The Golden Path (TV series)
The Golden Path is a 30-episode drama serial. Set in 1982 and spanning 25 years, it tells the story of a family embroiled in conflicts of interest, webs of deceit, love, hatred and vengeance. The drama was produced by Mediacorp in celebration of the company's 25 years of local Chinese drama production and incorporates scenes from past dramas such as The Seletar Robbery, The Flying Fish, Pretty Faces, Turn of the Tide, Finishing Lines, The Last Applause, Stepping Out, The Golden Pillow and Holland V.
The series was telecast on MediaCorp TV Channel 8, weekdays at 9:00pm from 11 December 2007 to 21 January 2008.
Meaning of title
As the series revolves around the pursuit of wealth, the series was named to reflect that. Coincidentally, and perhaps intentionally, the first two characters of the Chinese title, "黄" and "金", are the surnames of the two main families in the series. In that sense, the title would mean "The path travelled by the Huangs and the Jins".Cast
Huang Family
First generation
Second generation
- Chew Chor Meng as Huang Kaida 黄凯达
The eldest son of Xiao-gu. Always the most academically inclined member of the family, he became a medical student, and served as a doctor at a local hospital. He possess a knack for ending violent confrontations by talking down the potential aggressor, making him useful whenever Jinlong gets into trouble. When Kaida discovered the crime his brother Kaiji, had committed, he covered up for his brother. The pressure of such a cover-up drove Kaida to insanity, costing him his medical licence, although he eventually recovered. Later, he persuaded Jinlong to spare Kaijie at the very last minute after learning that Jinlong wanted to avenge Bak Kut girl.
| Cast | Role | Description |
| Tay Ping Hui | Huang Kaijie | , young version portrayed by Warren Beh - The youngest son of Xiao-gu and the main antagonist of the show. He has always been the person who resorted to unscrupulous methods to attain his goals. He, along with neighbour Fatty Ying, tipped off police as to the real identity of Ah Jin, thus causing Ah Jin's death. Although Kaijie had lagged academically in his youth, he attended university, and entered the police force after graduating with a degree in Law. He has a love interest in his own adopted sister, Jinfeng, but when he made her pregnant, Kaijie accidentally pushed Jinfeng into the sea during a cruise, which eventually killed her. He married Lin Fei despite the latter's affections for Jinlong, but the marriage deteriorated irreversibly when she found out that Kaijie is responsible for Jinfeng's death. Kaijie went into hiding after his crimes were investigated by his superiors, and was killed by an assassin sent by Lin Fei. |
| Joanne Peh | Huang Kaiqi | , The only daughter of Xiao-gu, Kaiqi is a good-natured, justice-minded individual who aspires to be a journalist. She was only one who could communicate with Jinlong. When she discovered Jinlong's exploits in the underworld, she tried to persuade Jinlong to leave the underworld and return to the family, without avail. She marries David, who is a computer scientist, and becomes a mother in the later years. |
Jin Family
First generation
- Li Nanxing as Ah Jin
Second generation
Other characters
1982 Era
1995 era
2003 era
- Zheng Geping as Hai-ge, the triad boss of Jinlong
- Yan Bingliang as Uncle Biao, former triad boss and elder
- Luis Lim as Old Monkey, rival gang member
- Huang Yiliang as Su Ma, top lawyer in Singapore
Synopsis
1982
Introduction
The series began in Chinatown in 1982, where Xiao-gu, a young widow with 3 children, opened and operated the "Happy Restaurant" hawker stall to earn a living. Xiao-gu is an optimistic woman, even after the death of her husband and her tight financial situation.One night, Xiao-gu was visited by Jinlong to pass her a key given by Ah Chen, a triad member who helped Xiao-gu when Xiao-gu's husband, Ah Shun, was dying from an illness. Ah Chen was killed by fellow triad member, Ah She, with Kaijie and Jinlong witnessing the murder. When Ah She and Chen-sao, the wife of Ah Chen and was having an affair with Ah She, discovered Xiao-gu's knowledge about the events and possession of the key, they attempted to kill her and Kaijie, but the attempt was thwarted by a mysterious man. Ah She gave up on his murder attempts, but kidnapped Kaijie to force Xiao-gu to give up the key she received. The key, as it turned out, led to a cashbox that was stashed in an abandoned house. The safe contained tens of thousands of dollars in cash. When Ah She and Cheng-sao opened the safe and emptied its contents, Ah She doused the house with petrol in a final attempt to kill Xiao-gu and Kaijie. However both of them managed to escape except that Chen-sao and Ah She trapped inside. Xiao-gu reentered the house to save Chen-sao but Ah She was burnt to death after being pinned down by fallen pillars.
New Neighbours, New Terrors
As Xiao-gu and Kaijie recover from that traumatic episode, a new neighbour moved into the flat that Xiao-gu rented. Little did Xiao-gu know that her new neighbors were the young man who delivered her the key to Ah Cheng's safe - Jinlong, and his father, Ah Jin - the man who saved Xiao-gu from certain death by "Snake". As the new family settled in, Ah Jin used the money he earned to buy his children clothes, blankets, and a television set. Ah Jin shared his new television set with his neighbours, whose children were mesmerised by it.Meanwhile, word of mouth began to spread on information about a rapist terrorizing Chinatown. The rapist, who covers himself in motor oil, renders his victims defenceless and unable to resist, thus earning him the title "Oily Man". Xiao-gu made light of the situation at first, thinking it was merely an urban legend, until she was attacked by the Oily Man. Luckily, Ah Jin was in the flat when it happened, and stopped the Oily Man from raping Xiao-gu. Jinlong, on his father's orders, went after the Oily Man. Jinlong subsequently discovered Oily Man was in fact Ah Lin, the timid co-owner of a wanton store next to Xiao-gu's restaurant. Jinlong went on to extort money from Ah Lin, with a threat of revealing the truth behind Oily Man to everyone. When Ah Lin failed to produce the money, Jinlong exerted more and more pressure, until Ah Lin lost his temper, and chased Jinlong, Jinfeng, and Kaijie across Chinatown with a gun, threatening to kill them all. Afterwards, Ah Lin was arrested by Lao Cai, a police officer who lives and patrols in the area, and sent to a mental facility.
Revelations
As time goes by, Ah Jin and his family were settling well into their new surroundings, but Ah Jin's past began to unravel. Contrary to Ah Jin's claim that he is a sailor, Ah Jin was, in fact, a criminal who, along with two accomplices, robbed a jewelry store. One of the accomplice, despite Ah Jin's efforts to save him, was shot dead in the midst of the escape, and a third accomplice successfully fled the scene with Jin. Ah Jin, along with his surviving accomplice, buried their loot in an undisclosed location. Finally, Ah Jin's secret came out in subtle ways, which led to Kaijie knowing about this dark secret. In the meantime, Xiao-gu and Ah Jin began to grow closer together everyday, and decided to marry each other.This came, of course, to the extreme displeasure of Kaijie, who did not fancy having a criminal stepfather. To stop the marriage, Kaijie collaborated with Ah Ying, and called the police on Ah Jin. As Ah Jin and Xiao-gu completed their marriage ceremony and exchanged their vows, police surrounded Xiao-gu's flat, and forced Ah Jin to escape. Before Ah Jin went on the run, he held Ah Cai as hostage, and entrusted Jinlong and Jinfeng to her care. When Ah Jin realised there was no chance for him to escape, he committed suicide.
1995
After Ah Jin's suicide, the area where Xiao-gu lived in was being redeveloped, and Xiao-gu, along with her family, moved to another area to start anew. Years went by, and by 1995, Xiao-gu's Happy Restaurant became a reputable restaurant in Queenstown. Her five children have matured into adults. All of Xiao-gu's three children: Kaida, Kaiqi, and Kaijie, went to University. Kaida majored in medicine, Kaiqi majored in Mass Communication, and Kaijie majored in Law. Meanwhile, Ah Jin's children are a different story. Jinlong did not receive much education, and worked in Happy Restaurant as a delivery boy. Jinfeng worked as a receptionist at the Happy Restaurant, but her dreams of being a television artiste virtually locked her in front of a television set, rendering her unproductive.Tensions within
All seems to be going well for Xiao-gu, but under the surface, tensions arise. Jinlong resents the entire Huang family because he believes Xiao-gu married Ah Jin for his loot and that Xiao-gu's family is responsible for his father's death. This became a source of argument between Jinlong and Kaijie, with whom he was never on cordial terms with. Meanwhile, Kaijie developed an affection for Jinfeng, but due to the source of tension between the two families, he dare not make his feelings public.Love and conflict
One day, a woman came into the Happy Restaurant, and ordered everything there is on the menu. The woman turned out to be Lin Fei, whose father, Lin Desheng, is a famous and prestigious lawyer in Singapore. Lin Fei did not have money to pay the bill, but Xiao-gu laughed off the entire matter, and told Lin Fei to come back when she has the cash. She paid off the bill before she left Happy Restaurant, and began a deep friendship with Xiao-gu, and fell in love with Jinlong at first sight. Jinlong did not reciprocate the love at first, but gradually began to warm up to Lin Fei.During a visit by Jinlong of his grandfather, Jinlong discovered that his grandfather hired a young woman from Kelantan to run his bak kut teh business at a local marketplace. Bak Kut Girl, as she is known, is brute and rude, but this is merely a facade for a kind and caring interior. These relationships began to ferment, until a fateful yacht trip. During that trip, Kaijie attempted to soothe a distraught Jinfeng, who was dealing with a relatively recent pregnancy furore caused by Kaijie. Under much pressure to keep the unfortunate event secret due to her fledgling rise to become a television artiste, Jinfeng was taken onto a yacht owned by Lin Fei to unwind and relax. During the yacht trip, Jinfeng discovered Kaijie's motive for dating Lin Fei: to gain access to her billion-dollar trust fund, which will be freed to her when she is married. Horrified, Jinfeng vowed to tell Lin Fei the truth, but in the ensuing scuffle with Kaijie, she accidentally got thrown overboard. No one on board the ship noticed until it was too late, and Jinfeng was in a Persistent Vegetative State when she was rescued by David and Kaiqi. This happened when Jinlong was in prison for assault, and Xiao-gu opted to not tell him until it was absolutely necessary.