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

"Click."

Crisp and melodious.

If it weren't the sound of metal gears jamming in one's hair, it would be perfect.

Xu An sat on the rickety wooden chair, with a white cloth apron around his neck that this generation of young people had never seen before, and which was even a little stiff.

A single, glistening tear glistened in the corner of his eye.

It wasn't out of emotion, it was out of pain, real pain.

The feeling is like two ants pulling at your hair roots, trying to rip your scalp and skull off together.

"hiss--"

Xu An gasped, his voice trembling.

"Third...Third Master."

"Could we... apply some lubricant?"

"This is too astringent."

"It doesn't feel like a haircut, it feels like a tug-of-war."

Third Master, wearing reading glasses and squinting, held the "Shanghai 1972" pistol wrapped in duct tape tightly against Xu An's temple.

We can't get in.

We can't retreat.

Upon hearing Xu An's words, Third Master replied in a loud voice:

"What?"

"What did you say?"

"Does it need oil?"

"That's right, these clippers are just greasy!"

"The more juicy the head, the smoother it is to push!"

"Anzi, your hair is so dry. You should eat more lard!"

Xu An: ...

The 300,000 viewers in the live stream were laughing so hard they couldn't even take care of themselves.

[ID Scalp Glistening]: Hahahaha! What the hell do you mean by eating so much lard?! Is Third Master blaming you for not having enough scalp oil?

[ID Manual Hair Removal]: I can feel the pain even through the screen! This isn't a haircut, it's scalp traction!

【ID 1972】: I remember this clipper! When I was a kid, my dad would only use this thing to "torture" me if I made a big mistake!

"Just bear with it!"

"This old thing has a temper."

"We have to push it through in one go, we can't stop!"

Third Master seemed to have made up his mind. He took a deep breath, focused his energy in his dantian, and the veins on his right hand bulged.

He suddenly exerted force on Xu An's pitiful sideburns!

"Hey!"

"Sizzle—"

After a tooth-grinding scraping sound, Xu An felt half of his head go numb.

That out-of-body feeling made him instantly forget what social anxiety was and what live streaming was.

He just wanted to go home and find his mother.

"Why!"

"That's right!"

Third Master looked at the tuft of "trophy" in his hand and blew on the stray hairs on the clippers with satisfaction.

"look."

"That works."

"That's what you call... pressing on with one burst of energy!"

Xu An looked at himself in the mirror, whose head looked like it had been chewed by a dog, and gave a desperate smile.

"that……"

"Family members."

"What if I go bald one day?"

Please remember this.

"I dedicated myself to art."

"and……"

Xu An touched his burning scalp.

"I think Third Master is right."

"This clipper does have a bit of a temper."

"It's not just about haircuts."

"It also provides a wake-up service."

"I am now...so lucid that I can recite the last 100 digits of pi."

[ID burst out laughing]: This streamer is so good at dating, he'd really let anyone take his hair!

[ID Hairstylist]: As a fellow professional, I must say that Third Master's technique... belongs to the "hard push" style, relying entirely on hand strength!

It took a full half hour to figure it out.

During this period, it experienced countless glitches, pulls, and even physical "biting".

Xu An finally stood up from the torture chair.

At this moment, he had been completely transformed; his original slightly long, bookish hairstyle was gone.

Instead, there is an extremely rugged, extremely retro... buzz cut.

That is, the legendary "labor reform leader".

Even because Third Master's hand was shaking, the left side was slightly shorter than the right side by a couple of millimeters, making it look a bit... roguish.

Combined with Xu An's handsome face and his faded military overcoat.

A strange chemical reaction occurred, somewhat like... a literary youth who had just been released from prison but decided to turn over a new leaf.

"middle!"

"Spirit!"

Third Master untied the apron, took a sponge brush, and swept it hard across Xu An's neck several times.

"That's more like a man!"

"That long-haired girl just now looked like a young lady."

"How much?"

Xu An took out his phone, and Third Master glared at him.

"Are you trying to embarrass me?"

"People who do errands for the village have to pay for haircuts?"

"Get out! Get out! Get out!"

"Get to the construction site right away!"

"Don't miss lunch!"

Xu An was kicked out of the door by Third Master, and stood in the cold winter wind with his new, steaming hairstyle.

Although my scalp felt a little cold, my heart was truly warm.

"Family members."

"That's the rule in Xujia Village."

"Craftsmanship is worthless."

"Friendship is valuable."

Xu An touched his prickly short hair and grinned at the camera.

That kind of honest and simple look, combined with this hairstyle, makes it even more irresistible.

【ID This is Henan】: I'm moved to tears. Although the hairstyle is ugly, Third Master really loves his child.

[ID New Hairstyle]: I must say, it's actually quite handsome! He has a kind of wildly handsome vibe!

[ID Buzz Cut]: This hairstyle is a true test of looks, how did the streamer manage to pull it off?

When I got back to the construction site, it was already past 10 a.m.

As soon as Xu An appeared, his second uncle, Xu Qiang, who was directing the hoisting of steel beams, immediately noticed his large forehead that gleamed in the sunlight.

"puff--"

Xu Qiang sprayed the tea he had just drunk all over Li Daguo.

"Cough cough cough!"

"Anzi!"

"You..."

"Were you just released from inside?"

"Do you want your second uncle to buy you a brazier to step over?"

Xu Qiang laughed so hard he could barely stand up straight, and he could barely hold the walkie-talkie in his hand.

The workers nearby couldn't help but laugh.

The once tense and busy construction site was now filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Xu An walked over expressionlessly and shoved the Huawei phone, which was still live-streaming, directly into Xu Qiang's face.

"Second Uncle."

Watch your words.

"Hundreds of thousands of people across the internet are watching."

"Your smile."

"The aloof persona of the general manager of Huixian Construction has been shattered."

Xu Qiang immediately shut up, cleared his throat, and straightened his leather jacket.

"cough!"

"actually……"

"That hairstyle looks pretty neat."

That's how engineers do it!

"Long hair is prone to getting caught in the blender!"

"Anzi is...very safety-conscious!"

Li Daguo silently wiped the tea off his clothes, rolling his eyes.

These two, uncle and nephew, are both incredibly good at talking nonsense.

By this time, the canteen had already taken shape, thanks to the "money power" of the second uncle and the "Huixian speed" of Li Daguo.

The main steel structure has been completed, and the insulation panels for the exterior walls are being laid.

Those professional workers transferred from the county were indeed efficient.

But what moved Xu An the most was not these things.

Instead, the people "busy" on the edge of the construction site were the village's elderly.

The elderly men and women in their seventies and eighties can't do heavy work, and no one dares to let them do heavy work.

But they couldn't stay idle. Some of them took tattered snakeskin bags and picked up broken bricks and scraps from the ground, saying they could be used to line the pigsty.

Some people carried brooms and followed behind the workers, sweeping away the dust.

Others, like Aunt Wu, were leading the women's team, picking vegetables and washing dishes by the makeshift stove.

Although that "elderly boy band" no longer raps, their mouths are still going strong.

"Wow, a great nation! This wall needs to be thicker! It's windy here in the mountains!"

"Young man! Want some water? It's freshly boiled!"

"Hey, slow down! That steel pipe looks heavy!"

That noise, that triviality, gave the cold steel and concrete a living warmth.

Xu An pointed the camera at them; there was no background music, no narration, only the most authentic footage.

An elderly hunchbacked man shakily handed a roasted sweet potato to a young man who was welding steel bars.

The young man took off his mask, revealing a face with distinct black and white features. He smiled, took the mask, and took a big bite.

At that moment, the comments in the live stream slowed down.

[ID: I miss home]: That old man looks like my grandpa... He was like that too, always worried that I would go hungry.

[ID: Human Fireworks]: This is why we built this cafeteria. It's not about charity, but about making them feel that this is still home, and that they are still useful here.

[ID Tears Up]: Host, don't talk, just keep filming like this, I could watch it all day.

Just then, my second uncle, Xu Qiang, walked over.

He looked at the busy old people with a complicated expression, not even noticing that the cigarette in his hand had burned down to the filter.

"Anzi".

"you say……"

Was I wrong?

Xu An was taken aback and turned to look at this usually tough man.

"What's wrong?"

Xu Qiang spat out the cigarette butt and crushed it out with his toe.

"I used to think..."

"Just give me the money."

"Send money to Grandpa, send money to the village."

"I think as long as I have money, life will be easier."

"But today..."

Xu Qiang pointed to the limping old man who was helping the workers hold up the ladder.

"Look at Uncle Liu."

"That leg is like that."

"He was laughing even more happily than during the Lunar New Year."

"Just because that worker called him 'Master' and asked him to check the cable."

"They don't lack money."

"It is to be needed by others."

Xu An fell silent. He touched his freshly shaved head, a masterpiece created by Third Master to prove that he was still "useful".

It hurt, but it was worth it.

"Second Uncle."

"It's not too late to understand now."

"The cafeteria has been built."

"It's not just about feeding them."

"We still need to let them take charge."

"Third Master is in charge of discipline, Fifth Aunt is in charge of logistics, and Second Master... is in charge of the wine cellar?"

Xu Qiang chuckled.

"Give me a break!"

"Let your second uncle manage the wine cellar?"

"That's putting mice into the rice jar!"

"but……"

Xu Qiang stroked his chin, his eyes becoming serious.

"you're right."

"We need to find them something to do."

"This cafeteria..."

"It hasn't been named yet, has it?"

Xu An shook his head.

"No."

"The blueprints written on Dean Li's map are titled 'Xujiacun Mutual Aid Elderly Care Center'."

"Too bureaucratic."

Xu Qiang slapped his thigh.

"That's perfect!"

"This job..."

"Leave it to them!"

After speaking, Xu Qiang picked up the megaphone and cleared his throat.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

"Stop right there!"

"Stop what you're doing!"

The construction site fell silent instantly.

All eyes were on the man in the leather jacket with messy hair.

Xu Qiang stood on high ground, full of vigor and ambition.

"that……"

"Our cafeteria is almost finished."

"But it's still missing a name!"

"I discussed it with Anzi."

"We can't decide this name."

"It depends on everyone's decision!"

"Who came up with such a nice-sounding and catchy name!"

"award……"

Xu Qiang paused, wanting to say that he would give a reward of 10,000 yuan, but then he glanced at Xu An.

He glanced again at the elderly people staring at him expectantly, and suddenly changed his mind.

"Reward him..."

"The first person to manage this cafeteria..."

"Honorary Curator!"

"From now on, he'll have the final say on everything, big or small, in the cafeteria!"

"and!"

"My carload of walnut milk."

"He can drink whatever he wants!"

The entire room fell silent for a second.

Then a discussion erupted, even louder than the one about the blender.

"Curator? What kind of official is that? Is he even higher than the village chief?"

"Walnut milk is free to drink? That's great! My grandson loves it!"

"Naming a child? I can do that! I used to take literacy classes!"

"How about calling it 'Red Flag Canteen'?"

"How corny! So corny! Call it 'Sunset Glow'!"

"Pah! You're the one in the twilight of youth! I'm still young! My name is 'Tiger Descending the Mountain'!"

A group of elderly men and women in their seventies and eighties.

They argued fiercely over a name; that kind of vitality, that kind of drive.

The three million viewers in the live stream were stunned.

【ID: Fierce Tiger Descending the Mountain】: Hahahaha! Fierce Tiger Descending the Mountain Cafeteria? Grandpa, are you trying to eat people?

[The IDs are so cute]: These old folks are hilarious! This is even more entertaining than watching a variety show!

[ID All Participation]: Uncle's move was brilliant! Now the whole village is the client!

Xu An watched this scene unfold.

Watching Grandpa in the crowd, waving his pipe and loudly refuting Second Uncle's "Drunken Immortal Pavilion" proposal.

He raised his phone and captured the moment on camera.

"Family members."

"This is Xujia Village."

"This is..."

"The vibrant, everyday life we ​​must protect."

Just as everyone was arguing fiercely...

A weak voice came from the outermost part of the crowd.

"that……"

"or……"

How about calling it "White Rabbit"?

The voice was very soft, even a little timid.

But Xu An's ears suddenly perked up.

Because that voice... belonged to Granny Hua, who always sat in a wheelchair at the village entrance and was said to have been blind for decades.

At that moment, Xu An recalled the letter his mother had written to him the night before.

It read: "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."

White Rabbit?

Coincidence?

Xu An's gaze passed through the crowd and landed on Granny Hua's eyes, which, though grayish-white, still seemed clear.

She was holding a patched, dirty... rabbit doll in her arms.