How did hiring someone to press a pig image during Chinese New Year become a top trend?

The morning breeze, carrying the dry chill unique to the Taihang Mountains, and a pungent, musty smell of someone's unwashed feet, swirled around the entrance of the air-raid shelter.

The atmosphere at the scene was even more vibrant and awkward than the lipstick on that pig's snout.

Xu An huddled inside his military overcoat, watching the middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit and gold-rimmed glasses.

Xu An had only ever seen that scholarly air and sense of authority about this man on the news broadcast.

But at this moment, the man was staring at his grandfather, his eyes red and swollen, as if he wanted to shed all the tears he had in his life in this one minute.

"Stealing sweet potatoes?"

The middle-aged man repeated the word, his lips twitching violently.

It was a twitch of emotion, and a tremor of being struck by memories.

The camera in the live stream was precisely focused on this scene.

In a live stream with over a million followers, the chat paused for a second before erupting in a frenzy.

[ID Micro-expression Analyst]: This uncle's expression doesn't look like a thief caught red-handed, but rather like... he's seen his long-lost father?

[ID Gossip Netizen]: Grandpa just said he stole sweet potatoes? This uncle looks like a leader, was he this wild when he was young?

[ID materialized at this moment]: I don't understand, so I'm asking: Why does that pig look healthier than me? Is that a color that attracts men?

"Thump."

A muffled thud.

Under the watchful eyes of thousands of people and millions of netizens.

The middle-aged man, who appeared to be in a high position, did not hesitate at all. His knees buckled, and he knelt directly on the ground covered with withered grass and pig manure.

Ignoring the dirt on the ground, he braced himself with his hands and kowtowed deeply to his bewildered grandfather.

"teacher!"

"I'm Xiao Zhang!"

"If it weren't for your roasted sweet potato back then, I, Zhang Debang, would have starved to death here in the Taihang Mountains long ago!"

The man's voice, choked with sobs, echoed through the empty valley.

Xu An was so startled that he almost dropped the extraordinary master in his hand.

teacher?

Wasn't Grandpa just an old farmer? At most, he was the head of the production team. When did he become a teacher?

And what's this person's name?

Zhang Debang?

Why does this name sound so familiar?

Just as Xu An's mind was still blank, a pig-like scream came from behind the crowd.

"Zhang...Zhang Debang?!"

Director Wang Xingbang lost one of his shoes while running and limped out of the crowd.

When he saw the man kneeling on the ground, he was completely stunned, his mouth agape as if struck by lightning.

"This is...this is a tenured professor at China Agricultural University! An academician of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences! Professor Zhang?!"

Wang Xingbang's voice cracked.

The live stream chat exploded instantly.

[ID Agricultural University student]: Holy crap!!! Zhang Debang? That's someone from our textbooks! The star pupil of the father of hybrid wheat!

【ID only has a primary school education】: Although I don't understand it, it sounds very impressive.

[ID Thought-Provoking]: Wait a minute... if this person is an academician, then why does he call Xu An's grandfather "teacher"? What is "grandfather"?

[ID Sweeping Monk]: It's confirmed! Xu Family Village isn't a deserted village, it's a beginner's village for reclusive masters!

Xu An looked at the academician kneeling on the ground, and then at the grandfather picking his nose next to him.

He felt this world was too magical.

Grandpa tapped the pipe in his hand against the sole of his shoe, squinted, and stared at Academician Zhang for a long time.

"Oh……"

"I remember now."

Grandpa nodded, his tone as calm as if he had just recognized a cabbage.

"Is that the guy who went to the countryside back then, who ate five pounds of raw sweet potatoes in one meal, and then farted so much that he tore a hole in his bedding roll that night... Xiao Zhang?"

Academician Zhang's face, which was originally full of tears of emotion, froze instantly.

Da Biao, who was standing next to him, burst out laughing and quickly covered his mouth.

Lin Zixuan's face turned red from holding it in, and his shoulders shrugged.

The viewers in the live stream were laughing hysterically.

[ID Collapsed]: Hahahaha! The academician's reputation has been ruined!

[ID Black History]: Grandpa knew how to trigger nostalgia; one sentence shattered the image of an academician as a master.

[ID: Reality of Humanity]: There's no emotion that a meal of raw sweet potato can't solve. If there is, then just fart.

Zhang Debang, after all, had seen a lot of the world.

He coughed awkwardly, got up from the ground, and didn't even bother to brush the dirt off his knees.

"Teacher, back then... I was young and naive."

He pushed up his glasses, looking at the crowds covering the hillside and the huge air-raid shelter.

"I saw on the news last night that Xujia Village became famous because thousands of people were sleeping in air-raid shelters and eating dried sweet potatoes."

"As soon as I saw the words 'Dig deep tunnels and store grain widely' on the entrance of the cave, I knew it was you."

"I bought a standing ticket and rushed over here overnight."

Zhang Debang looked at his grandfather, his eyes still full of filial piety.

"I never imagined that after all these years, you would still be so... healthy and still so good at attracting people."

Grandpa waved his hand.

"What kind of people are you gathering?"

"They're all here to take advantage of the wealthy."

As he spoke, Grandpa pointed to the black pig that was rooting in the dirt next to him, and the bright red color on its snout.

"Look, even pigs have learned to dress up."

"I just don't understand this world."

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to the pig.

It was a huge black pig that originally looked ferocious.

But at this moment, the striking bright red lips on its large, dark face added a touch of allure and... a strange sense of style.

In particular, it was blinking its innocent little eyes and chewing on the strap of the LV bag belonging to the young lady in Hanfu.

"My bag..."

The young woman in Hanfu was on the verge of tears, wanting to rush up and grab it, but afraid of being taken advantage of.

Xu An quickly handed his phone to Lin Zixuan and, steeling himself, rushed forward.

"Um... beautiful lady, I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry."

"This pig... probably saw that your bag looks nice and wanted to try some saltiness."

While apologizing, Xu An tried to pry the half of the ribbon out of the pig's mouth.

The pig was very unhappy.

"Hmph!"

With a flick of its head, its red lips smeared directly onto Xu An's brand-new military overcoat.

It left a bright red mark.

It looks like a kiss mark.

"Click."

Lin Zixuan was quick and took a screenshot.

A new viral image has emerged in the live stream.

【ID Pure Pig】: I've already thought of a title: "Domineering Black Pig Falls in Love with Pure Blogger, and They Seal Their Love with a Forceful Kiss".

[ID Dior Ambassador]: @DiorOfficial, aren't you considering signing this pig? The color payoff is amazing! Even dark skin tones can pull it off!

[ID wants to go to the scene]: This pig looks quite handsome. After being single for a long time, even a pig seems somewhat attractive.

Xu An stared blankly at the lipstick stain on his clothes.

What's so special about this?

Is it a work-related injury?

He could only bow repeatedly to the young lady, saying, "Um, how much was the bag? I'll pay for it, I'll pay for it."

Seeing Xu An's honest and timid appearance, his face flushed with anxiety, the young lady's anger had already subsided by half.

In addition, there were thousands of people watching, and an academician was standing next to him.

"Never mind, never mind."

The young lady waved her hand and took out the remaining half of her lipstick from her bag.

"Blogger, let's give this lipstick to it too."

"After all... it's the first pig on the entire internet to wear Dior makeup, so it has to keep the makeup intact."

The crowd burst into good-natured laughter.

The crisis caused by the "escaped pig" was resolved amidst laughter and joy.

but.

A new problem has arisen.

It was broad daylight.

Several thousand people crawled out of the cave, washed up, and ate breakfast (sweet potato chips with spicy soup).

Now, thousands of eyes are fixed on Xu An.

That look seemed to be asking: What's next?

Xu An looked at his own wheat field, which had been trampled by thousands of feet until it was as solid as an iron plate.

This land was originally intended to be plowed and planted with winter wheat.

it's good now.

It's been trampled down to a point where it's harder than a concrete road. Even a tractor would probably break two of the rotary tiller blades.

"Master..."

Xu An muttered to himself, "What do we do with this land?"

"Our hand-held tractor probably can't plow it."

Grandpa took a puff of his cigarette, and his brows furrowed.

This is indeed a problem.

If the land isn't tilled, we won't be able to plant anything next spring, and this year's harvest will be ruined.

Just then.

Academician Zhang Debang, who had been standing by and observing, suddenly pushed up his glasses.

He bent down, picked up a handful of dirt from the ground, and rubbed it between his fingers.

"This soil, once compacted, retains water well, but it's not breathable."

Academician Zhang straightened up and looked at the dark mass of people in front of him.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

They were as bright as two 100-watt light bulbs.

"Teacher Xu!"

"Xiao An!"

Academician Zhang pointed to these thousands of strong, energetic young people.

"This is the best rotary tiller ever!"

Xu An was stunned.

"What?"

Academician Zhang turned around, facing the thousands of netizens, and with a deep breath, displayed the same imposing presence he had when giving a large lecture to hundreds of students back in the day.

"Students!"

"Family members!"

"Now that we're in the countryside, all we can do is eat and not practice!"

"Do you know how much sweat and toil went into making each of these sweet potato chips?"

"I don't know!" someone in the crowd shouted in agreement.

"good!"

Academician Zhang waved his hand and pointed to the ground beneath his feet.

"Today, I'm going to give you all a practical lesson that you've never had before in your lives!"

"The research topic will be called—The Deep Interaction Between Ergonomics and Soil Structure!"

In layman's terms—it means tilling the land!

The entire room fell silent for a second.

then.

There were no complaints or rejections as Xu An had imagined.

Instead, the cheers erupted even more enthusiastically than when watching the iron flower performance last night.

"Holy crap! An academician is teaching us how to farm?"

"I've attended that class before! I heard that Academician Zhang's classes at the Agricultural University are incredibly popular and people fight tooth and nail to get in!"

"Ergonomics and soil interaction? That sounds so sophisticated, but isn't it just digging a hole? I like it!"

"This is way more meaningful than going to the gym to lift weights! Let's go!"

These are the young people from the city.

Normally, I can't even open the bottle cap.

But at this moment, upon hearing that they could do farm work under the guidance of an academician, they all became incredibly excited.

Da Biao was the first to step forward, rolling up his sleeves.

"Brother Xu An! Where's the hoe? Where's the shovel? Bring it all out!"

"If we don't have tools, we'll dig with our hands!"

Looking at this scene, Xu An felt his throat go dry.

Is this... also a way to generate traffic?

Are they treating netizens like donkeys in a production team?

And it was actually requested by netizens?

"Um... let me think about it."

Xu An quickly ran back to his own storage room.

There definitely aren't enough hoes.

The village's hoes combined wouldn't be enough for these few thousand people.

but.

"Grandpa, do we still have that pile of steel spades and entrenching tools left over from when we built the reservoir?"

Grandpa slapped his thigh.

"On the roof beams of the pigsty!"

Ten minutes later.

In the wheat fields of Xujia Village, a scene has appeared that is worthy of being recorded in the Guinness World Records.

Several thousand people.

They were arranged in a long, straight line.

They were holding all sorts of "weapons".

Some were carrying shovels, some were carrying hoes, and some were carrying entrenching tools.

Some even brought tree branches and the willow stick they had used for smelting iron flowers.

Academician Zhang Debang stood on a high ridge in the field, holding a large megaphone, looking like a general in command.

"Follow my command!"

"First row! Backbend! Focus your power on your core!"

"Bury them in the ground!"

"Hi!"

Hundreds of tools were simultaneously inserted into the ground.

"turn!"

"roar!"

Hundreds of clods of earth, which had been trampled to a hard, solid state, were neatly turned over.

The fresh, damp scent of earth instantly filled the air.

"Second row! Keep up!"

"Crush the clods of earth!"

"Hi! Hi! Hi!"

The people behind them took stones or wooden sticks and pounded on the large clods of earth that had been turned over.

Even the hardest clod of earth would be reduced to fine powder in the face of the violent aesthetics of these thousands of people.

The drone hovered in the sky.

Lin Zixuan held up his phone, his hands trembling with excitement.

The number of viewers in the live stream skyrocketed.

[Number of online users: 60+]

[Farming novels come to life]: This is so exciting! Thousands of people turning over the soil together? I've only ever seen this kind of scene in history books!

[ID Production Team]: This efficiency! This momentum! If this were in the past, it would definitely be an advanced collective!

[ID Doesn't Want to Go to Work]: I cried. Is this the beauty of labor? That guy wearing Arc'teryx shoes was covered in mud, but he was smiling so happily.

[ID Huixian Culture and Tourism]: @All members have contacted the county agricultural machinery station and are urgently arranging two tons of high-quality winter wheat seeds! Since the land has been plowed, let's sow the seeds while we're at it!

Xu An stood at the edge of the field.

He was also holding a hoe in his hand.

But he couldn't squeeze in at all.

Those netizens were so enthusiastic that they bought up the entire area, leaving him no place to even put his feet.

"this……"

Xu An looked at his family's dozen or so acres of land.

At this speed.

He and his grandfather usually work together for half a month.

These guys will probably finish in half an hour.

And judging by this, after finishing their own land, they'll also have to turn over the land belonging to their second uncle and third aunt.

"Xiao An."

Zhang Debang came down from the command platform at some point.

He walked over to Xu An, looked at the bustling scene, took off his glasses, and wiped the moisture from the corner of his eyes.

"Do you know?"

"I've spent my whole life lecturing on agricultural theory from this podium."

"But no lesson has ever been as engaging as today's."

Academician Zhang pointed to the young people whose faces were covered in sweat, yet who were still shouting and yelling.

"They are not spoiled."

"They just... haven't been to this land in too long."

"They crave that grounding feeling of sweat dripping into the soil."

Xu An nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

He looked at his phone screen.

Number of followers: 128.6.

It's still rising.

But that's not what he's focused on right now.

He saw a girl in a JK uniform diligently smashing a clod of dirt with a stone. She had a mud stain on her face, but she was smiling and showing her little tiger teeth.

He saw Da Biao shirtless, competing with several other burly men to see who could flip the fastest; his fat body was trembling.

He saw his grandfather sitting at the edge of the field, holding the enamel mug in his hand, his face beaming with smiles.

"It feels quite reassuring."

Xu An slammed the hoe on the ground.

"Um...Teacher Zhang."

"What's wrong?"

"The soil has been tilled, but the seeds haven't arrived yet."

"These people have nowhere to vent their energy."

"Look..."

Xu An pointed to the dry stream in the distance.

"The irrigation canal in the village has been silted up for ten years."

"Could it... be connected easily too?"

Zhang Debang was taken aback.

Immediately, the academician, who was over sixty years old, revealed a sly smile, like a fox.

"Good lad."

"You understand capitalists... oh no, you understand how to make rational use of resources."

"Granted!"

Academician Zhang picked up the megaphone again and shouted to the group of netizens who had just finished tilling the land and were still eager for more:

"Students!"

"Warm-up complete!"

"The real challenge is here!"

"The predecessors built the canals, and the successors have the water!"

"Are you confident you can dredge this canal for me?!"

"have!!!"

The roar was deafening.

It startled a flock of sparrows that had just landed.

The black pig, painted with Dior 999, was so frightened that it plopped down on the ground.

It looked at the group of two-legged creatures with a terrified expression.

As if to say:

These people are crazy.

This is absolutely insane.

They don't even spare pigs, and now they're even scouring ditches.

Is this the legendary...the whole internet calling for people to build infrastructure?