Wild Ambition Bloom Episode 20 Recap
> Wild Ambition Bloom Recap
After working tirelessly day and night, Chu Shaohua and Wen Zhiqiu managed to recover 96 misprinted advertising flyers that had been accidentally distributed by a printing house. The flyers, meant for Wen's Pharmacy, erroneously used Tian's Apothecary's template, featuring Professor Claudy's image and identical ad copy. Tian Tongdao seized upon two of these misprinted flyers and initiated a lawsuit against Wen Zhiqiu for copyright infringement. Wen Zhiqiu and Chu Shaohua visited Tian Tongdao to negotiate.
Chu Shaohua explained that the misprints were a printing error, with four flyers still unaccounted for, not just the two Tian Tongdao possessed. She presented statements from the printing house manager, workers, and students who distributed the flyers, emphasizing it was an unintentional mistake and not a deliberate act of infringement.
Wen Zhiqiu and Chu Shaohua offered their sincerest apologies to Tian Tongdao and Professor Claudy and proposed a compensation of five thousand silver dollars for Tian's losses, also promising a public apology in the newspaper. However, Tian Tongdao rejected the offer, stating his true intention was to "utterly destroy" Wen's Pharmacy because Oriental Bunao Pill was outselling his Western Bunao Pill.
He offered to drop the lawsuit if Wen Zhiqiu agreed to his terms: Oriental Bunao Pill must be removed from Jujing Apothecary, all raw materials sourced from Tian's, and Wen Zhiqiu must report Shouyuan Apothecary to the TCM Guild for selling inferior goods and mixing real and fake products. Wen Zhiqiu refused, unwilling to betray his partner, Xia Yuan, or falsely accuse him. Tian Tongdao, infuriated, threatened to ruin Wen Zhiqiu through the lawsuit.
Wen Zhiqiu then turned to Chu Shaohua, asking her to make the decision. Chu Shaohua staunchly refused to cooperate with Tian Tongdao, declaring that Wen's Pharmacy, despite being small, conducts honest business. She asserted that Oriental Bunao Pill surpassed Western Bunao Pill in efficacy, was more affordably priced, and that Wen's was more agile in sales strategy. She vowed that Wen's would soon surpass Tian's, further enraging Tian Tongdao.
Upon returning to their pharmacy, Wen Zhiqiu and Chu Shaohua found Mei Sandu, Xia Yuan's associate, waiting for them. Mei Sandu delivered a sum of money from Xia Yuan, assuring them that additional funds would be provided if needed, as winning the lawsuit was paramount. Xia Yuan had also arranged for attorney Li Chunbai, Shanghai's finest lawyer, to represent them in court.
Chu Shaohua, despite their efforts, believed they couldn't win the lawsuit, but she saw it as an opportunity to expand Oriental Bunao Pill's market. Wen Zhiqiu, unwilling to concede, decided to seek a breakthrough by confronting Professor Claudy. Wen Zhiqiu tracked Claudy to a bar, finding him heavily intoxicated, with his assistant, Huang Deming, attempting to manage him. To buy Wen Zhiqiu time, Chu Shaohua called Huang Deming, impersonating an old lover and engaging him in a lengthy, distracting conversation.
Meanwhile, Wen Zhiqiu approached Claudy, offering a sincere apology. Claudy, in his drunken state, began to sing and speak in Russian, and mentioned his daughter Natasha, which puzzled Wen Zhiqiu, given Claudy was supposedly American. Soon after, Huang Deming returned and forcibly took Claudy away from the bar. Later, Kang Erniu, who was visiting Tian Tongdao's wife at their home, overheard Tian Tongdao furiously scolding and firing Huang Deming.
Huang Deming desperately pleaded for his job, explaining that Claudy was too drunk for Wen Zhiqiu to engage in any meaningful conversation, but Tian Tongdao refused to listen. When Kang Erniu returned home, she recounted the incident to Chu Shaohua, who was concerned about the impending lawsuit. Meanwhile, Xia Yuan summoned Mr. Yang from Shanghai and showed him a photograph of Claudy.
Mr. Yang immediately identified him as Glebov, a White Russian military doctor who had run a clinic in Shenyang in 1918 before moving to Shanghai in search of his daughter, Natasha. Xia Yuan suggested Mr. Yang testify in court to expose Claudy as an impostor, which would not only nullify the lawsuit but also ruin Tian's Western Bunao Pill.
However, Chu Shaohua pointed out that as Xia Yuan's business partner and a shareholder in Wen's Pharmacy, Mr. Yang's testimony might not be accepted by the presiding judge. Mei Sandu then suggested that Huang Deming, recently fired by Tian Tongdao, might be willing to testify. Wen Zhiqiu quickly found Huang Deming, who was drowning his sorrows. Wen Zhiqiu offered him a new, better-paying job and financial security for his family in exchange for testifying against Claudy.
Huang Deming readily agreed, confirming that Claudy was indeed Glebov, a White Russian military doctor. However, unknown to Wen Zhiqiu, this entire interaction was a setup by Tian Tongdao, and Huang Deming returned to Tian Tongdao, excitedly reporting that Wen Zhiqiu had "fallen for it." The infringement case went to trial. Tian Tongdao arrived to a throng of reporters, though Tian Tongxin complained there weren't enough.
When Chu Shaohua arrived, Tian Tongdao gloated about Wen Zhiqiu's absence, assuming he was afraid to show his face. In court, Tian's lawyer presented Claudy's transfer contract for his "brain supplement" invention, his authorization to use his likeness, and his protest letter demanding severe punishment for Wen's infringement. Wen's attorney, Li Chunbai, challenged the premise of these documents, questioning Claudy's true identity, whether he was truly an American professor, and if he had indeed invented the "brain supplement."
Li Chunbai requested Huang Deming to testify. To everyone's surprise, Huang Deming testified that Professor Claudy's real name was Claudy Speeter, an American professor at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and an honorary president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, even presenting his own diploma and graduation photo from the same institution as proof. Huang Deming affirmed under oath that Claudy was a respected American scientist and the true inventor of the brain supplement.
The presiding judge, caught off guard by the conflicting testimonies, adjourned the court without a verdict. Tian Tongdao exited the courthouse triumphantly, announcing his inevitable victory to the media. Chu Shaohua, emerging shortly after, parried his taunts. She then announced to the reporters that Wen's Pharmacy and Professor Claudy would hold a joint press conference at Xinhui Hotel, Zhejiang Road, promising crucial first-hand news regarding the lawsuit and the future of Oriental Bunao Pill.
While Tian Tongdao hurried away, Tian Tongxin spotted Kang Erniu and approached her, but Tian Tongdao quickly pulled him away, dismissing Kang Erniu with contempt. At the press conference, Wen Zhiqiu and Professor Claudy announced that they had reached a mutual understanding, and Claudy would no longer pursue the lawsuit.
Claudy, identifying himself as a professor at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and an honorary president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, declared that the inventor's identity was less important than a medicine's efficacy. He then publicly endorsed Oriental Bunao Pill, stating that he had personally verified its outstanding efficacy. Photos and news of this reconciliation and endorsement made front-page headlines, infuriating Tian Tongdao. He lashed out at Huang Deming, realizing he had been outmaneuvered.
Tian Tongxin suggested exposing Claudy as a White Russian refugee, Glebov, but Tian Tongdao vehemently rejected the idea. Exposing Claudy's true identity would invalidate his Western Bunao Pill, which had been marketed under Claudy's fabricated reputation. Later, Wen Zhiqiu and Chu Shaohua went to the station to see Claudy off. Claudy, now identifying himself as Glebov, thanked them, expressing gratitude for their help in allowing him to finally reunite with his daughter, Natasha.
He revealed he had been "putting on a show" since arriving in Shanghai and was grateful to now live under his true name. As they walked away, Wen Zhiqiu remarked on Glebov's Russian, and Chu Shaohua admitted she didn't understand it but found that nodding usually sufficed.
On their way back, Chu Shaohua, confident in her contributions to their success against Tian Tongdao, asked Wen Zhiqiu for a promotion to Deputy General Manager and a conversion of her one-tenth labor stock into capital stock. She even jokingly threatened to resign, knowing other pharmacies would be eager to hire her after her recent display of skill.
Wen Zhiqiu, after some playful haggling, agreed to her terms: she would be promoted to Deputy General Manager, and her labor stock would convert to capital stock, though she would initially earn a manager's salary for a deputy general manager's work. She also secured a celebratory dinner, with her choosing the restaurant and dishes, and Wen Zhiqiu covering the wine and tip. Chu Shaohua returned home late to find Kang Erniu sitting in the dark, deeply saddened.
Kang Erniu confessed that she finally realized the Tian family had never truly accepted her, only using her as a pawn against Chu Shaohua by inviting her to tea and staging the overheard conversation about Huang Deming's firing. Chu Shaohua revealed that she had suspected it was a trap all along. She recounted how Tian Tongdao had previously humiliated her when she first tried to discuss a partnership, leading her to believe that the Tian family despised Kang Erniu.
Their sudden acceptance of Kang Erniu when the lawsuit began, combined with allowing her to overhear such a private conversation, seemed out of character for the shrewd Tian Tongdao. Chu Shaohua explained that this led her to suspect it was a trap to lure them into using Huang Deming's testimony. Instead of exposing Claudy, which was Tian Tongdao's intended bait, they decided to turn the tables by using Claudy himself.
Chu Shaohua deduced that Glebov, who had the appearance of a scholar, spoke English well, and possessed some medical knowledge, had been chosen by Tian Tongdao to impersonate a foreign professor. Instead of revealing his true identity, they decided to leverage his existing cultivated reputation to promote Oriental Bunao Pill. Chu Shaohua realized that Glebov's deep love for his daughter, Natasha, for whom he had traveled to Shanghai, could be their leverage.
Kang Erniu expressed regret, fearing she had caused harm, but Chu Shaohua reassured her that her honest relay of the information had actually been crucial in helping them formulate their counter-strategy.
