Good Grief

The rating system on MDL needs some improvement. There are a couple of currently airing shows that are having the same issue (haters giving low ratings without really watching the show). This is such a good drama, and I hope people will still watch despite the lower rating provided.

I am not seeing a repetitive storyline myself. While the aunt is the most insufferable person on the planet, the whole point of it is Li Zhen's growth. She continually has these obstacles and each time gets a little bit better at tackling them. I mean, yes, I want some comuppance for the aunt, but the whole point is the journey. I am so engrossed in each episode that I just don't find it boring or repetitive.

Just binged from episode 20 to 28, and I’m still not sure what it is about this show that keeps pulling me in. It’s not particularly original — the usual family rivalries, business competition, and endless schemes — yet somehow it remains incredibly engaging.
Maybe it’s the charm Yang Zi brings to her character, or the chemistry between her and Elvis’ character and their genuinely endearing slow-burn romance. Maybe it’s the emotional weight of watching the family endure hardships together through thick and thin. Or maybe it’s simply the calming depiction of the ink industry and the history and stories around it.
It doesn’t really matter why I like it. I just do.

I wanted to love this, and I did enjoy it for the most part, though more so in the first half. But the writing simply wasn't up to par. The entire L'Etoile story could have been removed altogether and they could have spent more time on the villagers instead. Eric was never a love rival, and I'm not sure why we were meant to care about the whole thing with him and Michelle. It just felt like a distraction to me.

I especially struggled with the final two episodes. We spent way too much time on the villain in something I feel like should have been resolved earlier, because I really did not need endless scenes of him being annoying and then trying to kill himself. There was so little screen time for the main couple together and it was really weird. We spent so much time on all the other characters, tying up their little stories, that it almost felt like the main relationship was an afterthought for a large part of it.

i stopped at ep 14 because the comments here aren't good, saying it's repetitive. but i picked it up again because i was curious how li zhen and uncle jingdong became close.

i'm at ep 21 now and never got frustrated as the comments. i don't find it repetitive by ep 21 nobody in the family even listens to fourth aunt anymore.

maybe because i watch it all in one go. watching it with the schedule made everything feels unresolved

Aura farming is such a fitting word for it! Luo Wen Qian feels very human, which fits well with the story ultimately being about family and family heritage. I haven't caught up to the released episodes yet and even then we're still a bit away from the ending, so I'm curious if his revenge story might include a moral about revenge we don't usually see in historical dramas.

It's nice to see the ML fail and actually not just magically have endless resources. Alas, I would have liked him to run his business a little smarter from the beginning. But I guess he has only been a merchant for three years.

I could not agree more! I think that we are so used to ML who are aura farming that anything different can feel boring for a lot of people. I enjoy this ML so much! He is flawed, human, and is getting blows! We even saw him in a depressive state! And kudos to the actors for making the character feel real. I love how different he was before his family tragedy, how changed he is now, and how you can see the cracks of his past self when he is around of people he is open with.
This said, the story could definitely give him much more to do lol.

I think this show is worth watching. Ignore the low rating. That was mostly done by haters. I am super engrossed in the story and character dynamics. I am also intrigued by ink making, to be honest.

I'm not a Yang Zi fan and I usually don't watch her dramas, but I'll say this drama is definitely worth reveling in. The first two episodes made me so hungry, and the first episode with child actors and actresses is very well done. Between the intricacies of ink-making and food, I really enjoy the build-up and pacing of the storytelling. Li Zhen is very talented, but she also learns to earn her stripes and she makes mistakes. She's not a know-it-all business wonderwhiz, whereby I usually can't stand those types of dramas complete with OTT speeches from the FL that I find to be unnatural.

The family politics doesn't make me bang my head. Some elders are typically idiosyncratic and bogged down by traditions, but the drama will progress to show you how some changes can happen naturally for the better. Romance is a side-dish.

I came for Cao Lei whose acting I always enjoy, while curious about how Elvis would do here because I adored him in the Republican-era "The Guardians". I stayed for the storyline and art, and Yang Zi being able to make me root for her. At one point, I genuinely had tears in my eyes when she had tears in her eyes.

Elvis and Yang Zi have this natural chemistry of slow burn, from friends to more than that. It's beautiful to watch. I haven't watched a majority of Yang Zi's dramas, but still reckon this is her strongest pairing or second-strongest pairing with an ML because Elvis is a very good but under-rated actor on MDL.

Lovely cinematography and apt colour-grading: Soft, warm and soothing. Lots of well-crafted shots showing you how the scale of things and details bigger than the people are most important, as the bigger picture. The main Director definitely knows what they are doing since it is Hui Kai Dong, who directed "Winter Begonia", "Arsenal Military Academy" and "Story of Yanxi Palace" alongside Guo Hao (who isn't directing in this drama). The rest of the main creative team are also highly noteworthy, with screenwriters Gao Xuan and Ren Baoru as examples.

At the 24th Huading Awards in 2018, Ren Baoru and Gao Xuan won Best Screenplay Award of China's top 100 TV dramas for "The Way We Were" starring Luo Jin and Tiffany Tang. That screenplay was also shortlisted for Best Original Screenplay at the 25th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Awards. At the 29th Shanghai TV Festival in 2024, they won Best Original Screenplay with "Imperfect Victim" while this screenplay was also nominated for best screenplay at the 32nd China TV Golden Eagle awards.

20 episodes have been well-planned. Episode 24 had me mentally saluting-

I usually cannot finish dramas where romance is the main aim. I prefer dramas where romance is a side-dish or non-existent, and storytelling is strong while characterisations are engagingly nuanced and flawed yet endearing ie non-idol drama types. Winning all the time doesn't happen. Negatives happen, but also positives, all natural. Persistence and ingenuity by the female characters is a great reward to enjoy.

Very apt balance of details about tradition, art, developing friendships and characters, all wrapped in a main storyline progressing well with sub-stories. The storytelling is strong, and the editing is good overall. This is one of those dramas where some viewers might not be able to pinpoint why it keeps you here, but I can. Definitely not for romance-only or romance-focused watchers.

in my experience the comments aren't reliable. when waiting for new episodes i check comments and they're all complaints so my excitement died down. but then when i actually watch i have fun.

just watch for yourself. the rating is only low because when the drama first aired like all yang Zi dramas. it got 1.0 bombed on Mdl, IMBD, and Douban. You mentioned 10 star reviews by Yang Zi fans and though I agree those shouldn’t be up. There are also antics who hate Yang Zi and have rated this drama of all 42 episodes 1.0 The full drama in their list is 1.0 that’s over the type crazy works. So you have hard core fans trying to raise the score. The drama started 7.4 and made it to 8.0 and dropped. it just made it to 7.8 Again I can’t tell you if this drama is to your liking. It’s not as intense like Flourished Peony / In the name of blossom. Romance here is also not the main focus. The Ml shows up in ep.6 I believe. This is more family business, female centric then anything else. It’s a good drama. I actually love it more than Flourished Peony. Mainly because Mudan was overbearing, self righteous speeches etc. Here Li Zhen imo isn’t like that. The family branch thing is also intriguing. You will have some say differently again that’s their right and opinion. That’s why it’s best for you to decide. If you like it or you can’t vibe with it. It’s okay. Just please don’t give it a 1.0. It’s a shame the douban is looking 6.1 Becuase of haters. They also did the same for Born to be alive. however that drama has a newly raised douban score of 8.4 and 8 nom magonlia awards. Yang Zi having her 4th nom. If you haven’t seen it it’s base on a true story. I hope this helps you decide if you wanna watch it or not.

La casa Tian ya estaba en el lado oscuro, pero ahora están profundamente involucrados en el fango; su final está a punto de caer.
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The Tian family was already on the dark side, but now they are deeply mired in the mud; their end is about to fall.

maybe the last 2 episodes 😂😂😂

Only the creators know, judging by the preview it aint happening tomorrow either, the story has reached a point where the romantic feelings have begun to spark but not yet there for the truth... maybe it will be revealed in the very end

nope