Footprints of Change Episode 21

Time with gma

Zhao was placed in a communist brig of some sort. Wen had made half the money and still coming up with the rest. I guess he did hear Fang or didn’t want to burden Yi, but he made a huge mistake not enlightening. Zhao gave his friend his watch to repair and they parted. Shortly after, Zhao committed suicide. Wen was devastated by the news. While he was processing the information in his study, Yi came over with window dressings for the house to lighten things up. She kept referring to Zhao helping her get Wen to appreciate finer things. At this point Wen burst out of the study, ripped the curtains down yelled about not needing or wanting those types of things and told her to get lost. She was desperate enough to ask directer Fang what was wrong and Fang told her about Zhao and that Wen had collapsed from an old war injury. She said he must not have trusted her like his first wife or she would have known these things. She left and her husband said Yi could not visit him in hospital that he needed his rest. Yi gave him six months of rest while she toured the north west getting more inspiration for her designs. She asked Qing to return his pen and camera right after she left. I have no pity for Wen here. His stance on strict oversight of himself for every possession, is as obsessive as Yang thinking he has the power and authority to do as he saw fit. Yang has been moved to a first floor quarters. I think this is so they can monitor him easier. It is obvious he is mentally unwell. Qing brought him some food and meds making it clear she was visiting for the committee and not herself. He tried to play up his loneliness and she took the liquor bottle out with her and said he should stay away from it and left. I am so glad she wasn’t even tempted with his routine. Her alone time with Yi has helped her become the sister she was always supposed to be. This time, you can see how fragile Yang is because he sits on his bed going how did I get here? This is one thing I think he and Zhao felt similarly. Their vices took them from the things truly important and ultimately broke their spirits. When Yi came back from her adventures, she was happily greeted by Qing and head seamstress. Her designs did well in the contest, so she was happy with the news. Qing told her she got into school and wanted to show Yi her class. She took her where she could see Wen teaching and mentioned that he had started teaching classes because somebody had told him the story of Marpessa. While Yi is staring at Wen, Qing screams for him and runs away. 😂 I was not sure if I would ever like that young lady but I find that I do. She will find her own way just like Yi did. Wen saw her and left his class to give her a hug. She already figured out while she was gone why he didn’t tell her the sad things. She told him she didn’t need his protection of the bad stuff. They needed to face it together. His class runs out to spy on them and he hugs her tighter.🥰 I do not know how much time has passed, but Wen’s son has gone from an angry adolescent to an angry man. He has cut ties with his father and Yi is trying to negotiate. He is not having his daughter share his name and if they write to her, the letters will be sent to his workplace and he will choose if to read them to her. It is not said why he left, but I am guessing between Wen not helping the family that raised him and Zhao taking his life that he felt his dad was both responsible and could have prevented it. He is right, but life is complicated. As he grows older and his daughter grows up he might come to understand his father better. In 1984 Wen passed away and left all his savings to his granddaughter. It is not said if the family reconciled, but at least she and Yi seem close. The 50’s arc ends with no further comment about Qing or Wen’s daughter. I found this arc as interesting as the first, but the transition to start and end it did not flow so well. We are now in the 90’s and back to the wedding Ye Xi Ning was visiting. She is meeting the brother of the groom and they commiserate how they were used for cash and life had greatly changed because of what the couple did. We are not told why they stole, just that they used those closest to them to get the cash and then disappeared leaving a wake of financial ruin for the unsuspecting victims. XiNing had saved herself by pawning Cheng’s watch. Seems it was worth the 50k to counter the theft. The young man she was meeting, was not as fortunate. The groom stole his US Visa and stole 60k from the faculty using his name. The college gave him two months to repay and suspended his classes. This also caused his trip abroad to never happen. His drinking celebration over his US Visa with friends gave the groom the opportunity for the identity theft. Why they did what they did is still the biggest mystery.

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