Wild Ambition Bloom Episode 15 Recap
> Wild Ambition Bloom Recap
After Chu Shaohua led the workers in a strike to secure their rights, she was fired from the cotton mill. Alone in vast Shanghai, she found herself without a clear path forward. Cheng Hui, a nine-year-old child laborer whom she had previously helped, accompanied her, even arranging a place for them to stay in a poverty-stricken slum. This gave Chu Shaohua a foothold in the city.
Cheng Hui, orphaned at four, had lived by begging and stealing until he found work in the cotton mill, but he found factory life too restrictive. He decided he would start his own shoe-shining business using his savings and money borrowed from a friend. Chu Shaohua, touched by his story, treated him like her own child, and in turn, Cheng Hui expressed his eagerness to help her find work.
The next morning, Chu Shaohua set out to find a job in the bustling city center. She spotted an advertisement for shop assistants at Wen's Pharmacy. The owner, Wen Zhiqiu, greeted her, asking about her age, literacy, and abacus skills, and invited her to try for a position, even offering a snack. Recognizing him as the man who had previously mistaken her for a beggar, Chu Shaohua quietly left.
After a full day of rejections due to her lack of a shop reference, she returned home disheartened. Cheng Hui, however, had enjoyed a remarkably successful day, shining over twenty pairs of shoes and even purchasing rice. Upon learning of Chu Shaohua's predicament, he confidently offered to find someone who could provide a shop reference, though it would cost half a month's wages once she secured a job, which Chu Shaohua readily accepted.
Cheng Hui also revealed he had spent four coppers on newspapers for his customers, despite being unable to read himself. Later, as they shared congee, Chu Shaohua explained she had added thistle root to it, remarking on its health benefits for Cheng Hui, who had been overheated lately. Chu Shaohua next went to Evernew Department to interview for a shop assistant position. She was initially mistaken for a cleaner before being directed to the personnel department.
The manager rejected her outright, citing the requirement for a middle school diploma. Chu Shaohua passionately argued that her literacy and arithmetic skills were comparable to any middle school graduate's and offered to prove it, but the manager stood firm. While waiting, Chu Shaohua overheard Ms. Shen, the Director of Personnel, singing an English song. Chu Shaohua instinctively hummed along, prompting Ms. Shen to call her over.
She admitted she didn't speak English but had learned the song from a friend long ago. Seizing the opportunity, Chu Shaohua impressed Ms. Shen by detailing her robust skills, including writing, simultaneous dual-hand abacus calculation, mental math, and a formidable memory for numbers. She also emphasized her previous business experience, which made her adept at customer interaction, and implored Ms. Shen to make an exception and hire her.
However, the personnel manager intervened, reiterating the strict middle school education requirement, forcing Chu Shaohua to leave. Feeling that her inability to dress fashionably was as much a hindrance as her lack of a diploma, Chu Shaohua discussed her continued desire to work at Evernew Department with Cheng Hui. He promised to help her acquire stylish clothes, shoes, shiny stockings, and a handbag if she taught him to read and do basic math.
As Chu Shaohua patiently taught him Chinese characters, she was overcome with sadness, thinking of her deceased daughter, Xuan. Cheng Hui comforted her, promising to stay by her side forever. That night, Chu Shaohua dreamt of her late father and Xuan, waking in a cold sweat. She found Cheng Hui whimpering in his sleep, calling for his mother, and tenderly covered him with a blanket.
The next day, Cheng Hui, working at a bathhouse with Wang, managed to "borrow" Miss Daisy's clothes and shoes, confident she would spend at least three hours bathing as usual, providing Chu Shaohua with an appropriate outfit for another attempt at Evernew Department. At Evernew, Chu Shaohua (now using the professional name Zhu Sha) presented herself for an interview. While she was there, Wen Zhiqiu approached the Stationery Department, looking to purchase a fountain pen.
The shop assistant, Ni Xiangying, was dismissive when trying to sell him a "Tiger" brand pen. Unimpressed, Wen Zhiqiu was about to leave. Zhu Sha stepped in, politely took the pen, and skillfully articulated its merits. Recognizing him as the doctor she had encountered previously, she tailored her sales pitch, highlighting the pen's suitability for his profession. Wen Zhiqiu was impressed by Zhu Sha's salesmanship and agreed to buy the "Tiger Head" pen.
Ms. Shen, the Director of Personnel, observed this interaction and was impressed, clarifying that Zhu Sha was a new employee. Zhu Sha was hired on the spot and proactively requested to work in the Stationery Department. Meanwhile, Miss Daisy unexpectedly decided to leave the bathhouse early due to a family emergency.
Cheng Hui desperately tried to stall her, first offering a free voucher, then suggesting she wait in the VIP game room while he and Wang retrieved her belongings, secretly telling Wang to continue delaying. Despite their efforts, Daisy became enraged when they repeatedly brought her the wrong clothing, accusing Cheng Hui of being a thief and calling the police.
The manager reprimanded Cheng Hui, who was then taken away by the police, but Wang eventually located Daisy's coat and shoes misplaced in the VIP room. Daisy, described as a "real saint" by Wang, decided not to press charges. Zhu Sha, leaving Evernew Department after securing her new job, joyfully dropped her hat, which Wen Zhiqiu picked up for her. She then rushed back to the bathhouse to find Cheng Hui, who had been beaten.
As she carried him home, Zhu Sha felt immense guilt, but Cheng Hui assured her the beating was worth it if it helped her get the job, declaring his preference for the freedom of shoe-shining anyway. Zhu Sha officially began her employment at Evernew Department. She attempted to make a friendly overture to Ni Xiangying, who responded with icy sarcasm, dismissing her as a "country bumpkin."
Ignoring the slight, Zhu Sha focused on her work, diligently studying information on domestic and international fountain pens after hours. Soon after, Wen Zhiqiu returned to the Stationery Department, intending to return the "Tiger" brand fountain pen he had purchased, claiming it didn't write smoothly. Zhu Sha politely took the pen, tried it, and explained that its perceived roughness was likely due to his primary use of brush pens.
She offered him a week to adjust to it, promising an exchange or refund if he remained unhappy. She then presented him with a discount voucher, a perk of her new employment, and with a compelling sales pitch, sold him a rare, groundbreaking Parker pen. Wen Zhiqiu was impressed, not by the pen alone, but by Zhu Sha's salesmanship.
Her exceptional expertise and enthusiastic service quickly propelled her past Ni Xiangying, who had long held the title of "Parker Beauty" and the top sales spot in the Stationery Department. Recognizing Zhu Sha's outstanding performance, Ms. Shen fast-tracked her promotion to a permanent employee, skipping the usual month-long probationary period. While her colleagues congratulated her, Ni Xiangying watched with open disdain.
Zhu Sha then made arrangements for Cheng Hui to attend school, explaining that she wanted him to have the opportunities she never had, and what her late daughter Xuan would have experienced. Despite his initial resistance and desire to continue shoe-shining, Zhu Sha insisted, urging him not to live a life of poverty and aimlessness. Moved by her words, Cheng Hui tearfully promised to study hard and not disappoint her. Shortly after, a staff member delivered new product catalogs and notices for price adjustments on older items to Ni Xiangying. The plot suggests that Ni Xiangying secretly altered the prices.
