You might think at first glance she is an internet celebrity, perhaps in the beauty or cosmetics fields. Then you see what her hands are doing. For this millennial, a lover of mechanical and electrical equipment since childhood, has surpassed two million social media followers.
Lin Guoer was born in a small mountain village in Yanjin County of Zhaotong City in China’s southwestern Yunnan Province. With her parents divorcing when she was 6, Lin and her brother lived with her grandparents.
It’s a mountainous and highly forested region, where the village would often be hit by power cuts. As a result, many people kept a diesel generator in their home.
“When I was a child, every time I encountered a power failure, I saw the grown ups take out the diesel engine and pull on its long cord. The machine roared, the power came back and the dark room lit up!”, said Lin, recalling how her passion for all things electromechanical was ignited. Soon thereafter, she was the one yanking on the pull-start cord.
Lin’s grandparents provided for her and her brother to study in junior high school, but after she passed the high school entrance examination, her grandmother told her that their home did not have sufficient power for the required amount of study.
But faced with dropping out of school to work, her aunt earnestly advised, “You are a girl. You are thin and small. What can you do if you don’t study? Besides, you have passed the examination; you must not drop out of school”. With good grades, Lin opted for a school with reduced tuition fees for the best performing students and stayed with her aunt.
Enrolling in Kunming University in 2013, Lin chose to study water conservancy and hydropower engineering. Returning home to prepare for exams, she came across a short video of her hometown’s spring scenery, which was unexpectedly popular. Lin studied the video, and began to shoot and share her own building of a bamboo house and repairing of electro-mechanical equipment.
At the time, there were few video bloggers showing rural life. Being also capable of carpentry, bricklaying and hydropower, Lin attracted attention but so too did questions, criticism and abuse follow.
But eager to make money to pay off ¥18,000 in debts, Lin persevered, blogging twice a day. But the videos did not take off as hoped. After falling into the vortex of chasing traffic, she was defeated by her anxiety. Lin sold her account and went to work in a pharmacy.
“But I still wouldn’t admit defeat, and I’m not willing to live too orderly. I want to try again”, said Lin, as the Yangtze Evening News reports.
In July 2019, with a fresh mentality, Lin opened a new account. “I have learned to adjust myself and am no longer so eager for success. I want to plan well, sort it out slowly, precipitate the content over time, and show you my favourite parts of rural life”, she said.
Now Lin often receives machinery needing work from fans all over the country. It usually takes a week to complete the repair, together with shooting and editing the accompanying video. And she does it all herself.
With those two million followers, Lin hopes to be able to repay her student loan next year.
