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

As soon as he stepped out of the station, the wind gave him a rude awakening.

The wind in Shanxi is not as "moderate" as the wind in Henan. It carries the hardness of coal cinders and the roughness of the Loess Plateau, and feels like sandpaper scraping against your face.

Xu An wrapped his military overcoat tighter, hunched his shoulders, and raised his phone.

In the footage, the majestic pass in the distance still stands tall, and the plaque reading "The Ninth Pass Under Heaven" exudes a sense of desolation in the bleakness of winter.

But Xu An's focus is clearly not on the scenery right now.

"Family members, this is Niangziguan."

"That's also... the place where I was frozen solid."

Xu An sniffled, looking just like a refugee who had just arrived in the city.

In the live stream, hundreds of thousands of "online supervisors" were already laughing their heads off.

[ID Warm Baby]: Shouldn't Anzi's military coat be fluffed with cotton? It doesn't look warm at all, and it lets in the wind!

[ID History Representative]: Niangziguan Pass, the place where Princess Pingyang once guarded! Anzi, your demeanor makes you look like a captured deserter!

[ID Local Native]: Hey streamer, don't just stand there like an idiot at the station! Go take one of those covered tricycles! Otherwise, the wind will turn you into dried beef!

Xu An heeded the advice.

He flagged down a red electric tricycle, the kind of "old man's car" that's all the rage in the urban-rural fringe.

The driver was an old man with a white sheepskin towel wrapped around his head and a pipe in his mouth.

"Young man, where are you going?" The old man's voice was thick with the pungent smell of aged Shanxi vinegar.

"Xia...Xiahe Village." Xu Anshe's phobia was acting up, and he stammered a little.

"Hold on tight!"

Without saying a word, the old man kicked the electric switch all the way to the ground.

The dilapidated three-wheeled vehicle suddenly unleashed the power of a Ferrari, shooting off with a "whoosh" and drifting along the winding mountain road.

Xu An gripped the handrail tightly, feeling as if his internal organs were tap dancing.

"Sir...sir! Slow down!"

"What? Slow? This is slow?!" the old man roared. "In our area, if you're slow, you can't get up the hill!"

Half an hour later.

Xu An stood at the entrance of Xiahe Village, his face pale.

This is a typical stone village.

The houses were built of stone, the roads were paved with stone, and even the millstone at the village entrance was carved from stone.

Built against the mountain, layer upon layer, it resembles a stone castle.

Xu An took out the letter, looked at the address, and then looked at the maze-like village.

I'm a little worried.

"aunt……"

Xu An mustered his courage and stopped an old woman who was sewing shoe soles at the village entrance. "Excuse me... where does Li Aijun live?"

The old lady stopped her needlework and looked Xu An up and down three times with the scrutinizing gaze one would give a spy.

They focused their attention on his old military overcoat and the "tool" (cell phone) in his hand.

"Looking for Aijun?"

The old lady pointed upwards, "See that tallest chimney? It's right down there! That's the one with the wall covered in shards of glass!"

Xu An was taken aback: "So... heavily guarded?"

The old woman scoffed, "That's our village's 'female general,' not for guarding against thieves, she's for keeping her precious kids out!"

With a mix of trepidation and excitement, Xu An climbed the slope for ten minutes and finally reached the "highest point".

Before I even entered the door, I could hear a loud, forceful cursing voice coming from inside.

"You little punk! If you dare steal my corn again, I'll stew you!"

Immediately following was a commotion of chickens flying and dogs barking.

Xu An swallowed hard, stood in front of the dark, mottled wooden door, and raised his hand as if to knock.

"Gah—!"

A white head suddenly peeked out from under the door.

Flat mouth, red palms, black bean eyes.

It's a big goose.

This goose was clearly worldly-wise; it tilted its head and looked at Xu An with a hint of disdain in its eyes.

Then, it stretched its neck and spread its wings.

"Gagaga—!"

With an aura of world-destroying power, it charged towards Xu An's leg.

Holy crap!

Xu An jumped three feet high in fright, his social anxiety and composure instantly vanishing.

He ran ahead, and the goose chased after him, its neck stretched out so long that it looked more like it was trying to kill him than to twist him.

The live stream chat instantly went wild, with gifts and special effects flying everywhere.

[ID Combat Power Measurement Unit]: Shocking! A million-follower internet celebrity is no match for a village bully goose! His combat power is only 0.5 times that of a goose!

[ID Screenshot Master]: Screenshot taken! This meme is amazing! This is the legendary "fleeing in panic"!

[ID Animal World]: Anzi, don't be afraid! That's a guard goose. You just need to grab its neck... Never mind, I don't think you'd dare.

"Who's yelling at the door?!"

Just as Xu An was about to be rear-ended by the goose, a loud shout rang out.

The wooden door slammed open.

An old woman, dressed in a blue cloth smock and with her white hair neatly combed, appeared at the door like a goddess descending from heaven, carrying a broom in her hand.

The old lady reacted quickly, grabbing the vicious goose by the neck.

The village bully, who was just moments ago so arrogant, instantly turned into a docile quail.

What are you doing?

The old woman glared at Xu An, her eyes sharper than the goose's. "Chicken thief? Or insurance salesman?"

Xu An, supporting his knees, was panting heavily.

"Auntie... Auntie..."

"I...I'm a messenger."

The old woman looked at him suspiciously: "Deliver mail? There are mail delivery services these days? Are you from the post office?"

No...no.

Xu An quickly took out the slightly damp envelope and handed it over with both hands.

"It was a man called 'Old Squad Leader' who asked me to deliver it to Comrade Li Aijun."

Upon hearing the words "old squad leader".

The old lady's expression, which had been as hard as steel, suddenly cracked.

She casually tossed the goose into the yard, ignoring the squawking it made as it fell.

She wiped her hands on her smock and took the letter.

I didn't look at the address on the front.

Instead, it flipped directly to the back.

That strange symbol caught her eye.

A circle with a horizontal line drawn in the middle.

I drew a dot on the left and a semicircle on the right.

Xu An had always thought it was "half a day and half a moon" or "the sun and moon shining together".

The old lady looked at the symbol.

Suddenly I laughed.

That was the most complex smile Xu An had ever seen.

It sounded like he was cursing, or like he was about to cry, and finally it turned into a long sigh.

"That old bastard..."

"He still remembers that food?"

Xu An was taken aback: "Food? Auntie, isn't this... Sun and Moon?"

The old lady rolled her eyes at him, as if she were looking at a fool who had never seen the world.

"Even the sun and the moon!"

"This is a sesame seed cake!"

The old lady pointed to the circle, "These are big sesame seed cakes baked early in the morning!"

He then pointed to the semicircle, "This is half a dumpling left over from tonight!"

Xu An was completely dumbfounded.

Baked flatbread? Dumplings?

What kind of secret code is this? Were these two used to be in the mess hall?

"Come in!"

The old lady waved her broom. "Since they were sent by that stingy old man, they're not outsiders. Perfect timing, it's lunchtime."

The yard is very clean.

Besides a flock of chickens, ducks and geese, the most eye-catching thing is the huge stone mill in the center of the yard.

The millstone was polished to a mirror-like shine, clearly indicating that it had been around for many years.

The old lady had Xu An sit on a small stool, and then went into the low-ceilinged kitchen.

A moment later, a bamboo basket was brought out.

There was no big fish or meat inside.

There were only two freshly baked, steaming hot... large sesame seed cakes.

There was also a plate of pickled vegetables and a bowl of congee.

"eat!"

The old lady shoved the sesame seed cake into Xu An's hand. The cake was piping hot, with a golden and crispy crust, covered in sesame seeds, and emitting a pure aroma of wheat.

"This is the thing that old man has been longing for his whole life."

The old lady sat to one side, watching Xu An wolf down his food, her gaze gradually becoming distant.

"That's 78."

"We're all in the Northwest, building railways."

"Those were tough times; we only got two cornbread buns a day."

"He's the squad leader, and I'm in charge of logistics."

"During that major flood, the supply trucks were cut off."

"There were more than 30 people in the whole row, and only half a bag of flour was left."

He gave me the bag of flour and said, "Aijun, you're the woman in charge here. You're in charge of this flour. We need to make sure everyone has enough to last until the rescue arrives."

"I just took that little bit of flour, mixed it with wild vegetables, and made these thin pancakes."

"Half a day for each person."

"And him? He's the class monitor. He said he wasn't hungry, that he had eaten his fill of wild vegetables he had dug outside."

"But I know."

The old lady's eyes reddened as she touched the "sesame seed cake" pattern on the envelope.

"He's not full."

"He saved his share and secretly gave it to those sick child soldiers."

"He fainted from hunger in a mud pit the day the rescue team arrived."

"He still had half a hardened wild vegetable dumpling in his mouth."

The viewers in the live stream who were laughing just moments before are now all silent.

【ID Dust of History】: Half a bag of flour supported an entire platoon.

[ID: The Story of the Cooking Crew]: This isn't just a pancake, it's life!

[ID: Uncle Xujiacun]: No wonder...no wonder my eldest brother hated wasting food the most in his life. He could nag for ages if there was even a single grain of rice left in someone's bowl.

The sesame seed cake in Xu An's mouth suddenly became difficult to swallow.

too heavy.

Every crispy bite is a testament to the hunger we endured back then.

"Then... Auntie, in this letter..."

Xu An handed over the tin box. "There's something inside. It looks... pretty hard."

The old lady took the box.

My hands are shaking a little.

She struggled to unscrew the lid.

There was no gold or silver jewelry, nor any medals inside.

There's only one...

Hard as a rock, dried out... dough?

No, that was an "old dough starter" that hadn't finished fermenting.

It has been dried into a fossil by the passage of time.

There was also a note.

The handwriting was still so messy, carrying a kind of soldierly thuggishness:

[Aijun:]

[Back then, I didn't do the math properly with that half-bag of flour, so you had to grind grain on an empty stomach for the last two days.]

This piece of old dough is something I brought from my hometown.

Authentic Henan-style fermented yeast.

If you're still alive, use it to make a bowl of dough.

Make a few pancakes.

This time, it's all-you-can-eat.

[—Old Squad Leader.]

The old lady looked at the dry, cracked dough.

Suddenly, he raised the broom in his hand and lashed it hard at the air.

It's like wanting to slap someone who isn't even in front of you.

"Old man!"

"You old bastard!"

"Who cares about your old face!"

"I have so much noodles right now... I can't possibly finish them all!"

As she cursed, tears began to stream down her face.

The drops fell down that weathered face and landed on the dough from forty-five years ago.

She had been hungry.

Therefore, she knew how precious a full stomach was.

He was hungry too.

So he never forgot to repay this kindness throughout his life.

"Young man."

The old lady wiped her face, regaining her domineering "female general" demeanor.

"Don't just stand there!"

"Are you full?"

"Not full?"

"Get up if you're not full!"

"Go! Get that millstone moving for me!"

"Now that old man has delivered the catalyst..."

"Today!"

"I'll show him what real...all-you-can-eat" means!"

That day in Xiahe Village.

The whole village heard the stone mill, which had been silent for many years, start to make a sound.

"Rumble... Rumble..."

It sounded like muffled thunder, or like war drums.

Xu An pushed the millstone, and the young man, who was originally socially awkward, gritted his teeth and used all his strength.

Golden wheat is ground into snow-white flour.

A white mist rose up under the winter sun.

That was the most fragrant mist.

That was enough to comfort all the hungry... the taste of a bountiful harvest.

The number of viewers in the live stream exceeded one million.

Countless people watched the figure pushing the millstone, and the old woman kneading dough on the side, grumbling but with eyes full of light.

It was as if I were witnessing a grand feast that transcended time and space.

A feast about commitment, about food, about life.

"Family members."

As Xu An pushed the millstone, he panted heavily, his face covered in flour, looking like a cat covered in grime.

"This is hardly an IOU."

"This is clearly... a death contract."

"Our generation thinks noodles are too high in calories when we're trying to lose weight."

"But for them..."

"This is the heavens."