Born in October 1971 in Chongqing to an ordinary urban family, Meng Fei faced a tough start after failing the national college entrance exam. He took up jobs as a porter and eventually became a printing apprentice at a printing factory in December 1991. At the time, he was a thin, dark-faced young man living a life of hardship and monotony.
His work schedule was grueling, running from 8 a.m. on Tuesday to the evening of Thursday. For three days and two nights, he had to remove an average of 1,112 newspapers from the machine every minute. He could only rest for one hour every ten hours. The process was as tense as a battle; the slightest delay would affect the next step and result in a harsh scolding.
After a month of hard work, he earned only 23 yuan. In his diary, he wrote with sadness: "I cannot stay in this place for the rest of my life. This is a dark place. To get a better job, I need knowledge. It is never too late to start over!"
Determined to change his fate, he enrolled in a correspondence course. Balancing work and studies, his life pace suddenly accelerated, leaving him with little rest. He compressed his sleep time as much as possible, reading whenever he had a moment. When he could no longer stay awake, he would plunge his head into cold water to refresh himself. In just two months, his already thin frame lost 8 kilograms in weight!
In July 1994, he finally obtained a junior college diploma in Chinese Literature from Nanjing Normal University. Around the same time, Jiangsu TV was hiring temporary staff. While many hesitated to apply, he went without hesitation, saying: "It doesn't matter that the starting point is low!"
In his early days at the TV station, he exhausted himself daily to meet production deadlines, often staying up all night. He handled everything from editing and scriptwriting to voice-over by himself. Yet, he never complained about the fatigue. Looking at the finished programs, his mood was as bright and clear as the autumn sky.
Due to long-term overwork, he began losing hair in large clumps after the Spring Festival in 1998. Sometimes, a single pull would shed a handful. People around him saw it as a disaster. Helpless, he decided to shave his head. However, he kept smiling. Unexpectedly, his bald head combined with his smile made him look both intelligent and energetic.
This distinctive and fresh look quickly caught the attention of TV station leaders. He was selected as the host of a new program, Nanjing Zero Distance. Thanks to his efforts, the show's ratings soared, reaching a peak of 17.7%, even surpassing the News Broadcast airing in the same slot. By 2002, the program generated a staggering 50 million yuan in advertising revenue.
Meng Fei's name gradually became synonymous with the most popular host at Jiangsu TV. In early 2004, he was named one of the "Top Ten Rising Stars among Chinese Hosts." Notably, besides him, all other nine hosts on the list were famous figures from CCTV. This proved that Meng Fei, a host with a working-class background, was no less competent than anyone else in the industry!
Today, the dating show If You Are the One, hosted by Meng Fei, has rapidly become a national phenomenon, maintaining a 3% rating and setting unprecedented records. Even People's Daily dedicated a special report to it on April 9th.
In our lives, we all go through dark periods. Knowledge is the only beam of light in that darkness. What we must do is accumulate strength in the dark, grasp that ray of light called "knowledge," and lead our lives toward brilliance.
