Zhao Tiezhu, 28, was once a minor streamer on the fringes of the industry. He was blacklisted after refusing to do suggestive livestreams.
With short-video platforms drowning in cutthroat competition, one platform launched "scavenger livestreams" to attract viewers.
Forced to rummage through trash cans for bottles and cans, he was photographed and mocked by passersby. The whole internet buzzed with #StreamerPicksThroughTrash.
Only three people watched his first day's stream. He could barely afford food, and survival became a problem.
Then he unearthed rare metals in discarded junk, and his explanations of "trash economics" unexpectedly went viral.
His followers topped one hundred thousand, and his income soared. Rivals reported him for staging it, and the platform throttled his traffic to suppress him.
He struck back by extracting gold from circuit boards, leaving his critics speechless, then bought a used van to expand his operations.
A former coworker slandered him by splashing paint on him, but Zhao livestreamed a purity test of the materials and turned the tables on the spot.
From being mocked as the "King of Junk" to founding a recycling empire, his comeback story begins!
