Entertainment: A whirlwind marriage with a fairy-like mother at the start!

The first episode of "A Bite of China" is still ongoing.

On the television screen, the scene shifted from the bamboo forests of Jiangnan to the deep mountains of Dali, Yunnan.

Nuodeng Village.

An ancient village built on a red soil hillside.

The camera zooms in, revealing a thousand-year-old salt well steaming. Villagers are using the most primitive methods to boil the brine at the bottom of the pot, crystallizing it into white salt blocks.

The Huang family father and son make their appearance.

As the Spring Festival approaches, a butcher comes to the door. A plump local pig is cleaned and prepared. Old Huang, holding a knife, skillfully trims the pig's hind legs into a perfect pipa shape.

The narrator's voice was deep and magnetic, with a storytelling quality.

"The curing of Nuodeng ham is a long negotiation with time."

"Old Huang doesn't use industrial salt; he only uses the salt boiled from the bottom of the pot in the village's salt well. This salt is rich in potassium, which can maximize the flavor of the pork."

Close-up shot.

Rough hands grabbed a handful of white salt and rubbed it evenly and vigorously onto the scarlet pork leg. Each press was accompanied by heavy breathing.

This is not only physical labor, but also a testament to the artisan's reverence for the ingredients.

Knead repeatedly until the salt is fully absorbed.

Old Huang hung the ham on the roof beam.

Spring goes and autumn comes, rain drips from the eaves, and winter snowflakes drift into the yard.

A layer of green mold gradually grew on the surface of the ham on the roof beam.

The narration began at the right time.

"This layer of mold is a sign of the ham's maturity. While isolating it from external bacteria, it allows the fat and protein inside the ham to undergo a remarkable transformation."

"Three months. Six months. One year."

"As the Huang family patiently waited, time became the food's most loyal friend."

The scene shifts.

Old Huang took down the ham, which was covered in dust and mold.

Cut the outer skin with the blade.

Inside, the flesh was a rosy red, and the fat was white as solidified fat, with a crystalline sheen.

slice.

No complicated cooking is required.

Even if you simply chop it up and stir-fry it with cold rice in an iron wok, the aroma of lard will instantly rise and coat every grain of rice.

"Gulp."

Countless viewers across the country were glued to their televisions at that moment, swallowing hard.

The comments section went completely crazy.

"Holy crap! Three years! A piece of meat can hang for three years without spoiling, and it can even turn into this kind of food?"

"That red and white marbling looks even more tempting than top-grade Wagyu beef!"

"Why would I watch this show in the middle of the night! The instant noodles in my hand are practically pig swill!"

"The moment Old Huang cut open the ham, I felt as if I could smell its aroma!"

On overseas live streaming platforms.

The foreigners were completely dumbfounded.

In their minds, food should be fresh, quick, and standardized.

Hamburgers, fried chicken, and assembly line bacon—these are the industrialized foods they are familiar with.

three years?

Three years to eat a bite of meat?

The screen was filled with exclamation marks in various languages.

"Is that green stuff really edible? It looks so beautiful when you cut it open!"

"Their patience with food is simply outrageous. Is this the magic of the East?"

"I take back my foolish statement that Chinese cuisine only consisted of General Tso's Chicken. This is true gastronomy!"

"Can anyone tell me where I can buy this thing called 'Norden Ham'?"

The documentary, lasting over fifty minutes, ended with countless viewers wanting more.

The end credits song began to play.

The screen displays the following text: Next episode preview - The story of staple foods.

Backstage at CCTV Documentary Channel.

Chen Xiaoqing stared at the viewership ratings chart in front of her, her hands trembling slightly.

Starting with a rating of 0.8, it soared all the way up and finally settled at 2.4!

This is a record-breaking number, surpassing the highest record in the history of CCTV's documentary channel. Even more astonishing is the number of online views.

On Tencent Video, the first episode garnered over 30 million views in just one hour.

The director swallowed hard and turned to look at Chen Xiaoqing.

"Director Chen, we've... blown up."

Chen Xiaoqing took a deep breath, took off her glasses, and wiped her eyes.

"It wasn't us who exploded."

"It's something left by our ancestors, and it exploded."

...........

A magnificent and splendid residence.

Yu Le turned off the TV and glanced at her phone.

Chen Xiaoqing sent me a WeChat message.

"Mr. Yu, I have successfully completed my mission."

Yu Le smiled and typed a reply.

"This is just an appetizer. Get ready for the internet to urge you to update!"

the next day.

"A Bite of China" has become a huge hit.

This documentary dominated the headlines of major newspapers and online media.

The People's Daily published a commentator article: "Every grain of rice and every bowl of porridge should remind us of the hard work involved in its production. 'A Bite of China' captures the core spirit of the Chinese people, which is their attachment to the land and their reverence for time."

If the domestic popularity was within Yu Le's expectations, then the overseas response completely exceeded everyone's expectations.

On YouTube.

Reaction videos about "A Bite of China" have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

Countless foreign bloggers sat in front of the camera, watching the food in the videos and exclaiming in exaggerated amazement.

"Look at that knife skill! He cut a block of tofu into a chrysanthemum shape! Is that even a human hand?"

"My God, they actually eat bamboo? And it looks so delicious!"

Even more amazing is that a large number of foreigners have started trying to recreate Chinese dishes in their kitchens.

Then, they all broke down.

A food blogger in Los Angeles held up a Chinese cookbook he'd somehow gotten his hands on and yelled in frustration at the camera.

"Can anyone tell me exactly how many grams is 'a little'?"

"What kind of damn unit of measurement is 'appropriate amount'?"

"And this '70% hot oil' thing! Am I supposed to put a thermometer in the pot?!"

Below the video, countless foreigners who had the same experience gave it a thumbs up.

"Brother, I get you. I tried making scrambled eggs with tomatoes yesterday, and the recipe said 'a pinch of salt.' I added a spoonful, and it was so salty I had to drink three glasses of water."

"Chinese chefs are all wizards; they cook based on intuition and magic, and they don't need electronic scales at all."

This trend has propelled Chinese cuisine to the forefront of international cultural export.

Old Mike called Yu Le, his voice filled with excitement.

"Boss! This documentary has already surpassed 20 million views overseas! And it's still increasing by millions every day!"

"All the Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles are packed right now, even the jianbing (Chinese crepe) stalls in Chinatown have long lines!"

Yu Le leaned back in the chair in the study and took a sip of goji berry water.

"Mike, that's called soft power."

"Once they get used to our food and our cultural logic, there will be much less resistance when we export our films and music."