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

Old Linzi didn't move either.

The stubborn old man, clutching the broken-stringed erhu in his arms, not only didn't run away, but instead wrapped the horsehair that the mute uncle had given him tighter and tighter.

His cloudy eyes stared intently into the depths of the dense forest, and a hissing sound, like a broken bellows, came from his throat.

"Why are you running away...?"

Old Linzi abruptly shook off the forest ranger's hand, the movement so forceful that ice crystals on his eyebrows fell off in a flurry.

"It understands."

"It's been here with me for ten years, and it understands this music!"

Although Lao Linzi's voice was hoarse, at this moment it exuded a wildness that no one dared to refuse.

Xu An watched the old forest's retreating figure.

He remembered what his grandfather said when he was peeling corn: "A person with a guilty conscience is afraid of the dark, a person with a burning heart is afraid of the cold, and a person with worries in their heart has a tough life."

Uncle Ya's concerns are here, and so are Old Lin's.

If he runs away, what will become of this letter?

His arduous journey of three thousand miles has become a joke.

Xu An took a deep breath, and the chill in his lungs seemed to be suppressed by him.

He didn't run away.

He actually took a step forward with his still trembling legs and moved the microphone closer to Lao Linzi.

This move completely stunned the forest ranger who had originally planned to forcibly take him away.

This also caused the millions of viewers in the live broadcast room to completely erupt in excitement.

[ID: Uncle Xujiacun]: Good lad! This is the kind of kid our Xu family can be! He remains calm even if Mount Tai collapses before him, and his legs tremble even if a tiger roars behind him... His legs may tremble, but he doesn't back down!

[ID Psychologist]: This is because an extreme sense of responsibility overwhelms extreme social anxiety. Anzi's current state is actually that he has entered a state of "flow". He can only see that letter!

In truth, Xu An was thinking: I can't outrun a tiger anyway, so I might as well die standing up and at least finish playing Uncle Ya's song.

Deep in the snow, the thicket of bushes suddenly split open.

A gigantic beast, its body covered in colorful markings and the "prince" on its forehead crooked due to a scar, silently emerged.

It really only had one eye; the other eye was sunken into a deep pit, surrounded by grayish-white flesh.

With each step it took, its enormous claws made no sound as they pounded in the snow; only the distinctive, pungent smell of a wild beast wafted through the wind and into Xu An's nostrils.

The young patrolmen had already held their stun guns across their chests, their breathing rapid as if they were working bellows.

At that moment, Lao Linzi started playing his broken erhu again.

The horsehair rubbed against the strings, and the sound was no longer the previous passionate one, but a low, even slightly ingratiating, sob.

It's like two long-lost friends having a private chat in a late-night bar.

In the video, the mute uncle's piano playing also changed.

The discordant sounds of his erhu, which resembled eight-treasure porridge, miraculously harmonized with the sound of the wind in the forest at that moment.

The one-eyed tiger stopped.

It was less than five meters away from the old forest, its two front paws slightly lowered, and the whiskers around its mouth rising and falling with its breath.

The one eye stared intently at Old Linzi.

At last.

Its gaze fell on the potted green ivy in Xu An's arms.

That plant, which still showed a stubborn green color even in the minus thirty degree cold wind.

The fierce light in the tiger's eyes momentarily dimmed.

It slowly circled around Lao Linzi and Xu An.

The tail swept up the snow, creating a cloud of white mist.

Xu An felt the tip of the tiger's tail even brush against the hem of his military overcoat.

He didn't dare to move.

He stopped breathing, his eyes fixed on the front, his whole being like a sculpture called "socially anxious".

Just then, Lao Linzi's melody reached its last note.

That was the gesture of Uncle Ya gently putting down his bow in the video.

Old Linzi also stopped.

He looked down at the letter in his arms and the ponytail, and let out a satisfied sigh.

"It doesn't eat people."

Old Linzi didn't turn his head, and said softly.

"It's here to listen to this song on behalf of its mother."

"Thirty years ago, during that fire, the mute saved me. I pulled its mother out of the fire before she even opened her eyes."

Old Linzi laughed.

That smile looked so radiant, yet so aged, in the wind and snow.

As if it understood, the one-eyed tiger raised its head and let out a low whimper.

There was no murderous intent in his voice, only a sense of ritual, like a farewell.

It turned around, leaped, and disappeared back into the endless larch forest.

All that was left were claw marks the size of a millstone.

And the forest rangers, slumped in the snow, panting heavily.

Only then did Xu An realize that the cotton-padded jacket his grandfather had passed down to him was soaked with sweat.

Between the sudden change in temperature, he sneezed violently.

That sound shattered the fatalistic atmosphere that surrounded them.

[ID Official Bodyguard]: Crisis averted! Crisis averted! Oh my god, I had my hand on the alarm just now!

[ID Teacher Degang]: This isn't just delivering a message, it's cross-species cultural exchange! Anzi, with that aura, you'll be able to walk sideways in Xujia Village without anyone daring to stop you!

[ID Forest Farm Descendant]: Thank you, Xu An. You not only delivered the letter, but you also saved the old forest's soul.

Xiaoyue and the driver rushed over and tried to help Xu An up.

Xu An waved his hand, struggled to his feet, and the first thing he did was to check the pothos in the insulated box.

Fortunately.

The pothos didn't freeze to death; it's still thriving.

Old Linzi held Xu An's hand, and those hands were no longer icy cold, but carried a reassuring warmth.

"I received the letter."

"Tell the mute man for me later."

Old Linzi pointed to this old forest.

"I've protected the forest well; the trees have all grown big, and even the tigers know the rules now."

"Tell him to come back when he has time. He doesn't need eight-treasure porridge or canned food. I have a good zither here, which I've been saving for him."

Xu An nodded, and at that moment, he suddenly felt a weight lifted off his shoulders.

But it's also a bit heavier.

He took the pothos plant that he had taken from Zhang Fugui's car out of his pocket.

"Old Lin...sir, this is for you."

"This is the soil of Shanxi, the water of Henan, and the sunshine of Taiyuan."

"If you miss Uncle Ya, take a look at this. This thing is tough; it can survive breathing exhaust fumes in the driver's cab, so it'll definitely be able to survive here too."

When Xu An spoke, he didn't dare to look Lao Linzi in the eye, his gaze fixed on the snow beneath his feet.

That's a typical move for someone with extreme social anxiety.

But Lao Linzi accepted it with a smile, as if he were receiving a priceless national treasure.

"Good, good, good child."

"Let's go, it's cold outside, let's go to the mailroom to warm up."

"There's some old wine I've been storing for twenty years, and frozen pears from the woods."

Xu An wanted to refuse.

These kinds of social situations are too difficult for him.

But when he saw countless netizens in the live stream commenting "want to see frozen pears" and "toast the old hero," he was deeply moved.

He sighed.

"Um... I can only have a small sip, I can't hold my liquor."

Xu An compromised.

This act of sacrificing his "personal interests" for the sake of "the greater good" made him feel that it was a bit too noble.

Meanwhile, far away in Harbin, Director Wang was staring at the screen, giving orders to the people around him.

"That old forest in Hongxing Forest Farm must be included in our province's key personnel files."

"Also, what's Xu An's next stop? Has the route been planned?"

"Wherever he goes, the road must be open, and the heating must be on!"

In Director Wang's eyes, there was not only political achievement, but also a sense of the older generation's sentiment, moved by Xu An's sincerity.

In the mailroom of Hongxing Forest Farm.

A furnace is burning brightly.

Old Linzi pulled out several dark, frozen pears from the cellar and put them into a basin of cold water.

"Anzi, look at this pear. Its surface is black, but its inside is sweet."

"Just like the people in our mountains."

Old Lin handed the pear to Xu An.

Xu An took a bite; it was icy cold, sweet, and refreshingly cool.

At that moment, in this extremely cold place, he felt an unprecedented tranquility.

On the earthen bed in the mailroom, Old Linzi wrapped the horsehair string that Uncle Dumb had given him around his calloused wrist again and again.

He didn't say thank you again, but just gulped down the whole porcelain jar of boiling liquor, and then gave Xu An a simple and honest smile.

This smile, which had previously made his face as hard as pine bark, surprisingly revealed a touch of youthful spirit.

Xu An huddled inside his military overcoat, taking small bites of the dark, frozen pear.

The cool, sweet taste that reached my throat completely suppressed the fear I had felt after escaping from the jaws of death.

"Hey sir, this pear is really good."

Xu An spat out a pear core, his eyes so clear that they reminded Lao Linzi of himself decades ago, before he even entered the forest.

At this point, thanks to the popularity of the "Tiger Roar Ensemble," the number of viewers in the live stream had steadily surpassed 1.5 million.

[ID: Forest Area No.1]: Brothers, I found out that Lao Linzi's forestry subsidy from back then was reduced to the minimum allowance because his file was burned in the fire.

[Heilongjiang Culture and Tourism Official ID]: Don't worry, the province is handling this as a special case. Lao Lin's position and benefits have just been approved, and even his erhu will be included in the museum!

[ID: Xujiacun Genshu]: Anzi! Keep up the good work, our village canteen is great! You don't need to worry about home!

Xu An looked at the comments on the screen and finally felt relieved.

Uncle Ya's letter has arrived, and Old Lin's future is settled. The family canteen is also fine, which is better than anything else.

Just as Xu An was about to say goodbye to Lao Linzi and quietly leave this "place of trouble," the horn of an off-road vehicle sounded.

Director Wang called Xiaoyue's cell phone, and Xu An could hear the voice even without speakerphone.

"Xiaoyue! Keep a close eye on Xu An! Not a single hair on his head can be missing!"

"Even if you have to carry him, you have to carry Anzi to the Ice and Snow World!"

"This is an order! We in Erbin may have wronged others, but we cannot wrong the child who delivered the message to the old hero!"

Xu An opened his mouth, his face darker than the black earth, and mumbled, "Director Wang... I want to go back to the village... I want to husk corn."