The Journey

It is the end of 1966. Hu Jia (Shaun Chen) goes to the temple to seek the deities' permission to change his surname back to Zhang. Unwittingly, he is caught in a confrontation between the villagers of Wanxing Village and Wanshou Village, ensuing a fight; nonetheless, the owner of New Phoenix Troupe tells his artistes that their opera must go on. Zhang Jia subdues Jingui (Zhang Wen Xiang) and hands the statue of the deity to Dai Xiaoxiong (Darren Lim). Yang Meixue (Rui En), who is a nurse, rushes to inform the opera troupe owner that her mother, Lihua, cannot perform.

Hong Kuan pushes Hong Rui out first. Xiaoxiong kicks the shelf and Hong Kuan manoeuvres his way out unscathed. Xiaoxiong takes him hostage and runs off. He hands the money to Spareribs and makes plans to hide in a durian plantation in Johor for a few months. When he finds out Hong Kuan is lost, he takes him home. Zhang Jia is appalled that Minghui made such efforts to find the stolen baby boy in spite of her pregnancy.

Zhang Jia saves Minghui from a bad fall. Xiao hits Liu Qing and scolds her for using her jewellery to redeem somebody else’s son. Zhang Jia teaches Xiao a lesson, while Minghui returns the baby to his mother. Zicong and Fangfang eat the buns Jin Nu (Chen Huihui) had left for Wan Shan. Zihua shields his siblings and is beaten up instead for the deed.

Wan Shan lies that he is unable to work because of his hand injury, so his two daughters cannot go to school. Zhang Min empathizes with the girls and invites them to her story-telling sessions. Zhang Jia calls on Minghui at the hospital and realized Meixue is the opera artiste who had ruined his gift. Zhang Jia hands out fliers on TB prevention on Minghui’s behalf, but is unable to answer medical questions.

Zhang Jia is devastated. Zhang Min offers to take care of Junteng for the time being. Dangyong and Zhang Min are concerned that Zhang Jia might blame Minghui’s death on Junteng. What Dangyong says reminds Zhang Min of Hong Kuan. Wan Shan hopes Dangyong and Zhang Min will adopt his children. They refuse to, but agree to let Jin Nu work for them. Meixue is inspired by Minghui’s example; she enrols for a course to train as a maternity nurse.

Dangyong receives a bullet while handling an opium den case, while Zhang Min receives prank calls. Wan Shan takes away the gold chain Zhang Min had left at home. Not knowing he is being followed, Hong Rui runs after the candy hawker when school ends. Zhang Min and Dangyong manage to find him and Hong Kuan. Hong Kuan is scolded by Zhang Min for not taking care of his brother. Dangyong advises her to be wary of suspicious characters. Zhang Jia goes to the village with Zhang Min and donates 30 tables and chairs to the students.

Zhang Min has nightmares about Zhang Yan returning for revenge. She goes to the village again and mistakes Xiaoxiong for a stalker, when he is merely trying to protect her. Zhang Min settles a dispute between the two villages over reared pigs. Jingui shreds Wan Shan’s clothes when he is unable to repay his debts. Qiufeng goes after Wan Shan for his rent. Wan Shan wants to run away; and decides he should leave two of his children with Dangyong. When Zihua, who wants to stay, declares he can make money selling curry puffs, Wan Shan picks Zicong and Feifei.

Hong Kuan, Hong Rui, Zicong and Fangfang go to school together. Zhang Yan visits Hong Kuan and returns the handkerchief. Hong Kuan shows his concern and even steals medicine from home for him. Zhang Yan learns Minghui has died. He pays respects at Minghui’s grave and vows to make Zhang Jia pay for not taking good care of her. He prepares to attack Zhang Jia when the latter turns up at Minghui’s grave, but Meixue’s appearance thwarts his plan. Zhang Jia asks Meixue to be his partner at Mr Robertson’s ball and buys a gown for her. At the ball, Zicong and Fangfang are envious that Dangyong and Zhang Min are accompanied by Hong Kuan and Hong Rui.

Dangyong takes Zhang Min and the children out for a picnic. She refuses to let Hong Kuan eat with the rest of the family. Dangyong tells Hong Kuan how Zhang Yan had hurt Zhang Min in the past, and why his friendship with Zhang Yan soured. However, he asserts that Hong Kuan will always be his son and hopes he and Hong Rui will be good brothers. Zicong overhears Zhang Min suggesting to Dangyong that they find foster homes for him and Fangfang. Infuriated, he plots to set Hong Rui up. Lihua returns after a trip and insists Meixue should move back home.

Zhang Min rushes back after hearing gunshots. With his dying breaths, Dangyong urges her to take good care of the children. Meixue agrees to go on a date with Henry for Zhang Jia’s sake. The deal is called off when Zhang Jia hits Henry for trying to get fresh with her. Zhang Jia and Zhang Min are devastated by Dangyong’s death. Fangfang wants to return to her parents’ place, but Zicong stops her. Zhang Jia tells Xiaoxiong and Spareribs that Zhang Yan killed Dangyong and took Hong Kuan away. Xiaoxiong vows to avenge Dangyong.

Zhang Jia follows the doctor’s recommendation to let Zhang Min recuperate in a quiet place, and picks Wanxing Village. He sells his laundry and wine shops, and makes plans to sell jeans instead. He is worried about Hong Rui, who cries all day because he misses Zhang Min, and Hong Kuan, who is still missing after being thrown out of the house. Hong Kuan becomes a shoe polisher. Jingui likes him and even helps him out when he is bullied. Hong Kuan decides to become Jingui’s lackey. Zhang Jia and Meixue discuss sewing their own jeans, which would be cheaper. As they map out their business plan, Lihua looks on with disdain. Xiaoxiong sees Zhang Min at Dangyong’s grave every day and tries to use a medium to urge her to treasure her own life.

Meixue reads Yisheng’s diary and learns how afraid he was when he was caught in the Cultural Revolution. She sees a regretful Songtao burning the ship ticket Qiufeng had prepared for Yisheng and consoles him. Qiufeng does not believe Yisheng is dead and even tells Meixue that she has to wait for him to return. Hong Kuan is on the way home from school with his siblings when he spots Zhang Min. She sees him hiding from her. Jingui’s men drag him away. Zhang Jia rushes to Hong Kuan’s rescue. Jingui is surprised to learn Hong Kuan is Zhang Jia’s nephew.

Four years passed. Zhang Min is running a kueh shop called "Little Nyonya". Hong Rui (Jeffrey Xu) rushes to the shop to help, as Fangfang is busy with rehearsals. Zhang Min orders him to do his homework instead. Zicong (Ian Fang) is happy when Xiaoxiong tells him to concentrate on his studies instead of helping out at the shop. Zihua (Shane Pow) works at a roast meat joint and is often bullied by his boss, Uncle Hai. Zicong gets into a fight with Jiahui (Julie Tan) at the shop. When he sees Zihua, he runs off. Meixue has become Zhang Jia’s assistant and is jealous when Richard (Ye Shipin) offers to matchmake him with Lin Meimei. She turns up at the restaurant where they are meeting and claims there is a problem with their delivery.

Uncle Hai refuses to teach Zihua how to prepare the char siew sauce. Zihua sneaks in to listen to the English class at night. While there, he meets Meiyun. Jiahui mistakes Zihua for a lecher and feels bad when Meihua clarifies the misunderstanding. She accidentally tears Zihua’s shirt, and finds that the char siew smell on it is familiar. Zihua returns home to find Feifei fighting with Wan Shan, who is back to get his wife’s money. Wan Shan explains that he was locked up in Kuala Lumpur after being arrested during the racial riots. Feifei runs off and goes to stay with her buddy, Ying. Both are co-workers at the clothes factory.

Qiufeng whips up a feast and invites Meixue and Lihua to a meal. Yisheng’s stint in China has left him crippled in one leg after his stint. Zhang Jia is stunned to see a man embracing Meixue. After she has made the introductions, he excuses himself and leaves. He has mixed feelings when he looks at the ring he had prepared for her. Songtao apologises to Yisheng for encouraging him to go to China all those years ago. Yisheng learns how Songtao had kept the ship ticket and thwarted his attempt to return early. Lihua urges Meixue to reconsider her situation.

Zihua makes some delicious char siew and gives it to Jiahui, who is devastated by the death of her idol, Bruce Lee. Zhang Jia cannot make it to the meeting with the school’s department head. Instead, Zhang Min turns up, wearing the earrings bought by Hong Kuan. Hong Kuan has done well in school and is encouraged to go overseas for studies. Zhang Min offers to cover the expenses. Wan Shan gambles away the $3000 and returns for another $10,000. Zhang Min makes him vow never to let Hong Kuan know the truth. Zhang Jia tells Hong Kuan he would like to take him to Hong Kong, but will let him decide whether he prefers to stay by Zhang Min’s side instead.

It is the year 1978. Hong Kuan fails to turn up for the photo-taking session at Zicong’s university graduation. Zicong comes up with a solution to help "Little Nyonya" when Daidi (Jae Liew) leads the other workers in a strike. Zhang Min is happy that Hong Rui stands in for her when a group of tourists turn up for a visit. Jiahui, who is the tour guide, praises Hong Rui for being a good speaker. Zicong falls out with Jiahui over some pandan cake and finds her very familiar. Zicong brings the cakes to the law firm to butter up his boss, Lawyer Huang. Lawyer Huang drags him to meet Yao Renyi, the boss of Yao Movies. Renyi’s generosity impresses Zicong.

The government maps out a 10-year plan to clean up the Singapore River. Jiahui, who has hopes of studying photography in Europe, takes pictures of the river. Liwan (Tracer Wong) encourages Jiahui to help Renyi out in the business after her return. Jiahui is not interested in Justin, the blind date Liwan has set her up with. She tries in vain to find Zihua at Wei Ji. Jinnu develops dementia after Wanshan’s death. One day, she loses her way. She meets Jiahui, who offers to take her home. Jiahui is reunited with Zihua at Jinnu’s place. He had joined Wei Ji after completing his National Service and has since been promoted to head chef. Zihua tells Feifei he may be out of a job soon. Uncle Wei’s wife has been dead for a year and Uncle Wei intends to sell the business. Feifei’s plan is to find a night-shift job, so she can take care of Jinnu in the day.

Hong Kuan is ordering cakes for his colleague. To his surprise, he finds out Hong Rui gave up his business administration studies to sell cakes. Hong Rui begs him to keep this development a secret, as he hopes to convince Zhang Min of his preference for a culinary career after he attains success. Zhang Min praises Zicong for helping her solve a rental problem. Zicong hints that he hopes to open his own law firm; she refuses to sponsor him. Zicong advises Fangfang to take over "Little Nyonya", as she may lose everything after Hong Rui graduates. He knows Zhang Min favours her biological son. Hong Kuan does not want Hong Rui to sell cake without a licence.

Zhang Min is incensed when she finds out what Hong Rui has been doing with help from Hong Kuan and Daidi. However, she is moved when Hong Rui explains why he had changed his competition dish from Nyonya rice dumpling to Rempah Udang. On the way home, Zicong and Fangfang seize the opportunity to stir up discontent. However, Hong Kuan urges Zhang Min to let Hong Rui pick the road he wants to take. Hong Rui hopes to learn more from Bernard in Malacca. Zhang Min is well aware that Zicong is trying to ruin her relationship with Hong Rui. She forgives Hong Rui and allows him to work in "Little Nyonya". Zihua makes char siew for Jiahui, to thank her for showing concern for his mother. Feifei encourages him to win Jiahui’s heart.

Xiaoxiong is released from prison. He has been diagnosed as having a brain tumour, and Zhang Min wants to take him to America for treatment. Meixue is in such pain that Zhang Jia takes her to the clinic. The doctor advises her not to overwork, as the foetus’ condition is not stable. Yisheng is unhappy to see her with Zhang Jia. Meixue decides not to travel to Japan with her mother. Yisheng is upset when Meixue lies that she has not seen Zhang Jia. Zhang Jia learns from Hong Kuan that Meixue had made the decision to stay with Yisheng after Yisheng attempted suicide. Zhang Min and Hong Rui are thrilled when Hong Kuan agrees to help out at "Little Nyonya" while Zhang Min is away. Zicong promises to help Fangfang, but he will not join "Little Nyonya", as he has set his sights elsewhere.

Meixue suffers a miscarriage. Qiufeng and Yisheng are incensed with her for losing the baby. Yisheng even accuses her of infidelity and blames Zhang Jia for causing him to lose his baby. Zhang Jia is sad when Meixue tells him not to call on her again. Feifei helps Xiaohong deal with a difficult customer. Impressed, Jingui tries to get fresh with her. He is unhappy when Mimi takes her away in the nick of time. Zicong goes to the nightclub to celebrate a killing he has made on the stock market. He discovers Feifei has become a dance hostess to earn money for Jinnu’s medical expenses. However, he continues to be tight-fisted about money for his mother.

Fangfang cancels the contract with Uncle Huang. To her displeasure, Hong Kuan takes Daidi’s side and decides to look into the matter. She complains to Zicong, who advises her to find other means of taking over the company. Fangfang meets Director Chen Ze. Her hopes of becoming a star rekindled, she decides to go for an audition. She does not realise Chen Ze has abandoned the movie project, as the sponsors want to make major changes. Sam uses the audition as an excuse to take Fangfang to the dance hall to meet Jingui. Feifei helps out when Fangfang gets into trouble, but Fangfang assumes she is aiming to snatch away her lead role. Jingui learns the two girls are sisters and realises Feifei wants to save Fangfang. He agrees to let Fangfang leave, and targets Feifei. Luckily, Hong Kuan turns up just in time.

Jingui tells Feifei that he will release Hong Kuan if she waits on him. Refusing, she jumps out of the car, which leaves her unconscious. Jingui is scared. He releases Hong Kuan and runs off. Zihua wants Feifei to quit her job, but she knows he cannot afford to pay Jinnu’s medical bills by himself. She promises to be extra careful. Hong Rui is concerned Jingui may be after Hong Kuan’s life. Fangfang blames Feifei and is reprimanded by Hong Kuan. Zihua meets Mimi at the nightclub and learns it was Feifei who wanted to buy over Wei Ji for him. Burdened by the debts, Zihua decides to distance himself from Jiahui. Realising Jiahui is upset about being snubbed by Zihua, Zicong spends all night singing with her and cheering her up. Hong Kuan has to rest after the ordeal.

Zihua ignores Jiahui when she turns up at the stall to ask him why he did not turn up at the party as promised. Zicong makes extra efforts to console her. Zicong gets to know Jingui through Albert. Knowing Jingui is not one to be trifled with, he is reluctant to help the latter invest in shares. However, when Fangfang offends Jingui, Zicong has no choice but to pacify him. Fangfang is bothered by Hong Kuan’s loyalty to Daidi. Albert suggests she set up her own business. Zicong hatches another plan. Jiahui visits Jinnu and tells the latter about her problems with Zihua.

Jiahui is so despondent at home that Zihua is affected, but he stops himself from going forward to console her. When he sees her with a blind date at the restaurant where he is working, he tells her that he hopes she will find a capable man who will love her. She leaves in tears after thanking him for his well wishes. Liwan is unhappy Jiahui abandoned the blind date. When she mentions Zihua, Jiahui flares up and tells her not to mention his name again. Zicong is happy to learn that Jiahui has broken up with Zihua. He invites her to a concert. Zicong worries when Jingui refuses to let him off, even after he has helped him earn a pile in the stock market.

The Wans split up after Jinnu’s funeral. Zihua decides to help Wei in Hong Kong. He leaves Feifei in Hong Kuan’s care. Junteng (Renfred Ng) returns from overseas and learns Fangfang set up a rival business to Little Nyonya. Hong Kuan and Hong Rui urge him not to tell Zhang Min. Junteng puzzles over the web of relationships, as Zhang Min’s instructions to him were not to tell the Hong siblings that Xiaoxiong’s condition has deteriorated. Junteng is back for his National Service. He reveals Zhang Jia and Meixue are still as loving. He learns Yisheng’s condition has improved and he is now a writer with a new girlfriend. Renyi dines with Zicong, Jiahui and Liwan to celebrate the smooth construction of his hospital.

Zicong hires a private nurse to tend to Feifei. Hong Kuan remains close by, and tells Zicong that Feifei does not want Zihua to know, as Zihua may lose his job. Hong Rui and Junteng welcome Feifei home upon her discharge and urge her to return to work at the factory soon. Zicong discusses the hospital’s opening ceremony with Jiahui. Meanwhile, he also tries to get medical help for Feifei. Jiahui’s love for Zicong deepens when she realises how much he cares for his sister. Feifei is in a temper because she has to depend on painkillers. She is moved when Hong Kuan proposes to her, but does not want to be a burden to him. Feifei turns up at the hospital’s opening ceremony.

Jiahui is in a dilemma, as she knows Feifei does not want anyone to know where she has gone. Zicong is unhappy to see Zihua with Jiahui. Feifei survived the surgery, but is yet to be fully rehabilitated. She will only return to Hong Kuan when she can walk again. She now works in a bank and has been repaying her medical bills in instalments. Fangfang’s New Little Nyonya is not doing well, as there are no new products. To save the business, she attempts to copy Little Nyonya’s signature kaya. Hong Kuan starts legal proceedings against her for copyright infringement. When Fangfang receives Hong Kuan’s lawyer’s letter, she asks Zicong for help. Having just made a big profit on his investments, he promises to help her out financially.

Zihua, Jiahui and Zicong rush to the scene. Hong Kuan, who is in a civil defence volunteer, asks to join the rescue team. Feifei shields Fangfang. She promises that when the rescuers reach them, she will let Fangfang go out first. Junteng manages to locate Fangfang and Feifei. Hong Kuan and Junteng go in to save the two sisters. After Fangfang has been rescued, more debris falls, and Feifei is trapped. Fangfang apologises to Zhang Min. She finally recognises that she has been wrong and should treasure their kinship ties. Hong Kuan reads the letter Feifei had written before her surgery and is impressed by her courage.