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

The night wind in Taiyuan is harder than coal ash.

Xu An stood under the streetlights in the old military camp residential area, holding a potted green ivy covered in coal dust in his arms, with a bulging canvas bag on his back.

Its sharp design makes it look like a terracotta warrior just dug out of the ground.

The number of viewers in the live stream did not decrease; on the contrary, it soared to 1.8 million due to the highlight of the "coal-carved jasmine" performance.

But this time, there were no smiling faces on the screen.

The screen was filled with red bullet comments from the ID 【Meishan Xiaohua】.

Each post is accompanied by a carnival-style special effect.

Xu An was so frightened he almost threw the pothos plant away.

"No! Big sister! Stop swiping!"

Xu An stared at the screen, waving his frostbitten, red hand helplessly: "This thing charges a 50% withdrawal fee. Can't we stop that unscrupulous middleman from profiting from the difference?"

【Coal Sea Flower】: Host, don't stop me. I am Li Moli's granddaughter.

The chat instantly fell silent.

Xu An was also stunned, his breath condensing into a cloud of white mist in the cold night.

【Coal Sea Little Flower】: My grandfather passed away eight years ago. He had silicosis and it was very painful for him when he passed away, but he was still clutching a carving knife in his hand.

【Coal Sea Flower】: My family all say he's an old stubborn man who never saved any money in his life, only a room full of black stones. We wanted to throw them away, but he wouldn't let us, and he even hit us with his cane.

【Coal Sea Flower】: He said he owes someone a "I'm impressed" in his life. He has to carve that "I'm impressed" out.

[Coal Sea Little Flower]: My dad cried when he saw the flower on Grandpa Liu's balcony. He said that the night before Grandpa passed away, he looked out the window at the moon for a long time, just like that.

【Coal Sea Little Flower】: Thank you, Xu An. Thank you for delivering Grandpa's moon.

Xu An looked at the words.

It felt like a scalding hot lump of coal had been stuffed into my heart, making me tremble with heat.

original.

The "Jasmine with the bushy beard" who spent her whole life groping in the darkness 800 meters underground.

It's not unrequited love.

He had been waiting for this night, waiting for this flower to bloom in the sunlight.

"You're welcome."

Xu An sniffed, his voice a little hoarse: "It's because your grandfather's craftsmanship is excellent; those flowers... are indeed brighter than the moon."

He looked down at the potted green ivy he had taken from Zhang Fugui's car.

The leaves are all black.

But under the streetlights, that lush greenery couldn't be hidden no matter what.

"Alright, everyone, you can all leave now."

Xu An wrapped his military overcoat tighter around himself, his social anxiety returning: "I need to... find somewhere to survive."

"If I don't go to sleep soon, I'll turn into a coal sculpture."

……

The streets of Taiyuan at 2 a.m.

Xu An wandered around like a ghost.

His current image is too "aggressive": a military overcoat, a woven bag, a pot of grass, plus that handsome face that looks a bit dull because of the cold wind.

He just tried to enter a luxuriously decorated hotel.

As soon as they entered the revolving door, they were "escorted" out by two security guards, one on each side.

The security guard was very polite: "Brother, although it's warm here, we really can't set up a flower stall."

Xu An: ...

Who the hell is selling flowers?!

This is a pothos plant! It's my spiritual totem!

"Family, it seems that five-star hotels and I are just not compatible."

Xu An squatted in front of a 24-hour convenience store, giving the camera a wry smile: "Let's do something more down-to-earth."

He pushed open the door of the convenience store.

"Welcome!"

That mechanical, electronic voice, carrying the aroma of oden, instantly enveloped Xu An.

There was no one in the store.

There was only one cashier sleeping at the counter, and another man in a yellow vest eating instant noodles by the window.

He's a food delivery driver.

He looked very young, only in his early twenties, with the ruddy complexion typical of someone who had been cycling for a long time.

His instant noodles were quite luxurious.

Two sausages and a braised egg were added.

But he ate very quickly, holding a fork in one hand while constantly scrolling through his phone with the other, the screen displaying a map of the order system.

Xu An originally intended to just buy a bottle of water and leave.

But the aura of his peers, the struggle for a living, made him stop in his tracks as if by some strange twist of fate.

He walked up to the oden counter.

"Boss, two skewers of fish balls and two skewers of radish, please."

Xu An thought for a moment, then pointed to the fortune bag that had swelled up in the soup: "Give me one of these too."

The cashier groggily got up and installed a cup for Xu.

Xu An, holding the steaming paper cup, did not leave.

He walked over to the high stool opposite the delivery guy and sat down.

Place the potted green ivy on the table.

The delivery guy looked up at him.

There was no surprise in his eyes at meeting an internet celebrity, only a wary look of being disturbed and a hint of doubt as if he were looking at a "lunatic".

After all, who would bring a potted plant to a convenience store in the middle of the night to eat oden?

"brother."

The delivery guy swallowed the noodles in his mouth and pointed to the potted green plant: "Your scallions... they're quite uniquely shaped, aren't they?"

The viewers in the live stream burst out laughing.

[ID Botanist]: Holy crap! This guy is a genius!

[ID Night Owl Champion]: Is this the unspoken understanding among working people? All they care about is food?

Xu An smiled awkwardly: "This is... a pothos plant. It's durable."

The young man nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

He continued eating his noodles with his head down, while also replying to the order notification on his phone: "We're here! We're just at the next intersection. Please don't cancel, I'm coming right now!"

His voice carried a hint of humble anxiety.

Xu An looked at him.

I suddenly remembered the first letter I ever sent.

That old lady named Li Aijun remembered it for her whole life because of half a bag of flour.

The young man in front of us was willing to risk his life to get a good review, even when it was minus ten degrees Celsius outside.

The times have changed.

But that drive to fight for survival, for that hot meal, seems to have never changed.

"Give."

Xu An took the lucky bag out and placed it on the lid of the delivery guy's instant noodle cup.

"I bought too much; I can't finish it all."

A typical gift given by someone with social anxiety.

The reason given was so absurd it was outrageous.

The young man paused for a moment, looking at the steaming lucky bag, then at Xu An's faded military overcoat.

Obviously.

He regarded Xu An as one of those people who worked on construction sites and had just finished their night shift.

"Thanks, bro."

The delivery guy didn't mince words; he picked up the lucky bag, took a bite, and mumbled, "Just finished work?"

"Yeah." Xu An nodded. "Just finished a delivery."

"What are you delivering? So late?"

"Send a message."

"A letter?" The young man grinned, revealing a prominent canine tooth. "People still send letters these days? Are you with the post office?"

I guess so.

Xu An took a sip of the hot soup and felt his internal organs soothed: "It's also running errands for people, but I don't set a time limit and I don't give bad reviews."

"That's great."

The young man sighed enviously, finishing the last mouthful of soup: "I can't do it this way, I lose five yuan for every minute I'm slow. It's windy tonight, riding against the wind feels like carrying someone on my back, the battery isn't lasting long."

As he spoke, he stood up and tightened his yellow vest.

"I'm gone."

"There's also a night owl who wants fried chicken waiting to be fed."

The deliveryman pushed open the door.

The cold wind outside rushed in instantly, making him shiver.

But he didn't hesitate. He got on the electric bike covered in reflective strips, twisted the throttle, and sped into the night.

His back view was as resolute as a knight's.

Xu An looked at that figure from behind, then at the oden in his hand.

The comments in the live stream were surprisingly gentle.

[Taiyuan Rider ID]: Just finished delivering a single item and was lying in bed. Seeing this scene, I suddenly felt like crying. That guy is me.

[ID: Human Fireworks]: Xu An said they're in the same line of work, and that's not entirely wrong. One delivers takeout to fill his stomach, the other delivers letters to fill his memories. Both are on the road.

[ID Late Night Party]: This is why I like watching Xu An's live streams. He's not pretentious. He's right here, just like us, eating a few dollars' worth of oden and watching the city's silhouette.

Xu An finished the last bite of radish.

The radish was cooked until very soft, soaking up all the broth; every bite was bursting with sweetness and savory flavor.

"Family members."

Xu An hugged the potted green ivy to his chest as he faced the camera.

"We need to find a place to stay."

"It doesn't need to be too good."

"Like that guy just said, as long as it can shelter from the wind and charge your phone, that's fine."

……

Half an hour later.

Xu An finally found a small hotel called "Hao Zai Lai" in an old alley.

A tattered lightbox hangs at the entrance: [Accommodation 40, hot water, WIFI].

Although it couldn't compare to a grand hotel, the price made Xu An feel incredibly comfortable.

The proprietress, a woman in her fifties, was eating sunflower seeds and watching TV.

He didn't even lift his eyelids when he saw Xu An come in.

"ID card."

Xu An handed it over.

"Deposit of one hundred, total of one hundred and forty."

Xu An scanned the QR code to pay.

"Turn left on the second floor, room 202."

The entire exchange should not exceed ten words.

Xu An almost wanted to award the landlady a certificate as an "Ambassador of Social Anxiety."

The room wasn't big.

A bed, a bedside table, and a large CRT television.

Although the sheets were a bit old, they smelled of sunshine and were fairly clean.

Xu An placed the pothos on the bedside table and then threw himself heavily onto the bed.

That instant.

The soreness in my bones surged up.

But he didn't sleep.

He pulled out the rusty tin box from the very bottom of the canvas bag.

There are many more letters.

Each letter was heavy and felt weighty in my hand.

"Family members, let's have a prize draw before bed."

Xu An lay on the bed, like a child opening a blind box: "Let's see where we go next."

He closed his eyes and rummaged around in the metal box for a while.

Take out one letter.

P.S.: I've been updating like crazy for a few days, but I just can't keep up. From now on, I'll be back to two updates a day, each with 6,000+ words. I hope everyone will try their best not to let the book sit idle and will continue to support me. Thank you so much!