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

What Xu An didn't know was...

In the few minutes that he put his phone back in his pocket and bent down to mix the pig feed.

That video, without filters, without background music, and only featuring howling north winds and two large black pigs, is triggering a nuclear fusion in cyberspace.

……

Shanghai, an office building.

Having just finished a pointless debriefing meeting, Lin Zixuan slumped at his workstation, scrolling through short videos with a blank expression.

The screen is filled with the same old costume changes, awkward dances, and those obviously scripted "positive energy" short dramas.

bother.

Fingers mechanically slide down the floor.

Suddenly, a face without any filters or editing walked in.

The background is a peeling red brick wall. The man has his left hand in his pocket, his right hand holding a phone, his neck hunched, and his eyes are as clear as a college freshman's, yet he speaks with a pure Henan accent.

"Um... two people would be fine."

"Meals are provided, and you'll be full."

Lin Zixuan's fingers stopped.

He stared at the two grunting black pigs in the video, and the line, "Blocking the road makes my family look prestigious."

"puff--"

Lin Zixuan almost spat out the iced Americano he had just drunk.

This guy is interesting!

In an era where everyone is trying to create a persona and organize elaborate camping trips, someone is actually asking for help online just for two pigs.

The helplessness in his eyes didn't seem like acting.

The pig's tusks didn't seem like props at all.

"Trying to block the road?"

Lin Zixuan glanced at his Jeep Wrangler, which was sitting in the garage gathering dust.

A long-lost impulse called "joining in the fun" resurfaced in my blood.

He immediately forwarded the video to the "Yangtze River Delta Off-Road E-Clan" WeChat group, which was full of rich second-generation individuals.

He added a note: "Brothers, someone's trying to pick a fight. This guy says his house is in a remote area and he's worried our car won't be able to get there. He's in the Taihang Mountains of Henan. Anyone want to come over for some authentic 'pig-killing feast'?"

The group chat exploded instantly.

[ID Taihang Car God]: Holy crap? That's crazy!

[ID I Want to Eat Meat]: This pig looks really good, it must have been fed purely on grains, right? These days, you can't buy this kind of local pork even if you have money!

[ID Specialized Off-Road]: Location? Send me your location! I refuse to believe there's a village my G-Wagon can't get into!

[ID Lin Zixuan]: This guy's eyes look really sincere; he's probably really in trouble. Want to have a drink? Consider it a donation, and maybe give our car a boost on the highway too.

[Group Owner ID]: @All members, assemble! Destination: Xujia Village, Henan! Bring your own food, don't eat the villagers out of house and home! No one is allowed to cause trouble for the villagers, we're going there to keep order!

……

Meanwhile, in Shenzhen, rental housing in urban villages.

Old Zhang, who had just delivered his last takeout order, was soaking his feet while munching on a cold steamed bun.

The phone was playing a video of "Xujia Village Xiao An".

Looking at the dilapidated courtyard in the video, that familiar Henan accent, and that cautious phrase, "Meals are provided, but travel expenses are not," I felt a surge of emotion.

Old Zhang slowed down his chewing of the steamed bun.

He is also from Henan.

I've been working away from home for five years, but because I haven't made any money, I haven't been home for Chinese New Year for three years.

The howling wind in the video sounded just like the sounds of winter in his hometown when he was a child.

Those two pigs reminded him of his deceased father sharpening his knife in the yard.

"Pork stew..."

Old Zhang choked up.

The aroma of meat stewing in a large pot seemed to waft through the screen and into his nostrils, which were filled with the smell of cooking oil.

Tears fell unexpectedly onto the back of my hand.

He wiped his face, and with trembling fingers typed a line in the comments section:

[Brother, I'm from Xinyang, stuck in Shenzhen and can't go back. This made me cry. That pig is so well-raised, just like the ones my dad raises. I won't eat there, but I'll give you a thumbs up. I hope some kind-hearted brother can help him, so the old man doesn't feel heartbroken.]

Less than a minute after the message was posted, it received over a thousand likes.

In the comments section, countless people like Lao Zhang, who had left their hometowns, broke down in tears.

I'm in Beijing, and I miss home.

I'm in Xinjiang, and I also crave a hot bowl of stewed pork with vegetables.

[Hey blogger, send me your bank card number! I can't make it in person, but I'll give you 500 yuan to buy my grandpa a bottle of good wine!]

[Hey upstairs, don't mention money! This guy has clean eyes; talking about money is vulgar! I can't go either, but I'll share this for him!]

……

Big data algorithms are the most astute hunters.

At the Douyin headquarters server backend, the monitor watched a data curve soar at an almost vertical angle.

Completion rate: 98%.

Interaction rate: 45%.

Forwarding volume: 500 times per second.

There are even a large number of "save locally" operations.

This kind of data usually only appears in the viral videos of top internet celebrities.

And this account only has 300 followers?

"What the hell is this?"

The monitor opened the video and watched it once.

I didn't understand.

Slaughtering a pig? Calling for reinforcements?

But this doesn't prevent AI from determining that this is today's "King of Traffic".

The system automatically weights the values.

Traffic pool hierarchy transition.

A portal with tens of millions of visitors was suddenly opened.

The push notifications quickly spread from Henan province to the entire country.

The title was even automatically generated by the system, which extracted keywords and produced various sensational trending search terms:

#The most pitiful internet celebrity on the entire internet, begging for help by slaughtering a pig#

#Left-behind youth in the deep mountains and a 300-pound wild animal#

#That boy with clear eyes just wants a bite of meat#

#Xujia Village, Henan, currently being located across the entire network#

……

Xu Family Village, main hall.

Xu An held the phone, which was as hot as a freshly cooked sweet potato, his whole body stiff as iron.

He didn't even dare to move a finger.

There were too many pop-ups on the screen, and they appeared too fast, so fast that they left afterimages.

I can't see what everyone posted at all.

Only a few high-frequency words could be vaguely detected:

"They're here!"

"position!"

"Just wait!"

"Don't be afraid, brother!"

Xu An's head was buzzing.

He swallowed hard and tried to click "Do Not Disturb".

As a result, my finger slipped and I accidentally clicked on a private message.

It was a voice message sent by someone named "Raptor Car Club - Da Biao".

Xu An clicked on it subconsciously.

A deep, resonant male voice suddenly filled the main room, so powerful that dust fell from the roof beams.

"brother!!!"

The shout startled the grandfather peeling garlic nearby, causing his hand to tremble and garlic cloves to scatter all over the ground.

"What? What's going on? Did someone pop out of that phone?" Grandpa stared in horror at the black box in Xu An's hand.

The voice continued to roar:

"Brother, don't panic! I see the location is only 50 kilometers away! I'll lead the team over right now! I'm bringing 30 brothers and five pickup trucks! Don't worry about food, we'll bring our own ingredients! We can even help you fix the pigsty! Just wait! If anyone dares to bully you because you're homeless, I, Da Biao, will be the first to object!"

Xu An's hand trembled, and his phone almost fell into the garlic pot.

Thirty brothers?

Five pickup trucks?

They even brought their own ingredients?

Is this...is this a pig slaughtering party, or a village demolition party?

"Master..."

Xu An raised his head, his face pale, his once "clear and foolish" eyes now filled with genuine fear.

"Something might be going to happen to our family."

Grandpa remained calm, picking up the garlic from the ground: "What happened? Are the debt collectors here?"

"No..." Xu An's lips trembled, "It's... the people who help slaughter the pig have arrived."

"That's great!" Grandpa chuckled. "How many do you want?"

Xu An glanced at the red "999+" in his private message list.

I glanced at the voice message again.

"Probably... more than the entire population of our village."