Can you make money from ice grapes? He gives the answer through practice.

The ice is three feet thick and everything has withered, yet he invites everyone to come and pick grapes. For the sake of these grapes, he quit his job as a journalist and returned to his hometown to start a business, only to be called a liar by his own father. What hidden story lies behind his quitting and going home, and what kind of wealth is hidden in the grapes amid the ice and snow?

Every year after November, this land at the foot of the Changbai Mountains enters the ice-and-snow season, cold air keeps arriving, and the ice on the lake is already more than half a meter thick. In the depths of this severe winter, when all things have withered, a rare kind of wealth is quietly brewing on the hillside by the lake.

A little after ten in the morning, some people came to this small village.

Zhang Yupeng: Come on, this way.

Today Zhang Yupeng specially invited everyone to come and pick ice grapes. He often holds events like this to let more people know about ice grapes.

Zhang Yupeng: You can't pick them when it's warm. The colder it is, the better the grapes you pick.

Tourist: At my age, picking grapes in the snow is really a first.

It is already the coldest period of the third nine-day period of winter, with nighttime lows of minus 25 degrees Celsius, and daytime highs that do not exceed minus 10 degrees Celsius. What kind of grape can withstand such severe cold? Someone raised a doubt.

Tourist: The ground is already so cold, the ground is frozen solid. Can the grapes still survive?

As soon as they stepped into the snow, everyone was immediately drawn to the ice grapes.

There is not a single leaf left on the vines, and the vines themselves have already dried up, yet the grapes still hang in clusters on the trellis, perfectly intact.

Zhang Yupeng: These haven't been killed by the frost. Right now the grapes are in their dormant period. Look, this is still green, it's alive, not dead. At first glance you'd think it was dead. Next spring, they'll start sprouting from these buds and grow out. It's quite amazing. Ice grapes must hang in the ice.

Tourist: They just grow in the ice and snow.

The ice grape Zhang Yupeng mentioned is scientifically known as Vidal. Its requirements for geographical and climatic conditions are very demanding: temperatures in spring, summer, and autumn must be warm enough to meet its growth needs, while winter must be cold enough. In the whole world, only a few countries, including Germany, France, Canada, Austria, and China, have specific locations where it can be produced. After ripening at the end of September, the ice grapes stay hanging on the vine. After severe winter sets in, they repeatedly go through freezing and thawing, the water content becomes less and less, and the sugar content keeps rising. The color also changes from green to this dark brown. Only when the temperature reaches below minus 8 degrees Celsius and stays there for 24 hours can the ice grapes be harvested.

Tourist: Why do they fall off so easily?

Tourist: Look, look.

Reporter: They're frozen solid, right?

Tourist: At the slightest touch they come off like grains of rice, all at once.

Reporter: Have you seen this kind before?

Tourist: No, it's my first time.

Reporter: Are you a local?

Tourist: I really am a local, but it's my first time seeing it.

So what exactly do these ice grapes taste like? Everyone couldn't wait to try them.

Reporter: How many have you eaten?

Tourist: Two clusters.

Zhang Yupeng: Are they good?

Tourist: Delicious.

Reporter: Doesn't your stomach feel cold?

Tourist: Not cold, I don't feel cold, because once they're in your mouth they melt. They're especially sweet, a bit like the taste of raisins.

Tourist: Inside it's like this, there are ice crystals, and some grape flesh too, some flesh, and ice crystals.

Reporter: It still feels a bit juicy?

Tourist: Yes, there's some moisture.

Reporter: It's not completely dried out?

Tourist: It's not the completely dried-out kind. And the texture in your mouth is especially good, cool, sweet, smooth and silky.

Tourist: Freeze them and eat them little by little. At night when you're watching TV, take them out and eat them one by one. The flavor is just wonderful.

Reporter: Are you going to share them with everyone, or eat them yourself?

Tourist: I can't bear to give them to others, I'll eat them myself.

How much do such delicious ice grapes sell for?

Zhang Yupeng: Since you came today because I invited you to experience this, I'll just give them to you. Take as many as you want. After today, if you want to buy them, I won't sell.

Zhang Yupeng said these ice grapes have another use, and their value is many times higher than selling the ice grapes directly.

This kind of ice grape, harvested specially in winter, brought Zhang Yupeng 15 million yuan in wealth in 2015 alone, and he also helped more than 100 local farming households.

Zhang Yupeng: Are the grapes sweet?

Tourist: Sweet.

Yet just five years ago, when Zhang Yupeng quit his job as a TV reporter and returned to his hometown, everyone said he was a liar, and even his father watched him every day, afraid he would make a mistake. What hidden story was behind Zhang Yupeng quitting his reporting job and going home, and what kind of wealth is hidden in the grapes amid the ice and snow?

Daniugou Village, Zhang Yupeng's hometown. In order to let Zhang Yupeng study hard and get out of this small mountain village, his father was willing to endure hardship and toil.

Zhang Yupeng: Back then, to make money, my father drove a modified farm vehicle up into the mountains to haul stones. He sold them to some local engineering teams doing water conservancy and construction. Because that modified farm vehicle often had brake failure, when my father was coming down from the mountain, once he saw the brakes had failed, what could he do? He would look for some smaller trees by the roadside and crash into them. My dad said that back then he didn't know what death was.

Zhang Zifu, Zhang Yupeng's father: I just thought I'd support them through school, so that after college they'd have a way out.

Zhang Yupeng did not let his father's hard work down. In 2001 he was admitted to Liaoning University to study journalism. After graduating, he went to Beijing and became a television reporter. After working in Beijing for 4 years, Zhang Yupeng bought an apartment with a mortgage. Whenever people in his hometown talked about Dapeng, the son of the Zhang family, they were all very envious.

Villager: They all say, look at that Dapeng from the Zhang family. He studied, and then he went to a TV station in Beijing. They all tell their children to study hard. Basically 90 percent of households were envious.

Villager: The first one.

Reporter: What do you mean?

Villager: You could say he was the first in the Zhang family. How should I put it, the first talent, really. Whether among neighbors or relatives, he was recognized as someone with a bright future.

However, in 2010, in the eyes of the villagers, Zhang Yupeng had completely changed. Everyone talked about him a great deal, and doubt and speculation replaced the praise and envy of the past. Even his father said he was a liar. What exactly happened?