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

The wind stopped at the top of the old locust tree at the village entrance, as if it were entangled by something and dared not blow downwards.

Xu An pushed the cart, and when he was still dozens of meters away from the old locust tree, he slowed down.

A person was squatting under the tree.

That's Uncle Fool.

The cotton-padded jacket he was wearing had all the cotton stuck together into hard lumps and was shiny with oil.

Her hair looked like a tangled mess of weeds, with even a few dry straws mixed in.

He squatted on the large blue stone under the tree roots, holding a wooden stick that had been polished to a shine in his arms.

It remained motionless, like a clay bodhisattva that no one worshipped.

"Family members."

Xu An kept his voice very low, afraid of disturbing the deathly silence.

"This is the last one."

Everyone calls him Uncle Fool.

"I heard from the village elders that he had a high fever thirty years ago, and he woke up like this."

"Silent and unrecognizable."

"I come here to squat every day at the crack of dawn and don't go home until it's completely dark."

The number of viewers in the live stream was still fluctuating around 1.2 million.

The afterglow of Uncle Ya's song "Horse Racing" hadn't worn off yet, and everyone was still on edge.

[ID Psychologist]: Is this post-traumatic stress disorder?

[ID Detail Freak]: What is he holding in his arms? A fire poker?

[ID Village Entrance Informant]: When I was a child, there were also such village guardians in my village. The elders said they were there to protect the whole village from disasters.

Xu An swallowed.

His social anxiety radar started alarming again.

Facing Uncle Black, you're afraid of being beaten; facing Uncle Mute, you're afraid of being chased by geese.

Facing Uncle Fool... is an unknown fear.

Because you never know what this person, immersed in their own world, will do next.

Xu An steeled himself and walked over. Only when he got closer could he see Uncle Foolish's face clearly.

The face was dirty, dark and grimy, but the eyes were frighteningly bright.

He stared intently at the winding road leading into the mountains at the village entrance.

He didn't blink an eye, and even when Xu An shoved the camera right in his face, he didn't react at all.

It was as if Xu An was air, transparent.

"Uncle?"

Xu An called out tentatively, but there was no response.

"Uncle Fool?"

There was still no response. Xu An was a little embarrassed and gave a wry smile to the camera.

"It seems... communication is a bit difficult."

"Let's just take a quiet picture."

Xu An raised his camera, just about to find the right angle.

Suddenly, Uncle Fool moved. He stood up abruptly, his movements as swift as a startled rabbit.

But instead of running, he suddenly hoisted the wooden stick he was carrying onto his shoulder.

That is……

Xu An was stunned, and so were the millions of viewers in the live stream.

The wooden stick was thick at one end and thin at the other, which he held with both hands.

With the butt of the rifle against the shoulder and the muzzle pointing downwards, this is a standard... guard duty stance!

Even though it was just a piece of rotten wood, and even though he was dressed like a beggar.

But in that instant, his originally hunched back straightened up perfectly.

It was like a javelin, stuck at the entrance of Xujia Village.

"this……"

Xu An's hand trembled slightly.

He suddenly remembered a gossip his second uncle had said.

It's said that before Uncle Silly got a fever, he seemed to want to join the army the most.

He even passed the physical examination, but the night before he left, he developed a high fever that damaged his brain.

He failed to become a soldier and ended up mentally unstable.

"I remember now."

Xu An spoke to the camera, his voice a little hoarse.

"My second uncle once said that his biggest regret in life was never wearing that military uniform."

He wasn't waiting for someone.

"He was...on guard duty."

The live stream chat exploded instantly.

[ID Veteran]: That posture! I'm from the reconnaissance company! This is the standard sentry posture!

[ID tearful]: Thirty years? He's been standing here for thirty years?

[ID: Ask if you don't understand]: If you're stupid, why do you still remember this?

【ID Military Soul】: Because some things are etched into our bones. Even if your brain is damaged, your bones may not be!

The wind picked up again, making Uncle Fool's messy hair dance wildly in the wind.

But he didn't move an inch, his eyes still fixed on the road.

It felt as if at any moment, a massive army would charge towards the end of that road.

Or perhaps he's waiting for the person who will relieve him of his shift.

However, no one came; the villagers were busy building the canteen and preparing for the New Year.

No one remembers that there was a "sentinel" at the entrance of the village.

He stood there, from sunrise to sunset, from black hair to white hair.

As Xu An looked at the medals, his eyes suddenly reddened. He remembered his second uncle's many medals.

I remembered what Third Master said: "I want to go to Tiananmen Square."

Why are all the men in Xujia Village so stubborn? It's heartbreaking how stubborn they are.

"Uncle."

Xu An walked over and stood in front of Uncle Fool.

Uncle Fool's eyes finally twitched. He looked at Xu An warily, letting out a muffled whimper.

He gripped the wooden stick tighter, as if he wanted to pierce through Xu An, the "intruder."

Xu An was so frightened that he took half a step back. His social anxiety instincts made him want to run away, but looking into those stubborn eyes, he gritted his teeth.

He hung the camera around his neck.

then.

Stand tall with your chest out.

look up.

stand at attention.

Although his movements weren't very precise, he tried his best to look serious.

"that……"

Xu An cleared his throat and shouted in a voice as loud as he could ever have used before:

"Comrade!"

"I'm here to take over the post!"

"You can... rejoin the team now!"

The air was silent for two seconds, and the viewers in the live stream held their breath.

Uncle Fool was stunned, his cloudy eyes darting around.

It seems like they are processing the meaning of that sentence.

Taking over the post?

Returning to the team?

These two words were like two keys that unlocked the rusty lock on his heart that had been closed for thirty years.

His lips trembled as he slowly lowered the wooden stick.

He looked at Xu An, then at the road.

Suddenly, he grinned and smiled—a smile even purer than a child's.

He had no teeth, and his gums were dark purple, but he was smiling so happily.

As if a heavy burden had been lifted, he solemnly handed the wooden stick in his hand to Xu An.

The stick still carried his body heat and was greasy.

Xu An did not find it offensive.

He took the "gun" with both hands, as if he were performing a solemn handover ceremony.

Uncle Fool breathed a sigh of relief and took a step back.

He straightened the tattered cotton-padded coat and, although the buttons on the collar were missing, he still made a gesture of fastening them.

Then slowly and firmly raise your right hand.

He saluted Xu An.

At that moment, the sun was setting, and the last rays of its rays fell on his face, giving his dirty face a golden edge.

"Click."

Xu An held the camera up with one hand and pressed the shutter.

The image freezes.

Under the old locust tree.

An elderly man in tattered clothes salutes the camera.

His eyes were no longer lost; they held the glory of a warrior.

……

After taking this photo, Uncle Fool left.

He didn't go back to that dilapidated shack, but instead strode towards the village, limping along.

He was humming an unknown tune.

Xu An stood in the wind at the village entrance, clutching the wooden stick, and remained motionless for a long time.

In the live stream, the screen was filled with salutes; no one posted a smiley face, and no one called him an idiot.

"Family members."

Xu An sniffed and carefully placed the wooden stick on the large blue stone.

"The name of this photo."

"Let's call it..."

"Thirty Years of Sentinel".

……

The next few days.

Xu An was like a spinning top.

During the day, he works as a laborer on the construction site, handing out bricks and mixing cement. He also occasionally takes a stroll around the village to take photos.

Fifth Aunt, Second Uncle, and Xu An didn't miss a thing; everyone in the village was photographed.

I would hide in my room at night to edit photos.

I'm developing all the photos I took over these three days, one by one.

It was placed in a solid wood photo frame that my second uncle had specially bought from the county.

The construction site in Xujia Village has achieved even greater success.

Huixian Construction Group pulled out all the stops.

The project was originally planned to take seven days, but these men managed to complete it in just five.

The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.

New Year's Eve.

That day, just as dawn was breaking, the village loudspeaker blared.

It wasn't Uncle Erda's Qinqiang opera, nor was it the village chief's mobilization order.

Instead, it is a festive "Spring Festival Overture".

Xu An pushed open the door, and a gust of crisp, cold wind rushed in.

But the air was filled with the aroma of meat.

He looked up at the new building not far away.

The exterior walls were painted with blue and white stripes, making it look exactly like a giant White Rabbit candy.

A brand-new plaque hung at the entrance; it was neither made of wood nor bronze.

It was made by my second uncle using neon lights. Although it's daytime now and the lights aren't on, those five big characters are still so eye-catching that they make you want to cry.

【Xujia Village · White Rabbit Canteen】

"Anzi! Anzi!"

"Wake up!"

"Hurry up!"

"The photos are up!"

My second uncle's loud voice boomed outside the courtyard.

Xu An smiled and pulled a large box out from under the bed.

It contained dozens of picture frames.

Each picture frame holds a piece of time and the soul of Xujia Village.

"They're here!"

Xu An picked up the box and rushed out.

Nowadays.

It was the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month. This once empty and lifeless village was finally about to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

During what was supposed to be the most lively family reunion year, Xu An placed his phone, which was in the live-streaming room, at the entrance of the cafeteria.

It just started airing.

Its popularity instantly surpassed one million.

[ID waiting for the feast]: I'm number one! The cafeteria is finished? That's so fast! The infrastructure maniac lives up to its name!

[ID wants to see photos]: Host, come in quickly! I want to see that photo wall! I want to see Uncle Black's spoon!

[ID Cloud Villager]: Where are my green onions and potatoes? Are they already in the pot?