from others that Jacqueline Spann had a difficult life at home, which made him feel even more sympathy for her. He might not be the brightest, but he knew the ’little beast’ Phoenix Golding had just mentioned could be none other than Jacqueline. Gentry could tell Phoenix was up to something awful. He didn’t know the details, but it was definitely nothing good.

His mood ruined, Gentry no longer had the heart to gather potassium nitrate. He headed back distractedly to meet up with the others. Jim Thorne was already there, whittling a bamboo tube. When he saw the meager amount of powder on Gentry’s paper, he said with a frown, "You were gone all that time and this is all you got? If I were your boss, I’d never hire you."

Gentry Chapman smiled sheepishly and placed his paper packet of potassium nitrate on the ground next to Jim Thorne’s. Jim had scraped together a large packet, whereas his was tiny—not even a third of the amount. Gentry felt a pang of shame. ’It seems I can’t do anything right,’ he thought. ’No wonder Grandma doesn’t like me.’

Amanda Chapman came over with a paper packet as well. Her job had been to grind charcoal. The ingredients for their homemade fireworks were simply potassium nitrate and charcoal, both ground into a fine powder and mixed together. Of course, there was a specific ratio, but Jim couldn’t have told you what it was. He just knew the rough proportions and relied completely on experience.