Laughing Myself Sick

Hu Buliao, a modern museum curator, transmigrated into the body of a beggar and met Guo Bucheng, a down-and-out scholar. The two became sworn brothers after sharing a fried dough cake bought with their last two copper coins. Hu Buliao accidentally tore down an imperial proclamation seeking worthy men. Thinking fast, Guo Bucheng invented the identity of a “hermit from Zhongnan Mountain” for him, helping him travel to the capital as a “man of talent.”

When challenged with a riddle by a neighboring kingdom, Hu Buliao made a wild guess based on the logic of “fried dough cakes and copper coins,” while Guo Bucheng supplied “tactical analysis” on the side. The pair worked in perfect tandem and won the contest. Hu Buliao was given a high-ranking post, while Guo Bucheng became an editor at the Chongwen Academy. Hu Buliao's advice to “wash your hands before meals” was hailed as “benevolent governance,” and Guo Bucheng helped him write a hygiene handbook. When Hu Buliao fell in love with the maid Ling'er, Guo Bucheng helped conceal his secret of transmigration. Later, when a neighboring kingdom proposed a marriage alliance, Guo Bucheng drafted a letter refusing the match and firmly defended Hu Buliao's love for Ling'er.

After Hu Buliao discovered a jade pendant that could lead him home, Guo Bucheng accompanied him to investigate its origins and was even willing to help him safeguard the realm in the Central Plains. In the end, Hu Buliao smiled in the morning light, the pendant in his hand, while Guo Bucheng cheerfully offered him a fried dough cake: “Whether we stay or go, we'll always be brothers.” Their bond, forged over fried dough cakes, would be passed down through the ages alongside Hu Buliao's legend.