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

The wind stopped in mid-air.

The red scarf stopped fluttering.

Xu An felt as if his blood had been frozen by that bowl of spicy soup.

Even though the sun is blazing right now.

Xu Qiang?

In Henan, this name is as common as a sweet potato in the field.

If you throw a brick into the crowd, you can hit three guys named Xu Qiang.

Xu An's first reaction was—fraud.

These days, scammers are incredibly clever.

Just when Apple's sales were booming and it was gaining some fame, this "relative" came knocking on its door?

but……

A tin box.

The scammers know he just sold an Apple product and that he has three million followers.

But how could a swindler possibly know about the tin box that had been lying under Teacher Zhao's bed for decades?

How could they possibly know there was a letter inside?

unless……

He's watching, or perhaps he's always been there.

"Anzi? What's wrong?"

Seeing Xu An standing there like a telephone pole, Aunt Wu shoved a loudspeaker right next to his ear.

"Were they stunned by Fifth Aunt's damn charm?"

"Did you forget your lines again?"

"Hurry up! We need to start rehearsing!"

Xu An suddenly snapped back to reality.

I subconsciously switched to the background and stuffed the unfamiliar number deep into my pocket.

It's as if they're covering up some unspeakable secret.

"No...it's nothing."

"The signal was bad just now, it froze for a moment."

Xu An forced a smile, though it looked worse than crying.

But his current identity is "Xujia Village's No. 1 Live Streamer," so he can't afford to lose it.

"Fifth Aunt, you guys start practicing."

"I'll go get some water from the car."

"My throat is a little sore from shouting just now."

After saying that, Xu An turned around almost as if fleeing, his back view showing a hint of panic.

Aunt Wu glanced at it suspiciously, but was immediately overwhelmed by the upcoming performance and waved her hand dismissively.

"Never mind him!"

"My lords!"

"preparation!"

"rise!"

thump—

The pot lid in Third Grandma's hand slammed together violently.

It made a crisp sound that could shatter kidney stones.

Immediately afterwards, Uncle Er's erhu began to play.

The sound was as shrill as a pig being slaughtered, yet it insisted on playing the tune of "Heroes' Song".

"The great river flows eastward!"

"The stars in the sky are like the Big Dipper!"

Aunt Wu held up a megaphone, and her rap sounded like an argument.

The live stream chat exploded instantly.

The screen was filled with "hahahahaha" and "holy crap" flying around.

[The escaped director of ID Mental Hospital]: The way this erhu is played makes me feel like my great-grandmother is waving at me.

[ID Heavy Metal Fan]: This is what hardcore is! Real death metal!

【ID wants to go to Xujia Village】: Aunt Wu's flow, although it's off-key, is full of emotion!

[ID Micro-expression Expert]: Wait a minute, the streamer's expression just now was weird, like he saw a ghost.

Xu An didn't read the comments.

He hid behind that dilapidated tricycle, in a position that was exactly in the camera's blind spot.

The noise belonged to the live broadcast room and to Aunt Wu and the others, but at this moment, Xu An could only feel his heart pounding loudly.

With trembling hands, he lifted the military overcoat covering the truck bed, revealing the mottled tin box.

Sunlight shone on the rust, giving it a cold sheen, and Xu An swallowed hard.

My fingers traced across the yellowed envelopes.

One letter.

Two letters.

This is for the Heilongjiang Production and Construction Corps.

This is for "Jing'an District, Shanghai".

For the "crybaby".

Xu An's fingers stopped; at the very bottom of a stack of letters lay a manila envelope.

There was no stamp or address on it, only three characters written in pen, the ink so strong it seemed to penetrate the paper, though the ink had faded to almost nothing.

"My brother is strong."

boom--

Xu An felt as if something had exploded in his mind.

Yes, there really is a letter to Xu Qiang, and the handwriting is his father's.

Xu An recognized that the sharpness at the turn of the brushstrokes was exactly the same as the words on the back of the old photo album at home.

Second Uncle, the second uncle that Grandpa said "died out there early".

That second uncle, whom everyone in the village kept a deep secret.

He's not dead?

Is he still alive?

If you're still alive, why haven't you come back in the last twenty years?

Why did Grandpa say he was dead?

Why did he wait until today, until this metal box saw the light of day again, to send this text message?

Xu An's hands were trembling. He wanted to open the letter and take a look, but as soon as his fingers touched the seal, he pulled them back.

No, I dare not. That's a secret from our parents' generation, a story that's been buried for far too long.

Right now, he doesn't seem to have the courage to reopen that wound.

"Anzi!"

"Where's the water!"

"Your fifth aunt is almost out of breath from singing!"

Fifth Aunt's loud voice cut through the noise and landed precisely on the back of Xu An's head.

Xu An took a deep breath, patted his face hard, and pulled himself out of that suffocating emotion.

"Here it comes!"

"Coming right away!"

He closed the tin box again, and even put a brick on top of it, as if that would suppress those secrets.

Xu An returned to the camera carrying a case of bottled water, his face bearing that signature, goofy smile.

But there was a hint of panic in his eyes that he couldn't hide.

"Family members."

"I'm sorry for making this a laughing stock."

"This is the... um... rock and roll spirit of our Xujia Village."

"As long as there is music in your heart, even a pot lid can be a musical instrument."

While handing out water, Xu An made jokes to the camera, trying to cover up his earlier lapse in composure.

[ID Huixian Culture and Tourism]: @Xu An, this band is amazing! Next year's county Spring Festival Gala should reserve a spot for Aunt Wu as the grand finale!

[ID Manager]: I want to sign this band! They have so much potential!

[Attentive Netizen ID]: Host, where were you just now? Why are your eyes a little red?

Xu An didn't reply. He picked up his phone, and the screen of the text message from earlier was still in the background.

He hesitated.

Back?

Or not reply?

If I reply, it might create a huge whirlpool; if I don't reply, the letter in that tin box might never be delivered.

Xu An gritted his teeth and quickly typed a few words on the screen.

"Who are you? How can you prove it?"

send.

In that instant, Xu An felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body.

He was gambling, gambling that the person opposite him really was a relative who had disappeared twenty years ago, gambling that there was a reason behind it that could be accepted.

"bite--"

The reply came almost instantly. Xu An's heart skipped a beat, and his phone vibrated.

This time it's not text, but a picture.

The image is blurry and has low resolution, as if it was taken secretly in a dimly lit corner. The photo shows a tree.

A crooked jujube tree growing on the edge of a cliff has two deep marks carved into its trunk, one high and one low.

Next to the mark below, there are two crooked little characters engraved.

"Anzi".

Xu An's pupils contracted sharply.

That tree is right next to the "Ghost's Sorrow" on the back hill of Xujia Village.

That was his favorite place when he was a child, but it was also a place his grandfather strictly forbade him to go.

Those are... the height lines my father carved back then.

Below the photo, a line of text followed.

"You were three years old that year, and you peed all over me."

"I still owe you a rattle drum."

Xu An stared intently at the screen, tears streaming down her face without warning.

It smashed directly onto the screen of the "Huawei Extraordinary Master".

A water stain appeared; scammers can make up stories, scammers can check information.

But the conman couldn't concoct the "rattle drum" story that only he and his grandfather knew.

That was something his second uncle promised to buy for him before he left. Xu An was still young then, and he only remembered a tall man lifting him up above his head, his stubble scratching his face.

He said with a smile, "Anzi, when your second uncle comes back, I'll buy you the biggest rattle drum, so loud that everyone in the surrounding villages can hear it."

Twenty years passed in this wait. Instead of the rattle drum, all that came was an empty grave and my grandfather with graying temples.

"Family members..."

Xu An's voice choked up, thick with nasal tone, but he didn't turn off the live stream or avoid the camera.

Just then, Aunt Wu's loudspeaker went off again.

"The vast horizon is my love!"

"Flowers are blooming at the foot of the rolling green hills!"

The intense, excruciating joy and Xu An's current breakdown formed the most absurd contrast.

The viewers in the live stream were stunned.

[What's wrong with the ID?]: The streamer cried? Was it because Aunt Wu sang it that made her cry?

【ID: Is it really necessary?】: Although Aunt Wu's singing is indeed... a bit hard on the ears, it's not necessary to cry like this, is it?

[ID Psychological Analyst]: No, that's resentment. It's the kind of resentment you feel when you finally find something you've lost for a long time.

Xu An wiped his face and fiercely dried his tears with his sleeve.

It was made of rough hoodie fabric that chafed his face painfully, but he found it satisfying.

"fine."

"It was windy just now, and it got in my eyes."

"And also..."

"I think Aunt Wu sang so well."

"It reminds me of my childhood."

Xu An told a lie, a not-so-clever lie.

But he can't tell the truth now; this matter is too big and too heavy, and he has to bear it himself for a while.

Just then, a huge roar broke the noise of the threshing ground once again.

This time it wasn't a tricycle or a tractor.

Instead, it's the deep, rumbling roar of a heavy truck.

The ground was trembling slightly.

Aunt Wu's singing stopped.

Uncle Er's erhu has also fallen silent.

Everyone turned their heads and looked at the road at the entrance of the village.

Three red heavy-duty pump trucks, like three steel behemoths, slowly drove in.

Two cement trucks followed behind.

The vehicle is printed with a large line of characters: "Huixian Construction Group".

The car door opened, and a refined-looking man in a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses jumped out.

It looks completely out of place amidst the yellow earth covering the ground.

But once he opens his mouth, his Henan accent is quite strong.

"that……"

"Which one of you is Teacher Xu An?"

"I am the general manager of Huixian Construction."

"Dean Li said that the roof should be completed today."

"I've got this pump truck for you!"

"It's free!"

"Consider it a small gift for the elderly in our village!"

The entire room fell silent.

Only the idling sound of those pump trucks was rumbling as Xu An looked at those huge machines.

Looking at that extended conveyor arm, which was dozens of meters long.

That is true industrial power, the modern magic that can make skyscrapers rise overnight.

He suddenly realized that life had truly changed.

In the past, my second uncle had to leave his hometown to make a name for himself and earn a living for his family, but he ended up "dying" outside.

Now, the roads are open, and the internet is connected.

Even building a canteen required help from people all over the county.

If my second uncle could see this.

If he could come back...

Xu An gripped his phone tightly.

Looking at the refined manager, I glanced at the cafeteria that was already taking shape.

The fire in my heart suddenly burned even brighter.

Since you're hiding in the shadows and refusing to come out...

Since you're watching all of this.

Then I'll make this commotion even bigger, so big that you can't hide it anymore.

It's so big that you have to come back and see with your own eyes this land you've neglected for twenty years!

"I am Xu An!"

Xu An took a step forward, without needing Aunt Wu's loudspeaker.

His voice was even louder than the roar of the pump truck.

Thank you!

"Now that all the equipment has arrived..."

"Then let's..."

"Dry!"

"Try to finish before sunset."

"Give this to the cafeteria."

"Put on your hat!"

In the live stream, the socially awkward young man who was just wiping away tears was gone.

Instead.

Is he a village chief with a bright eye, skillful hands, and millions of netizens behind him?

No.

They are the masters of this land.

[ID: Blood Boiling Point]: This is real drama! One second I'm crying, the next I'm on fire!

[ID Infrastructure Maniac]: Pump trucks have arrived? Huixian is defying the heavens! At this speed, we can probably have dinner tomorrow, right?

【ID Second Uncle】: Good lad.

That last comment flashed by among tens of thousands of other comments.

It happened so fast that even Xu An didn't see it, but that ID was like a thorn, piercing into this turbulent world.

Xu An turned around and threw himself into the bustling construction work.

This time, however, he stood even straighter, because he knew that the "dead man" was watching him.

And that letter, perhaps, doesn't need to be sent, because the recipient is on their way home.

Or... it's already on its way.

"Buzz—"

Xu An's phone vibrated again, and he glanced down at it while directing the car to reverse.

It was the same number, but this time there were no photos, no sentimentality, just a location.

It is less than 50 kilometers away from Xujia Village.

Xu An's hand trembled, and he almost threw the Extraordinary Master into the cement mixer.

This is...

Is this for real?