Chapter 248: Culinary Show
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Meng Fan’s streaming “career” had officially taken off the night of the 11/11 gala. His average online viewers had effortlessly reached 300,000. It was considered a famous streamer level on 8th Station as a whole and not just in the drawing category.
8th Station had repeatedly proposed a famous streamer contract with Meng Fan, but had been ignored. After signing on, he would definitely receive a lot of resources and a.s.sistance, receive a higher ratio of gifts and income, and even an annual salary. However, he would lose a degree of freedom. Although it was not a big restriction that definitely wouldn’t impact Meng Fan’s current streaming condition, he still felt it was too restricting.
Most importantly, Meng Fan didn’t care that much about money since he was almost finished with the streaming task.
Ever since the K-pop star beating occured, Meng Fan’s stream views had reached a peak. The average number of online viewers reached 500,000. Occasionally, it would rise to 800,000, sometimes even one million. He was a rising star on 8th Station.
He may not be the number one streamer, but there wasn’t anyone who could rival him directly, either. After all, n.o.body knew what terrifying content Meng Fan would stream about next in his rising popularity. For example, his voice acting stream had dominated the trending list, as well as reached a peak those few days for the number of gifts received.
The fickle netizens from 8th Station were big anime fans and that naturally included voice dubs as well. In addition, the popularity of season 2 of “Voice Legend” that had been broadcasting lately even led several people to search for the original voice clips that the actors had used in the show. They would then naturally stumble upon Meng Fan’s stream and his voice acting demos. This also netted him a large number of viewers.
Was Meng Fan’s voice acting outstanding?
That’s needless to say!
Still, the most important thing was that he was entertaining. Meng Fan was able to play around with the roles that “Voice Legend” didn’t do or didn’t dare to try. And he was good at it, too.
Several cla.s.sic and entertaining scenes had been reenacted to perfection by Meng Fan, and he even managed to link them all together. For example, he used Detective Conan’s voice to dub Zorro, used Usopp to dub “The s.h.i.+ning,” and even used the original voice of Tang Seng and White Lady to voice the characters’ romance in “Roman Holiday.” He also used Superman and the Monkey King’s voice to reenact “Spirited Away,” brought the Avengers into “World of Warcraft,” and sent Doraemon, Yi Xiu, Gintama, and s.h.i.+nchan on a “Journey to the West”…
What was even more bada.s.s was that Meng Fan could use these roles to sing as well. Everything else aside, he was able to sing the famous TikTok song, “Desert Camel,” using Luffy’s voice, which sent his live chat into a frenzy, spamming him with gifts.
Oh, and each time he held a giveaway, he did it in the format of “Dragon Ball Z” and asked you to make a wis.h.!.+
Yesterday, Meng Fan didn’t log into his stream, which worried some of his netizens especially the newcomers. They had cursed him in the comment section. It’s fine if you aren’t streaming, but at least let us know!
The more seasoned viewers remained calm. They had long gotten used to Meng Fan’s breaks from the stream.
Seeing Meng Fan’s stream notification, a h.o.a.rd of people immediately checked in.
“Huh? This isn’t the recording studio!”
“An outdoor stream? Did I enter the wrong channel?”
“Isn’t it natural for Meng Fatty to stream outdoors?”
“Yeah, we’ve been lacking outdoor streams lately. Before… heh. He took us on a tour of Xizi Lake everyday. How terrifying!”
“Late night street food? F*ck, this is poison!”
“Kid, his nightlife has just begun, alright?”
“Come along! Let’s rediscover the chubby Meng host again!”
“Hahaha everytime I see Meng Fatty’s increasingly handsome face, I just get angry!”
“Don’t stream outside! I want to hear your voice acting!”
After connecting to the stream from Su Qingcen’s handheld camera, he spoke to the viewers and thought about it before finding a suitable background music to play from his phone. After changing his voice, he began to narrate in a wise and rich tone. “There are thousands of households in Guangsha, and it only takes six steps to sleep at night. The families here are wealthy and everyone enjoys three meals a day! This is China undergoing change. People and food are advancing faster and ever. No matter how busy their footsteps are, whether it’s a happy gathering or a sad goodbye, or how involuntary it comes, there always exists a taste — in its own unique way, three times a day — that reminds us from the tip of our tongues. Recognize tomorrow, but do not forget yesterday.”
As soon as the voice came out, the stream became lively.
“Ah ah ah, it’s the narrator from “Taste of China” and “Flavorful Living”!
“Here it is, the most appetizing voice in the world!”
“I knew it! How could we leave out the ‘Taste of China’ narrator when streaming street food!”
“I’ve been waiting so long to hear food-lover Meng Fatty imitate the voice of Mr. Li Lihong. The day has finally come!”
“I was so confused watching ‘Nirvana in Fire.’ Why did I always feel hungry when Emperor Liang’s voice came on? Then I realized, it was because of Mr. Li Lihong’s voice!”
“Quick, start ordering takeout now!”
Meng Fan’s voice continued like a song. Su Qingcen, who was holding the camera and trailing behind Meng Fan, stifled her laughter. Only this guy could make walking down a food street feel like a culinary doc.u.mentary.
“Chinese people in different regions use their wisdom to make appropriate and accurate use of nature to obtain simple and delicious food. The attachment to the land and their admiration of the heavens are so closely tied to the world’s only agricultural nation. A writer once describes the Chinese’s outlook on a simple life: When they have their heads down plowing the fields, or eating their meals, they still never forget to look up at the sky.”
Meng Fan narrated as he walked towards a stall that specialized in stinky tofu. There was a line outside the store, but Meng Fan wasn’t in a rush. He continued: “In modern day China, the exterior appearance of the cities are very similar. Only eating habits become a label to differentiate different places. Hunan cuisine is spicy, the delightful aroma coming mainly from the oil content…”
Although he could deliver the broadcast smoothly to the stream from his live stream a.s.sistant, Meng Fan’s voice was quite loud and it attracted the immediate attention of the customers in line. They didn’t recognize Meng Fan right away and curiously stared at him and his fully-equipped cameraman, Su Qingcen. “Bro, are you guys filming a ‘Taste of China’-related docuseries? Why does your voice sound so familiar? Are you… Are you that voice from the ‘Taste of China’?”
The other people in queue soon came over as well. They were already hungry in line, and felt even more desperate now.
“Move, move, move!”
The store owner was a woman in her thirties. She came charging out of the store and stared at Meng Fan. “Hey, little brother, are you guys really from a food show?”
She then pointed to the sign on her store, smiling warmly. “Our store is the most famous stinky tofu vendor on this street! Look, we almost made it on ‘Taste of China.’ You were right in filming my store. Come come come, eat and film. If you want to know anything, feel free to ask me.”
Meng Fan saw the sign and immediately bent over in respect. The sign really displayed “Almost chosen to be on ‘Taste of China’”…
He thought she was just boasting.
“We’re not from a food show. I’m just a streamer.”
“Then why does your voice sound so tasty?”
“…It’s an imitation.”
“Then can you give my stinky tofu a ‘Taste of China’ introduction? The stinky tofu is on me, so eat to your heart’s content!”