Chen Qi

Biodata

Background

Previous Life

Chen Qi was born in 1980 in his previous life. He worked for a media company before establishing his own business, gaining experience in writing, screenwriting, production, and film and television investment. He also sold products through livestreams and accumulated more than ten million followers across his short-video accounts 1 4 41 49.

By his forties, he was worth tens of millions, but increasing market concentration made business more difficult. After losses in A-share investments and an unsuccessful all-in investment in short dramas, he went drinking and woke up in 1979 1.

Identity in 1979

The original Chen Qi had graduated from middle school, gone to the countryside, and returned to Beijing. Repeated failures in employment examinations left him classified as a “youth awaiting employment.” Both parents worked at Xinhua Bookstore, and the family occupied roughly twenty square meters in its dormitory compound, with Chen Qi sleeping in the outer room 1 2.

Huang Zhanying, a fellow returned educated youth from the same compound, notices that he has become unusually carefree. He explains the change as growing up and learning to take things as they come 2.

Appearance

• Build and face: Tall and handsome, with bright eyes and slightly thin lips that give his face a rebellious look 1.
• Hair: Very short and spiky rather than parted in the contemporary fashion 1.
• Everyday clothing: Initially wears a gray jacket and trousers over a cotton shirt 6.
• Distinctive footwear: Black Neiliansheng cloth shoes with red soles; Chen Huaikai identifies him as a city resident from these shoes 16.

Personality

Chen Qi's lazy, irreverent manner conceals strong ambition. He jokes about giving up, skips work when it interferes with writing, and deliberately prolongs revisions to enjoy the studio guesthouse's free accommodation. Nevertheless, he actively seeks new projects and becomes frustrated by the limited influence available to a screenwriter 4 8 17 28 36.

He is calculating about publicity and social standing. His newspaper letter promotes the tea stall, pressures its antagonists, and establishes his image as a positive young man. He also recognizes that newspaper attention alone is fleeting fame, not lasting status 10 12.

His opportunism coexists with practical generosity. He refuses to sacrifice his mother's job for a position he does not intend to keep, discreetly shares food with the financially strained Liang Xiaosheng, and encourages Ge You before an audition. His warmth, humor, and storytelling eventually make him popular throughout the film crew 3 18 21 45.

Chen Qi genuinely favors accessible entertainment over fashionable literary movements. His preference for popular fiction is not merely a public pose: he wants to create work ordinary audiences enjoy and use that approach to build his future career 27 38 39.

Abilities & Skills

Writing and Adaptation

Chen Qi combines professional writing experience with memories of later entertainment and audience tastes 4 22.

• Develops Romance on Mount Lu from a remembered film into a screenplay suited to the studio's expectations, adding Geng Ying, the hero's older sister, during revisions 22 23.
• Reworks movie plots into fiction as a comparatively easy source of income 46.
• Adds detailed, named martial-arts techniques to Kapok Kasaya to make its fights more engaging for contemporary readers 46.
• Impresses Story Club editor He Chengwei with his grasp of pacing, story types, and extensive stock of material 46.

Publicity and Business Strategy

Chen Qi treats reputation as both a commercial asset and protection against discrimination 8.

• Turns harassment of the tea sellers into a newspaper story about unemployed youths' prospects 8 10.
• Proposes expanding beyond seasonal tea sales into plastic sandals, ice pops, and raincoats 13.
• Uses opera performances, foreign visitors, and official inspections to distinguish the stall from competitors 30 32.
• Envisions developing the business along the lines of the Lao She Teahouse while expanding into retail, beginning with a department store 32.

Film Production and Acting Guidance

His previous experience as both screenwriter and producer allows him to contribute beyond the written script 41.

• Advises on casting, costume progression, character presentation, and scene details 28 34 45.
• Coaches Gong Xue on posture, stride, confidence, and handling a shoulder bag to convey Zhou Yun's overseas upbringing 41.
• Explains experiential, method, and representational approaches to acting, then encourages Gong Xue to draw on genuine emotional memories 50.
• Makes occasional background appearances but has no desire to pursue acting as his main career 45.

Storytelling and Performance

• Entertains the crew with fanciful tales and historical anecdotes, often stopping at deliberate cliffhangers 38 45.
• Moves He Chengwei to tears while recounting the ending of Kapok Kasaya 45.
• Performs an exaggerated song with Tang Guoqiang at the crew's celebration, turning his theatrical delivery into a comic highlight 49 50.

Health Exercises

Chen Qi practices exercises learned in his previous life, explicitly treating them as fitness routines rather than supernatural cultivation 16 22.

• Practices the Eight-Section Vajra Exercise in the morning and the Longevity Exercise at night 16 22.
• Teaches Liang Xiaosheng and Ge You, emphasizing consistency, relaxed movement, and a peaceful state of mind 16 18 22.
• Warns them against describing the exercises as secret cultivation techniques or spreading claims that could cause trouble 16 22.

Written Works

Story Role / Major Arcs

Finding a Foothold in Beijing

Dragged by Huang Zhanying to an employment meeting, Chen Qi hears plans to place unemployed youths in production and service cooperatives. He remains skeptical of official assurances and refuses Yu Xiuli's offer to retire early so he can inherit her bookstore job. His immediate goal is to escape cramped hutong living, particularly its chamber-pot routine 1 2 3.

He begins writing a screenplay while waiting for work arrangements. Besides earning money, he hopes a promising submission will secure the accommodation, meals, and allowances provided to writers invited to revise their manuscripts 4.

Establishing the Tea Stall

In early April, Chen Qi joins the cooperative's big-bowl tea stall beside Qianmen Archery Tower. Huang Zhanying makes the first sales while he initially appears disengaged; privately, he studies pedestrian traffic, clothing, transport, and the presence of foreigners 6 7.

When workers from the No. 2 Plastics Factory insult the sellers, he confronts them, identifies their work unit, and gets a police officer to record the incident. He insists on a public apology rather than quietly dropping the matter, then uses his newspaper article to raise the stall's profile 7 8 10.

The factory eventually seeks a settlement. Chen Qi turns the dispute into a supply opportunity by proposing that it provide inexpensive plastic sandals for the cooperative to sell. By his later visit, five hundred pairs have arrived 13 25.

Entering Beijing Film Studio

Liang Xiaosheng's visit leads to Chen Qi moving into the studio guesthouse in mid-April. He cultivates friendships, enjoys the subsidized living arrangements, and initially drags out his screenplay revisions 13 15 18 21.

Further demands for thematic “elevation” force him to work seriously. He revises the romance to connect personal affection with love of family, homeland, and country, winning enthusiastic approval. The studio pays him 800 yuan and retains him to assist production with a daily allowance of two yuan 22 23 24.

Expanding the Stall's Reputation

While film preparations continue, Chen Qi returns to the cooperative's publicity. An opera performance attracts customers and American journalist Eve Arnold, whose visit provides material for Yu Jiajia's reporting 28 30.

For Leader Lin's inspection, he helps arrange opera masks, English-learning materials, and basic language coaching. The leader praises the workers, recognizes Chen Qi's writing, and approves recruiting more unemployed youths after Huang Zhanying raises the request 32.

Filming and Fiction at Mount Lu

Chen Qi participates in casting discussions before Gong Xue and Tang Guoqiang are selected as the leads. He then travels with the crew to Mount Lu, assists with equipment and scenes, and helps Gong Xue develop her performance 35 37 40 41.

During downtime, he approaches Story Club through Gong Xue's family connections and writes Kapok Kasaya. Its reception establishes another income source alongside screenwriting 40 42 45 46.

His relationship with Gong Xue also becomes more personal through acting discussions. When she asks for candid criticism, he encourages her to recall painful experiences and preserve those genuine feelings for future performances 48 50.

Equipment / Items

• 28-inch bicycle — His regular transport between the hutong, employment meetings, newspaper offices, and film studio 1 9 15.
• Geographical Atlas — Bought for him by Yu Xiuli; he consults it while drafting and takes particular interest in Mount Lu 2 4.
• Sanyo single-deck tape recorder — Purchased with his parents for 200 yuan after his screenplay payment 26.
• Three Teresa Teng cassette tapes — Bought from a street seller for eight yuan each and played quietly for his parents during a power cut 26.
• English 900 — Obtained through his mother; later used as part of the tea stall's display of educational ambition 28 32.

Relationships

• Yu Xiuli — Mother and Xinhua Bookstore employee. Offers him her job, supplies him for his studio stay, and fiercely objects to his plans to spend his screenplay earnings on several expensive purchases 2 15 25.
• Chen Jianjun — Father and Xinhua Bookstore employee. Encourages his literary interests and supports reasonable spending on the family 1 13 26.
• Huang Zhanying — Neighbor, fellow returned educated youth, and tea-stall collaborator. Handles daily operations while working with Chen Qi on publicity, preparations, and expansion 1 6 25 32.
• Auntie Wang — Neighborhood cadre responsible for arranging youth employment. Oversees the stall and mediates between Chen Qi and the plastics factory 3 6 13.
• Liang Xiaosheng — Studio editor and close companion. Introduces him to studio life, learns his exercises, and receives discreet help when money is tight 13 16 18.
• Ge You — Friend whom Chen Qi encourages before an acting audition and teaches health exercises 21 22.
• Jiang Huaiyan — Literary-department reviewer who guides the screenplay through approval and helps arrange its publication 16 21 24.
• Jiang Shan — Jiang Huaiyan's daughter; a frequent target of Chen Qi's teasing, though he also gives her candy and encourages her studies 19 21.
• Wang Haowei — Director of Romance on Mount Lu. Shares his preferred thematic direction and regularly seeks his casting and scene advice 27 28 41 45.
• Gong Xue — Leading actress, acting pupil, and connection to Story Club. His judgment increasingly matters to her, and she eventually confides painful personal memories during their coaching conversation 40 41 48 50.
• Tang Guoqiang — Leading actor and friendly colleague; travels, jokes, and performs with Chen Qi 35 37 38 50.
• Yu Jiajia — China Youth Daily reporter and recurring publicity collaborator for the tea stall 10 13 28 30.
• He Chengwei — Story Club editor who champions Kapok Kasaya and negotiates Chen Qi's fiction payment rate 45 46.

Notable Quotes

“Words are like knives. They can kill, and they can also lift people up!” 8

“And I need to become famous too. The earlier you make a name for yourself, the better!” 8

“A screenwriter really doesn't have much say. I'm going to climb to the very top, step by step by step by step!” 36