Episode 33 recap: Business Struggles and Underhanded Tactics
On her first day selling food, Shen Lin has two brothers helping her shout out to customers, along with her mother-in-law by her side. She puts aside her pride to join in, and customers gradually come to buy her marinated goods, enjoying the flavors. Seeing this, Shen Lin sends her mother-in-law home, worried about the two kids at home.
When her mother-in-law returns, Na Wei is still drinking and shows no signs of getting better. After finishing her sales, Shen Lin offers free tastings at the entrance of her community, asking for feedback in return. Some customers enjoy the food and ask if delivery is available. Shen Lin happily agrees and invites them to join a group chat, where they can place orders in advance.
Later, Shen Lin adds her mother-in-law and Na Wei to the group. One day, after returning from her stall, she hears her mother-in-law and Na Wei arguing. It turns out Na Wei burned his hand while cooking noodles and is being careless. Shen Lin goes to get him some medicine, but seeing that he doesn’t care, she tells him to apply it himself.
Despite lacking experience, Shen Lin’s first day of sales went reasonably well, even if she didn’t make much. Her mother-in-law suggests that Na Wei help her the next day, but Shen Lin declines, saying he needs to take it easy for a while. After a long day caring for the kids, Shen Lin feels exhausted cleaning her equipment, knowing she’ll have to wake up at 4:30 AM to restock.
While making pig trotters, Shen Lin decides to film a short video of her clean kitchen, which garners interest in her products. As her business flourishes, other vendors at the market become jealous and sabotage her cart. Shen Lin feels helpless but doesn't have time to dwell on it. She cleans her cart and sets out her marinated goods, soon attracting customers who buy over three hundred items.
One customer remarks that since trying Shen Lin’s food, they can no longer eat from other vendors due to the inferior taste. Shen Lin is thrilled and gives the customer some vegetables as a bonus. After performance evaluations, Na Juan finds himself at the bottom of the company rankings. HR Director Huang and Director Lu discuss a resignation with him, but Na Juan refuses, demanding a severance package and assurance that his stock options will remain intact without any tampering on his background check.
Huang and Lu are taken aback and unprepared for Na Juan’s evidence of severe overtime and unpaid wages, which could lead to legal action. Na Juan later receives a call from a headhunter and meets with them, honestly disclosing his struggles with depression and panic disorder, but assuring them that he is managing well on medication and will have a checkup next week. The headhunter appreciates his honesty and promises to recommend him to clients once he has a recovery certificate from his doctor.
After her sales, Shen Lin locks her cart up at the community entrance. Na Wei, indifferent to Shen Lin’s struggles at the market, continues to drink. However, her daughter, Yue Yue, recognizes her mother’s exhaustion and makes some stickers to cheer Shen Lin up. When Shen Lin sees them, she is moved to tears; all her hard work feels worthwhile.
On another day, Shen Lin faces harassment from someone who falsely claims her meat is unclean, saying it made them sick. When Shen Lin asks for proof of their purchase, the person can’t provide it and starts to cause a scene, driving away customers. Other rival vendors join in to stir trouble, leaving Shen Lin overwhelmed as a woman in this chaotic situation.
Fortunately, her two cousins arrive just in time to help Shen Lin. Although another cousin, Zhi Cheng, is busy at a construction site, he discreetly arranges for someone to look after Shen Lin’s business. Zhi Guo stays with Shen Lin and decides to talk to Na Wei later to address the situation properly.
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