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

In the early morning, the mist over the Taihang Mountains had not yet dissipated, as if a thick white veil had been draped over the continuous mountain ridges.

The air was damp and chilly, the cold seeping straight into your bones through your collar.

Xu An was awakened by a series of not-so-noisy, but extremely dense "ding-ding-dang-dang" sounds.

He groggily pushed open the window.

Good guy.

Last night it was just a skeleton of a canteen, but this morning half of the walls have already been built.

The speed at which the red bricks and gray tiles were laid was so fast that anyone who didn't know better would think the mountain god himself had come down to perform a spell last night.

Li Daguo was standing on the scaffolding, holding a walkie-talkie, and energetically directing the crane.

That voice was more punctual than the crowing of the village rooster.

"Anzi! You're awake?"

Li Daguo, with his sharp eyes, spotted Xu An peeking around from a distance.

"Go wash your face quickly!"

"The workers are all talking about it, saying the mutton last night was so good, they're craving a smooth, soupy drink this morning!"

Xu An shrank his neck.

Want a sip of something thin?

Although the millet porridge cooked in the big pot in the village is nourishing, these men who do heavy physical labor probably crave a more flavorful and robust version.

For example—the soul of Henan people, spicy soup.

But where can I find authentic Xiaoyao Town spicy soup in this desolate wilderness?

Suddenly, a place name flashed through Xu An's mind.

"Cliffside Residence".

It was a breakfast stall in the next village, located on an extremely steep cliffside road.

It's said that the owner there is a strange old man, and the soup he makes is so spicy it's almost piercing.

"middle!"

"Dean Li, please continue with your work!"

"I'm going to get some 'hard currency' for the brothers!"

Xu An put on the military overcoat and wrapped the Huawei Extraordinary Master tricycle handlebars with transparent tape five times.

This is the hope of the whole village; we can't afford to pay for it if it falls.

"Rat-a-tat-tat—"

The battle-damaged electric tricycle, which rattled everywhere except for its bell, sped out of the yard in a cloud of black smoke.

The live stream has started.

Although it was only 6:30 in the morning, more than 100,000 people flooded into the live broadcast room instantly.

It seems that young people these days are sleeping less and less.

[ID: 8 AM]: Why is the streamer up so early? Where are you going?

[ID wants to drink spicy soup]: I heard they went to buy breakfast? I'm hungry too, I want to eat fried dough sticks!

[ID Infrastructure Maniac]: I glanced at the construction site behind me, and the speed is incredible! This wall is thicker than my skin!

Xu An glanced at the comments, then pulled his collar up to cover half of his face, which was stiff from the wind.

"that……"

Good morning, family.

"Dean Li and his team are working so hard. I was thinking of buying them some spicy soup to warm their stomachs."

"This place is a bit remote."

"The road..."

"It might be a bit exciting."

"Everyone hold on tight to the handrails, and those who get motion sickness should bring their own plastic bags."

Xu An wasn't exaggerating.

About five kilometers uphill from Xujia Village lies the famous "Sky Road in the Clouds".

This is what is commonly known as a cliffside road.

This was carved out of the vertical cliff by the mountain people back then, using steel shovels and iron hammers, in order to leave the mountains.

The road is less than four meters wide.

The outer side is a bottomless abyss, without even a railing, only a few scattered large rocks blocking the way.

A slight slip could lead to a true "physical ascension".

When Xu An's tricycle turned onto this road.

The atmosphere in the live stream instantly changed from "good morning greetings" to "screaming scene".

[ID with acrophobia]: Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Is this even a road?!

[ID with sweaty palms]: Hey streamer, don't stick your phone out like that! My legs went weak just looking at it! Is there a bottomless pit down there?

[ID Veteran Driver]: With this road condition, driving a three-wheeled vehicle? Streamer, you're really brave! Even a tiny pebble would cause it to overturn!

Xu An looked at the thin line in front of him that seemed to be hanging on the horizon.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

勇？

Brave my ass!

His legs are trembling wildly inside his military overcoat right now!

That deep-seated fear of heights caused his hands to clench so tightly on the handlebars that they left white marks.

But the boast has already been made.

And then there's the thought of the expectant eyes of those men on the construction site.

Xu An gritted his teeth and stubbornly refused to slow down.

"that……"

"Family members, things are actually alright."

"As long as you don't look down."

"Just treat it as if you're driving on flat ground."

"real."

Xu An's voice trembled, with a clear sob in it.

However, netizens interpreted it in a different light.

[ID Micro-expression Expert]: Listen to that vibrato! It's excitement! It's a desire to conquer nature!

[ID Lone Warrior]: The streamer is telling us in this way that the roads people in the mountains forge with their lives! So inspiring!

[Fan of ID Xu An]: That's real vision! They'd even risk going this far just to buy food for their workers!

Xu An: ...

Is this misunderstanding getting deeper and deeper?

I was just genuinely scared!

The tricycle shuffled along the edge of the cliff for about twenty minutes.

A groove carved out of a large rock appeared ahead.

There was a simple shed in the trough.

A wooden sign, blackened by smoke, hung above – “Veterans’ Breakfast”.

We've arrived.

The shed wasn't big; inside were two square tables with missing corners.

A huge iron pot was placed on the coal stove, steaming and bubbling.

The powerful aroma of pepper and beef, a blend of spices, defied the mountain winds and wafted for miles.

Xu An parked the car and felt his legs go weak. He almost knelt down when he got out of the car.

He held onto the truck bed for several seconds to catch his breath before walking over with his phone in hand.

"uncle!"

"A customer has arrived!"

"Fifty servings of spicy soup, please!"

"One hundred more fried dough sticks, please!"

"If they still have beef fritters, I'll take as many as you can!"

The old man who was stirring the pot turned around.

This old man looks to be at least seventy years old.

He was wearing an old, faded military uniform, with the left sleeve empty, stuffed into his pocket.

One-armed.

His face was etched with wrinkles like a knife, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

Upon recognizing Xu An, the old man snorted coldly.

"It's you again, you coward?"

"Last time you came to buy food, you were so scared that you didn't dare to turn your car around. I had to push it over for you."

"Why do you have the nerve to order so much again today?"

Xu An blushed.

Being exposed in front of hundreds of thousands of people is a social disaster that comes unexpectedly.

"That...that one."

"Grandpa, that happened so many years ago."

"I've mastered it now."

"Hurry up, they're waiting for us to eat at the construction site."

The live stream room was filled with laughter.

[ID Truth King]: Hahaha! So the streamer's fear of heights is hereditary!

[ID One-Armed Hero]: Wait, this old man... has only one arm? Opening a shop here? That must be so inconvenient!

Although the old man was sarcastic, he was incredibly quick and efficient.

Even if it's just one hand.

His right hand held a huge iron ladle, ladling soup into the pot with fluid, effortless movements.

Pack, bag, and fasten.

All in one go.

It was even faster than Xu An's two hands.

"On the construction site?"

The old man asked casually.

"Who are the houses being built for?"

Xu An quickly handed the old man a cigarette and lit it for him.

"For our village."

"Build a canteen for the elderly."

"The New Year is coming soon, and we want the elderly in the village to be able to have a hot meal."

The old man paused for a moment.

A soft light flashed in those sharp eyes.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled a smoke ring.

The smoke was instantly dispersed by the wind at the edge of the cliff.

"canteen……"

"This is a good thing."

"That's a matter of accumulating good karma."

The old man turned around and scooped the bottom of the pot hard with his spoon.

A large spoonful of diced beef was poured into Xu An's bag.

Normally, the beef is served by the slice, but today it's being given by the tael (a unit of weight).

"Sir, this is too much! Too much!"

Xu An quickly stopped him.

This is a small business; you can't afford to do this.

The old man glared at him.

"Shut up!"

"The food for the people building the houses needs to be oily and juicy!"

"I have hands and feet, what's a little bit of meat to lose?"

Xu An didn't dare to say another word.

This old man is known throughout these mountains for his stubbornness.

While the old man was packing the fried dough sticks, Xu An aimed his camera at the outside of the shed.

The view here is excellent.

Below them was a bottomless abyss, shrouded in mist.

In the distance, the Taihang Mountains stretch endlessly, resembling giant dragons lying on the ground.

On that treacherous cliffside road.

Every now and then, a large truck fully loaded with goods would crawl past like a snail.

Those were for transporting coal and timber to the mountains, and some also transported apples out of the mountains.

"Family members."

"You might ask, why did this old man open his shop here?"

"This place is in the middle of nowhere."

"How dangerous!"

Xu An watched the passing trucks.

Every time a car passes by this little shed, it honks its horn.

"drop--"

Short and powerful.

It was like a greeting, or a way of letting people know they were safe.

Even if he's busy with something, the old man will look up when he hears the horn.

With his one arm, he gave a military salute that was not quite standard, but extremely solemn.

【ID I don't understand】: Is this some kind of code?

【ID Old Soldier Never Dies】: This salute...it gives me goosebumps.

[ID I'm thinking]: This is more than just a breakfast shop, right?

The old man handed the last big bag of fried dough sticks to Xu An.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He glanced at the comments in the live stream. Although he couldn't read, he seemed to know what these young people were thinking.

"There's no secret code."

"This road is difficult to travel."

"Especially in winter, when it snows, it's like the gates of hell."

"Most of the kids driving those sports cars are from out of town."

"To support their families, they risked their lives running this line."

"That's what I was thinking."

"Stay here and keep watch."

"Even in the middle of the night, when they pass by."

"You can see a lamp here."

"I wish I could have some hot soup."

"I don't feel panicked anymore."

"If there really is a landslide or rockfall, I can use the loudspeaker to announce it."

The old man spoke of it casually.

But the weight of this is so heavy that it's suffocating.

Keep watch over a lamp.

Stick to one road.

This vigil lasted for more than a decade.

This isn't a breakfast stall.

This is on the edge of a cliff, serving as a guardian for the lives that have passed by.

The live stream went completely silent.

The comments about "fear of heights" that were just flooding the screen have all disappeared.

Instead, the screen was filled with tears and tributes.

[ID's Most Beautiful Hero]: This is the real lighthouse. Brighter than the kind at sea.

[ID Truck Driver]: I drive long distances, and I've passed by shops like this before. Seriously, seeing that light in the middle of the night makes my eyes well up with tears.

[ID Huixian Culture and Tourism]: @Xu An, please ask the old man if he needs anything else? The county is already planning streetlights, and they will be lit up next year!

Xu An looked at the old man's empty sleeves.

Nose is sour.

He took out his phone from his pocket, ready to scan the code to pay.

"Sir, how much is it in total?"

The old man waved his hand.

"For the workers."

"For the elderly in the village."

"It's free."

"Get out of here!"

"The soup won't taste good once it gets cold!"

Xu An didn't move.

He knew that the old man would definitely not accept the money.

But he can't take it for free.

Xu An thought for a moment, then took out the tin box from his pocket.

That was taken from Teacher Zhao.

He opened the first letter, the one his mother had written to him.

There was a letter lying on top of it, the envelope of which was already worn and frayed.

The recipient field had three words written on it:

"Old Squad Leader".

The address is this mountain, this non-existent "cliff dwelling".

"uncle."

Xu An's hands were trembling slightly.

"You don't want the money."

"But this thing..."

You have to accept it.

"This is from Teacher Zhao Guodong, who asked me to bring it to you."

The old man was stunned.

Those sharp eyes were fixed on the envelope in Xu An's hand.

that moment.

The wind at the edge of the cliff seemed to have stopped.

The old man's one hand, covered in calluses, tremblingly reached out.

He accepted the letter.

It's as if they've inherited half a century of war and youth.

"Old Zhao..."

"That old bastard..."

"I still remember..."

The old man lowered his head and wiped his eyes hard with his sleeve.

"Get out!"

"Don't get in my way!"

"Remember to hold the soup bowl steady for me!"

"You spilled a drop, next time I'll take your wheels off!"

Xu An chuckled.

He didn't say anything more.

He carefully placed the steaming hot soup into the insulated box.

Then I got on the tricycle.

"uncle!"

"The streetlights will be on next year!"

"I'll replace your light bulb with a 1000-watt one!"

"So that everyone in the surrounding area can see it!"

"Rat-a-tat-tat—"

The tricycle started up again.

Xu An didn't dare to turn around.

But he knew about the lone lamp behind him, swaying in the morning mist.

It will stay lit.

Until the roads in these mountains became accessible.

"that……"

"Family members."

"I got the soup."

"It's a little hot."

"It's also a bit too hot."

"Let's go back."

"Let those brothers who built the houses taste the flavor of this hard-earned money."

Xu An set up his phone.

This time, his hands didn't tremble.

Although the road is still that treacherous road.

But he felt that the truck bed contained more than just breakfast.

And there is the strongest backbone in these mountains.

[ID breaks down in tears across the internet]: Xu An, I want to have a sip of this spicy soup too.

[ID: Life is Worth Living]: A small shop on the edge of a cliff, a canteen at the foot of the mountain, and an orchard where packages are delivered. This is what living is all about.

[ID Guardian]: Host, slow down. We're waiting for you to deliver the soup.

The fog gradually dissipated.

A bright red sun is struggling to climb over the other side of the mountain.

The road hanging on the cliff was illuminated and shimmered with golden light.

It's like a ladder to spring.