Freed through comedy

Yang Tianzhen, a judge on the show, remarks that Fang embodies the resilient spirit of Chinese women, with strength forged through adversity.

"She is a precious gem in the stand-up comedy industry," Yang adds.

Tan Xiaohong, producer of the show, admits she initially had doubts when first encountering Fang's audition tape.

"Her set was electrifying, a raw account of her life story," she recalls. "But I worried whether that magic could be replicated in the following competition rounds.

"When we met in person, all my doubts vanished. Her raw authenticity and strong ability to consistently transform life experiences into comedy made casting her an undeniable choice," says Tan.

Raised in a small village south of Linyi city, Shandong, Fang quit middle school when her family could no longer afford her education.

"I'd read anything with words on it, even medication instructions. Back then, the only books I could get my hands on were classics. I particularly loved reading Dream of the Red Chamber," Fang recalls in a recent podcast program.

After leaving school, she worked in textile and brick factories, sending her earnings home to fund her younger brother's greenhouse and her ailing mother's medical treatments.

At 20, she got married. Her then-husband, and now ex-husband, ran a fruit shop while she became a housewife raising two daughters.

In 2010, with her youngest still a toddler and her then-father-in-law bedridden after a stroke, Fang shouldered his care alone, changing his diapers, feeding and bathing him.

"My ex never lifted a finger; he just criticized me. To drown him out, I bought a smartphone and listened to podcasts on Ximalaya (a podcast platform) while doing household chores," she says. That's how she discovered stand-up comedy.