Original subtitles

Business

can make a nation

as well as break a nation.

The essence of great business

is to manage the household,

govern the nation,

and bring peace to the world.

Two bags of rice.

I'll buy it from you for NTD 100.

One hundred?

Chiu-yueh.

Cook me a bowl of noodles.

How much is it?

One bowl of noodles for NTD 150,000.

No,

NTD 200,000.

Did you hear that?

It's NTD 150,000 for a bowl of noodles.

By the time it's cooked,

the price has risen to NTD 200,000!

You're giving me NTD 100.

Do you think I'm a beggar?

Fuck you!

The times are different now.

The more chaotic the times are,

whoever holds intel

controls everything.

This NTD 100 is intel.

Be careful, don't run.

Be careful.

Mrs. Lin, please! We're really hungry.

I'm sorry. Please wait a little more.

- Any water left? - Yes, there is.

Can you drink water first? Drink some water.

I'm sorry. Drink some water.

Money is worth nothing now.

Rice, oil, sugar, salt, and tea

all hold more value than money.

I know you bought a new boat last month.

I also know you've stockpiled a lot of goods on it.

You will go bankrupt.

Shui-shen, if you go bankrupt,

then no one in this world

can be considered rich.

Did you hear that?

Mr. Liu.

The Nationalist government will be moving here.

You think I don't know about that?

Don't you see all the soldiers all around?

Drag him out!

You treat me like I'm your minion.

Wait.

Did you receive

any letters from your father on the mainland recently?

The congee is here. Hurry!

Wait!

Don't they say if we experience hardships,

we can come to Lin Teng's home?

We've got nothing to eat.

- We're out of food now. - Wait a moment. I'm sorry.

How is this enough? Please.

Everyone knows that you're filial.

You communicate with your father in Shanghai every month.

I heard

Mr. Chiang will be bringing millions of people to Taiwan.

The Nationalist Party's war

may not be going as well as it appears.

I'm not getting my friend's mail from the mainland either.

I think they've lost

and they're starting to suppress news about losing.

Think about it.

With millions of people coming,

without enough military vessels, they'll requisition civilian ones.

Do you think you'll be able to keep your 15 boats?

Do you think you can keep the rice and sugar you've hoarded?

Mr. Liu.

If you see me as a friend,

I have two unused warehouses at the port that I can lend you.

First,

no one will expect to find rice in an asbestos factory.

Second, it'll be more convenient to ship goods.

That way, you can sell the other boats quickly.

Just leave two boats.

By the time the government requisitions your boats,

you'll have made enough money,

and you can let the government have the boats.

You'll also gain a favor from Mr. Chiang.

Isn't this a great opportunity to make a fortune?

When are they coming?

I'd say less than six months.

I'll just buy two bags of rice from you.

In exchange for two warehouses.

Thank you.

However,

if things do play out like that,

I want to charge a warehouse maintenance fee

of 15 percent.

That's nothing!

No problem!

Pour the alcohol!

Here's a toast to you!

The future belongs to the youth now.

Mrs. Lin!

- Be careful. - He's back!

Where's Mr. Lin?

- This… - He told me to bring the rice back first.

Move the rice to the kitchen.

- Be careful. - Do you need help?

Hurry!

- Be careful. - We'll bring this in for cooking first.

Remember, less water, more rice.

People are waiting.

Make haste!

The rice is here!

The rice is here!

Come eat!

You lost your way again?

How are you doing?

My feet are sore.

I'm hungry.

There's nothing to eat at home.

Everyone knows there's food at Lin Teng's house.

They've eaten us bare.

That's two bags of rice!

Yes.

They're that hungry?

Yes, they even ate the flowers I placed on the table.

It's all right.

Since they're struggling,

let's help them.

Tomorrow morning,

I'll figure something out.

Relax.

I won't let you starve.

You're even smiling?

Doing charity until you have nothing to eat.

You must be the first one.

I'm done with you.

You lost a button too.

Hey.

You didn't even think of asking me

how I persuaded Liu Shui-shen?

I'm not interested.

IN 1950, THE KOREAN WAR BEGAN

THE NATIONALIST ARMY BID ITS TIME IN TAIWAN

THIS WAR CONTINUED FOR THREE YEARS

YEAR 1953, HSINCHU'S HUANG FAMILY

You were originally a servant hired by Ming-chiu.

But since Mingchiu has taken a liking to you,

you've married into the Huang household.

Your son

is the Huang family's bloodline.

Before a descendant of the Huang family is born,

you must restore

the endangered lineage

of the Huang family.

Yes.

Why can't a woman

take control?

Silence!

When your father was alive,

he was furious because of you,

making him have a heart attack.

You and Takeda,

a married man, had an affair

that ruined the Huang family's reputation!

Have you forgotten?

Why is it that men

can have wives, concubines,

and mistresses,

but we can't?

Silence!

After the shameless thing you did,

a woman like you dare to say such things?

Are you not embarrassed?

That's my problem.

Uncle, I understand.

Worry not.

To let the Huang family bounce back,

it'll take more than just empty words.

Listen well.

For the Huang family to rise again,

there is a key person.

I want you to go to him immediately.

All right.

Where is he?

Chunghua Cement.

CHUNGHUA CEMENT

Good day, Chairman.

Hello.

- Hello, Chairman. - Here.

How kind of you.

Thank you.

- Hello, Chairman. - Here.

This is too much.

Don't be shy.

Thank you.

Mr. Lin.

Why are you here again?

I told you I can't help you.

Again…

Director, you must help me this time.

No.

Now that the Korean War has started, not just the Nationalist government,

but even the US wants cement to assist in the defense process.

I know that.

Perhaps there are leftover materials in storage

or unshipped materials.

Give me whatever you have.

What do you mean?

You're just making it hard for me.

I know that you have a refined taste for tea.

This is the best black tea from Miaoli.

It's world-class.

This is a gift from the Provincial Cement Union.

If we want to give you a hard time, we won't give you this.

Wait a moment.

Let me refer you to someone.

Talk to him.

General Ma Jen-fu.

I want you to hold a banquet for him.

During the Civil War,

he was a logistics officer.

The Huang family often collected resources for him

and shipped them to the mainland,

so you must be on good terms with him.

During this time of privatizing Chunghua Cement,

ensure that he is willing

to make you the chairman of Chunghua Cement.

That way, the Huang family

will continue to prosper.

General Ma Jen-fu.

General?

Fuck.

What does a general know?

What qualifies him to run the cement business?

He's not going to run it.

He wants to privatize Chunghua Cement.

Privatize?

What's that supposed to mean?

Privatization means making us run it ourselves.

Then who will be the head?

I'll go and gather some information first.

Hi.

I am Lin Teng, the chairman of the Provincial Cement Union.

I would like to request a meeting with General Ma.

Mr. Lin.

I think all the people here are waiting to meet General Ma.

I heard that General Ma accepted a lot of gifts,

but he still let them wait here.

If you ask me,

perhaps we should also prepare gifts?

Otherwise, I don't think he'll see you.

By the looks of things,

even if we prepared a gift,

we'll still be out here in the sun.

Let's go back first.

All right.

Mr. Lin!

Hi, Mr. Lin.

My name is Mao.

Hi, Mr. Mao.

Do we know each other?

You've never met me.

I've been to your house for a meal,

and seen your photo,

so that's how I recognize you.

You work here?

My wife works in the kitchen.

I clean here.

Mr. Lin.

Are you here to see the general too?

Mr. Mao.

There's something

I would like you and your wife

to help me with.

In the next few days, if the general needs

to go out on special business,

can you let me know?

Well…

Mr. Lin.

Are we leaving just like this?

Sanlang said you went to see General Ma,

but he didn't want to see you.

What do you plan to do next?

Wait.

Wait?

Until when?

Wait for an opportunity.

How will you know when an opportunity will arise?

Did you know

that during Japan's Sengoku period,

there were three figures?

Oda Nobunaga,

Toyotomi Hideyoshi,

and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

The three of them had different opinions on the issue

of a cuckoo not chirping.

Oda Nobunaga said,

"If the cuckoo does not chirp,

let's kill it."

Toyotomi Hideyoshi said,

"If the cuckoo does not chirp,

we'll find a way to make it chirp."

Tokugawa Ieyasu said,

"If the cuckoo does not chirp,

we will wait for it to chirp."

In that case, are you Tokugawa Ieyasu?

If the cuckoo doesn't chirp,

it must mean it does not like being here.

Just let it go.

If it is in the mood,

it will chirp, won't it?

If we were in Japan's Sengoku period,

you'd surely become the fourth figure.

I don't want that.

Those people all died horrible deaths.

If I have time,

I'd just arrange flowers, play mahjong,

and be myself.

I'll get it.

Hello?

Are you Mr. Lin?

I am.

Tomorrow,

the general is going out to meet someone.

He…

He doesn't want people to know.

Where? What time?

Later on,

I'll try to find out

the location and time,

then I'll let you know.

Okay.

Thank you.

I'm sorry.

I did not make this call.

Who are you? You have the wrong number.

The cuckoo is ready to chirp.

Hi,

Tokugawa Ieyasu.

The day after tomorrow,

will you be receiving anyone important?

We receive important people here every day.

Mr. Lin, you're also important. I receive you well too, don't I?

No, what I mean is

has anyone asked

for a private room

or asked you to prepare…

especially complex dishes?

Mr. Lin, what you're asking…

You can tell me.

I'm not looking for trouble.

- I know that, but-- - Sir.

Here…

Mr. Lin is treating you to tea.

Tea?

- No, Mr. Lin. This is too much. - Take it.

You've had your tea.

Can you tell us now?

There is one.

The day after tomorrow.

The Huang family from Hsinchu is holding a banquet.

It's just that

I don't know who they're hosting.

But they mentioned they want

some cuisine from the Wu region.

They also asked us to steam the stinky tofu.

The Taiwanese rarely eat it steamed.

Usually, only the mainlanders eat it that way.

- Stinky tofu? - Yes, steamed.

- It's so smelly and stinks up the place. - Which room?

Okay.

The day after tomorrow, right?

Looking down from here,

on the first floor,

I'll reserve

all the tables.

All the tables?

Mr. Lin, that's impossible.

I've got many reservations for the day after tomorrow.

- Thanks for your hard work. - This isn't about that, Mr. Lin.

No, you…

There must be a way.

This is for you to drink tea.

This is the deposit.

Take it.

Tea? I'm not that thirsty.

Is this place inconspicuous enough?

Don't worry.

Are you scared?

I'm not afraid at all.

Any progress on forging the identity?

You bring this up every time!

As long as I have an identity,

we can stay together.

We'll be able to do business like we used to.

Wait…

Wait for me.

You know how Mr. Lin is.

If he doesn't see you, he gets all uncomfortable.

Lin Teng is a sentimental guy.

Lin Teng.

- Right, yes. - No problem. I'll take care of Kaohsiung.

Thank you, sorry for the trouble.

Not at all, it's a piece of cake.

I'm counting on you tomorrow.

I prepared all the booze.

Relax.

Friends support each other.

We'll take care of it!

If nothing, we've got people.

Make sure there's enough booze.

Yes, of course.

- You like to drink. - So do you.

Is everyone here?

- Yes, they're in the back. - Yes, let's have a party.

He's already tired

of seeing only me.

Come, let's eat.

- Come. - Everyone, over here.

This is Lin Teng.

Get to know him.

- Come and eat. - Lin Teng is treating us.

Come through here.

- Come. - Don't be shy.

This way, please.

Lin Teng is friendly. Make yourselves at home.

Please come in. Thank you.

Hsueh-yu.

Tomorrow,

I want you to wear the nicest clothes

and the best necklace.

I want you to dazzle everyone.

Sure. Let's go shopping.

- What? - I don't have any fancy necklace.

You need to buy it for me.

Otherwise, how will I charm the crowd?

Go and eat! We'll shop later.

- I want a pearl necklace. - Fine, they're waiting.

Pearl!

- Sanlang! Look! - What?

- I can't button my suit. - No way.

- This jacket is too big! - No.

Shut up! We need to go!

Go.

Mr. Wang!

Wow, you're all wearing suits!

- Thank you. - Where's Lin Teng?

No, let's sit first.

Feast yourself.

Mr.Wang! We're almost out of wine, should we get more?

Figure it out yourself. Hurry.

FUHUA BANQUET

Bring wine!

Eat up, everyone.

Are you all right?

- I'm sorry. - It's okay. I'm bringing wine over.

Go.

So clumsy.

- Mr. Hsu. - Sit.

Where's Lin Teng?

Goodness!

Is Lin Teng coming or not?

People are asking.

Mr. Hsu!

Mr. Hsu!

Come!

Goodness.

Thank you.

Eat!

Help yourselves.

What did you say?

You're out of wine?

Sir.

We're running out of wine.

- You must get more. - Yes, it's all ready.

Come on.

Eat.

How about the wine? Is it enough?

Mr. Lin.

Mr. Lin.

Mr. Lin, the general is here.

- You sure? - I'm sure.

- All right. - Okay.

Everyone, Mr. Lin is here!

What a presence.

Who is he?

The chairman of the Provincial General Business Association and Cement Union,

Mr. Lin Teng, prepared a banquet today.

He invited the province's distributors and building material providers.

They really can't fit into the private rooms,

so they're seated out here.

It might be a little festive today.

Lin Teng?

And the one beside him is his wife?

I think so, yes.

Did you plan

this event?

I'm sorry.

They just happened to come today too,

so…

They wanted every table.

They reserved them all, yes.

Show the way.

The private room is on the second floor. This way, please.

Get a card from him later. Don't…

Don't mention you.

Let's go.

Watch your step.

Come, everyone!

A toast to Mr. Lin!

Here's a toast to Mr. Lin!

- Yes! - All right!

General,

allow me to introduce

the successor of the Huang family,

Huang Hung-ta.

Hung-ta.

General Ma.

You mentioned

that the higher-ups are giving you a hard task.

They want you to organize Chunghua Cement

and privatize it.

Today, I'm here

to introduce Hung-ta

to you, General.

If you need anything,

Hung-ta

is at your service.

Use him all you want,

it is all right.

For this matter,

I do need manpower.

Please tell me what you need.

I will do my best to fulfill it.

Can you tell me which are the five major families of Taiwan,

including yours?

Very young and successful.

- A toast to you. - All right. Come on.

- Mr. Lin is busy. - Mr. Lin Teng.

You are…

I am Masami.

Masami?

You are Japanese?

A Japanese raised in Taiwan.

I wanted to meet you,

so I gathered the courage to come.

You came with General Ma.

You speak good Japanese.

While researching asbestos, I studied in Japan for a while.

You and General Ma…

Are you his wife?

You're very observant.

My godfather didn't want me to mention it,

but it seems I cannot keep it from you.

Godfather?

General Ma

is my godfather.

I'm sorry for assuming.

It's all right.

Is she your new friend?

This is Ms. Masami.

She's here to say hi on behalf of General Ma.

This is my wife, Hsueh-yu.

Hi.

If you don't mind,

would you like to sit and have a drink with us?

I'll decline.

I'm here on behalf of General Ma to get a business card from Mr. Lin.

Can I get a business card?

I am Lin Teng, the chairman of the Provincial Cement Union.

Please send my regards to General Ma.

I will let him know,

Provincial Cement Union Chairman

Lin Teng.

She's gone, and you're still staring.

It seems to me,

the one who dazzles everyone today

is not me.

Next is the Chuang family from Shanhua.

By helping the Japanese communicate with the Taiwanese,

they avoided a massacre and gained the Japanese's trust.

But during the final battle,

for the crime of rebellion,

the Chuang family's son was arrested and imprisoned.

He behaves better afterward, doesn't he?

He keeps a lower profile too.

Next is the Wu family from Keelung,

who made their fortune mining gold.

They are a member of the Institute of Revolutionary Practice.

Masami.

Come, sit down.

Eat.

Thank you, Godfather.

My apologies.

You, go on.

Hung-ta!

Why are you so rash?

When I worked as a club escort before,

I used to spill drinks on new customers on purpose.

The customer may be annoyed,

but it always left an impression.

Come on, keep going.

Within the five major families,

the only one that serves you,

is Hsinchu's Huang family.

And its current head

is my uncle.

Then which family

is the one downstairs from?

Downstairs?

See?

You missed out on intel.

On the battlefield,

the most important thing is intel.

If you want to impress me,

make sure you have all the intel first.

Once you've got that taken care of,

we can discuss Chunghua Cement.

General!

Hung-ta.

How can you miss the guy downstairs?

Which family is that?

I'll find out now.

Go and figure it out!

Useless fool!

Sheng-mei's ballet recital is approaching.

Can you take the time to come?

She really wants you to see her perform.

Sure.

I feel like Chia-cheng is too generous.

You know what?

He gave out all the imported pencil from us

to his classmates.

He's just like you.

Also,

I want to get the dog

in Hsiu-lan's home to teach the kids piano at home.

Is that okay?

Yes, sure.

- Yes? - Mr. Lin.

General Ma sent someone to ask you to go and meet him.

After all the trouble,

I've finally succeeded.

The event last night

left quite an impression on me about you.

I was merely hosting friends.

My apologies for disturbing you, General.

Do you smoke?

I don't.

Don't be shy.

I am sorry, General,

I'm asthmatic.

I cannot smoke.

What kind of people are your friends

from yesterday?

They're cement distributors and developers in Taiwan.

So you know them very well?

We're all friends.

Then I won't beat around the bush.

The Korean War is almost over.

We've received news

that they are preparing for peace talks.

The US army has retreated to the 38th parallel north,

and they're using that as the line

to divide North and South Korea.

If the war continues,

even the US can't take it.

There's no going back.

Then Taiwan, the anti-communist fortress,

becomes even more important.

This is why

US aid will start arriving in Taiwan,

and the Nationalist government

will also begin to actively develop Taiwan.

If there is anything I can do for you, General,

please tell me directly.

You seem to be a resourceful fellow.

If you are willing

to help me persuade the five major families of Taiwan

to give up their land

and trade it for Chunghua Cement's stocks,

the government will surely be grateful.

The five major families…

But the five major families have no knowledge of cement.

If you let them run Chunghua Cement, that's a little…

Who do you think is suited to run it then?

There are many talents within the Cement Union.

They're very familiar with the business too.

- If you let them run it-- - Mr. Lin Teng.

Taiwan is an anti-communist fortress now.

We are now in continuous and active development too.

To develop,

land is needed for reforms.

So the government only wants to trade Chunghua Cement for land,

and privatization is just an excuse?

Watch your words.

Speak civilly.

Can you do it or not?

If I didn't think you're somewhat fucking capable,

I'll fucking have someone else do it if you can't!

The government wants land owners to exchange land for stocks.

So those of us without land

cannot run Chunghua Cement.

If that's the case,

Chunghua Cement just belongs to the rich.

That's right.

We're just employees.

Don't dream of making it big.

We can't let something like this happen.

What do you propose then?

What can we do?

Let Lin Teng think about it.

Let's get going.

Come on.

Fuck.

The government is just bullying us poor people.

- And I thought… - We're counting on you.

STILL WATERS RUN DEEP

Exchanging Chunghua Cement for stocks.

What a mess.

Does it matter

who owns the cement?

Before, cement belonged to the Japanese,

so we had to cater to their every whim.

Now, it's the government's,

so we must bow down to the mainlanders.

In the future, it'll be the landowners'.

If you don't want to be at other people's mercy,

think of a way to get into Chunghua Cement.

Doesn't General Ma want your help?

Later on, within Chunghua Cement,

he should give you a good position too.

Otherwise, how can you help him?

If you have a good position,

you won't have

to curry favor with people.

And your friends

won't have to ask people for favors.

Isn't that so?

Regarding exchanging land for stocks,

I'll go and speak to the landowners.

But if I succeed,

I hope that you will take care of me too, General Ma.

Put your mind at ease and go.

I will definitely not mistreat you.

As a matter of fact,

among Taiwan's five major families,

the Huang family is very close to me.

I suggest you speak to Huang Hung-ta first.

Let them be the first supporter of this.

That way,

your task will be easier.

All right.

Remember.

I'll never forget

anyone who served me.

I used to be from Wollonggong

A carefree man

I've learned it just by listening,

and you still don't get it.

If you can't even do this,

how will you interact with those big officials?

You must learn to sing Peking opera

to deal with them.

Get it?

Sir, please demonstrate again.

Let's start again from "A carefree".

Go.

A carefree man

Sir…

When I sing that,

- how should I… - Kentaro?