Singapore Drama Review Blessings 祖先保佑

Blessings (2014) 祖先保佑

Genre: Mystery, Romance, Time-travel, Comedy, Family

Enjoyment: 10/10  Pace:10/10

starring Shaun Chen 陈泓宇as Lian Wen Ding, Jesseca Liu as Mei Ren/ Xiao Mei, Chen Hanwei 陈汉玮 as Daxi, Yao Wenlong 姚玟隆 as Shuang Xi, Chen Shucheng 陈澍城 as Wen Ding’s son, Sora Ma as Wen Ding’s fiancee in the past and Yvonne Lim as Shuang Xi’s wife.

Plot: “ Xiji” was a traditional Teochew pastry shop in the 40s. Business was brisk, thanks to founder Lian Xue Geng’s good business acumen and son Lian Wen Ding’s talented baking skills. In 2014, “Xiji”is being run by Daxi and ShuangXi, the fourth generation Lian brothers but business is bleak. As Daxi’s prayers of  “祖先保佑” is answered, Wen Ding travels through time into the present and helps them with the business. At the same time, he meets someone who resembles his lover which he hoped to marry in the past and his son, the mentally unwell father of Daxi and Shuangxi, who did not receive much father love due to his early demise. He manages to solve the mystery on what is about to happen and changes the past after he returns.

Zoom into characters: Wen Ding is about to marry someone he does not like. Due to tradition, he has to obey his parents’ wishes and give up on his love for Xiao Mei or take her in as mistress. Before the day of marriage, Xiao Mei committed suicide after she lost her mother. Wen Ding tries to save her and ends up time-travelling to 2014. He has nowhere to go so he looks for Xiji which is run by Daxi and Shuangxi but no one believes he is their grandfather. Hence, he uses other identities to continue living in their house and helping them with business. At the same time, he meets Mei Ren who looks like Xiao Mei who he will fall in love with despite their contrasting views. Mei Ren opens a cake shop and is a straightforward and sincere person who thinks well for the customers and serve the customers up to their satisfaction. Daxi is a good writer but cannot fulfill his dream as he is the eldest son and naturally has to run the family business. Shuangxi, on the other hand, has the talent in baking but is lazy and only comes up with “good” ideas to increase the number of customers in the shop.

It is quite interesting especially the way Lian Wen Ding talks like the people in the past. It is funny when he tries to preach people on the traditional values of the past such as ”养儿防老“(have more children so as to have them to depend on at old age) or women should listen to their husbands and stay at home to take care of their children which obviously no one listens to him. It is funny that when Daxi did a DNA test on Wen Ding and realises he matches his own father’s, they straightaway thought he is his father’s illegitimate son rather than believing he is their grandfather. I am touched by Wen Ding’s relationship with his son. Wen Ding often blames himself for his son’s misfortune and only his son recognises him. Wonder why Wen Ding only has one son even though he always preaches people on the importance of continuing the family line. Haha.

I learnt that in order to preserve traditions, innovation is needed. As the mindset of the people changes with time, one should not stick to the traditions when promoting the same product. If not, no one would be interested in them even if it has a long history. Customer’s satisfaction is the most important when selling a product. When doing business, trust is important. Paying actors to buy goods from the shop may gain more customers but will lose the trust of long-term customers after they find out. Only Shuangxi’s daughter believes that Wen Ding time-travels. Is it because children are naive or is it while people grow into adult, their imagination is gone and they become practical and realistic?

Why you should watch: At first, I did not want to watch this as I thought it was a typical long series Singapore Drama. Then, I read the newspapers and suddenly came across its plot which is time-travelling. Haha. That caught my attention and I decided to try it after all. One of the few Singapore dramas that makes me feel a strong tinge of sadness after I finished watching it. Not sure if it is because the drama has come to an end or because Mei Ren and Wen Ding did not end up together. I am very satisfied with the ending and plot of this drama. Shaun Chen acted very well as Wen Ding.

Blessings opening theme song

Click here to watch.

Click here for more Singapore Drama reviews.