A small Dongbei city is crowded with a reluctant hitman, a woman who’s been hit enough to want her husband hit, and a cop who's hit with the cutest kid.
Notable Actors/Actresses
Notable Actors/Actresses
Director
Screenwriter
Chinese Title
余紅舊事
余紅舊事
Cast
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| Ma Yi Li: Chen Hong |
Wang Jia Jia: Liu Juan |
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| Zhang Zhe Hua: Liu Yang |
Wang Tian Chen: He Liang |
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| Fu Hang: Hao Peng |
Ren Bin: Wang Li Ye |
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| Xiang Han Zhi: Hao Jie Hao Fang (young) |
Dong Bao Shi: Dong ge |
Mini Recaps
My goal is to pick ONE topic/highlight. It can be a major moment or the smallest little detail. You can share yours too ~
Liu Juan gets saddled with the cutest little waddling kid, Qian Qian.
But it’s awful. The kid is her ex-husband’s daughter with the mistress he cheated on her with while they were still married, which Liu Juan only discovers when the cute little thing waddles over with her ID. And then there’s the letter: Please take care of my kid while I take care of my business. Much gratitude!
Signed 王八蛋 (= Bastard) Sun Zheng. At least the man knows what he is.
And the biggest horror: Qian Qian only speaks Cantonese.
Liu Juan, a big Dongbei woman: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING TO ME.
And the biggest horror: Qian Qian only speaks Cantonese.
Liu Juan, a big Dongbei woman: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING TO ME.
Kid: 你講乜嘢啊?
Nei gong mat je aa?
(“What are you saying?”)
Her: What are you saying? D:
Liu Juan finds a corpse (Zhao Chang You), frozen solid in a seated pose like The Thinker minus the hand on his chin. And that’s how he's transported from the stadium to the autopsy: still sitting upright on the examination bed. Hahahaha.
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| The forensics have two mini blowdryers to thaw him xD |
Liu Juan gets penalized for having a kid at work and goes off the rails at her superiors: “THE KID IS NOT MINE! HOW CAN YOU PENALIZE ME?!” Her supervisor reminds her that she’s the guardian. “YOU THINK I WANT TO BE THE GUARDIAN?!” This supervisor has to fake a heart condition to escape from her.
So Liu Juan goes to another chief to make her non-biological claim. “Look at this kid! She has a round face, I have a long face. She has double eyelids, I have inner double eyelids. She has a round nose, I have a flat nose!” And when she looks at her nose, oh, it's dripping.
"Blow!"
Back to fighting for her justice.
She says the kid has no relatives here, AND SHE SPEAKS CANTONESE. Hahaha. Why is Cantonese on the same level as no relatives.
Right on cue, Qian Qian hears nei ho and adorably introduces herself again: “Nei ho, I’m Qian Qian. I’m four years old this year.”
Chief: suddenly needs to use the bathroom because of his old bladder. All these men evacuating from her with fake medical conditions, hahaha. Liu Juan is actually really sweet with the kid! Look how she's bundled:
Liu Juan needs a sketch of the man who ate with the frozen victim, so she tracks down the restaurant owner who saw him. Except the guy is useless at describing. How old? “20s or it could be 30s.” How much did he drink? “Not little.” When did he leave? “Not early.” Did the two leave together? "Possibly." LOL.
So Liu Juan finds someone who can draw from descriptions. Except he’s practically blind and can barely tell a person from a pole.
Between the worst eyewitness and a nearly blind artist, they somehow produce a sketch.
Restaurant owner: “Yep. That’s him.” HAHA. For reference, this is his face:
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| That's a glasses within a glasses? |
Between the worst eyewitness and a nearly blind artist, they somehow produce a sketch.
He Liang (Wang Tian Chen), a police officer, is dispatched to investigate the frozen victim. More importantly, he understands Cantonese! Liu Juan’s saviour! It's from all the Hong Kong movies. And now the ladies are immediately impressed. Except the only Cantonese he spoke in all those lines was “nei” (you). LOL.
Qian Qian: not impressed. Me too xD.
Because Liu Juan wants extra money, she brings He Liang home so he can save on his food and lodging reimbursements and she can get some rent. Hello cohabitation. He Liang thinks this is inappropriate. He’s a man, she’s a woman.
Liu Juan: Oh my. You think I’d be interested in you?He Liang: No – don't worry. I trained in boxing. HE’S the one worried about needing self-defence?! And Liu Juan takes that as a perfectly normal answer xD
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| My beans killed him?! |
So what happened was Dong ge, a shady nightclub boss, hires Wan Xiu Hua, a shady bogus shaman priestess, to perform a ritual at the stadium. Purpose: summon Zhao Chang You's soul, the guy who died sitting. Ritual: she grows beans everywhere. In other words, she has no clue what she's doing.
But it’s not really the beans that killed him.
Liu Yang, who has agreed to become a hitman, is lurking around to kill Li De Wu and it's Li De Wu who scares the shit out of himself.
Dude runs, slips on the beans and falls to his death. I don’t think you can really blame Liu Yang for …lurking. LOL. The universe did the hit for him. Liu Yang still chops off Li De Wu’s hand as proof of the kill so he can collect his money.
And then we find out Liu Yang is Liu Juan’s didi. He leaves a black bag in her home. The hand? The axe? When jiejie is a cop? Gutsy.
And then we find out Liu Yang is Liu Juan’s didi. He leaves a black bag in her home. The hand? The axe? When jiejie is a cop? Gutsy.
Liu Juan questions Li De Wu’s father, who has suffered a stroke and can’t speak. So she tells him: blink once for yes, twice for no. He opens his eyes wide, ready to go.
[Ep9] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
Did your son have any enemies?
Blink. Yes.
Is this person still in Tiecheng?
Blink. Yes.
How old is this person? Male or female?
LOOOOL
Blink. Yes.
Is this person still in Tiecheng?
Blink. Yes.
How old is this person? Male or female?
If you watch watch, he's spazzing his whole body to point at his daughter-in-law, Chen Hong (Ma Yi Li). She does want her husband dead. FIL is not wrong about that.
(Two months before Li De Wu dies.)
Chen Hong poisoned the soup for her husband to drink. But he comes home to r*pe her on the table instead (and pulls out halfway for mahjong). Throughout, she actually kept the poisoned soup steady, and drinks it herself out of despair. She doesn't die. It's worse. She pukes all night.
She's trying so hard to kill this man. Meanwhile, we already know that two months later, he dies by slipping on beans. Woman, you only needed beans.
[Ep10] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
And omfg. This man. Has the audacity. To come home.
And SNORE? This woman has been through so much in one night, and it's the snoring that sends her into a murderous rage. Lol.
So she strangles him.
With all her might.
Silence.
SNOOOOOOOORE.
Li De Wu (the abusive husband who died upside down) ALSO visited our bogus shaman, Wan Xiu Hua (she's popular!!), to exorcise all his bad luck.
[Ep11] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]Bad luck like the snake his wife planted in his shower. Except her dumb lover&accomplice (Wang Li Ye) didn’t get the memo and removed its fangs, so it was just a regular, non-venomous snake.
We get back closer to the present. I was done with the “comedy” of a wife trying to kill her abusive husband when we already know the husband is dead. Should’ve been one episode, not three. The man who request the hit on Li De Wu is Wang Li Ye, chauffeur/lover/accomplice. He thinks his disguise is foolproof, lol. Dong ge pretends to accept the job, but he’s just bluffing and pockets the free money. That’s when Liu Yang emerges from under the table and takes over the hit, planning to kill Li De Wu to collect the rest of the promised payment. This hitman business is flimsy xD
Father Li discovers that his daughter-in-law Chen Hong and Wang Li Ye, the chauffeur, conspired to have his son killed. And thus begins the car chase! Father Li is driving this potato of a car thing and absolutely beats the chauffeur’s to the police station.
Father Li got a stroke. I'm sorry for laughing. At the police station. He didn't get to report, which means Chen Hong and chauffeur don't have to commit suicide.
The pig trotter, I mean, Li De Wu’s chopped-off hand, ends up in the chauffeur’s car. It smells like pig trotter, as confirmed by He Liang, who was planning to make some last episode. Wait, He Liang’s the one making dinner? So Liu Juan is getting rent and a cook? Clearly, I’m focusing on the right things.
So importantly, how did the hand end up there? Liu Yang takes it to Dong ge to collect his payment, then dumps it in a pile of trash. Except a dog goes after it.
Liu Yang chases a dog. CHASES A DOG. And wins the squealing pup.
Then Liu Yang spots Wang Li Ye, who’s stopped to pee, and casually dumps the hand in his car. This scares the pee that's already out of him more out of him.
[Cantonese] 鹹豬手 (ham zyu sau) means “salty pig hand,” But in Cantonese (not Mandarin), calling someone's hand "a pig trotter" means a pervert who gropes people. Fitting for Li De Wu.
So importantly, how did the hand end up there? Liu Yang takes it to Dong ge to collect his payment, then dumps it in a pile of trash. Except a dog goes after it.
Liu Yang chases a dog. CHASES A DOG. And wins the squealing pup.
Okay, but problem. They're both right hands? (Someone else had to have made the 🤘 at his funeral)
A mother and her daughter love the same man.
Okay, different man. But 99.9% of the same DNA. Hao Jie’s (Xiang Han Zhi) mother, Hao Fang, loved Liu Yang’s father, Liu Wei Guo.
[Ep16] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
Okay, different man. But 99.9% of the same DNA. Hao Jie’s (Xiang Han Zhi) mother, Hao Fang, loved Liu Yang’s father, Liu Wei Guo.
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| Hao Jie & Liu Yang |
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| Liu Yang with Hao Fang, who's reminiscing her Liu Wei Guo |
Turns out both Liu Yang’s father and Hao Jie’s mother are cheaters. Hao Fang has a husband and two kids, while Liu Wei Guo has a wife and, presumably, kids of his own. Xiang Han Zhi is sensual in her kissing scenes. I can barely see the guy she’s kissing, even though he’s literally right there.
They both promised to divorce their spouses and marry each other. But after Liu Yang’s mother escalates things to his father’s superior, it looks like he might back out, leaving Hao Fang stranded with her two children.
Liu Guo Wei was too cowardly to divorce his wife and marry Hao Fang, but he still brought Hao Fang food, which she threw away.
Then he burns to death at work. He's all crispy. Interesting that his son almost burned to death at work as well. Despite everything, Hao Fang cries for him. She really did love him.
They gave Xiang Han Zhi a mole to match the older actress, Ai Li Ya.
Liu Yang has Chen Hong at knifepoint, extorting her for money.
Chen Hong ends up "r*ping" him. She took his virginity. In the wild. Wild.
And now he works for her. So that he can pay for Hao Jie's kidneys. Wut.
I love that Liu Yang sees himself in the demon portrait. You know, the one drawn by the nearly blind sketch artist based on the world’s worst witness.
He Liang suspects Liu Yang too, especially since Liu Yang works for Chen Hong by f**king her. Her original f-boy, Wang Li Ye, seems to have fled after finding the chopped-off hand in his car. Or was he killed?
Hao Jie breaks up with Liu Yang. Only for Liu Yang to respond by proposing to her instead. Romantic? Except he’s still sleeping with his boss, Chen Hong.
Chen Hong buys a hot red car. Liu Yang loves it, and as her driver, gets to drive it. Is she trying to tempt him back with the car / her money?
Hao Peng, Hao Jie's brother's kidney matched. But he doesn't donate her a chance at a healthier life because he’s afraid that one day, his remaining kidney might fail too. So he’s letting his sister suffer now to protect himself against something that might happen in the future.
Qian Qian and He Liang, you're the reason I’m still here.
I stand by my visual that he's the visual ceiling here LOL
He Liang is leaving! D: Qian Qian calls after him, “He Liang~~!” and he flashes her his winning smile.
Liu Juan has spent the whole night upset with him for doing his job suspecting her didi. But when it’s time for him to leave, she's hurt. Though when he tells her he’ll be back, she's smiling again.
Hao Jie's life is miserable, really.
Liu Juan tries to persuade Liu Yang to end things with Chen Hong. It’s not too late to turn back.
Chen Hong: “It’s too late. I’m pregnant. The baby is Liu Yang’s.”
Well.
Chen Hong: “It’s too late. I’m pregnant. The baby is Liu Yang’s.”
Liu Yang kills Dong ge.
Liu Yang also wants to get rid of the baby. But Chen Hong refuses. She wants this child, and she hopes it’s a girl. Her son is raised rotten by the Li family, spoiled and useless. She doesn't need Liu Yang in her life, but she needs this baby. It’s something of her own, and she’s determined to keep it.
Dong ge’s gang comes looking for our bogus shaman to look for Dong ge. But she has Qian Qian plopped onto the table, dressed up as a mini shaman, then hides behind the curtains to perform her ritual. Every time she drums, the gang bows to the cutest little girl in the room. HA.
[Ep29] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
Liu Juan twirls her entire body down to her toes while talking to He Liang on the phone. He asks whether Qian Qian has grown. Then he asks whether she’s grown too. She's like if I gets any taller, I’ll turn into a beast.
[Ep30] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
Chen Hong gives birth, while Liu Yang starts having nightmares about the people he’s murdered. Fatherhood and a guilty conscience. What a combo.
Hao Peng goes missing, and suddenly he’s a suspect in Dong ge’s murder.
Liu Yang killed Hao Peng. The look on his face while he did it:
Liu Yang didn’t have much to live for before. Now he’s a father, and suddenly he has something to lose. And that’s why he kills Hao Peng to frame him as the murderer. But when he wasn't a father, Liu Yang still killed. The difference is Hao Peng was a victim who was harmless to him?
Liu Juan catches her didi, Liu Yang, red-handed with a one-of-a-kind button from his coat. When you want to murder, can you not wear special clothes?
Then the police show up at Chen Hong’s. For what, exactly? Wanting to kill her husband but never managing to pull it off? Do they actually have enough evidence to charge her with hiring a hitman when the chauffeur was the one who carried it out?
Meanwhile, Liu Juan’s bastard ex-husband has settled in Guangdong and wants Qian Qian back. So what was the point of giving us this adorable little girl, other than to trick me into thinking I was getting a cute story? Liu Juan tearfully sends her away, then changes her mind and decides to take her to He Liang instead. Can she even do that? (Sorry for questioning everything.)
Hao Jie is happy in Shanghai, healthy after her surgery. She had asked Chen Hong for money to pay for it, promising to leave Liu Yang afterward. She says she doesn’t love him, but in a way, she freed him from having to keep selling himself to save her. What she doesn’t know is that saving her gave Liu Yang a sense of purpose. He sees her as pure and himself as tainted, and saving her was one way he could hold on to something good.
Then the police show up at Chen Hong’s. For what, exactly? Wanting to kill her husband but never managing to pull it off? Do they actually have enough evidence to charge her with hiring a hitman when the chauffeur was the one who carried it out?
The end.
Hao Jie gets her happy ending, but I can’t bring myself to care. If the story had invested in her, I’d be happy to see her finally healthy and free. Instead, we spent our time with Liu Yang and Chen Hong, whose lives are a mess of violence, guilt, and self-destruction. Knowing Hao Jie’s brother is dead and Liu Yang is a murderer only makes her peaceful life feel more disconnected from the story I've actually been watching.
The disconnect is not just with Hao Jie.
None of these characters' endings give me anything. Hao Jie’s happiness feels inconsequential, while Liu Yang and Chen Hong’s fates leave me neither satisfied that they got what they deserved nor moved by their struggle to survive.
Remarks
[First Impression (Ep1-8)]
If Wang Jia Jia weren't so funny and endearing to me (along with the cantonese kiddo), I wouldn't bother.
This storytelling is too scattered! What idiot would spend time restarting a couple of episodes just to follow a plot this dishevelled? Me.
Anyway.
Set in the 1990s in Tiecheng, a fictional city in Dongbei. (Dongbei, or Northeast China, includes three core provinces: Heilongjiang, Liaoning, and Jilin. The links go to actors from those regions.) I’m guessing Tiecheng is meant to be Tieling in Liaoning.
There's 3 stories, bound to intersect, that just feels random when you're at the beginning.
(1) Zhang Zhe Hua as Liu Yang (Ep1-6). He becomes an unintentional murderer for the first couple of corpses, and he’s genuinely shaken by it. Then he reunites with his first love (Xiang Han Zhi), who has uraemia and needs a transplant, therefore money. So that's when Liu Yang commits to become a hitman.
Unfortunately, I think this is the most boring storyline to follow at the beginning. It’s very dark, and I mean the lighting. Not the mood.
(1) Zhang Zhe Hua as Liu Yang (Ep1-6). He becomes an unintentional murderer for the first couple of corpses, and he’s genuinely shaken by it. Then he reunites with his first love (Xiang Han Zhi), who has uraemia and needs a transplant, therefore money. So that's when Liu Yang commits to become a hitman.
Unfortunately, I think this is the most boring storyline to follow at the beginning. It’s very dark, and I mean the lighting. Not the mood.
(2) Ma Yi Li as Chen Hong (Ep7-8). She wants to murder her husband, who is torturing her physically, sexually, and mentally. Who will help her kill her husband?
It's showing signs of comedy, so at least it isn’t as relentlessly dark. I don't think Ma Yi Li is as funny as the show intends her to be, though.
(3) Wang Jia Jia as Liu Juan. My bright spot. She’s the cop investigating these deaths, and they gave her a cute kid and Wang Tian Chen.
The visual bar. I just want you to know that Wang Tian Chen holds the bar here. Other than the kid, he's the cutest person in the show.
(3) Wang Jia Jia as Liu Juan. My bright spot. She’s the cop investigating these deaths, and they gave her a cute kid and Wang Tian Chen.
The visual bar. I just want you to know that Wang Tian Chen holds the bar here. Other than the kid, he's the cutest person in the show.
| ᴅɪʀᴇᴄᴛᴏʀ / sᴄʀᴇᴇɴᴡʀɪᴛᴇʀ / ᴏʀɪɢɪɴᴀʟ's ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀs | ||
| 🎬 | Yu Miao: |
I Am a Superstar (Wei Da Xun) ✍️ Let's Go Watch Meteor Shower |
| ✍️ | Li Xiao: Yu Miao: Ban Yu: |
The Tale of Rose Sunshine With Me (Xiao Zhan) I Am a Superstar In Spite of the Strong Wind (Director) (Author) |
| 📕 | Ban Yu: | |
[Ending]
Happy? Lawful. Moral.
[A Highlight]
In Ep5, between the worst eyewitness and a nearly blind artist, they somehow produce a sketch.
[A Highlight]
In Ep5, between the worst eyewitness and a nearly blind artist, they somehow produce a sketch.
[Review & Rating] (!!! Contains Ending Spoilers !!!)
Recommendations
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