City of Streamer Episode 37 Recap
> City of Streamer Recap
Feng Shizhen and Yang Xiucheng, with strong support from Meng Xu'an, meticulously arranged their plans. After an anxious night of waiting, they finally received news of a gang fight erupting at the Southern opium plantations. Their initial victory brought them immense satisfaction. Rong Jiashang received news from the South that Zhao Hua'an's plantation was almost completely burned during recent shareholder infighting. The opium stock was also destroyed or stolen during transport, leaving very little.
Zhao Hua'an himself was slightly wounded and on his way back to Shanghai. Rong Jiashang's subordinate noted that events were unfolding as expected, but Rong Jiashang sensed something more. He acknowledged that the plantation's destruction was anticipated, but Zhao Hua'an's personal transportation codes were usually meticulously guarded. The fact that his shipments were repeatedly intercepted and he suffered heavy losses suggested that someone had deciphered Zhao Hua'an's private codes, not just by chance, but as a deliberate attack.
Recognizing this unexpected assistance, Rong Jiashang decided to accelerate his own plans. He ordered all opium in the Rong Company's teahouses across Shanghai to be collected for mass destruction. He later updated Rong Dingkun on the company's financial recovery from the Wenchunli property sales and Zhao Hua'an's recent troubles, describing Zhao as "attacked from all sides and driven into a corner," desperately seeking help.
Rong Dingkun, expecting an angry outburst, listened calmly, stating he couldn't control Rong Jiashang anymore and that anger was futile. Rong Jiashang informed his father that the American doctor he'd arranged believed recovery was possible after surgery and inquired about a check-up date. Rong Dingkun questioned when Rong Jiashang planned to send him, expressing a desire to stay for Fanghua and Yunchi's wedding.
Rong Jiashang promised to personally send him to America once everything was settled, then advised his father to rest. After Rong Jiashang left, Rong Dingkun internally cursed him as an ungrateful son. With no other options, Zhao Hua'an turned to Hashimoto Shozo for assistance. Meng Xu'an learned that Zhao Hua'an and Hashimoto Shozo were forming a joint import-export company, primarily to sell Japanese munitions, indicating Zhao Hua'an's desperation.
Meng Xu'an was invited to their opening party and decided to attend, bringing Feng Shizhen with him. At the signing ceremony, Zhao Hua'an and Hashimoto Shozo formalized their partnership. Feng Shizhen approached Zhao Hua'an, confronting him about his past actions. She remarked on his improved appearance despite his recent troubles, noting his new partnership with Hashimoto Shozo.
Feng Shizhen then revealed she knew Qin Shuigen had killed her mother, but it was Zhao Hua'an who had pursued and attempted to kill her. She declared her intention to make him pay for his past crimes. As Feng Shizhen and Meng Xu'an departed, they encountered Rong Jiashang. He grabbed Feng Shizhen's wrist, but Meng Xu'an forcefully pushed him away, then led Feng Shizhen away without looking back.
Feng Shizhen discovered that Zhao Hua'an was transporting a batch of Japanese munitions provided by Hashimoto Shozo, which were due to arrive by noon the next day for delivery to the southwest. She and Meng Xu'an decided to target this shipment. Zhao Hua'an, taking no chances, personally oversaw his men as they moved the munitions into a warehouse, instructing them to guard it closely.
Meng Xu'an dispatched someone to send a telegram to the warehouse guards, impersonating Zhao Hua'an and ordering the immediate transfer of the cargo to the "Sunrise at Kunshan" ship at Wharf 4. The guards, suspicious of the late-night order, called Zhao Hua'an's residence for confirmation. However, Yang Xiucheng had intercepted the phone line. Impersonating the butler, Yang Xiucheng falsely claimed that Zhao Hua'an had been assassinated and, before falling into a coma, had specifically instructed them to transfer the cargo.
The guards, believing the urgent news, did not dare to delay and swiftly transferred all the munitions to the designated ship. Later, the guards, concerned for Zhao Hua'an, returned to his mansion to check on him, only to find him alive and well. Upon learning that his orders had been counterfeited and the munitions transferred, Zhao Hua'an became enraged, denying he had sent any telegrams or been assassinated.
His butler confirmed that no calls were received, indicating a manipulated phone line. Realizing he had been tricked, Zhao Hua'an furiously threatened his guards' families if they didn't retrieve the cargo immediately. He then rushed with his men to the ship at Wharf 4. On board, he discovered that the cargo was not his Japanese munitions, but American guns and ammunition belonging to a warlord.
Before Zhao Hua'an and his men could escape the trap, Wen, who had been lying in ambush at the dock, opened fire, igniting and blowing up the cargo ship. Feng Shizhen, observing the fiery explosion from a distance through a telescope, was relieved to see Wen's mission accomplished. She acknowledged that this was Zhao Hua'an's punishment for his past crimes, deeming suffering a fate worse than a quick death, just as Qin Shuigen was enduring.
Zhao Hua'an, having narrowly escaped the explosion, secretly returned home, only to find police officers searching and confiscating his property. The police informed his butler that Zhao Hua'an was a wanted criminal, accused of blowing up millions worth of government military supplies, and his assets were being seized. Panicked, Zhao Hua'an hid, realizing he was being hunted. Desperate, he sought out Mrs. Rong for help, viewing her as his last hope.
However, Meng Xu'an had anticipated this move and stationed men nearby, who promptly apprehended Zhao Hua'an as he tried to approach Mrs. Rong. Zhao Hua'an was brought to an ancestral hall, where Feng Shizhen awaited him. She revealed that the warlord's munitions had been temporarily transferred to another ship due to a leakage, and it was those munitions he had inadvertently blown up, asking if he enjoyed the "surprise" she had orchestrated.
Zhao Hua'an, realizing he had been outmaneuvered, admitted his crimes, confessing he was deceived by Qin Shuigen and expressing remorse for his role in the massacre of Feng Shizhen's family. He offered his remaining assets, including shares, bonds, and his most profitable opium teahouses, as compensation. He even offered to kill Qin Shuigen for her.
Feng Shizhen, however, found the idea of killing Qin Shuigen uninteresting, preferring that he live a life of suffering, stripped of dignity and tormented by loneliness, mirroring the fate she desired for Zhao Hua'an. As Feng Shizhen picked up a syringe, Zhao Hua'an desperately asked what she wanted.
She reminded him that her family, afflicted with pestilence, could have been cured with proper care, but he and Qin Shuigen had sealed their residence for five days, denying them food and water, watching them slowly die. She asserted that it was now his turn to atone. As Zhao Hua'an pleaded for his life, she scornfully reminded him of her family's pleas for mercy, which he had ignored.
In a desperate attempt to save himself, Zhao Hua'an blurted out that Feng Shizhen's younger brother was still alive. Stunned, Feng Shizhen demanded proof. Zhao Hua'an explained that although Qin Shuigen had ordered the child's death, he couldn't bring himself to kill him because his own wife had just given birth to a son. He lied to Qin Shuigen, claiming the child had frozen to death, and had then taken Feng Shizhen's brother to safety.
Feng Shizhen, desperate for answers, agreed to untie him in exchange for her brother's whereabouts. Zhao Hua'an revealed that he had entrusted Feng Shizhen's brother to an old widow in the countryside. The widow later moved to a southern plantation with the boy. A few years prior, the boy came to Shanghai to earn money for the ailing widow's treatment but eventually escaped Zhao Hua'an's surveillance and disappeared.
Zhao Hua'an specified that the boy wore a silver longevity lock engraved with the character "Zhen" on the front and a birth date on the back, though he noted the birth date seemed to belong to Feng Shizhen, not her brother. He asserted that finding the longevity lock would lead to her brother. Meng Xu'an then intervened, revealing that the syringe Feng Shizhen had used to threaten Zhao Hua'an was empty, a ploy to extract the truth.
He declared that Zhao Hua'an, though spared from death, would still face justice for his crimes and ordered him to be sent to the police station for proper legal punishment. Meanwhile, Rong Jiashang personally oversaw the collection and destruction of all opium stored by the Rong Company in Shanghai, expressing his belief that opium was a "malignant tumor" ruining the nation and that he was finally fulfilling his promise to eradicate it.
Meng Xu'an and Feng Shizhen later read newspaper reports detailing Rong Jiashang's actions. Meng Xu'an was surprised that Rong Jiashang would ruin his family's most profitable business for Feng Shizhen, acknowledging his decisive nature. Feng Shizhen, however, believed it was Rong Jiashang's long-standing goal to dismantle his family's illicit businesses, regardless of her influence. She firmly stated that her vendetta against Qin Shuigen would not be swayed by anyone.
Simultaneously, Rong Dingkun received a mysterious gift box containing a threatening message from an unknown sender. When Rong Jiashang confronted his father about this, he urged him to quickly resolve whatever problem it signaled. Rong Dingkun, however, demanded that Rong Jiashang eliminate all enemies targeting the Rong family and threatening his life, and protect the family.
When Rong Jiashang insisted he was already protecting the family through his actions, Rong Dingkun angrily accused him of disgracing the Rong family by destroying their opium business, a scandal widely publicized. Rong Jiashang retorted that if his father was afraid, he should remain in his room, as Rong Jiashang could guarantee his safety only if he stayed confined. He advised his disabled father to focus on recuperation rather than engaging in futile struggles.
After Rong Jiashang left, Rong Dingkun, despite his apparent helplessness, secretly vowed to engage in a bitter struggle against his son, unwilling to be a mere pawn. Elsewhere, Hashimoto Shozo inquired about the progress of Shiori's marriage proposal with Rong Jiashang. A family member informed him that Rong Jiashang had unequivocally rejected her, citing his disinterest in marrying a concubine's daughter. Hashimoto Shozo, offended, defended his daughter's status.
The family member then suggested an alternative: marrying Shiori to Colonel Matsuda, whose wife had recently passed away and who had a preference for younger women. This alliance would offer a double advantage, as Colonel Matsuda and his brothers held significant influence within the military, which would greatly benefit the Hashimoto family's business.
The family member stressed that a daughter's marriage should serve the family's interests, and becoming Matsuda's legal wife would elevate their clan's status in Shanghai more than becoming Rong Jiashang's concubine. Hashimoto Shozo agreed to consider the proposal.
