This Thriving Land Episode 29 Recap
> This Thriving Land Recap
Ning Xuexiang discovered Glutton Fei at his door, attempting to pressure Yinzi into using her pregnancy to demand grain from him. Angered, Ning Xuexiang confronted Glutton Fei, declaring there would be no more handouts and telling him to get lost. Glutton Fei argued that as Yinzi's husband, Ning Xuexiang was obligated to support him, to which Ning Xuexiang retorted that he was cursed to have met such a poor wretch.
Yinzi, upset by her father's treatment, warned Ning Xuexiang she would not forgive him if he bullied her father again. Ning Xuexiang tried to explain that Glutton Fei was teaching her dirty tricks, then gently guided Yinzi inside, offering her millet porridge prepared by Kuangzi. Yinzi, however, refused to eat. Meanwhile, Fei Zuoshi arranged for Ning Susu to go to the lower village to care for Fei Wendian, hoping they would soon have a child.
Ning Susu arrived at the lower village, where Fei Wendian was discussing plans to urge landlords to open their granaries. She informed him that her sister-in-law sent her to look after him and expressed her desire to help with his important work. Fei Wendian then sent Qing back to report to his sister-in-law that Ning Susu had arrived safely, assuring her that he would take care of everything. He then led Ning Susu to her accommodations.
Ning Xuexiang continued his efforts to appease Yinzi, who was refusing to eat. Realizing her silent protest was effective, he finally conceded. He promised that if Yinzi's father sent her second uncle and his family away, he would immediately have Kuangzi deliver grain to her family. After she finally agreed to eat, Ning Xuexiang instructed Kuangzi to send a generous amount of grain—a season's worth, plus six months of dried sweet potatoes.
Fei Wendian settled Ning Susu, who, eager to help, unfortunately blurted out that his sister-in-law, Fei Zuoshi, claimed the family had no grain left for the refugees. Distrusting this, Fei Wendian went home to inspect the granaries. Fei Zuoshi presented a fabricated story of years of poor harvests, tenant defaults, and generous lending, which had depleted their stores, insisting only enough remained for their family until the next harvest.
Fei Wendian, though seemingly accepting, gently expressed regret that he hadn't been informed earlier to contribute his salary. Fei Zuoshi deflected, suggesting he send his students to collect donations instead. Fei Wendian reiterated the need for wealthy families to open their granaries. Before leaving, he asked Fei Zuoshi to take care of Ning Susu.
Later, seeing Qing by the grinding wheel and noticing spilled grain near the gate, Fei Wendian tried to trick Qing into revealing the hidden grain's location by offering to teach her how to operate the machine. Qing, flustered, denied knowing anything about hidden grain and quickly excused herself. Ning Xiuxiu sought out Yinzi, asking her to persuade Ning Xuexiang to open his granaries for the refugees.
Yinzi admitted she was powerless; Ning Xuexiang, wary of her due to her family's reliance on his support, kept the granary keys on him at all times. Despite this, Yinzi confirmed that both granaries were indeed full. She believed neither she nor Ning Kejin could convince Ning Xuexiang, whose priorities were his land, grain, and the unborn child in her belly. With Ning Kejin away in the county town, Ning Xiuxiu's plan hit a snag.
Ning Xiuxiu then discussed the situation with Fei Wendian, explaining that Ning Kejin was still away in the county town, that Yinzi believed Ning Xuexiang's granaries were full, and that Ning Xuexiang continued to arm his militia to prevent grain theft. She concluded that getting Ning Xuexiang to voluntarily release grain was unlikely without Ning Kejin's return.
At that moment, Ning Susu excitedly revealed that she had tricked Qing into confessing that Fei Zuoshi had secretly moved the family's grain to a pharmacy in town in two separate trips. With this information, and with Tietou confirming his men were ready, Fei Wendian decided to organize the first grain distribution immediately, believing that Fei Zuoshi's act would pressure Ning Xuexiang. He led them to the pharmacy, where they began distributing the grain.
Ning Xiuxiu later praised Ning Susu's cleverness for discovering the hiding place. Feng Dajiao and Tietou distributed grain, while Ning Susu and Ning Xiuxiu served porridge to hundreds of grateful refugees. Fei Zuoshi arrived by cart and observed the scene.
Witnessing her own family members actively involved and the joyful reactions of the refugees, she chose not to create a public scene, muttering that they had truly taken charge, and ordered her driver to return home to avoid being a laughingstock. Unbeknownst to the distributors, Nationalist special agents were present, plotting to incite the refugees to create chaos and then arrest Communists under the guise of restoring order. Feng Dajiao overheard their plans but couldn't inform Fei Wendian in time.
Ning Kejin returned from the county town, having been sent by Ning Xuexiang to deliver a birthday gift to Old Bian. There, he was introduced to Zhao Shizheng, the county police chief and Bian's favorite student.
After three days of heavy drinking, the two became sworn brothers, and Zhao Shizheng offered Ning Kejin the lucrative position of head of the militia bureau, promising to secure it within two months with some money and a letter from Ning Xuexiang to Old Bian. Ning Kejin excitedly relayed this good news to his father, Ning Xuexiang. However, Ning Xuexiang was solely preoccupied with protecting his grain from the rising tide of disaster refugees.
Ning Kejin suggested a strategic retreat: distribute a small portion of grain, enough to feed the refugees for a few days, and he would repay Ning Xuexiang handsomely once he started profiting from his new position. Ning Xuexiang flatly rejected this, arguing that their grain was too little for the vast number of refugees and accusing Ning Kejin of making empty promises before he even earned money.
He threatened to reclaim the weapons he had provided for the militia and withdraw financial support for Ning Kejin's promotion if his granaries were not protected. Faced with this ultimatum, Ning Kejin reluctantly agreed to protect his father's grain, even punishing himself with a drink for speaking out of turn. Nationalist special agents then stirred up trouble among the refugees, fabricating claims that the distributed grain was half sand and causing a commotion.
Feng Dajiao arrived just as the situation escalated, quickly leading the refugees to move the grain to safety. By the time the agents arrived, the grain was gone. Fei Wendian, ensuring the safety of Ning Xiuxiu and Ning Susu, urged them to take a shortcut home with Tietou while he and Jia helped move the remaining grain to a secure location. Later, Ning Xiuxiu confronted Feng Dajiao, chastising him for recklessly endangering himself when the agents were armed.
Feng Dajiao explained there was no time to warn Fei Wendian, and that the refugees had helped him move the grain after he informed them of the danger. Ning Xiuxiu urged him to consider his family before acting impulsively, but Feng Dajiao declared he couldn't get anything done if he did so. He then promised to persuade his brother, Ning Kejin, to join their cause, drawing parallels to a previous uprising.
After securing the grain, Fei Wendian returned home to check on Fei Zuoshi, who, upon realizing he had distributed all their family's grain, was furious, calling him a fool. Fei Wendian retorted that he was simply upholding the family's teachings of charity. Seeing that Fei Zuoshi was unharmed and still had the strength to be angry, Fei Wendian departed, leaving her to lament how she had raised such a son.
Landlord Li Junyi, having received a notice from the Farmers' Association demanding he open his granaries within three days or face forced distribution, came to Ning Xuexiang for advice. He also requested Ning Kejin's protection for his home. Ning Xuexiang, feigning ignorance of his own grain reserves, refused to commit to distributing grain unless Li Junyi did, prompting Li Junyi to challenge that Ning Xuexiang had the most surplus grain.
Ning Kejin, however, assured Li Junyi of his support, acknowledging his provision of rations for the militia. After Li Junyi departed, Ning Kejin instructed Yu Er to heavily guard Ning Xuexiang's granaries with armed men, ordering them to use stones against any refugees attempting to raid, to save bullets. He explicitly prioritized protecting their own family's grain, assigning only a few men as a formality to other landlords like Li Junyi.
Feng Dajiao then went to Ning Kejin, urging him to become a hero by convincing his father to open the granaries for the starving refugees and to lead his militia to fight against resistant landlords. Ning Kejin dismissed this, linking the cause to Communists and expressing his disinterest, especially with his impending appointment as head of the county militia bureau.
Dajiao tried to appeal to his past, reminding him of his brave actions in a previous uprising to help the common people, for which he was praised as a general. However, Ning Kejin merely scoffed at Dajiao's "reverse psychology" and reiterated that the welfare of refugees was no concern of his, telling Dajiao to go home and avoid Fei Wendian. Ning Xiuxiu then joined Feng Dajiao to try and persuade Ning Kejin.
She appealed to his conscience, reminding him of their mother's charitable ways and the dire suffering of the refugees. Ning Kejin, however, invoked their mother's dying wish for him to protect their father and family. He explained that their father had argued that distributing grain would be futile given the immense number of refugees, potentially leading to their own starvation. Ning Xiuxiu warned him that by blindly following his father, he would eventually lead him to ruin.
Ning Kejin retorted with old grievances, accusing Ning Xiuxiu of hating their father for not paying her ransom years ago, a matter he claimed to have also been upset about but was now trying to reconcile. He insisted he couldn't help her, as he believed his father's logic was sound. He dismissed her concerns as "nonsense" and implied she was merely trying to help Fei Wendian. Unable to move him, Ning Xiuxiu and Feng Dajiao left.
Fei Wendian shared with his comrades that he had received intelligence that the Kuomintang planned to use force against their grain distribution efforts, and that his superiors wanted Ning Xuexiang to release his grain as soon as possible. He had proposed leading the refugees to petition Ning Xuexiang's residence the next night, awaiting organizational approval.
Concerned about potential conflict between the starving refugees and their own villagers, he emphasized that harming anyone was not their goal and that winning over Ning Kejin was key. Ning Susu then suggested kidnapping Ning Kejin, but Ning Xiuxiu quickly dismissed this idea as impractical and harmful to their father. Instead, she proposed that Fei Wendian go to Ning Kejin, while she would seek out their Second Uncle, Ning Xuerui, to persuade Ning Xuexiang.
News reached Fei Wendian that Li Junyi, out of fear of the refugees, had voluntarily opened his granaries. Fei Wendian reiterated the importance of organized and orderly distribution and thanked Feng Dajiao for his previous warning. Later, Ning Kejin, hearing of Li Junyi's action, urged his father to also put on a show of distributing grain, fearing that the increasingly desperate refugees might forcibly take their stores. Ning Xuexiang, however, remained resolute, refusing to pretend.
He revealed that his stubbornness in guarding the grain was out of deep concern for his children—Ning Kejin, Ning Susu, and Ning Xiuxiu—fearing they would starve and be forced to beg in these times of severe famine. He believed that holding onto the grain and having Ning Kejin protect it with weapons was the only way to safeguard their family.
Convinced he couldn't sway his father, Ning Kejin abandoned his efforts and secretly arranged to move the family's grain away that very night. Despite having asked Ning Xuerui to persuade Ning Xuexiang, Ning Xiuxiu remained uneasy. She and Fei Wendian went to Ning Xuexiang's residence. From a distance, they saw Ning Kejin and his men moving large quantities of grain onto trucks. Fei Wendian, having found the militia hall deserted earlier, suspected a plan was afoot.
Recognizing the urgency, Fei Wendian quickly sent Feng Dajiao to find Tietou, instructing them to mobilize the Farmers' Association and the refugees to intercept the grain on the mountain path outside the village. He then tasked Ning Xiuxiu with stalling Ning Kejin for as long as possible, buying them time, and to remind her brother not to harm anyone.
Meanwhile, Ning Xuerui attempted to reason with Ning Xuexiang, urging him to reconsider, but Ning Xuexiang remained unmoved, dismissing his brother's concerns and confirming that Ning Kejin had finished loading the grain. As Ning Kejin prepared to drive away, Ning Xiuxiu bravely stood in front of the truck, demanding he unload the grain.
Ning Kejin, enraged, accused her of losing her mind and jeopardizing their family by blocking what he claimed was military grain requisitioned by the Nationalist Government—a capital offense. Ning Xuerui also intervened, cautioning Ning Kejin about the risk of losing both grain and lives if they encountered rioting refugees on the road. One of Ning Kejin's men expressed reluctance to harm anyone, reminding him that their chief's orders were only to assist, not to kill.
Ning Xuexiang tried to persuade Ning Xiuxiu to move, but she defiantly sat on the front of the truck, arguing that by moving the grain, they were acting against the refugees and would ultimately harm their father. Ning Xuexiang, dismissing her words as "nonsense," ordered Ning Kejin to remove her. Ning Kejin then forcibly pulled Ning Xiuxiu off the truck, ordering Kuangzi to drive away despite her and Ning Xuerui's desperate pleas to stop.
