The "cutest witch on the Internet" is gone. On the afternoon of February 24, the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, 39-year-old "Yang Laoer" was buried in his hometown of Shangpujia Village, Yuzhong County. During the final farewell, his wife cried an

, the "cutest witch on the Internet" is gone.

On the afternoon of February 24, the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, 39-year-old "Yang Laoer" was buried in his hometown of Shangpujia Village, Yuzhong County. During the final farewell, his wife cried and fainted from grief. During the Spring Festival this year, the couple had just been reunited for two days after being separated for two and a half months, and they hadn't even had time to say ten words.

"Yang Laoer" passed away on February 20, the eleventh day of the first lunar month. On that day, he was invited to perform with the Shehuo Team. His elder brother Yang Hailong told reporters that his younger brother was drunk during a Shehuo performance that day, and then lay in bed to rest and never woke up.

▲"Yang Laoer" performance scene

In addition to being a Shehuo performer, "Yang Laoer" also has two identities: one is a short video internet celebrity with nearly 2 million fans, and the other is a farmhouse chef. He and his brother worked hard in Beijing for many years to open restaurants. In recent years, the brothers returned to their hometown in Yuzhong and opened a farmhouse, which is also the family's main livelihood. In order to attract customers, "Yang Lao Er" learned to shoot and edit short videos, most of which were comedy videos. Especially after joining the village social fire team, he released many performance videos, which attracted the attention of netizens. Because of his humorous performance, happy smile, and hilarious makeup, he was ridiculed as "the cutest witch on the Internet."

With the sudden death of "Yang Laoer", the life trajectory of the family has "turned around".

The "Witch" of the Shehuo Team

"Coming to the Shehuo Huan in the first month brings great joy to men, women, old and young." Every Spring Festival, for rural people in many parts of China, the happiest and most festive thing is to have a lively and prosperous performance Shehuo, the flavor of the New Year is strong enough.

Shehuo is a folk literature and art form with a long history, rich connotation, grand scale and warm atmosphere in Chinese history. Originating from the worship of land and fire, the ancient working people developed the custom of worshiping She (land) and fire. Later, it gradually developed into a large-scale mass cultural activity integrating music, dance, opera, acrobatics and other literary and artistic forms. It is intended to pray for good weather, abundant harvests, and peace and prosperity for the country and the people.

"Yang Laoer" was born in 1985. He is a native of Pujia Village, Chengguan Town, Yuzhong County, Lanzhou City. Because he is the second eldest child in the family, he took the online name "Yang Laoer". He and his brother Yang Hailong are both members of the "Xinglongshan Village Social Fire Team" in Yuzhong County.

"My mother is from Xinglongshan Village. My second brother and I have been running a farmhouse in Xinglongshan Village for several years. This year, Xinglongshan Village organized a social fire team, and our two brothers were also invited to participate." Yang Hailong told the Red Star News reporter, "Yang second child "The role she plays is the "witch", and he plays the "girl".

Many members of the Xinglongshan Village Fire Brigade told Red Star News that the village’s Fire Brigade had not been organized for 23 years. Last year, Murakami decided to reorganize the Fire Brigade. Most of the families in the village had members, and some had one. , some have two or three, and the entire Shehuo team has 400 people.

"We spent more than ten or two hundred thousand yuan on clothes, props, etc., and the money was sponsored by Murakami." A team member named Wang told the Red Star News reporter that they all rehearsed together in the twelfth lunar month last year, and the two brothers "Yang Laoer" also joined rehearse.

According to many team members, the official performance starts on the third day of the first lunar month. Murakami rents 9 buses and sets off at the same time and place every day. The performance location is reserved in advance by the invited host. Murakami arranges it according to the distance, sometimes one day One show, sometimes two or three a day.

"Some units and companies invite us and will pay the fee, ranging from a few thousand yuan to ten to twenty thousand yuan. However, our team members have no salary, and the money is all managed by Murakami. We mainly want to be happy, but also to give Murakami earns his fame." A member of the Xinglongshan Village Shehuo Team surnamed Li said that the Shehuo Team is divided into many roles. The team of 400 people takes turns to perform in different roles, and each performance lasts about three hours.

▲"Yang Laoer" performs social media performance

Yang Hailong told Red Star News reporter that "Yang Laoer" plays the role of "witch woman". Since he is a man dressed as a woman, during the performance, he has to get up at 6 o'clock every morning to put on makeup. Sometimes I don’t even have time to have breakfast.

Because of his humorous performance, happy smile, and hilarious costumes, "Yang Laoer" was ridiculed by netizens as "the cutest witch on the Internet." A few days before his death, he had updated a number of "witch" performances on his short video account, which received attention and likes from many netizens. Many people were infected by his optimism and happiness.

The last 24 hours

"Yang Laoer" had an accident during the Shehuo performance on the 11th day of the first lunar month. Yang Hailong, who had been performing with his younger brother before, restored the last day of "Yang Laoer"'s life to reporters.

On February 20, the eleventh day of the first lunar month, the Xinglongshan Village Fire Team arranged three performances. The first one was located in Chengguan Town, the second one was located in a coal yard in Yuzhong County, and the third one was only a few kilometers apart.

The two brothers got up to put on their makeup at 6:30 in the morning. Since it took a long time to put on their makeup, and the distance to Chengguan Town was only a few kilometers away, they did not take the unified bus arranged by the Shehuo Team, but drove after finishing their makeup at about 8 o'clock. Arriving at Chengguan Town. Yang Hailong remembered clearly that it was already 8:30 when they arrived in the town, and the road at the scene was closed. They entered the scene after identifying themselves to the officers on duty.

About an hour later, the Shehuo performance officially started. The entire team took turns to appear according to their roles. "Yang Laoer" and Yang Hailong appeared in the middle order, and their performance lasted about half an hour.

"I saw someone coming over with a paper cup filled with liquor. The two hugged the second brother and gave him a drink. Someone came behind with wine and poured the cup directly into (my brother's) mouth." Yang Hailong said , after the first performance, he didn’t know how much “Yang Laoer” had drunk, but by the second performance, his brother should have felt relieved, but the alcohol was definitely not gone.

The coal yard where the second performance was held is a few kilometers away from Chengguan Town. The coal yard was also responsible for lunch for all the team members, and some team members said the food was pretty good. Yang Hailong recalled that the second performance was at around 2 pm on the 20th, and "Yang Lao Er" was also drunk by many people during the performance.

Yang Hailong provided some photos and videos of the two performances to Red Star News reporters. One of the photos showed Yang Hailong lying half on the ground with several men around him. One of the men was supporting him from behind, while another man He took the paper cup and poured it into "Yang Laoer"'s mouth. Another video showed several men approaching the two Yang brothers with paper cups and putting the cups in their mouths.

▲ Yang Hailong said that on the day of the incident, "Yang Laoer" was forced to drink alcohol by many people during his performance.

"The videos and photos were taken by other people. Someone told me that in the second scene, I drank more than a pound of wine for my second brother. My second brother and I usually drink some wine, but we don't drink too much. And when we drink here, we usually drink You should drink after you are full." Yang Hailong said, "Some netizens said that if we don't drink ourselves, how can others do it? I want to say that by then we were already very tired from dancing, how could we still have the strength to resist?"

At the end of the second performance, Yang Hailong clearly felt that his brother was drunk. He recalled that someone helped "Yang Laoer" upstairs to rest. "After lying on the bed, the second child started snoring, just like when everyone is drunk and sleeping. At that time, I also wanted him to take a rest, so I went to the third performance." Yang Hailong said, "At 6 p.m. About 30 minutes later, I came back and found that the second child was still snoring. When it was 8 o'clock, the second child stopped snoring, and then I realized that something was wrong. In the end, although the medical staff performed rescue operations, the second child never woke up."

He said that after the incident, a friend called the police and the forensic doctor also conducted an autopsy on his brother, but he did not know the results yet.

On the morning of February 25, the owner of a coal mine in Yuzhong County told a Red Star News reporter that she was also very sorry for the death of "Yang Laoer", but she believed that his death should be caused by many factors. At present, she has tried her best to resolve the matter with her family.

The owner of the coal yard said that after "Yang Laoer" was drunk, they kindly helped him to go to bed to rest. At that time, "Yang Laoer's" wife, mother and children were all in the room looking after him.

"After I finished my work at around 6 o'clock that night, I came to the place where 'Yang Lao'er' rested and found that he had big beads of sweat on his head. I felt like he was dying. I reminded his family twice, but they said he was drunk before. It was the same way. It wasn't until about 8 o'clock in the evening that I discovered that 'Yang Laoer' had no longer snoring. I hurriedly asked someone to call 120. Medical staff rescued the scene and then sent him to the hospital for rescue, but in the end it was a pity..." she said, " The family members of "Yang Laoer" regretted it deeply. "Yang Laoer's death was not only due to drinking too much, but also being too tired."

Yang Hailong said that "Yang Laoer" did not take off his makeup during the break and could not see his face clearly. He didn’t vomit. His mother and sister-in-law were indeed there at that time. Everyone regretted it. He also regretted participating in the Shehuo performance. “My mother and sister-in-law both fainted from crying when the second child was buried.”

▲ Yang Hailong posted a message to say goodbye to his younger brother.

"My sister-in-law is from Shandong. Due to family matters, she returned to her parents' home two and a half months ago. She came back only on the evening of the ninth day of the first lunar month. She and her brother had only been together for two days. The Shehuo performance was really tiring during this period. We left early and came back late. , my sister-in-law even said that the two of them had not spoken ten words in the last two days." Yang Hailong said.

Toast or "drink"?

Red Star News reporter learned that there is a saying among the people that "the social fire in the northwest is in Gansu", and there is a folk custom of social fire performances in many places in Gansu. In Yuzhong County, many villages in many towns and villages have social fire teams. So, is it necessary to toast the team members during local social fire performances? Do team members have to drink again? In this regard, Red Star News reporters interviewed many social fire team members in Yuzhong County.

A member of the Xinglongshan Village Shehuo Team surnamed Wang told the Red Star News reporter that some people only toasted to the actor who performed "Master", and some toasted to many performers. This is a kind of etiquette and custom. The performers can drink or not. "For me, if it's too cold, I will drink some, depending on my own amount."

A member of the Chengguan Village Fire Team said that when someone toasts them, some will drink and some will not. Some people drank it in their mouths and then turned around and spit it out.

"Toasting is a lively event. Basically, you just drink a little bit of the wine in the glass. This also reflects the host's enthusiasm." said a person watching the Shehuo performance in Yuzhong County.

Yang Hailong also said that it is okay to toast actors, but this time he poured wine into "Yang Lao Er" directly into his mouth. If he didn't drink wine in the first scene or in the second scene, nothing would happen.

Regarding "Yang Laoer" being drunk, several members of the Xinglongshan Village Fire Team told Red Star News reporters that because the order of the performances was different, they rested in the backcourt after the performance, so they did not see it.

The day before "Yang Laoer" was buried, several people who drank for "Yang Laoer" came to the mourning hall and offered incense to "Yang Laoer" because there were inviters (the invitation party of Shehuo) to solve the matter. , Yang Hailong said that they were not prepared to hold these people accountable.

Regarding this matter, on February 23, a Red Star News reporter contacted the Yuzhong County Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau. A staff member said that they knew about "Yang Laoer" and the bureau called the fire brigade of various communities. Relevant measures have also been formulated, but the specific contents are not yet disclosed.

The farmhouse and short video left behind

After his younger brother passed away, Yang Hailong, who barely slept for a few days, thought about the days of working hard with his younger brother. While feeling sad, he also thought about the future life of his family.

▲ "Yang Laoer"'s wife cried and fainted, and medical staff went to the scene to take measures such as oxygen inhalation for her

"Yang Laoer" is 39 years old this year, and Yang Hailong is two years older than him. In 2006, the two brothers, who were just in their early 20s, went to Beijing to work hard with their noodle-making skills and entered a restaurant.

Yang Hailong recalled that his younger brother loved to study and learned cooking skills while working. In 2008, the brothers went out to work alone. They experienced failures, but finally succeeded in opening a restaurant of several hundred square meters in Beijing. They sold stir-fried vegetables and noodles during the day, and cooked noodles at night. The barbecue is sold by "Yang Laoer".Also in Beijing, in 2009, "Yang Lao Er" met his wife who worked on the same street. They got married and had children. Now their eldest son is 11 years old and his younger son is 9 years old.

In 2017, the two brothers, who had been working in Beijing for 11 years, returned to their hometown in Yuzhong County, rented a house and opened a farmhouse in Xinglongshan Village, a few kilometers away from their home. "Yang Laoer" was in charge, while Yang Hailong was responsible for grocery shopping, finance and other chores. Due to the local climate, the farmhouse closes after November every year and reopens in March of the following year.

▲The farmhouse opened by Yang Laoer and his brother

In 2018, "Yang Laoer" began to study short videos in his spare time. He completed the conception, creation, shooting, and editing all by himself. Yang Hailong and his family occasionally appeared on camera to cooperate in the shooting.

Red Star News reporter noticed that the day before "Yang Laoer" died, he updated the video, and the content was a social fire performance. There are more than 1,100 videos on his short video account, most of which are short video clips that bring joy to people.

"I didn't think about making money at first. I didn't cooperate with the platform until two years ago. Sometimes it cost tens of yuan a piece, and sometimes it cost one or two hundred yuan. It was equivalent to the monthly cigarette money earned by the second brother, but it cost a lot. Time, in addition to the time it takes for him to conceive, sometimes the shooting needs to be completed multiple times, and the more difficult thing is the editing, which is all done on the mobile phone, sometimes taking several hours." Yang Hailong said that at the end of last year, he had several live broadcasts. But the returns are not ideal.

The farmhouse of the Yang brothers is called "Yang Family Courtyard", and the signboard also reads "Bald Yang Laoer personally cooks" and "Internet celebrity shop". Yang Hailong said that farmhouse entertainment is their main income. "Yang Laoer" spends his time creating short videos and doing live broadcasts at night, in fact, in order to bring more attention and business to the farmhouse.

"Now that the second child is gone, there is no longer a chef, and it is difficult to hire a chef. I am still thinking about what to do in the future." Yang Hailong said, however, the social platform account of "Yang Laoer" will be controlled by his sister-in-law. First, Leave a thought, and let the joy of "Yang Lao Er" stay forever...

Red Star News reporter Tang Xiaojun's picture is provided by the interviewee

Editor Zhang Xun Editor-in-Chief Wei Kongming