Faces you'll recognise
Episode guide
The young KAM YUK is sold to the brothel by her relatives following the deaths of her parents. LUK KWAI, boss of Luk Hing Lung Soy Sauce Plant, takes pity of YUK and redeems her. YUK has since worked as a maid at the LUK household, taking care of KWAI’s motherless son LUK MAN DULL. Impressed by YUK’s meticulous care and assured of her compatible horoscope with DULL, DULL’s grandmother SO FA decides to take YUK as her grandson’s child bride. Despite her special status as the LUKs’ daughter-in-law, YUK is treated with slightly more respect than a lowly servant. DULL’s second eldest sister LUK CHIN, who has reached a marriage age, is eager to become a bride. However, many a time her marriage arrangement was called off because of the incompatible horoscopes between the perspective groom and DULL. CHIN’s hope revives when rich man’s son CHOW KWOK TUNG brings up proposal of marriage to KWAI……
Before he expires, KWAI entrusts YUK with the enormous task of educating DULL. In order to fulfill his dying wish, YUK is determined to hire the best teacher in town to educate DULL. CHENG SIN, supervisor of Luk Hing Lung, asks YUK to attend a meeting at the plant to negotiate a deal with a foreigner. Speaking no foreign language, YUK embarrasses herself in front of the guest. Luckily, MAK SAU SHING, a teacher from the city, saves her from her predicament. SHING is an enthusiastic educator. He offers voluntary lessons to children with a vision to fight illiteracy in China. YUK is impressed by his vast knowledge and invites him to teach DULL. But he declines her offer in view of DULL’s mischievousness and snobbishness. Since KWAI’s death, FA has been pressing YUK to bear DULL an heir in order to bring good luck to the family. YUK pours her sufferings to her maid……
SHING takes YUK’s offer unwillingly so as to earn money to pay KOO’s debts. TUNG is about to get married, but CHIN is not his bride. To cheer her up, YUK takes her to Maiden House to meet her mahjong mates and bosom friends, MODESTY, FELICITY, FAITH and HOPE, four celibate women who live under the same roof. Regarded as an unlucky woman, DULL’s eldest sister LUK FUN is banished from her husband’s family following his death. Returning to stay with the LUKs, she hopes to ease FA’s mind by lying that she has taken home two chests of gold. Meanwhile, YUK worries that she will be banished from the family for failing to produce an heir. In order to punish TUNG for deceiving CHIN into marriage, DULL takes his fast friends FA CHAK SHUI and SAIMUN HING to seek TUNG out in the brothel and chances on TUNG MUI outside the premises. When FA learns that DULL has visited a brothel, she chides YUK for her negligence……
YUK lets go of personal enmity when she finds out that her presumed banishment from the family is all but a misunderstanding. FA tries to force YUK to enter the marital chamber with DULL, but to no avail. FA vows to take DULL a concubine, who will bear the responsibility of producing the LUKs an heir. Unable to let go of old grudges, DULL seeks vengeance on MUI by making her his concubine. MUI protests against it. MUI is locked up in a firewood shed by FA, who guards against her escape. DULL dispatches his men to ambush TUNG, but the attack is intercepted by SHING who appears just in time. At last, YUK opens FUN’s treasure chests but sees only stones inside them. CHIN has no choice but to tell the truth. SHING takes MUI away from the LUK’s residence, but their move is exposed by DULL. The two are taken to the county office awaiting their sentence……
The pressure of marrying DULL has driven MUI to insanity. Panicking over his grave mistake, DULL soon realizes that it is an act pulled off by MUI and schemes to make fun of her. SIN demands that DULL win the Soy Sauce King Competition in order to retain the ownership of his family business. DULL loses no time to prepare for the contest. SHING is subject to DULL’s torture ever since entering the LUK’s family. His mother, LAI LOI, is heavyhearted over her son’s grievances. In raising money for SHING’s redemption, YUK resorts to obtaining a loan from MODESTY, FELICITY, FAITH and HOPE, but the money they manage to raise still falls short of the required sum. An eccentric old man known as UNCLE MEATBALL is the women’s next-door neighbor. In order to retrieve MODESTY’s cat that has sneaked out to MEATBALL’s, YUK enters the house and finds the old man lying unconscious inside the house……
Enlightened by MEATBALL’s revelation, YUK prepares a light-flavored dish that accents the flavor of soy sauce and thus wins the contest. HING covets MUI and tries to force himself on her. Fortunately DULL comes to her rescue and the two foes resolve their understandings and become good friends. YUK later learns that MEATBALL used to work as the head chef of the imperial palace but has led an ordinary life among the common folk following the decline of the court. YUK’s selfless care for DULL gains SHING’s compassion and admiration. He joins hand with YUK to bring about the return of the prodigal son, and also teaches her to read and write. SHING persuades DULL to leave the martial arts school where he watches a boxing match for fear that he may fall in the company of bad influences there. KOO’s father, an ex-petty thief, has a fiery temper and often quarrels with his son……
SHING is dumbfounded to learn from his mother that their foe, who ruined his family, is in fact the deceased KWAI. Instigated by KOO, SHING vows to exact revenge on the LUKs and reclaim the fortune and the soy sauce plant that he deserves. KOO, falsely accused of stealing FUN’s jewelry, protests for his innocence. FA asks a servant to bring SHING’s mother some money, hoping to send her back to the village, but SHING’s mother misconceives her act as a murder plan. FA believes that the old lady is dead and trembles in fear as strange noises echo around the apparently haunted house. Learning that DULL is a big fan of boxing, MUI informs him of an upcoming game. YUK senses the affections she has for DULL. DULL asks to meet the boxer CHEUNG HIN after the match. CHEUNG praises DULL’s great potential to become a boxer. DULL is flattered……
By exploiting DULL’s fascination and devotion to the martial arts, SHING and KOO seek to collaborate with HIN to reclaim the ownership of the soy sauce plant. HIN gains DULL’s trust by imparting on him martial artistry, his efforts reinforced by SHING and KOO back at the LUK’s residence. CHIN finds SIN’s integrity and competence admirable and begins to see him in a new light. On the other hand, FUN seeks to rekindle the love with SIN, her ex-lover, since her return to the LUK’s residence. However, SIN remains apprehensive. FUN and CHIN try to learn from YUK SIN’s intention respectively, putting YUK in a difficult position. SHING encourages YUK to hone her culinary skills and apprentices under MEATBALL so that she can make a living of it in future. SHING and KOO are bewildered by FUN’s swapping antiques with forgeries……
SIN can hardly bring himself to see the hard-earned family business wrecked overnight and engages in a fierce argument with DULL. Frustrated by his failed attempt, DULL orders TREASURE the servant to give him a good beating. DULL tries to alleviate MUI’s homesickness by asking HIN for help in the search for her missing parents. He also gives HIN her redemption papers as a proof of identity. FUN is disheartened by SIN’s indifferent attitude towards her. Becoming self-degraded, she is heavily addicted to gambling and even resorts to stealing money and valuables from home to feed her gambling habit. FA reads CHIN’s mind and arranges to betroth her to SIN. The idea is rejected by SIN, who claims he is secretly in love with a woman and resolves to leave the LUK household. CHIN intercepts SIN on the way and angrily declines the marriage proposal……
FA chastises SIN’s secret hankering and banishes him from the family. FUN’s creditors have shown up at her doorstep. SHING learns of her predicament but is told to conceal it from the family. DULL recommends the new soy sauce to a Westerner named HENRY and wins his praises. Henry enters a deal with DULL. The two daughters are obsessed with money: CHIN desires to boost her personal savings, while FUN is heavily in debt. But their plot to steal FA’s jewelry is exposed by SHING. Upon learning that HENRY is colluding with SHING to appropriate the soy sauce plant, MUI hurries to the plant where DULL is about to sign a contract with HENRY. However, she is abducted by SHING before arriving at the plant. SHING seizes MUI’s redemption papers from HIN and discovers that she is in fact his long-lost sister MAK SAU CHU. Back in the LUK’s residence, he exposes the attempted theft committed by FUN and CHIN, much to FA’s rage……
Before YUK leaves, SHING returns the money he owes her. HOPE puts YUK and the family up in a vacant house of hers. However, FUN and CHIN, who are used to enjoying all the luxuries of life, fail to adjust to the simple, rusty life following the adversity that befell the family. SHING changes the company name from Luk Hing Lung to Mak Hing Lung and vows to bring the grocery to greater height of development. A down and out DULL has been leading a dejected life. Luckily, MUI has been staying by his side. Love breeds from gratitude. MUI urges DULL to punish HIN for sexually harassing their maid. MEATBALL and YUK announce their plans to open a restaurant. MEATBALL suggests putting state banquet cuisines on the menu as their attractions, but YUK argues that common people cannot afford to spend a fortune to dine and wine. FA makes FUN and CHIN sell their jewelry to raise funds for YUK’s restaurant, despite their reluctance……
YUK manages to convince MEATBALL to offer local cuisines as their attractions and proceeds with the interior decoration of the restaurant. MEATBALL senses SHING’s deep admiration for YUK and arranges for him to lodge with YUK and the family. He also offers to bear the capital cost of the restaurant. In order to redeem FUN and CHIN’s jewelry, DULL works as a professional boxer at the martial arts school. MUI joins hand with DULL to launch an ambush on HIN. Defeated, HIN falls down to the ground and loses his unconsciousness. Mistaking that he has killed his opponent, DULL and MUI flee in their panic. SHING reports the assault to the police. DULL is wanted by the authorities. Meanwhile, FUN and CHIN are about to flee with their embezzled funds. But the conscience-stricken FUN returns home midway to offer YUK her apologies. Having imparted on YUK his lifelong culinary skills, MEATBALL swallows poison to end his life……
SIN joins the rank of KIN’s Ding Fung Soy Sauce Plant while planning to open a new grocery in town. He makes a scandal of SHING’s foul soy sauce and launches a hostile takeover bid of Mak Hing Lung. SHING conducts his own investigation and exposes HIN as the culprit. In lining his own pocket, HIN has purchased rotten soybeans at low prices which resulted in their inferior product. SHING stops MUI from seeing DULL and questions DULL’s ability to take care of MUI. FA, FUN and others mobilize all their resources to help YUK realize her dream opening of “Dull of Da Liang Restaurant.” CHIN loses all her money to a robber. Remorseful of her mistakes, she returns home and asks for FA’s pardon. Despite his best efforts to better the production process, the quality of the soy sauce still falls short of the standard he sets……
DULL asks MUI to act as a go-between to bring SHING the secret formula for making quality soy sauce. CHIN has kept the large sum of money swindled from KOO in a tin can, but the can ends up in KOO’s possession after many twists and turns. Remorseless of his wrongdoings, HIN smuggles opium inside the chests containing soybean pulps. CHIN seeks to retrieve the tin can and pursues KOO all the way to the pier where they chance on HIN’s smuggling activities. SHING arrives with a team of sheriff officers. HIN takes CHIN hostage and threatens the team to back off. Though SHING is injured in the process, he manages to redeem the money, while HIN is subdued by the sheriff officers. SIN is involved in an affair with KIN’s daughter LILY NG. Spotting SIN’s intimate conversation with FUN, she becomes jealousy of the woman’s advances and seduction of SIN……
DULL decides to join hand with SHING to restore the reputation of their soy sauce business. The spoilt LILY humiliates CHIN and KOO in public. Now the two are determined to make a fool of their foe. DULL and SHING have developed a brand new abalone soy sauce, and decide the time is ripe to introduce the new product to LENG. Impressed by their dedication, LENG allows for a delay in delivery. YUK has found a poem written by the late MEATBALL among his belongings and realizes that the love SHING has for her. However, YUK is unmoved by his sacrifices. Feeling for SHING’s quiet sufferings, KOO boldly tells YUK of SHING’s affection for her. The abalone sauce so painstakingly prepared by YUK is poured away by some thugs dispatched by SIN. The vandalism fills SHING’s heart with rage. The Hundred Flavors Sauce that YUK has concocted successfully awakens the hibernating taste buds of LENG’s wife……
While DULL, FA and others are returning to the LUK’s residence, FUN has made up her mind to stay behind at the restaurant. Losing LENG’s orders to SHING, KIN demands that SIN hatch a plan to deal a blow to his competitor. SIN hopes to lure their customers back with a lucky draw, but DULL unwittingly becomes the winner of the grand prize. Upon his release from prison, HIN revolves to quit his bad habits and is determined to turn over a new leaf. YUK is perplexed by mixed emotions over SHING’s affections for her, and moral constraints have prevented her from accepting his love. SHING has consecutively launched three new products to phenomenal success: Abalone Soy Sauce, Treasure Sauce and Fab Five Sauce, and their sale figures soar. Meanwhile, the authority has issued a ban on KIN’s glass-bottled soy sauce, claiming it responsible for the severe cuts the villagers received in a brawl……
The arsonists dispatched by SIN to burn down Mak Hing Lung are beaten off by the martially adept HIN. Pleased with HIN’s transformation, SHING hires him as a martial arts coach. YUK and SHING spend the Mid-Autumn Festival in the kitchen developing recipes and preparing demonstration dishes for their potential buyers. With the busy spell ended, SHING creates a sea of lanterns hung up in the hall to please YUK’s eyes. To give credits to SIN’s efforts behind the immense popularity of their Supreme Soy Sauce, KIN betroths LILY to him. However unwilling, SIN dares not voice his opposition. FUN chances on an unconscious SIN and sends him to a clinic for treatment. SIN is grateful. LILY dispatches some rascals to threaten FUN, who is injured in the ensuing chaos. SIN rushes to her side instantly. SIN is moved by FUN’s devotion and agrees to go out with her……
LOI objects to the affair between MUI and DULL, but DULL, who racks his brain to please the elder, will not give up easily. Undaunted by her unrequited love, CHIN hopes to bring SHING back to her side by currying favor with LOI, only to suffer yet another setback. To aid SHING in his courtship, HIN and KOO trick DULL into divorcing YUK, but DULL refuses to turn his back on the woman who is in effect the benefactor of the family. TSAI accompanies Commissioner Lau to his visit in town on educational issues and drops by at SHING’s and DULL’s. Impressed by the blooming soy sauce business, TSAI proposes that the two masters put their techniques on display in a soy sauce cuisine competition. The villagers get hooked on KIN’s Supreme Soy Sauce and this alarms SHING. KOO has unwittingly revealed to CHIN the woman whom SHING is secretly in love with. CHIN is determined to find out the identity of the woman……
FA interrogates FUN for the identity of the baby’s father but FUN says nothing in order to protect SIN. SHING writes YUK a love letter to assert his determination. DULL uncovers a bottle of premium soy sauce prepared as a gift for the emperor years ago. After tasting the age-old product, he detects the special soybean aroma well preserved in the sauce but not a trace of the special herbal seasoning concocted by SHING’s father MAK HING. Therefore, he deduces that KWAI had no motivation to kill HING back then. A guilty-stricken SIN exposes KIN as the culprit behind the scheme to add addictive chemicals to their soy sauce. CHIN finds out about SHING’s letter to YUK and becomes green-eyed with jealousy. Meanwhile, LAU appoints SHING as head of the education bureau. But CHIN causes a scene during SHING’s appointment speech by accusing him of seducing YUK……
SHING grieves over his grave mistake in exacting revenge on the innocent LUK family upon learning that YAN was the real murder of his father. Indeed, YAN has been taking good care of the mother and son over the years to make up for his mistake. The covetous CHIN accepts KIN’s monetary rewards for adding laxative to SHING’s soy sauce. The sheriff officers launch an investigation and press KIN to reveal the identity of his collaborator. Kin admits to hiring CHIN’s service. Now CHIN is on the wanted list. DULL claims that SHING has intentionally concealed YAN’s murder of HING, but YUK remains skeptical. To put SHING’s love for YUK to the ultimate test, DULL has added one condition to his divorce papers: SHING must return to him his family fortune. SHING retracts at the last minute and refuses to meet his request……
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