Xiao Yuan Man (2024)

Chinese family feud to kill time on a rainy day

This is a chaotic story, less comedy than caricature of the survival into modern days of outdated customs and the clash of greed and family.

An awful looking fortune teller, who of course had a hidden backer, instructed a gullible middle aged woman (Chen Guihua) to get her son (Gu Jiahui) and daughter in law (Yu Jing) to "make a descendant", less for her own desire than for getting back a dowry she was cheated out of when she agreed to divorce her son's dad (Gu Dequan). She suddenly arrived at her son's apartment, in company of her "step daughter" (Yu Chun).

The daughter in law was busy setting up a company with a best friend (Xiao Shan), so making babies was not her primary goal ; Xiao Shan, feeling the threat if Yu Jing changed her mind, with all the baby care products she sold online, took a drastic step to force a divorce between her friend and her wimpy husband.

The old man was quite the fiend, aided and abetted by his second wife cum free caretaker (Li Xiao), who was not even pitiable.
The couple found out about the conspiracies and tried to confront the ones who were behind them. Even those who seemed close to Chen Guihua and Yu Jing were double faced.

Fights, abduction, slanders, embezzlement, wife beating, mistreatment.... That family, the couple is saddled with, is as dysfunctional as can be. Will the old fiend, at the brink of death, get a redemption and escape punishment for his decades of wrongdoings ? He does get a slap in the face when he is confronted with the truth about his younger son. If tradition requires descendants, he has in fact no choice. He is afraid to die alone and get to afterlife with no proper mourning in his luxurious mansion in cherry growing countryside, despite his ill gotten wealth.

The drama is fast paced, sometimes jumpily so, and there is a happy end of sorts.
Can be watched for a few hours on a rainy day, amused by the wives epic hair pulling, like hens flying into each other's feathers ; a fat rabbit once steals the show.

The full cast was not disclosed on Baidu, despite there are only 7 who drive that mini drama. Here they are, from end credits :
Chen Guihua 陈桂花, is played by Shen Chang 沈畅
Yu Jing 于静 is played by Li Yizhen 李奕臻
Gu Jiahui 顾家辉 is played by Danson Tang /Tang Yuzhe 唐禹哲
Xiao Shan 肖珊, played by Pang Yixin "Scarlett" 庞奕欣
Yu Chun 俞春 is played by Chen Zhiqiao 陈芷翘
Gu Dequan 顾徳全 is played by Li Ou 李欧
Li Xiao 李晓 is played by Suxiu 苏绣

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