A Lame Dad, a Blind Mom, and a Four-Year-Old Who Supports the Whole Family

Four-year-old Jiang Yan only wants to sell herself to an opera troupe so she can earn enough food to buy medicine for her mother. But she accidentally trips, and when she opens her eyes again, skyscrapers tower into the clouds, and everyone is holding a black box that makes noise. A loudspeaker-wielding woman grabs her. “Extras get a hundred a day, meals included!” Jiang Yan’s eyes light up. An opera troupe in the capital, with meals and a hundred copper coins a day? You don’t even have to train to act. Just smile and you’re done, and the boxed meals come with meat and white rice. What kind of heavenly life is this? The next day, her father and second uncle drag her off to return the money. At the village entrance, Jiang Yan drops to her knees. And vanishes. By now, Jiang Yan has appeared at the film studio. She looks up and asks, “Are we acting today? I’m fine as long as there’s food.”