Episode Summary
The Japanese tighten their grip on Macau by cutting off the rice supply from Zhongshan, causing prices to skyrocket. Governor Dai Sile is forced to bow to Japanese demands to prevent mass starvation. Ma Wanqi convinces local merchants to donate their grain by personally guaranteeing their losses. Meanwhile, the Japanese force a takeover of the Lianchang Company. He Xian refuses a job with the new Japanese management and takes manual labor work at the docks, where Ma Wanqi unknowingly saves him from humiliation.
Spoiler Alert
The Noose Tightens on Macau
The situation in Macau just went from bad to absolute nightmare fuel. Sawa Eisaku isn't playing around anymore. He sends Huang Gongjie on a brutal mission to Zhongshan. The goal is simple. They need to cut off the food supply. Huang uses violence to lock down the rice market and seizes every grain he can find. He crushes anyone who tries to stop him.
News hits the Governor's office fast. Macau has less than five thousand bags of rice left. That is terrifying. Refugees have flooded the city and tripled the population to 450,000. The Japanese block the Gongbei port to make sure nothing gets through. They even intercept Portuguese grain ships at sea. The price of rice jumps from forty cents to over two dollars. People are starving.
The Governor Caves
Dai Sile tries to stand up for the city. He confronts Fujiang and Sawa Eisaku about the blockade. It doesn't go well. Sawa Eisaku basically laughs in his face. He tells the Governor to stop all sea trade or the Japanese navy will start sinking ships under the guise of "fighting pirates." Dai Sile has no leverage here. He has to accept their twisted cooperation plan just to keep the city from dying.
A Heroic Gamble
Luo Bo calls an emergency meeting with a harsh new rule. Merchants must hand over seventy percent of their stock to feed the poor. The business owners lose their minds. They are angry and scared. Chairman Gao begs them to see reason. Lives are at stake.
Then Ma Wanqi steps up. He puts everything on the line. He pledges the entire stock from his Heng Feng Yu warehouse. He also promises to personally repay any grain taken from the other merchants once the crisis ends. He even offers to sign a contract right there. The room goes quiet. The merchants agree. This move saves the day.
Hostile Takeover
The Japanese want more than just a blockade. They want ownership. Fujiang and Saito Kenichi demand shares in the Lianchang Company. This is a joint venture between Chinese merchants and the government. Luo Bo tries to stall. Fujiang threatens to keep the blockade up forever if the Chinese don't leave.
He Xian walks into this mess while looking for a job. He bumps into a homeless He Hongshen outside. Upstairs, the Chinese merchants walk out in protest. Saito takes over as chairman. He actually likes He Xian's resume and offers him a position. He Xian has zero money and no food at home. But he has a spine. He refuses to work for the Japanese and walks away.
Pride and Punishment
He Xian goes home empty-handed but lies to his wife, Guo Qiwen. He tells her he got the job at Lianchang to keep her from worrying. In reality, he heads to the docks to work as a coolie.
The work is brutal. To make it worse, Huang Zixia and Yang Chang spot him. They decide to make his life miserable. They force him to unload an entire ship by himself. He Xian does it without a word. When he finishes, they refuse to pay unless he crawls between their legs. It is a disgusting power trip. Ma Wanqi happens to walk by and stops the harassment. He saves He Xian from the humiliation. The irony is that Ma Wanqi has no idea who he just helped. They have only spoken on the phone. He walks away without realizing he just met the man he has been looking for.
