Chinanews.com, Beijing, February 22 (Reporter Yuan Xiuyue) Two years ago, Cheng Yunfu, a farmer from Fei County, Linyi, Shandong, came to the center of traffic.
Because he insisted on selling a bowl of ramen for 3 yuan for 15 years, he became the hottest "Ramen Brother" on the Internet.
But after it became popular, Cheng Yunfu, who "wanted everyone to eat the cheapest ramen", couldn't concentrate on making noodles.
Self-media from all over the country flocked to his door, creating a rare traffic spectacle by rubbing traffic.
Two years later, the anchors who surrounded Cheng Yunfu's house slowly dispersed, but his life was branded with the imprint of the Internet.
Where should the traffic go after the flow recedes?
This has become a problem faced by many overnight celebrities.
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From flocking in to flow receding
In the popular short video, Cheng Yunfu said in his local accent that he has been selling a bowl of noodles for 3 yuan for 15 years, earning 40 to 50 cents a bowl, because ordinary people don’t get money so easily, so they don’t raise the price .
He said: "I put more importance on favors, but less on money."
A few words quickly became popular on the Internet.
The short videos have attracted people from all over the country to flock to Cheng Yunfu's ramen stall, which is selling like crazy.
Soon, the self-media who rubbed the traffic also swarmed in, and Cheng Yunfu could only collect the stall and go home.
Immediately, his home became the place under siege again.
Later, Cheng Yunfu moved the noodle stall to the door of his house, which became a bustling market.
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In April 2021, a two-story sunshade was erected in front of Cheng Yunfu's house, and a banner "Ramen Columbia Stage" was pulled up on it.
For more than a year, Cheng Yunfu has not been to the market again, and has set up a ramen stall in front of his house almost every day. The anchors stand side by side in front of the filming, and other people perform singing and dancing on the "stage" from time to time.
Cheng Yunfu told a reporter from Chinanews.com that many anchors started live broadcasting two years ago and have persisted until this year.
There are local people, as well as people from other provinces. Many people live in B&Bs in the village and come to live broadcast every day.
But as the heat dissipated, there were fewer photographers.
"Some fans like to watch it, and some fans may not like it. If you don't reward the anchor, the time will be longer and the income will be less. Some anchors will not be able to squat down and leave." He said.
According to Cheng Yunfu’s disclosure to the media, since October last year, there have been about 20 or 30 anchors and fans who come every day, and there are more weekends and holidays than usual.
Recently, Cheng Yunfu suspended his ramen stall. He said it was because of frozen shoulder and he needed to rest for a while.
In a live broadcast, Cheng Yunfu said that he wanted to go out with his wife to relax and fulfill his wish.
The "Ramen Brothers Stage" is no longer lively, and some anchors have left Yangshuhang Village where "Ramen Brothers" is located.
The reporter noticed that many anchors with the name "Yangshuhang" began to live broadcast other content. Some anchors also said that after two years of persistence, "the income is very little" and they want to "start a small business."
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from fear to adaptation
When he was surrounded at first, Cheng Yunfu expressed that he was not used to it, and he was a little scared, because no matter what he did, someone would follow him to shoot.
The most unacceptable thing for him was that some photographers came into the house with their mobile phones, and then he had to close the door of the yard.
Two years later, Cheng Yunfu has adapted to life with the camera on his mobile phone. He said that being photographed has become "normalized" and he is used to it.
The home of "Brother Ramen" has also become a place where the door is open.
Today, "Shandong Ramen Brother" has become a place name on the map.
Cheng Yunfu told the media that almost every day there will be people who come here admiringly, and he will not refuse, and he will warmly entertain them.
Many people came here, including opponents of "Ramen Brother".
Cheng Yunfu said that after he became popular, he was abused and slandered on the Internet, and people continued to make trouble offline.
He mentioned the Internet celebrity "Guanguan" who recently committed suicide due to unbearable Internet violence, and he said that he had also thought about that path.
"To be honest, I also thought about it at that time, but I thought about my family members. As the head of the family, it is a bit irresponsible to choose that path. When I had this thought, my family members communicated with me more, some Fans also communicated with me and advised me not to overthink it.”
In his view, some remarks on the Internet are too powerful to attack people psychologically.
"For us ordinary people, you can't stand it if people say you have done something you haven't done. I obviously didn't do it, why do you insist that I did it? You can't say you didn't do it. The more you can’t explain clearly, it’s best not to explain, let’s just be ourselves.”
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From plan to change
For Cheng Yunfu, if he can choose again, he still wants to make ramen.
"I told my daughter-in-law before that after my son gets married, I will spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy a car to take her around the country. Wherever I go, I will sell ramen noodles, just like traveling, selling ramen noodles as travel expenses. My daughter-in-law said, Will you still be able to do it then? I said, won’t we sell less, if we don’t sell much, it will be good enough for us to spend, won’t we be satisfied in this life.”
The network "changed all" Cheng Yunfu's plans.
However, he also thinks, "Since the Internet has controlled you, you have to face it. People are like this, you have to face some things when you encounter them, and you can't escape them."
In two years, Cheng Yunfu began to get familiar with the unfamiliar Internet.
The account of "Shandong Ramen Brother" has more than 3.5 million fans on Douyin and Kuaishou, and his wife "Ramen Sister" has more than 300,000 fans.
The account of "Brother Ramen" will update some videos of doing farm work and ramen, but it has not been broadcast live yet.
"Ramen Sister" started live streaming last year, selling some local agricultural and sideline products.
Cheng Yunfu said that he also wanted to use his popularity to bring out the agricultural and sideline products in the village.
According to him, the broadcast effect is not bad, but because of the courier fee and some damage in the later stage of the shipment, he also lost part of the money.
This time the ramen was suspended, Cheng Yunfu told a reporter from Chinanews.com that in addition to resting his body and relaxing his mind, he also wanted to go out and learn from others to see how it would develop in the future. He also wanted to do some offline things.
In an interview with local media, Cheng Yunfu revealed that if conditions permit, he would like to open a farmhouse, and he also wanted his ramen to go out and be eaten by more people.
If there is no room for his development in his hometown, then he has to go out and strengthen himself, first build his own physical stores and chain stores, and then come back to contribute to the development of his hometown when he is strong.
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"You can't control the online world"
"Brother Ramen is no longer his own, but everyone's." In a live broadcast in March 2021, an anchor once said so.
This speaks to the dilemma faced by many overnight celebrities.
In 2019, Shen Wei, a wandering master, became popular on the Internet because of his extraordinary conversation and extensive coverage.
For a time, he received many praises and a lot of money.
But more than a year later, due to the chaos on the Internet, Shen Wei announced his withdrawal from the Internet.
In an interview with the media last year, Shen Wei once said that millions of live broadcast income was borrowed by others, and no one has paid back the sum so far.
More importantly, when he shaved off his long hair and beard, he didn't know how to start the second half of his life.
Some media reported: "He is not interested in many things, and feels that everything is meaningless. He rarely broadcasts live, and he seems to be less interested in self-media."
The reporter noticed that since the beginning of this year, he has broadcast three live broadcasts on Douyin, with the theme "Shen Wei talks about culture".
The latest short video was updated on January 21. It is a New Year's greeting video, and it has been 5 months since the last "Shen Wei Study Tour" video.
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The "anti-fraud police officer Lao Chen" who became popular for promoting anti-fraud has been troubled by public opinion while gaining traffic.
In April last year, he chose to resign after the controversy caused by the million-dollar reward incident.
But unexpectedly, "As an ordinary person, cyber violence has not decreased at all."
Later, because of the indecent behavior of Lianmai's female anchor, Lao Chen caused another controversy.
At the beginning of this year, he revealed to the outside world that he and his friends are currently starting a business, engaged in breeding and planting Chinese herbal medicines, but will not give up anti-fraud propaganda.
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On the short video platform, Lao Chen's account has been renamed "Enthusiastic Lao Chen", and the live broadcast dynamics show that he has broadcast more than 40 live broadcasts this year.
His short videos are also constantly updated, many of which are about anti-fraud.
The difference is that he will regularly announce his live broadcast income and the progress of public welfare.
Some netizens advised him that the live broadcast is compliant and legal, there is no need to disclose income, and don't care too much about other people's opinions.
Some netizens also said that this is his own choice.
Others believe that he should not resign, "You can't control the online world."
(over)