Dong Yuhui got his new job as an online salesman at EastBuy (东方甄选) in 2022. Before that, he had taught about 500,000 students English for 8 years. "When I first started to be a live streaming host (直播主播) and sell products online, there were only five viewers, which included my parents and the parents of another host. At that time, I felt quite down and sad. Those were the darkest hours," said Dong.
However, this 29-year-old live streaming host has got over 20 million followers now. What's the main reason of his sudden popularity? People realize that Dong is such a special salesman.
One morning, when selling Antarctic krill (南极磷虾), Dong taught viewers other related words in English like "lobster" (龙虾), "prawn" (明虾) and "shrimp" (小虾). When he sold steaks (牛排) online, he not only introduced them in both Chinese and English, but also taught how to order steak in English at a restaurant.
What's more, the viewers were also interested in his ideas on different literary works (文学作品). On June 9th, when Dong was introducing William Shakespeare and his poems, thousands of viewers flooded into his live streaming show. Some said that they never expected to actually learn something while buying things. Some even said they didn't know whether they should buy things or take notes.
Dong became famous overnight by turning his live streaming room into a language learning classroom. China Daily posted Dong's story and his unusual way of selling products. "I know a lot because I read a lot. Books give me strength, confidence and ideas, which make my mind and life rich. I take pleasure in reading. It____has shaped me in a great way," Dong told the reporter of CGTN in an interview.