Episode 18 recap: Miss Wang stands on her own feet.
Ling Zi arrived at Zhi Zhen Garden, and Miss Wang also wanted to establish her own independence. She aimed to become a strong and independent woman and deliberately secured a position at Zhi Zhen Garden. Ling Zi began researching new recipes that impressed Tao Tao. Mei Ping, holding a note in her hand, looked at Director Jin with a frightened expression, as he had seen through her scheme.
Teacher Ge found an old photograph and reminisced about the past flavors. He proposed that Ye Dongjing should have its own distinctive features. Ling Zi went to Ling Hong's place to search for various utensils, determined to completely transform Ye Dongjing. A Bao instructed Little Stamp to closely monitor Zhi Zhen Garden and prepare to capture the catfish. Meanwhile, the stock market was experiencing a severe decline, and Shenzhen was showing signs of instability. On the other hand, the stock market in Shanghai was thriving. Perhaps this was the reason Li Li sent him the catfish, to pay attention to the Shenzhen clients who appeared at Zhi Zhen Garden.
Ling Zi made a special trip to Zhi Zhen Garden to learn from their experiences, attracting the attention of Jin Meilin and Li Li. Li Li greeted her and offered her a private room. At that moment, Ling Zi directly took out five hundred yuan, expressing her desire to try their specialty dishes. Later, Pan Assistant served her numerous dishes. Li Li guessed her true purpose for coming was not just to eat, and Ling Zi openly discussed her renovation plans. After all, Ye Dongjing was far away from Huanghe Road. When Ling Zi left, Li Li specially escorted her.
Commander Cai said that the catfish didn't appear, but Ling Zi went to Zhi Zhen Garden. It seems that Ling Zi really wants to give up on A Bao. Ling Zi stayed on the second floor and refused to go out. Tao Tao and the others were worried, so they went upstairs to check on her and discovered that she had drawn a seating plan on the ground, indicating an increase in seats.
Afterward, Ling Zi borrowed Teacher Ge's antiques and Ling Hong's best tea tray. She disguised herself as a chef and cooked for them. After days of research, she presented the dishes to Teacher Ge and the others to taste. They were instantly conquered, having never tasted such delicious food and familiar flavors before.
Ling Zi stated that in the future, she would divide the time slots and charge fees for foreign guests and tourists. As long as she put in effort, the people on Huanghe Road would be of no concern. Mei Ping was initially worried about Miss Wang's return, but upon learning that she had resigned, she felt secretly delighted and directly proposed a promotion to Director Jin. However, Director Jin felt that she was too restless and unsuitable for the position.
After being rejected, Mei Ping sought solace from Ye Shu. Ye Shu advised her to buy a book called "How Steel Is Made" and to take things slowly when in a hurry. Miss Wang made a special visit to Jin to inform him that she wanted to engage in foreign trade on her own. She hoped that their old clients would attend the investment promotion event. At that moment, Jin informed her that without the background of the 27th, it would be unlikely for anyone to attend. Miss Wang optimistically stated that the old clients trusted her, and they had promised to attend.
She deliberately chose Zhi Zhen Garden as the venue for the investment promotion event because she wanted to secure her own position there. Mr. Bao guessed that those businessmen were trying to deceive Miss Wang. Although he couldn't appear in person, he wanted to support her mentally. However, Ye Shu was worried that Mr. Bao would secretly attend, so she intentionally had a separate dinner with him to keep him tied up. Mr. Wei made a special visit to the factory to see Miss Wang, but to his surprise, she had already left two weeks ago. He wasn't discouraged and was determined to pursue her no matter how far away she was.
Miss Wang arrived early at Zhi Zhen Garden to set up, and A Bao kept his promise to have a meal with Ye Shu. Ye Shu suspected that the investment promotion event organized by Miss Wang might fail, and indeed, no one showed up. However, Li Li did not withdraw the private room and secretly supported Miss Wang.
Meanwhile, Mr. Wei was in the lobby holding an investment promotion sign, but the guests inside politely declined. Mr. Wei and Mr. Fan came to the private room specifically to show support for Miss Wang. They intentionally changed the subject to make her happy. While comforting Miss Wang, Mr. Wei discovered that his father had taken away his car.
Mr. Fan was very supportive of Miss Wang and was willing to provide some financial support. Miss Wang was already grateful to him. Mr. Fan suggested that if Miss Wang had the background of a foreign trade company, the situation would be different. However, she firmly refused to go back. When leaving, Miss Wang proposed starting from scratch with Mr. Wei, and he happily shouted it out on the street.
This news quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys and reached Ye Shu's ears. He reminded A Bao that he now had another competitor to contend with. Commander Cai called A Bao to inform him of something urgent, so he hurried to the fleet. It turned out that Zhang Mu Jie had arrived in Shanghai, and A Bao had been waiting for him for over two months. It would be embarrassing if someone saw that the grand facade of Nanguo Investment was useless.
At this moment, Zhang Zong, the head of Nanguo Investment's Shanghai headquarters, arrived at the venue, and everyone received him with great respect. Due to the stock market's significant decline, Mr. A, who had started from scratch, was now in such a state. He urged the employees to change their strategy and explore unprecedented themes. Secret codes were exchanged during the meeting, which would be the key to their turnaround in the future.
Lu Meilin's impulsive slap shocked everyone, including herself. Her marriage, which was like a sham, her diminishing authority on Huanghe Road, and her accumulated tolerance towards the Baoyes, all seemed to unravel in that moment of lost control.
A Bao, after receiving the slap, immediately went to see Miss Wang. His gaze was filled with deep affection, and resolving Miss Wang's issue became his top priority at that moment.
Throughout the entire encounter, he held Wang Mingzhu's arm, knowing better than Xiaowang who the current "pier" for Miss Wang was. But what he wanted to offer her wasn't lectures, but comfort.
(Hu Ge's expression changes really well here.) However, Miss Wang received this deep affection, and it drove her crazy. This slap overturned her understanding and directly affected her life plans.
The scene also included Little Jiang Xi, Lu Meilin's husband, and the factory manager. It allowed this group of people to witness the scene together, revealing the long-held and tacitly accepted gray rules of Huanghe Road in a blatant manner.
Everything was laid bare.
The final shot of this scene was given to the small shop owner of the cigarette paper stall. He is the diary of Huanghe Road, naturally responsible for preserving this scene and putting an end to it.