On the other side of the Himalayas, in South Asia's India, lies a system known as the caste system.
The caste system divides people from high to low into Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, and the untouchables known as "Dalits."
If the caste system were likened to a pyramid, then unquestionably, the Brahmins are at the pinnacle.
The term "county Brahmin" is now gaining popularity on the Chinese internet on the other side of the Himalayas.
Initially, "county Brahmin" was a rather serious concept.
It referred to a group in small towns that had control over resources and connections, and this tangible or intangible family wealth could be inherited through marriage or inheritance.
Some local tyrants in the county might be considered the rich second generation or nouveau riche of the county.
However, it's rare for ordinary people to even open a small supermarket in the county, let alone become county Brahmins.
So, the concept of county Brahmins has been slightly optimized in response to the demands of the people.
Eating some delicious food at home, arranging a whole set of hot pot dishes, drinking cola at ten yuan a bottle and rice wine at dozens of yuan a bottle, totaling a few hundred yuan, one can proudly call themselves a county Brahmin.
They have a job at the local newspaper, bought a car and a house, tied the knot, and have a pet cat at home.
Their parents are in good health, and their hometown is clean and tidy—this is what they call a small-town success story.
Thinking even further ahead, getting married at 26, buying a new house outright, driving a car worth over 200,000, and traveling whenever you feel like it—this affluent and leisurely lifestyle is what some people dream of.
Internet users generally describe these types of videos as "happy life" or "showing off my mouth."
The county's Brahmins are easily recognizable. They reside in 18th-tier cities or even small county towns, enjoying a nine-to-five job without overtime, and can leave the office while the sun sets.
Although they earn less compared to their counterparts in first-tier cities—say, five or six thousand less, or seven or eight thousand more—their income is well supported by the lower cost of living in small towns, making them wealthy enough to dine out frequently.
Some even have family assets, able to afford cars and houses, find spouses, and navigate through life's challenges.
Their days repeat without much excitement, yet they find them relaxed and comfortable. Sometimes, they gather a few friends for a trip or cuddle up with their partners to watch a movie.
Indeed, what "County Brahmins" here express is the highly idealized state of ordinary life in a small town.
If we were to describe its charm, it would probably lie in the delicate balance its protagonists maintain amidst the prevailing voices of struggle and advocating for 'lying flat' in the online sphere.
They neither engage in frantic striving nor lack stable income and material comfort, which is quite soothing.
It sounds simple, but it's what many people dream of.
Lately, there has been a surge in "food" videos, subtly revealing people's envy towards the "County Brahmins":
The typical format for video titles is: Spent XX RMB, Happy.
Sometimes, the title also includes eye-catching tags like "turning 30 this year," "earning 5800 RMB," or "living in a small county town," making it hard to look away, tempting you to peek into a less hectic life.
The most common content in these videos is when someone finishes work, buys some cooked food on the way home, randomly picks up some braised pork trotters, beef, and cold dishes, and finally grabs a bottle of wine. They then head home, spread everything out on a small table, and enjoy it alone.
For example, this guy just bought some braised snacks from a small roadside shop, stopped by the next-door shop to get some peanuts, and then ran to the small supermarket to buy two cans of beer before heading to the internet café.
In the internet café, he found a private room, watched movies while waiting for the games to start, gnawed on chicken legs with gusto, drank beer sip by sip, and let out a satisfied "ah~" after finishing, indicating how much he enjoyed it.
Videos of others enjoying simple pleasures often garner impressive views, while those featuring lobster feasts and steak dinners seem to attract little attention.
For the viewers contributing to the traffic, watching bloggers gulp down their food can provide a sense of relaxation, as if a tightly wound spring has suddenly been released.
With their minds briefly freed up, they may ponder the connection between their own lives and happiness.
People admire this comfortable, slow-paced way of life.
In the videos, there's a sense of freedom permeating through, and for someone accustomed to staying up late out of retaliation, you can clearly feel the joy of having enough time to organize your own activities.
Having gotten used to leaving the office after nightfall, you lack the leisure to go shopping or cook. Even going to the restroom during work has become a form of decompression. After finishing a novel, there's an anxious feeling of not knowing what to do next. Every day begins with thoughts of rent, utilities, and weekends are relied upon for replenishing energy by sleeping in until waking naturally...
Because you know how difficult it is for you, you understand how happy the life in the video is.
In addition to having control over time, another enviable aspect is the positive attitude towards life.
In the video, the three meals a day in the small county are not expensive, yet they bring the most satisfaction and joy.
But for urban white-collar workers who crave a midnight snack, ordering a small barbecue meal from a food delivery app costs much more.
However, the satisfaction from such an expensive meal won't last for more than half an hour.
Living life at triple speed consumes this feeling of fullness, as they know they have to sleep because the sun will rise in a few hours, and they have to muster up the energy to go to work.
The threshold for happiness has been raised to the maximum. It's hard for us to feel happiness, let alone love life. Just not secretly despising life like a piece of crap would be considered good enough.
Here we encounter another question.
If life in the small-town Brahmin community is so easy and joyful, why doesn't everyone return to their hometowns instead of hustling in the big cities? Could it be that they've contracted some peculiar ailment that makes them itch to be under the thumb of a boss's PUA antics?
Of course not, my friend.
There have always been doubts about the authenticity of the content in the videos.
Because it's widely understood that people can't always be in a state of happiness like in videos; happiness often requires the backdrop of mundane or even painful experiences.
Even though vloggers may not script their videos and aim to authentically document their lives, their cameras often omit the mundane and painful aspects, which is a source of concern for those who long to return to their hometowns but hesitate.
Perhaps some fear nothing and simply want to return to their hometowns to live well, a seemingly achievable goal. Yet, thriving in one's own life amidst the vastness of society is incredibly challenging.
You're not advancing alone; there are others rushing forward blindly alongside you, and the competition among siblings is fiercer than ever.
On the track of life, slowing down means others will surpass you.
There are magnanimous people in the world, but being magnanimous alone won't buy you medicine, get your child into a good school, or help you set up a chip stand at the pier.
After slowing down, all you can do is live while singing "Believe in Yourself."
And, to become a county Brahmin, there are entry requirements.
People head to big cities because there's a big cake to share. Even if they can't sit at the table, the crumbs that fall are enough to satisfy.
In small towns, some try to bake their own cakes: county study rooms, county bakeries, county flower shops... But each type of shop dies out one after another.
In this one-acre field, many things have already been arranged, with each turnip having its own patch.
But now, there are clearly far more turnips than patches.
Returning to the county town is easy, just buy a ticket. But then what?
Don't talk about whether you can become a leisurely county lady; whether you can find a job to support your family upon returning to the county town is the real question.
What should I do? How should I face my future life? We can't just sing "Without the county town, nothing matters" and call it a day.
These are things school never taught us; we have to figure them out on our own until we find the answers.
Until then, we remain nomads of the information age, like tumbleweeds with flesh, swaying with the times, drifting with the current in search of opportunities.
Written by Zhang Dadi, Edited by Mangshan Laotietou, Cover by Xuanxuan
Image and data sources:
Invisible Local Aristocrats - Nine Borders
