Episode Summary
Liu Jun and Cui Bingbing welcome the birth of their daughter, while Liu Jun grapples with business challenges. After discovering that counterfeit products are flooding the market, he decides to launch a second-tier brand to compete. However, the situation darkens dramatically when he learns his partner, the Beiyuan Group, is secretly facing financial collapse. A sudden government inspection at his factory confirms his fears, and Liu Jun realizes he's been caught in a dangerous scheme, forcing him to face a difficult choice and consider fleeing to Macau to escape the fallout.
Spoiler Alert
"Created in China" Episode 23: The Calm Before the Storm
The episode opens with Liu Jun extending his stay in Beiyuan, waiting for the second round of funding to come through. During this time, he observes a critical weakness: the Beiyuan Group's workforce lacks the skills to produce the high-precision components required for their joint project. Realizing he can't depend on them, he returns to his own company, Tengfei, and immediately instructs Luo Qing to begin marketing their independent product, "Donghai No. 1."
Life on the home front is blissful but busy. With Cui Bingbing now heavily pregnant, Liu Jun has settled into a routine of domesticity, preparing nutritious meals for her. Their peace is briefly interrupted by a news report featuring Lin Yue. Liu Jun comments on Lin Yue's reckless business gambles and his messy divorce, prompting a flicker of suspicion from Cui Bingbing about Liu Jun's own past with the Lin family. Liu Jun quickly reassures her of his fidelity.
The joyous day arrives as Cui Bingbing goes into labor. After an anxious wait, Liu Jun is ecstatic to welcome their healthy baby girl. The challenges of being new parents soon set in; Cui Bingbing struggles with breastfeeding, and a sleep-deprived Liu Jun finds himself dozing off at the office after long nights of baby care.
Meanwhile, trouble is brewing at work. Luo Qing reports that counterfeit versions of their products have appeared on the market, a result of leaks from former employees. To combat this, Luo Qing proposes creating a second-tier, more affordable brand to compete in a price war. Liu Jun agrees, strategically setting up the new production line in a separate factory to protect the premium reputation of their main brand. To facilitate this expansion, he decides to build an entirely new factory. Inspired by advice from his friend Lu Huadong, he also launches an employee stock ownership plan, rewarding his key staff.
Cui Bingbing, determined not to lose her position at the bank, decides to cut her maternity leave short. Supported by her mother, who moves in to help with the baby, she makes a powerful return to work, catching her temporary replacement off guard.
The plot takes a sharp, ominous turn when Liu Jun receives a cryptic phone call from an unknown number in the Beiyuan area. When he calls back, An Xinhua is evasive, but Liu Jun soon learns the devastating truth: the Beiyuan Group is on the verge of collapse and has not paid its employees for months. Cui Bingbing astutely points out that this could be a deliberate tactic to force employees out and restructure assets. Liu Jun has a chilling realization: An Xinhua's apparent patience with the R&D delays was a facade, hiding a much darker agenda.
His fears are confirmed when a joint task force from the Beiyuan Group and the local government conducts a surprise raid on the Tengfei Factory. Though Liu Jun cooperates fully, he is deeply unsettled. His sense of foreboding intensifies when an industry contact lies, claiming An Xinhua is out of the country. Fearing the worst, Liu Jun urgently meets with the influential Song Yunhui to secure protection for his father, Liu Shitang. He is now caught in an impossible situation: continuing the project could drag him into a legal and financial vortex, but abandoning it would mean wasting all his efforts. The episode concludes with his friend Qian Hongming giving him stark advice: flee to Macau immediately to avoid becoming a pawn in the battle between An Xinhua and his powerful rivals.
