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

Service area on the Henan section of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway.

A row of luxury cars was parked in the parking area, attracting the attention of passersby.

Lin Zixuan sat on the hood of a Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

He was holding a bucket of freshly made braised beef noodles.

There is no Manchu Han Imperial Feast here.

There are no Yellow River carp.

There was only a five-yuan bucket of instant noodles and two sausages.

"Slurp—"

Lin Zixuan took a big slurp of noodles.

The taste of industrial seasonings filled my mouth.

But he felt it had no taste.

It has no taste at all.

Just a few hours ago, he was squatting on the edge of a field in Xujia Village, holding a large bowl with a chipped enamel, drinking spicy soup.

That hot, scalding sensation still seems to be churning in my stomach.

"Oh shit."

Lin Zixuan cursed, his eyes a little red.

"This braised beef noodle soup tastes like plastic."

Da Biao, standing next to him, was holding a steamed bun and eating it with Lao Gan Ma chili sauce.

Hearing Lin Zixuan's words, Da Biao sighed.

"Young Master Lin, it's not that the noodles are tasteless."

"It is our heart that has fallen into that mountain valley."

Da Biao looked up at the moon in the sky.

The lights in the service area were too bright; I couldn't see the stars.

Unlike Xujia Village, where you can see the Milky Way just by looking up.

"So, what's Xu An up to these days?"

Da Biao asked a question.

Lin Zixuan put the noodle bucket aside, took out his phone, and looked at the black screen of the live stream.

"What else can we do?"

"He's probably hiding under the covers, secretly enjoying himself."

"Or... bringing his grandfather water to wash his feet."

As Lin Zixuan spoke, he suddenly laughed.

His smile was tinged with bitterness, yet also with a sense of relief.

"Da Biao".

"Um?"

"When I get back, I want to sell that bar."

"I want to start a... farm."

"We'll plant corn and sweet potatoes."

"When the time comes, we'll set up a canteen and treat the sanitation workers to meals."

Da Biao was stunned for a moment.

Then, the burly man with a fierce face grinned.

"middle!"

"Count me in!"

"I'll bet on that pig!"

……

Huixian County, the county government compound.

It was already 11 p.m.

But the lights in Conference Room One remained on.

Smoke swirled around.

County Party Secretary Li Jianguo sat in the main seat.

He held a cigarette between his fingers, his brows furrowed, but his eyes gleamed with an excited light.

He was opposite him.

Sitting on the table was Wang Xingbang, who had just returned from Xujiacun, along with the heads of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Transportation Bureau, and Finance Bureau.

Everyone had dark circles under their eyes.

But no one dared to doze off at this critical juncture.

Comrades.

Li Jianguo stubbed out his cigarette in the already overflowing ashtray.

His voice was hoarse, yet authoritative.

"Everyone heard Director Wang's report just now."

"A twenty-three-year-old kid."

"A recent college graduate."

"Faced with a profit of three million, he didn't even blink an eye and wanted to build a canteen for all the elderly in the village."

"What kind of spirit is this?"

Li Jianguo tapped the table with his knuckles.

It made a "thump-thump" sound.

"This is a slap in the face to us officials!"

"We talk about rural revitalization and ensuring that the elderly have support every day."

"And the result?"

"We still need a child to break through this barrier!"

The conference room was deathly silent.

The head of the Civil Affairs Bureau was practically burying his head in his crotch.

"Secretary Li, this is because we haven't done our job properly..."

"Now is not the time for self-reflection!"

Li Jianguo waved his hand.

"Since Xu An has started this fire..."

"We need to give him some more fuel!"

"And you need to add dry firewood! Make sure it burns brightly!"

Li Jianguo stood up and walked to the map of Huixian hanging on the wall.

The red and blue pencil drew a heavy circle on that inconspicuous little dot deep in the Taihang Mountains.

The force penetrates the paper.

"I propose it."

"The 'Xujiacun Mutual Assistance Elderly Care Demonstration Site' project has been designated as the county's top livelihood project for this year!"

"Special cases require special handling; urgent matters require expedited processing!"

"Planning Bureau, produce the blueprints tonight! I need to see the renderings by tomorrow morning!"

"Finance Bureau, squeeze out two million yuan in special funds, no matter what! We can't let that kid really bankrupt the family!"

"Transportation Bureau, bring the construction team in tomorrow! Make sure the roadbed is properly compacted!"

"This is more than just a cafeteria."

"This is a banner for our Huixian!"

"We want to tell the whole internet, we want to tell everyone."

"In Huixian, goodwill is reciprocated!"

"We must not only accept this immense wealth, but also ensure it becomes tangible benefits for the people!"

Wang Xingbang stood up excitedly.

"Secretary! I pledge my life!"

"Three months!"

"If this canteen isn't built within three months, I'm resigning as the director of the Culture and Tourism Bureau! I'll go to Xujia Village and cook for the elderly!"

Li Jianguo looked at Wang Xingbang.

Suddenly I laughed.

"You wish!"

"That's Xu An's job."

"You'd better behave yourself as your bureau chief and take good care of these hundreds of thousands of tourists who are about to flood in!"

……

Huixian County at this time.

As Wang Xingbang said.

It has become a "city that never sleeps".

Although we couldn't get into Xujia Village due to its limited capacity to receive visitors.

But those netizens who came from all over the country did not turn back.

They were like a torrent, filling every corner of this small town in northern Henan.

The county's only two star-rated hotels have long since put up "fully booked" signs.

Even those small hotels that usually cost a few dozen yuan a night have their corridors covered with makeshift beds.

In the lobby of the bathhouse.

Dozens of young people from Guangdong and Hunan are wearing bathrobes and lying on massage chairs, scrolling through their phones.

"Hey bro, you're here to see Xu An too?"

"Yes, we drove for more than ten hours, and the live stream stopped as soon as we got off the highway."

"What should we do then? Go back tomorrow?"

"Go back my ass!"

The young man from Guangdong rolled over and pointed to his phone screen.

"The county's Culture and Tourism Bureau just issued a notice."

"They say that although we won't be able to see Xu An, there will be a 'pig-killing feast' tasting event at the county square tomorrow."

"The chef who slaughtered the pig for Xu An personally took charge of the cooking."

"Since we're already here..."

"I absolutely have to try this Henan pork to see what it tastes like!"

In front of the sesame seed cake stall.

The stall owner, known as "Wu Dalang," rubbed his aching arms as he looked at the long queue.

His mouth was practically crooked from smiling.

"Don't worry! We have them all! We have them all!"

"This batch will be ready soon!"

"This is the same sesame seed cake that Xu An makes! It'll make you forget about home!"

He never dreamed of this.

I've made more pancakes in my entire life than I have in a single day.

This isn't traffic.

This is clearly the God of Wealth descending to earth and scattering a handful of gold beans.

……

Beyond the noise.

Deep in the mountains.

Xujia Village.

The night was as still as a deep pool.

Only the wind whistling through the bare treetops could be heard.

That is the breath of the mountains.

In the dilapidated main room of the Xu family's house.

The dim incandescent light bulb had gone out.

Xu An lay on that hard bed.

He was covered with that decades-old cotton quilt.

The blanket was a bit stiff, and it made my chin a little itchy.

But it's warm.

The Huawei Extraordinary Master, worth over ten thousand yuan, was sitting forlornly on the windowsill, connected to a worn-out data cable, charging.

The breathing light is flashing.

It's like they're protesting this treatment.

Xu An turned over.

The suffocating feeling of being stared at by thousands of eyes finally disappeared.

At this moment.

He is no longer the internet celebrity with millions of followers.

He is no longer the "rural philosopher" who rejected capital.

He is just Xu An.

A slightly tired and sleepy young man from the countryside.

In the next room.

Then came Grandpa's thunderous snoring.

"Hoo-hoo-hoo"

The sound is very rhythmic.

It was better than the rock music from last night.

It sounds better than the special effects sounds from when netizens send gifts.

It's even more reassuring than the figure of three million.

Xu An closed his eyes.

The jumbled thoughts in my head gradually faded away.

Those luxury cars, those contracts, those excited faces—all receded like the tide.

At last.

The image freezes on Grandpa's smiling face full of wrinkles.

The image freezes on the piece of braised pork that Third Grandma had tucked into her pocket.

It was frozen in time on that newly renovated land.

Xu An's lips.

In the darkness, it gently rose in an arc.

"canteen……"

He silently repeated those two words in his mind.

That feeling.

It's like when I was a child, wearing new clothes for the Chinese New Year.

It's like getting a perfect score on your first test and running home with the paper in your hand.

That comes from the very core of it...

handy.

outside the window.

Moonlight shone on the vacant lot where construction had not yet begun.

It was sprinkled on the pile of corn cobs that hadn't been fully husked yet.

A stray cat quietly slipped in.

I glanced at the phone that was gleaming in the moonlight.

Then I looked at the young man who was sleeping soundly.

It meowed.

It seems to be saying:

That night.

The entire internet is losing sleep over you.

You're something else, kid.

He sleeps better than a pig.