Always on the Move Episode 1 Recap
> Always on the Move Recap
In 1978, a train rattles along the tracks from Ningyang to Hacheng, leaving a trail of steam. The carriages are bustling with passengers, their belongings, and various animals like chickens and rabbits, filling the aisles, seats, and luggage racks. Cai Xiaonian, a train conductor, navigates through the crowded carriages, offering help to passengers and reminding everyone to look after their belongings. The journey is interrupted when a chicken flies loose, startling passengers and causing a commotion.
Railroad officer Wang Xin quickly captures the chicken, restoring order. Passengers praise his efficiency, and Cai Xiaonian remarks that catching a chicken is easy for a police officer who apprehends criminals. A passenger named Wang Guofu reports his black, Shanghai-branded bag missing. He tells Wang Xin he had held the bag tightly all night, fearing thieves, but it was gone when he woke up. Inside were three pancakes, half a pack of ginseng cigarettes, and a pack of herbs.
Wang Xin questions the other passengers and Cai Xiaonian, but no one saw the bag. Wang Guofu becomes very distressed, realizing the passengers who were next to him may have gotten off. At a station stop where some passengers are disembarking, Wang Xin takes Wang Guofu to report the theft to a fellow officer.
Wang Guofu, anxious, mistakenly tries to grab a bag from another passenger, believing it to be his, but Wang Xin intervenes, and they confirm it's not the lost bag. Wang Xin apologizes to the passenger. As the train is about to depart, and with no trace of the bag found, Wang Xin asks conductor Yao Yuling to make repeated announcements for passengers to quickly get off the train.
While Yao Yuling broadcasts the departure warnings, a man is seen hurrying off the train, attempting to conceal a bulging item. Wang Xin finds his behavior suspicious and pursues him. Train chief Niu Dali, who was also getting off, joins the chase. They apprehend the man, who had claimed he needed to go to the toilet due to stomach issues. They recover Wang Guofu's bag from the man. Wang Guofu is relieved to get his bag back.
He reveals that a significant amount of cash, his betrothal money for his future in-laws, was hidden inside the pancakes. Nervous about keeping the money safe, he tries to entrust it to Wang Xin, who declines, explaining it's not his duty. Wang Guofu then shows the money-filled pancakes to the train's furnace operator, Lao Wu, and Niu Dali.
Meanwhile, Yao Yuling makes an announcement over the loudspeaker commending Wang Xin for his quick action in recovering the stolen bag, leading the passengers to applaud him. Later, on a dark, rainy night, Officer Chen Qi escorts a handcuffed man named Ma Kui onto a sleeper carriage. Ma Kui repeatedly asks to use the toilet. Chen Qi warns him to be quiet. Wang Xin checks Chen Qi's credentials before leaving.
Ma Kui insists he will wet himself if he doesn't go, and Chen Qi eventually takes him. Moving through the crowded carriage, Ma Kui manages to snatch a hairpin, quickly using it to unlock his handcuffs. He then pushes through the passengers towards the toilet. Wang Xin and other officers realize Ma Kui is escaping and pursue him. Ma Kui reaches the toilet and is about to jump from the window.
Wang Xin enters the small space to stop him, and they struggle violently. Wang Xin tries to handcuff Ma Kui, but Ma Kui overpowers him and uses Wang Xin's handcuffs to secure him to the toilet piping. Ma Kui then jumps from the window, making his escape, leaving Wang Xin trapped and injured. Due to his injury, Wang Xin is granted two weeks of leave.
After recovering for two weeks, Wang Xin returns home, bringing back treats for neighborhood children and items neighbors had asked him to get, showing his popularity. His father, Wang Yongge, cooks for him and advises him to be less impulsive in his work, given his inexperience and the dangers on the train, worrying about his safety. Wang Xin minimizes his injury, saying he is fine. Upon returning to work, Wang Xin sees Ma Kui attempting to open a filing cabinet.
Mistakenly believing him to be a thief, Wang Xin quickly handcuffs him. Captain Hu arrives with Ma Kui's police uniform and introduces Ma Kui as a veteran railway police detective and a former colleague of Wang Xin's father, Wang Yongge. Captain Hu assigns Ma Kui as Wang Xin's mentor. Wang Xin is surprised and protests, but Captain Hu insists, explaining that Ma Kui is an experienced officer and the previous encounter was a misunderstanding.
Captain Hu recounts Ma Kui's past: ten years prior, during a theft arrest, a thief died jumping from the train, and two accomplices falsely accused Ma Kui of murder, leading to a twelve-year prison sentence. Ma Kui was only recently exonerated and reinstated after the accomplices were caught in another crime and confessed to framing him.
Captain Hu clarifies that Ma Kui's escape on the rainy night occurred when he was being brought back by a task force for case reconstruction, unaware that his conviction had been overturned and still intent on appealing his case. Wang Xin discusses the situation with his father, Wang Yongge, who confirms he knows Ma Kui from years ago and that Ma Kui's case was indeed a miscarriage of justice.
Wang Yongge encourages Wang Xin to learn from Ma Kui, praising his abilities and recounting a story of how Ma Kui once held onto a murderer trying to jump from a moving train window until the train stopped, highlighting his strength. Wang Xin expresses doubts about learning from someone who just got out of prison, but Wang Yongge stresses that the organization's decision should be respected and Wang Xin should learn from his new mentor.
Ma Kui visits his daughter, Ma Yan, at the store where she works. While there, a drunk customer approaches, accusing Ma Yan of watering down his liquor. Ma Yan calmly refutes the claim and proves him wrong by letting him taste the undiluted liquor. The customer becomes aggressive and attempts to strike Ma Yan, but Ma Kui quickly intervenes and restrains him.
Ma Kui suggests to the customer that perhaps his wife might have added water to prevent him from drinking too much, a suggestion the customer seems to consider before leaving. After Ma Yan finishes work, she walks home with Ma Kui, who has stopped to buy soy sauce. They arrive home, where Ma Kui's wife, Wang Sufang, has prepared dinner. At the table, Wang Sufang is hesitant to eat the meat.
Ma Kui encourages her, serving her some and reminding her she used to enjoy it, telling her she can like eating meat again now that he is home. He encourages both her and Ma Yan to eat heartily, noting Ma Yan's tendency to be a picky eater. Ma Yan asks her father to stop coming to her workplace, feeling that he treats her like she is still a child.
