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

The wind in the yard subsided a little.

The sky was bright.

Xu An held the chipped white enamel mug in his hands, with a few withered yellow tea leaves floating inside.

Da Biao, sitting opposite him, was on a small stool, his two thick thighs curled up in frustration.

Da Biao held a spiced melon seed in his hand and cracked it open with a snap.

They moved very carefully, afraid of scattering sunflower seed shells onto Xu An's military overcoat.

"Brother Biao, did you stay in the county last night?"

Xu An tentatively asked a question, trying to ease the awkwardness of being surrounded by dozens of burly men drinking plain water.

Da Biao spat the sunflower seed shells into his hand and held them tightly, refusing to throw them on the ground.

"That's right, we arrived around 10 p.m. last night."

Da Biao sighed, looking utterly incredulous.

"Brother, you have no idea."

"When we got off the highway last night, the navigation showed that the road into the village was completely red."

"I even told my brothers, 'This is terrible, we'll have to climb all the rocky roads in the Taihang Mountains.'"

"Who knew we'd set off at 5 a.m. this morning..."

Da Biao stared wide-eyed at the wide, flat road outside the yard.

"I'm a veteran off-road enthusiast, and I've never seen a road construction method like this in my life."

"Last night it was a bumpy, single-lane dirt road."

"When I opened my eyes this morning, good heavens, the road roller had flattened it all!"

"The road shoulders have been widened by 1.5 meters, and even the sharp bends that are prone to slipping have been covered with anti-skid sand."

"I asked the road roller operator, 'Aren't you guys sleepy?'"

Da Biao imitated the Henan accent vividly:

"The driver, sporting huge dark circles under his eyes, grinned at me and said, 'What's wrong? This is a time to show our county magistrate some respect!'"

Several burly men from the Raptor car club nearby nodded in agreement.

That's really awesome.

"I work in engineering in Shanghai. If this were where I live, the approval process alone would take half a year."

"Huixian has really pulled out all the stops."

Xu An listened to their sighs, feeling a mix of emotions.

He glanced down at the black and gold Huawei phone in his hand.

This is the culmination of the hard work of everyone in the county.

It's so heavy, it makes my wrist hurt.

"Actually... I just want to eat some meat."

Xu An muttered something under his breath.

Da Biao chuckled upon hearing this and patted Xu An on the shoulder with his large, fan-like hand.

"Brother, this isn't about the meat."

"This is the pride of us Henan people, this is our honest and straightforward spirit."

As they were talking.

A coughing sound came from the doorway of the main room, where an old cotton curtain hung.

"Cough cough..."

Xu An stood up as if by reflex.

"Sir, you're awake?"

The curtain was lifted.

Grandpa, wearing a black cotton-padded coat, with his gray and messy hair, walked out with sleepy eyes.

The old man was carrying a chamber pot, clearly having just gotten up and was about to empty it.

Then I looked up.

Grandpa froze.

In the courtyard, a large number of people were sitting on the ground.

More than thirty pairs of eyes turned to look at him.

Especially the bald guy at the very front, with a big gold chain around his neck and a face full of fat, he looked exactly like a gangster from TV.

Grandpa's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the chamber pot.

"this……"

"My dear grandson, are you here to demolish our house?"

Grandpa's voice was trembling.

Xu An hadn't had a chance to explain.

Suddenly, Da Biao stood up.

He led the thirty brothers behind him to stand up in unison.

The sheer force of it startled the old hen in the yard so much that it flew straight up onto the wall.

Da Biao's face instantly filled with a fawning and benevolent smile, and he bent over at a ninety-degree angle.

"Grandpa! You're awake!"

That shout was full of energy.

The thirty burly men behind him shouted in unison:

Good morning, sir!

The sound shook the rubble.

Dust fell from the roof beams in a flurry.

Grandpa was so frightened that he took a step back, his back pressed against the door frame.

"What's going on here...?"

"Don't shout! Don't shout!"

Xu An quickly stopped the overly enthusiastic bandits.

"My grandfather is old and can't take a fright."

Da Biao slapped his forehead, quickly calmed his breathing, and became even more docile than before.

He took a few steps forward, but dared not get too close. He kept a distance of two meters and took out a pack of unopened Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket.

"Sir, I'm Xiao An's friend. We met online."

"We're here to help press down the pigs."

Happy New Year in advance!

As he spoke, he offered the cigarettes to her with both hands.

Grandpa looked at the burly man who was two heads taller than him, and then at the pack of good cigarettes.

The fear in the old man's eyes slowly dissipated, transforming into a different kind of light called "hospitality."

In the bones of the elderly in rural Henan.

Anyone who comes is a guest.

Even if a guest looks like a bandit, once he enters the door, he cannot be neglected.

Grandpa put the chamber pot in the corner and rubbed his hands vigorously on his cotton-padded coat.

Instead of accepting the cigarette, he tremblingly grasped Da Biao's hand.

"Oh dear, this is such a long way..."

"It's so cold..."

"Why are you all freezing in the yard? Come inside! Come inside now!"

"My good grandson! Why didn't you even light the brazier for me!"

Grandpa glared at Xu An. The old man who was usually so submissive in front of his grandson now displayed the authority of the head of the family.

Xu An smiled bitterly.

The room is only ten square meters. If thirty people were to enter, the room would be bursting.

But Da Biao and his group really enjoyed it.

Several men immediately surrounded the grandfather.

"Please have a seat, sir!"

"Sir, you're in great health!"

"Grandpa, you've really taken good care of that big yellow dog!"

The hypocritical politeness typical of city dwellers has disappeared.

What remains is a natural respect for elders.

Da Biao even squatted down to tie his grandfather's lost shoelaces.

This scene.

Xu An saw this.

He suddenly felt a soreness in his nose.

Is this what they call "netizens"?

Across the screen, they are keyboard warriors, people who enjoy themselves.

But when you're actually face to face...

They are a group of ordinary people who yearn for warmth and are willing to spread it.

……

At the same time.

Xiangyang Road Breakfast Street in Huixian County.

Although it was only 6:30 in the morning, this usually quiet little county town was bustling like a market.

The parking spaces along the roadside were already full.

All of them have license plates from other places.

Jin A, Ji B, Lu H... and even a few with Yue A license plates.

Lin Zixuan parked the Wrangler in a temporary parking space, which the traffic police had drawn overnight with chalk.

He opened the car door and stretched.

The air was filled with the rich aroma of spicy soup, mixed with the smoky fragrance of fried dough sticks.

"Is this Huixian?"

Lin Zixuan looked at the small shops on the street with signs that read "Authentic Fang Zhongshan" and "Old Li's Pan-Fried Buns".

There were queues in front of every store.

But the way this line is arranged is a bit strange.

Next to each team stood an older woman wearing a red armband, or a volunteer in uniform.

"Everyone, squeeze in a bit! Hey young man in the down jacket, don't stand on the curb, watch out for cars!"

"Scan the code if you haven't already!"

Lin Zixuan approached a breakfast shop.

As soon as I sat down, several men at the next table, speaking with Shandong accents, were paying their bills.

"Boss, how much for four bowls of spicy soup, two pounds of fried dough sticks, and four tea eggs?"

The owner was a chubby middle-aged man with a white towel draped around his neck, frying dough sticks without ever looking up.

"Twenty-eight."

The man from Shandong was stunned.

The hundred-yuan bill in his hand froze in mid-air.

"How many?"

"Twenty-eight. Spicy soup is four yuan a bowl, fried dough sticks are four yuan a pound, and eggs are one yuan."

The man from Shandong turned to look at his companion, his face filled with disbelief.

"Holy crap? Am I still not awake?"

"Where we're from, this meal would cost at least fifty yuan?"

The boss looked up with a smile and pointed to a brand-new notice posted on the wall.

It was a "warning letter" stamped with the red seal of the "Huixian Market Supervision and Administration Bureau".

It is clearly written above:

During the period of the pig slaughtering feast, all catering establishments are strictly prohibited from raising prices! Violators will be ordered to suspend operations for rectification! Report hotline: 12315 (24-hour online customer service)

"We dare not raise prices."

The owner scooped out the freshly fried dough sticks; they were golden, crispy, and steaming hot.

"The county said that everyone who comes is a guest."

"If customers think that people from Huixian are heartless, they'll be talked about behind their backs."

"Besides, that Xiao An from Xujia Village, they even provide meals after slaughtering a pig. If we breakfast vendors were to take advantage of their misfortune, would we even be human?"

Lin Zixuan listened to these words.

I watched as the Shandong man finally forced thirty yuan into my hand, shouted "Keep the change," and ran away.

The shopkeeper chased after the money for two miles, insisting on giving him back two yuan.

Lin Zixuan smiled.

He took out his phone and took a picture of the bowl of spicy soup that only cost four yuan.

I posted it on my WeChat Moments.

Caption: [Huixian, you've got something. This isn't just here to slaughter pigs, it's here to be God.]

After posting, he refreshed Douyin.

The number of followers of the account "Xujiacun Xiaoan".

36.8W.

There was no exaggerated increase of millions overnight.

But among these 300,000+ followers, every single one is a real person.

In the comments section, the latest few thousand comments were all posted by netizens who were having breakfast in the county town just now:

[I'm a Special Forces Soldier: Brothers, Huixian is amazing! Hotels don't raise prices and even give you a fruit platter! The owner even rounds down the price for breakfast!]

[The runaway princess: Is this Henan? My car got stuck in the mud just now, and a passing police car stopped and helped push it without saying a word. After they finished, they even asked me if I wanted some hot water!]

[Want some braised pork: I originally came to watch the fun, but now I feel like I'm here to receive some re-education. Off I go into the village!]

Lin Zixuan took a sip of the spicy soup.

Spicy, scalding hot, it hits right at the top of your head.

"Cool!"

He wiped the sweat from his brow and got up to pay the bill.

"Boss, are all the people in Huixian this stupid?"

The boss was taken aback for a moment, then grinned, revealing a set of smoky, yellow teeth.

"That's not called being stupid."

"That's called 'middle'."

……

Xujia Village, in front of the main hall.

Xu An's phone vibrated.

This is a new reminder to pay special attention.

The "Huixian Culture and Tourism" account, which has been lurking for a while, just posted a video.

Xu An clicked on it to take a look.

The video is very simple; it's just a quick edit of the road repairs that took place overnight last night.

The excavator lights, the sweaty faces of the workers, and the scene of Director Wang giving orders with a hoarse voice.

There was no sentimental background music, only the original soundtrack from the live performance.

Finally, the scene freezes on the main road that had just been repaired that morning.

The caption was only eight characters long:

The road's fixed, time to go home for dinner.

Xu An looked at these eight words.

My eyes inexplicably welled up with tears.

He put his phone back in his pocket, took a deep breath, and looked at Da Biao, who was chatting with his grandfather.

"Brother Biao".

"What's wrong, bro?"

Da Biao was peeling an orange and handing it to his grandfather.

Xu An pointed outside the courtyard.

A faint commotion could be heard from the newly paved asphalt road.

No longer the monotonous sound of an engine.

It was human voices.

The voices surged like a tide.

There was laughter, exclamations, and greetings.

"like……"

"The main force has arrived."

Da Biao suddenly stood up, walked to the courtyard gate, and looked outside.

In the distance, one could see a winding mountain road.

The densely packed convoy resembled a colorful dragon, stretching as far as the eye could see.

And on both sides of the convoy.

Countless young people, holding cell phones, carrying backpacks, and even flags, are walking towards this small mountain village.

Even if they are hundreds of meters apart.

Xu An could feel the heat wave hitting him.

That wasn't just a few people.

Those were thousands of burning hearts.

Xu An's legs went weak, and he grabbed the door frame for support.

"This is quite a spectacle..."

"It was even scarier than when the Japanese invaded the village back then."

Da Biao laughed heartily and put his arm around Xu An's shoulder.

"What's there to be afraid of!"

"Hey bro, just stand there!"

"Today, you are the king of Xujia Village!"

Xu An frowned and shrank his neck.

"I don't want to be king."

"I just want to know..."

"Will those two pigs sent by the authorities be able to withstand these hungry wolves...?"