This Thriving Land Episode 22 Recap
> This Thriving Land Recap
Glutton Fei's family, burdened by many children, had finally secured permanent tenancy rights to their land, but a severe drought made their lives even harder. His young son nearly died after accidentally eating datura plants. After much deliberation, Glutton Fei decided to migrate to the Northeast. His wife and children came to see him off, and Yin Zi gave him two wild vegetable steamed buns for the journey. Glutton Fei, tearful, bid farewell to his family, deeply moving the onlookers.
He promised them that the Northeast was rich with black soil capable of growing good crops and producing excellent grain, and he would return to bring them there where they would have more than enough rice, flour, and steamed buns. Yin Zi, though heartbroken, remained stoic, refusing to cry in front of others. Neighbors expressed their sorrow, remarking on the harshness of fate and the struggle to feed five mouths with a sick mother at home.
Meanwhile, Ning Xiuxiu discussed planting salvia miltiorrhiza with Feng Er, who strongly objected, arguing that the land was meant for sorghum, which provided sustenance, not medicinal herbs. Ning Xiuxiu countered that herbs could be sold for money to buy more land, citing an instance where she and her mother-in-law sold wild salvia miltiorrhiza for 30 cents. Feng Dajiao, however, supported Ning Xiuxiu’s ambition, promising to clear two mu of wild land for her to plant whatever she wished.
As Feng Er and his wife left, Ning Xiuxiu suggested to Feng Dajiao that instead of clearing land, he should accompany her to the county town the next day. In the county town, Ning Xiuxiu and Feng Dajiao visited various pharmacies. They entered a busy one where the shopkeeper, Chang Chun, a man from Anguo, was in distress. He had just realized that the twelve silver dollars from a recent sale were stolen from his old leather pouch.
Suspecting someone in the shop, he demanded a search of everyone present. Ning Xiuxiu promptly volunteered to be searched by an elderly woman, and both came up empty-handed. She then suggested the shop's clerks also be searched. A new clerk, visibly panicked, tried to flee, but Feng Dajiao swiftly caught him, revealing the stolen money pouch.
Chang Chun expressed profound gratitude, explaining his difficult journey as a herb buyer for his boss in Anguo and how losing the money would have cost him years of hard work. He offered Feng Dajiao and Ning Xiuxiu half of the money as a reward, but they politely declined, urging him to put his money away safely to avoid further trouble. As a gesture of goodwill, Chang Chun gifted Ning Xiuxiu a small item for her unborn child.
Ning Xiuxiu seized the opportunity to inquire about cultivating and selling salvia miltiorrhiza. Chang Chun, a walking encyclopedia of medicinal herbs, enthusiastically detailed the plant's extensive therapeutic properties, citing ancient medical texts. He affirmed her idea to grow salvia miltiorrhiza and promised to send seeds within half a month, which would be the optimal planting season.
Ning Xiuxiu then asked Feng Dajiao to keep their plan secret from his parents for now, especially Feng Er, to spare them worry until the seeds arrived. Following Glutton Fei's departure, Tietou frequently helped Yin Zi with her farming. Ning Xiuxiu later visited Yin Zi and discussed her idea of cultivating salvia miltiorrhiza. Yin Zi, though only possessing two mu of land, wholeheartedly agreed to dedicate 30% of it to grow salvia miltiorrhiza alongside Ning Xiuxiu.
Ning Xiuxiu also gave Yin Zi pastries from the city for her younger siblings. Yin Zi, deeply touched, confessed her struggles, admitting that despite her strong will, her family's circumstances made it difficult to persevere. She expressed how talking with Ning Xiuxiu, who possessed a "bright flame" of hope and determination, made her feel much more optimistic and clearer about her own path. They vowed to shine brightly together. Suddenly, Lulu arrived in the village looking for Humpback Guo.
Spotting Feng Dajiao, she immediately asked him for water. She recognized Ning Xiuxiu, greeted her as "sister-in-law," and tried to imply a close relationship with Feng Dajiao, who repeatedly denied it, stating he only knew her name and that she had a brother named Xiaohu. Ning Xiuxiu, recalling Feng Dajiao mentioning Xiaohu as Humpback Guo's temporary helper but never Lulu, offered to take Lulu to Humpback Guo.
Ning Xiuxiu and Feng Dajiao drove Lulu to Humpback Guo in their ox cart. Humpback Guo found Lulu a temporary, suitable house in the village. There, Lulu confessed to Humpback Guo her romantic interest in Feng Dajiao, revealing she had sent her brother Xiaohu to Qingkou specifically to pursue Feng Dajiao. As they left, Ning Xiuxiu stopped the ox cart by the roadside, seeking a private conversation with Feng Dajiao. She pressed him about his relationship with Lulu.
Feng Dajiao then recounted their history, explaining how he first met Lulu when she was singing and how he helped her rescue Xiaohu from the customs office. He expressed his strong discomfort with Lulu's persistent pursuit, stating he had no feelings for her and that her sudden appearance and attempts to get close were making Ning Xiuxiu uncomfortable. The next morning, Lulu found Feng Dajiao at the new land he was clearing on Turtle Hill.
She persisted in trying to charm him, even offering to buy him land, noting his family's apparent need for more acreage due to his arduous clearing efforts. Feng Dajiao tried to avoid her, repeatedly telling her he wouldn't accept her land and urging her to leave the village quickly. Exasperated by her insistence on "sticking with him," he packed his tools and walked away, choosing a long, indirect route home to avoid her.
Meanwhile, Feng Er, his wife, and Ning Xiuxiu decided to visit Feng Dajiao at the newly cleared land. Feng Er expressed his long-held desire to expand their family's 18 mu of land to 20 mu. The entire family joined forces to clear the land, quickly cultivating an additional two mu, making Feng Er extremely proud and happy that their family now owned 20 mu of land.
That night, Lulu, having paid Humpback Guo a month's rent for her temporary accommodation, arrived at the Feng household with lavish gifts to visit Feng Er and his wife. She dramatically knelt before them, declaring her intention to recognize them as her godparents to repay Feng Dajiao's kindness in saving her and Xiaohu's lives. Feng Dajiao was stunned, while his parents were utterly bewildered.
Lulu then launched into a sorrowful tale of her and Xiaohu's tragic past, having lost both parents at a young age and then their last remaining relative, their maternal uncle, shortly after relocating to Qingkou. Ning Xiuxiu, seeing the escalating situation, tactfully excused herself to "reheat the food." Lulu continued, expressing her desire to settle in the village, buy six or seven mu of land, and gift two mu to her new "godparents" as a token of filial piety.
Overjoyed by the prospect of acquiring more land without cost, Feng Er promptly instructed Feng Dajiao to prepare the side room for Lulu to move in, declaring that she could live with them. Ning Xiuxiu couldn't resist teasing Feng Dajiao about the situation. Despite the public show, Feng Dajiao privately vowed to find a way to make Lulu leave.
The next morning, Lulu complained about a draft in the side room door, prompting Feng Er to order Feng Dajiao to fix it. Ning Xiuxiu, deeply troubled, sought out Humpback Guo to inquire about Lulu. Guo, initially evasive, eventually admitted under Ning Xiuxiu's persistent questioning that Lulu had set her sights on Feng Dajiao. Later, while Feng Dajiao was begrudgingly repairing the side room door, Lulu hovered nearby, attempting to wipe his sweat, which he nervously dodged.
After Ning Xiuxiu left, Ning Susu also arrived to buy goods from Humpback Guo, who, once again, revealed Lulu's true intentions and actions to her. Later, Ning Xiuxiu confronted Feng Dajiao in the fields, urging him to quickly get rid of Lulu. She revealed that Humpback Guo had already found Lulu a room and she had paid a month's rent, exposing Lulu's lie to Feng Er and his wife about having nowhere to go.
Feng Dajiao reiterated that he had no feelings for Lulu, mentioning that he had already tried to tell her to buy her own land and build a house, which he would help with, just to get her to leave. Ning Xiuxiu, however, was adamant, declaring she couldn't tolerate Lulu for another day. She compared her marriage to a bowl, easily cracked, which even if mended, would never be the same.
She stated firmly that she would not regress to old customs, like polygamy, in the modern Republican Era. Feng Dajiao, agreeing that "whatever my wife says is right," suggested that they wait until Chang Chun delivered the salvia miltiorrhiza seeds and they finished planting them, then they would find a way to make Lulu leave. Meanwhile, Lulu, with her extensive experience from years of travel, quickly integrated into the village community. She charmed the local young women and wives, entertaining them with amusing anecdotes and stories from the outside world, making them laugh heartily.
