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

The wind was still blowing; the winter wind in the Taihang Mountains felt like it was carrying blades, scraping my face painfully.

But at the construction site in Xujia Village, it was as hot as a freshly steamed bun.

My second uncle, Xu Qiang, is a ruthless man who keeps his word.

Less than two hours after the call was made, five Wuling Hongguang vans, like five crazed wild boars, roared and charged into the village entrance.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Fat Liu, the owner of the largest paint shop in Huixian, tumbled off.

"President Xu! President Xu!"

"Two hundred buckets of red paint! One hundred buckets of yellow paint! Five hundred sets of brushes and rollers!"

"I've brought you everything you wanted! Are you thinking of organizing that... rural graffiti art festival?"

Fat Liu wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking at the building materials scattered on the ground and the group of solemn-looking old men and women, feeling a little bewildered.

This scene doesn't look like an art performance; it looks more like a riot.

Xu Qiang draped his leather jacket over his shoulders, pointed to the six-meter-high gray wall, and spoke in a calm tone like a godfather.

"I don't do art."

"Develop infrastructure."

My nephew wants to build a house on the wall.

Fat Liu was even more bewildered: "Build a building? With paint?"

Xu Qiang ignored him and turned to look at Xu An, who was squatting on the ground, writing and drawing with a twig.

"Anzi".

"The paint is on."

"Dean Li has even set up the scaffolding for you."

"I think this wall is a bit too big, how about... we find an art teacher to do a basic design for you?"

Although Xu Qiang spoke arrogantly, he was actually a little nervous inside.

After all, painting is not like laying bricks; it's delicate work.

Xu An threw down the branch in his hand, stood up, and patted the dirt off his hands.

He looked at the huge wall and swallowed hard.

are you afraid?

afraid.

Hundreds of eyes were fixed on it, and there were also four or five hundred thousand people watching in the live stream.

If the painting is ruined, it will not only be embarrassing, but it will also shatter the dreams of Third Master and the others.

But some things, even if you're afraid, you still have to do them.

"Need not."

"Second Uncle, find me a longer ink line."

"Find another ruler; if you don't have a ruler, use an aluminum alloy square tube instead."

Xu An's voice wasn't loud and trembled slightly, but it sounded quite steady.

He pulled a crumpled piece of draft paper from his pocket; it was a sketch he had drawn from memory while squatting on the ground.

Although it's just lines drawn with a pencil, the perspective is frighteningly accurate.

The upturned eaves, the proportions of the city gate tower, and even the curvature of the Jinshui Bridge are all clearly marked.

Li Daguo was an expert; he leaned over for a look, and his glasses almost fell to the ground.

"Holy crap?"

"Anzi, you can also do civil engineering drafting?"

"This scale... are you a professional?"

Xu An shrank his neck and scratched his freshly cut buzz cut sheepishly.

"That... I learned it in college."

"I studied landscape design."

"Sketching, drawing, color... all have been edited."

The chat room was instantly flooded with comments.

[ID No Brains]: Holy crap! Landscape design? Isn't that the legendary bald-headed major?

[ID Not Happy]: So the streamer is a professionally trained broadcaster! My apologies!

[ID: Tears of a Slacker]: No wonder he has such a unique temperament, it turns out it's the power of knowledge!

Xu An looked at the comments and gave a wry smile.

He picked up the aluminum alloy square tube that Li Daguo handed him, weighed it in his hand, and sighed at the camera.

"Family members, stop making wild guesses."

"Actually... it's not that miraculous."

"I am... socially anxious."

"During my four years of university, I spent all my time in the library except for attending classes."

"Because there are few people there, as long as I don't make a sound, no one will talk to me."

"Other classmates are dating, going to internet cafes, and joining clubs."

"I'll just read a book."

"I've practically worn out all the design books in the library."

"I signed up for a sketching class so I wouldn't have to attend the class reunion."

"To avoid the welcome party, I took the CAD drafting exam."

"I even taught myself ergonomics just to avoid the crowds at the cafeteria and figure out the time when the resistance would be the least when I went to the cafeteria."

Xu An spoke very sincerely, and even sounded a little aggrieved.

It was as if those four years of academic excellence were not a source of pride for him, but rather a painful "history of hiding."

The entire room fell silent.

Uncle Xu Qiang opened his mouth wide, and the cigarette ash in his hand fell onto his leather boots.

Li Daguo pushed up his glasses, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Is this Versailles?

This guy must be the founder of Versailles!

The live stream chat exploded.

[ID Social Anxiety Light]: Hahahaha! You turned yourself into an all-around academic genius just to avoid people?

[Give me this pain of having an ID]: I also have social anxiety, but all I do is hide in my dorm and play games! Is this the difference between me and the pros?

【Is this the world of academic geniuses?】: Stop talking, streamer, you're trading social skills for skill points! This is a huge win!

[ID: Feeling sorry for her but also amused]: Looking at the streamer's aggrieved expression, I actually felt like crying... How scary must she be!

Xu An stopped looking at the comments.

He took a deep breath, and his eyes changed.

That naive folly has vanished, replaced by a focused concentration.

That was his focused concentration, isolated from the world, when he was in a corner of the library, facing thick books.

"Start the line!"

Xu An called out.

Second Uncle and Li Daguo unconsciously became his assistants, each holding one end of the ink line.

"Snapped!"

The ink line left a straight black mark on the gray wall.

That's the horizon.

Followed by.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

A grid of crisscrossing lines began to spread across the wall.

This is the most traditional "nine-square grid magnification method".

Without a projector or any high technology, they used only these individual lines to meticulously replicate that small draft onto this giant wall.

Xu An climbed up the scaffolding.

He was holding a thickened carbon pen, which his second uncle had specially found for him.

The cold wind made the scaffolding sway a little.

The third uncle, the second uncle, the fifth aunt, and all the elderly people in the village craned their necks, not daring to breathe.

He was afraid that if he took a breath, he would blow Xu An down from above.

Xu An didn't read any further.

All he could see was this wall.

The first stroke.

It landed right in the center of the wall.

That's the roof ridge of Tiananmen Gate.

Then, the lines began to flow.

Xu An painted very quickly, without any hesitation.

Those lines seemed to have been etched into his mind long ago.

Every picture he had seen in the library and every piece of paper he had drawn in the past four years had now become muscle memory.

Who says social anxiety is all bad?

Because he was afraid of noise, he knew better than anyone how to live with silence.

How to construct the grandest architecture in this silent world.

"These lines... are too stable."

Li Daguo watched from below, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"This doesn't look like painting at all, it looks like printing."

"This kid's spatial awareness is amazing."

Uncle Xu Qiang straightened his back ramrod straight as he listened to Li Daguo's praise.

He was even more proud than when he himself negotiated projects worth tens of millions.

He took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed one to Fatty Liu next to him.

"See that?"

That's my nephew.

"Darling."

"I spent four years in the library without finding a partner just to draw this stuff!"

"This is what they call... virginity training!"

Fat Liu took the cigarette, his hand trembling slightly: "Mr. Xu, 'virginity training'... I don't think that's how it's used, is it?"

An hour has passed.

Two hours have passed.

As the sun began to set, the shadows of the Taihang Mountains stretched long, covering half the village.

But then the wall lit up.

Although it hasn't been colored yet.

But those black lines have already outlined a majestic silhouette.

Double-eaved hip roof, carved beams and painted rafters, the outline of red walls and yellow tiles, the railings of the Golden Water Bridge...

Every detail is perfectly fitted.

Even the position of the badge hanging on the city gate tower was accurate to the millimeter.

When Xu An finished the last stroke and jumped down from the scaffolding.

His legs were a little weak, and his hands were red from the cold.

But he had just turned around.

Then I saw Third Master taking off his reading glasses and desperately wiping away his tears with the dirty corner of his clothes.

Uncle Erda, leaning on his cane, shakily raised his right hand towards the outline that was still just a line on the wall.

He gave a military salute that wasn't perfect, but was absolutely solemn.

"picture……"

"So similar..."

Grandma Flower can't see it.

She could only tug at her fifth aunt's sleeve and ask again and again:

"Is it finished?"

"Is it the door with the White Rabbit candy?"

"Isn't it impressive?"

Aunt Wu choked up as she patted Grandma Hua's hand.

"style!"

"Aunt Hua, that's so impressive!"

"It's even bigger than it looks on TV!"

"It's right in front of our house!"

There were 600,000 online viewers in the live stream.

There were very few comments.

The earlier jokes and banter were gone.

[ID Tears Up]: I used to think that social anxiety was a flaw. But today, I think it was a window that God opened for Xu An.

[ID Art Student]: This level of basic skill is impossible without the accumulation of tens of thousands of sketches. He spent four years in solitude to achieve today's amazing results.

[ID This is Live Stream]: No script, no competition, just lines that depict the lifelong dreams of these elderly people.

[ID Beijing Netizen]: I'm in Beijing, I'm at Tiananmen Square. I cried.

Xu An took the thermos cup handed to him by his second uncle and took a sip of hot water.

The heat made my eyes a little sore.

He looked at the excited old people, and at the wall that, though still black and white, had already come to life.

Suddenly I realized...

Those four years in the library, those lonely times of eating alone, walking alone, and drawing alone.

It doesn't seem so hard to get through anymore.

even.

It's a little sweet.

It's as sweet as osmanthus sugar.

"that……"

Xu An faced the camera, his voice a little hoarse, but with a smile.

"Family members."

"The lines are finished."

"tomorrow."

"Let's add color."

"I want to capture the reddest color in the Taihang Mountains."

"Apply it all on."

"Let Third Master and the others..."

"You can see your dreams without closing your eyes."

Just then.

Uncle Xu Qiang suddenly threw down his cigarette butt and strode to the base of the wall.

Pick up a bucket of unopened red paint.

"Why wait until tomorrow!"

"Let's do it now!"

"It's not completely dark yet!"

"Anzi! You're in charge!"

"Me, Dean Li, and these brothers!"

"I'll be your helper!"

"tonight!"

"Let's take this red flag..."

"Raise it!"

With that shout from my second uncle.

The entire construction site erupted in excitement once again.

The excavator's headlights were turned on, illuminating the wall as bright as day.

Dozens of men wearing hard hats, sleeves rolled up, carrying paint buckets, looked like a group of charging soldiers.

They launched a final assault on that wall.

Xu An stood under the lamplight.

Looking at this scene.

His shadow was stretched very long.

It's like connecting that lonely boy from the past with the pride of Xujia Village who is now watched by millions of people.