All That is Bitter is Sweet

TO SUM is at the helm of the century-old pharmaceutical factory, Sheung Chun Tong, and all his family members are busy cleaning up everywhere in preparation for his daughter, KAI-KEI's wedding ceremony, making the rats that were hidden in their warehouse run out and all over the place. Most ignorant poor people believe that the rats from Sheung Chun Tong are elixirs, so they seize the opportunity to grab as many rats as possible. TO SUM's half brother, TO YUNG, urges the workers to tidy up the pharmaceutical warehouse, leading to a dispute between the doctor and the guard. Fortunately, with KAI-KEI's help, the problem is resolved. Seeking aid from her fiancé, CHONG KAI-CHO, who is the Deputy Mayor of Foshan, KAI-KEI tries to locate a father and a daughter from Hunan because they captured the rats.… ...

Seeing that SHEK has been sick with the red rash for a month and is in very critical condition, KAI-KEI diagnoses that he is suffering from a cold rash. Before that, KAI-CHO was bitten and injured by SHEK, so KAI-KEI helps attend to his injuries. KWAN-YEUK's father, Major General HUI SHUNG-MING, is a warlord, and NGAI CHUN used to work for him. With TO YUNG thinking that KAI-KEI is going to check the accounts, his mother, FUNG-YEE, urges him to be patient as Sheung Chun Tong will be in the palm of his hands in a few years. Because KAI-CHO's father, CHONG TUN-YU, is the Mayor of Foshan, all the celebrities send their gifts in celebration of KAI-CHO's wedding. His wife YU SAU-MUI reminds him that he would have to submit 70% of the income from the treasury to SHUNG-MING as his military expenses, so he must deal with it carefully.… ...

After waking up in the morning, KAI-CHO feels very uncomfortable, and a red rash appears on his face, above which he even has a fever. Upon their arrival at Sheung Chun Tong, SAU-MUI and KAI-CHO notice that there has been a large amount of patients with a red rash appearing on their faces, so they worry that there is an outbreak of a pandemic. As all of them intend to hold SHEK and his family accountable for this, KAI-KEI expresses that it's a cold rash, which is not contagious, but none of them believes her. It will take KAI-CHO five days to fully recover from his sickness if he takes the medicine. In light of this, KAI-CHO suggests postponing the wedding ceremony, yet SAU-MUI claims that they'd rather not do so. Not only for the wedding ceremony but also for his reputation, TO SUM writes a prescription which contains Eighteen Antagonisms, and names it the 9-9 Wellness Pill.… ...

The imperial physician of the fallen Qing Dynasty, SHEUNG SIK-KANG notices the 9-9 Wellness Pill, indicating that not only does no one ever know the prescription, but none dares to use it. He thereby praises TO SUM for being bold enough to use such medicine. Telling HUNG BING and the others to pour all the 9-9 Wellness Pills into a bathtub and dissolve them with hot water, SIK-KANG then grabs YAT-YUEN and forces him to soak himself in the tubful of the hot liquid medicine to treat his illness. TO YUNG and his mother express their strong dissatisfaction with regard to the fact that Sheung Chun Tong has spent three thousand silver dollars to do the charity. Having heard of this, TO SUM cannot help but to reprimand the two.… ...

Going to the municipal government to check the accounts, SHUNG-MING finds out the total income is less than before, so KAI-CHO explains that they have offered tax breaks to relieve the people's tax burden because the war was just over. SHUNG-MING then complains that the Chinese wine they used to treat him is not as good as the foreign ones, demanding KAI-CHO to get him the French wine namely Louis XII. NGAI CHUN urges YAT-YUEN to find him three bottles of Louis XII, and quick-witted YAT-YUEN successfully accomplishes this impossible task. Having received a telegram, TUN-YU learns that KAI-CHUNG is unable to attend his brother's wedding in time. KAI-CHO has a high fever after taking the 9-9 Wellness Pill, meanwhile, a large amount of people pour into Sheung Chun Tong after nightfall. So TUN-YU suspects that there must be something wrong with the 9-9 Wellness Pill.… ...

TUN-YU and his wife accuse TO SUM of murdering KAI-CHO, so SHUNG-MING orders to take TO SUM into police custody and close down Sheung Chun Tong. Blaming himself for having killed KAI-CHO, TO SUM still has no idea how come the Wellness Pill is poisonous. Having heard that TO SUM is imprisoned, YUK-KAM is very worried, however, FUNG-YEE and TO YUNG give a cold response to this. On the other hand, NGAI CHUN lets YAT-YUEN handle KAI-CHO's funeral. KAI-KEI goes to the mourning hall, hoping to pay tribute to the late KAI-CHO, but is scolded and driven away by TUN-YU and SAU-MUI. So she sneaks into the mass, who are sending the wreaths, in an attempt to enter the mourning hall again. Having noticed this, YAT-YUEN decides to give her a hand. Upon his return to Foshan, KAI-CHUNG thinks that KAI-CHO will blame him for not attending his wedding without knowing that his brother KAI-CHO is already dead.… ...

KAI-CHUNG points out that the way his parents treated KAI-KEI is outrageous, and he does not believe that TO SUM and his daughter killed KAI-CHO; whereas TUN-YU thinks KAI-CHUNG to be disobedient, intending to hit him. When YUK-KAM sends some food to KAI-KEI, who has no appetite, she tells KAI-KEI to look after herself because TO YUNG is so unreliable that she can only rely on KAI-KEI to rescue TO SUM. Making excuses that only money can save TO SUM, FUNG-YEE and TO YUNG try to coax some money out of YUK-KAM. Later on, TO YUNG informs his mother that he discovered TO SUM's bank book, which shows that TO SUM has $300,000 in total savings, and they can withdraw the money if they are able to get the name chop. Sensing that TO YUNG is up to something, NGAI CHUN uncovers the bank book that belongs to TO SUM, and hands it in to SHUNG-MING. SHUNG-MING endeavors to keep the money all to himself, so NGAI CHUN comes up with an idea.… ...

Threatening TO SUM, NGAI CHUN not only accuses him of killing the Deputy Mayor of Foshan, but also forces him to sign a confession statement. With SHUNG-MING urging TUN-YU to sign off the guilty verdict in TO SUM's case, KAI-CHUNG questions his father as to how come they find TO SUM guilty without a trial. KAI-KEI tries to stop NGAI CHUN from closing down Sheung Chun Tong. As NGAI CHUN is about to aim his baton on KAI-KEI, KAI-CHUNG shows up in the nick of time, stopping him from doing so. Upon their arrival at TO's residence, YAT-YUEN and KAM FOOK see KAI-CHUNG being beaten up by the police. Though NGAI CHUN claims that KAI-KEI and the others can take their personal belongings at first, YAT-YUEN hints to KAI-KEI that they'd better not take anything that they would want to keep because they should not trust NGAI CHUN. KAI-KEI begs YAT-YUEN not to burn down their medicine, nevertheless, YAT-YUEN tells her to accept the reality.… ...