Episode Summary
Zhuang Qifeng's fairness solidifies his leadership in the village, just as he is tasked with a high-stakes mission to rescue the captive County Magistrate Liu Zuguang. Aided by the magistrate's newly returned daughter, Liu Zhumei, and her friend Wang Yu, Zhuang devises a clever plan. The team uses a combination of feigned cooperation and subterfuge to outwit the Japanese, culminating in a daring escape that leaves the enemy commander, Li Mingjing, completely blindsided.
Spoiler Alert
Episode 7 of Our Homeland (2025) begins with Zhuang Qifeng continuing to win over the hearts and minds of the village. He pays a visit to a major landlord, Wang Weijian, bringing along Wang Suozhu and Wang Mantun for good measure. Seeing Wang Suozhu is armed, the already guilt-ridden landlord barely glances at the new rent books from the Farmers' Association before agreeing to everything. But Zhuang Qifeng isn't there to intimidate; he's there to be fair. He has his team double-check the books and discovers the association actually recorded too much of a rent reduction. He immediately orders Wang Mantun to correct the error, a move that stuns Wang Weijian, who realizes Zhuang Qifeng is a man of principle destined for great things. This act of integrity convinces the last of the powerful local families to join the Farmers' Salvation Association.
Just as things are settling down, a new, urgent mission arrives. Zhou Mi, after praising Zhuang Qifeng's work in Dawang Village, explains that the top brass needs them to rescue the county magistrate, Liu Zuguang. Liu and his wife are basically prisoners in the city, under close watch by the Japanese for refusing to cooperate. The rescue seems nearly impossible, but Zhou Mi has brought reinforcements: Liu Zuguang's own daughter, Liu Zhumei, and her friend Wang Yu. Both are progressive students, secret members of the Communist Youth League, and have returned from Qingdao specifically to help.
That night, the new team assembles. Liu Zhumei shows immediate concern for Zhuang Qifeng's injured leg, while the energetic Wang Yu pesters him for war stories. After the introductions, Zhou Mi officially puts Zhuang Qifeng in charge of planning the entire rescue operation. As a final gesture, he gives Zhuang a new pair of glasses to replace his broken ones.
Zhuang Qifeng pulls an all-nighter, meticulously drafting the rescue plan. The next morning, the team finds him asleep at his desk next to a proposal cheekily titled the "Steal Dad Plan." He wakes up embarrassed and says he can change the name, but Wang Yu lightens the mood, joking that a son-in-law can also call a man "dad," filling the room with laughter.
Meanwhile, the enemy is making moves. With the fall of Xuzhou in May 1938, the Japanese control the region. An officer named Satoshi Yamashita learns of Liu Zhumei's return from his subordinate, Li Mingjing. Yamashita orders Li to use the daughter to pressure Liu Zuguang into collaborating while also keeping a close eye on her. To probe her intentions, Li throws a grand welcome banquet in Gucheng for all the local elites.
The plan is already in motion, however. Liu Zhumei has secretly briefed her father on the Communists' rescue plan. He agrees to play along, pretending to soften his anti-Japanese stance to deceive them. At the banquet, the father-daughter duo puts on a convincing performance. Li Mingjing, delighted by Liu Zuguang's apparent change of heart, even tries to play matchmaker between Liu Zhumei and a man named Zhang Zhiping to further bind the Liu family to their interests.
In a surprising twist, Zhang Zhiping turns out to be a comrade. He and Liu Zhumei connect, and he is brought into the loop. The rescue plan unfolds piece by piece. Wang Yu travels to Gucheng, gets the city's layout from Liu Zhumei, and takes it back to the village. Liu Zhumei then gets permission for her and her mother to leave the city to "burn incense," a test run that goes smoothly as her father stays behind as a willing "hostage" to Li Mingjing.
With the Japanese off their guard, the time is right. Liu Zhumei and her mother leave the city again, this time for a "temple fair." Li Mingjing, seeing this as routine, even lets Liu Zuguang go home. But just then, Satoshi Yamashita receives an urgent message from Qingdao: Liu Zhumei is a Communist. He frantically orders Li Mingjing to make the arrest, but it's too late. By the time Li's men get to the Liu residence, the magistrate is long gone, having escaped over a back wall and hidden in a departing manure cart. After the failed raid, a furious Zhang Zhiping confronts Li Mingjing, pretending to be outraged that he was once again played for a fool by a woman.
