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We are introduced to Pei who has been let go from his job for being too candid about his opinions. They have suggested he ponder his thoughts elsewhere. He finds himself in a private plane being offered a very unique job. He is to create a business that loses money. There is a specific set of rules as to what is not allowed, but otherwise he is guaranteed 5k or however much the company loses as his salary. He has already decided the company name— Tengda. Pei decides their first project will be a game. He brings his best friend and a gamer onboard to help him design the game. You just have to see it to believe it.😂🤣 The actors playing it do an excellent job and it is guaranteed to have you laughing hysterically at their game experience.😂🤣 I laughed hard enough to bring tears to my eyes and can’t wait to see what’s next.
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This couple is so beautifully written.❤️ Xiu weeps bitterly with her parents apologizing from the depth of her soul that she cannot forget or leave the one she loves no matter how hard she tries. That she knows to look for him in the game.❤️ Their commitment to see it through in spite of everything. Pei has cast blame putting their design studio under investigation. They both agree that when innocent no need to hide. They are bravely stepping forward to claim their rightful places with each other and the world at large. He loves her more than himself and career and proves that repeatedly. A lesson his mom never learned.😝 He has taken care of the contractor’s debts except for Pei’s and he goes there in person to settle the score between them. He is blackmailed because Pei has Xiu locked in a warehouse minutes away from combusting. Xiu is quite brave but is overcome with smoke. Yu bursts in and carries her out as the flames billow around them. Together they are unstoppable. She tells him about the handwritten restock note and they uncover the needed memory card. I loved Yu’s triumph coming in right after his ‘brother’ left instructions for a bigger smear campaign. His aide/daddy spy revealed that his father had done something to Xiu. Pei is going in to corner him but hears proof she is ok. Yu starts point by point revealing the truth to include the faked text at the end. He gladly informed Pei that his dad only referred to him as Yi. Elder Pei’s ice exterior has melted and he’s folding in the sides of his sweater to protect himself. We now know that Qin was going to expose his fraud and refused to take blame. Pei Zhen is an engineer and the numbers alone tell him the definitive decrease in strength between the two grades in spite of same appearance. He is shocked at the news but not quite as much as would be expected. He has been noting how his father has been doing business. I know they are probably going to forgive the mom bla bla bla….but that she didn’t note the name used in the text or understand just how upright her husband was in life and business….that’s just a sad sorry version of who she could have been. She is lower in my books than Zhen will ever be because she should have known and recognized her real family and she didn’t. I want that reflection to stick with her. Yu never once wavered in his love and protection of her. And she never recognized her own son’s fielty.😝 Even if you remove Yu out of the equation to try to understand her, she has lived with a man for two decades that physically and verbally abused his son. She was of no help to Zhen either. To me, she utterly failed both brothers and herself. I truly have no use for her.
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Gong is such a blabbermouth.😝 Yu has the perfect handicapped vehicle and home care provider to assist Xiu’s dad’s recovery. What I don’t like is both of her parents assuming she is going to give up her career for their sakes again. I wish Xiu would have explained. I am happy she was her investigative self and explored his secret room. She now understands his thought process and why things went to Zhuling for new project. The key is the contractor hoarding his evidence at his own peril. At least Yu and uncle have copies of it but they need the original memory card. It’s like in the game Xiu and Yu running into each other at the factory.🤣 When he has no words he talks via kissing. She won’t let herself be charmed and tells him to put up or shut up. She is giving him one chance to explain himself so she understands. We are not privy to the conversation but she seems satisfied with what she has heard but concerned about the dangers of investigating. We finally see what happened to Yu’s father. It was an accident during a fight with Pei, but he cleverly threw the blame at Qin and made him seem cowardly committing suicide. He has duped the widow since the day Qin died. He is revolting in every aspect. His son has picked up the mantle of his father. He wants mutual destruction and furious that Xiu recognizes Yu as the better man. That should have told him something about his father. They both exchange blows and Pei actually got a good shot in. Yu’s mother is like a sour stomach. She shouldn’t leave such a bad taste when seems so harmless but she lingers painfully with her tainted view. The son that was pouring hate and venom wasn’t her son. But the son she feared losing wasn’t her son either. I really hope when the air clears that Yu remains distant from her. It is selfish and not the filial expectation, but I see her less worthy of a redeeming arc than Pei Zhen. She still does not see a son protecting his family. She sees him destroying the family she has. Yu is quite right to remind her that she didn’t include him in her family. This was shown well as blurred vision when they spoke. She is simply a reminder of happier times when his dad was alive. To me, she falls under the - I have no use for you category. I am not typically vindictive. But when the complete truth comes to light, I want her to spend 2 decades with regret of her real family like Yu has already invested.😡 I’m sure she will be allowed to visit her current family in prison. 😝
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I really enjoyed the first 4 episodes and wasn’t sure how I would feel about the soul exchange. They did a decent job of it actually. They did not overact and kept it believable. They are learning ojt style the real life of the person their soul inhabits. They try on their own to find a means to swap back but of course it is unsuccessful. She has already rescued his brother and has brought negative notice because of it. He is going to help care for her family now that he is more aware of the circumstances. It is fun that they made each other cliffnotes to include pics of people they should know and how they should act. This is having interesting results so far. The nemesis magistrate is seeing his plans being thwarted by Prince. He has killed off his fake thief so he will have to find another means to stir up trouble. The fight at the end of episode shows how well these two match no matter which body they are in. I am looking forward to see how they continue these swapped roles much more than I expected. Kudos to the actors for doing an excellent job.
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XiGuang and mom have a candid chat about why she wants to sell shares. I have to admit surprise that she thought it worth her time trying to be ‘wifey’ material. Just shows how hard other people’s opinions can hit and make you question your place and value. This will be a good move for her and an assist to XiGuang…a definite win win. Nie was so sour at the signing. He is realizing she has shred the last bit of him and with no vested interest can be blamed for any failure on his part nor can he assume any credit for her work going forward. She is out from under his shadow and becoming the cloud that flies high. XiGuang tells her work friends who her mom is. They are definitely surprised but not criticizing her like her college friends. I have no clue why she wants to go to SiLiang’s bday party. This is the girl who quietly pined for Xu and is settling with her current bf. I don’t think there were ulterior motives this time, it was actually a fun meal and celebration. But that is all ruined thanks to Xu knowing she’s there. He was actually having a decent time celebrating Chris’ bday with colleagues. He should just finish the night with them. YuSen is meeting with his prior professor. Their brain interactive software would be a good fit for him. I don’t think he realized she felt he’d been poached by clinical medicine. He is attending a meeting and listening to the possibilities. She is definitely going to keep in touch knowing he wants to get back to medicine. He has signed for his Gpa’s shares so power is shifting with the companies. Waiting to see how that all plays out. The episode ends with Xu perking up at the mention of XiGuang and an invite.😝
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After Nie’s conversation at the Sheng home he tries to find dirt on Lin. We already knew there was none to find, but it did turn up his interest in XiGuang. For once him sticking in shed some light on misunderstandings. Her dad is very like Xu in his way or the highway.😝 I like that she stands up for herself. If he were a parent at all, this would have been disrespectful. But I think his own parents would have stood behind her and applauded at telling her dad what she thought of his judgments. Him throwing the fake daughter name in finally got a time and event placement for Lin’s interest. What I loved is that she went right to the source. At first I thought she was going to make the mistake of talking to fake sis. Lin saw her pacing, and like her, he went to the source. He went to his friend directly and got the tea on his date invite. The friend realized the mischief he had caused because he never anticipated them actually meeting and dating. I want to smack him but he was thoroughly embarrassed at his bad mistake and had been putting it off just like Lin had been. What is heartbreaking is how guilty Lin feels about his initial attitude with XiGuang. I am sure he is playing it all out in exact detail the numerous trials he added on her because of her ‘carefree and forgetting’ nature. He is beating himself up royally and doesn’t know where he goes from there. The one thing he does know is how she would have really reacted had it been her 2 yrs ago. There would have been no mistake of her concern for him. XiGuang now finally is piecing things together and understands why he had a grudge. It remains to be seen how she processes this, but at least she knows what really happened and who’s to blame. I think she is much like Lin and can forgive but we will have to see what hoops the drama chooses to give them. 😝 There was a good bit of discussion with her project and stage 2 progression. This will probably be good distractions for both of them to hurl themselves into work while they sort out things. Lin will finally be able to sort his past and know the girl he loved at first sight was not the carefree thoughtless girl that couldn’t be bothered to check on him in the hospital. Now it’s just waiting to see how long he takes to forgive himself and how XiGuang feels about this amalgam of events past and present. This episode just shreds you for him, but she is as bighearted as he is….I am very curious how she is going to process this information.
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The episode opens with Dr Lin doing an intricate surgery. He is praised by hospital staff for being an excellent doctor and for being kind. This is a rare combination for a surgeon. A friend calls for him to come to Wuxi for a date with Nie XiGuang. There is a flashback where he has seen her and he accepts the date but is in a horrible accident on the way. Just like Dr Strange a magnificent surgeon has his hands injured so that he can no longer be a surgeon. We now are at XiGuang’s uncle’s home and she is being teased by her cousin, Jian Rui. He is talking about a banquet with her father the previous week. This is where Dr Lin first saw her. XiGuang is tagged to open the door for new tutor and enter Zhuang Xu. Instant crushing from XiGuang. She decides to return to the dorm so she can study better and be in closer proximity to her crush. She comes to the dorm with tons of food when her crush comes up with a girl. The first thing Ye Rong does is introduce him with salary earnings and how he is treating them to dinner. During the meal XiGuang is trying to find out if they are friends or bf/gf. They act closer than friends but there is no confirmation if they are actually dating or not. They are finishing up their studies and talking about job plans. When XiGuang mentions Wuxi, Zhuang Xu started off encouraging her to consider options but then had to add leeching off her parents. He speaks to her like someone on the spectrum that has no filter. He speaks truth but bluntly and not with consideration for how his words are received. Her cousin gets her to do another inconvenient favor for him. He is a pain in the arse for her, but he is cute and good natured so she endures it. Everybody is surprised to see XiGuang back in the dorm and the roommates are telling Rong she needs to clarify her relationship with Zhuang Xu. She wonders if he has changed because he makes a good salary now. Her cousin sweetly greets her after the meal to ride home where she gets to hear her aunt and uncle give the gossip of her divorced parents. Her dad has a new gf and has accepted her daughter as his adding to the gossip. The group of friends are getting their resumes for a job fair and are surprised when XiGuang chooses to go along with them. Zhuang Xu’s words about the lackluster job in Wuxi has her chatting with a stray cat while pondering. 😂Zhuang Xu takes it upon himself to personally submit her resume to his senior in the company but she tries to politely steer him to other companies. Dr Lin is there and he now works for the company and looks over the resume personally. Lin wants to know why he is submitting her resume for her and his opinion of the company hiring her. When he exits the building he lies about where he submitted her resumes. Rong managed to lose her phone and upset she will miss interview news. She becomes jealous when XiGuang gets a call from Shengyuan which is her top choice for future employment. The episode ends with Lin looking over the resumes. This episode gave small slices of life to introduce the various characters in their home/school/work environments as well as how they interact with each other. There’s a lot going on but they are trying to establish why Lin is now at a company instead of hospital and that he has attitude where XiGuang is concerned. Both he and Zhuang Xu want her hired and it’s a good thing Rong only knows about Xu. 😝
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As with the episode of stepmom’s history, I had no interest in the self absorbed bullies of shogi family.😝 That she had the temerity to ask Asuka not to take him away from them😝omg as if she had any desire to do so. I enjoyed Asuka’s reaction to his complete bs monster excuse for deserting his ‘beloved’ family. He deserves the family he now has and they are well aware that he does. My favorite person in this episode was Yuna. She was palpably emanating all her positive energy Asuka’s way. I have no clue why she stayed with the brother, but love is blind. This finale game was not as riveting for me as I expected it to be. Yuna’s reaction was the most stand out for me. Asuka got to tell the shogi world to kiss off after the game but I am glad she allowed herself to enjoy the game and not let it rule her life negatively like her father and Todo did. She plays because she loves it, not possessed by the need to win. I was with her in how anticlimactic defeating him seemed when all was said and done. He gave himself a moment of fatherly pride at her soaring past him, but I could not appreciate it because of his treatment of his first wife and daughter. Once he bodily tossed Asuka out the door and told her to stop playing, he lost any fatherly right to appreciate her competence and skill with the game. This time with her mother’s ashes I didn’t find it creepy like I did with Todo’s dad’s ashes. She was letting her mom know she was going to live her best life and they were acknowledged by the third member of their family at least on paper. Her brother might be less of an ass in future and there is even a glimmer of hope for the dad. His second family may reach a better than tolerate each other stage. Asuka’s family is at the bar living out of the shadow of shogi and ushering in the new era of women joining the game. I wanted Asuka to have some response for her dad, but she was lost in the game still stunned that it was all over and she didn’t find the ecstasy she expected at beating him. She was happy she won the game but at this point I don’t think she really had any more feelings for her dad. She burned them up responding to his written words to Todo and once the game was truly won, there really was nothing she needed to say. The slap of the pieces on the board said everything that needed said between them.I have mixed feelings in how they ended this. They tried to soften the father’s desertion and make his family appear vulnerable. That didn’t work for me at all in both episodes where they visited their histories. The woman that died pining for his sorry ass deserved his acknowledgment in person before she died. That he lacked the spine to include them in his book said everything about him that we need to know. I liked that Asuka’s smile matched her mother’s when she won and Yuna exploding from her chair to cheer makes me hopeful those two will become shogi buddies for life. They can take turns beating up her little brother.😂🤣It’s a good watch even if you know nothing about the game. She wanted to overcome the shitty world her father had left her in and I think she was quite successful with that. She is playing the game on her terms and enjoying it, while Todo can let go and enjoy his family. The burning anger in both Asuka and Todo has been released and whether or not the father has learned anything, they are soaring high above him with no care in their eyes for anything except a shining future.
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All three are back working together to make trap for Kang. I thought they did quite a good job and was an especially nice touch to have police officer that started the case all those years ago be able to end it. This series did a good job with scamming the scammers while working on revenge. It had a ‘Leverage’ vibe to it and for the most part was well done. They seem to be gearing up for a second season which I will be sure to watch. My only complaint is not truly ending the revenge on Kang but leaving it open. The actors did a good job on their own without needing this device for a season two. For me, this downgraded the entire point of the season, to have a reckoning with the one that killed a father and traumatized a young child. I am disappointed that they thought they needed to carry this over to another season rather than ending it here and starting with a new case entirely. I would have accepted this better had he been dealt with in some fashion and then escaped or appealed out of it, but for him to never be caught officially, for me, undermined the point of the revenge and did not resonate well.
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Footprints of Change Episode 21
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Zhao was placed in a communist brig of some sort. Wen had made half the money and still coming up with the rest. I guess he did hear Fang or didn’t want to burden Yi, but he made a huge mistake not enlightening. Zhao gave his friend his watch to repair and they parted. Shortly after, Zhao committed suicide. Wen was devastated by the news. While he was processing the information in his study, Yi came over with window dressings for the house to lighten things up. She kept referring to Zhao helping her get Wen to appreciate finer things. At this point Wen burst out of the study, ripped the curtains down yelled about not needing or wanting those types of things and told her to get lost. She was desperate enough to ask directer Fang what was wrong and Fang told her about Zhao and that Wen had collapsed from an old war injury. She said he must not have trusted her like his first wife or she would have known these things. She left and her husband said Yi could not visit him in hospital that he needed his rest. Yi gave him six months of rest while she toured the north west getting more inspiration for her designs. She asked Qing to return his pen and camera right after she left. I have no pity for Wen here. His stance on strict oversight of himself for every possession, is as obsessive as Yang thinking he has the power and authority to do as he saw fit. Yang has been moved to a first floor quarters. I think this is so they can monitor him easier. It is obvious he is mentally unwell. Qing brought him some food and meds making it clear she was visiting for the committee and not herself. He tried to play up his loneliness and she took the liquor bottle out with her and said he should stay away from it and left. I am so glad she wasn’t even tempted with his routine. Her alone time with Yi has helped her become the sister she was always supposed to be. This time, you can see how fragile Yang is because he sits on his bed going how did I get here? This is one thing I think he and Zhao felt similarly. Their vices took them from the things truly important and ultimately broke their spirits. When Yi came back from her adventures, she was happily greeted by Qing and head seamstress. Her designs did well in the contest, so she was happy with the news. Qing told her she got into school and wanted to show Yi her class. She took her where she could see Wen teaching and mentioned that he had started teaching classes because somebody had told him the story of Marpessa. While Yi is staring at Wen, Qing screams for him and runs away. 😂 I was not sure if I would ever like that young lady but I find that I do. She will find her own way just like Yi did. Wen saw her and left his class to give her a hug. She already figured out while she was gone why he didn’t tell her the sad things. She told him she didn’t need his protection of the bad stuff. They needed to face it together. His class runs out to spy on them and he hugs her tighter.🥰 I do not know how much time has passed, but Wen’s son has gone from an angry adolescent to an angry man. He has cut ties with his father and Yi is trying to negotiate. He is not having his daughter share his name and if they write to her, the letters will be sent to his workplace and he will choose if to read them to her. It is not said why he left, but I am guessing between Wen not helping the family that raised him and Zhao taking his life that he felt his dad was both responsible and could have prevented it. He is right, but life is complicated. As he grows older and his daughter grows up he might come to understand his father better. In 1984 Wen passed away and left all his savings to his granddaughter. It is not said if the family reconciled, but at least she and Yi seem close. The 50’s arc ends with no further comment about Qing or Wen’s daughter. I found this arc as interesting as the first, but the transition to start and end it did not flow so well. We are now in the 90’s and back to the wedding Ye Xi Ning was visiting. She is meeting the brother of the groom and they commiserate how they were used for cash and life had greatly changed because of what the couple did. We are not told why they stole, just that they used those closest to them to get the cash and then disappeared leaving a wake of financial ruin for the unsuspecting victims. XiNing had saved herself by pawning Cheng’s watch. Seems it was worth the 50k to counter the theft. The young man she was meeting, was not as fortunate. The groom stole his US Visa and stole 60k from the faculty using his name. The college gave him two months to repay and suspended his classes. This also caused his trip abroad to never happen. His drinking celebration over his US Visa with friends gave the groom the opportunity for the identity theft. Why they did what they did is still the biggest mystery.
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Footprints of Change Episode 19
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I am very annoyed with Zhao. He’s having an affair and that is why the guy in white suit calls him brother in law. He’s the brother of the mistress. Zhao’s wife knows something is up and tries to talk with Wen, but he can’t imagine his friend acting like Fu.😝His ‘check in’ with Wen was to be with his wife as the four of them shared a meal. It goes to a cute scene where Yi has thrown away the collapsed chair and bought him a nice one for his study. It is not decorative and is simply a good quality plain chair. She tells him she understands his principles but he doesn’t have to be an ascetic monk. She agrees not to throw out anything again without discussing it. She later sees him mending his daughter’s dress and she sees more evidence of his frugality. She is going to convince him that a firm mattress is better than a board to sleep on.😝😂 They are cute at the bus stop not wanting to say goodbye before work. 🥰 An old friend has come to visit and his son and Wen’s are similar age. He is hoping Wen will keep his son in Shanghai and find a position for him. His friend plans on returning home as he has a job lined up. Wen will not guarantee a job and the old guy gets upset. This crying is very exaggerated and does not go with the calm softer way his chat has been. His son gets irate because this family pretty much raised him and he thinks his father is wrong to not help. Yi offers a temp job at her shop but Wen doesn’t think she has the authority to do that. Here Wen should have let Yi decide her own terms where her workplace is involved. This is where he is too meticulous in appearing above board. Kindness can be rewarded without it being improper. The boys run off and Wen let’s the father know he will keep the boys in Shanghai a few days and not to worry. He sees his friend off and then heads out with Yi and food to find the boys. Wen’s son is still seething. He thinks he is owed an apology and reflection paper. Yi hands them food and Wen tells his son about his mother. She and Wen were fighting guerillas and their son was starving. To keep him safe they left him with their friends but she was devastated they had to make that choice. He wanted his son to understand why he was so angry when he spoke badly of her. Yi steps up and said they were here so his father could apologize and write a reflection paper. 😂 Zhao was there at the house having an arm wrestling contest between the boys. When his son didn’t want to try, Yi assured him he could win. Yi and Zhou made sure that he did.😂 Her uniform design task is down to the last 2 months and she needs inspiration. She is looking through Wen’s books and he helps her find the right one. Here they have a chat about Greek mythology. He likes Prometheus and she likes Marpessa. When he asked why she said she just wanted to live a simple ordinary life. When he gives her the camera, she should have told him it wouldn’t be proper and see what he had to say😝😂 She accepted it kindly because it was meant for her to take pictures for inspiration with her designing. This is the first episode that hasn’t flowed nicely. They were trying to cram too much past and present to finish things up with this arc.
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Footprints of Change Episode 17
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Minister Wen was a bit flustered after getting measured for new uniform.😂 The gulping water to cool down spoke volumes.🤣 After measuring, while on the bus, she ruminates on her encounters with Wen. He is actually there waiting for her to get off the bus to talk. Here is where I wish she would have let him say what he wanted to say. She gave him a way out and he took it. If he can’t fight for her, he doesn’t deserve her. Qing is not only trying her hand at matchmaking, she is appointing herself as chaperone.🤣 To her credit, she at least got in the vicinity of correct unlike Wen’s matchmakers. I think she considers him a candidate because he is nothing like her brother. I don’t see Yi interested in anybody Qing can boss around.😝And is this the director’s assistance to distract from Wen? Qing has adjusted pretty quickly to the idea of Yi finding someone else so I am thinking her comrades must have had some influence. This is both better and worse for Yi. I had a good chuckle when she stashed the professor’s flowers in Qing’s pocket and said these are for you.😂🤣 Fu is shmoozing with directer Zhao. He wants him to drive his Mercedes around longer. I am disappointed that he isn’t firmer about leaving his gifted watch on. Yang , Directer Fang, and Wen are seeing Yang off with his new employer. The one thing I have appreciated this episode is that both Qing and Yang have less volume. My ears thank you. Wen notices Fu’s car but also the change in license plates. Here I fear his buddy may really be like Dalun. He is noting his friend commenting on the plates. It skips to the finishing up of the blind date meeting for Yi. Qing actually tries to sound like a mother explaining why Yi needs time.😝🙄 This child is very damn clueless on propriety. At this point the last thing Yi wants is a double date with sis and Yang so she sets up her own meeting at the studio and professor Xu rides off happily. He is an odd duck spouting out Italian phrases in Qing and Yang volume.😝😂 Yi’s response…are you done? She tells him quite candidly she doesn’t like him and that she likes someone else. 😂 Zhao visits Wen and has gifts. Wen is noticing his friend liking finer things. Wen understands that small bribes lead to bigger ones so he tells his friend to talk to him before anything happens. Qing 😂🤣 Yi has finally had it with her and treats her like the irritable child she is.😂🤣 Qing trying to talk softly is somewhere between a whisper and squeaking like when you have laryngitis.😝😂 Yi has had enough of their gossip and finally makes it clear she will file charges if they keep it up. Yay for her. She gets back to work and head seamstress shows up. She mentions that Wen assigned her the job. Her family shows up and the kids are hungry so Yi surprises her by suggesting they go to her place to get noodles. Wen and Zhao start well looking at new project site but things go downhill rapidly when a young man calls him brother in law and wants to use his car. Zhao tells him no and the kid flattens his tire for him. Zhao and Wen have it out about gift receipts. Here I think Wen goes overboard in accepting nothing, but after seeing his friend I understand why. He wants his friend to report the car and his friend refuses. Wen is totally pissed off and heading to town on foot and the episode ends.
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Footprints of Change Episode 16
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Qing is with director Fang whining because she doesn’t think Yi should be allowed to ever be interested in another man. Wonder how she would feel if the director said she and Yang not compatible and can’t get married? Her youth and devotion to brother quite evident. This is why Yi takes it in stride and the director finds it adorable. Yi and head seamstress agree there is something missing from clothing line and seamstress suggests a walk. This is kinda sad that Yi didn’t think this permissible. She mentions her bike and Qing is out fixing it. She has no clue what her sis in-law is capable of when Yi says where she’s been on a bike and carrying it if something happened. Qing is so sure she is lying that she mocks the very idea. She wants that bourgeois tag on Yi’s forehead saying fragile and spoiled with no work capabilities. Wen spots her as she’s sketching and Yi finds herself on an unexpected adventure. They have noodles at a friend’s new eatery and Wen wants to supervise how to eat. When she serves him soup his friend wants served too.😂They are so like Ao and Dalun with Yi Sun in back. It took his friend a minute to get why Wen wanted him to slow down. When the car overheats, Wen finds fruit and friend tells her about the jeep’s military exploits. It is hilarious that Wen doesn’t want his friend to have any.😂 Yi eats one and hands him the rest. Wen isn’t as enthused with that but he gives his friend permission. It is really funny watching the buddy be Wen’s wingman.😂🤣Wen wants to be gallant and wash her handkerchief but slides in the water instead. He is embarrassed but he brushes it off pretty well. She finds herself invited to the daughter’s bday party where she sees Wen has a HS aged son and the daughter. The children spend the bulk of their time living at school which is part of the concessions a single dad has to accept. Yi offered to go help in the kitchen but Wen takes her to his study instead. His frugality is noted when the chair collapses under her. 😂🤣Looking around the house this has to remind her of how her husband would live if necessary. There is a nice selection of books and music but there is a complete absence of decorative decor. He watches her look through his books and notes she takes out the one her husband did not get to read. Their conversation is interrupted by director and the nurse who wasn’t invited. She puts the nurse and Yi in the kitchen to show off the young woman’s culinary skills. I do not understand why she thinks Wen would want to date someone barely older than his son. Can you picture that nurse his stepmom? She is as hopeless as his buddy if she thinks that doe eyed school age girl would appeal to an honorable, refined and educated middle aged man. Here she shows she is the labor party wife and not scholar magistrate mentality. Wen takes the nurse to the study for a chat and the director takes Yi out for one as well. It is funny how she declares feudalism with women having to stay single forever is abolished while simultaneously being the empress dowager director declaring Wen must have the proper wedding alliance. 🙄😝 It is so funny when these people pronouncing judgment never see themselves doing the same thing. She brushes the children aside for her important conversation when it was supposed to be their day and it is their home.😝🙄Yi tells her straight up that they have read her diary and know her thoughts on what she finds important. She just wants to make a living and doesn’t expect anything. Now the dowager pshaws that notion and said she should make opportunity. She might just have to lower her expectations. Her arrogance is straight up royal full of yourself crap. The crime they accuse Yi of.😝🙄Minister Wen has put it in simplest enough terms that the nurse finally understands. She is far from stupid she just naively believed wholeheartedly the exaggerations and flat out lies the director told her. And she gets mad at Wen rather than the one who lied.😝 Director empress dowager has made it clear Yi doesn’t measure up. She boldly tells her conversation with Yi and that she sent her on her way. Wen is annoyed he is in hot water with his guest and that director took it upon herself to be the head of his home.😝 Yi works all night and is slammed with a new ‘have to do’ task. She must make them uniforms. She says she isn’t familiar with men’s clothing and someone more capable should do it. The seamstress slams it down and says refusal is not an option. I really wanna know where her creative mind will take her with this task. As far as empress dowager director Fang goes, Wen has an ace if willing to use it. She wants her lackey Yang and he wants to date Yi. He will swap a Yi for a Yang. Neither will like that arrangement, but both would get their way where it matters most to them. I really hope this comes into play because I would love to watch her face through this negotiation. How much does her chosen boy really mean to her?
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Footprints of Change Episode 15
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The director is trying to push Yang’s promotion and Wen is the only holdout. She argues like Yang with him but she makes no more progress. He tells her to let the committee decide. This is a two edged sword for her. She swings it often to bend other’s wills but now that it swings against her she is frustrated. Wen has a very cute daughter. Yi was quite patient with her when the child was restless waiting on dad. Seems she likes art too but Wen refused Yi giving her a sketchbook because he doesn’t want it seen as a bribe. At the hospital Wen wants to tell the nurse he’s not interested but she gets called away by her job. Yang makes excuse to see Qing. I want to find it cute but still struggling. My bias against him is quite strong. It is interesting to me that he chose the same gift as Wen for Yi, a pen. Here he wants Qing to practice her calligraphy. He has invented his own style. This was a surprise for me that gives me a bit of hope for him. He did not want to just be seen as a master’s copier. He wanted anything he wrote down to be recognized as his work specifically. I did not expect one so zealot in behavior could have an understanding and appreciation of individuality. This is the first time I have something in agreement with him. Our handwriting and signature is how we can be seen on paper. It lets the world see our style and personality on paper. Wen gave Yi Yuan’s interrogation file and his final letter. It was a hard gift to receive but it gave her an insight to his last thoughts. Yang and Qi cornered her about going to a meeting and Yi surprised them by saying yes. I found it humerous that Qing tries to have him learn an inside voice instead of yelling. She is the first one to counter his complaints about the dark with why didn’t you bring them? He had to reflect for a moment. He brought candles and expected her to have the matches.😂He sees her as his complement and she really is. Usually this is where I get a warm fuzzy at a budding romance, but I can’t get past the stereo shrieking they will do.😝😂 Maybe they will both learn inside voices. Yi shares her husband’s last letter instead of the prepped speech Yang had written out for her. I like that she both respected and defied their attempts on interpreting her public thoughts. In the workshop a granny comes in and starts beating on a young worker. Her husband died early and she had remarried. The first mother in law counted it a betrayal because their custom was to stay single for the rest of their days after husband died. Here is where Yi stood up all pro party lines. Too bad director wasn’t there to witness. She forcefully told the Gma that in new China the feudal ways were no longer the standard. That they were allowed marriage and the freedom to work and make their place within the party. Here the first bit of understanding why the old regime was ousted. These were her own pet peeves with men ordering her about— deciding who and when she could marry, and claiming her inheritance, work and earnings for themselves. Now women were on an equal status for work. The new girl is the one that told on the young girl’s whereabouts. They were from the same town and new girl thought that was a way to diminish competition. Yi catches her in the act of gossiping and calls her on it. The Gma has actually started a brawl on the work floor and is escorted out. Qing and the leader hold her to task for gossiping against the widowed martyr. Here is where they missed what should have been addressed. The old woman trying to enslave a young girl to family tradition and feudal thinking. Here is where the party showed they were of like ilk because they did not value Yi as a person, but as the wife of a revered martyr. I think they expect her to keep that status indefinitely. Qing asking if she was so naive about rumors. However, in spite of her coarse criticism she is right. Lies told often become truth to the masses that don’t care or bother about what is really true. The irony is she never considered repeated accusations by the party made false evidence believed as truth. It’s the flip side of the coin. Yang has received a job offer as a reporter and Wen is all for it. As he re aligns the sofa doilies he is practically doing a happy dance that Yang will be gone and in a job where he can’t be as harmful to others with his judgments. The director tries to corner Wen about begging for Yang to stay. Wen is not biting and now director can feel what it’s like to be manipulated by party job offers. Qing has made herself Yi’s personal assistant. She wants to stick like glue to her. Yi questions why. I think there is a low key desire to learn how to date from someone she respects. Yi sees her as an extension of Yang’s monitoring and Qing can’t deny it. When Qing won’t leave, Yi does. Yi is appreciating the new freedoms in the workplace due to new leadership. But the strings attached monitoring of all things personal wears at her soul. This is why she told Wen she is appreciating the party more but sees herself better as one who watches the watchers. I love her determination to take the difficult but most true path for herself. She will follow nobody blindly. Aunt SiYun and her father taught her that very early on. She has her aunt’s spine and determination to follow a course of her choosing. She is starting to find it.
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The episode starts with a chat about bday gifts. When Tang asks Xun when his bday is, he has no response. In his entire life he has never once celebrated his bday. She declared 9 Nov his bday and that they would be celebrated every year. His tearful face at having somebody love him and make a day for him. Their happiness turned into a nightmare. They are running and bloody and he has a knife. I am guessing they had their last fight with Bao et al. At least they are all alive. All three guys went to jail for various time lengths. Xun got 13 yrs for involuntary manslaughter. Since Cha said he owed him money, I am wondering if he took the worst crime to keep his friend out of trouble. When jailed he refused to see Tang. She reached a point where she wanted to end it all and walk into the sea, but as she was giving up, she heard Xun’s voice in her head telling her to live well. She got herself together, unburied her cookie tin with their keepsakes and went to college. She ran into Hao who gave her the memorial plot address for Xun. He was not really dead but he did not want to lessen her life with his past crimes. He did try to call her once but when he heard her son call her mom, he figured she was married and better off without him. Every year on 9 Nov she cleaned his memorial and left a bday cake and flowers. She did this for decades. The episode ends with them being old and she still delivers the cake. This year she just gave him the cake and said goodbye, she usually sat and chatted with him but this time it was just happy bday and leaving. He is there watching and as she leaves he still doesn’t say anything but cries bitterly. His life had changed significantly after prison. He promised he would visit his friend’s family because he would not live to see them. That sweet little girl kept asking him questions and he committed to be with them every day. He became the Gma’s son and became father to Nian. It was not the family he had planned, but it was the family that needed him. He looked after them well for as long as they were under his care.
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