Meet Yourself (2023) s01e10 Episode Script
Episode 10
[Meet Yourself]
[Episode 10]
Brother, it's raining.
How come it suddenly rains?
Granny, hurry to pack up.
It's raining.
Yao, I've to go home.
Beans
Beans are dried in the yard.
Don't go. Granny, pack up.
Put away clothes.
Granny.
Take an umbrella.
Don't get wet.
Take care.
Brother, listen.
I told you to set up a canopy.
It'll block the light.
Hurry.
Take care.
Mr. Ma.
I have a brainwave.
A brainwave.
Fast or slow?
Fast, I think.
Great minds think alike.
At such a juncture.
Typical of a man.
She's tired, too.
Here you are.
Hi, Bingnian.
I agree.
[Ms. Bingnian]
I agree to be your cyber lover
never parting with you.
Don't talk bullshit with me.
Who're you?
Ms. Bingnian, nice to e-meet you.
I'm Hu Youyu.
I added your WeChat at the pub.
You said I sang well,
and you liked me very much.
Sorry, I drank too much that day.
Unfriend each other.
[Hi, what about thinking over it?]
[You're not her friend.]
[Xie Zhiyao: Are you free tomorrow noon?]
[Granny invites you to a meal at our home.]
[What do you wanna eat?]
[It's fine with me. Don't bother.]
[Not at all. Deal. Good night.]
Xu Hongdou.
Let's go to the town's morning fair.
Take some cherries.
Hello.
Hi.
Cherries are sweet.
Have a taste.
Taste it.
No, thanks.
My coat is newly changed and clean this morning.
Try it.
Buy some if you like.
Haven't you woken up?
- Buy.
- I want a kilo.
Sober up.
A kilo.
- How much is half a kilo?
- Eight yuan.
- I want cherries of 15 yuan.
- Okay.
Deal.
See you.
Anything else you want?
What vegetables do you usually have in Beijing?
Let me buy you some.
How much is the broccoli?
Two yuan.
For half a kilo?
Let me see.
The carrot is good.
I'll buy some carrots for that sweetie.
How much is it?
Three yuan per jin.
Okay.
Leave it to me.
No bag.
Just put it inside.
Okay.
Why're you this sleepy?
How do you often get up on weekdays?
I don't have to work today.
You woke me up
for the fair early this morning.
Will it kill you if not torturing me?
Go ask Granny.
She wants you to eat at our home,
but doesn't know what you like,
so she asked me to take you with me.
I told you I'm not a fussy eater.
It's typical of a pig.
You mean to torture me.
Listen,
the steamed rice noodles with fresh meat
is a popular local meal.
After 8:30 a.m., you can't even buy one.
Yao, rice noodles are ready.
Coming.
It's your first time having this.
Let me make you a local sauce.
Here you are.
Chopsticks.
- Sis, yours.
- Okay.
Can I have takeaways?
I wanna bring some for Damai and Nana.
No way.
You outsiders tend to order takeaways.
To dine in shows the basic respect
for the rice noodles, got it?
Let's have a talk.
I know there's no free breakfast.
Speak up.
It's just
I find you quite congenial to me.
Over the past time since we met,
I think you're so kind and nice.
- Come on.
- Most importantly,
my granny likes you so much.
Wait.
Let me finish.
Can you listen to me?
It has been a short time since we met.
I don't know you.
And you don't know me.
I won't stay here for long.
And I'm not a libertine.
I'm quite serious with love.
Any type of cyber or long-distance love
is unacceptable.
Well, of course,
you're excellent and nice.
I'm done.
You can go on.
And for sure if you don't continue,
it'll be better
for I'm good at declining others.
Does my speech open
like a love confession that much?
The point is
you behave as if
a dog sees a steamed bun.
It's natural for me to think that way.
I'm not.
Anyway,
just a misunderstanding.
Joking aside,
can you help me?
In any condition.
Why must me?
I can't do anything.
Listen,
our employees are
uncles, aunties
and grannies in the village.
Most are uneducated
without a sense of serving others.
I got them trained before,
but it's too basic and not enough.
We've to rise to the occasion.
I won't let you carry a tray.
It'll be a waste of talent.
Just want you to observe,
spot and solve problems,
and put forward some advice.
You may make a questionnaire.
I did have one,
but customers demand
better service awareness.
Do as they said.
You know,
last time you chased after
a dine-and-dasher hastily
with a smile instead of anger.
You saved his face.
Why?
Making good affinity
is crucial to the service industry.
Affinity boosts success.
Yeah, that's service awareness.
You engaged in the hospitality industry
for ten years.
You're full of nothing but
experience.
But I don't know how to train employees.
You don't have to.
Just spot problems.
Include meals.
We've many foods and places of interests here.
For example,
outsiders don't know
today's rice noodles store at all.
I promise you'll have fun and eat well
in each of the following days.
How do you like it?
As a volunteer,
how can I have fun and eat well?
Work can never be fun.
Don't fool me around.
I'm not in.
Xu Hongdou,
think over it.
Tell me about your condition.
I'll try to meet it.
Think over it.
It won't take much of your time.
Tell me about your condition.
I'll try to meet it.
Slightly moved, aren't you?
Yao was naughty when little.
Every time I beat him, he'd run away.
With a burning stick in hand,
I chased after him around the village
but can't catch him.
He was beaten up?
Of course.
A troublemaker.
His best friends are
Yang Guanjun and Xie Qiang.
Three troublemakers.
They stole others' eggs,
the next day burnt someone's beanstalk,
and the day after it
they fought with classmates
who were regular guests to our home for justice.
As an old saying goes in my hometown,
"Seven- or eight-year-old kids are annoying."
Indeed.
But now he's better.
Quite filial.
He becomes a boss now.
But it's hard to be a boss.
These years,
he hasn't made a penny,
and invested in the money he earned before.
He even loaned to invest in something called
infrastructure construction.
I don't understand.
We're not a noble family.
His dad and auntie just make ends meet
by selling flowers in Kunming.
I'm too old to help him out.
All I can do is not to bother him.
He did have a hard time.
I'm so anxious but I can
do nothing to help him.
I can't even fall asleep every night.
Granny,
don't worry.
It's common to invest in a business.
Yao's so outstanding and competent.
It's not a problem.
I'm worried that I can't help him.
He has invested this lot
with great effort.
Many of his employees
have seen him growing up.
He can't bear blaming them.
Rest assured.
All in all,
it's my fault.
At my age,
I do need others' care,
but I don't wanna go to Kunming.
If I can take good care of myself,
maybe Yao still works in Beijing.
It's all my fault.
Granny, it's okay.
I'm old, useless and troublesome.
Don't think so.
Is the garlic ready?
What're you talking about hand in hand?
You
Nothing.
Is the meal ready?
Granny,
you invited her to a meal,
but I was the one to buy
vegetables and cook.
You even rush me.
Here.
Okay.
Is President Xie home?
Yes.
Granny.
Huang comes.
You have a guest here?
She's Xu Hongdou, a tenant in our yard.
She's Huang Xinxin, Village Director's assistant.
Xinxin, not Xingxing.
A college graduate.
Nice to meet you.
Welcome to our village.
Call me Huang or Xinxin.
Xinxin.
Well.
Why haven't you given it out?
I asked Xiaxia to help you.
I did once yesterday,
but some villagers weren't home.
So I gave out the rest with Xiaxia today.
He's back to rest now.
You're right in time.
The meal's ready. Eat with us.
No, thanks. I've eaten.
I'm here to talk business.
Treat your guest first?
She's not a guest.
Granny,
make Huang a cup of tea.
No, thanks.
I'm on it.
Granny, leave it to me.
Hongdou, help me place the dishes.
The opera theater is run-down.
For such a time-honored building,
after protective reconstruction,
it's better to be utilized
than to be left eroded.
How?
Assemble an opera troupe
for unique folk shows.
I heard during festivals in our village,
the villagers would sing
and play operas here.
It was a long time ago.
I remember
the couple Auntie Feng and Uncle Chang played
Lantern Opera when young.
Besides,
if the opera theater can be reused,
it's bound to be the highlight of our tourism.
Yes, that's what I want.
What do you think?
Worth a shot.
With your support,
I'll rest assured.
I'll think over it
and prepare a plan for the village committee.
Okay.
Discuss it at the village meeting.
If any problem with the budget,
I'll find a way out.
I think so.
Huang, have some with us.
Thanks, Granny.
I'm full now.
You're getting thinner.
Really?
When video chatting with my dad,
he also said so.
How long since you graduated and came here?
It's my second year here.
When I was new here,
I'm utterly ignorant of anything.
But then,
President Xie was back to set up a business.
He helped me a lot.
It's not the case.
You ran many errands for our village projects.
It's my duty.
Now we're golden partners.
How long will you stay here?
I won't leave.
Can't you a village official leave
after two- or three-year work here?
Yes, I can,
but I'm full of potential in this thriving land.
It's just the beginning.
Do your parents agree?
My dad's an education practitioner in Guizhou,
because my mom's a headmaster in a village.
The three of us are all Party members
and comrades,
fighting in each other's favorite field.
We just listen to ourselves.
I made a promise to President Xie
to build Yunmiao Village a place
of rich arts and cultures in joint hands.
That's our common ideal.
Ideal.
That's it.
Ideal.
Isn't it for money that you started a business?
The same.
If it develops well,
villagers can be given more jobs
to realize common prosperity,
then make money in society, and benefit
the society in return.
A virtuous circle.
Hongdou,
what's your ideal?
My ideal is to have a peaceful and happy life.
It's your dream.
What's the difference
between a dream and an ideal?
Very different.
What you strive for is your ideal.
What harbors hopes is your dream.
For the former, you must strive.
For the latter
sometimes you'll sit idle and wait.
They vary a lot.
What's your ideal?
My ideal is
to be a person of value to live.
You've made it.
Everyone's existence is valuable.
It's natural for you confident people to say so.
But for me,
I can do and am willing to do
nothing but writing.
There're hundreds of thousands of
network novelists in China.
Most of their writings
are like a stone thrown into the ocean,
unable to even make a wave.
And they're scolded for producing literal trash.
So I often think
for a nobody in writing like me
instead of one in a million,
if I'm really talented
or of value.
Don't think so.
You're talented for sure.
I said so
not to be comforted
or encouraged by you.
I just told you my way of thinking.
What's the result?
Amazing.
No result.
While doubting myself,
I continue to move on.
What about you?
What's your ideal?
No?
And dream?
Be rich?
Be rich.
That's most people's common dream.
What's your plan after being rich?
To retire.
Retire?
For doing what?
Must I do something?
I'll put it this way,
are your parents retired?
My mom's a housewife.
My dad ran a grain and oil shop before.
Two years ago
the original location of the street
was demolished.
My sister'd not allow him to go on.
He's retired to some extent.
What're they doing every day?
My dad practices Tai Chi
and calligraphy every day.
Last year he got a flat decorated.
Every week he takes
two days to go fishing by the reservoir.
My mom goes to the market
and researches the menu
every morning,
and then
plants vegetables with my aunt in rural areas.
Days ago she told me
she was selected as a publicist
of waste classification in the community.
They can't lie idle.
Therefore,
retirement is not a dream,
but an illusion.
Many young people hold
the illusion of being retired or rich
with nothing to do.
That's a pure illusion.
In fact, one can't lie idle at all.
If you're hungry,
you want to be full.
After it,
you want to eat well.
When you have a well-off life,
you'll have spiritual needs,
hope to be
honored and respected in society,
and achieve self-value by helping others.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
But my parents' needs are specific.
My mom hopes to
raise my baby when retired.
My dad hopes to
go to the elderly college
to improve himself,
and raise my baby.
Both of them want to raise my baby.
You know,
it's the ideal life
for most seniors
to look after their grandchildren.
I'd better find a boyfriend first.
However,
my current life is exactly what I want.
I came here across mountains and seas.
Hongdou,
what kind of life do you want?
I almost lost my life before.
I'm here to
find out what kind of life
I really want.
I'm worried that I can't help him.
He has invested this lot
with great effort.
Many of his employees
have seen him growing up.
He can't bear blaming them.
I made a promise to President Xie
to build Yunmiao Village a place
of rich arts and cultures in joint hands.
That's our common ideal.
The same.
If it develops well,
villagers can be given more jobs
to realize common prosperity,
then make money in society, and benefit
the society in return.
A virtuous circle.
My ideal is
to be a person of value to live.
During this period,
doing anything is better
than sitting in the room
to think nonsense.
♫ Turning bright silently ♫
♫ Waiting for the seabirds
to call forth the ripples ♫
♫ Waiting for the sunlight to shine into
my heart across the lake ♫
♫ When it's windy ♫
Granny,
is it hot?
Want some more?
♫ Set sail ♫
- Yeah.
- Okay.
♫ The reflection of clouds ♫
♫ the changing moon ♫
♫ and the stars all over the sky ♫
♫ The lost footsteps will be gradually erased ♫
[Dou]
♫ The light and shadow of four seasons ♫
[I'll do whatever I can. Don't expect much.]
♫ I've seen the meteor
that lights up the night sky ♫
♫ When the wind rises ♫
Who's that?
♫ the sky will ♫
Volunteer.
♫ be cloudless ♫
Granny,
you're brilliant.
Everything's a piece of cake for you.
You taught me to.
You said
you're too worried
to fall asleep every day.
It's the truth.
I didn't lie,
but I didn't ask you to say
you're old and useless.
You wept and beat your breast.
It's all your improvisation.
It's up to me.
None of your business.
Well, enjoy your footbath.
I'll call Xiaochun.
Go ahead.
♫ When the wind rises,
the sky will be cloudless ♫
♫ Go to a windy place to meet you ♫
Have you been here long?
Just here.
You look so pretty today.
You told me to dress formally.
Great.
To tell you first,
don't expect so much of me.
I don't know for sure how much
I can help you.
I can pay you.
It won't do.
Then I'll be employed.
You'll be my real boss.
I'm not here for work.
A volunteer is okay.
As long as you can offer free meals.
I put forward suggestions and plans
for improvement last night.
Interested?
Talk while walking.
One "Don't do", two "Don't quit"s,
three rules of etiquette, four bans,
and five kinds of people to be away from.
From now on,
volunteer Xu Hongdou officially
joins our cafe as a consultant and manager.
No, temporarily.
Temporarily joins our cafe.
Welcome!
Welcome Xu Hongdou
to join our cafe temporarily.
Welcome Xu Hongdou
to join our cafe temporarily.
Thank you.
During this period,
I'm the cafe's regular guest.
I find problems with our service,
working process,
staff management,
and work arrangement.
But not big problems.
The greatest advantages of our cafe
are the pleasant environment,
and its delicious dishes.
What I can offer
is some nice-to-have improvements.
I'll make each and every one of you know it,
and cooperate with you
to strive for the overall
service quality enhancement
of our cafe in a short time.
Thanks.
Well said.
The cafe opens from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The staff should be at work before 9:30 a.m.
to check and get everything ready
before it opens,
but I find the staff all arrive at 10 a.m.,
grannies even later.
That's true.
But Nana'll get everything ready
before being off work.
Grannies leave
after the cafe's tidied up.
It's acceptable.
But in fact,
grannies often come to work late and leave early.
Many times,
it's Nana alone who finishes up the work.
I told them before,
but they're too old to remember.
Nana also said
whoever's free got the work done.
We're not a family workshop where
people come and go at will
with enough substitutes.
We've to be serious.
Okay.
Though busy,
it can be handled.
I'm fine with winding up.
Guests here are all for relaxation.
It's okay to wait for a while.
They're not in a rush after sipping coffee.
Why every time when I'm here,
as long as it's crowded with guests,
you serve others first before me?
I'm here earlier.
I'm also a guest to be served, aren't I?
Because
Because what?
Because you don't
want other guests to wait.
Granny Caiyun,
you wipe tables, chairs
and shelves with the same rag.
It's insanitary.
I wash it very clean.
I do so at home as well.
Wipe different furniture with different wipers.
It's more hygienic.
On seeing this,
the guests will find us hygienic,
and rest assured,
got it?
Buy different colors of wipers.
I told Qin to buy some soon.
[To Qin: Send different colors of wipers here.]
Jinhua, pardon?
What?
How to do the cleaning?
Granny Caiyun's a bit forgetful.
Okay.
My legs hurt
after standing for long.
Yao also knows that.
When I was young,
my legs were frozen in a cold paddy field
when transplanting seedlings.
Now I'm getting old.
No way out.
I must sit after standing for a while.
Take good care of yourself.
Do you go out with Yao?
What does it mean?
She takes you as my girlfriend.
No
Yes, girlfriend.
Granny Xiuying,
I'm not his girlfriend.
We're having a meeting.
Yao should start a family.
He saunters up and down
with no plan to have a baby.
Ridiculous.
Guanjun already has a son and a daughter.
Jiabao now attends the junior high school.
Does Yang Guanjun have a daughter this old?
His elder daughter is called Jiabao
going to school downtown
and living in her auntie's.
No, get back to the point.
What's the point?
How old are you two?
Hurry to get married
and have a baby,
or when Guanjun becomes a grandpa,
your kid'll have not gone to primary school.
Staff management's difficult.
Now it's a bit complicated.
It seems your hotel lobby's rules
don't fit the situation here.
It's mainly because
they're all relatives and acquaintances
in the same village.
Personal and business matters are intertwined.
It won't do with no rules,
but to strictly obey the rules
doesn't work as well.
I'd better carry a tray.
You don't have to.
I must do so with them.
Do the cleaning and anything else with them.
They're not qualified,
must be taught step by step,
and corrected one by one
to strengthen muscle memory.
Special cases need to be treated
in a special way, right?
Someone just now
was in sullen silence all the way here.
I thought she winced.
No, even more interested.
Like challenges so much?
I won't ask for challenges,
but never withdraw when facing them.
So cool.
What were you thinking in sullen silence?
I was thinking
if I was trapped by you and your grandma.
Granny and I?
Granny doesn't seem to be a grumbler,
but yesterday she complained a lot to me.
Are you behind it?
Come on.
You asked for my advice,
but you knew it well.
You just want me an outsider
to play bad cop for you, right?
It's not the case.
You're invited here to play good cop.
You're a grand hotel manager from Beijing.
Once dressed formally,
you're authoritative for these
aunties and sisters.
They'll trust you.
Visiting monks give better sermons.
It's a universal truth.
You're also a monk having
visited other cities.
But I'm a local monk all in all.
The dish isn't ready.
Let me hurry them.
Uncle Xiangdong,
why hasn't the dish been served?
♫ On the journey ♫
♫ stars shooting by ♫
♫ rainbows turning up ♫
♫ I miss the chance to hug you ♫
♫ How many places can breeze be found on earth ♫
♫ How many times are you flipped ♫
♫ Whose dream to come true ♫
♫ On the rainy or sunny street ♫
♫ to the time passing by ♫
♫ I bid farewell ♫
♫ Sometimes I need a beautiful smile ♫
Miss, I'll help you collect the rubbish.
I'm sorry.
Just sit.
I'm on it.
Miss, is your suit wet?
No, there's not much in the cup.
Let me change it to another one.
Want the same one,
or a different one?
I want an Encounter.
Encounter.
Okay.
One Encounter.
Yeah.
Hongdou,
why give her another one?
Granny, you knocked over it.
Just a little bit left.
This little so she'd not drink.
Even if a bit left,
she didn't finish it.
We must take the blame for our mistakes.
It's
Granny,
can you take photos with visitors?
Photos?
I don't look good in photos.
No. Very good!
You're well-dressed and good-looking.
Let me take your belongings.
Okay, look here.
Three, two,
cheese!
♫ Sometimes I need a beautiful smile ♫
♫ Although the seasons go by ♫
♫ The love has never faded since youth ♫
♫ Sometimes I find I fall in love ♫
♫ Make a little wish and pray ♫
♫ May everything go as I say ♫
♫ Sometimes I need a beautiful smile ♫
♫ Although the seasons go by ♫
♫ The love has never faded since youth ♫
Excuse me, your Americano.
These are newly-baked butter cookies.
Have a taste for free.
Wow, thanks.
Welcome.
Time's up.
I'll cook braised chicken.
Yeah, it takes at least three hours.
Right.
I'll offer you a free bowl of it when it's done.
Okay.
Granny.
You
It's half an hour before being off work.
Ask Xiaochun for some time off.
If Xiaochun's not here, ask me.
You can't leave this early.
I
We ask you for some time off now.
Why must you leave this early?
I've to get the TV fixed.
Chuchu wants the braised chicken.
Do you have a kid?
Yes.
She works at Yao's warehouse.
See you.
Bye.
Xu Hongdou.
Xu Hongdou.
Go with me.
What for?
Show you a new friend.
A new friend?
For me?
A very important new friend.
Let's go.
Where?
The stable.
Damai.
Have some tea?
What friend?
Are you gonna let me receive visitors?
No, I haven't seen it before.
No,
I'm familiar with its mom.
Its mom is a beauty
with big eyes and long eyelashes.
You'll know soon.
Get on.
♫ Listen to the rain
falling into the silent forest ♫
♫ Enjoy the mountainous landscape at sunset ♫
How's it going?
Soon.
Everything okay?
Yeah.
Great.
Have some tea.
- Drink.
- Thanks.
What for?
Come here.
♫ Fall into the eyes secretly ♫
Come here.
♫ The world is like a quiet island ♫
♫ The sky is turning bright silently ♫
I thought I'd not catch up.
Is it your so-called new friend?
It's the new friend's pretty mom.
Big eyes and long eyelashes.
I didn't lie to you.
Have you seen a horse deliver a foal?
♫ Shine into my heart ♫
♫ Set sail when it's windy ♫
When comes the foal?
Once it lies down,
the foal's on the way soon.
Is there any danger?
We've vets here.
Don't worry.
♫ The stars all over the sky ♫
♫ The lost footsteps will be gradually erased ♫
♫ The light and shadow of four seasons ♫
♫ I've seen the meteor
that lights up the night sky ♫
♫ When the wind rises,
the sky will be cloudless ♫
♫ The light and shadow of four seasons ♫
♫ I've seen the meteor
that lights up the night sky ♫
- It's coming.
- Okay.
Hurry.
Hurry up.
You have a very important task
to record the time of the foal's birth.
Can I shoot a video?
I wanna show it to my niece.
Of course, you can.
♫ to meet you ♫
♫ Listen to the rain
falling into the silent forest ♫
♫ Enjoy the mountainous landscape at sunset ♫
♫ The raindrops on the roof
fall into the eyes secretly ♫
♫ The world is like a quiet island ♫
♫ The sky is turning bright silently ♫
♫ Waiting for the seabirds
to call forth the ripples ♫
♫ Waiting for the sunlight to shine into
my heart across the lake ♫
♫ Set sail when it's windy ♫
♫ The reflection of clouds, the changing moon
and the stars all over the sky ♫
♫ The lost footsteps will be gradually erased ♫
♫ The light and shadow of four seasons ♫
♫ I've seen the meteor
that lights up the night sky ♫
♫ When the wind rises,
the sky will be cloudless ♫
♫ The sky is turning bright silently ♫
♫ Waiting for the seabirds
to call forth the ripples ♫
♫ Waiting for the sunlight to shine into
my heart across the lake ♫
♫ Set sail when it's windy ♫
♫ The reflection of clouds, the changing moon
and the stars all over the sky ♫
♫ The lost footsteps will be gradually erased ♫
♫ The light and shadow of four seasons ♫
♫ I've seen the meteor
that lights up the night sky ♫
♫ When the wind rises,
the sky will be cloudless ♫
♫ Go to a windy place to meet you ♫
[Episode 10]
Brother, it's raining.
How come it suddenly rains?
Granny, hurry to pack up.
It's raining.
Yao, I've to go home.
Beans
Beans are dried in the yard.
Don't go. Granny, pack up.
Put away clothes.
Granny.
Take an umbrella.
Don't get wet.
Take care.
Brother, listen.
I told you to set up a canopy.
It'll block the light.
Hurry.
Take care.
Mr. Ma.
I have a brainwave.
A brainwave.
Fast or slow?
Fast, I think.
Great minds think alike.
At such a juncture.
Typical of a man.
She's tired, too.
Here you are.
Hi, Bingnian.
I agree.
[Ms. Bingnian]
I agree to be your cyber lover
never parting with you.
Don't talk bullshit with me.
Who're you?
Ms. Bingnian, nice to e-meet you.
I'm Hu Youyu.
I added your WeChat at the pub.
You said I sang well,
and you liked me very much.
Sorry, I drank too much that day.
Unfriend each other.
[Hi, what about thinking over it?]
[You're not her friend.]
[Xie Zhiyao: Are you free tomorrow noon?]
[Granny invites you to a meal at our home.]
[What do you wanna eat?]
[It's fine with me. Don't bother.]
[Not at all. Deal. Good night.]
Xu Hongdou.
Let's go to the town's morning fair.
Take some cherries.
Hello.
Hi.
Cherries are sweet.
Have a taste.
Taste it.
No, thanks.
My coat is newly changed and clean this morning.
Try it.
Buy some if you like.
Haven't you woken up?
- Buy.
- I want a kilo.
Sober up.
A kilo.
- How much is half a kilo?
- Eight yuan.
- I want cherries of 15 yuan.
- Okay.
Deal.
See you.
Anything else you want?
What vegetables do you usually have in Beijing?
Let me buy you some.
How much is the broccoli?
Two yuan.
For half a kilo?
Let me see.
The carrot is good.
I'll buy some carrots for that sweetie.
How much is it?
Three yuan per jin.
Okay.
Leave it to me.
No bag.
Just put it inside.
Okay.
Why're you this sleepy?
How do you often get up on weekdays?
I don't have to work today.
You woke me up
for the fair early this morning.
Will it kill you if not torturing me?
Go ask Granny.
She wants you to eat at our home,
but doesn't know what you like,
so she asked me to take you with me.
I told you I'm not a fussy eater.
It's typical of a pig.
You mean to torture me.
Listen,
the steamed rice noodles with fresh meat
is a popular local meal.
After 8:30 a.m., you can't even buy one.
Yao, rice noodles are ready.
Coming.
It's your first time having this.
Let me make you a local sauce.
Here you are.
Chopsticks.
- Sis, yours.
- Okay.
Can I have takeaways?
I wanna bring some for Damai and Nana.
No way.
You outsiders tend to order takeaways.
To dine in shows the basic respect
for the rice noodles, got it?
Let's have a talk.
I know there's no free breakfast.
Speak up.
It's just
I find you quite congenial to me.
Over the past time since we met,
I think you're so kind and nice.
- Come on.
- Most importantly,
my granny likes you so much.
Wait.
Let me finish.
Can you listen to me?
It has been a short time since we met.
I don't know you.
And you don't know me.
I won't stay here for long.
And I'm not a libertine.
I'm quite serious with love.
Any type of cyber or long-distance love
is unacceptable.
Well, of course,
you're excellent and nice.
I'm done.
You can go on.
And for sure if you don't continue,
it'll be better
for I'm good at declining others.
Does my speech open
like a love confession that much?
The point is
you behave as if
a dog sees a steamed bun.
It's natural for me to think that way.
I'm not.
Anyway,
just a misunderstanding.
Joking aside,
can you help me?
In any condition.
Why must me?
I can't do anything.
Listen,
our employees are
uncles, aunties
and grannies in the village.
Most are uneducated
without a sense of serving others.
I got them trained before,
but it's too basic and not enough.
We've to rise to the occasion.
I won't let you carry a tray.
It'll be a waste of talent.
Just want you to observe,
spot and solve problems,
and put forward some advice.
You may make a questionnaire.
I did have one,
but customers demand
better service awareness.
Do as they said.
You know,
last time you chased after
a dine-and-dasher hastily
with a smile instead of anger.
You saved his face.
Why?
Making good affinity
is crucial to the service industry.
Affinity boosts success.
Yeah, that's service awareness.
You engaged in the hospitality industry
for ten years.
You're full of nothing but
experience.
But I don't know how to train employees.
You don't have to.
Just spot problems.
Include meals.
We've many foods and places of interests here.
For example,
outsiders don't know
today's rice noodles store at all.
I promise you'll have fun and eat well
in each of the following days.
How do you like it?
As a volunteer,
how can I have fun and eat well?
Work can never be fun.
Don't fool me around.
I'm not in.
Xu Hongdou,
think over it.
Tell me about your condition.
I'll try to meet it.
Think over it.
It won't take much of your time.
Tell me about your condition.
I'll try to meet it.
Slightly moved, aren't you?
Yao was naughty when little.
Every time I beat him, he'd run away.
With a burning stick in hand,
I chased after him around the village
but can't catch him.
He was beaten up?
Of course.
A troublemaker.
His best friends are
Yang Guanjun and Xie Qiang.
Three troublemakers.
They stole others' eggs,
the next day burnt someone's beanstalk,
and the day after it
they fought with classmates
who were regular guests to our home for justice.
As an old saying goes in my hometown,
"Seven- or eight-year-old kids are annoying."
Indeed.
But now he's better.
Quite filial.
He becomes a boss now.
But it's hard to be a boss.
These years,
he hasn't made a penny,
and invested in the money he earned before.
He even loaned to invest in something called
infrastructure construction.
I don't understand.
We're not a noble family.
His dad and auntie just make ends meet
by selling flowers in Kunming.
I'm too old to help him out.
All I can do is not to bother him.
He did have a hard time.
I'm so anxious but I can
do nothing to help him.
I can't even fall asleep every night.
Granny,
don't worry.
It's common to invest in a business.
Yao's so outstanding and competent.
It's not a problem.
I'm worried that I can't help him.
He has invested this lot
with great effort.
Many of his employees
have seen him growing up.
He can't bear blaming them.
Rest assured.
All in all,
it's my fault.
At my age,
I do need others' care,
but I don't wanna go to Kunming.
If I can take good care of myself,
maybe Yao still works in Beijing.
It's all my fault.
Granny, it's okay.
I'm old, useless and troublesome.
Don't think so.
Is the garlic ready?
What're you talking about hand in hand?
You
Nothing.
Is the meal ready?
Granny,
you invited her to a meal,
but I was the one to buy
vegetables and cook.
You even rush me.
Here.
Okay.
Is President Xie home?
Yes.
Granny.
Huang comes.
You have a guest here?
She's Xu Hongdou, a tenant in our yard.
She's Huang Xinxin, Village Director's assistant.
Xinxin, not Xingxing.
A college graduate.
Nice to meet you.
Welcome to our village.
Call me Huang or Xinxin.
Xinxin.
Well.
Why haven't you given it out?
I asked Xiaxia to help you.
I did once yesterday,
but some villagers weren't home.
So I gave out the rest with Xiaxia today.
He's back to rest now.
You're right in time.
The meal's ready. Eat with us.
No, thanks. I've eaten.
I'm here to talk business.
Treat your guest first?
She's not a guest.
Granny,
make Huang a cup of tea.
No, thanks.
I'm on it.
Granny, leave it to me.
Hongdou, help me place the dishes.
The opera theater is run-down.
For such a time-honored building,
after protective reconstruction,
it's better to be utilized
than to be left eroded.
How?
Assemble an opera troupe
for unique folk shows.
I heard during festivals in our village,
the villagers would sing
and play operas here.
It was a long time ago.
I remember
the couple Auntie Feng and Uncle Chang played
Lantern Opera when young.
Besides,
if the opera theater can be reused,
it's bound to be the highlight of our tourism.
Yes, that's what I want.
What do you think?
Worth a shot.
With your support,
I'll rest assured.
I'll think over it
and prepare a plan for the village committee.
Okay.
Discuss it at the village meeting.
If any problem with the budget,
I'll find a way out.
I think so.
Huang, have some with us.
Thanks, Granny.
I'm full now.
You're getting thinner.
Really?
When video chatting with my dad,
he also said so.
How long since you graduated and came here?
It's my second year here.
When I was new here,
I'm utterly ignorant of anything.
But then,
President Xie was back to set up a business.
He helped me a lot.
It's not the case.
You ran many errands for our village projects.
It's my duty.
Now we're golden partners.
How long will you stay here?
I won't leave.
Can't you a village official leave
after two- or three-year work here?
Yes, I can,
but I'm full of potential in this thriving land.
It's just the beginning.
Do your parents agree?
My dad's an education practitioner in Guizhou,
because my mom's a headmaster in a village.
The three of us are all Party members
and comrades,
fighting in each other's favorite field.
We just listen to ourselves.
I made a promise to President Xie
to build Yunmiao Village a place
of rich arts and cultures in joint hands.
That's our common ideal.
Ideal.
That's it.
Ideal.
Isn't it for money that you started a business?
The same.
If it develops well,
villagers can be given more jobs
to realize common prosperity,
then make money in society, and benefit
the society in return.
A virtuous circle.
Hongdou,
what's your ideal?
My ideal is to have a peaceful and happy life.
It's your dream.
What's the difference
between a dream and an ideal?
Very different.
What you strive for is your ideal.
What harbors hopes is your dream.
For the former, you must strive.
For the latter
sometimes you'll sit idle and wait.
They vary a lot.
What's your ideal?
My ideal is
to be a person of value to live.
You've made it.
Everyone's existence is valuable.
It's natural for you confident people to say so.
But for me,
I can do and am willing to do
nothing but writing.
There're hundreds of thousands of
network novelists in China.
Most of their writings
are like a stone thrown into the ocean,
unable to even make a wave.
And they're scolded for producing literal trash.
So I often think
for a nobody in writing like me
instead of one in a million,
if I'm really talented
or of value.
Don't think so.
You're talented for sure.
I said so
not to be comforted
or encouraged by you.
I just told you my way of thinking.
What's the result?
Amazing.
No result.
While doubting myself,
I continue to move on.
What about you?
What's your ideal?
No?
And dream?
Be rich?
Be rich.
That's most people's common dream.
What's your plan after being rich?
To retire.
Retire?
For doing what?
Must I do something?
I'll put it this way,
are your parents retired?
My mom's a housewife.
My dad ran a grain and oil shop before.
Two years ago
the original location of the street
was demolished.
My sister'd not allow him to go on.
He's retired to some extent.
What're they doing every day?
My dad practices Tai Chi
and calligraphy every day.
Last year he got a flat decorated.
Every week he takes
two days to go fishing by the reservoir.
My mom goes to the market
and researches the menu
every morning,
and then
plants vegetables with my aunt in rural areas.
Days ago she told me
she was selected as a publicist
of waste classification in the community.
They can't lie idle.
Therefore,
retirement is not a dream,
but an illusion.
Many young people hold
the illusion of being retired or rich
with nothing to do.
That's a pure illusion.
In fact, one can't lie idle at all.
If you're hungry,
you want to be full.
After it,
you want to eat well.
When you have a well-off life,
you'll have spiritual needs,
hope to be
honored and respected in society,
and achieve self-value by helping others.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
But my parents' needs are specific.
My mom hopes to
raise my baby when retired.
My dad hopes to
go to the elderly college
to improve himself,
and raise my baby.
Both of them want to raise my baby.
You know,
it's the ideal life
for most seniors
to look after their grandchildren.
I'd better find a boyfriend first.
However,
my current life is exactly what I want.
I came here across mountains and seas.
Hongdou,
what kind of life do you want?
I almost lost my life before.
I'm here to
find out what kind of life
I really want.
I'm worried that I can't help him.
He has invested this lot
with great effort.
Many of his employees
have seen him growing up.
He can't bear blaming them.
I made a promise to President Xie
to build Yunmiao Village a place
of rich arts and cultures in joint hands.
That's our common ideal.
The same.
If it develops well,
villagers can be given more jobs
to realize common prosperity,
then make money in society, and benefit
the society in return.
A virtuous circle.
My ideal is
to be a person of value to live.
During this period,
doing anything is better
than sitting in the room
to think nonsense.
♫ Turning bright silently ♫
♫ Waiting for the seabirds
to call forth the ripples ♫
♫ Waiting for the sunlight to shine into
my heart across the lake ♫
♫ When it's windy ♫
Granny,
is it hot?
Want some more?
♫ Set sail ♫
- Yeah.
- Okay.
♫ The reflection of clouds ♫
♫ the changing moon ♫
♫ and the stars all over the sky ♫
♫ The lost footsteps will be gradually erased ♫
[Dou]
♫ The light and shadow of four seasons ♫
[I'll do whatever I can. Don't expect much.]
♫ I've seen the meteor
that lights up the night sky ♫
♫ When the wind rises ♫
Who's that?
♫ the sky will ♫
Volunteer.
♫ be cloudless ♫
Granny,
you're brilliant.
Everything's a piece of cake for you.
You taught me to.
You said
you're too worried
to fall asleep every day.
It's the truth.
I didn't lie,
but I didn't ask you to say
you're old and useless.
You wept and beat your breast.
It's all your improvisation.
It's up to me.
None of your business.
Well, enjoy your footbath.
I'll call Xiaochun.
Go ahead.
♫ When the wind rises,
the sky will be cloudless ♫
♫ Go to a windy place to meet you ♫
Have you been here long?
Just here.
You look so pretty today.
You told me to dress formally.
Great.
To tell you first,
don't expect so much of me.
I don't know for sure how much
I can help you.
I can pay you.
It won't do.
Then I'll be employed.
You'll be my real boss.
I'm not here for work.
A volunteer is okay.
As long as you can offer free meals.
I put forward suggestions and plans
for improvement last night.
Interested?
Talk while walking.
One "Don't do", two "Don't quit"s,
three rules of etiquette, four bans,
and five kinds of people to be away from.
From now on,
volunteer Xu Hongdou officially
joins our cafe as a consultant and manager.
No, temporarily.
Temporarily joins our cafe.
Welcome!
Welcome Xu Hongdou
to join our cafe temporarily.
Welcome Xu Hongdou
to join our cafe temporarily.
Thank you.
During this period,
I'm the cafe's regular guest.
I find problems with our service,
working process,
staff management,
and work arrangement.
But not big problems.
The greatest advantages of our cafe
are the pleasant environment,
and its delicious dishes.
What I can offer
is some nice-to-have improvements.
I'll make each and every one of you know it,
and cooperate with you
to strive for the overall
service quality enhancement
of our cafe in a short time.
Thanks.
Well said.
The cafe opens from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The staff should be at work before 9:30 a.m.
to check and get everything ready
before it opens,
but I find the staff all arrive at 10 a.m.,
grannies even later.
That's true.
But Nana'll get everything ready
before being off work.
Grannies leave
after the cafe's tidied up.
It's acceptable.
But in fact,
grannies often come to work late and leave early.
Many times,
it's Nana alone who finishes up the work.
I told them before,
but they're too old to remember.
Nana also said
whoever's free got the work done.
We're not a family workshop where
people come and go at will
with enough substitutes.
We've to be serious.
Okay.
Though busy,
it can be handled.
I'm fine with winding up.
Guests here are all for relaxation.
It's okay to wait for a while.
They're not in a rush after sipping coffee.
Why every time when I'm here,
as long as it's crowded with guests,
you serve others first before me?
I'm here earlier.
I'm also a guest to be served, aren't I?
Because
Because what?
Because you don't
want other guests to wait.
Granny Caiyun,
you wipe tables, chairs
and shelves with the same rag.
It's insanitary.
I wash it very clean.
I do so at home as well.
Wipe different furniture with different wipers.
It's more hygienic.
On seeing this,
the guests will find us hygienic,
and rest assured,
got it?
Buy different colors of wipers.
I told Qin to buy some soon.
[To Qin: Send different colors of wipers here.]
Jinhua, pardon?
What?
How to do the cleaning?
Granny Caiyun's a bit forgetful.
Okay.
My legs hurt
after standing for long.
Yao also knows that.
When I was young,
my legs were frozen in a cold paddy field
when transplanting seedlings.
Now I'm getting old.
No way out.
I must sit after standing for a while.
Take good care of yourself.
Do you go out with Yao?
What does it mean?
She takes you as my girlfriend.
No
Yes, girlfriend.
Granny Xiuying,
I'm not his girlfriend.
We're having a meeting.
Yao should start a family.
He saunters up and down
with no plan to have a baby.
Ridiculous.
Guanjun already has a son and a daughter.
Jiabao now attends the junior high school.
Does Yang Guanjun have a daughter this old?
His elder daughter is called Jiabao
going to school downtown
and living in her auntie's.
No, get back to the point.
What's the point?
How old are you two?
Hurry to get married
and have a baby,
or when Guanjun becomes a grandpa,
your kid'll have not gone to primary school.
Staff management's difficult.
Now it's a bit complicated.
It seems your hotel lobby's rules
don't fit the situation here.
It's mainly because
they're all relatives and acquaintances
in the same village.
Personal and business matters are intertwined.
It won't do with no rules,
but to strictly obey the rules
doesn't work as well.
I'd better carry a tray.
You don't have to.
I must do so with them.
Do the cleaning and anything else with them.
They're not qualified,
must be taught step by step,
and corrected one by one
to strengthen muscle memory.
Special cases need to be treated
in a special way, right?
Someone just now
was in sullen silence all the way here.
I thought she winced.
No, even more interested.
Like challenges so much?
I won't ask for challenges,
but never withdraw when facing them.
So cool.
What were you thinking in sullen silence?
I was thinking
if I was trapped by you and your grandma.
Granny and I?
Granny doesn't seem to be a grumbler,
but yesterday she complained a lot to me.
Are you behind it?
Come on.
You asked for my advice,
but you knew it well.
You just want me an outsider
to play bad cop for you, right?
It's not the case.
You're invited here to play good cop.
You're a grand hotel manager from Beijing.
Once dressed formally,
you're authoritative for these
aunties and sisters.
They'll trust you.
Visiting monks give better sermons.
It's a universal truth.
You're also a monk having
visited other cities.
But I'm a local monk all in all.
The dish isn't ready.
Let me hurry them.
Uncle Xiangdong,
why hasn't the dish been served?
♫ On the journey ♫
♫ stars shooting by ♫
♫ rainbows turning up ♫
♫ I miss the chance to hug you ♫
♫ How many places can breeze be found on earth ♫
♫ How many times are you flipped ♫
♫ Whose dream to come true ♫
♫ On the rainy or sunny street ♫
♫ to the time passing by ♫
♫ I bid farewell ♫
♫ Sometimes I need a beautiful smile ♫
Miss, I'll help you collect the rubbish.
I'm sorry.
Just sit.
I'm on it.
Miss, is your suit wet?
No, there's not much in the cup.
Let me change it to another one.
Want the same one,
or a different one?
I want an Encounter.
Encounter.
Okay.
One Encounter.
Yeah.
Hongdou,
why give her another one?
Granny, you knocked over it.
Just a little bit left.
This little so she'd not drink.
Even if a bit left,
she didn't finish it.
We must take the blame for our mistakes.
It's
Granny,
can you take photos with visitors?
Photos?
I don't look good in photos.
No. Very good!
You're well-dressed and good-looking.
Let me take your belongings.
Okay, look here.
Three, two,
cheese!
♫ Sometimes I need a beautiful smile ♫
♫ Although the seasons go by ♫
♫ The love has never faded since youth ♫
♫ Sometimes I find I fall in love ♫
♫ Make a little wish and pray ♫
♫ May everything go as I say ♫
♫ Sometimes I need a beautiful smile ♫
♫ Although the seasons go by ♫
♫ The love has never faded since youth ♫
Excuse me, your Americano.
These are newly-baked butter cookies.
Have a taste for free.
Wow, thanks.
Welcome.
Time's up.
I'll cook braised chicken.
Yeah, it takes at least three hours.
Right.
I'll offer you a free bowl of it when it's done.
Okay.
Granny.
You
It's half an hour before being off work.
Ask Xiaochun for some time off.
If Xiaochun's not here, ask me.
You can't leave this early.
I
We ask you for some time off now.
Why must you leave this early?
I've to get the TV fixed.
Chuchu wants the braised chicken.
Do you have a kid?
Yes.
She works at Yao's warehouse.
See you.
Bye.
Xu Hongdou.
Xu Hongdou.
Go with me.
What for?
Show you a new friend.
A new friend?
For me?
A very important new friend.
Let's go.
Where?
The stable.
Damai.
Have some tea?
What friend?
Are you gonna let me receive visitors?
No, I haven't seen it before.
No,
I'm familiar with its mom.
Its mom is a beauty
with big eyes and long eyelashes.
You'll know soon.
Get on.
♫ Listen to the rain
falling into the silent forest ♫
♫ Enjoy the mountainous landscape at sunset ♫
How's it going?
Soon.
Everything okay?
Yeah.
Great.
Have some tea.
- Drink.
- Thanks.
What for?
Come here.
♫ Fall into the eyes secretly ♫
Come here.
♫ The world is like a quiet island ♫
♫ The sky is turning bright silently ♫
I thought I'd not catch up.
Is it your so-called new friend?
It's the new friend's pretty mom.
Big eyes and long eyelashes.
I didn't lie to you.
Have you seen a horse deliver a foal?
♫ Shine into my heart ♫
♫ Set sail when it's windy ♫
When comes the foal?
Once it lies down,
the foal's on the way soon.
Is there any danger?
We've vets here.
Don't worry.
♫ The stars all over the sky ♫
♫ The lost footsteps will be gradually erased ♫
♫ The light and shadow of four seasons ♫
♫ I've seen the meteor
that lights up the night sky ♫
♫ When the wind rises,
the sky will be cloudless ♫
♫ The light and shadow of four seasons ♫
♫ I've seen the meteor
that lights up the night sky ♫
- It's coming.
- Okay.
Hurry.
Hurry up.
You have a very important task
to record the time of the foal's birth.
Can I shoot a video?
I wanna show it to my niece.
Of course, you can.
♫ to meet you ♫
♫ Listen to the rain
falling into the silent forest ♫
♫ Enjoy the mountainous landscape at sunset ♫
♫ The raindrops on the roof
fall into the eyes secretly ♫
♫ The world is like a quiet island ♫
♫ The sky is turning bright silently ♫
♫ Waiting for the seabirds
to call forth the ripples ♫
♫ Waiting for the sunlight to shine into
my heart across the lake ♫
♫ Set sail when it's windy ♫
♫ The reflection of clouds, the changing moon
and the stars all over the sky ♫
♫ The lost footsteps will be gradually erased ♫
♫ The light and shadow of four seasons ♫
♫ I've seen the meteor
that lights up the night sky ♫
♫ When the wind rises,
the sky will be cloudless ♫
♫ The sky is turning bright silently ♫
♫ Waiting for the seabirds
to call forth the ripples ♫
♫ Waiting for the sunlight to shine into
my heart across the lake ♫
♫ Set sail when it's windy ♫
♫ The reflection of clouds, the changing moon
and the stars all over the sky ♫
♫ The lost footsteps will be gradually erased ♫
♫ The light and shadow of four seasons ♫
♫ I've seen the meteor
that lights up the night sky ♫
♫ When the wind rises,
the sky will be cloudless ♫
♫ Go to a windy place to meet you ♫