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人人书 > 杂志 > Love Me and My Food

Love Me and My Food

时间:2024-10-21 12:11:16

Shortvideoappsbecomeanewchannelforruralresidentstopromotetheirproducts

“Itisagoodwaytocreateadirectlinkbetweenvillageresidentsandtheirfollowers.Wehavewitnessedmanyencouragingstoriesandbelievethefutureofthisbusinessmodeispromising.”

—ZhangFan,amanagerwithshortvideosharingplatformKuaishou

Holdinganelectricdrill,ayoungpigtailedwomanwearingacamouflagetanktopdrillsintoabambootrunk.Asmallstreamofpinkliquidsquirtsoutassheremovesthedrill.Shethenletsthesapflowintoabamboocontainerinherhand.

“Thisiswaxberrybambooliquorbrewedinsidethetree,”shesays,whilemakinganarcwithherarmaroundthebamboo.“Allthebambootreesinthisareahaveliquorbrewinginthem.”

ThisisthesceneinarecentvideoclipuploadedtoKuaishou,ashortvideosharingplatform,byYuanGuihua,a20-year-oldwomaninLeizhaiVillage,TianzhuCounty,southwestChina’sGuizhouProvince.Bysharingvideosaboutherlifeinthevillage,shehasamassedalmost3millionfollowersonKuaishouintwoyears.

Forher,itissimpleandfun;anybodyinherfamilywithasmartphonecanmakeavideoofher.“Wedon’tneedtodoanyeditingorworryaboutshakingoranytechnicalproblemswhilemakingthevideo,”YuantoldBeijingReview.“Myfollowersdon’tmind.”

Fromfuntobusiness

In2016,YuanpostedherfirstvideoonKuaishouofherherdingcattleinthevillage.Withinaday,thethenhighschoolstudentgotover1,000followers.ThisignitedYuan’sinterestinuploadingmorevideostotheplatform,whichhadmorethan120milliondailyactiveusersinJune.

Aftergraduatingfromhighschool,Yuandidn’tgotocollege.Incontrasttomanyotheryoungpeopleinthevillageseekingtomovetobigcities,Yuanchosetostayathometohelpwiththefarmwork.Sheistheyoungestofthree,withanolderbrotherandsister.

In2017,Yuan’snumberoffollowersincreaseddramatically.Mostofhervideosfeaturedhereithereatingorcookingonanopenwoodfireinherfamily’scourtyard.Hermeals,exclusivelymadewithhomegrownandhomemadeingredients,alwaysmadeviewers’mouthswater.Eventually,somebegantooffertobuythepreservedmeatsorsausages,whichwerearegularpartofYuan’srecipes.

“MostofthebuyersarenativetoGuizhoubutworksomewhereelse.Theymissthecomfortfoodoftheirhometowns,”Yuansaid.“Thepreservedmeatsandsausagesarethemostcommonfoodsinmyvillageandeveryoneherecanmakethem.”ThepreservedbeancurdandchoppedredpeppermadebyYuan’smotheralsobecamepopular.

YuanstartedtosellpreservedmeatsandsausagesthroughWeChat,thelargestsocialnetworkingserviceinChinabynumberofusers,whichalsohastheaddedfunctionofpayment.“Atfirst,mymotherdidn’tbelievethatIcouldsellthingsinthisway,”Yuansaid.“ButwhenIsoldseveralthousandkilogramsbeforetheChineseLunarNewYear,shewasreallysurprised.”

TheperiodaroundtheChineseLunarNewYear,whichusuallyfallsinJanuaryorFebruary,isthepeaktimeforYuan’sbusiness,asfamiliesarebusymakingpreservedfoodsinpreparationforthetraditionalfestival,whichisatimeoffamilyreunions.

“IhaveneverbeenoutofGuizhou,butthroughpostingmyvideosonline,Ihavemademanyfriendsfromafar,”Yuansaid.“Ifeelverygratefulforthis.”

“SheissodifferentfromotheryoungwomenweseeeverydayontheInternet,”afollowerwroteunderoneofhervideos.“Shedoesn’tputanymakeupon.Sheeatshappilyoutofabigbowl,notlikethosewhodon’tdaretoeatsoastokeepaslimfigure.Sheissonaturalandprettyinherownway.”

Yuan’srurallifeisalsonewtomany.“Ineverknewthatliquorcouldbebrewedinbambootrunks,”commentedanotherfollower.“Ithinkalotofpeoplelikemestillknowlittleaboutvillagelife.”

Inaddition,Yuan’sbusinesshasbenefitedotherhouseholdsinthevillagebyhelpingthemselltheirownproducts.

Earlierthisyear,Yuansetupacooperativewith33householdsstrugglingwithpovertyinthevillagetoplantKadsuracoccinea,calledXuetengguoinChinese.Thefruit,whichtasteslikealychee,canonlygrowinaclimatesimilartothatinYuan’svillage.ThefirstbatchofthefruitisexpectedtohitthemarketinlateOctober.

Yuanisconsideringregisteringabrandforherproductsbutworriesthatabrandmightsoundtooindustrializedandmayleadtoherlosingcustomerswhoappreciatehernaturalelements.

Hometownprospects

Yuan’sbambooliquorisnormallynotforsale.Shegivessomeawayasgiftstofriendsandtherestisstrictlyforhergrandfather,wholovesit.

ButtherearemanysuchbambooliquorsellersonKuaishou.JiangJinchun,a40-yearoldvillagerfromHengfengCountyineastChina’sJiangxiProvince,isoneofthem.Inhisvideos,Jiang,normallydressedinancientcostume,holdsabamboocontainerwithliquorinonehandandhomemadefoodintheother,eatingeitherbytheriversideorinthenearbyforest.

“Heeatsanddrinkssohappily,”afollowercommented.“Thefoodanddrinklookreallydelicious.”ThishasbecomeanewbusinesschannelforJiang,whoreturnedtohishometownwithhiswifein2012afterbeingintheclothingwholesalebusinessinYiwuinneighboringZhejiangProvinceforyears.

“WeweretoobusytohaveourdaughterlivewithuswhilewewereinYiwuandhadtoleaveherinourhometownwithhergrandparents,”Jiang’swife,XingZhao,toldBeijingReview.“Sometimeswemissedourdaughtersomuchthatwespenteighthoursridingamotorcyclebackhomelateatnightjusttovisither.”

Jianglaunchedane-commercestoreaftercomingbacktoHengfengandmademultipleattemptstoexpandhisbusiness.HestartedtouploadvideostoKuaishouin2014andgraduallygarneredahugefollowing.Withnearly1millionfollowers,Jianghashelpedmorethan200householdsinhisandsurroundingvillagesexporttheirproducts,includingdriedbambooshoots,bambooliquorandalocalsweettea.Healsoteachesothervillagerslookingtopromotetheirproductshowtomakeanduploadvideos.

Nowadays,Jianguploadsvideosalmosteveryday.“Sometimeswemakearoughdraftofthecontent,butmoreoftenthannotwejustmakeitonthespot,”Xingsaid.

YuanGuihua,astaronshortvideosharingplatformKuaishou,showsoffthehomemadefoodsthatfeatureinhervideosCOURTESYPHOTOMorestars

ComparedtoYuanandJiang,GanYouqin’steamismoreprofessional.AfarmerfromSuwutangVillageinLingshanCounty,southChina’sGuangxiZhuangAutonomousRegion,GanusedtoworkinneighboringGuangdongProvinceasalow-paidmigrantworkeruntilshedecidedtomovebackhomein2014.

Hernephew,ZhangYangcheng,acollegegraduatewhomajoredinbroadcastingandcommunication,sawpotentialinGan,agoodcookwhoalwaysbroughtfreshideastorecipes,andencouragedhertomakecookingvideostoshareonline.

ThefirstvideoclipwasuploadedtoToutiao,apopularnewsaggregator,onMay19,2017.Ganwassonervousinfrontofthecamerathatshecouldn’tsayawordbutonlylaughed.Later,herlaughterwouldbecomehersignaturefeature.Zhangmadedetailedplansforthecontentofeveryvideotheyuploaded.Theystartedfilmingat10a.m.,finishedinlateafternoonandZhangeditedthefootageatnight.

Xigua,ashortvideosharingplatformaffiliatedtoToutiao,laterofferedGanacontract,givingabigboosttoherfameandbusiness.Withinayear,Gan’sfollowerssurpassed1million.ShehasbecomeamediaphenomenonandwasinvitedtoparticipateinacookingprogramonstatebroadcasterChinaCentralTelevisiononJune4.

Now,Ganuploadstwoclipsaday,witheachgettingmorethan300,000views.Thesalesvolumeofheragriculturalproducts—mostlylocalfruit—easilyexceeds1millionyuan($146,760)eachmonth,amiracleforavendorinaremotevillagewhichisnotevenclosetoarailwaystation.Herhusbandisinchargeofdeliveryandherthreecousinsworkoncustomerservice.

Thesuccessofshortvideosharingplatformsinpromotingagriculturalproductshasledtoofficialstakingactionaswell.OnAugust17,ChenTingjun,MayorofGulinCountyinsouthwestChina’sSichuanProvince,uploadedavideotoDouyin,asubsidiaryofToutiaowithmorethan150milliondailyactiveusersinJune,promotingthecounty’splums.Within10days,plumsalessurpassed150tons.

LiYoujun,MayorofChangshunCountyinGuizhou,hasalsohelpedtosellmorethan80,000green-shelledeggs,alocaldelicacy,viaDouyinandanotherlive-streamingplatform.

Recently,bothXiguaandKuaishoulaunchedspecificcolumnsforruralresidentstopromotetheirproducts.“Itisagoodwaytocreateadirectlinkbetweenvillageresidentsandtheirfollowers,”saidZhangFan,amanagerwithKuaishou.“Wehavewitnessedmanyencouragingstoriesandbelievethefutureofthisbusinessmodeispromising.”

CopyeditedbyRebecaToledo

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