[Mainland Chinese Drama 2018] Like a Flowing River 大​​​​​​​江大河

[raziela]

On 1/1/2019 at 10:40 AM, 40somethingahjumma said:

 

 

On 1/1/2019 at 11:21 AM, skibbies said:

 

Thank you very much for the responses.

 

I didn't realise this was Daylight production.  No wonder it is such high quality.

 

@zenya22: Thank you for adding paragraph breaks.  I really enjoy reading your comments on the drama but they were a bit dense to read 

[zenya22]

13 hours ago, raziela said:

 

Thank you very much for the responses.

 

I didn't realise this was Daylight production.  No wonder it is such high quality.

 

@zenya22: Thank you for adding paragraph breaks.  I really enjoy reading your comments on the drama but they were a bit dense to read 

@raziela sorry. I just wanted to cram the ones I find interesting and involves different characters and different episodes and am not too good a writer. 

[raziela]

12 hours ago, zenya22 said:

@raziela sorry. I just wanted to cram the ones I find interesting and involves different characters and different episodes and am not too good a writer. 

Don't apologise! You are a really good writer. I really enjoy reading your posts and all your thoughts on the drama 

[zenya22]

Episode 43/ So cute the baby. Yunhui and Kaiyan have a baby girl. and DaXun visited after served prison for 10 years. Shisen and Yun Hui kept in touch and she even helped him with his market research. Shishen must have graduated college by now. 

 

Dangbao really needs another Ping Ping whose counsel he used to listen to. At the present, he refuses to listen to anybody. He was warned before by Yun Hui about pollution before he set up the piggery and electric cable businesses. Yun Hui drew a blueprint for him on how and where to build his different business which included waste disposal and pollution prevention but he did not listen nor followed the advise of Yun Hui. Now he is in big trouble because the river which are some of the poor people's source of drinking water are being polluted from his piggery and other businesses and making them seriously ill. He also did not build the layout to build houses in Xiaolejia and make it a model village that Yun Hui drew for him. Danbao presented each of the blueprints/plans drawn by Yun Hui to the govt officials in his county inorder to procure loans for his projects and based on the blueprints, his fundings were approved. However, Dang Bao never built what was in the blueprint that he presented to the government officials. YH also gave him a layout of a corporate business model which he presented to the county and was approved. Dangbao is just like the old bosses of Yun Hui who wanted to cut corners and use cheaper products/equipment to boost profit. The difference is, Yun Hui was part of the process at his work place and Yun Hui never compromised even at the threat of being fired or demoted. Since Dangbao is the entrepreneur who started and set up all the village businesses, he did what he deemed was necessary to keep his businesses and his village alive not understanding the long term effects. I hope that this will not affect Yun Hui when the county/government invistigates but this will affect the relationship between the brother in laws because Yun Hui will not be able to trust Danbao again. Yun Hui never liked Dangbao and only got to trust and like Dangbao after he got married himself. Now Dangbao is proving himself to be untrustworthy.

 

Xiao Xun the 3rd lead has become the sales rep/person for Dangbao's company products and is doing well. His girlfriend also left him. 

[zenya22]

Ep 43 on Yun Hui: I don't understand why Shui favors that boot licking Yu Shanqing over tireless, intelligent Yun Hui who did so much for him. It was because of Yun Hui that he is still in his position and his company progressed. What is Shui's deal with Yu Shanqing? Chief Lui who was YH ex boss and is also nearing his retirement and was sidelined by Shui to the old factory, made a visit to Yun Hui and advised Yun Hui that he was a good and talented professional and not to hang out with the "bad men". He wanted info on Shui who was slated to go to the US for inspection and commented that Shui can't even say 5 words of English and what can he do in the US. Work politics swirling around the apolitical Yun Hui. Yu Shanqing made a visit to Yun Hui to ask Yun Hui to produce for the local markets and Yun Hui said he can't do it as his department's priority is the foreign market and if the foreign markers don't get what they ordered the factory will be fined in dollars. Yu Shanqing went over Yun Hui's head and put the request to the big boss Shui who ordered Yun Hui to produce for the local market in one week. Yun Hui then asked Shui if he knew about the rumors of corruption regarding Yu Shanqing and Shui said he knew but he was not implicated. Yun Hui warned Shui that his old boss Liu is going to Beijing for the reports and the company may get in trouble. Shui ordered Yun Hui to produce for the local markets within one week and Yun Hui answered that he will finish his foreign market orders and then produce for the local markets but at his own time. Then left the stunned Shui's office. nexr thing we know Yu Shanqing is investigated and "discharged" from the company. 

 

Old Shui is a fox

[zenya22]

episodes 44, 45, 46 and 47 viewed them without subs but I think they are yet the best of the episodes to come as the three main characters face harder challenges especially Dangbao. And here, Yun Hui actually is the strongest support of his brother in law and Danbao's assistant, Shigen calls YH about problems to get suggetsions for solutions behind Dangbao's back. I will appreciate better with subs.  Something is happening with the 3rd lead. YH, although was not in love with her during courtship shows he loves and is happy with his wife and his adorable daughter. Dangbao faces the biggest challenges and YH is called to help. 

[zenya22]

What I love most in the last episodes is how they show the relationship between Yunhui and his mentor/shifu and friend Factory Manager Shui. That is the best shifu/student relationship and story in a drama I have ever seen. Shui is retiring and Yun Hui found out that he was back stabbed by Min and did not keep his  promise to Yun Hui. Shui last advice to Yun Hui: the difference between you and Min is that Min used his technological knowledge to help in a power struggle while  you viewed your technical knowledge and skill as a dream. You must learn how to protect that dream. This experience will be your teacher. Min is now promoted as the big boss as Shui retires. Yun Hui's request for a research lab is put in waiting list. Yun Hui put in a request for a transfer to to the east China sea. After his last conversation with his mentor Yun Hui made a deep bow to his Shifu. I cried. Xiao Xun has his department store, Dangbao has fulfilled all his dreams for xiaolejia village and corrected his mistakes, put in the plan for pollution containment, built the houses he promised he would do, is now chief of the biggest electrical company in the province and the village is now prospering. The restaurant lady who confessed to him now realized not to bother him anymore and they have become partners in the piggery business. Yun Hui's baby is now a beautiful little girl

 

I guess we are now moving to the 2nd phase of the drama to new territories

[zenya22]

@sugarplum892Question please: I did not see upcoming episodes posted in VIKI after episode 47 but there were previews, are they posting more episodes? I understand that the drama is a series of 45 episodes x2. Does anyone know? 

[sugarplum892]

6 hours ago, zenya22 said:

@sugarplum892Question please: I did not see upcoming episodes posted in VIKI after episode 47 but there were previews, are they posting more episodes? I understand that the drama is a series of 45 episodes x2. Does anyone know? 

from their chinese wiki, looks like there will be a 2nd season of this.  However, it did not state when the 2nd season will start.

[raziela]

Thanks for the reviews @zenya22  I thought this were originally going to be more episodes but I'm glad this part is a manageable length.  I plan to start watching soon 

[zenya22]

48 minutes ago, raziela said:

Thanks for the reviews @zenya22  I thought this were originally going to be more episodes but I'm glad this part is a manageable length.  I plan to start watching soon 

You are very welcome. Happy watching and I hope you will enjoy as much as I did. 

[skibbies]

Part two haven't been filmed yet. Wang Kai just started filming for another drama 孤城闭 with Minglan's director Zhang Kaizhou, it's a historical so I'll just assume 50 episodes and min 4 months filming, which with half a month (?) break for CNY means fastest he'll leave it would be June. I guess they can film other protagonists' bits first? Yang Xun should have bigger role in 90s when sole trader takes off? Part 1's filming was from Feb till June so uhh this is going to take a while. 

 

Kong Sheng, the director looks like he's co-directing with Passse Mu (newbie director for the spectacular underrated gem Madhouse last year. no subs though I think ): ) and they are looking to start in March so uh. Maybe Li Xue (Disguiser, Surgeons, Co-director for NiF and Wenzhou Family etc) will do it? Oh wait, hang on, this has a co-director Huang Wei, who's new to Daylight family but previously did photography for lots of other dramas. I found some articles that indicate he'll take over for the sequel. Hope it'll go well.  

 

Anyways, onto the actual drama. I'm happy it end up growing on me more than I expected! I thought I was going to leave it with "good drama but I wasn't into it", but I end up caring about most of the characters even if they all frustrated me at some point. I liked that all three protagonists' personality were both helpful and harmful, depending on the circumstances. My favourite character is probably Old Shui, what a complicated character. He's willing to learn, nice to Yunhui but can be stern to him when he thinks YH is out of his depth, sly so he's not helping YH just out of goodness of his heart. Last time I liked similar character was tRoP's Emperor, keep them coming, cdramas.

 

I was so sure they would end up in 90s because how rapidly the last 10 episodes keep skipping around time, but no. They mention in the last episode it's 88, are you sure drama? Da Xun should have been gone around 83 and it's been 5 years, so did the last few episodes all happen in 88? The baby grew a little fast too. Bang, pregnant. bang, she's born? bang, she can walk (8 months?), oh now she's a toddler? I'm too lazy to attempt doing a timeline for the drama to check it though.

 

@zenya22 I think Yu Shanqing is actually great at his position so Shui is A+ manager. YSQ is well rounded and extremely good when it comes to socialising, which is essential in domestic sales, everything revolves around being socialable and talking up your product (Yang Xun is similar which is why he works well doing what he does). Song Yunhui is very straightlaced and no non sense, so he'll do okay exporting because foreigners are more straightforward or in a technical position where he doesn't have to interact with other people. He's been very lucky to have managers who appreciate what he could do, because honestly, he's super bad with managing his relationship with coworkers.

 

@raziela I'm an avid Daylight fan that I'll try their dramas even if they aren't my genre. They keep doing new genre anyways, so even if I like something, I can't find something similar unless there's a sequel, but even sequels are different LOL. 

[zenya22]

5 hours ago, skibbies said:

I think Yu Shanqing is actually great at his position so Shui is A+ manager. YSQ is well rounded and extremely good when it comes to socialising, which is essential in domestic sales, everything revolves around being socialable and talking up your product (Yang Xun is similar which is why he works well doing what he does). 

Yu Shanqing was doing a lot of kickbacks just to beef up sales and profit to show the higher ups in Beijing with the blessing of Shui. Shui is a political animal and YH learned so much from him not just about managing his coworkers but about managing his mind and his relationships in general, learned about how to defend himself, making better choices in his career, his friends which is the best he could have learned from his mentor and Shui from my perspective admired and cared about him. 

 

Thank you so much for all the updates.