Episode Summary
On her snowy wedding day in 1926, Ning Xiuxiu, the daughter of a wealthy landowner, is kidnapped by bandits who demand a large ransom. Her stingy father, Ning Xuexiang, hesitates to pay, jeopardizing her life and reputation. The groom's family warns that the marriage will be voided if she is not returned untouched, while a man who secretly loves her, Big Foot Feng, decides to take matters into his own hands. Faced with immense pressure, Xiuxiu's father finally agrees to sell his land to raise the funds.
Spoiler Alert
A Bride Stolen on Her Wedding Day:"This Thriving Land" Episode 1
The story opens in the spring of 1986, where we meet an elderly Ning Xiuxiu in Tianniu Temple Village.As she carefully cleans the sacred "Heavenly Bull Stone," a wave of memories takes her back fifty years to a fateful day.
The scene shifts to the winter of 1926. It is the wedding day of a young Ning Xiuxiu and Fei Wendian, the children of the two wealthiest families in the village.As a heavy snow falls, the Ning household is bustling with preparations. Xiuxiu, aided by her sister-in-law Lian Ye, is dressed in her red wedding attire.Her mother gives her heartfelt advice, while her miserly father, Ning Xuexiang, is busy collecting wedding gifts, even haggling with a poor tenant named Feng Si over the weight of a box of wedding pastries.
Meanwhile, the groom, Fei Wendian, who has been away at school for three years, is expected to arrive.His formidable sister-in-law, Fei Zuoshi, who runs the Fei family, has sent men to fetch him, but they find he has already left the inn, presumably taking a shortcut home.
The joyous day takes a dark turn when two women, pretending to be guests, arrive at the Ning home. Revealing themselves as bandits from Rooster Ridge, they swiftly knock Ning Xiuxiu unconscious and abduct her.The household is thrown into chaos, but the bandits escape. Soon after, the second-in-command of the bandits, Hu San, intercepts a pursuit party led by Xiuxiu's uncle. He delivers the ransom demand: 5,000 silver dollars for Xiuxiu's safe return.
The news shatters the family. Xiuxiu's mother is terrified for her daughter's reputation, knowing that if Xiuxiu spends a night on the mountain with bandits, she will be ruined.However, the greedy Ning Xuexiang is unwilling to part with the money or sell his precious land to pay the ransom.
Fei Zuoshi arrives and puts immense pressure on Ning Xuexiang, stating that the Fei family will not accept a "soiled" bride, effectively threatening to call off the marriage and alliance.As villagers and opportunistic neighbors like Feng Er see a chance to buy the Ning family's land on the cheap, other rescue efforts fail.Xiuxiu's brother, Ning Kejin, is denied help from the powerful President Chu of the Green Flag Society.Unbeknownst to most, Big Foot Feng, a villager who has secretly loved Xiuxiu for years, hears of her plight and resolves to rescue her himself.
Just as the situation seems hopeless, the groom, Fei Wendian, finally arrives home, delayed by the snow and completely unaware of the kidnapping.Back at the Ning house, cornered and pressured by his distraught wife, Ning Xuexiang finally makes a decision: he will sell the land to save his daughter.
