I had a tired week especially on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. I came back always throwing my bag down the floor, and spring myself to the bed with my arms wide open. I decided to watch a cantonese drama – Moonlight renonsance. This drama has a grip on my heart to which I can’t explain. This is the sypnosis of the drama
A decade before the series takes place, Gam Tai Jo and his wife Chung Siu Hor are co-owners of Moonlight Bakery. One night, Hor discovers Jo and her friend Yan Hung having an affair. As a result, Hor demands a divorce. The couple each take custody of half of their six children: Jo gains custody of Ka , Yuen and Chung, while Hor receives custody of Ho , adopted daughter Yuet and Hing . The separation of the family leaves Hor shattered. Jo marries Hung, and together, they take the Moonlight Bakery name and expand the bakery throughout Hong Kong. Their business venture proves successful, resulting in a family asset totaling one billion Hong Kong dollars. Meanwhile, Hor struggles to earn a living working at the modest bakery that she and Jo once owned together.
After Jo’s divorce from Hor, Hung begins to manipulate the family to distant Jo from Hor and the children. Her mother-in-law, Sheh Gwan Lai , has a strained relationship with Hor, and Hung deliberately fuels their arguments to keep relations hostile. Lai’s sister, Sheh Lai Mui , and her son, Mak Yau Gung , are blackmailed by Hung to stay on her side. Hung sends Zhong and her own daughter, Yu So Sum , to study abroad in England and away from Hor’s family. Hung blames her miscarriage on Yuen to make him feel indebted to her, and later, he too is blackmailed by Hung. She also bribes family friend Nin Chi Yung to teach Ka about gambling and the stock market. Hung’s actions especially anger Hor’s greedy sister, Chung Siu Sa. Keen for any opportunity to make money, Sa, without consulting Hor’s family, sues Hung and Jo for taking the Moonlight Bakery name. The lawsuit furthers the rift between Jo and Hor’s family. After realizing she is not blood related to Hor’s family and after seeing her daughter, Low Ga Mei’s true colors, Sa changes for the better.
Apart from earning a living at her bakery, Hor spends her time managing her family and tries to raise her children well. Ka lacks interest in managing the bakery and is addicted to the stock market, which worries Hor. Eventually, with Hor and Yuet’s encouragement, he stops gambling. Yuet eventually develops feelings for him, but Ka instead falls for his cousin, Ga Mei. However, soon after, it is revealed that Ga Mei, like Hung, is a sneaky, selfish and greedy liar; Ka breaks up with her and the family no longer trusts her. This causes Ga Mei to turn against the family and work for Hung. Ga Mei becomes pregnant and forces Yuen into a rushed marriage. She later realizes the baby may not be Yuen’s and so has an abortion to avoid complications. She then lies and blames Hor for losing the baby, though Sa, angry that her daughter could treat Hor’s family so mercilessly, reveals the truth. Ka is soon after revealed to have an incurable heart disease.
Meanwhile, Hor’s second son, Ho, has relationship problems of his own. He dated Sum when they were young, but broke up when she left for England. Ho still has feelings for her but Sum gave up on her feelings for Ho to become the third party in a relationship with her colleague Dr. Ling Chi Shun . Ho becomes her “guardian angel” and helps her get over Dr. Ling when he leaves abruptly for England. Turns out, Dr. Ling was involved in a seven year relationship with his girlfriend Wing Lam and despite no longer having feelings for her, feels indebted to her, since she had helped him get through medical school, thus allowing the relationship to linger. However, his true feelings are towards Sum. Dr. Ling was going to break up with Wing Lam but left for England with her because she had cancer and had one month left to live. Wing Lam dies once arriving in England. Wanting Sum to get over him, Dr. Ling tricks her to believe that he and Wing Lam got married upon their arrival in England through his blog. He returns to Hong Kong and becomes involved in a “marriage plot” with Sum.
After Hung’s lies are exposed, Jo, Lai and the children’s relationship with Hor’s family improves dramatically. Hung, jealous of Hor, makes her move to take the family’s assets in spite. She attempts to sell 30% of Moonlight Bakery’s shares to her ex-husband, Yu Hak Keung but is stopped by Lai and Jo before the deal goes through. Eventually, Hung takes legal action against Hor and Jo’s family for the family assets. She bribes Jo and Hor’s family members and close friends to make false statements. Hung decides to give a mere 10% of the family assets to Jo. Furious, Lai and Jo tries to change their helpless situation, but Lai soon dies from an accident. The lawsuit results in Jo gaining 20% of the family assets and him being blissfully reunited with Hor and the children. Hung, despite receiving 80% of the family assets, is jealous that Hor and Jo could still be happy, then decides to take further action against the family. She asks Ga Mei to hold a press conference and reveal that Yuen killed someone in Thailand years ago, but Ga Mei, having seen the error of her ways, instead reveals that she had witnessed Hung killing Lai.
Because of the turn of events, Hung faces murder charges. Hung tries to convince Sum to lie and give a false statement to save her from going to jail. Sum pretends to agree and Hung then gives Sum 70% of the total shares of Moonlight Bakery shares (Hung had 80% of the total shares) as a present for Sum and Dr. Ling’s “arranged marriage” proposal. Sum subsequently returns the shares to Jo and Hor. Hung is convicted and sentenced, while Jo tells her that he’ll give her 50% of the shares once she finishes her jail term. Ho and Sum finally get together, while Yuet marries Ka. In a scene taking place four years in the future, it is revealed that Ka is alive and well and has two children with Yuet, while Hung, now living abroad, refuses to take her half of Moonlight Bakery’s shares and approves of Sum and Ho’s relationship.
I learn much from the drama. This version of the drama has no sub title but I still understand. I understood the cantonese proverbs that Hor Ma was trying to instill to her children. There is a lot of chinese culture that can be see in this drama. Ah Heng is dumb but she is able to find a good job. At first Ah Heng’s boyfriend did not allow his son for her as she is dumb and they had to communicate via hand and body language. Never the less, in the story we see how Ah Heng, her husband and her communicate. I cried. I saw how a mother’s love is still the same despite one of them is adopted. The fact Hor Ma showed equal love to all her children, all her children treated Ah Yuet (Adopted) as their own sibling. I see how important communication is when its dinner time. Most of the meal in this drama is at home. Home cook food with all the children saying ” Bon Appetite ” in Cantonese Sik Fan. Everything good to say and everything bad was brought to the dinning table and a conclusion or a reasoning is always the end of the meal. Whenever Hor Ma’s children runaway or has a problem, the whole family helps them. The children under Ah Hor’s care ( Ah Ka, Ah Yuen and Ah Cheung) is always coming back to a quarrel and argumentative home despite of family fortune, richness, fame and social status, but somehow because there were invited to dinner at Hor Ma’s place, they understood that a modest living with a united family is all we need in life. Ah Hor’s father Chow Chung really want to have a reunion dinner. The last reunion dinner they all had or he had with his children and grandchildren was in 1993. One day, Ah Hor’s ex husband (Tai Jo) came over to visit his children. They shared laughter and he was semi drunk. He question his children on why they had him and why they did not want to go back to the his house (the riches house), His children replied because of a mistress, and when there were young, he choose the mistress instead of them and he forgot all the good deeds that Hor Ma has done for his personally and business. Ah Hung one day brain washes Tai Jo to have a marriage ceremony. His former wife and his children did not want to attend but they had too because Hor Ma said no matter what Tai Jo is your father and which father does not like what his children comes to his wedding day. On the ceremonial day, his children came up to the stage together with their father and So called step mother (Ah Hung). When the eldest lead the marriage toast, the toasted to their father which was standing on the stage and their mother was on the wedding table. His wife, their step mother was mad with anger stirred within her. The cantonese proverbs use here has a deep meaning to life which is hard to explain in English. Most asian drama that I watch has some elements of home, culture, teaching, respect and what is right and what is wrong. I don’t see much of this elements in English drama and television shows. I truly enjoy watching this show.
