Silent Tides Episode 20 Recap
> Silent Tides Recaps
At a critical meeting at the Banco Nacional Ultramarino, He Xian successfully persuaded the bank to partner with Chinese merchant banks in underwriting national salvation bonds. He emphasized that the survival of the Portuguese and Chinese communities in Macau was intertwined, invoking the proverb that the teeth feel cold when the lips are gone. The bond issuance proved highly successful, which also boosted the acquisition business at Hengfengyu Bank.
During a discussion with Ma Wanqi, Ke Lin arrived with Ke Zhengping, who provided a dire update on the Chinese forces behind enemy lines in North China. Zhengping described the devastating effects of the Japanese "Three Alls Policy" and the severe malnutrition among soldiers, noting that many weighed less than 46 kilograms. Moved by these hardships, He Xian immediately pledged to secure winter supplies and medical equipment.
When He Xian attempted to order these goods through Rodrigues, they learned that Portuguese merchant shipments were being seized by the Japanese at the Gongbei Port for lacking "Sawa Agency" transit permits. Sawa Eisaku used this blockade to pressure the Portuguese Macau government into banning all anti-Japanese activities. During a negotiation, Lok Pak discovered a surveillance file Sawa Eisaku had intentionally left out, which officially labeled He Xian as a key anti-Japanese activist.
In response to the crisis, Ke Lin proposed establishing a multi-party underground supply line. Despite Liang Yanming’s initial skepticism regarding collaboration with the Communist Party, He Xian convinced him to prioritize the national resistance, citing the past selfless help from Commander Ou’s guerrilla units and recent documents regarding a united front against the common enemy.
Meanwhile, Lok Pak met with Qiao Yinwan and urged her to resign from her position at the Kiang Wu Elementary School to avoid being targeted alongside He Xian. Yinwan accepted the warning and decided to return to the Bachongtian Club as its concertmaster. Simultaneously, He Xian visited Huang Sanhe of the Tai Ho Brotherhood to request his fleet's help with transport.
Bitter over past treatment by Portuguese officials and restrictive ship registration quotas, Huang Sanhe agreed to assist only on the condition that Rodrigues personally apologize and serve him tea. Rodrigues agreed to the terms, recognizing that the survival of Portuguese trade was at stake and that they needed the support of officials like Lok Pak. However, a new tragedy struck when Liang Zhong’s fleet was intercepted by a joint Japanese-Portuguese unit, resulting in several deaths among the Brotherhood’s members.
Rodrigues explained that his own merchant ship had been forced by a Japanese supervisor to block the waterway, but the explanation did little to calm Huang Sanhe’s fury. In a desperate move to settle the situation, Rodrigues asked the grief-stricken Yang Chang to deliver an urgent message to Huang Sanhe on Hengqin Island.
Yang Chang attempted the journey but was overcome by a hallucination of Mary Jones on the street; consumed by his loss, he collapsed and failed to complete the mission. As the government prepared for a second vote on the Japanese terms, Sawa Eisaku ordered Huang Gongjie to prepare ten gold bars to bribe Lok Pak.
That evening, as Yinwan prepared for her comeback performance at the Bachongtian Club, He Xian arrived to meet Lok Pak, who again warned him of the Japanese surveillance. When the show began, Huang Gongjie aggressively confronted Yinwan on stage, questioning how an "anti-Japanese element" was allowed to perform. Wary of Lok Pak’s political influence, Sawa Eisaku intervened by publicly berating Huang Gongjie and forcing him to apologize to Yinwan. Though fuming, Huang Gongjie complied, leaving Sawa Eisaku to watch the performance as a tense peace settled over the club.
