By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 202 Going Viral: A Report from CCTV! [Second Update!]

Of all the tools Li Younan made, his favorite was the one he was holding in his hand, which was also the most practical.

What's the most troublesome thing about being outdoors? It's not having nowhere to rest when you're tired, nor is it having no food to eat, but rather having no water to drink when you're tired and want to.

Another major factor that previously prevented Li Younan from making long-distance searches was that none of his equipment contained a container for water.

He couldn't possibly fill a pot with water and then carry the pot around everywhere, could he?

So before setting off, he made himself a water bottle out of wood, which contained the tea he had brewed.

When I get tired from walking, I take it out and have a couple of sips.

He didn't expect to find any large wild animals right away, but he still kept his bow and arrows firmly in hand, ready to draw them and shoot.

This time, upon arriving at the valley where the ewe had been found before, there were no unusual or unexpected discoveries.

He was slightly disappointed because he had encountered a bear and a coyote the last time he arrived here.

Continuing uphill, after about half an hour, Li Younan climbed over a hillside, and the view finally opened up before him.

This is already considered a relatively high location; from here, you can even see Lake Chirko directly.

Li Younan stood still and looked around for a while, when he suddenly made an exciting discovery—a clump of feces.

He immediately recognized that the dung was bison dung.

Information about bison near the lake came to mind.

The cattle living here are likely bison.

He checked the surroundings again but did not find a large area of ​​feces, which meant that the cow was probably not a herd.

It was a little unfortunate that it wasn't winter and there was no snow on the ground, so although some footprints were found, it was difficult to tell where the cow was.

Fortunately, the dung looked relatively fresh, which suggests that the bison that left the dung may not have gone too far.

Li Younan then decided to investigate the surrounding area again.

Li Younan spent approximately two hours exploring the area.

Such hard work is not without reward.

The good news was that he did indeed spot the bison, but the bad news was that he saw several bison fleeing and disappearing on the opposite hillside in the distance.

However, the journey to the opposite hillside is too long, and the path leads down into dense jungle, which may contain steep slopes and cliffs.

Even if they could actually reach the other side, the bison would probably have already run away.

But today we have at least confirmed one thing: there are indeed traces of large wild animals after we reached this highland.

Furthermore, the fact that bison dung can be found here at least indicates that bison would roam on this grassy slope.

Li Younan was not discouraged, but the search for today ended here.

He had to get back quickly; if he delayed any longer, he would arrive back at the camp quite late.

If they haven't returned to the shelter before dark, then things will get a little complicated.

However, Li Younan still didn't intend to leave empty-handed. On his way back, he collected quite a few tuberous rhizomes and fungi from this area.

During the training, the instructors repeatedly emphasized that the contestants should not eat the mushrooms around the lake, because there are many poisonous mushrooms that are slightly different from edible ones.

Without professional botanical knowledge, it is difficult to identify poisonous mushrooms.

If someone accidentally eats a highly poisonous mushroom, they may not even survive until rescuers arrive.

It's important to know that the production team only had one camp near Lake Chirko, limiting their available rescue capabilities.

Once a poisoning incident occurs, it could potentially lead to a major safety incident.

So when Li Younan collected these mushrooms, he didn't bother to film them on camera, lest he be warned by the production team.

As for the risk of poisoning, that was something he didn't need to consider at all.

The judgment the system gave him was so extraordinary that he could easily distinguish the difference between two almost identical mushrooms.

He even knows exactly under what conditions certain mushrooms lose their toxicity.

These mushrooms provide high-quality carbohydrates and protein, making them a good option for two meals.

If we're lucky, we might catch a pheasant next. Then, chicken stew with mushrooms—just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

Just as Li Younan was returning, he found another plant that surprised him – a wild onion.

Its scientific name in Canada is Garlic Sprouts.

Contestants have found this item in previous seasons of the show.

He excitedly turned on the camera and explained to everyone, "Guys, look what I found! This is wild garlic! Let me give you a brief introduction to this plant—it has the flavor of an onion all over."

"Oh, we're so lucky, this is a fresh wild onion."

"Look here, these tender leaves can replace chives, and the flower buds are also edible."

"This is the season when it tastes best. Let's look around and see if there are any more wild onions."

After searching for a while, Li Younan dug up seven or eight wild onions.

These wild onions would be enough for him to eat for seven or eight days under these temperature conditions.

With these seven or eight wild onions, just sprinkle some chopped wild onions into the soup when you're making stew, and it will become very delicious, whether you're cooking fish or any other kind of soup.

Although we didn't catch any large wild animals today, it was still a very fruitful day.

This further solidified Li Younan's idea of ​​going out for a walk.

He couldn't help but exclaim again to the camera, "To be honest, this place is really well-supplied. Living here is such a leisurely thing."

……

The contestants' timelines far exceeded the show's broadcast timeline, and not long after, the second episode was officially released.

This episode continues the timeline of each contestant from episode 1, starting with several foreshadowing elements planted in episode 1.

When viewers saw Pacini successfully hunt a goat, he instantly gained countless fans—those who watch this show have a strong sense of admiration for the strong, and they are always willing to put themselves in the shoes of the strongest contestant.

At present, as the first person to hunt a large animal, Pasini is naturally the one most likely to become a star.

However, just as Pasini's storyline came to a close, it was time for Lee Yoo-nam's storyline to begin. In the first episode, although Lee Yoo-nam's storyline consisted mainly of highlight shots, the edited clips showed that his food consisted of fish he caught and berries and root vegetables he constantly gathered in the forest.

This comparison makes it seem rather unimpressive.

Li Younan does indeed have the most luxurious sanctuary... but he hasn't hunted any large animals!

The audience's concerns are reasonable, because only a large animal can provide a stable and continuous energy supply for a long time; otherwise, they cannot believe that one can survive solely on fish caught by the lake and tree roots in the forest.

However, when Lee You-nam showed everyone the scene of finding the little ewe in the second episode, everyone immediately got excited—this meant that Lee You-nam had become the second player, like Pasini, to obtain a medium to large-sized prey.

Although that sheep didn't look as robust as the one Passini had hunted.

Just when everyone thought Li Younan was going to end the sheep's life with an arrow, he did something that surprised everyone: he put down his bow and arrow, set up the camera, and climbed down the rock wall.

The camera switched to a first-person perspective, and people could finally see clearly—it was actually a little ewe!

Next, there's a video of Li Younan climbing up the valley and bringing the little ewe back to the shelter.

If most viewers were still confused up to this point, the moment Li Younan returned to the shelter, milked the ewe, and made ghee from the fresh milk, everyone who saw this part was completely thrilled.

Huh? You can do that? Other contestants go hungry for three days and nine meals a day, even someone as strong as Pasini has to eat very little each day, but wow, he's drinking fresh goat milk and even making butter?
Most viewers abroad cannot distinguish between butter and ghee.

Even those foreign viewers who had previously been stubborn have now had to acknowledge Lee You-nan's talent.

At this point, viewers who supported Li Younan and Pacini began to take sides based on nationality.

Even though he felt that Pasini had the makings of a champion, he had to admit that Lee You-nam had a better chance of becoming the champion.

In this season's program, international contestants make up half of the cast.

American viewers naturally hope that their own athletes will win the final championship, and many viewers from European countries without their own athletes share the same sentiment.

Driven by their own sense of belonging, they sincerely hope that white people of their own race will ultimately win.

Of course, many viewers were also impressed by Li Younan's strong survival skills and became his fans, with their love for him even transcending national borders.

……

The video was simultaneously released in China, and after watching Li Younan's performance in the second episode, netizens left comments below the video to cheer him on.

Naturally, there were plenty of comments using various internet memes.

"The show 'Living Alone in the Wild' is being completely ruined. Now there are rammed earth shelters with raised beams, and now there's a live ewe. The worst part is, this thing can even produce milk. Good heavens, who can we complain to?!"

"I suspect that Li Younan will become invincible in a while! I predict he will be the champion of this season!"

"As we all know, this is a ewe... I suggest everyone search for 'ewe's rear end'."

"Maybe I've been single for too long, because even a ewe looks pretty to me."

"Please calm down, upstairs."

If the first two episodes, while bringing surprises to the audience, were merely a celebration for those who followed the show, things suddenly took a strange turn when the third episode aired.

In the third episode, which aired later, Lee You-nam showed everyone the process of firing porcelain in a video.

Although he also made pottery, both foreign and domestic audiences paid more attention to porcelain.

The appearance of porcelain in the program completely distorted its intended message...

This was something the production team hadn't anticipated.

Curiosity is always the most powerful driving force for humans to do something.

Although how porcelain is produced is no secret in the Western world, porcelain remains the most representative item of that mysterious Eastern power.

The cultural differences between different civilizations are far greater than people imagine.

After witnessing Li Younan's demonstration of the porcelain-making process, the sense of exploration stemming from cultural differences, curiosity about new things, and many other factors reached its peak.

Within 72 hours of the third episode's release, online searches for the term "porcelain" suddenly surged by several orders of magnitude.

On several of the largest video platforms abroad, videos sharing information about porcelain culture have suddenly seen a surge in views, likes, and engagement.

Initially, no one in China realized this surge in traffic. It was a self-media outlet that specializes in creating clips of comments from foreign video websites that first discovered it.

He was surprised to find that after the third episode aired, many foreigners in the comments section took the initiative to learn about porcelain craftsmanship.

Especially after Li Younan said in the program, "If you are interested in ceramics, you can go to some of China's famous ceramic holy sites, such as Jingdezhen in Jiangxi, Cizhou in Hebei, and Longquan in Zhejiang... These places have porcelain-making techniques passed down since ancient times," and this statement was broadcast in its entirety, the number of searches for terms such as "Jingdezhen in Jiangxi," "Cizhou in Hebei," and "Longquan in Zhejiang" surged.

If the matter ended here, it would merely be an insignificant spectacle for foreign audiences, and would likely not cause any significant stir in domestic public opinion.

As we all know, the hype on the internet fades quickly, and fragmented information won't keep a person focused on it for even 48 hours.

At that moment, whether by coincidence or for some other reason, the English version of a previously released documentary about porcelain suddenly appeared on several major television stations abroad.

This incident itself became news.

Discerning citizens suddenly realized that the authorities had astutely recognized this trending topic and were seizing the opportunity to promote Chinese culture through this event.

As foreigners actively sought out and learned about Chinese porcelain, and this became widely known through various social media platforms, a strong sense of national pride arose in the hearts of many.

What happened next was even more outrageous—originally, this program was just a foreign reality show, but on the very night that the foreign porcelain documentary aired, CCTV's "News Broadcast" featured a news brief about Li Younan's participation in the competition.

The title is "Talking about porcelain art in reality shows: China's traditional porcelain-making culture attracts overseas attention."

The CCTV anchor read the news report aloud in perfect pronunciation.

"Recently, a segment of Chinese contestant Li Younan's demonstration of recreating traditional porcelain-making techniques using natural materials in an extreme survival environment on the program 'Living Alone in the Wilderness' has sparked a surge of interest in Chinese porcelain culture overseas, proving a vivid path to discovering value from traditional culture and promoting its international reach."

"The footage fully shows him selecting clay, washing and kneading it, shaping it, and even trying low-temperature bisque firing using stones to build a kiln and dead wood as fuel."

"Within 72 hours of the release of the third episode, searches for 'porcelain' on overseas online platforms surged by several orders of magnitude. On major international video platforms, videos sharing Chinese porcelain culture saw a significant increase in views, likes, and engagement."

"The recent surge in overseas porcelain fever serves as a vivid example: traditional culture is not merely a legacy displayed in museums; the craftsmanship, aesthetic taste, and cultural spirit it embodies are themselves valuable resources that can be explored and transformed."

"When we actively explore the value of tradition, interpret it from a contemporary perspective, and spread it in an international language, those cultural symbols that have been accumulated for thousands of years can be revitalized in the new era, becoming cultural bridges connecting China and the world, and injecting a continuous stream of vitality into telling China's story."

Many people in the internet self-media circle have realized that... this incident has made Li Younan a household name.

But Li Younan, who was still in the wilderness at that moment, was unaware of all this.

At this moment, he was somewhat helpless, as his hunting expedition was suddenly interrupted because it had started raining these past few days.

(End of this chapter)