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

Late at night.

It was so profound that even the wind in the Taihang Mountains forgot to breathe.

Xu An sat on the threshold.

The leather jacket that my second uncle had casually tossed aside was placed under my bottom.

It's really expensive; the leather is as soft as the belly of my fifth aunt's Persian cat.

But he couldn't care less about the clothes right now.

He held the letter in his hand, but ultimately did not live to see tomorrow.

The glue on the envelope had dried, and it opened easily with a gentle pry.

There are no lengthy articles in it.

There were no grand pronouncements like those in TV dramas, such as "for the country" or "for the greater good."

There was only one sheet of paper torn from a workbook.

The edges are also jagged.

The words were written with a ballpoint pen, and some even bleed through to the back of the paper.

"An Wazi:"

"By the time you read this letter, you should be a grown man, right?"

"Do you still cry easily?"

"If you keep crying, I'll have your second uncle buy you candy; he owes you one."

"Mom is going to a very far place where children can't even afford to go to school. Mom is heartbroken."

"After Mom passed away, the thing she couldn't let go of the most was you."

"Your dad and I have discussed it, and if we can't come back, we won't let your grandpa tell you the truth."

"We're afraid you'll hate us, that you'll feel like we don't want you anymore."

"Actually, what Mom wanted to say was..."

"Mom never thought of abandoning you."

"We buried a jar under the osmanthus tree at the back of the yard."

"It's full of White Rabbit milk candies that Mom saved up for you."

"If life gets tough, if you miss your mom."

"Go dig it out and eat one."

"Live sweetly, live with a smile."

"—Love, Mom, for the crybaby."

It only has a few lines of text.

Xu An watched it over and over again, more than a dozen times.

Until every word blurred on my retina, turning into a blurry mass of light and shadow.

He didn't burst into tears; he had already used up all that heart-wrenching energy when he saw his second uncle earlier.

Right now, he felt as if someone had stuffed a piece of freshly cooked tofu into his heart.

It was warm, soft, and a little hot, so hot it made your heart tremble.

So this is what it feels like to be loved. Not like a discarded weed, but like sugar hidden under an osmanthus tree.

Xu An sniffed, carefully folded the letter along the original crease, and put it back in the envelope.

He put the envelope back into the tin box, then hugged it to his chest, resting his chin on the cool lid.

I looked up at the sky, and there were so many stars tonight.

I don't know which two were transformed from that irresponsible couple.

"that……"

Xu An muttered something under his breath.

"I don't cry anymore."

"real."

"And I have over three million people spoiling me."

"Sweeter than White Rabbit Creamy Candy."

A gentle breeze blew by, like a hand softly stroking the top of his head.

……

Xu An slept more soundly than ever before.

My dreams are filled with osmanthus-flavored milk candy, and my second uncle driving a tractor, taking me racing through the clouds.

Early the next morning.

What woke Xu An was not an alarm clock, nor a dream, but a snoring sound louder than thunder.

"Whoosh—hah—!!!"

"Whoosh—hah—!!!"

The sound was extremely penetrating and rhythmic.

It even created a duet with the mixer that was preheating in the threshing ground.

Xu An rubbed his sleepy eyes, put on his military overcoat, and pushed open the door.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the entire construction site was shrouded in a milky white fairyland.

Xu An took out his phone and casually started a live stream. As soon as he started the stream, before he even had a chance to speak, more than 100,000 people flooded into the live stream room.

Now, even if he were to livestream himself brushing his teeth, people would probably watch.

[ID Early to Bed, Early to Rise]: First! Good morning, host!

[ID Dark Circles]: Did my second uncle get beaten up last night? I was worried all night!

[ID Voice Control]: Holy crap! What's that background noise? Did a wild boar from the Taihang Mountains come down from the mountain?

Xu An made a "shh" gesture towards the camera.

"Shh-"

"Family members, keep your voices down."

"I'll take you to see a wonder of the world."

Xu An tiptoed toward the air-raid shelter on the back mountain. That was the "security post" that his grandfather had chosen yesterday, and it was also where the hundreds of thousands of yuan worth of building materials were stored.

Before we even reached the cave entrance, the thunderous snoring was already making our eardrums itch.

Xu An slowly peered through the lens and saw a pile of top-grade Class A fireproof rock wool boards that had just been unloaded.

Lying there was a huge black figure, Uncle Xu Qiang.

The wealthy general manager of Huixian Construction is currently lying sprawled out on a rock wool board.

He was covered by that leather jacket worth hundreds of thousands of yuan, and his grandfather's tattered military overcoat was underneath him.

He slept so soundly and arrogantly.

Saliva dripped down the corner of his mouth, soaking a section of the rock wool board.

The most outrageous thing was that he was still tightly clutching a piece of rebar in his hand, as if he were holding a sacred sword.

Even in his sleep, his brows were furrowed, and he had a fierce look on his face that said, "Who dares to touch my things?"

[ID burst out laughing]: Hahahaha! This is a multi-millionaire boss?

[ID Rock Wool Board]: This bed...it must be a bit prickly, right? My second uncle is a ruthless guy!

[The most expensive security guard on the entire internet]: Using rebar as a pillow, that's the ultimate sense of security!

Xu An couldn't help but laugh as he watched this scene.

This is my second uncle.

This is the man who commands respect outside the home, but willingly guards the gate for his father when he returns.

"that……"

Xu An cleared his throat and spoke softly to the camera.

Let me introduce it to you.

"This is the chief security officer of our Xujia Village canteen."

"Annual salary... well, it must be quite high."

"Deep sleep patrols are currently underway."

The voice just fell.

I don't know if it was because I heard the word "annual salary" or because I got pricked in the butt by the rock wool board.

The "giant beast" on the ground twitched suddenly, then tried to sprawl out like a carp... but failed.

He rolled over and sat up abruptly, opening his eyes groggily.

His first reaction wasn't to wipe his drool, but to suddenly raise the rebar in his hand and shout at the air:

"who!?"

"Who dares to steal my thermally broken aluminum alloy windows?!"

That shout, full of energy, startled a crow that had just flown over the cave ceiling so much that it almost crashed its plane.

Xu An was startled and almost threw his phone away.

"Second...Second Uncle."

"It's me, Anzi."

Xu Qiang looked closely and saw that it was Xu An, and then he saw the phone in his hand.

The "decisive and ruthless" general manager's eyes instantly cleared, followed by a visible panic.

He hurriedly wiped the drool off his face, quickly tidied his messy hair, and even tried to smooth out the wrinkles in his leather jacket.

"Ahem!"

"Um..."

"What about the live stream?"

Xu Qiang lowered his voice, his face serious.

"How long have you been driving?"

Xu An answered honestly:

"Just opened."

"There are only about 100,000 to 200,000 people watching."

"The part where you were snoring just now... the response was pretty good."

Xu Qiang's face instantly turned a deep liver color.

"Pinch it off!"

"This part has to be cut!"

"I was...thinking about the project's progress!"

"What snoring!"

"That's breathing!"

【ID Second Uncle, Stop Pretending】: Hahahaha! What kind of breathing technique is that?! Second Uncle, are you a cultivator too?

[ID Idol Image]: Second Uncle, stop messing up your hair, that messy bird's nest hairstyle is the real soul!

【ID I also want an uncle like this】: Although it's funny, why am I inexplicably a little touched?

Xu Qiang glared at the camera.

I wanted to lash out, but then I remembered that this was an account watched by three million people.

His future client might be among them.

So, this tough guy forced out a professional fake smile that looked even uglier than crying.

Good morning, everyone.

"Conditions on the construction site are harsh."

"To let the elderly eat earlier, I did this..."

"Leading by example."

"that……"

"Anzi, quickly take everyone to look around elsewhere."

"Second Uncle, I...I'm going to inspect the work!"

After saying that, Xu Qiang stuck the rebar in his hand into the ground.

With his hands behind his back, he strode towards the canteen construction site with an air of indifference.

Even with his back covered in rock wool debris, and even though he still walked a little unsteadily.

But he managed to perfectly capture that aura of a powerful figure.

Xu An suppressed a laugh, watching her second uncle's retreating figure, feeling a warm glow in her heart.

"Family members."

"See that?"

"This is the prestige of Xujia Village."

"As long as it's for this family."

"Even sleeping on bricks would smell good."

At this moment, the sun finally peeked over the mountaintop, its golden rays shining on the newly topped-out canteen and the bustling construction site.

Li Daguo has already started work with his workers.

The ear-piercing sound of the cutting machine, the flashing sparks of the welding machine, and the muffled roar of the mixer—this is the most beautiful symphony of a rural morning.

"Walk."

"Let's go get some breakfast."

"My fifth aunt said today."

"I'm going to make a long-lost, culinary 'dark cuisine' for the whole village."

"Let's go see if we can get out of here alive."

Xu An, holding his phone, walked briskly towards the village entrance.

After being touched by last night's letter, he felt that even the wind today was sweet, the scent of osmanthus sugar, and the scent of a new life.

Dewdrops, glistening and translucent, clung to the roadside weeds.

Xu An took a deep breath and gave the camera the most relaxed and natural smile he had shown in the past few days.

"actually."

"Walk out of that small courtyard."

"The outside world."

"That's quite interesting."

The live stream chat was instantly flooded with comments.

[ID Xu An laughed]: Holy crap! That laugh is so healing!

[Screenshot Party]: Screenshot taken! This is true youthful spirit!

[ID Expecting Dark Cuisine]: Aunt Wu's cooking? I have a bad feeling...

What Xu An didn't know was that the moment he turned around, his second uncle, Xu Qiang, stopped and looked back at the figure running in the sunlight.

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag. Amidst the swirling smoke, the tough man's eyes became slightly moist.

"Big brother."

"Did you see that?"

"That kid."

"I've grown up."

"The sky over Xujia Village."

"It's lit up."