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

If you eat too many dumplings, you're more likely to become confused.

The heating in the White Rabbit canteen was turned up too high, making what should have been a chilly New Year's Eve feel warm and cozy.

Third Master lay half-reclined on the massage chair that he both loved and hated, clutching the dumpling wrapper containing the coin in his hand, drooling in his sleep.

Comrade Xu Jianguo, the second uncle, maintained a standard sitting posture, staring at the Spring Festival Gala replay on TV, but his eyelids were already drooping, and his head was nodding little by little, as if he was conducting some kind of mysterious Morse code communication.

Only my second uncle, Xu Qiang, paced back and forth in the hall like an ant on a hot plate.

He held the limited edition Zippo lighter in his hand, striking it with a "click, click," the flame flickering.

"What kind of New Year's celebration is this?"

Uncle Er finally couldn't hold back any longer and plopped down on the stool next to Xu An, his face full of resentment.

"No firecrackers!"

"No movement!"

"What's the point of just eating dumplings?"

"Back in the day, your second uncle would stuff a detonator into a pile of cow dung just to hear a bang..."

Xu An was reading the comments when he heard this. He quickly coughed twice and moved the camera slightly to the side.

"Second Uncle, is it live streaming?"

"Um... can we not talk about the cow dung detonator incident?"

"Although the statute of limitations has expired, the impact is still negative."

In the live stream, the netizens who were initially feeling sleepy instantly perked up.

[ID: Outlaw]: ? ? ? Uncle is a ruthless guy!

[ID Cow Dung Victim]: Cow: What did I do wrong?

[ID Want to Hear the Sound]: Indeed, firecrackers are not allowed in the city now, so the New Year always feels a bit missing.

[ID Cyber ​​New Year]: Hey streamer, let's do one! Even popping balloons would be fine!

My second uncle sighed and slammed the lighter on the table.

"I have money."

"I had two boxes of Gatling gun fireworks in my car, I brought them all back."

"But when Da Guo left, he repeatedly warned us that the paint in our White Rabbit canteen was freshly applied and that it was flammable."

"Plus the mountain fire prevention order..."

"How frustrating!"

"This is so damn frustrating!"

Is this the suffering of the rich?

Looking at his second uncle's bewildered expression, Xu An couldn't help but chuckle.

He glanced at the clock on the wall.

11:50.

There are only ten minutes left until the first day of the Lunar New Year.

If we were to just quietly cross over like this, it would indeed be a bit unfair to all the men and women in this room, and also to the more than one million viewers who stayed up all night to watch the live stream.

"Second Uncle."

Xu An suddenly spoke, his eyes flashing with a mixture of "clear stupidity" and "great wisdom in a foolish manner".

"You want to hear a sound?"

My second uncle's eyes lit up: "You have a way? You have a secret plan?"

Xu An shook his head and pointed to the two professional-grade standing speakers that Li Daguo had acquired, which hadn't yet fully demonstrated their power, next to the television.

"No personal agenda."

"But this thing... it's powerful."

Uncle was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh, as if a light bulb had lit up on his bald head.

Holy crap!

"Anzi, you mean...?"

Xu An didn't say anything, but silently took out his phone from his pocket and connected to the cafeteria's Bluetooth.

Open the music app I usually use to listen to crosstalk.

Search keywords: [firecrackers], [fireworks], [a cacophony of firecrackers], [super bass version].

"Family members."

Xu An made a "shh" gesture towards the camera, with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Our Xujia Village has always abided by the law."

"If you don't allow us to set off fireworks, then we won't."

"but……"

"We can get into... some technology and some serious work."

Xu An walked up to the mixing console.

He couldn't understand most of the densely packed knobs on it.

But he recognized the most important knob – the Master Volume.

That's the switch that controls the soul.

Time passed by, second by second.

11:59.

Grandpa, who had been dozing off, seemed to sense something and suddenly opened his eyes.

Third Master was also woken up by a violent shaking of the massage chair.

Aunt Wu took off her glasses and wiped away non-existent eye boogers from the corner of her eye.

Everyone's eyes were instinctively drawn to the center of the hall.

My second uncle had already stood up.

Although he had no cigarettes or firecrackers in his hand, he held his Zippo lighter high, like an athlete waiting for the starting gun.

The live stream chat started flooded with comments.

[ID Countdown]: 59! 58!

[ID New Year's Eve]: It's coming! It's coming!

[ID Covering Ears]: Although it's a live stream on my phone, I have a bad feeling that something is wrong, so I've turned the volume down!

"ten!"

Xu An began the countdown.

"Nine!"

My second uncle started yelling too.

"eight!"

"seven!"

Uncle Black, Uncle Mute, Uncle Fool... everyone followed the rhythm, either clapping or stomping their feet.

"three!"

"two!"

"one!"

The instant when the hour and minute hands coincide.

Xu An's fingers suddenly pushed the main volume knob all the way up!

"boom!!!"

It wasn't an explosion.

It's a sound wave.

The first sound is a sound unique to rural areas, called "two-stage firecracker".

"Bang—smack!"

The two professional sound systems, each costing tens of thousands of yuan, resonated through the empty valley.

That instant.

Xu An felt as if the top of his head had been blown off.

"Crackling! Crackling! Crackling!"

Followed by.

It was a dense, continuous sound of firecrackers, loud enough to shatter eardrums.

This is the real "all the bells ringing" sound effect, and it's a lossless, high-fidelity version.

The glass windows of the White Rabbit canteen were buzzing.

The bowls and chopsticks on the table were dancing along.

Third Master was so frightened that he jumped up from the massage chair, his movements as agile as a startled monkey.

"Holy crap! Who fired the gun?!"

"The Japanese devils have entered the village?!"

Uncle Xu Jianguo reacted instinctively, grabbing a broom from the side and rushing towards the door.

"Take cover! Everyone take cover!"

But next second.

They saw their second uncle.

That multi-millionaire boss.

He was standing in the center of the hall, eyes closed, looking completely absorbed, his hands waving wildly in the air.

He shouted, "That's awesome!"

"That's fucking awesome!"

"The bass! The depth! The soundstage!"

"It has to be even more real than Bit1!"

Although viewers in the live stream couldn't hear the shocking sound pressure from the scene, they could still feel the chaos and the slightly blurred images on screen.

Everyone burst into laughter.

[ID is deaf]: My mom asked me why I was kneeling while looking at my phone!

[ID Cyberpunk]: Is this the legendary electronic firecracker? That's so hardcore!

[ID Environmental Protection]: I have to say, this is very environmentally friendly and saves a lot of money, and it can also play on a loop!

[ID Atmosphere Group]: Uncle's blissful expression is like he's been possessed by a conductor!

The "cyber firecrackers" went off for a full five minutes.

The noise was so loud that all the dogs in the village were barking.

The noise was so loud that even the owls on the neighboring hill couldn't sleep.

at last.

Xu An slowly turned down the volume.

The sound of firecrackers gradually subsided, giving way to the festive "Spring Festival Overture".

The hall was silent for a few seconds.

Then he burst into laughter.

Third Master rubbed his ears and chuckled as he scolded, "Anzi! You little rascal!"

"It almost gave me a heart attack!"

"But this commotion... is..."

"It makes me feel at ease!"

Grandpa sat in the main seat, his face beaming with joy.

He beckoned.

"Anzi, come here."

Xu An put down her phone, walked over, and stood obediently in front of her grandfather.

Grandpa took out a stack of red paper packets from the inner pocket of his blue cloth jacket.

It's very thin.

Unlike the kind my second uncle sent, which was so thick it could kill someone.

"Our family doesn't do those fancy things."

"Keep the money Erqiangzi gave you; it's his way of showing his appreciation."

"But this is the New Year's money."

"Grandpa has to give it to me."

Grandpa took out a red envelope and handed it to Xu An.

He took out another one and handed it to his second uncle.

Even Li Daguo's big yellow dog, who was watching the commotion over there, received a red paper wrapped around a bone.

Xu An accepted it with both hands.

I pinched it.

Inside was a brand new, ink-scented... ten yuan note.

There was also a small note.

Xu An opened it and took a look.

Several characters were written neatly with a brush on top:

May you have peace and prosperity, and be well-fed and warmly clothed.

The handwriting is a little shaky; it's Grandpa's hand.

But these eight words weighed even heavier than the three million from my second uncle.

"grandfather……"

Xu An felt a lump in his throat.

My second uncle, that big, burly man, clutched those ten yuan and burst into tears.

"father……"

"I'm fifty years old, and I still get New Year's money?"

Grandpa glared at him.

"Eighty is still my son."

"Take it!"

"I'll save it to buy candy!"

In the live stream, the barrage of "hahaha" comments instantly turned into a screen full of red hearts.

[ID breaks down in tears]: Even at eighty, he's still my son... This is what it means to have parents who are still alive, and to have a place to come from in life.

【ID Missing Grandpa】: My grandpa has been gone for three years, and no one has given me a ten-yuan red envelope since.

[ID Xujiacun]: This is the flavor of the New Year. It's not firecrackers or dumplings, it's being remembered by others.

Xu An took a deep breath, turned around, and faced the camera.

"Family members."

"Xiang listened, ate the dumplings, and received her New Year's money."

"The new year has arrived."

"I know."

"Many of you may not be able to go home."

"They might still be working overtime, or they might be alone with a bucket of instant noodles."

"but."

"As long as you have this root in your heart."

"Home is anywhere."

Xu An paused for a moment, looking at the constantly fluctuating number of online users.

One million eight thousand.

These 1.08 million people spent a very special New Year's Eve with the elderly people of Xujia Village, amidst a heavy snowfall.

"According to the rules of Henan."

"On the first day of the Lunar New Year, you have to kowtow."

Xu An took a step back.

My second uncle also took a step back.

Fifth Aunt, Uncle Lao Hei, Third Uncle... all the elders were seated.

Xu An stabilized the phone.

then.

Facing the camera.

Facing the souls behind those 1.08 million screens.

He also addressed the elders in the house who guarded the mountains.

Kneel on both knees.

"For my family..."

"To all the elderly people in the world..."

Happy New Year!

Boom!

This bow was a truly solid one.

There were no special effects and no script.

Only that faded military overcoat lay on the ground, like a silent mountain.

that moment.

The gift effects in the live stream have stopped.

Only those two neatly arranged characters filled the screen, like a red snowflake covering the entire screen.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year!

……

Xu An slept soundly that night.

In my dreams, there's no annoying social anxiety, no endless debts of gratitude.

Only the red lanterns covering the mountains and Grandpa's words, "Peace and prosperity," remained.

Early the next morning.

New Year's Day.

Xu An was awakened by a strange noise.

It wasn't a rooster crowing.

It wasn't my second uncle's snoring either.

It was more like... the sound of someone scratching at a door with their fingernails.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

Xu An groggily opened his eyes and glanced out the window.

Snow stopped.

Sunlight streamed through the paper windows and fell onto the kang (a heated brick bed), so bright it hurt the eyes.

He put on his military overcoat, slipped on his cotton shoes, and yawned as he went to open the door.

Who is it?

"On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people aren't even allowed to sleep in..."

"Squeak—"

The large wooden door, adorned with brand-new door gods, was opened a crack.

A gust of cold wind blew in.

Xu An shuddered and looked down.

He froze instantly.

Doorway.

nobody.

There was only one... huge, still steaming... woven bag?

The woven bag was still moving.

It seems there's something alive inside.

On top of the woven bag, there was a note.

There was nothing written on the note.

He only drew a crooked, smiling face, or... an unfinished donkey hoof?

Xu An's head buzzed for a moment.

He subconsciously looked at the main road leading down the mountain outside the door.

on the snow.

A series of footprints, some deep and some shallow, stretched all the way to the horizon.

The footprints were strange.

One is deep, the other is shallow.

Like a cripple carrying something heavy, he walked a very, very long way.

Xu An suddenly remembered something.

The person who, last night, was watching the Spring Festival Gala, kept staring at the TV and drooling, but refused to sit down and eat.

The man who stood guard at the village entrance for thirty years, yet handed over his only weapon.

Uncle Fool.

With trembling hands, Xu An untied the rope of the woven bag.

The bag was opened.

What was exposed completely short-circuited Xu An's socially anxious nerves, which were usually known for their "big heart".

That wasn't gold or silver treasure.

It's not exactly a local specialty.

That is……

A whole bag.

Each one was peeled clean and carefully wrapped in candy wrapper...

Wild walnut kernels.