I couldn't take it anymore; when I went home for Chinese New Year, the family genealogy book ha

The next morning, before dawn, the cultural square in Jiangjia Village was already packed with people.

The chill of the winter morning was completely dispelled by the bustling voices and soaring enthusiasm of the crowd.

In the center of the square, ten simple fenced arenas were temporarily erected with sturdy wooden beams, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of sand.

Beside the arena, in a huge enclosure, fifty plump and strong black pigs were huddled together, grunting uneasily, their hot breath condensing into puffs of white mist in the cold air.

These pigs were all glossy and incredibly large.

These are not ordinary feed pigs.

These piglets grew up drinking the life-giving spring water and eating scraps of divine vegetables in the back mountains.

That strength, that wildness, was even more ferocious than that of wild boars in the mountains.

Almost all the able-bodied men in the village were present.

They took off their heavy cotton-padded coats and put on old, filthy clothes. One by one, they rubbed their hands together and warmed up on the sidelines, their eyes fixed on the brand-new, bright red Dongfanghong tractor on the high platform at the end of the square.

The tractor resembled a bride-to-be, with a large red flower tied to its front, gleaming in the morning light.

Jiang Shitou was at the very front.

He was particularly excited today, so he took off his shirt and went shirtless, revealing his explosive, bronze-colored muscles.

He even tied a festive red ribbon around his head, just like in the movies, making him look like a war god about to go into battle.

"Thump—!"

Grandpa Jiang personally struck the gong to start the competition.

Wang Dagou, with his hoarse voice, shouted through a megaphone: "The first 'Strong enough to lift a mountain' pig-slaughtering competition in Jiangjia Village is now starting!"

In the first round, the barriers of all ten arenas were opened simultaneously.

The ten largest black pigs that were chosen, like ten runaway black miniature tanks, roared out and charged forward.

"Go!"

Ten groups of contestants, each with three to five people, shouted as they went to greet them.

In an instant, the square descended into chaos.

"Ouch! My back!"

"Grab its tail! Don't let it get away!"

"Holy crap! This pig can drift!"

Cao Dachui, known for his strength on the construction site, led his three most capable brothers, and the four of them surrounded a pig king that weighed nearly 400 pounds.

Just as they pounced, the pig king suddenly kicked off with its hind legs, arched its back, and violently swung its head.

"Bang!"

Cao Dachui and his three brothers were like four bowling pins, knocked to the ground by Pig King's "Dragon Tail Swing" and rolled into the muddy puddle next to them, splashing up a cloud of mud.

"Hahaha! Hammer! You should save that strength for digging! You can't even handle a pig!"

The villagers watching the commotion were laughing so hard they couldn't stand up straight.

Cao Dachui climbed out of the mud, spat out the mud in his mouth, and said with a face full of indignation, "Is this a pig? This is a rhinoceros wearing pigskin!"

Other arenas also saw numerous unexpected situations.

Some people were led around the field by the pigs, while others were kicked away by a hoof as soon as they grabbed a pig's leg.

In less than five minutes, nine out of the ten groups of contestants in the first round were eliminated.

All eyes were focused on the last arena.

Jiang Shitou.

He didn't rush in like the others from the very beginning.

He fixed his gaze on the largest and wildest black-haired pig, his eyes narrowing into slits.

Just as the pig charged at him, Jiang Shitou let out a low growl like a wild beast, and instead of retreating, he advanced, like a tiger descending a mountain, and pounced directly on it.

He didn't grab the pig's leg or hug the pig's body.

His target was clear—a pig's head!

Jiang Shitou's hands, as big as palm leaves, were like two iron clamps, tightly gripping the pig's two large, fan-like ears.

Two thighs covered in bulging muscles clamped tightly around the pig's belly at the same time, like pythons coiling around it.

"Awooo—!"

The 300-pound fat pig went completely mad from the pain.

It suddenly shook its head and kicked its legs desperately, causing Jiang Shitou to tumble wildly on the sandy and muddy arena.

Mud splattered everywhere, covering Jiang Shitou's face.

Jiang Shitou gritted his teeth, his arms bulging with veins, and no matter how much the pig struggled, his hands remained motionless, as if welded to the pig's ears.

The man and the pig rolled around in the mud three times.

The villagers watching all held their breath.

"Get down... for me!"

Jiang Shitou let out another loud shout and suddenly exerted force from his waist and abdomen.

Using the pig's momentum as it rolled over, he twisted his body around and placed all his weight on the pig's neck.

"boom!"

A muffled thud.

The black-haired pig, which had been so ferocious just moments before, seemed to be crushed by a small mountain. Its four legs kicked futilely in the air for a couple of moments before Jiang Shitou used his brute strength to forcefully flip it to the ground.

Jiang Shitou flipped over and straddled the pig, pressing its limbs down with his knees to immobilize it.

The entire room fell silent for a second.

"good!!!"

No one knows who shouted first, but then thunderous cheers and applause, like a landslide and a tsunami, resounded throughout the entire Jiangjia Village.

"Stone is awesome!"

"That's incredible! Is he even human?!"

Grandpa Jiang stood up excitedly, his copper pipe trembling.

Wang Dagou, holding a stopwatch, jumped up and down excitedly, shouting, "Twenty-eight seconds! Jiang Shitou! He won!"

Jiang Shitou stood up from the mud. His body and face were covered in mud, only his teeth were white.

He wiped the mud off his face and gave Jiang Chen on the platform a simple, bright, silly grin.

"Brother Chen, can I...can I choose the red tractor?"

The audience erupted in good-natured laughter once again.

Jiang Chen stood on the high platform, looking at the man covered in mud but laughing like a child, and shouted back, "Sure! Not just red, I'll have Da Gou buy you a ton of the best diesel, so you can drive as much as you want!"

The pig-slaughtering competition concluded in the most enthusiastic and pure way.

But the real revelry has only just begun.