Post-net celebrity life in Cao County
After the hit, visit Cao County to feel the local speed and slowness
The so-called Internet celebrities are often "red" fast and go fast.
Even Cao County is no exception. Over time, topics and ridicule about it have gradually faded out of the Internet.
Three months later, the reporter came to visit this once-popular county town again, and it has already returned to its former calm.
However, the influence of the influence of Internet celebrity is quietly changing this small city in southwestern Shandong.
Text / Film Qilu Evening News Qilu One Point
Reporter Shi Peilei Liu Yunhe Zhang Xikun
Be a matchmaker online
After the live broadcast for nearly 3 hours, the 43-year-old sister Wu sat on a small stool in front of the screen of her mobile phone and kept fanning the folding fan in her hand.
After 11 o'clock in the morning, the weather was sultry and hot. In order to take care of the "baby" in the live broadcast room, she resisted not turning on the fan on the side, making the noise too loud.
Sister Wu is an online matchmaker who took the line all morning. Her voice was a bit hoarse, but she still greeted a male guest in the live broadcast room very enthusiastically: "Why is she confiscating your flowers? It's okay. You find a female guest."
During the live broadcast, Sister Wu wore pigtails, pink-rimmed glasses, and a skirt with white stripes and black bottom. She looked neat and elegant.
In contrast, the "live studio" is a bit shabby-right in her shoe store.
Sister Wu put her hands on a small wooden table, with dusty shoe racks and some old-fashioned shoes in the background.
"You are looking for me as the right one, and I'm broadcasting live nearby." Sister Wu's shoe store is located in the old trade city next to Nanhu Park in Cao County.
This was once the most prosperous area in Cao County. However, with the development of Cao County's urban area to the north in recent years, the newly emerging business district in the north has diverted a large part of the people here. Coupled with the impact of online shopping, the business of shoe stores is not as good as it was in the past.
Although it is the weekend, there are still very few customers.
After selling shoes for more than ten years, Sister Wu was reluctant to give up.
The business here has faded, and the rent has come down. It costs 10,000 yuan a year. In this way, the shop can still earn some pocket money.
Besides, this is her live broadcast base camp.
Sister Wu has been in contact with live broadcasting for nearly three years.
In the past few years, e-commerce live broadcasts brought the goods to the wind, and she also smelled the business opportunity and became the first and only person in the trade city to go online to sell shoes live.
Especially since the epidemic last year, live broadcasting has become her main business.
Learn while broadcasting.
She bought books and started online classes.
The thick notebook witnessed her learning process.
How to monetize the account, what content to attract fans, how to make users remember you, she lists them in a notebook.
"If you want to be a real anchor, you have to learn to talk nonsense." Sister Wu said, self-accumulation is one aspect, and lip service also needs to be practiced.
Now she can open her mouth: "It's not about spending three to five thousand dollars, you don't have to think about an afternoon, it's not about buying refrigerators and freezers, you don't have to go home to hold your wife and children for meetings, and it's not about buying airplanes and cannons. The leader reports, and the small money is willing to spend it, so it can be taken home naturally..."
The shoes are not sold much, but the body is exhausted.
In May of this year, Cao County went out of the circle. Sister Wu wanted to seize this wave of traffic and started playing Douyin. She spent 55 yuan and bought a microphone that can play music and sing. She also tried to shoot short videos. , But didn't get much traffic, which made her a little frustrated.
How can there be traffic?
She found that many grassroots anchors rolled on the ground in order to attract attention. She felt that she couldn't do it. In addition, the pace of being an anchor was too tight, and she had to respond to netizens and mobilize emotions all the time, which made her difficult to cope with and did not persist.
She really likes her part-time job now, being an online matchmaker.
For her, this job is not only a job, but also a hobby. While passing the boring time, it can also be an adult.
"It's not tiring to do this, it's nothing more than to make a round of it. Which guest do you like, I will bring her in, and if you encounter any difficulties, I will help to solve it."
She broadcasts live broadcasts for 7 hours a day. Sometimes several pairs are matched a day, and sometimes one cannot be made. She thinks this is good.
The shoe store’s business is slack, and it happens to be live broadcast in free time. The income is not high, three or four thousand per month, but the consumption in the county is not high.
"In the county town, the pressure should be lower." Sister Wu has two children. The elder is in college in Chengdu and the younger is in high school. She bought a house for her children early, and the two sets add up to a little over one million yuan.
After solving the big house issue, Sister Wu feels that she should do something she likes now, "Being an online matchmaker, it doesn't matter whether you earn more or less."
Sit at the night market for at least 3 hours
In Cao County, if you visit more, you will find that many people like "Sister Wu" and like the slow pace in the county.
When talking about the ridicule of "Beishang Guangcao", Mr. Wang, who is watching the children in Nanhu Park, will continue to say, "You are late, how long it has been, CCTV came to interview at that time."
Cao County returned to calm, but the content of Cao County’s exit from the circle could easily become a topic after dinner.
In a barbecue shop in the county seat, four Caoxian people drank a round of beer and praised Cao County: "Cao County is really good, don’t you see if we are here? The e-commerce sellers selling Hanfu are not better than those in Beijing and Shanghai. Of course, you can also hear "Tucao" in Cao County.
In the park, when several old people talked about the fire in Cao County, they would also say a few words, "The Internet is too exaggerated. This Cao County is not popular, and the people have to benefit from it."
But when it comes to the development of Cao County in the past few years, and when the pressure of life in Cao County is low, the local people agree. Hometown, trying to find business from this slow life.
Before it got dark, the night market on the side of Qinghe Road in the county seat opened one after another.
"The setting of the sun is the signal, and we have to do it at one end of the wine glass." The slogan of a night market named "Civil and military drink food stalls" was particularly noticeable.
The stall owner is a young man in his early 20s who is busy grilling.
The guy's name is Zhang Qiankun, from Henan, 24 years old this year.
Because his wife belongs to Cao County, he feels that he is half of Cao County.
Before June this year, Zhang Qiankun and his wife were still working in Zhengzhou. He was a cook and his wife did some odd jobs.
After the fire in Cao County, he aimed at the popularity here and set up a night stand with relatives.
"Henan drink it, usually not too late, we sit here for at least 3 hours, and can drink until four or five o'clock in the morning."
The night market is very lively, but people's stalls are selling goods.
A month ago, Zhang Qiankun was cold when he started setting up a stall. He sold one or two hundred yuan a night and lost more than three hundred yuan.
"I have thought about this result, but I am not discouraged. If others are capable, we are also capable." After holding on for a period of time, the popularity gradually increased. Zhang Qiankun said that now the turnover of one night can reach two to three thousand.
Business becomes hot, not only depends on diligence and craftsmanship, but also on my own little know-how.
"Attract young people to have new ideas." Wenwu drink food stalls, as the name suggests, there are two types of drinking and drinking.
Xie Songwen, Zhang Qiankun's relative, took three cups and arranged them from small to large.
"Wen Drink uses the smallest glass, which can hold more than half a bottle of beer; the other two glasses are Wu Drink. The medium one can hold one bottle, and the large one can hold two bottles of beer." Xie Songwen said, "We are all in Shandong. It’s very bold, and there are more people who choose martial arts to drink."
Zhang Qiankun and his wife, two young men in their early 20s who can endure hardships and work hard, set up stalls every day from 7 o'clock in the evening, and then go back at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning.
Hard work is the means, and slow life is the rhythm they yearn for.
On their booth, they wrote this sentence: "Slow-paced life and slow me".
Zhang Qiankun has been working out since he graduated from junior high school at the age of 14. He has been to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Zhengzhou and other big cities. He has experienced the fast pace of the city, but he has never found a sense of belonging.
When I came to Cao County this time, I was not only attracted by the popularity here, but also wanted to experience the slow pace of life in the county.
Although it is very hard now, the two of them did not think about giving up. They wanted to gain popularity for the sign of "Cultural Drinking Martial Arts" and preparing for future store openings, "I hope they can gain a foothold in this county."
Better to make money than big cities
There are many young people who have the same ideas as Zhang Qiankun and return to their hometowns to start businesses, especially after Cao County was out of the circle.
"Now our office can receive a dozen calls every day, wanting to consult about the entrepreneurial policy, entrepreneurial environment, and find some entrepreneurial venues." Wang Xiangbin, director of the Cao County Returning Home and Entrepreneurship Office Office, clearly felt that everyone has returned to their hometown in the past two years. Enthusiasm is high.
Since 2017, a total of 86,200 people in Cao County have returned to their hometowns to start businesses, and 20,300 various economic entities have been founded.
Why do you want to return home?
Wang Xiangbin said that this is not unrelated to Cao County’s exit from the circle, but also to the local support policies and entrepreneurial environment. Of course, more people value the atmosphere of office workers. Whether you start from scratch or invest with capital, you can do it here. Find something to do.
Wang Qun, who has been outside for 16 years, decided to move his business focus to the big market town of his hometown.
Daji Town is a well-known local e-commerce town. The famous Hanfu performance costumes in Cao County are mainly processed and sold from here to the whole country.
In the words of the locals, nine of the ten stores here are for clothing.
Wang Qun started an import business in Qingdao. Three years ago, he opened several online stores in Daji Town and started selling performance costumes.
"Just playing and doing, the main energy is still in Qingdao. Come back for more than 20 days in the peak season."
Wang Qun speaks fluently and has clear ideas about business.
In the past, she worked in other places and had very high profits, but in the past few years, she increasingly felt that it was hard to make money in big cities, and the profits were thin.
"You have to change your thinking back and forth when doing business. You can't think that the countryside is backward. The business opportunities in the countryside are better than those in the big cities. The family workshops here operate well. It is normal to make five, six hundred thousand or even millions of dollars a year, but if you are in a big city , Earning one million a year requires a lot of manpower, capital and management costs."
In fact, Wang Qun had previously hesitated about the prospects of the family's industry, which made her regret it so far.
One time was in 2018, when her house was valued at 3.6 million. "I should have sold it back to cast costumes. At that time, I was afraid of losing money. The property was more valuable, but now the house has fallen to 3.2 million. If I took 1 million at that time. How much investment must be made now!"
In 2020, Wang Qun wanted to go home and put into production for chorus and other performance costumes. “Later, my old family advised me not to withdraw. What if I lose? This also makes me regret it.” So this year, "June 1", Wang Qun's The store sold out early.
"Some time ago, I had dinner with people in my hometown, and they often said that this one made one million, and that one made two million. I was tempted again, and it's not too late to shift the center of gravity."
Having spent so many years outside, Wang Qun stayed at home for the first time this year—more than 50 days. She is optimistic about the performance clothing industry in her hometown.
"When I did it before, many people said that the industry was saturated long ago, but looking back, it is still very popular. It should be no problem in the next few years. Parents pay more attention to quality education. Children perform and wear Hanfu. Willing to invest."
Wang Qun's confidence also comes from the industrial foundation and office atmosphere of his hometown.
"The old family has a business philosophy and is very motivated. Every family, young and old, are in the line of costumes, and there is no idler. In Cao County, you really have to bend down, look for the line, study it, and you can make money. , All gold is waiting.” In recent years, local costumes have formed an industrial chain, from material selection, tailoring, to finished products, without leaving the town.
“There are still more family workshops here, and management and other aspects need to be improved. We have been outside for so many years and have relatively rich experience, and we still have advantages in business model and management.” This time, Wang Qun did a very detailed work. Survey.
"You have to figure it out. It's not that this is a good one. I just copy it. I want to find out why this one is so popular and create a better style."
At present, Wang Qun has made six or seven performance costumes. She said that she will continue to invest and update, "I will come back every month in the future, hoping to make it bigger."
Sell Gangzimo to the whole country
The peak sales season of "June 1" performance costumes has passed, and the merchants in Daji Town did not have time to rest and started the next round of stocking.
If the epidemic prevention and control situation is better, this year's National Day and New Year's Day will usher in a wave of performance clothing sales peaks.
Daji Town represents a kind of fast-paced life in Cao County. "There is no time for you to be lazy. If you don't do it, the business belongs to others."
Recently, Fan Qunying of Daji Town started to expand the production scale of Gangzimo.
The 200-square-meter small production workshop is no longer able to meet online orders.
"There is a client from Liaocheng who can ask for several thousand catties of buns a day."
Fan Qunying is 44 years old this year, and he has been making steamed buns for more than 25 years.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, he and his wife had just sent out more than 170 orders.
He has been making steamed buns since he was 17 years old. He got up early and went to bed late. He was very tired. “I just chose this to make a living.” At that time, he was killed and he did not expect to sell his steamed buns to the whole country.
Fan Qunying has been wandering outside for 8 years, running in Hebei, Ningxia, and Guangdong.
These years of wandering made him feel that he can only earn pocket money outside forever, not big money.
In 2016, Fan Qunying returned to his hometown and opened a bun shop in the town.
How can a small bun shop sell buns all over the country?
This is something Fan Qunying can't even think of.
E-commerce is everywhere in Daji Town. Four or five years ago, Fan Qunying thought that if he could sell steamed buns all over the country through the Internet, it would be great.
Around 2019, he searched on a platform and suddenly found that steamed buns can also be purchased online, "I will start to do this with confidence."
"I'm my age, I haven't been in contact with the Internet before, so I have to ask if I can't do it. How to apply for the documents and how to upload them are all instructed by others, and I have taken a lot of detours." One order, "Look at what model, how big its specifications, and what packaging is used. These are all learned."
At the end of 2019, Fan Qunying’s online Gangzimo shop opened, and there were only one or two orders on the first day. “One week later, the order came up. This is the first time I have tasted the surprise of the Internet.” Opening a steamed bun shop Customers don’t need to use customer service. Customers will buy if they feel delicious or not. Fan Qunying usually makes steamed buns and his wife orders the delivery. The two of them can handle it.
In May of this year, when Cao County’s fire went out, Fan Qunying didn’t know it. His daughter reminded him after seeing it, “Dad, Cao County is on fire, do you know? You just add the word'Cao County' in front of our store's name." In addition, the well-known foreign media also reminded Fan Qunying that Cao County was out of the circle, "I can entertain more than a dozen waves a day."
Right now, Fan Qunying's online shop has a turnover of more than 1.3 million a year, and can sell millions of steamed buns every year.
The business is getting better and better, and the store is soon a bit stretched.
"The conditions of my store in the town are pretty good, but if it is to be large, it must be scaled and standardized. Then you have the qualifications to cooperate with others and enter the supermarket."
Fan Qunying wants to expand the scale to 1,000 square meters and do live broadcasts.
"Now the visit channels, live broadcast rooms, and tasting rooms are planned, and the whole process will be transparent by then." During the inspection, Fan Qunying found that some stores had ordinary steamed buns, but the sales were very good. "People will operate and we will both. No, when we are on the right track, with an operation team, our sales will be different."
Nowadays, Fan Qunying has realized his dream, selling steamed buns to the whole country through e-commerce. Now he is not satisfied with just selling steamed buns, but has a longer-term goal. He wants to expand the storefront through franchising. Make your own brand all over the country.
Huoshao couple's dream of going out of circle
What did Cao County’s outings bring to the locals?
In the short term, it is difficult to see obvious changes, just as it is difficult for anyone to notice that Sister Wu has changed from a live broadcast of goods to an online matchmaker. There is an additional restaurant in the Qinghe Road Night Market, which is in a subtle way. Affect the people here.
As Li Zilei, the founder and general manager of Youaiyuncang in Cao County, said, Cao County is on fire. People in the circle often discuss how to make good use of this wave of traffic and think about how the industry develops.
Youaiyuncang is a warehouse-style live broadcast base in Cao County. The warehouse is the live broadcast room. The anchors are all concentrated in this open space to bring goods.
On May 8 this year, the opening of the live broadcast base coincided with the explosion in Cao County.
The live broadcast rooms are also labeled as Caoxian, catching this wave of traffic dividends.
After more than three months, I came here again. The warehouse clothes have been changed into autumn and winter styles. At noon, the warehouse was a bit sultry. The shelves between rows of shelves were crowded with anchors. Many people were selling goods in full swing. Not blowing up.
"In the beginning there were only a dozen people, now there are thirty or forty people live online every day." Li Zilei said.
Looking around, the anchors here are men, women and children, all come from a radius of 100 kilometers, some like to bring goods to people, some take it as a career, but no matter what the motive, the live broadcast base is open to them, and the training is free. Food and lodging are free, and you can check out when the goods are sold out, so you don’t have to worry about squeezing the goods and earning as much money as you sell.
Li Zilei said that at first he was just fighting alone, but later found out that if he wanted to be large-scale, he had to develop in a group and strive for more advantageous resources. The open storage live broadcast was opened like this.
Since May, more delegations have come to visit the local area, and the live broadcast base founded by Li Zilei has become a place where you must check in.
Many counties and districts are very interested in this model and invited Li Zilei to open a warehouse.
With more exchanges, Li Zilei also had ideas for the next direction of the live broadcast base.
After all, this is not Hangzhou’s Jiubao, the live streaming chain is very mature, and there is no head anchor here, mostly grassroots.
At present, Yuncang sells brand-name products, attracting customers with high cost performance, and increasing the traffic of anchors with goods.
"The anchors have changed a lot, and if they can persist, they have at least two or three hundred yuan a day." Similarly, the live broadcast base has also improved. It used to be a batch of goods every month, but now you have to buy one in five days. Batch.
"After the traffic is brought up, we must make some new products." Li Zilei said. After all, Cao County has an advantage in the apparel industry. In the later stage, we will gradually introduce new local products and sell Cao County brands.
Cao County's exit from the circle gave Li Zilei an opportunity to examine himself.
For the "burning couples" in Daji Town, they have also become local "big internet celebrities" because of Cao County's outings.
In the commercial block in the center of Daji Town, Chen Li, who makes fire and burrito, and her husband come to the stall every day.
After working here for five or six years, they didn't expect to be out of the circle one day.
In May, the media from all over the country rushed to Daji Town, Cao County. Everyone's focus was on performance clothes and Han clothes. If nothing else, it would be difficult for anyone to spot this scorching couple.
Then sell yourself.
One morning, Chen Li waited for such an opportunity. When the media shot the downtown area of Cao County, 46-year-old Chen Li enthusiastically raised his hand and talked with reporters.
A report about them was posted shortly after Chen Li and her husband set up a stall to make fire, and the live broadcast also spread. Many people knew their online name "Huo Shao Huo".
Chen Li still talks about this to this day, which has brought popularity and business to their stall, and more importantly, it has given them greater confidence to do what they like.
"I like acting. I like to stand in front of the camera. The more people, the better. I want to make vibrato. The actions, performances, and expressions have to be brought out."
Chen Li's husband is a little restrained.
He smiled and commented on Chen Li: “In our rural dialect, it’s a thick-skinned face.” At first, he was reluctant to take pictures. Later, under the “persecution” of his wife, he experienced several mornings when he was still under the bed in the morning and was pulled up to take pictures. , He also let go now.
Thousands of people like the jokes that the two of them filmed together.
"You see, this is a major anchor in Anhui. Millions of fans have followed me. You also helped me to promote it." Chen Li said heartily.
After being reported by the media, the two of them wondered whether they could make pie while broadcasting live.
"Now my network doesn't work, I can't broadcast it, I'm so anxious, I have to find a way to get it right."
The people on the roadside offered a trick, "You can use that kind of mobile WiFi box." "How much does that cost, and is it expensive?" Chen Li asked eagerly.
As the evening approached, the people in Daji Town gradually increased. After a busy day, everyone began to enjoy the slow pace of life.
The streets and alleys were full of fireworks.