Setting off fireworks and playing the suona when someone died had another meaning in the countryside: it was to guide the deceased. They led the soul home or to ascend to heaven, telling them we were all there, accompanying them on their last journey, giving the deceased peace of mind—when someone died away from home, and their family brought them back, they would set off fireworks at bridges or crossroads to signify this.
Of course, setting off fireworks and playing the suona also meant to inform the surrounding lost souls and ghosts not to disturb our deceased loved one.
Since his father frequently played the suona to guide the dead, it caused some unfavorable influences. Some elders, sticking to old customs, suggested giving Yang Er Gou a mean name—when Yang Er Gou was born, such a name was indeed quite rare.
