Episode Summary
In 1941, banker He Xian prepares to move his family from Hong Kong to Macau as tensions rise. In Macau, he outsmarts an arrogant Japanese banker named Suzuki by shorting the German Mark, using his knowledge of delayed war news to win a massive bet for a local charity. Meanwhile, a gang leader named Huang Gongjie is exposed as a traitor but manages to violently escape punishment. The episode concludes with the attack on Pearl Harbor, signaling the start of the Pacific War.
Spoiler Alert
The Smartest Guy in the Room
We start in 1941. The world is on fire, but Hong Kong still has morning tea. He Xian is a manager at Huilong Bank. He just got back from a business trip and went straight to a dim sum place to see his family. He isn't just there for the dumplings. He senses the political winds shifting. He tells his father and wife, Guo Qiwen, that they need a backup plan. That plan is moving to Macau. His wife is nervous about leaving home. He calms her down, but you can tell he is already three steps ahead of everyone else.
Winter hits. He Xian takes a boat to Macau with Lu Xiuyuan. He notices something odd in the newspapers. The German army updates from the Eastern Front are missing. Most people wouldn't care. He Xian cares. He files that information away for later.
The Big Short: 1941 Edition
Macau is buzzing with a fundraising event for the war effort in China. Everyone is chipping in. The local fishermen, known as the Dan people, want to help too. They live on boats and aren't allowed on shore due to some archaic class rules. They send a girl named Xiao Yu to deliver their cash.
Suzuki Ichiro runs the local branch of the Japanese Specie Bank. He hates this anti-Japanese fundraising. He sees the girl and calls the cops. He gets a police officer named Guanye to arrest her for illegal landing. Locals like Dr. Ke Lin and Liang Yanming try to stop it. A government official named Luobo tries to mediate. Suzuki won't budge. He wants to confiscate the donation money as "illegal funds."
He Xian steps in. He doesn't yell. He uses the law. He claims Xiao Yu is his bank client and the money is business capital. Suzuki calls his bluff. So He Xian doubles down. He takes out a loan in Xiao Yu's name right there. He uses the money to short the German Mark. He wants to settle the bet by the end of the day.
The Germans are hammering Moscow. The Mark is skyrocketing. Everyone thinks He Xian is losing his mind. He tells the crowd to bet with him. Dr. Ke Lin trusts him and jumps in. Others follow. Suzuki thinks this is free money. He leverages his position twenty times over. He even sets up a dedicated phone line to check rates every five minutes.
The rate goes up. Suzuki smirks. Then the rate drops. Suzuki says it is just a blip. Then it crashes. The Mark loses nearly twenty percent in five minutes. Suzuki panics. He Xian finally explains his play. The news blackout on the Eastern Front plus a teaser from the Soviet news agency meant the Russians had already won a counter-attack. The news just hadn't hit the wire yet.
The Mark crashes thirty percent. Suzuki gets a call from his HQ ordering him to fold. He loses big. He Xian makes him bow and apologize to Xiao Yu. The Japanese banker leaves in disgrace. He Xian gives the winnings to the girl. She donates it all. He Xian leaves before anyone can thank him. He tells his friend the market will bounce back soon, but he got what he needed.
Gangster Politics
We cut to the darker side of town. Huang Gongjie is the second-in-command of the Dahao Gang. He storms into Huilong Bank demanding all his money. It is after hours. The clerk refuses. Huang is in a rush because he is a traitor smuggling tungsten to the Japanese.
He tries to run. The Haiyun Hall leader, Liang Zhong, catches him. They bag him and drag him back to the gang's hideout. Huang swallows his bank receipt in the chaos.
Later, the Dahao Gang holds a trial. The leader, Huang Sanhe, sentences Huang Gongjie to a brutal execution for treason. An elder named Fifth Master pleads for mercy. The leader softens and changes the sentence to losing two arms. Huang Gongjie isn't grateful. He pulls a knife, stabs the old man in the stomach, and escapes.
The War Comes Home
Back at the He residence, He Xian prays to his ancestors. He tells them he did honest business. His wife asks about the move again. He says they will wait and see.
Qiao Yinwan argues with her brother, Qiao Renyu. He wants her to keep her head down and stop the anti-Japanese talk. She refuses to be a bystander.
The episode ends with a date on the screen. December 8, 1941. The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. In Guangzhou, the Japanese commander Yazaki celebrates. He tells his officers the Pacific is theirs. The quiet days for He Xian and his family are officially over.
