The Extra Who Supports a Family of Sixty

Winter, 1962. Lin Dalong is hunting rabbits in the mountains when he slips and falls off a cliff. When he opens his eyes, he finds himself in a miraculous new world—one filled with speeding metal shells, everyone clutching glowing bricks, and skyscrapers that stretch beyond sight. Even stranger, a young woman in shorts offers him eighty yuan just to lie down and let her kiss him. Flabbergasted, Lin Dalong thinks making money in this fairyland must be easy, and eagerly agrees. His first acting job is playing an unconscious patient waiting for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He performs flawlessly, lying perfectly still even after the director yells "cut." Only when a crew member nudges him does he open his eyes, worried. "That's it? Shouldn't we kiss a little longer?" The set manager laughs and tells him not to get any ideas—more kisses won't earn him extra pay. Slapping his thigh, Lin Dalong laments his missed opportunity.