癡人說夢記

In a quiet river valley of Hubei, the modest farmer Jia Shouzhuo spends his days tending fields and sharing laughter beneath melon vines. One night he awakens from a vivid dream of floating leaves, distant seas, and strangers in breezy hats, a vision his wife dismisses as a foolish fancy. The next day he welcomes his old scholar friend, Qi Laogu, who arrives to organize the village’s solemn tribute to the Five Sacred Buddhas, and the two men discuss the strange dream while preparing the offering.

Their routine is abruptly shattered when a stern tax collector bursts onto the scene, demanding repayment for Jia’s wayward nephew who has fled after squandering grain. With four hundred silver coins suddenly required, the farmer’s humble savings evaporate, and Qi Laogu scrambles to devise a plan to keep the debt from crushing Jia’s modest life. As the villagers gather in a cramped inn, the tension between duty, desperation, and a touch of humor begins to shape the farmer’s unexpected trial.