Cang's Ramblings

Chapter 1507 Review of "I Became Xiangzi in 1984"

Today, let's talk about a new book—"I Became Xiangzi in 1984," by Zuo Wangjingting.

【Introduction】

Gu Yan travels back to 1984 and becomes a taxi driver for the Capital Automobile Company.

Colleagues jokingly refer to their line of work as "modern-day Xiangzi" (a character from a Chinese folktale known for his tragic fate).

But Xiangzi had a legitimate Beijing residency permit, lived in a house within the Second Ring Road, bought two rickshaws outright in six years, and earned enough to support a family of eight. He even married the boss's daughter.

He found himself in a time-traveling world when his wife ran away to the country, leaving him with a mountain of debt.

Gu Yan was very frustrated, so he decided to do something.

Being Xiangzi is no fun, I'll be Liu Siye!
But before he could even become Master Liu, the mundane affairs of the world were already surging in...

【Brief Comment】

I've always enjoyed several of his works, such as "Rebirth in Rural Literary Life" and "Counterattack Begins with Fan Shengmei in Ode to Joy." These two can be considered practice works, and their results were mediocre; neither achieved the status of a masterpiece. However, one of them garnered 30,000 favorites, and the total word count was kept below 1.5 million.

By his third book, *My Literary Era in 1980*, he seemed to have suddenly found his true calling, finally discovering his forte—the genre of period dramas featuring literary giants. The main characters, Lin Weimin and Lin Chaoyang, are both referred to as "Teacher Lin." This series almost secured his place among the "Twelve Heavenly Kings," though it's a real shame he didn't ultimately make the cut.

Let's return to this new work. "I Became Xiangzi in 1984" currently only has a little over 100,000 words and just over 10,000 favorites, but I believe it has great potential. Moreover, the author has entered the 2026 Qilu Culture Essay Contest, showing considerable ambition. The protagonist travels back to 1984 and becomes a taxi driver for the Capital Automobile Company. This time, he's neither a teacher nor a literary giant, but instead holds the steering wheel—because in this era, drivers' incomes are quite considerable. From the various background explanations at the beginning, one can feel the author's deep familiarity with "Yanjing" (Beijing) during that era; whether it's the atmosphere of life in the alleyways or the various aspects of daily life, everything is written with great flair.

The only truly heartbreaking aspect is the fate of the protagonist, Gu Yan. Upon waking, he discovers he has attempted suicide by hanging—it turns out he had a wife who had stood by him through thick and thin, but who quickly abandoned him after going abroad.

After waking up, the protagonist quickly accepted reality. What good was being reborn forty years in the past? He began dealing with his debts. Could someone really owe a staggering 20,000 yuan in that era? He borrowed money from relatives and friends everywhere, which revealed the simple and honest nature of people back then—they were genuinely willing to help when in need. Being a grateful person himself, he immediately planned to pay off the debt as quickly as possible, soon identifying the most popular way to make money at the time—reselling foreign exchange certificates.

Those familiar with that period of history will know that there were many foreign visitors in the capital at the time, who needed to use foreign exchange certificates for purchases, which gave rise to a group of scalpers. The protagonist, using his position as a driver, specialized in picking up foreign visitors at the airport. In addition, his spoken English suddenly became very fluent, and he was tall and imposing, appearing both professional and reliable. His efficiency in taking orders was extremely high, even surprising his colleagues.

The story then introduces a new plot: the third son has a girlfriend and plans to bring her home for dinner, but her family, being materialistic, refuses to allow the marriage. The protagonist promises his mother he'll buy his third son a television, but on one condition—the third son must help find buyers for foreign exchange certificates.

During his continued driving, the protagonist encounters an elderly man being taken to the hospital—his ex-wife's father, with whom he had long since severed ties. This also involves his former father-in-law's third wife and his legally related sister-in-law. At this point, many readers' eyes lit up. The author has explicitly stated that the regrets Lin Chaoyang experienced with his sister-in-law in the previous work will be addressed in this book.

This premise certainly appealed to many readers. Since the decision to divorce his wife has been made, the story of his sister-in-law naturally comes to the forefront. In fact, similar situations are not uncommon in modern society—some say it's about keeping the good stuff within the family, while others see it as a peculiar preference. Regardless, it was undoubtedly a highlight of the early part of the story.

The most striking impression of Zuo Wang Jingting's books is their simplicity and down-to-earth nature, with a strong sense of realism. He excels at creating a powerful atmosphere of authenticity by depicting life, the economy, culture, and various subtle details of daily life, making readers feel as if it all actually happened, and easily drawing them into the story. Furthermore, his use of references and explanations of indicators and parameters is always logical and reasonable. Strong sense of immersion, strong realism, and naturally, strong readability—these are essential elements of a good story, and he has achieved them all, making it difficult for the book not to be popular.

My suggestion is that although this book isn't very long yet, it's still worth checking out. After all, good period dramas are rare these days, and this author's work is reliable.

Finally, we welcome everyone to share your thoughts on historical fiction. Okay, that's all for today. Thank you for your support.