[NORTHWARD]
[Episode 4]
Cut it thinner.
Are you braising it or stir-frying it?
Braising.
You're using such high heat for braising?
Alright. Got it.
Control the heat.
Boss!
Someone's looking for you.
Our boss is here.
Siyi.
Uncle Zhou.
Why are you here?
I'm here to find a job.
A part-time job.
I can wash dishes, serve tables, and sweep floors.
Except for cooking,
I can basically do all the other jobs.
H-Hold on a second.
What's wrong? What happened?
Besides, I can come to work every weekend.
I'll also take half the usual wage.
It's just I was wondering if I could get an advance payment.
An advance payment?
How much do you want?
4,700.
Why such an odd amount?
What exactly happened?
I can lend you the money,
Siyi,
but I can't offer you a job.
Why?
You tell me.
You're in your final year of senior high school.
Your only task right now
is to study hard,
okay?
Never mind then.
If you can't give me a job,
I'll try somewhere else.
Don't tell Grandma about this.
Sorry for bothering you.
Stop there.
Even your grandma doesn't know about this?
What exactly happened?
It's your mother who needs the money,
right?
How about this?
You can come here on weekends
and see if there's anything you can help with.
But
when there's no work to do,
be good and do your homework properly.
Okay.
Alright?
Thank you, Uncle Zhou.
You're welcome.
Give me the money.
Come back!
[By the Canal]
You haven't taken the money yet.
Here you are.
You didn't even take the money.
Are you trying to learn from Lei Feng?
Thank you.
This kid.
Your teacher called me today,
saying that during class,
you were using Morse code to send secret messages to a female classmate.
Is that true?
Why are you smiling?
Did you teach him that?
It's not like that.
I only taught him that
as a hobby.
How was I supposed to know he'd use it for this?
Which classmate?
Ma Siyi?
It's a bit too early.
Is this how you teach children?
No dinner for you.
You eat.
Don't let this happen again.
Haven't I told you
not to hang out with those who play around all day?
Ma Siyi is alright.
She got into No. 1 High School.
Her grades are pretty good.
But look at those other kids.
They'll affect your grades.
It's not that serious.
Those kids are all pretty decent.
Eat your meal.
Don't push the bike any further.
It's too noisy. Just leave it there.
Okay.
This way. Over here.
Right here.
This one.
Are you sure this ship is unclaimed?
We don't want to get caught later.
Don't worry.
I'll go down and take a look.
No, no.
I'll go. I'll go.
Hold this for me.
Be careful.
Shine the flashlight for me.
Be careful.
Slowly.
It's okay.
Be careful.
Give me the bucket.
Here.
Check if there's any over there.
Shine some light for him.
Be careful.
Be careful, Wanghe.
Are you alright?
Be careful.
How is it? Did you find any?
Is there any?
Yes, a lot.
Here, here.
Give him the bucket.
Keep an eye out for people.
I'm going down.
Give him this bucket too.
I'll take this.
Wanghe!
The police are here. Run!
Hurry up!
Go that way!
Run!
Leave it, leave it!
Go that way!
Stop right there!
Go that way!
There are more people down there!
Stop!
Freeze!
Run! Haikuo!
Don't run!
Go that way!
Run!
Stop there!
Go that way! Go that way!
Go that way!
Stop!
Freeze!
We were just passing by.
We were just passing by!
We didn't do anything!
You little brat.
Officer, I was just passing by.
Passing by? Passing by with an oil bucket?
You know what?
There have been a lot of oil thieves lately.
It's not just you guys.
Sir. Sir.
Please, I'm begging you.
I'm still in school.
I'll get expelled.
Now you remember you're a student?
Get in!
What do we do now?
How about
we call Chen Rui
and let him ask his mom to find a way to bail Wanghe out?
Right. His mother is the district chief. She must know the police.
What if his mom refuses?
We won't know if we don't try.
If Wanghe gets detained today,
his dad might beat him to death.
Hello?
You want to speak to Chen Rui?
He's at home.
Who is it?
Hello?
I don't know.
You didn't even ask who it was.
Don't be too strict with the kid.
It's just a phone call.
Who allowed you to sit here?
What happened?
My friend got arrested by the police.
Who?
Which friend?
What for?
It must be a misunderstanding.
Why did he call you?
They want me to help?
Do you think I'm going to the police station to bail someone out for you?
You've done this kind of thing many times before, haven't you?
No.
This is the first time.
Sir.
Please let me go.
I won't dare to do it again.
Now you're begging for mercy?
It's a bit too late for that, don't you think?
You're not a child anymore.
You think you can just get away with it?
Sir.
Why don't you just beat me up
and consider it my punishment?
If I
personally send you to prison,
when your father finds out,
I suppose his expression would be quite amusing.
You know my father?
More than just knowing him.
Your father and I have a bit of a past.
Your father used to bully me a lot when we were kids.
He'd corner me every day
and take my stuff.
I got beaten up by him quite a lot.
Do you think there's a chance?
I don't know.
But Chen Rui is quite loyal to friends.
I think he'll do his best.
Let's take it one step at a time.
The college entrance exam is just around the corner.
If something goes wrong,
his life will be ruined!
This won't do.
I'll go find him.
What do you want to do?
Let go of me!
You can't go!
You'll only make things worse!
Let go of me!
-Don't be anxious. -It's useless to be anxious.
Fenghua...
It's okay, Fenghua.
There's no point in being anxious now.
Tell me.
If I had insisted on not letting you go out today,
would he have avoided this trouble?
No.
It was everyone's decision.
It wasn't your fault.
You couldn't have stopped us.
If Wanghe really gets detained,
I'll drop out of school!
They say
life in prison is extremely hard.
Without money, it's impossible to get by.
If his parents give up on him,
I'll take care of him.
I believe Chen Rui
will take it seriously.
He should be working on it already.
We might as well go home and wait for news.
Let's go home first.
Wanghe is a lucky boy.
He always manages to turn bad luck into good.
Where are you going?
Get back here!
I'll be right back, Mom.
Chen Rui, stop right there!
Mom, I'll be back in no time.
I promise.
What do you want to do?
I just want to go check on him.
Are you going to bail him out?
I'm not capable of that, Mom.
He's my best friend.
Even if I can't help,
I have to be there.
I won't allow it.
Please, Mom.
I'll really be quick.
Come home with me.
I'll be back...
I'll be back right away.
Mom.
Stop pulling and tugging.
What if the neighbors see?
Alright, keep your voice down.
Son!
Where are you hurt?
Keep it down.
Are you hungry?
You'd better eat something first.
Once you get there,
there's not much to eat at the police station.
[Police]
Come on.
Get off.
Let's go.
[Police]
Sit here.
I want a Stir-fried Shredded Pork with Green Pepper,
a Fried Stinky Tofu,
and a Cold Beef Salad.
Two bottles of drinks.
Make sure they're ice-cold.
[Public Toilet]
Why are they eating?
What's going on?
Let's go up. That way.
Don't just sit there.
Eat.
How are your grades?
I'm ranked third in the whole grade,
to last.
Doesn't your dad beat you?
He does.
He's been beating me since I was little.
He's broken several belts beating me.
But later he found that beating me was useless,
so he gave up.
And you started to give up on yourself.
It's not that bad.
My grades are poor
because my mind isn't on it.
Where is your mind then?
Making money.
You are still a kid.
Why are you thinking about making money at such an early age?
Let me tell you.
It's not too late
to think about this kind of thing
in a few years.
It'll be too late then, Uncle.
Before the Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway was put into operation,
river transport was really booming.
My dad has a ship.
He used to make money off of it easily.
But now,
breaking even is considered a victory.
My dad used to be so impressive.
Wherever he went, people would offer him cigarettes.
Everyone called him 'boss.'
But what about now?
Now he's the one offering cigarettes to others wherever he goes.
Every time he sees contractors,
he grovels to them.
He's not manly at all.
Don't you dare talk more nonsense!
When I was a kid,
your father
used to set up a stall at the old pier,
selling fish and shrimp.
Every day, he'd get up before dawn
and take the best spot.
Only after he finished selling
would he let others sell there.
By the time I set up my stall,
the fish and shrimp would already be dead.
At that time,
the person I disliked the most was your father.
I remember when I was in my senior year of high school,
my mother fell ill.
No one in my family could take care of her,
so I had to drop out of school to look after her.
Later, I don't know who
told your father about this,
but one night, your father
suddenly came to my house.
I didn't dare to open the door.
Unexpectedly, he kicked the door open with a bang.
What do you want, Xie Tiancheng?
At first, I thought
it contained bricks.
I only realized after I opened it that
it was filled with cash.
A full 600 yuan.
It was 1987.
That was a huge sum of money back then.
I was completely stunned at the time.
I had no idea what he was up to.
Guess what your father said to me at that time.
He pointed at me and said, 'Kid,
don't you drop out of school.
Take this money and hire a caregiver.
If it's not enough,
let me know.'
I was completely dumbfounded at that moment.
Get into a good university
and find a decent job.
Things like street vending
are not for you.
Thank you.
During that time my mom was ill,
it cost us about 2,000 yuan in total.
During her entire hospital stay,
your dad
and his friends
took turns taking care of my mom.
Every time your dad came,
he'd bring the soup he made
for my mom with the fish he caught.
When my mom was discharged,
she secretly told me that
she'd never want to eat fish again in her life,
that she had had enough.
Kid.
Your dad was a jerk back then.
Of course, he still is now.
But in his life,
he's never owed anyone favors.
It's always others who owe him.
You're in your rebellious phase now.
You may be annoyed by him, and you may look down on him.
That's all normal.
But I hope you can understand that
no matter when,
and no matter what you become,
your dad is, and will always be,
a man of great integrity.
In the past,
your dad never brought shame to you.
In the future,
I hope you won't bring shame to your dad either.
If you dare to be such a jerk again,
I'll break your legs myself.
Boss, bill please.
Thank you.
It's truly a case of "raising a father for a lifetime and using him for a moment."
Wanghe.
You must kowtow to your father when you get back.
Tell me about it.
Uncle Xie is no ordinary man.
In the early years of seafaring, there were scammers
who put fishing nets deep in the river.
When a ship passed by, they'd rush out demanding compensation.
But our ships
have never been stopped, not even once.
Everyone knows Boss Xie isn't someone to mess with.
That's really true.
Wanghe.
Back in the day, your father was like Ghost Foot Seven.
Your dad is Ghost Foot Seven.
Uncle Xie is Wong Fei-hung.
Wong Fei-hung?
The Shadowless Kick.
You... I dare you say that to me again!
We can't count on the ships anymore.
We need to think of some other way to make money.
Maybe we don't have to give her money.
What do you mean?
When we were little, you bought her a schoolbag.
She didn't say anything at the moment.
She saved her pocket money for a year
and collected and sold Coke cans.
You remember, right?
In the end, she paid you back with a Casio digital watch.
This shows she doesn't like owing favors.
But we can't just ignore her situation, can we?
As the saying goes, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Rather than giving her money,
maybe it's better to help her find a way to make money.
She's in her final year of senior high school.
This year is especially important.
She can't be distracted.
She's in the key class at No. 1 High School,
and she made it to the top three.
With a bit more effort, she could get into a top university.
If worst comes to worst, I'll sell
my equipment in the game Fantasy Westward Journey.
My five-digit QQ number
should be worth something.
My dad's Jialing motorcycle that he never rides
can also be sold.
No need, I have a plan.
What kind of plan?
Do you need my help?
No.
The only thing I need you to do is to keep your mouth shut.
That's right.
We must keep this under wraps and not let anything slip,
especially to Siyi.
What could I possibly say?
"Siyi.
Wanghe tried to steal oil for you
and almost got caught by the police."
Do you think I'm stupid?
You went to steal oil?
No, I didn't.
Of course not.
We were just taking a walk and happened to pass by.
Right?
Yes, these... These are all things we picked up.
Siyi!
Siyi. Siyi.
Stop hitting him.
Siyi!
Wanghe was just trying to help you.
He was worried you'd sell blood.
Yes, right.
Then the police came.
And then the police left.
It was a false alarm.
Right, right, it was a false alarm.
Yes.
Siyi.
I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me.
From now on, don't interfere with my business.
Xie Wanghe, you'd better watch yourself.
Siyi!
Why are you looking at me?
Siyi.
What's wrong?
Let me see.
You're crying?
Alright. Alright.
Who did you have a fight with?
You had a fight with Wanghe, didn't you?
No.
No?
If not, then why did you say
'Watch yourself' to him?
I'm not deaf.
I heard everything.
I'll go talk to Wanghe's mother then.
How dare he mistreat my granddaughter?
I'll give him a beating.
Grandma, Grandma, it's not like that.
He really didn't mistreat me.
His heart is in the right place. It's just he's an idiot.
He's always doing inexplicably stupid things.
So no one mistreated you?
Wanghe has been like that since he was little.
A bit of a fool.
He becomes a scatterbrain every time he sees you.
You might not see it,
but I can.
Don't you remember? When you were little, to cheer you up,
he almost crippled himself.
You might not see it, but I can.
Siyi.
Why are you so late, Wanghe?
We're almost done eating.
It's okay. I'm not hungry.
Let me ask you a question.
Do you all know Sun Wukong?
Sure we do.
Then do you know how Sun Wukong flies?
On his somersault cloud.
Correct.
Well, what I have in my hand
is a seven-colored auspicious cloud.
I can fly too.
Xie Wanghe, you're just bragging.
You don't believe me, right?
No, we don't.
No.
Follow me!
-Let's go. -Let's go.
[Dangerous behavior. Do not imitate.]
I'm coming!
Does it hurt?
Are you okay?
-Are you alright? -Are you okay?
Are you okay, Wanghe?
I was just messing with you guys.
It hurt like hell when I fell earlier,
but it doesn't hurt anymore.
The anesthesia hasn't worn off yet, right?
It'll be very painful once it wears off.
It's fine. I'm not afraid of pain.
You're not afraid of pain?
Then why did you cry?
Who cried?
You didn't cry.
It's just your eyes were sweating.
Can you stop doing this in the future?
What did I do?
Being naughty and making adults angry.
You were lucky this time.
You only broke your leg.
If you had fallen headfirst, you would have died.
Don't worry.
I'm a lucky person with a charmed life.
Shut up!
This time you broke your leg,
your mom's eyes are swollen from crying at home.
Grow up a bit, okay?
Have you all forgotten?
Didn't the teacher say
science comes from practice?
Aren't human inventions done
thanks to brave people like me?
They are brave,
while you're just trying to get yourself killed.
If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense, okay?
You understand?
Of course I understand.
Do you know the principle of the lightning conductor?
We learned about it in science class.
Then explain it.
What principle is that?
As if you know.
Of course I know.
Can someone get me a piece of wire?
I'll go.
You all know about conductors and insulators, right?
The plaster on my leg is an insulator.
If I electrify the wire, since the plaster insulates,
there's no way I can get electrocuted.
Let me demonstrate for you.
Everyone step back.
Witness with me
the great power of science.
[Dangerous behavior. Do not imitate.]
Watch carefully.
-Doctor! -Doctor!
Help!
-Help! -Help!
Mom.
You are still up?
I'm used to it.
Son.
How about
I rent a small house for you?
Staying up like this too often can lead to mental exhaustion.
Rent a house?
The two of us move out
and leave Dad alone at home to sleep?
It'd be better to have him move out.
From now on,
let him sleep on the ship.
Ask him not to come home unless necessary.
Did we make any profit this month?
It's good enough if we didn't lose money.
The gas price has increased again.
Labor costs are high too.
There's no shortage of work at construction sites in the city.
I've been thinking,
if worst comes to worst,
we can't keep this ship anymore.
We'll sell it, withdraw our shares,
and switch to a heavy truck for land transport.
Help me look it up online later.
No, Mom, don't.
Why are you unhappy about it?
Weren't you the one who kept telling me
to cut our losses if river transport wasn't profitable?
What happened?
You've changed your mind?
It's not that I've changed my mind.
I'm just worried Dad won't be happy.
Normally,
I feel like Dad is always listless.
But once he gets on the ship,
he becomes full of energy,
like he's a different person.
Your dad once told me
that in his previous life, he was a loach.
He can't stay too far from water,
or
he'll suffocate.
Mom.
I'm sorry.
I'm so useless.
What's wrong? Why are you saying such things?
Back in the day, a lot of people
were already successful at my age.
They could take care of their families.
But I'm still in school,
and I can't help with anything.
Silly boy.
The fact that you care
is enough to make me content.
Mom.
Please rest assured.
I'll definitely be successful in the future.
I'll make you and Dad proud of me.
In the future, when you go out,
you can have your nose in the air.
Alright.
Having our nose in the air.
I'm Xie Wanghe's mother.
Let me help you calculate.
When is Grandma coming?
Don't bring this up to me.
Just thinking about them coming
makes me shudder all over.
Last time when your grandma left,
she complained to you about being poor again, didn't she?
No, she didn't.
I heard it all.
Saying things like
the roof of her house was leaking again,
the villagers didn't care,
and they were demolishing her pigsty forcibly and such.
Why are they so mean?
Nonsense.
Your grandma built the pigsty right in the wind's path.
When the wind blows, it stinks up the whole village.
How can the villagers not hate it?
But she left you the family heirloom.
A jade bracelet.
At our wedding,
she wrapped it in layers and layers,
and solemnly handed it to me,
saying it was
a mutton-fat jade
from the Han Dynasty.
I was so happy.
Later, when I had it appraised,
it turned out to be majestic white jade.
It's even cheaper than this bag we are making.
Mom.
How much can we earn from this batch?
Why do you care?
How much can I get?
How much do you want?
200.
How about 250?
Sure.
Go look in the mirror.
You'll see an idiot staring back at you.
Mom, I'm not asking for much.
200.
Just 200.
Please.
What does a student like you need so much money for?
I want to buy jeans.
Didn't I just buy you a pair last year?
The style is outdated.
It looks a bit unfashionable.
You can't blame the clothes if the person wearing them is unfashionable.
Look at Siyi.
Even if she wears a big cotton padded jacket,
she can still manage to look like she's from Milan or Paris.
So who do you think is prettier, me or her?
How can you ask such a question?
Who gave you the courage?
Was it Fish Leong?
Mom!
Alright. Alright.
You're prettier.
Of course my daughter is prettier.
You're youthful,
radiant,
and smart.
Of course my daughter is the prettiest.
Anyway,
I have a better figure than Siyi.
My legs are longer than hers,
and my waist is slimmer too.
If your grades were better than hers,
let alone jeans,
I'd even buy you a cell phone.
Being good at studies is useless.
Why is that?
Wanghe's grades are at the bottom of our grade,
but in a few years,
he'll definitely be
the most, most promising one among all the students.
One 'most' is not enough?
You had to use it twice?
He has so many brilliant ideas in his head.
Any one of his ideas could make a lot of money.
You know what?
Today, Mr. Xu gave him a hard time,
but Wanghe left him speechless.
It was so satisfying.
Quite promising.
What about you?
You can't get into college,
your family is so poor,
you're not gentle,
and you don't want to work.
So, in the future,
who will want to marry you?
Who says I can't work?
Granny Ma said
my fried radish cakes are much better than Siyi's.
Well, that's true.
In the future,
Siyi will get into a top university,
and Wanghe will make a lot of money.
By then, he'll drive a Mercedes
to pick up Siyi
and come to your little stall
to eat your fried radish cakes.
Don't forget to give them a discount.
♫Oh, my dear dad♫
♫I love that handsome boy♫
♫I'm willing to go to Rosa Gate♫
♫And buy a wedding ring♫
Keep the change.
♫Yes, I must go♫
♫If you don't agree♫
Why hasn't she come out yet?
Where's Siyi?
Her grandma said
she left by herself early in the morning.
Is something wrong?
Would she have left on her own if nothing was wrong?
Full of nonsense.
So she's really angry with us?
You're talking nonsense too.
If Wanghe dared to treat me like this,
I'd beat him up too.
I'd give him a flying kick right away.
We've waited here for you for ages.
Why can't you wait for me?
So she's really angry?
She really doesn't want us to interfere anymore?
That can't be, right?
It's time to eat after finishing this.
Lao'er.
Let's go.
Time to eat.
Come on.
Give it to me.
Alright.
Here you go.
Peanuts.
Beef.
What's wrong?
Got bitten again?
That woman.
She bites when she's happy,
and when she's not happy,
she bites too.
So this time, was it
because she was happy or unhappy?
A mix of both.
You can't keep living like this, right?
I've told her a million times.
She just can't break this habit.
This time it's not so bad.
Look, it's not even swollen.
Last time, it swelled up this big.
Took a whole week to go down.
Do you know why?
Why?
Let me tell you.
Human teeth and dog teeth are both poisonous.
Really?
Of course.
Should I get a shot then?
I've heard of rabies vaccine,
but I've never heard of the vaccine for crazy people.
But since you keep getting bitten,
I suppose you should have developed antibodies by now.
Next time she does this to you,
give her a good scare.
How should I scare her?
Threaten to divorce her.
That won't work.
What if she agrees?
How is that possible?
Women don't divorce
at the drop of a hat, okay?
You're giving them too much credit.
However,
no matter what,
you need to set rules at home.
So
you have rules in your house?
Of course.
Go ask Haihong if she dares
to raise her voice at me.
She'd be out of line if she did.
If you don't believe me, go ask her
who the boss at home
is.
You need to let him know
that at home,
women are the boss.
In front of men,
we need to establish rules.
Anything is allowed at home,
but absolutely no physical violence.
Yes, right here.
The two of us
just got carried away in our conversation.
And he had been drinking.
It wasn't intentional.
That's still not acceptable.
Next time,
if he lays a hand on you again,
you come stay at our place.
If he dares to come to our place to get you,
you'll see how I'll deal with him.
Actually,
I understand him to some extent.
Recently, he's been having a hard time at work.
He's under a lot of pressure.
Just because
he's frustrated outside,
he comes home to take it out on his wife?
That's sick.
Shao.
I really envy you.
What do you envy about me?
I envy you for your wife.
Your wife
cooks various kinds of delicious food for you every day.
As for my wife,
she'd probably burn down the kitchen just frying an egg.
What delicious food are you having today?
Share some with me.
She had a fever yesterday.
She didn't have time to cook.
Why don't you hurry home and take care of her then?
What a great opportunity.
Show her some love.
We've been married for so long. We don't care about this anymore.
The longer you've been married,
the more she cares about this.
And you need to have a sense of ritual.
Remind yourself and your partner
that your feelings for each other haven't faded.
Is that really necessary?
Women
are emotional creatures.
If you show just a little bit of care,
they'll be incredibly touched.
My wife is just like that.
She really falls for this kind of thing.
Granny Ma, are you going home?
[Clock Fixing]
I'm going to get something.
Yanlin.
Granny Ma.
You've closed up? Let me help you.
No, I'm just going home to get some stuff.
Yanlin.
Well...
When Zhimei left,
why didn't you see her off?
She didn't ask me to.
From now on,
come by my place every day after work.
[Huihuang Tailor Shop]
Before Zhimei left,
she went to see an experienced traditional Chinese medicine doctor
who prescribed some medicine for you.
It's for liver protection.
She asked me
to brew it for you every day
and make sure you drink it.
She said you don't listen to your father,
but you'll listen to me.
My liver is fine.
She's just concerned about you.
Being a married couple is like this.
It's not easy, you know.
You support each other
and help each other.
How great this is.
Call her more often from now on.
Otherwise, being so far apart,
your feelings might fade.
Right.
But it's not like she's never coming back, right?
Yes, I know.
You still need to call her.
I know, I know.
I'll call her in a bit.
Alright, give it to me.
Be careful.
Alright.