Women of Times
Women of Times (Chinese: 至尊红颜) is a 30-episode Chinese drama telecast in Singapore in 2006.
Main cast
Supporting/Minor roles
Synopsis
This mega-production traces the ups and downs of the Jia empire, a family of restaurateurs controlling the highly profitable Jin Le chain of restaurants.
At its helm is the very capable matriarch, Old Mrs Jia (Cheng Pei-pei), who has single-handedly steered the business to where it is today. Each member of the clan, though diverse in his or her character and motivations, keeps up with appearances in order to maintain the harmony on the surface. But it is only too soon that self-interest gets in the way and human weaknesses rears its ugly head. This is the first Mediacorp drama that features the main protagonist (Fann Wong) as a villain of sorts.
Main character profile
- Jia-she Hui Jun (Cheng Pei-pei): Starting from scratch, Mrs Jia has single-handedly brought the highly successful 'Jin Le' chain of restaurants to where it is today. After suffering a heavy blow from her husband's death, she decides to retire from the business. Nonetheless, her conservative decision to let her incompetent sons take over the family-business soon causes internal strife to arise.
- Jia Zengtu (in the Philippine airing: Justin Jia) (Edmund Chen): As the youngest descendant, Zengtu does show strong potential but is predictably pampered and overly self-indulgent. A marriage to Xiyi (Fann Wong) is arranged to ensure his swift rise through the company's ranks but it only served to make him more complacent. His selfish pursuit of pleasure also causes him to neglect Xiyi and start a string of dirty affairs, and eventually, Xiyi files for divorce.
- Wang Xiyi (in the Philippine airing: Marissa Wang) (Fann Wong): Beautiful, intelligent and determined, Xiyi has painstakingly worked her way up to become one of the restaurant's executives. Her sensitivity to the needs of others and selflessness has earned her the respect and trust of the Jia household. Even so, her envious sister-in-law Zengyue (Aileen Tan) continues to hold a grudge against her success.
- Jia Zengyue (in the Philippine airing: Cynthia Jia) (Aileen Tan): As Mrs Jia's sole daughter, Zengyue is a capable but unscrupulous woman who will do anything for personal gain. She remains resentful over her position as a finance administrator and harbours more ambitious designs. Her self-interest and jealousy often puts her in enmity with other household members.
- Jia Zengmu (in the Philippine airing: Andrew Jia) (Huang Wenyong): While Zengmu is usually perceived as stable and well-organized, doing everything on an even keel, he is in fact a timid sideliner when it comes to making decisions. His father's unexpected death forces him to take on the role of general manager despite his shortcomings. Zengmu is also a paranoid, taking extreme measures when it comes to safe-guarding his health. He eventually dies on the same day with his wife (Lin Meijiao), the reason of him passing on is because of a quarrel with Zengyue, and that resulted in a heart attack. His wife, Guiying died in a car accident, while rushing to the hospital to see her husband.
See also