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

In the live stream, the more than two million netizens were practically laughing themselves silly.

[ID with a low threshold for laughter]: Look at Anzi's eyes, that's not clear stupidity, that's clear despair.

[Top Social Anxiety ID]: I totally understand! If it were me, I'd rather go back the way I came and take the old green train back to Henan to peel garlic.

[ID Erbin Fan]: Director Wang: Anzi, you can't escape. Even a pig has to take a bath before leaving Erbin!

[ID: Fellow Henan Native]: Anzi, catch this windfall! Don't bring shame to our Xujia Village, stand tall and hold your head high!

Xu An lowered his head and let the group of people lead him to a black van with the "Longjiang Culture and Tourism" logo.

He felt like a kidnapped bride, while Liu Qiang was like the matchmaker who had received a reward and was chatting and laughing with the bureau chief.

"Director Wang, this kid is socially awkward and shy, but he's actually very warm-hearted."

Liu Qiang patted his chest, looking like a respected elder in the reflection of his mink coat. "He came this time to deliver a message for the veterans in his village."

Director Wang's eyes instantly filled with respect, even a hint of awe.

"A letter from the veteran? Or should I go to the Red Star Forest Farm?"

Director Wang took a deep breath, filled with emotion, "I know that place; it's the backbone of the first generation of forestry workers."

"Comrade Xu An, this mission delivery spanning three thousand miles demonstrates the reverence young people have for history!"

"This deep-seated cultural exploration is the positive energy we should be promoting!"

Xu An wanted to explain that the envelope only had a picture of a erhu (a two-stringed bowed instrument), and it didn't really rise to the level of "cultural roots-seeking".

But seeing the overflowing admiration in Director Wang's eyes, he ultimately chose to swallow his words and obediently climbed into the warm van.

It was so hot inside the car that Xu An wanted to rip off his military overcoat, which was covered in flour and coal dust.

But he couldn't peel it off; it was his turtle shell. He only felt safe when he was inside it.

The incubator was placed right next to his feet, and the potted green ivy was thriving under the warm orange light.

"Teacher Xu, let's go eat something hot first. The stewed goose in an iron pot has already been prepared."

The young lady from the Culture and Tourism Bureau smiled broadly and handed me a stylish power bank. "Your phone is almost out of battery, isn't it?"

Xu An glanced at the phone used for the live stream. Indeed, the -30 degree Celsius temperature was making the Huawei Mate 60 somewhat uncomfortable.

"Thank you... Um, I can't finish the goose."

Xu An muttered to himself, recalling the village bully in Xu Family Village whose fighting power was off the charts.

"It's alright, Teacher Liu Qiang will be with you, and Director Wang will also accompany you personally."

Half an hour later, at one of the most authentic iron pot stew restaurants in Harbin.

Facing the large pot, one meter in diameter, Xu An watched the goose meat, potatoes, and vermicelli bubbling inside and fell into deep thought once again.

This pot of soup could probably feed a third of the elderly people left behind in Xujia Village.

Director Wang was very considerate; instead of giving a long speech at the dinner table, he genuinely encouraged Xu An to eat.

"Eat more. There's been heavy snow in Yichun these past few days, and you really can't get in without some calories."

Director Wang picked up a piece of sweet potato noodles soaked in broth and placed it in Xu An's bowl. "Anzi, that letter, it must be very important, right?"

Xu An nodded, his hand unconsciously touching the canvas bag.

"Uncle Ya spent thirty years at the village's scrap yard, never leaving the village in his entire life, and never got married."

Xu An's voice was soft, yet it instantly silenced the noisy restaurant. "His only treasure is that erhu made from an eight-treasure porridge jar."

"This letter was for the 'Old Forester' at the Red Star Forest Farm. Although he didn't say it, I know it was his only concern."

Director Wang's hand froze for a moment. He turned his head, looked at the snow scene outside the window, and let out a long breath.

"Old Linzi... if I'm not mistaken, he should have been the chief performer of the Forestry Art Troupe back then."

"He was an old man who ruined his voice from protecting the forest and then spent his whole life guarding it."

The conversation was clearly transmitted through the live stream.

[ID: Descendant of the Forest Farm]: Holy crap, I know Old Linzi! He really used to play the erhu and even imitate bird calls!

[ID Heilongjiang Culture and Tourism]: Director, we must protect this! This is not just delivering a message, it's continuing a broken chapter in the soul of the forest area!

[ID Tearful Expert]: Uncle Ya and Old Linzi... one plays the violin, the other guards the forest, is this the story of high mountains and flowing water?

[ID Xu An's Wife]: Anzi, promise me you'll deliver this letter intact. Don't open it yourself; it's about their dignity.

Xu An solemnly put down his chopsticks. "I won't take it apart. That's Uncle Ya's privacy."

After finishing this "state guest-level" iron pot stew, Xu An felt he had gained five pounds.

However, he refused the five-star suite arranged by Director Wang, and also declined the so-called "city tour".

"Director Wang, I want to leave as soon as possible. The road to the forest farm is bad, and I'm afraid that if I stay too late... Uncle Ya's heart will turn cold."

These words completely changed the way Director Wang looked at Xu An.

If before it was all about gaining attention and promoting cultural tourism, now he's genuinely respecting the child.

"Fine, Erbin won't keep you, but Erbin will guarantee your departure."

Director Wang made a phone call, his voice firm and resolute: "Get a Cheetah truck equipped with snow chains, two drivers with experience driving in forest areas, and a satellite phone!"

"Since it's a veteran's request, we people from Heilongjiang will accept it!"

At that moment, Xu An felt that although this kind of official pampering was troublesome, it was indeed... quite satisfying.

Late at night, an SUV with a banner that read "Longjiang Culture and Tourism" parked in front of the restaurant.

Liu Qiang stayed in Harbin to deliver goods. He took off his large mink coat and insisted on putting it on Xu An.

"Anzi, I don't have much to give you, but wear this mink coat; it might save your life in a pinch!"

"No... Brother, I have a military overcoat. It was passed down from my grandfather. I'm used to it."

Xu An stubbornly pushed away the priceless mink coat and wrapped himself tightly in the old, wrinkled cotton-padded jacket.

He felt that only by wearing this outfit would Uncle Ya and his grandfather feel that he was still Xu An from Xu Family Village.

The SUV started moving, and the lights of Harbin gradually blurred in the rearview mirror.

Besides the driver, there was also a young girl named Xiaoyue, arranged by Director Wang, in the car. She was said to be in charge of taking notes and providing assistance.

Xu An knew that she was Director Wang's "bodyguard" left behind to prevent him, a socially awkward person, from running away halfway.

Xiaoyue was very professional; she sat in the passenger seat without saying a word, giving Xu An plenty of private space.

The view outside the window gradually transitioned from bustling to desolate, and then to endless white.

The birch forests on both sides of the road looked like rows of silent guards under the car headlights.

The SUV crunched and groaned on the icy road, a sound that evoked a sense of lonely tranquility.

"Teacher Xu An, please take a rest. It will take another five hours to get to Hongxing Forest Farm."

Xiaoyue said something softly, then handed over an eye mask.

Xu An wasn't wearing a blindfold. He looked out the window at the receding snow-capped mountains, mentally reviewing Uncle Ya's expression.

When the mute uncle gave him this letter, there was no sadness in his eyes, only a sense of relief that "he can finally put down his burden".

Suddenly, the car jolted violently.

"What's wrong?" Xu An's voice rose due to nervousness.

"It's alright, the snow ahead is a bit thick, it probably just snowed."

The driver answered without turning his head, his voice carrying the calm composure of a seasoned veteran, "These are all minor incidents. If we go any further, that's when things will truly be hopeless."

Xu An opened the live stream. It was already late at night, but the number of viewers was still steadily in the millions.

[ID Night Watchman]: Anzi, are you venturing into Northeast China now? This snow scene is too hardcore.

[ID Yichun Native]: A reminder to drivers: there's a "devil's bend" 10 kilometers ahead. A timber truck overturned there yesterday.

[ID Official Bodyguard]: The forest farm has received the message; someone is waiting at the entrance to the mountain.

Looking at these messages, Xu An felt a warm glow in his heart. The tension he felt due to social anxiety dissipated considerably under the protection of this collective.

He took the letter out of his bag again.

Under the dim interior light of the car, the erhu drawn on the envelope with a ballpoint pen was already a bit blurry from the friction.

Uncle Dumb... what exactly did you leave in that forest?

Is it an unfinished piece of music, or someone who has waited a lifetime?

The car continued to travel through the wind and snow, and in the distance, a very faint sound, like the wind blowing through a tree hole, could be heard.

It's as if someone gently plucked the strings of a violin in the dead of night, when all was quiet.

Xu An closed his eyes, and amidst the roar of the engine, he seemed to hear the steam rising from the bowl of spicy soup at the foot of the Taihang Mountains.

And it was as if I could hear the crisp sound of snow breaking dry branches in the old forest of this extremely cold place.

Mission accomplished.

These are the only four words he wants to uphold in this restless era.

Suddenly, the SUV slowed down.

The driver's voice held a hint of surprise: "Hey? Who's that? Practicing the piano in the woods in the middle of the night?"

Xu An suddenly opened his eyes.

Through the white mist outside the car window, he saw at the end of the road, under a huge larch tree.

There was a dark figure sitting on a rock.

The man held a bamboo pole in his hand, his movements extremely slow, yet full of rhythm.

The wind and snow were so strong that they drowned out the sound.

But Xu An felt as if the music had pierced through the thick bulletproof glass and struck his heart directly.

The letter with the erhu drawn on it suddenly became burning hot in his arms.

"Driver, stop the car."

Xu An's voice stopped trembling and even carried an unprecedented firmness.

"I'm not tired anymore, I'm home."

In the live stream, millions of netizens held their breath.

The camera focused on the dark figure in the snowstorm.

The image freezes at this moment.

That was the first silent encounter between two generations of deliverymen in this frigid land.

Outside the window, the snow fell silently.

Inside the window, Xu An's hand rested on the cover of the letter.

That was the most important piece of the puzzle for his trip.

It was also the only thing Uncle Ya could never say in his life...

I am sorry.