98-year-old becomes online celebrity with carefree eating videos

A 98-year-old grandma who is really fond of mealtime has become an online celebrity in less than a year, after a series of short videos of her eating were uploaded online by her granddaughter.

The granny lives in Huili ancient town in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, with her granddaughter, surnamed Cai.

Though advanced in years, she does not restrict herself to a healthy and balanced diet. She eats whatever she wants, and prefers food with spicy flavor. Hamburgers, hot pot, ice cream, desserts and all kinds of meat and animal organs appear in her daily eating clips.

A local specialty — chuanchuan, vegetables and meat skewers served in hot and spicy broth — is granny's favorite. And she drinks Coca-Cola and alcohol every day.

"What she likes to eat is also what young people like," Cai said, adding her granny used to be a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine but does not bother with efforts to keep in good health.

In the video, Cai often persuades her granny to have a healthy diet, not to eat too much spicy or sweet food or drink too many beverages. However, her grandmother’s retorts and persistence make the video even funnier.

"It does not matter to me if I eat sweet snacks before meals. I am old enough," she told her granddaughter once, after Cai tried to stop her having sweet snacks before a meal.

Both speak local dialect in the videos, also to the amusement of viewers.

Besides the eating videos, Cai also recorded some interesting anecdotes from her granny, such as fighting for remote control with her 5-year-old great-granddaughter and discussing what to eat after installing new dentures on an operating table.

The grandmother is super confident about herself. She agreed with fans' praise of her appearance and replied "Of course I can. I'm fearless" when she heard someone was going to invite her to be in a movie.

"My granny once said keeping a good attitude is the key to longevity. She has not been angry for long time and has a carefree mood," Cai said.

To date, Cai has posted 63 short videos about her grandmother and received over 4 million likes on Douyin. A number of citizens even take her as a role model, and one left a comment saying, "I would like to be a cute old lady in the future."