Wild Ambition Bloom Episode 33 Recap
> Wild Ambition Bloom Recap
The Japanese occupation of the Northeast severely impacted Shanghai apothecaries, making it impossible to procure essential medicinal herbs. Seeking profit, Xia Yuan formed a partnership with Komura Morikazu, a decision staunchly opposed by both Chu Shaohua and Wen Zhiqiu. During the election for chairman of the TCM Guild, Wen Zhiqiu cast a decisive vote against Xia Yuan, ultimately forcing his resignation. Despite this, Xia Yuan attempted to enlist Chu Shaohua in his plan to expel Wen Zhiqiu from Wen's Pharmacy.
Chu Shaohua, however, refused to abandon Wen Zhiqiu. Enraged, Xia Yuan then mobilized other Shanghai apothecaries to cease their cooperation with Wen's Pharmacy, threatening them with massive penalties if they failed to deliver on time. Faced with impending financial ruin, Wen Zhiqiu and Chu Shaohua decided to split up their efforts, with Wen Zhiqiu attempting to negotiate delayed deliveries with merchants, and Chu Shaohua searching for new sources of raw herbs.
Wen Zhiqiu gravely stated that their choices were to "surrender to him now or surrender to him before bankruptcy." He proposed a coin toss: "If it comes up heads, you'll hunt for supplies; I'll convince customers of delivery postponement. If heads down, I'll hunt for supplies; you'll convince the customers." Wen Zhiqiu's attempts to delay deliveries were met with firm rejections. One merchant insisted, "Absolutely not. We've booked wagons waiting for delivery. No delays allowed."
Meanwhile, Chu Shaohua found that potential suppliers either had no stock or, under Xia Yuan's influence, refused to sell to Wen's Pharmacy. One supplier explained to Chu Shaohua, "we've run out of the raw herbs you want. . . I couldn't even produce a single stick." When Chu Shaohua tried to negotiate for less compensation, the supplier stated, "Compensate based on those figures in the contract."
He then confessed, "Even if you increase the offer, I simply cannot sell to you. Mr. Xia. . ." Chu Shaohua understood, saying, "I see." Upon returning, Chu Shaohua reported, "I've checked with every herbal supplier in Shanghai and the surrounding areas. Some have no stock left. As to those with inventory, some are controlled by Xia Yuan, and some store their goods too far away to deliver before the Chinese New Year."
Wen Zhiqiu confirmed his own struggles, "Our customers have the same demands. Either deliver on time or compensate." Chu Shaohua concluded, "Seems we must pay the penalties." Wen Zhiqiu added, "But we don't have funds," even considering selling the esteemed brand, "are we going to sell our brand?" Just as their situation seemed hopeless, Tian Tongdao unexpectedly contacted Wen Zhiqiu, offering to cooperate. When they met, Tian Tongdao hinted at their plight, saying, "I heard you're going bankrupt. . .
I've also heard Xia Yuan cut off your raw herbs supply, so you can't fulfill existing orders and have to compensate your customers." Chu Shaohua tried to deflect, but Tian Tongdao boldly offered to sell them the desperately needed raw herbs, but "at five times the market rate." Chu Shaohua was outraged, accusing him of exploiting their misfortune and asking, "Why don't you just rob a bank?" Tian Tongdao retorted with a smile, "If I do, cops will arrest me.
But if I rob you, they won't lift a finger! Besides, to rob a bank will bring me only cash. But to rob you will bring me cash and annoy Xia Yuan! Happy to just think about it." Chu Shaohua passionately declared she would "rather go broke" than deal with him, but Wen Zhiqiu argued, "But if we can't secure the raw herbs now, we'll go broke. . . Then Xia Yuan will get what he wants."
Their heated argument escalated, with Chu Shaohua calling Tian Tongdao "despicable" and a "schemer," and Wen Zhiqiu eventually taking charge, "Shut your mouth! . . . Tell me yes or no." Despite Chu Shaohua's continued protests, Wen Zhiqiu bargained with Tian Tongdao, eventually securing the herbs at the original market price. In a dramatic display, Chu Shaohua hurled tea in Wen Zhiqiu's face and stormed out, declaring, "I look down on you."
Tian Tongdao, witnessing their apparent falling out, was gleeful, convinced he had outsmarted them. He agreed to ship the herbs the next day. Soon after, Wen Zhiqiu met with Chu Shaohua, revealing their performance was a ruse to trick Tian Tongdao into selling the herbs at a fair price. Chu Shaohua explained to Tian Tongdao that he should be happy, as he "didn't give a single coin, yet you thwarted Xia Yuan's plot and avenged yourself on Chu Shaohua."
Tian Tongdao conceded, "Agreed." On January 28, 1932, Japanese warplanes launched a devastating aerial bombardment on Shanghai. Chu Shaohua immediately joined rescue teams, braving gunfire to carry the wounded to ambulances. Meanwhile, at Kang Erniu's hotel, the Spring Garden Restaurant, all the staff fled in panic, leaving Kang Erniu trembling with fear for her belongings. Sun Longyin, having joined the 19th Route Army, came to bid Kang Erniu farewell before heading to Wusong.
She pleaded with him not to go, but he insisted, explaining, "now the Japanese have reached our doorstep. If I don't stand up now, our nation will be annihilated." He promised to "come back for sure" after the war. As Shanghai endured the brutal conflict, many apothecaries began raising prices, capitalizing on the national crisis. Despite objections from his employee Mei San Du, Xia Yuan ordered all medicines in his store to be sold at double their original price.
However, he also instructed that ten percent of trauma-specific drugs be reserved for donation to the front lines, stating, "Earn money, and love our nation." Chu Shaohua and Wen Zhiqiu, on their way to deliver essential medicines and bandages to the command headquarters at Fanzhuang, Zhenru, were caught in an enemy air raid. A soldier warned them that "the bridge ahead has been blown up, impassable now." As planes approached, he urged, "Take cover now!"
Wen Zhiqiu heroically shielded Chu Shaohua, sustaining severe head injuries, while Chu Shaohua was knocked unconscious. Hearing that Xiangshan Road was heavily bombed, where Kang Erniu's hotel was located, Xia Yuan rushed there with Mei San Du. Finding the hotel destroyed, Xia Yuan spotted Kang Erniu's high-heeled shoe amidst the rubble. He immediately began frantically digging through the debris, calling her name and shouting for help, eventually rescuing her.
Chu Shaohua gradually recovered from her injuries, but Wen Zhiqiu remained in a coma. She stayed by his side day and night. After six days, with no signs of him waking, she grew desperate. Recalling her grandfather's tale of the Chu family's Miracle Pills reviving a general who had been unconscious for seven days, she rushed back to the apothecary. She remembered her grandfather's words, "This is our Chu family's Miracle Pill crafted through over 100 steps.
Not one can be omitted." She worked through the night to prepare the complex medicine. The next morning, Chu Shaohua rushed the Miracle Pills to the hospital and administered them to Wen Zhiqiu. However, the doctor, observing no change, gently advised her to "start preparing yourselves" as it was the seventh day, a critical marker for head injuries.
Chu Shaohua then recalled her grandfather's teaching about the adaptable nature of traditional prescriptions: "Even for the same symptoms, adapt to age differences, gender contrasts, seasonal variations, and regional specificities." Driven by this, she returned to the apothecary to reformulate the Miracle Pills. As she worked, she remembered Wen Zhiqiu's vision: "My plan is to use the Western pharmaceutical principles to reform and improve traditional ready-made prescriptions. . . we can undoubtedly elevate TCM."
Inspired, she further refined the production process, incorporating both traditional wisdom and Western scientific principles. She poured her heart into the medicine, pleading with him, "Why won't you awaken? Please wake up, for the sake of Miracle Pill, and for the countless trials we've carried out." She reminded him of his ambition to make Wen's Pharmacy "Shanghai's top pharmacy," warning him that his continued unconsciousness could lead to its demise.
She also evoked his patriotism, reminding him, "A true man settles scores when wronged! We must seek revenge on the Japanese." Finally, heartbroken, she confessed her deepest fears, "I'm sorry. How foolish of me. Only now watching you may leave me forever, do I realize I can't live without you. . . I've already lost too much. I cannot afford to lose you." In a desperate plea, she vowed, "Zhiqiu, I promise you this.
If only you wake up, I will marry you." At that very moment, Wen Zhiqiu's eyes fluttered open, ten days after falling into his coma. With Chu Shaohua's devoted care, Wen Zhiqiu's condition steadily improved. They playfully bickered over their impending wedding, with Wen Zhiqiu jokingly asking, "When did I ever say I'd marry you?" and Chu Shaohua reminding him that his awakening served as his acceptance, a decision she considered her "life's most deliberate choice."
Wen Zhiqiu went to pay his respects at Xia Chu's grave, while Chu Shaohua invited Kang Erniu to be her bridesmaid. Xia Yuan, upon hearing the news, expressed his resentment that Chu Shaohua had "finally forgotten Xia Chu." Kang Erniu, trying to soothe him, pointed out that "five years have slipped by. Shaohua should start afresh." She added that Chu Shaohua had saved Wen Zhiqiu, who had been unconscious for ten days, with "Miracle Pill," affirming the medicine's efficacy.
As Chu Shaohua and Wen Zhiqiu prepared for their wedding, they visited a tailor for Wen Zhiqiu's suit. The proprietor immediately recognized Chu Shaohua from five years prior, when she and Xia Chu had come to his previous shop to try on wedding dresses. He then made a startling revelation to Chu Shaohua, recalling that it was her current fiancé, Wen Zhiqiu, who had "called Mr. Xia away that day" – the day Xia Chu was murdered.
This revelation deeply unsettled Chu Shaohua, prompting her to look at Wen Zhiqiu with suspicion and silently question, "Who exactly are you?" Determined to uncover the truth, Chu Shaohua accessed Xia Chu's case file. It revealed that Mu Ziru had received direct orders to assassinate Xia Chu, explicitly stating that he "decisively eliminated the target" and that Xia Chu "wasn't my target. . . He suddenly showed up there." This proved Xia Chu's death was not accidental.
Among Xia Chu's personal effects, Chu Shaohua discovered a medicine order from Wen Zhiqiu, instructing the Kangning Clinic to provide specific herbs like Shudi, Licao, and Fangfeng to his envoy due to Xia Chu's "critical illness." This linked Wen Zhiqiu directly to Xia Chu's whereabouts on the day of his death.
Further investigation unearthed that Komura Morikazu, referred to as "Mr. Lin" by staff and "Lingdang" by Wen Zhiqiu, had known Wen Zhiqiu for at least five or six years, regularly visiting Wen's Pharmacy to buy "Bunao Pill" (brain tonic) for his elderly grandmother. Chu Shaohua then called Kang Erniu to inquire about "Lingdang's grandmother."
Kang Erniu confirmed that his grandmother had died by drowning herself in the river when he was three years old, contradicting the impression that Mr. Lin was buying medicine for an ailing relative. Chu Shaohua understood the implications, realizing that Wen Zhiqiu's history was far more complicated than she had imagined.
