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滙通天下
CHAI PAK-TSUN (CHAN HO, MOSES) is a descendant of a once-renowned political family. After his next of kin are framed and executed, he, the only one spared from the calamity, struggles to live on and is picked to become the apprentice of KIU PUN-YIP (KEUNG TAI WAI), the owner of Ting Fung Shing, the biggest money shop in Shanxi. There he meets a non-Han Chinese beauty PA PA HAR YEE KO WAH (KWOK, SONIJA). He falls for the girl but is just too timid to express his love. YIP’s second daughter KIU TSUN (YEUNG YI, TAVIA) is in love with CHEUNG SHUNG-MAN (MA CHUN WAI, STEVEN), the son of the Minister of Military Affairs. But their relationship has become strained since MAN is called in to investigate the affairs of Ting Fung Shing...
CHAI HOK-YAN is an honest and upright official responsible for the escorting of imperial funds. His son, CHAI PAK-TSUN, has been living in Jinan for the last twelve years for YAN believes in the words of a fortuneteller that PAK-TSUN is a jinx to him by fate. YAN has recently been promoted Minister of Revenue. Not long after his promotion, he decides to cleanse out the corruption in his office. By doing so, he has offended his superior, the corrupted CHAI NGAI. KIU PUN-YIP, the boss of Ting Fung Shing, the largest draft bank in the country, is going round to see how his businesses are doing. Over the years in the business, YIP has been trusted by his customers for his wisdom, honesty, as well as for the quality of his silver dollars. He enjoys a very high reputation in the field too. Grand Minister of State TSUI WING-WAI is ordered by Dowager Empress TSE HEI to renovate the Summer Palace……
YAN and his whole family are executed. Not wanting to leave his family behind and live on disgracefully, PAK-TSUN wants to turn himself in. He is stopped by his servant MING SUM, who hits him to unconsciousness. SUM turns himself in, claiming that he is PAK-TSUN. SUM is executed. As requested by YAN before his execution, REVEREND VOID prevents PAK-TSUN from revealing his identity. He gives PAK-TSUN the letter written by YAN. CHEUNG SHUNG-MAN, the son of the Grand Minister of State, is a smart young man. MAN enjoys traveling. He travels to Shanxi before the arrival of the imperial examination. PAK-TSUN, who is homeless now, has also arrived in Shanxi. Here he meets PA PA HER YEE KO WAH and her younger brother, FU YEE CHIK. WAH’s horse is stolen because of PAK-TSUN. Despite this, upon learning his plight, she gives him some of her money left for his use. WAH has found the men who have stolen her horse……
YIP returns to the head office in Shanxi in preparation for the Joint Account Years. FONG YUN-TIN, YIP’s daughter-in-law who married into his family and the Second Steward of Ting Fung Shing, is busy helping YIP round. The First Steward, CHO YUE-TAI, also spares no effort in the preparation. MANG YUET-NGO has been jealous of her young sister, MANG YUET-SHEUNG, for her marriage with YIP. She therefore always seizes the chance to take advantage of SHEUNG. It is lucky that SHEUNG’s daughter, KIU CHING, is always there to help her out. To earn enough money to go back to their hometown, WAH and CHIK work as street-performers. They and MAN have become friends. Upon learning that WAH’s horse has been stolen, MAN asks for the help of Magistrate KEI FOOK-YAU, who is a family friend of his. The men who stole WAH’s horse have been arrested. YIP is visiting the Mint when a furnace explodes. CHAI steps up to negotiate for a fellow worker……
YIP sends someone to take some medicine to the Mint. He does not know until then that CHAI and the others have been fired. YIP goes to the Mint to give them some words of consolation. He also decides to hire CHAI as a trainee. While CHAI is learning hard, other trainees are trying hard to please the First Steward. TSUN is practicing the qin at home. MAN passes by her house and duets with her with his flute. Though they have not met each other, they have both left a good impression to the other. CHAI is doing well at Ting Fung Shing. He is, nevertheless, given the elbow by his fellows because of this. YIN goes to the country to buy some fireworks to please TSUN. He burns WAH’s tealeaves by mistake but he just leaves the scene. YIP flies into a rage when he learns about this. TSUN, knowing that she is indirectly involved in this, stands up to accept the punishment……
WAH has started her job at the KIUs. SHEUNG gives her a hard time, as she knows that her son was punished because of WAH. On the other side, CHIK has also started his job at Ting Fung Shing. He contradicts the Secretary, Mr. CHONG, and is punished. CHIK is not the social type of person. He feels helpless at Ting Fung Shing. TSUN bumps into WAH. The two get along very well and go to the market together. There they come across MAN. Although TSUN and MAN have never really met before, they both feel that they were like old friends already. Being a common friend of theirs, WAH works as their messenger. MAN cashes a money order for the church at Ting Fung Shing. He is told that the order is a counterfeit. YIP trusts that MAN is innocent. Later, MAN catches the person who uses counterfeit money orders. To thank MAN, YIP invites him to dinner at his place. MAN and TSUN play the music together. YIN is a bit jealous.
MAN and TIN come across a thief on the street. They come to know that the Jinan government dollars have been robbed. TIN asks MAN to persuade YAU into using remittance dollars. YAU accepts MAN’s suggestion. TIN takes credit for this in front of YIP. With a view to strengthen his power in the family, TIN would also like to pair up MAN and TSUN. CHAI is hurt when he is stopping CHIK from fighting with others. His performance in calculating with the abacus is affected. YIP gives him some hints so that he can pass the test. YIP appreciates CHAI’s power of understanding and persistence even more. CHUN-FA is molested by Butler FUNG. WAH wants to report this to TSUN. Nevertheless, FA has already been sacked by FUNG. FA is mad at WAH. WAH becomes TSUN’s personal attending maid after FA has gone. TSUN and WAH go to the temple fair without permission. They run into MAN there. MAN teaches TSUN swordplay……
MAN and TSUN go to the countryside together, during which they have a very good chat. YIN has closed a deal, for the first time, which is four thousand Tael worth. TAI praises him. YIN has lost the jade pendant that his mother gave him. YIN is very worried. Later, he finds the pendant at CHAI. He accuses CHAI of stealing it, which leads to CHAI’s being fired by TAI. YIP inspects the business of Ting Fung Shing. TAI is unhappy, as he believes that YIP’s visiting the shop is a sign of distrust. CHAI takes to drinking to forget his unhappiness. MAN gives him a good telling-off. CHAI tries hard to think who was framed him up. He believes that it must have been KING. With the help of CHIK, he lures KING into telling the truth. CHAI returns to Ting Fung Shing. YIP thinks highly of his unyielding spirit. TAI, who has wronged CHAI, is teased by TIN. WAH and TSUN, using the excuse of visiting their friend, meet up with MAN……
TSUN is missing. YIP and the others go up the hill to search for her. TSUN is found at last, but YIP is displeased to see her being so intimately with MAN. MAN apologizes to YIP. He also swears that he will propose to TSUN when he comes first in the imperial examination. NGO asks a maid to keep an eye on TSUN. TSUN is annoyed. YIN plucks up enough courage to express his love for TSUN. To his disappointment, she only sees him as a relative. CHAI is learning English. MAN introduces to him SISTER MARIA. CHAI’s English has improved immensely and he does very well in KUNG’s test. TIN learns by chance that YAU FOOK plans to borrow money from Ting Fung Shing so that he can buy a house for his wife and mistress. He draws TAI away. TAI, who knows nothing about TIN’s ploy, complains to YIP. TIN takes credit for this. Believing that YIP is going to kick him out of the house, TAI pretends to be ill.
TAI truly believes that YIP is going to kick him out. He calls for a secret meeting with the 13 Elders and speaks ill of YIP. The 13 Elders promise to help TAI get back the control of Ting Fung Shing. NGO receives a letter from her parents’ home that tells her that her father has fallen ill. SHEUNG takes the opportunity to order NGO and TIN to return to her parents’ home so that YIP will be on his own facing TAI’s challenge. YIP discovers that the Elders have met secretly. He knows that it is all plot by TAI. YIP talks to TAI, but TAI is not moved. TIN talks business with Mr. WAI secretly. YIN rushes back home at night to inform TAI. YIP sends CHAI to bring a letter to the 13 Elders, they, however, pay no attention to the letter. CHAI knows that ELDER MAK, who knows the truth, is the only hope that they can confront TAI. He therefore heads for the Snowy Mountain to look for ELDER MAK.
YIP and TAI have a negotiation at Ting Fung Shing. TAI has the unanimous support of the 13 Elders. What is more, the Elders demand YIP to sign an agreement, which states that YIP will transfer the power to them and TAI, or else they will all quit. On one hand, YIP would like to safeguard the family business. On the other, he is not going to be compromise. Meanwhile, CHAI and ELDER MAK appear. The truth is out. Now that his plot fails, TAI has no choice but to leave Ting Fung Shing. NGO has returned. Not until now does she know what has happened at home. Because of TAI, NGO and SHEUNG have fallen out. YIN misses TSUN a lot. Yet because of the grudges between the two families he has to make a clear break with her. Everyone at Ting Fung Shing believes that TIN will become the First Steward now that TAI has left. And they try very hard to curry favor with him……
Mrs. CHENG speaks ill of CHING. CHING is punished. She wrongly believes that it is WAH who badmouths her. WAI reports the movements of the Japanese naval force to Dowager Empress TSE HEI. TSE HEI orders him to organize a nationwide celebration of her birthday to pretend that everything is going very well with the country. MAN returns to the capital to prepare for the imperial examination. Seeing that Dowager Empress TSE HEI is using the provisions and funds for troops for her birthday celebration, he swears to come first in the examination and do something great for the country. YUE is pleased. It is the grand opening of a new draft bank called Wing Heng Tai. YIP and his men visit the bank to congratulate the owner. To their surprise, the First Steward of the shop is none other than TAI, who declares that Wing Heng Tai is going to outdo Ting Fung Shing and become the number one draft bank in the country. MAN has sent a letter to TSUN……
YAU shows up at the temple. He suggests them having a dragon-ball fight to see which draft bank can pray first. YIN hurts CHIK during the fight. But with the help of WAH Ting Sung Shing grasps the dragon-ball in the end. YIP discovers that HONG FEI has been bribed to lose in the dragon-ball fight. FEI is sacked. WAI and YUE report to Empress Dowager TSE HEI the rebellion of a Korean political organization but she pays not much attention to them. SHUNG-LAI and NGAI are selling the questions of the imperial examination. WAI catches some candidates treating. Fearing that their evil act will be discovered by WAI, NGAI hounds TIN-SHUN to death. He also makes a setup to let the others believe that SHUN has killed himself to escape punishment. Empress Dowager TSE HEI determines who should come first in the examination according to the names of the candidates. As a result, MAN, who did extremely well, only comes second……
Empress Dowager TSE HEI thinks highly of MAN’s ability. She appoints him the Magistrate of Po County so that he can gather evidence of YAU’s corruption. LAI informs NGAI. So as not to be involved, NGAI decides to keep a distance from YAU. Sz Mei Hin cannot repay their loan. CHAI suggests giving them a helping hand as he sees that their soy sauce is very popular. TIN opposes to his suggestion, while YIP appreciates his kindness. YIP promotes CHAI to the post of Agent. CHAI finds that TAI’s and other draft banks are forming an alliance. YIP decides to run for President of Draft Banks Association, as he knows that TAI is running too. YIP and TAI have got equal number of votes. YAU suggests a carriage horse race between their banks. YIP sends CHAI and CHIK for the race. TIN is discontented. He deliberately arranges some dangerous practice for CHAI and CHIK but end up hurting himself……
CHAI and CHIK have shown great improvement after rounds after rounds of practice. YIN and FEI plan to trick them. On the day of the race, WAH discovers that the horse suffers from diarrhea. She rushes home to take the horse that YIP gave her as a replacement. CHAI and CHIK win the race. With the excuse of reporting duty in Po County, MAN stops by in Pingyao and visits YAU. MAN actually comes with WONG KA-PING to collect evidence of YAU’s corruption. Unfortunately, YAU sees through them. YAU shifts the blame onto yamen secretary HAU and wants to kill…MAN has a date with TSUN. He cannot make it in the last minute as he is investigating a salt smuggler. TSUN is worried sick. The salt smugglers run away, but MAN has found that they have given HAU a money order of 50 thousand taels. MAN searches YAU’s place but to no avail. Later, MAN finds that YAU has hidden the order in a painting that he gave YIP……
Rumor has it that Ting Fung Shing is involved in salt smuggling and is closed for investigation. Depositors all rush to withdraw their taels. TIN, without the consent of YIP first, asks for the help of other draft banks. TIN is turned down as owners of the other banks all believe in TAI’s alarmist’s talk. TIN feels even worse when YIP gives him a dressing-down. YIP plans to transfer silver dollars from other branches to meet the urgent need. However, the dollars cannot be delivered on time because of a landslide. At TAI’s instigation, the bigger depositors withdraw all their money from Ting Fung Shing, putting it into an ever worse situation. Fortunately, MAN gives CHAI and CHIK a hand and they finally manage to turn the tide. KUNG, who has been bribed by TAI, makes a deliberate attempt to discredit Ting Fung Shing. When YIP finds this out, he fires KUNG. MAN has finished the task Empress Dowager TSE HEI entrusted him……
TSUN is captured. It is lucky that the smugglers do not humiliate her. MAN and TSUN’s relationship has leapt an even big step forward since the incident. WAH and CHIK have retuned to their hometown Guihua. Other people from their clan press them for payment of debt. It turns out that their uncle, SHUT KAM, has swallowed up the money they earned from selling horses. To help KAM out, YIP buys his wine shop and pays off his debt. AU WING-NIN admits to YIP that he has embezzled money from the bank so as to help his sword brother. YIP lets him off. Seeing that the bank’s business in Guihua is growing fast, YIP asks WAH and CHIK to work at the branch there. WAH has been down since she has seen a man who looks very much like her lover PO YAN BA TO. CHAI hears from CHIK about WAH’s story. MAN solicits funds from the draft banks for relief. TAI demands a bestowment of signboard from the government in return……
NIN appreciates CHAI’s performance very much. MR. HO, a customer of the bank, has passed away. NIN sends CHIK to collect HO’s debt. On the way, CHIK bumps into a westerner named ZIDANE and he is beaten up by his men. When they are fighting, TO appears. TO goes to see WAH. WAH files into a rage. CHAI calms her down and she is finally willing to talk to TO. She realizes then that why TO had left without saying goodbye. The lovers are reconciled with each other. Under the arrangement of TO, NIN and CHAI have a talk with ZIDANE. Their talk ends in discord nevertheless. For the long-term benefit of Ting Fung Shing, CHAI decides to hand over HO’s house to ZIDANE. NGAI visits Pingyao suddenly. On the surface, he has come to bestow the signboard to Ting Fung Shing on behalf of Empress Dowager TSE HEI. The fact is, he has come to ask for more funds for relief. His demand turned down, he turns to impose high taxes……
Stewards of other draft banks are all pleased to know that the government has agreed to abolish the heavy taxes. TAI feels aggrieved. WAH complains to CHAI that TO has become ZIDANE’s puppet. TO wants to go working in Europe. He asks WAH to go with him but WAH turns him down. A swine fever has broken out in Pingyao. MAN orders that all the pigs in the county be killed and provokes the anger of the public. NGAI reports this to the imperial court. Empress Dowager TSE HEI takes the opportunity to get rid of MAN. MAN is so depressed that he passes out. TSUN, who happens to have come to see him, saves him. With TSUN’s encouragement, MAN pulls himself together. TO’s request to stay in the country has been approved by ZIDANE. He, however, has to go to the remote Fulun instead. YIP follows MAN to the capital to pay a visit to YUE. YUE agrees with MAN and TSUN’s marriage at first……
YUE goes to the Russian Embassy to talk about Russian businessmen’s tax avoidance with TOPOV. Their conversation is originally disagreeable. Yet they become congenial when they switch to talking about oil paintings. ANNA, the daughter of TOPOV, pulls apart MAN’s clothes by accident. ANNA pays him a visit to apologize. ANNA is very talented; YUE likes her very much. TIN has received a letter from the Guihua branch for help. As he is busy with his plot to get rid of CHAI, he does not make a decision as to what to do. NIN decides to accept CHAI’s suggestion and leave Guihua. NIN fears that the dollars will be robbed by bandits. CHAI thinks of a good place to hide the dollars. WAH and TO are on the way to Fulun, they hear that Guihua City has been robbed. Worrying about the safety of her brother, she turns back. CHAI fights with the bandits. His is stabbed in the chest when he is trying to save WAH. WAH takes care of the wounded CHAI……
The bandits follow CHAI and take away some of the account books of Ting Fung Shing. Seeing that WAH has been going out a lot with CHAI recently, TO questions CHAI if he is fond of WAH. CHAI admits honestly. CHAI and the others are trapped in a cul-de-sac by the bandits. TO draws the bandits away so that the others can leave. CHAI returns to Pingyao safe and sound. TIN suspends CHAI from work, with the reason that he has left Guihua on his own accord. YIP has also returned. He praises NIN and CHAI for their resolute decision. He also promotes CHAI Third Steward and CHIK Agent. On the other hand, YIP blames TIN for not making a decision on time and neglecting human lives, causing a loss to Ting Fung Shing. TIN is very displeased. He quits and demands CHING to leave with the KIU family with him. NGO, who is already tired from too much traveling, falls ill. NGO is critically ill and no medicine can make her any better……
