“How horrible are the summertime TV shows? I’m actually watching a documentary in front of my computer right now.”
“But this documentary surely is better than those low IQ shows. I’ve just learned there are so many gossip stories in the Ming and Qing dynasties, especially the concubines’ lives in reality. They are much more pitiful than the concubines in the TV shows acted by actors.”
“No need to say more. Just for these six precious artifacts, I will give it a five-stars review.”
“I think this documentary is very meaningful. The artifacts recorded the changes of the dynasties, and they witnessed wars and the separations of families. I will also give this documentary a five-star.”
“I’ve been to the forbidden city twice, and every time, except for the photos I took, I always felt like I learned nothing. I didn’t understand the stories behind these artifacts at all. I’m prepared to go there again.”
“I love documentaries about history. I love artifacts, I love the history, and I love China!”
…
Guo Nan had some skills. His documentary had a high-tiered starting point that traveled back six hundred years so the audience could experience the history these old items carried. The summary of the documentary read: “Spreading Chinese traditional culture”.
On the evening of August 2nd, before the second documentary was released, “Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City” already had more than 50k views. However, some people still only gave it a one-star review.
“The six stories are not at all logical and are incoherent. I feel like the author randomly picked some stories on the internet before they went to the forbidden city to look for corresponding artifacts. Therefore, some details cannot be expressed at all, and they look very stiff.”
“The actors being the background in stories look very awkward. In some scenes, I felt they were almost going to start laughing. Can they please put in more effort? This is a documentary produced by the national TV department, after all. Why isn’t the production carefully done?”
“I think the producer of this documentary must be a neophyte. Many transitions of some scenes were edited weirdly. The previous story wasn’t even done, and it just suddenly stops before quickly rushing into the next story. This affects my sensory organ. Sorry, I will only give it a one-star.”
“Same. The script probably wasn’t done, and they didn’t know how to continue filming, so they probably directly started the second story.”
…
Because “Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City” was unexpectedly welcomed by many youngsters. “Daily Life in the Live News Room” had just got released on the official national TV website before someone transferred it to other more popular websites.
“Daily Life in the Live News Room” was just like it sounded, and it told the story of how live news anchors worked behind-the-scenes. This producer, within ten days, followed two tier-three anchors in the national department and live-recorded their daily routines before editing them into a documentary.
“I love this idea! Just by looking at the title, I will give it a five-star.”
“My mom likes the news from these two anchors! She’s watching the documentary with me right now.”
“The female live-streamer is so pretty. Hehehe, I’m giving it a five-star.”
“News anchors always look super serious on the TV, but I didn’t expect them to be no different from us normal people in private.”
“This is okay. I don’t think it’s better than yesterday’s ‘Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City’, though.”
“I feel like this is similar to one of those reality shows with media show celebrities in them. There’s nothing unique about this. I’ll give it a three-star.”
“And these people talk in very formal styles as if they are reading from a script. This is not a live record at all. I’m only giving it a one-star.”
“I skipped through most parts. There are no climax spots, and it’s not funny. It really is a “daily” documentary, and to be honest, it’s a bit boring. I’m giving it a two-star.”
“Daily Life in the Live News Room” obviously did not get welcomed as much as “Six Hundred Years in the Forbidden City” did. After one day, it only received a bit more than 10k views.
On August 3rd, “Lights of the City” got released. That same person, just like the last two times, swiftly transferred it to the other websites.
“Lights of the City” was more closer to reality. It described five jobs in the city that silently contributed to society, including the cleaning crew, traffic officers, nurses, kindergarten teachers, and construction site employees. It meant that normal people were the lights of the city.
“To be honest, the plot is a bit too cliché. I’m giving it a one-star at most.”
“Mhm, and the entire documentary is forcing people to be sentimental, but I haven’t found a single place that makes me want to cry. I’m giving it a one-star too.”
“I admit that these people are very tired and are very hardworking, but normal people, like us, don’t have easy and relaxing jobs either. Didn’t the money we earn come from our hard work? Three stars.”
“I want to say that my cousin is a kindergarten teacher. She’s not that admirable like kindergarten teachers described in the video. Every time I see her, she would complain to us about how annoying the kids are. ‘Annoying’ comes from her original complaint. She says that sometimes, she wishes she can throttle them.”
“Your cousin is so horrifying. Which kindergarten does she work at? We’ll make sure we don’t choose that one.”
“They’re just complaining orally. If her cousin is unscrupulous, the commenter wouldn’t have said it.”
“In every job, there are admirable people but also scumbags. I don’t like the feeling of being represented and being stereotyped. One-star.”
…
“Lights of the City” had an even worse effect than “Daily Life in the Live News Room”; there were only a bit more than 7,000 views, and the popularity soon sank.
Until now, “Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City” had a rating of 4.6, “Daily Life in the Live News Room” had a rating of 3.9, and “Lights of the City” had a rating of 3.2.
On August 4th, Ye Ziliang’s ‘Vet’s Cuties’ finally got released online.
Because the previous three documentaries were getting worse and worse effects, the fourth documentary would probably be even worse according to the pattern. Therefore, that person who transferred the documentaries did not upload that video so quickly like before. He first watched it on the national TV website himself.
After he finished watching it, he couldn’t resist but watch it a second time!
After his second time watching it, he finally pulled himself back to reality and uploaded this documentary to the other websites.
For his three previous uploads, he had never written any extra comments for the documentaries due to his laziness. This time, he couldn’t hold back the excitement inside, and he wrote in the “remarks” column: “This documentary is a treasure! It’s worthy for you to spend thirty minutes in your life to watch it.”
His remark was so exaggerated that people who initially had no interest became intrigued.
The audience first looked at the title — “Vet’s Cuties”. Was it about pet hospitals? The idea was quite unprecedented.
When the video was first clicked open, a lively and joyful piano playing first came to one’s hearing, and as the music went, a dog’s head suddenly appeared on the screen. The audience who knew about dogs all recognized that this was an Alaska. The Alaska’s mouth was open, and the corners of his lips were pointing upward. He was showing a dumb smile.
“Such a cute doggo! Definitely a cute pet!”
“I love the three dumb sled dogs! Each one is dumber than the previous.”
TL’s Note: The “three dumb sled dogs” are how people refer to the three dogs: Husky, Alaska, and the Samoyed.
The piano gets softer and softer, and with the piano as accompaniment, the dog suddenly starts talking: “Hello, everyone. My name is Paul. I’m an Alaska Alamute that was born in America. This is where my poop carer works.” As the dog explained, the scene switched to the entrance of the pet clinic. The signboard got blurred out, and the audience could only see: “Medical Services for Pets: Mondays to Sundays: 9 a.m — 10 p.m. The clinic will be closed on Tuesdays” in blue font.
“I often hang out to play around here, too. Here, let me introduce you all to my most admired poop carer…”
A man in asepsis clothing, who was wearing a mask, appeared in the scene. In his hands was a medical report as he talked to a client. His eyes, just as how the doggo introduced, were attentive and serious.
Translated by: Sydney
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