Episode Summary
A grand wedding meant to solidify a business and political alliance turns into a disaster when the groom's father and his company accountant are arrested during the reception. The arrests are part of a major anti-smuggling operation that uncovers a large quantity of a new drug. The groom's uncle, trying to manage the fallout, discovers that a key associate has been murdered, pulling him deeper into a dangerous criminal underworld.
Spoiler Alert
The Narcotic Operation Episode 1
The story kicks off in 1995 in the coastal city of Xigang. It's a joyous day for the Lu family as Lu Shaodong, the head of the prosperous Donghua Trading Company, is celebrating the wedding of his son, Lu Tianci. The event is packed, not just with friends and family, but with influential figures, all present to pay their respects to the bride's father, Chief Huang, a high-ranking official in the General Administration of Customs.
The groom's uncle, Lu Shaohua, is the man who arranged the marriage. He's a smooth operator who has gone to great lengths to win over his new in-laws, even gifting Chief Huang a brand-new imported Bluebird car. During the reception, Lu Shaodong makes the gift official, hoping it will pave the way for future favors from the powerful customs chief.
However, the celebration is quickly derailed. Chief Huang receives an urgent call from his bureau and has to leave for a meeting. Just as he’s preparing to depart, Captain Li An from the Criminal Police squad arrives and arrests Qiu Laibao, the accountant for the Lu family's trading company. Almost simultaneously, Lu Shaohua gets a call informing him that the gifted Bluebird car has been impounded by customs. The situation escalates when Captain Li An returns to take the groom's father, Lu Shaodong, into custody as well. Lu Shaohua manages to delay the arrest just long enough for a family photo, frantically asking his brother if he has done anything illegal, a charge Lu Shaodong denies.
The plot thickens as Chief Huang arrives at customs to find a massive anti-smuggling operation underway. Lu Shaohua, meanwhile, sneaks onto the heavily guarded port and witnesses police seizing a huge cache of smuggled goods. He soon learns the bust is far more serious than just smuggled cars; police have uncovered two kilograms of methamphetamine, a new and dangerous drug in Xigang.
While Lu Shaodong is being interrogated, Chief Huang is questioned by his own superiors and wastes no time distancing himself from the Lu family. As the investigation unfolds, another key player, Xu Desheng, panics and rushes home to get rid of his own stash of drugs hidden in liquor bottles. Unable to reach him, Lu Shaohua goes to Xu's house, only to find him murdered, revealing that the wedding day bust is just the tip of a much larger and deadlier criminal conspiracy.
