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

"boom--"

The booms of the three heavy-duty pump trucks were fully extended, like three giant red steel dragons, simultaneously reaching towards the massive steel frame.

With Li Daguo's command.

The concrete, like a waterfall of gray mud, was precisely poured onto the rooftop formwork.

The ground was shaking.

The air was filled with the damp smell of cement and diesel.

The smell is unpleasant, even a bit pungent.

But to the people of Xujia Village, this was the smell of wealth and prosperity, the prelude to a good life.

Xu An stood at the edge of the threshing ground, behind the tricycle he had just used to dodge Aunt Wu's rap.

The phone was mounted on the handlebars, and the camera was pointed at the spectacular topping-out site.

The number of viewers in the live stream has exceeded 600,000.

Although it was afternoon, and there was no talent show.

But these hardcore industrial scenes are bound to attract attention.

[ID Civil Engineering Dog]: That pumping speed! That slump! Amazing! This concrete grade must be at least C30, right?

[ID Infrastructure Maniac]: Building a canteen for a village using a C30? That's too extravagant! This can withstand an 8-magnitude earthquake!

[ID Cloud Supervisor 007]: Huixian has really pulled out all the stops, it's so relaxing to watch!

Xu An stared at the comments section, his mind elsewhere.

I switch the background apps on my phone every now and then.

The green marker is moving on the map.

Like a tireless ant, it slowly inch its way along the winding Taihang Mountain road.

Distance: 42 km.

Xu An felt his throat was dry.

He subconsciously reached into his sleeve, a signature move he made when nervous.

"that……"

"Family members."

"Dean Li said that this is called C35 self-compacting concrete."

"They say it doesn't need much shaking; it will level itself."

"We don't understand, and we dare not ask."

"Anyway, Dean Li said that once the roof is built, it's fine even if we drive our village's tractor on it."

Xu An reluctantly picked up on the joke.

[ID Physics Ascension]: A tractor driving off the roof? Streamer, are you trying to fly?

[ID I Want to Laugh]: Dean Li: I never said that! That's a different price!

Sudden.

A dark green postal van squeezed its way into the threshing ground amidst a cloud of dust.

It looks like a toy compared to those huge cement mixer trucks and pump trucks.

But it drove extremely arrogantly.

It swerved left and right, finally stopping right next to Xu An's tricycle.

"squeak--"

The car door opened.

It was the same postal worker who helped pack the apples last time.

But this time he didn't smile; his expression was a bit strange.

He was holding a cardboard box in his hands.

The box wasn't big, about the size of a shoebox, but it was packed tightly, covered with yellow tape labeled "Fragile".

"Teacher Xu!"

The older brother shouted, but his voice was half drowned out by the roar of the pump truck.

"Your package!"

"Express delivery!"

Xu An was stunned for a moment.

"mine?"

"I didn't buy anything."

"And right now... who's going to send anything to this messy construction site?"

The older brother shoved the box into Xu An's arms.

"have no idea!"

"The sender is a weirdo."

"I didn't leave my name, just a phone number."

"The note said: 'It must be delivered before the roof is finished. If it's late, he'll complain that I filled in all the potholes on that road!'"

The older brother wiped his sweat, looking completely bewildered.

"These days, complaining even comes with the opportunity to help repair the road?"

"He's a ruthless person too."

Xu An, holding the box, suddenly trembled.

That familiar premonition surged through my spine like an electric current.

Road construction?

Filling the hole?

That tone is just like someone who said "I peed all over myself" in a text message.

The live stream camera happened to capture this scene.

[ID Holmes]: Just guessing, is it a gift from a fan?

[ID Unboxing Blogger]: Quick, open it! This packaging doesn't look like ordinary local specialties!

[ID Intuition]: I feel something's wrong; the streamer's hands are shaking again.

Xu An took a deep breath.

He placed the box on the seat of the tricycle.

The postman handed me a paper cutter.

"Shake it open and take a look?"

"I'm curious too, what could be in such a hurry?"

Xu An nodded.

The blade sliced ​​through the tape with a soft "sizzle".

The cardboard box was opened.

There was no shock-absorbing foam or newspaper inside.

It was stuffed with dried jujube thorns.

That's the most common thing in the Taihang Mountains, it's everywhere, and it's very prickly.

Xu An carefully parted the thorny, withered branches.

At the very bottom of the box.

Something was lying there.

Red.

The leather surface is somewhat blackened, as if it has been rubbed countless times.

Two mud balls tied with red string hung down on either side.

That was a... rattle drum.

Extremely old, there is even a crack on the drum surface, like a scar from the years.

But at the position of the drum handle.

It has two characters engraved on it.

The knife work was crooked and clumsy, and the knife skills were immature, yet it was incredibly accurate.

"Anzi".

boom--

The string in Xu An's mind snapped completely.

The surrounding area was filled with the roar of pump trucks, Li Daguo's commands, and Aunt Wu's rap.

In that instant, they all vanished.

The world was so quiet that only this touch of red remained.

That was twenty years ago.

Under the crooked tree at the entrance of the village.

The man with a full beard lifted three-year-old Xu An above his head.

"My second uncle is leaving."

"Go make a lot of money."

"When your second uncle comes back, I'll buy you the biggest rattle drum."

"When you shake it, it's as loud as setting off firecrackers during Chinese New Year!"

That promise.

It has been blown away by the wind for twenty years.

He was buried for twenty years by that standing cenotaph.

Nowadays.

It's back.

On this busiest and most lively day in Xujia Village.

It transcends time, it transcends life and death.

It was delivered to Xu An.

"Teacher Xu?"

Seeing Xu An lost in thought, the postman waved his hand in front of his eyes.

"Is this... an antique?"

"It doesn't look like one at all; it's just a broken rattle drum."

Xu An remained silent.

He reached out and grasped the drum handle with trembling hands.

It feels warm to the touch, with a slight coolness.

He gently rotated his wrist.

"Thump—"

Two mud balls collided with the drumhead.

The sound wasn't loud.

Dull, even somewhat hoarse.

It wasn't as loud as the man boasted, "like a cannon."

But this sound.

But it struck Xu An's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Thump—thump—thump—"

Xu An spun around faster and faster.

Tears could no longer be held back, and large drops fell onto the old drumhead.

Just then.

My phone received another new message.

Xu An didn't even need to look to know who it was.

He switched to the information page while crying and smiling.

It's still that number without a note.

It's just a short line of text.

"You think it's too quiet?"

"Then let's hear this."

next second.

On the winding mountain road behind Xujia Village.

Among those towering mountains.

Suddenly, an extremely long and domineering whistle rang out.

"drop------"

That's not the horn of an ordinary car.

That was the roar of a heavy truck, or some kind of larger beast, echoing through the valley.

The sound pierced through the clouds and split the rocks.

It even drowned out the roar of the three pump trucks.

The sound echoed throughout the entire Xujia Village.

For a long time.

All the workers stopped what they were doing.

Li Daguo stood on the roof, pushed up his glasses, and looked at the back mountain with a shocked expression.

Aunt Wu's megaphone fell to the ground.

Grandma San forgot to tap the pot lid in her hand.

Only Xu An.

He stood next to the tricycle.

He was shaking a not-so-loud rattle in his hand.

She cried like a three-year-old child.

In the live stream room.

Hundreds of thousands of netizens watched the young man weeping in the wind.

Looking at that old, worn-out rattle drum.

Listen to that roar coming from the depths of the mountains.

The defenses have been completely breached.

【ID I'm crying】: Although I don't know what happened, this sound... makes me homesick.

[ID Mind Reader]: There's a name on that drum. That's a promise. Someone has returned.

[ID Xu An]: Second Uncle, is that you?

Xu An looked at the screen.

Through blurry, tear-filled eyes.

He held the rattle drum up to the camera.

"that……"

"Family members."

"This is actually... not an antique."

"This is a package that's 20 years late."

"There's a big, untrustworthy liar."

He said he was going to buy a drum, but he was gone for twenty years.

"I got lost for quite a while."

"but……"

Xu An sniffed, and a bright smile that was so radiant it was heartbreaking bloomed on her face.

"Listen to this noise."

"He must have found the way."

"and."

"They even drove back in a big vehicle."

at this time.

On the winding mountain road 3.5 kilometers away from Xujia Village.

A black SUV with out-of-town license plates was parked on the side of the road.

The car window rolled down.

A hand holding a cigarette reached out and flicked off the ash.

The man sitting in the car already had gray hair at his temples.

That face, weathered by time, still faintly revealed the outlines of some family members.

He looked at the young man on his phone screen, who was crying his eyes out.

The corners of his mouth rose slightly.

He gave a somewhat roguish smile.

"You brat."

"You've grown taller."

"But she still cries so easily."

He put out his cigarette.

He spoke in a deep voice into a black walkie-talkie placed on the passenger seat.

"Attention all units"

"The topping-out ceremony has concluded."

"Ready to enter."

"Give it to this kid..."

"Give me a back brace."