Rosy Business

The Prince is amazed at how united Wuxi citizens are in supporting KEI. He is deeply touched by their sincerity and finally agrees to their request. Knowing that the Prince has lost a number of battles and is no longer respected inside the palace, Magistrate LAM warns him to mind his own business and not to get involved in KEI’s case. While clearing the things left behind by FONG, CHING finds a letter written by her before she went to see the Prince. Hoping to share her last words with others, CHING decides to show the letter to the rest of the family. MAN and HANG spend most of the time fooling around. YEE suggests MAN leaving Wuxi but MAN refuses to take her advice. With the Prince’s help and support, KEI and KAU have finally proved their innocence. YEE is shocked to see MAN in disguise. MAN who has got a number of torches with him is going to set the rice warehouse on fire. YEE tries to stop him but is pushed to the floor……

KAU reveals the truth to everyone. Having realized how well-liked and respected KEI is, General CHIU finally decides to release her. Upon the instruction of General CHIU, KAU heads for HANG’s house to confiscate his fortune, the process of which gives him a huge sense of pride and enjoyment. HANG is made to look after tuberculosis patients as punishment. KEI and KAU finally manage to convince General CHIU to allocate a certain amount of rice to Wuxi citizens every day. After that, General CHIU even decides to appoint KEI and KAU as government officials. General CHIU asks to meet KEI individually, during which he tries to sexually assault her. KAU tries to stop him but gets arrested by the soldiers eventually. Later KEI manages to rescue KAU with her wit and courage. The Qing soldiers are getting closer to Wuxi and all the Taiping officials will have to be escorted out of the city……

KAU is going to take revenge on MAN. KEI and CHING have noticed that and do their best to stop him at once. YEE who is desperate to save her son takes KEI hostage with a gun. General CHIU from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom wants to have 30% of rice yield from the rice retailers as military food. He appoints his childhood friend HANG as the Captain of the Wuxi Civil Guards while KAU will take up the post of Deputy Captain. FONG and CHING visit the grave of KIU, where they run into YEE. YEE reveals that MAN has set up a small rice shop but has got into debt after the outbreak of war. She asks to borrow a large quantity of rice grains from CHING so that MAN can settle the debts as soon as possible. CHING gives in to FONG’s persistent request and promises to give MAN a hand without letting KEI know about this. HANG alleges that KEI has stored up rice in secret and immediately brings her to General CHIU’s place for punishment……

KEI does a check on the family’s assets. She locks everything inside the audit room and passes the key to MAN. The following morning MAN discovers that all the assets and relative documents have gone. KEI, CHING and the rest of the family have been hiding themselves in the basement of the church. MAN has a meeting with the workers, during which he announces that Hing Fung Lin will soon re-open and that KEI and CHING have already got on the police’s wanted list. The minister tells KEI that someone is waiting to see her. She follows the minister to a secret place and is shocked to see KAU there. MAN is about to dismiss the workers who have been on good terms with KEI. Suddenly the Prince arrives saying that he is entrusted with announcing the will of the late KIU. In the meantime, KEI and the rest of the family show up with the assets and relative documents. MAN is detained by the police for questioning……

KIU learns from Magistrate LAM that the Taiping troops have been attacking Hangzhou. He gets so worried when he knows that MO and PANG KIU have lost contact with the family. KEI needs HANG and his gang to help look for MO and PANG KIU while she herself has sent a team of security guards to rescue them. KAU has disappeared for nine solid days. TONG asks HANG about KAU’s whereabouts but gets beaten up at the end. TIN and his followers who are determined to avenge KAU’s death plan to attack HANG in the middle of the night. KEI discovers their assassination plot and manages to stop them in time. KEI proves that HANG has nothing to do with the kidnap of KAU and no one is really optimistic about his chances of survival. After returning home, KEI asks CHING to keep stalking MAN. CHING follows MAN around and makes a shocking discovery. CHING tells KEI about what he has found but KEI needs him to keep it secret……

To prevent MAN from being expelled from the family, YEE offers to give him a lecture by beating him repeatedly with a thick stick and finally manages to make KIU change his mind. PANG KIU remains steadfast in her belief that KIU has never loved her. KIU would like to give her an explanation but this does not help much. PANG KIU says she is confused about their relationship and has decided to accompany MO to Hangzhou for the public examination. KAU is planning to team up with SHA’s Gang in developing land transport services, which, however is opposed by KEI. Suspecting that CHING and YAU MAN are going out, KIU needs KEI to join him in spying on them. TONG is left with no way out and decides to turn to KAU for help. With KAU’s financial assistance, TONG can finally go back to her hometown……

While MAN and KAU are quarrelling, millions of locusts have arrived, thus throwing the city of Wuxi into complete confusion. KEI asks the workers to go back home and stay with their families while she and KAU will continue to help out at Hing Fung Lin. Thinking that KIU may wake up soon, YEE needs MAN to look for the minister at once despite the locust plague. KEI is not aware that KIU has already come round from unconsciousness. CHING and YAU MAN who have just come back to Wuxi go to see KEI at Hing Fung Lin. MAN stays with KIU all day long, during which he emphasizes that it is he who has been taking care of the family business and combating against the locust plague. The price of rice increases sharply after the locust plague is over. MAN urges KEI to push up the price as the rest of the rice retailers do but this suggestion is rejected by KEI right away……

While KAU is besieged by HANG’s followers, KEI gets into the hut where KAU has been hiding himself. She makes it clear that no one can harm KAU and that she will try her very best to protect him no matter what. HANG arrives and starts the negotiation with KEI. KEI tries to prove KAU’s innocence with substantial evidence and HANG is finally convinced. The minister pays KIU a follow-up visit, after which he points out that KIU’s condition is improving and that he may wake up any time soon. Worrying that KIU, after regaining consciousness, will find out all the evil deeds he has been doing, MAN turns to his mother for advice. KEI proposes promoting KAU to the post of Second Deputy Manager but KAU turns her down. After delivering the rice to Wuxi, members of SHA’s Gang invite KAU to a drink, during which they ask KAU to be their Second Deputy Master……

YEE reveals to PANG KIU that KIU did not marry her for love, but PANG KIU does not believe her at all. YEE and PANG KIU bring FONG to the front of the Guanyin statue and make her describe how KIU was forced to marry PANG KIU all those years ago. YEE asks KEI to return the power to MAN claiming that she has never heard KIU mention anything about the formal delegation of authority to his fourth wife. Full of perplexity, KEI runs into PANG KIU and FONG. To her surprise, PANG KIU and FONG also urge her to step down. KEI needs CHING to lock the audit room for a while so that she can go out and look for evidence to support her claim. Unfortunately her plan is discovered and thwarted by YEE later on. KAU reveals that he would like to leave Hing Fung Lin but KEI does not ask him to stay. All KEI says is that she will try her best to protect him from HANG’s persecution……

Not wanting to be oppressed by HANG, KIU takes KAU’s advice and decides to go for land transport as an alternative means. As instructed by KIU, CHING is to manage and oversee the whole delivery process. To avoid the bandits, CHING makes full use of every minute and refuses to take a rest even when it rains hard. CHING stumbles along the way and breaks his arm. KEI attends a meeting on behalf of KIU, in which she urges the rice retailers to unite against the proposed increase in water transport costs. She reveals that she has been working on the possibility of developing land transport and that if it works, all the rice retailers will no longer have to rely on the water transport services provided by HANG. As CHING and the workers are getting close to Wuxi, a group of bandits led by SHA CHUN-TIN suddenly arrive and take away the rice by force. KAU asks CHING to go while he himself will stay and try to get back the rice……

KIU returns to Wuxi and decides to pay the ransom. KEI tries to stop him but in vain. KEI bribes HANG’s mistress HOI-TONG and finally manages to save KAU. KAU returns to the warehouse and spreads the message that he has had dinner with KIU and that KIU has made it clear that he will not pay the ransom no matter what. KAU reiterates KIU’s assertion that he will fight back by whatever means with all his money if MO ends up being killed by the kidnappers. CHING finds MO in the hill and manages to carry him back to the city center in the middle of the night. MAN happens to discover CHING and MO. Immediately he brings MO back to TSEUNG’s Mansion claiming that it is he himself who has rescued the little brother. KIU would like to appoint CHING to the post of First Deputy Manager……

The Yellow-breasted Buntings have posed a threat to the grain harvest. For this reason, MAN has launched a “Kill the Birds” Campaign and asks all the Wuxi citizens to join it. KEI urges MAN to stop the campaign at once, for wiping out the birds will cause damage to the ecosystem and lead to pest outbreaks eventually. MAN, however, refuses to take KEI’s advice. CHING meets YAU MAN and her mother in the city of Suzhou and the two of them have just been kicked out into the street. YAU MAN’s mother HING tells CHING about their story. CHING sympathizes with them and gives them some money. Not long after, CHING runs into YAU MAN again in Wuxi. YAU MAN says HING has passed away and as CHING is about to give her money, KIU, who is standing at the corner of the street, means to fling the hot cigarette ash at HING’s feet. KEI points out to KIU that CHING has the potential to progress further and does deserve more opportunities……

Accompanied by his female chef HONG PO-KEI, the Prince is delivering a batch of royal rice to the city of Wuxi. On the way, they are under siege by a group of famine victims but KEI manages to convince their leader CHAI KAU to give way by offering them some rice in exchange. TSEUNG KIU, owner of Wuxi’s Hing Fung Lin Grain Store, is a well-known philanthropist and offers to donate one-third of his fortune to the relief fund. As a token of appreciation for his generosity, the Emperor has sent the Prince to Wuxi to hold a special rice feast for KIU. KIU asks his sons, PIT-MAN, PIT-CHING and PIT-MO to prepare three different gifts for the Prince. KAU has killed and eaten gang leader PANG HANG’s dog after arriving in Wuxi. HANG, the chief of Green Sect, is furious to learn that his dog is killed and decides to have KAU beaten up as revenge……