I See through Everything

At first, Shuya was a little nervous in front of the camera. However, after a couple of rehearsals, she grew more natural, and her answers flowed smoothly.

As for Station Chief Guo, he was a true professional.

Jiang Miao, on the other hand, was brimming with confidence. After all, with his appraisal panel, he had nothing to worry about.

The afternoon flew by, and the indoor interview segments for all four reports were completed.

Before the sun could set, the group hurried over to the exhibition at Ciyun Mountain Park in the city.

When they arrived, the foot traffic was even heavier than on previous days, likely because it was the exhibition’s final day.

Station Chief Guo quickly struck up a conversation with a few of the young saleswomen, while the film crew began to set up.

First up was the opening monologue, filmed in front of the inflatable archway at the entrance.

"Good evening, my dear foodies! This is Station Chief Guo from Channel 17. Today, we’re going to discuss something a little luxurious. Just how luxurious? Follow my gaze..."

The camera panned.

It landed on the truffle counter in the agricultural products section.

"My foodies, do you know what this is? Some of you may have already guessed it. That’s right! This is the truffle, also known as the ’diamond of the kitchen.’ To be precise, this is the White Truffle."

"What is a White Truffle? To put it simply, it’s a fungus that grows underground, typically near the roots of specific trees like pines, oaks, and hazels."

"Truffles require a very specific and harsh environment to grow, and until now, they couldn’t be artificially cultivated. This scarcity made them incredibly expensive. In Europe, truffles, alongside caviar and foie gras, are hailed as the world’s three great culinary treasures."

"Truffles are highly prized for their nutritional value, packed with rich proteins, amino acids, and other nutrients. Thanks to their unique aroma and nutritional profile, they are incredibly popular in the culinary world and are often used to elevate a dish’s flavor. In other words, a truffle is essentially a condiment."

"Here in our country, truffles are also known as ’pig-snout fungus’ or ’motherless fruit.’ In recent years, over-harvesting caused the truffle yield from the Yun-Gui Plateau to decline annually. But now... it has arrived!"

Station Chief Guo drew out the last word dramatically as the film crew quickly focused the camera on the boxes of White Truffles.

"This is the fully artificially cultivated White Truffle, produced by Hailufeng Company! All you foodies are in for a real treat. Hailufeng Company has already begun mass production and can now produce approximately 8,300 kilograms per month."

And just like that, with Station Chief Guo’s rhythmic and captivating delivery, the opening segment of the report was complete.

The final shot.

"Next time, I, your Station Chief Guo, will take you on a deep dive into the past and present of artificial White Truffle cultivation. See you then!"

That same evening, the teaser video from Channel 17 went live simultaneously across various platforms.

On the Ah B Platform.

Viewers watched Station Chief Guo’s whirlwind tour of the Ciyun Mountain Park exhibition. Although the main focus was on the White Truffles, the report also offered fleeting glimpses of other products like fruits and eels, which got a few seconds of screen time.

The comment section instantly blew up.

Fruit Hunter Yang Yang: [Looks like I’ve got new content. So much I’ll never be able to film it all.]

Boston Garden: [Awesome! We’ll all be swimming in White Truffles soon.]

North America Lecturer: [Only 8,300 kilograms a month? That’s nothing.]

Squeak Squeak I’m Back: [Does the user above me not do any research? 8,300 kilograms is more than double the annual yield of wild truffles. Plus, these guys can produce them year-round, while wild truffles are only available in the winter.]

Tian Dong Loves to Flame: [Awesome! But besides the White Truffles, the Tomatoes, Ginseng Fruits, and strawberries on site looked pretty good too.]

Call Me Handsome: [I was just there the day before yesterday. I bought a batch of White Truffles. The price is still pretty high at 3,000 yuan per kilogram. But they have free samples! I downed several plates of truffle pasta and truffle fried eggs. The flavor was amazing, just as good as any White Truffle from Italy.]

Go-Playing Yankee: [I passed by yesterday and didn’t even go in. I feel like I missed out on a billion-dollar opportunity! BOOHOO...]

Hu Sheng’s Alt: [3,000 yuan a kilogram? My whole salary can only buy two kilos. Sooo cheap. Hehehe.]

Sci-Fi Fan Bulma: [Station Chief Guo, you’ve gone to the dark side! You left us on a cliffhanger!!!]

Big-Headed Eagle: [@Hu Sheng’s Alt, you’re taking things out of context again. They also have the smaller, ball-shaped White Truffles for 1,000 yuan a kilogram. Besides, this stuff isn’t like carrots you eat by the pound. It’s a high-end condiment. If an average person just wants a taste, you can get 100 grams for 100 yuan.]

Ho-Say-Lee: [I bet that Hu Sheng user has never seen the price of truffles from Italy. They go for $3,500 to $9,000 a kilo. Hailufeng Company’s White Truffles are more than ten times cheaper.]

As the report went live on various platforms, the buzz around Hailufeng Company’s White Truffles reached a new peak. On the Ah B Platform, it even soared to the number three trending spot.

Immediately following this, Hailufeng Company’s online store was hit with a massive surge in traffic.

The 80-yuan "taster" portions of White Truffle—all 1,000 of them—were snapped up in less than an hour after being listed.

Soon, many local micro-influencers were also jumping on the bandwagon, talking about Hailufeng Company’s other business ventures and its expansion into Shanmei and Gannan to ride the wave of popularity.

Such is the speed of information in the internet age.

Meanwhile, some of the more professional bloggers dug up three recent papers Lin Shuya had published in an agricultural journal.

The journal was the *Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture*.

This journal publishes peer-reviewed original research, reviews, mini-reviews, perspectives, and spotlights, with a special emphasis on interdisciplinary research in the fields of agriculture and food.

The three papers were all partial research findings on the artificial cultivation of White Truffles, though the core technology was not disclosed.

And as Lin Shuya’s identity was revealed, the notice of her expulsion from Handong University and some stories about her advisor, Du Bolun, were also dredged up.

In particular, the recent incident of a PhD student under Du Bolun’s supervision committing suicide by jumping from a building also shot to the top of the trending topics.

A top-tier researcher capable of independently developing the technology to artificially cultivate White Truffles had been expelled by Handong University. This shocking contrast was a cause for celebration among media outlets that thrive on sensationalism. They immediately began working through the night, crafting their hit pieces and preparing to launch an all-out media assault.