The Money-Maker Recipe

How Long
21 episodes – which is a very weird number as the producer makes the final countdown an extra long one.

Story/Introduction on Characters

1. Wong Chi-Chung – Tse Tin Wah
He is a stock broker and is Yu-Chu's husband. He is also Ka-Chun's ex-boyfriend who only knows how to brag. He is very indecisive in choosing stocks and he is hired to work in Fu Ding due to his late father’s close friendship with the boss. The company folds up and he loses his job. His cabby driver job ends after day 1 in an accident and his leg has to be put on cast. That is when Yu-Chu starts buying shares with Shiu-King’s help to help in the household income.

He is also a traditional husband who disapproves Yu-Chu of working. Seeing how his late father succumbs to speculation, he opposes to her being ‘Oracle of housewives’. Ka-Chun accuses him for not keeping his promise to love his wife. So he gives in to her. She has to fulfill a few conditions – to do it after managing the home affairs, not to buy high risk shares, never to touch their children’s funds and also not to be with Shiu-King after work.

Chi-Chung starts to work as a painter and taking over part of Yu-Chu’s duties. He gets mad when she doesn’t go for family gatherings, disappointing their children. People will call her during meal times. The last straw for him is Yu-Chu cuts off Chor See’s phone call when she is ill as she attends a radio programme. Chor See ends up in hospital as Chi-Chung doesn’t know that she has drug allergy and asks the doctor to give her a jab.

Yu-Chu stops work for a while but later returns again. Chi-Chung is annoyed when other husbands complain about their wives getting half-hearted in doing housework after being with Yu-Chu. They decide to put it to a stop but the men forget all about it when their wives get gifts for them and refuse to retract the money.

He jumps when Yu-Chu starts sinking into high-risk funds. He tries in vain to talk her out of it as she thinks that he thinks lowly of her. He keeps harping that she has limited knowledge and he has expected to see a downward trend as the whole thing is like a bubble. It gets on his nerves when Chor Fung begins teaching his mother and even his classmates how to speculate shares.

The principal decides to carry out a severe punishment but Yu-Chu protects Chor Fung, citing that the boy will have to learn this sooner or later. Chi-Chung gets mad when Yu-Chu maintains that it isn’t a big deal if she can send Chor Fung overseas. Just then, they get news that the stock market has crashed. Yu-Chu then uses their children’s trust funds to buy more shares, hoping to salvage the situation but ends up losing more money.

Chi-Chung loses all confidence in her and suggests a divorce. They only stay together due to their children. He works for Luen-Fai and trusts him totally when he tells the residents that he is going to build a leisure centre in replacement of their park. He even does a survey for him. Yu-Chu cleans at a gym and learns from an architect that the leisure centre is to be built on a far remote land while a residential estate is going to be built on the park land.

Yu-Chu tries in vain to get Chi-Chung’s support and even gets slapped by him when she confronts Luen-Fai to verify this. Thus, she goes to get the other residents to help her in the silent protest activity. They even go to Luen-Fai’s home to do this and Luen-Fai gets the police to chase them out. Chi-Chung can’t find the architect in the gym and learns that Luen-Fai has told him to withdraw the membership.

Chi-Chung realized that he has wronged his wife and decides to resign as he can’t work for a corrupted man. Both reconcile and Shiu-King causes him to be sued for embezzling the company funds. He has no guts but Yu-Chu helps to confront Zhai for opening the fake account for Shiu-King. Both end up getting beaten up and he apologises to her for belittling her in the past. He has a strong sense of pride then. But to Yu-Chu, she has never regretted marrying him.

After Shiu-King frames him for hitting him in public while on bail, Chi-Chung is detained. Unlike in the past opposing strongly, he gives consent to Yu-Chu to become Oracle of Housewives again. He and Yu-Chu help the rest to get their money back. He is contented that his name is finally cleared. Yu-Chu helps him to save money for their children’s funds. He shakes his head upon seeing Yu-Chu snatching cheap clothes with others – once a housewife is forever a housewife.

I find Tse’s acting very fake and deliberate here. He doesn’t make any impact at all and has little chemistry with Tin Ngor. I still think that he is better in ‘The Family Link’.

2. Tseung Yu-Chu – Sheung Tin Ngor
She is a housewife and is Chi Chung's wife. She has two children, Chor Fung and Chor See. She has the leadership to get the other housewives to listen to her advice. Thus many heed her instructions to buy stocks and other matters. She often keeps updates by reading widely. Thus, she is more knowledgeable than Chi-Chung and often makes the right choices.

Chi-Chung enters an online stock-buying contest to prove his worth and to save his small company from folding up. You will laugh at the process. He speculates on what stock to buy till time is up but gets into the first round by accident as other companies buy the wrong stocks to incur losses.

He is about to buy stocks for the second round when police suspect him of keeping Indonesian counterfeit rupiah. He is detained and tells Yu-Chu what to buy. She can’t hear him clearly and makes her own decision to buy Fa Shing – a beauty share as she recalls that they are going to open mainland markets. Sure enough, the stock market soars and they get the best improvement award while Shiu-King’s team wins. However, this doesn’t change the fate of Fu Ding’s closing.

She then accepts a commenter job to start writing her own newspaper column and also to appear on television for the first time through Shiu King and making the wrong comments. It ends in disaster when she turns up in normal dressing after hurting her nose to help Lok Lok. However, the home viewers take it well and vote for her.

Yu-Chu becomes a popular icon. She appears on television and hosts programmes. That makes her neglect her family as she tries hard to adjust work and family life. Chi-Chung buys her a bracelet to get her to quit her job. She constantly remembers this and avoids giving tips to others from then. However, this incurs the wrath of others as they regard her as their fortune god.

So she comes out of retreat and becomes over confident of herself. She has never touched technology shares but Shiu-King drums the ideas into her head. The housewives set up a trustee fund and expect her to get profits for them all the time. Sure enough, she wins a lot of money for them and despite Chi-Chung’s objection, she lures more and more people into the fund building.

She is influenced by Ka-Chun, wanting to pamper herself more. So she gets a maid to help out. Chi-Chung is disappointed that she has ignored the fact that the kitchen stove needs fixing. In the end, their home is blown when she tries entering it. It happens on the same day that the stock market crashes – she ends up losing her money, her family and trust from the neighbours.

She takes up many odd jobs, hoping to clear the debts soon and also to regain Chi-Chung’s confidence in her. She becomes practical now. She regains the residents’ trust back by saving their park. Upon knowing that Ying-Shan is in trouble, she helps her to get evidence. She sees through Shiu-King’s true colours when he refuses to clear Chi-Chung’s name.

Thus, she comes out of retreat to set up a fund with the other families. They sell whatever branded goods they have to raise the money. This poses a threat to Shiu-King when they win a lot of money. Shiu-King plants a spy to know their status to kidnap her children to get the money they earn. Yu-Chu goes to the bank to withdraw the money and pleads with others to give her the chance. Ka-Chun stops her, insisting no as half the money is hers.

Yu-Chu manages to get into the taxi with Yuk-Wing with the cash. Meanwhile, Chi-Chung tails Zhai’s men after stealing his handphone to rescue his children. He manages to contact Yu-Chu and the police. Thus, Yu-Chu only uses fake paper and the culprits are arrested. She helps the residents to win all their money back after Savoy Sauce buys their shares at a profit but has no intention to come out of retreat again.

Tin Ngor is a credible actress who is so natural in the scenes. She must be having a good memory to remember all the stock terms. All the attention is on her in this drama and she truly deserves it.

3. Tseung Yu-Bo – Tong Ying Ying
She is Yu-Chu's younger sister. She is materialistic and wants to get away from Hong Kong with a married man. Yu-Chu has no choice but to lock her up at home but she nearly dies in a fire. Being willful, she bumps into the first man, David she sees at the airport to marry him. But he only turns out to be a poor restaurant owner in Indonesia running in debts.

Seeing that he indulges in gambling, she returns home and seizes the control of the hair salon. She also steals the donation money from the residents, wanting to speculate in stocks. She ends up losing all the money and Yu-Chu has to pawn her belongings to cover up. This improves their strained relationship.

Yu-Chu influences her to buy shares. The money that she has won initially loses out again. Her husband, David ditches her for his pregnant mistress as he blames her for being barren. She gets upset when he asks for divorce before her. So she gets drunk and Yuk-Wing fends off the footballers in order to cheer her up. They have a drop too many and sleep together for a night.

They decide to forget about the whole thing and treat as nothing has happened. But she gets pregnant and later can’t hide the fact of them dating from the others. They go to different spots to date – cinema, temple and also the remote area but the other couples also date there. She slowly learns to appreciate him when he treats Chor Fung and Chor See well, showing that he has patience with children. He even makes a ring out of lighters for her.

David returns and asks her to pretend to be his wife again in order to get his uncle’s 600million inheritance. Yu-Bo has never forgiven him but in order to help Yu-Chu to raise the money in buying Savoy sauce shares to deal with Shiu-King, she accedes to his request. That breaks Yuk-Wing’s heart but her plan backfires when Siu-King reveals to David’s uncle about her pregnancy. Yuk-Wing then marries her and she is contented to be a normal housewife.

I always think that Ying Ying is a good actress but I don’t understand why TVB always gives her these half-evil or materialistic roles to handle. Why not give her a meater role?

4. Ting Shiu-King – Lam Kar Wah
He is a stock broker like Chi-Chung and is Ka-Chun's lover but he keeps their relationship under wraps. He is also Shiu-Tim older brother but they often quarrel with each other. Shui-King is ambitious and very obsessed in earning money due to his difficult childhood. He targets at housewives to open a stock firm in where he grows, wanting to open a new market. He hardly makes wrong decisions. Only Chi-Chung sees through his scheme but others don’t.

He conducts $5000 classes for them. Chi-Chung fails to attract anyone even though he offers free classes. Shiu-King spots Yu-Chu’s talents to groom her to become ‘Oracle of housewives’, giving her free coaching. In reality, he wants her to influence the housewives to buy more shares and become risk takers. Yu-Chu becomes greedy in the end.

Yu-Chu has thought that she has accurate judgment all the time but he is the mastermind controlling the prices. Knowing from Luen-Fai that the stock market is going down and he has many shares at hand, he transfers all of them to the housewives to make them as his scapegoats. Thus, he can afford to open his own firm, Shiu Heung with Luen-Fai’s help.

Luen-Fai is furious to know that Shiu-King buys a lot of a company’s shares. No wonder he is so eager for him to sell the Fu Tak park to earn more money. To appease his anger, Shiu-King frames Ying-Shan for having drugs. He pretends to get a lawyer for her but in reality, he tells him to do nothing. All residents are vexed when he doesn’t use the police report to prove that Ying-Shan is clear so they decide to get another lawyer for her.

Chi-Chung wants to resign and later changes his mind upon hearing his conversation with Ka-Chun. He learns that Yu-Chu and the housewives have lost their money due to Shiu-King. He even learns that Shiu-King frames Ying-Shan.

He is about to tell the others when they are at Ying-Shan’s place, happy that Shiu-King finds a lawyer for her. He knows that the others will not believe him so he swallows his pride to return to Shiu Heung. Chi-Chung logs on to his laptop to find evidence of him opening a fake account to pay the culprit the money. How does he know his password?

No matter how bad he is, Shiu King is a filial son and puts his father picture taken with him as the window photo on his handphone. He also uses his father’s birthday as the password. Shiu-King discovers this and in turn frames Chi-Chung of opening the account by putting cash inside his drawer. Chi-Chung is then in trouble and he finds Zhai, who opens the account, pleading for his help to expose Shiu-King with Yu-Chu but is chased away instead.

Shiu King gets to know that Yu-Chu and Chi-Chung are trying to stop him from buying shares from Savoy Sauce at a low price. Three siblings each own 15% of the share and the eldest promises to sell to him as he owes him money in gambling. Yu-Chu and Chi-Chung manage to convince the other two siblings to side with them so they have 30% now.
He adds laxatives to the sauces that the Fu Tak Estate residents buy. All of them end up having food poisoning.

This causes the share prices to drop drastically and he gains. Ka-Chun doesn’t like him to continue like this. Yu-Chu and others hold a 1000 people feast to clear Savoy Sauce name. The price goes up and Shiu-King can’t buy now. He uses a private eye to reveal Yu-Bo’s pregnancy to David’s uncle so they can’t buy the shares too since she fails to get the inheritance.

Knowing that he will be in deep trouble when he uses the company funds to buy shares, he starts to woo Hiu-Sam. He wins her heart and later teaches Luen-Fai how to win Lok Lok’s custody. He also helps to appease Lok Lok when he asks for his mother. Luen-Fai isn’t that easily pleased and is still alert. He proposes to Hiu-Sam, who accepts but not Luen-Fai.

Ka-Chun and Yu-Chu find out Shiu-King’s spy over the kidnap. His kidnap attempt fails and Ka-Chun manages to get Chi-Chung’s ex-colleagues to buy Savoy Sauce shares with the money. Then, the women pretend that Savoy Sauce is in financial difficulties and sell out the shares that they buy earlier. They throw out every share that they own, forcing Shiu-King to sell too.

Shiu-King believes it even more when the eldest sibling wants to sell his shares to him. Zhai is after Shiu-King’s blood after knowing that he loses all his money. Shiu-King fails to kill Luen-Fai too and is shocked that Ka-Chun and others buy 20.1% of Savoy Sauce shares. Chi-Chung’s ex-boss is the one who buys the shares for them when the price becomes low. This means that they have full control of the company. He realises that it is only a rumour and he is tricked.

All along, he has wanted to go out of Fu Tak and never expects people to be smart. Yu-Chu is not a silly housewife after all. Knowing that he will be jailed, he makes clips, lying to his father that he is going to Canada for a few years. He is consoled when Ka-Chun visits him and will wait for his release so that he can taste her cooking. Kar Wah is good in portraying a villain but is too restrained in some emotional scenes.

5. Koo Ka-Chun – Tang Lai Ming
She is Shiu-King’s lover and becomes a top remisier under his guide. Yu-Chu has eyed her as a love rival but both become good friends later. She gathers information for him from Chi-Chung, her ex-boyfriend before opening the firm. She also makes use of her female ex-lover. Shiu-King then allows her to take 40% of the share ownership of Luen Fai’s deal although he has been adamant to give 70%-30%.

Yu-Chu discovers Ka-Chun’s relationship with Shiu-King and urges them to get married soon when she goes to her place to cook soup for her. She is aware that Ka-Chun yearns marriage after seeing her nice home kitchen and well packed fridge. Shiu-King treats her as a secret lover and more like a business partner.

She is peeved when Shiu King deliberately gets her to try to seal the deal with Luen-Fai. Luen Fai’s hands move around her and she bears with it. But she will not sleep with him. After getting the deal, she demands her portion to be 50%. Shiu-King is a despicable man – he even wants to earn money from her father but she insists no.

Ka-Chun is the love child when her father has a one-night stand with her mother. Her mother insists of giving birth to her. She hates her father for not seeing her mother before she dies and having another family, claiming that he is a faithful man. She falls ill and is touched when Yu-Chu and Chi-Chung take care of her. She starts to envy them for having a happy family although they are not well-off. She is reluctant to help Shiu-King on this matter but has no choice.

Ka-Chun and Shiu-King attend her father’s 30th wedding anniversary dinner. Her father warns her that Luen-Fai is more wily than him and Ka-Chun is angered that he humiliates her mother. She is pleased when Shiu-King manages to find his mistress to shame him in front of the guests with their intimate photos. As a result, the memorable wedding anniversary becomes a day for their divorce.

This pleases Ka-Chun and she is touched when Yu-Chu buys her a gold necklace but gets Shiu-King to pass to her to make her happy. Ka-Chun has looked down on the housewives as they know nothing on stocks but her mindset changes after being with them. She brings them out to enjoy themselves when they earn profits. She learns Shiu-King’s scheme from Luen-Fai but he stops her from telling them. This pricks her conscience and she lends some money to Yu-Chu.

Her father’s business fails when Luen-Fai causes his shares to drop drastically. Ka-Chun refuses to help him and he commits suicide in Canada. She cries over his death and Chi-Chung consoles her. She can’t be too hard on herself and must learn to be a better person. She is shocked that Shiu-King still embezzles money as like in the previous way to deceive the housewives and tries in vain to talk him out of it.

Shiu-King buys a diamond necklace for Ka_Chun. Hiu-Sam thinks that it is for her and keeps mum, thinking that he will give her a surprise. It is a surprise for her indeed when she sees that Ka_Chun wears it to a ball. She gets so mad and demands her to remove it and give it to her. Ka_Chun obeys but criticizes her for being shallow. Shiu-King tries making up to her later by getting her a diamond watch.

After sleeping with Hiu-Sam, Shiu-King knows that he can’t have the best of both worlds. He fires Ka-Chun and hides from her. He later admits to Ka-Chun that he has never loved her. The promise that he makes to her not to cross the line is an empty promise.

Chi-Chung and Yu-Chu try to persuade her to help them instead. They know that Ka-Chun is kind at heart although she looks haughty to many. Chi-Chung has known her to be kind to try to persuade Shiu-King to stop his evil deeds. She is at his side to count the tombstones at the cemetery to cheer him up when he is jobless. Ka-Chun even tells him that he is never out of the market as long as he is listed. Yu-Chu is grateful to her for the loan to clear her debts.

Ka-Chun gives up hope on Shiu-King upon seeing that he only loves himself and still wants to marry Hiu-Sam to save his own skin. She sells her apartment to add on to Yu-Chu’s fund and stays with Mrs Tseung. Yu-Bo moves in with Yuk-Wing. She can’t get used to the bed initially and has to queue up to get water when the water pipe bursts.

Ka-Chun is surprised that they can still recognize her as she doesn’t apply make-up. The others laugh, saying that they are true to themselves. She introduces all to buy Royal Hotel shares as it has potential. Yu-Chu also supports her as the owner, Mrs Chan discovers that her husband has given his mistress too much power to cause the business to dip so she will seize power back soon.

However, the share prices dip and all complain that Ka-Chun must be Shiu-King’s spy. Even Ka-Chun starts to doubt her judgment and tries stealing evidence of Shiu-King’s crime in vain from his office. Luckily, Yu-Chu saves her on time.

Yu-Chu protects her and they hold out for 2 days. The prices rise and they are overjoyed as they can get the money to buy Savoy Sauce shares. The other neighbours trust that Ka-Chun is helping them now. After their win, she doesn’t work in any stock firm and moves out of Fu Tak estate. She is now a normal working professional and she still visits Shiu-King, waiting for his release.

Lai Ming looks so pretty here! She also acts naturally too – from an arrogant person, she becomes warm and also endearing to all.

6. Mo Ying-Shan – Leung Jing Kei
She is Shiu-Tim's lover who is a single mother with a young son, Lok Lok to take on odd jobs to keep her life going. She is only 20 years old while Lok Lok is 3 years old. She even gets TV extra roles and all think of her to be a hooker in her dressing. She goes to Chi-Chung with $5000, hoping to win money. She ends up losing them due to news of the firm taking bribes.

She has wanted to pick a toy bear out of the window for Lok Lok and all think that she is committing suicide. Feeling sorry for her, Yu-Chu pays the baby-sitter to take care of Lok Lok so that she can work at 818 salon. Yu-Chu feels bad when the stock that Ying-Shan sells actually earns money after that when the firm is actually innocent.

Ying-Shan is pressurized when she can’t find a kindergarten for Lok Lok. Her temper rises when he refuses to go to the ladies with her. Shiu-Tim feels sorry for him and brings him to the gents. He even helps to enroll him in a kindergarten. She is then grateful to him. Shiu-Tim learns that she has no money to pay the water and electricity bills after the stock market crash. He brings them home for their baths.

Shiu-King frames Ying-Shan of eating ecstasy and keeping the pills at home by making a duplicate of the house key. Shiu-Tim has kept a spare at his home. Ying-Shan will be sentenced to 2 years jail if found guilty. The neighbours advise her to jump bail to go to the mainland with Lok Lok. So she goes to the meeting point, intending to board the boat.

The police are there and she nearly gets caught. Luckily, Shiu-Tim comes to her aid to pretend that she is his wife and they have lost their way. He tells her not to scare him again. The neighbours help to gain more evidence and Ying-Shan is pronounced innocent.

Luen-Fai tricks Ying-Shan into believing that Lok Lok has a brain tumour and needs a lot of money for the operation. She has to agree unwillingly to allow Luen-Fai to have his custody. Luen-Fai breaks his promise and doesn’t allow her to visit Lok Lok. She nearly freaks out upon knowing that she is tricked. Shiu-King allows Lok Lok to visit Ying-Shan 30 minutes weekly.

This is too much for her to bear and she brings other children home, nearly being sued for kidnap. But being kind, she finally reunites with Lok Lok and gets along well with Luen-Fai and Hiu-Sam.

7. Ting Shiu-Tim – Choi Chi Kin
He is Shiu-King's younger brother and is a hairstylist at 818 salon. He is a very rash but kind person. He deems Shiu-King responsible for not seeing their mother for the last time and has never forgiven him. Shiu-King works busily to earn money to cure her kidney disease but he is in the midst of signing a big contract when she wants to see him.

He insists of staying at the old Fu Tak estate and refuses to accept any gift from him. He has never liked Ying-Shan for being clumsy at work is often at loggerheads with her. But later, Shiu-Tim’s father gets along well very well with Lok Lok and so their relationship improves.

Shiu-Tim is irked upon knowing that Shiu-King depends on the housewives for the success of his new firm. Shiu-King gives him a sum of money to open at Central. Knowing that 818 salon is going to be sold out soon and many will lose their jobs, he passes the money to Mrs Tseng so that all can stay on the job and tide over the crisis. He falls deeply for Ying-Shan and approaches Shiu-King to look for a lawyer to help her.

Shiu-Tim knows that the whole neighbourhood complains how wicked Shiu-King is. So he goes to bash up Shiu-King. Chi-Chung tries to stop the fight and is pushed to the ground with Shiu-King. Shiu-King then complains to the police that Chi-Chung has assaulted him. Chi-Chung is detained but luckily Shiu-Tim and the others become witnesses to clear the air and he is released.

Shiu-Tim visits Shiu-King frequently when he is jailed. Shiu-King sighs that he is wrong to always ask him to move out. Shiu-Tim has gotten into the finals of a hairstyling contest and Wing-Shan is going to be his model.

8. Szeto Luen-Fai – Law Lok Lam
He is head of all finance and Hiu-Sam's father. There are two things that he likes – to associate with rich men and pretty women. He controls the whole stock market and Shiu-King longs to work for him. Being very arrogant, Lue- Fai humiliates him so he vows to get his attention. He is pleased when seeing that Shiu-King earns a lot of money and signs a contract with him – due to Ka-Chun. He is attracted by her stubbornness and guts to handle a python.

He keeps asking her out and even gets a famous chef to cook for her. Luen-Fai is a revengeful man. His staff does not dare to criticize him so they make a poem, speaking ill of him in the toilet. Chi-Chung is at Luen-Hueng, looking for a job as a data clerk. Luen-Fai occupies the whole lift to himself and refuses entry to him. Chi-Chung is displeased that the interviewer does not ask him any questions and just gives him the job due to Yu-Chu’s help.

Chi-Chung then uses the toilet and runs out of toilet paper. Unknown to him, Luen-Fai is using the other cubicle as the personal toilet is out of order. Chi-Chung comments that Luen-Fai is a nasty person who sucks the poor’s blood and doesn’t know how to make use of capable people. He will even tell him in the face if he gets to see him. He has no other ability besides being honest.

Luen-Fai is in a good mood and hires him. His younger son, Hiu-Mun falls for Ying-Shan and he opposes to it, causing her father to lose his pension. Hiu-Mun doesn’t dare to go against his father and gets drunk to go speed driving to get killed in the end. Luen-Fai is upset over his death but is overjoyed to know that Lok Lok is his grandson after Ying-Shan requests him to give up the deal of building the residential estate on Fu Tak’s park land.

Upon getting scolded by Chi-Chung to be a hypocrite to deceive the residents to give up their park, Luen-Fai takes it to heart. Chi-Chung wants to expose Shiu-King’s evil scheme to the rest so he requests his job back. Luen-Fai humiliates him by getting him to taste dog food and kneel like his dog. He also intends to give Ying-Shan money so that he can raise his grandson on his own.

Ying-Shan refuses so he tells Shiu-King to use dirty means to cause her to be jailed so that he can win his custody. He even sets up a fund for Lok Lok to show that he has prepared well for him. He can do anything to make Lok Lok happy as he dotes on him. He even tells his girlfriends that they will be handsomely rewarded if they manage to make him eat.

Luen-Fai has found out that he has used the company funds. He gives him a month’s grace to raise the money so that he can marry Hiu-Sam or he will go to jail. Shiu-King loses all the money he borrows from Zhai so he tramples on Luen-Fai’s car brakes, wanting him dead. Wing-Shan and Shiu-Tim rescue him although the car tank is about to burst into flames.

He is grateful and allows Wing-Shan to stay with his family. Luen-Fai is the one injecting funds to help Royal Hotel. This helps the residents to deal with Shiu-King as he doesn’t want Hiu-Sam to get cheated by him.

9. Szeto Hiu-Sam – Lee Aa Nam
She is a stock broker and is Luen-Fai's daughter. Her English name is Queenie and all tease Shiu-King that he is the only one who can defeat her since he is King. Sure indeed, he has proved his prowess by defeating her in a water-motorcycle race. She ends up falling into the sea. She is made the vice-president by Luen-Fai and acts on her own to sign the Shiu Heung’s first contract with her friend whom she has known for 10 years without checking the facts.

Shiu-King’s whole team has to clean up the mess for her by selling the shares they have at hand. Luen-Fai knows his reckless daughter well and is grateful to Shiu-King for his help. Hiu-Sam looks down on Ying-Shan, thinking that she is harbouring over their wealth only to appear at this time. Ying-Shan stops bringing Lok Lok to visit Szeto family then so Luen-Fai has to find a way.

Shiu-King loses a lot of money as he uses the company funds illegally to buy shares. He puts up a good show. He and Hiu-Sam go to Shen Zhen to clinch a deal. Then he bribes a ganglord’s men to chase them, citing Hiu-Sam’s expensive watch as the cause of it. Both get trapped at the cliff and Hiu-Sam starts to fall for him, upon seeing how he protects her.

She also tastes the roadside stall food, finding it delicious. She agrees to stall for Shiu-King for a month, using the exchange of eating smelly tofu together as a reason. She has treated her previous boyfriends as playthings but is serious to Shiu-King.

She buys a car for him but he donates it to the hospital. He cites that he is her boyfriend and he should be the one giving gifts. He lies that he is wooing her for not her wealth. She tempts Shiu-King to sleep with her by mentioning the company funds affair. She also gets him to fire Ka-Chun. She slaps Ka-Chun for fighting with her over Shiu-King.

Hiu-Sam describes Ka-Chun as having 3 hands – being Shiu-King’s free assistant, free player and an extra pair of hands to clear messes for him. How can she be compared to Hiu-Sam who has 3 Ns – nice, noble and natural. Yu-Chu sees this and protects Ka-Chun. She comments that Hiu-Sam has 3 zhus – you yan wu zhu (fails to know a person well although she can see), ren tou zhu nao (pig-brained) and ren lau zhu huang (growing old one day).

She is touched when Shiu-King thinks of romantic ways to propose to her. But she learns later that Shiu-King has deceived her and nearly kills her father. She breaks up with him and treasures her ties with Luen-Fai. Both even invite Fu Tak residents to their home.

10. Chu Yuk-Wing – Tsang Wai Kuen
He is a butcher and is Yu-Bo's lover. He dislikes Yu-Bo and thinks that she is committing adultery when she quarrels with her stockbroker. He loves massages as he often has backaches. He hates her initially when she exposes him of keeping an injured dog as their housing estate doesn’t allow that. Due to this, he can’t keep the poor dog anymore. He considers it as his life saviour when it rescues him after he sprains his ankle.

David’s letter happens to appear at his home by mistake. Yuk-Wing learns that David is an impulsive gambler. Thus, he uses this to blackmail Yu-Bo to do housework for him. He also sees David gambling heavily at the gambling den, winning thousands of dollars but only treat Yu-Bo to smelly tofu. Yu-Bo doesn’t believe him although he tells the
truth.

Yu-Bo gets to know her husband’s betrayal and jumps into the harbour. Yuk-Wing saves her and gives her the kiss of life. He is the first to join Yu-Chu’s protest of removing Fu Tak park as she has saved his life in the past. He treats Yu-Bo well after their one-night stand, cooking soup for her. But his uncouth manner puts her off when imagining to have to slice pork for him.

Upon knowing that she is unwell, he delivers all different kinds of soup to her place after boiling them. He is overjoyed to know that Yu-Bo has been true to him and they get married soon. Thanks to his alertness, Yu-Chu manages to save her children from the kidnap as he discovers Shiu-King’s spy. He remembers seeing her talking to Shiu-King and her peeping outside his door when Yu-Chu comes over to inform him that Chi-Chung is missing.

So, Yu-Chu and Ka-Chun put up a show to pretend that they fall out over the use of the money to pay the ransom. This is to deceive Shiu-King that the money is no longer with them. I have often seen Wai Kuen in very neat attire. This is the first time that I have ever seen him as an uneducated person and he does it really convincingly by wearing slippers and looking unshaven.

11. Ding Yau Chuen – Yu Chi Ming
He has kidney disease and has two sons. He is often sandwiched when they quarrel. He often sides with Shiu-King as he thinks that he is not that evil as all think. Shiu-King is very filial to him and often visits him. That is why all keep him in the dark regarding Shiu-King’s imprisonment.

12. Brother Zhai – Wong Ching
He opens a vegetarian restaurant but he is a ganglord. Even the daring Yuk-Wing trembles at mention of his name. Shiu-King arranges his men to attack him and Hiu-Sam in Shen Zhen. He also gets them to kidnap Chi-Chung’s children. His syndicate is destroyed when Chi-Chung submits his handphone to the police and they get all the details there.

13. Yeung David – Lam King Kong
He is Yu-Bo’s good-for-nothing husband who relies on her to clear his debts for him. He is an impulsive gambler but Yu-Bo doesn’t dare to let her family that she has suffered.He lies to all that his mistress is his cousin. He divorces her after his mistress gets pregnant.

14. Bao Lai Hing – Suet Nei
She is the owner of 818 salon. She prefers her younger daughter and gives her the full control of the salon. This sometimes upsets Yu-Chu.

15. Lui Siu Kuan – Fung Suk Bo
She is Chi-Chung’s mother who dislikes gambling but yet loves to buy shares. Can you believe that she actually influences Chor Fung to buy and analyse for her? She stays with Chi-Chung’s brother as Chi-Chung’s flat is too small. Knowing that she is against Yu-Chu being the oracle of housewives, the residents isolate her for a certain period.

Most favourite character
Ka-Chun – she is kind and also pretty although she doesn’t open up to others easily. She is also intelligent in trading. Shiu-King loses a right hand without her and is defeated by her.

Most hated character
Shiu-King – he lies to everyone and uses dirty means in order to achieve success. Chi-Chung – he is a braggart, claiming credit over everything. Only Yu-Chu can bear with him.

Interesting facts

To make sure that she looked like a housewife, Tin Ngor ate bread non-stop to gain 12 pounds. All were shocked by how she looked then – her arms were thicker with a big waistline. Even her hips turned bigger and she made a big sacrifice. All praised her for her convincing acting and she gained more popularity so her efforts were not in vain.

She was very slim in the past and her present image did not lower her popularity. She was happily married and all were happy for her – the plump housewife finally found her happiness in real life. Tin Wah also deliberately clenches his teeth for a longer chin to make a different look. (But this annoys me instead.)

This drama was shot, targeting housewives again after the success of ‘The Family Link’. However, the ratings were not as good as the former. It had an average of 29 viewership points and its highest was at 34. At 2008’s 41st TVB Anniversary Awards, Tin Wah was nominated for "My Favourite Male Character" while Tin Ngor for "My Favourite Female Character". The drama was also nominated for Best Drama.

Conclusion

This drama is only ordinary. Those who have no knowledge on shares will not like it. The development of the story can be slow so I find it boring. The frequent conversations at 818 salon can be very noisy and confusing with too many people at a time. Shiu-King’s downfall and Luen-Fai’s change comes too fast and abrupt. The producer just wants to end the drama quickly. Only watch if you have no other dramas to watch.

Sukting’s ratings :

On acting : *** (Scale of 5)

On story : *** (Scale of 5)