Ten Brothers
Loosely based on the Chinese mythology of the same name, the TV drama tells of a young couple whose lives change when the woman accidentally drinks the soup of ten magical beans. From the ten beans, the woman conceives ten sons. Fearful and unprepared for their sons growing into adults, the couple abandons them. One day, a mysterious white-haired man appears in one of the brother's visions and delivers a prophecy that could change the ten brothers forever.
Episodes
Runtime: 45m
CHAN TAI HA lives in BAI LI Town, where he makes a living by selling sugar soup. Once in his childhood, HA was given one bowl of rice by KEI HAU YEE, young lady from a richer family, to which he was grateful and a seed of love was sown in his heart since then. YEE gets along well with CHOW KA LAI, a person of her heart. One day, after HA sees a beam of strong light and meets an old folk with strange behavior, a series of freakish incident taking place on him. First, he involuntarily arrests a petty thief, who takes away the purse of YEE, but he accidentally injures YEE, causing her unable to meet LAI at the pier. Later, AH SING, a friend of HA, even confesses the love to YEE on behalf of HA in the main street. YEE cannot control herself but runs to HA’s house, falls off from a bridge and she sustains injuries. It is lucky that HA comes to rescue……
Runtime: 45m
YEE and HA take the ten boys for monsters and they escape. The ten brothers look everywhere for YEE and HA, and they even cause trouble in the marketplace, where villagers chase and hit them. Big Ears and Triceps (the 2nd & 3rd son) leave the group and play at a riverside, where WONG Mum, a servant of CHU MEI HAN who is the wife of a marshal, finds them acting in foolish manner. WONG Mum comes up an idea to deceive the marshal, MAN SAI HUNG, using the two brothers to replace his two sons, who have died an early death. YEE wanders around and sees CHI drunk and fell on the street. On seeing CHI being scolded by other people, YEE runs up to console him and they embrace and cry painfully. CHI tries to marry off YEE as a concubine to silk-goods shopkeeper in the neighboring village, to which YEE accepts helplessly……
Runtime: 45m
YEE discovers the door of her house is broken and CHI is nowhere to be found, to which she is sad. HA brings along eight brothers to HING LUNG Town, where they seek shelter from SING. HAN takes Big Ears and Triceps to see the Marshal, who is very happy, thinking that the two are his own sons and letting them to stay in his house. However TSUI KIU, the concubine of Marshal, asks Marshal to drive HAN out of the house. HA is unable to find SING, making YEE feel that the road ahead is uncertain. Knowing what YEE is thinking about, all sons promise to find jobs outside to support the family. FA SIU HUNG, the acrobatic troupe owner, sees that Naughty and Crying Baby (4th & 10th son) have agile body movements and promises to hire the two. Copper Head and Land Breaker (6th & 8th son) beg on the street for money, to which YEE is angry on seeing that. HUNG forces Naughty and Crying Baby to sign written body-sold contract……
Runtime: 45m
HA sells sugar soup in the market for a living while YEE washes clothes on the riverside and teaches the boys how to write. The feet of Long Legs (7th son) suddenly grow longer. For not letting YEE know, Log Legs goes and hides but falls into the river carelessly. The Acrobatic Troupe is out for business when HA goes to give a boost to Naughty and Crying Baby, but he is driven away by HUNG. HUNG instructs Naughty and Crying Baby to practice the hand-stand and bending backward, while Naughty uses tricks to finish them early, to which HUNG punishes him after discovery. Big Ears and Triceps follow LAU Deputy to patrol around. When passing by the vendor stall of HA, Sharp Eyes (1st son) accidentally pours the sugar soup onto Triceps’ clothes, to which LAU Deputy knocks over the vendor stall of HA. Big Mouth secretly takes a lot of food from TSUI and brings it home……
Runtime: 45m
On seeing that HA is severely injured, all brothers voluntarily go and look after the vendor stall for him. To vent his anger, Triceps knocks down the stall and the brothers have to earn their by moving bricks for other people. A pair of wings grows on Fly Five’s back and he makes a check on other brothers if there are same things occurring to them. After knowing other brothers doing the hard labor for a living, Big Mouth sells his jade buckle to take the money home. Under hallucination, Fly Fives sees himself being changed into Chicken Demon and he collapses in the street. HUNG punishes Crying Baby and Naughty wards off the blow and gets injuries at his hand, to which LAN gives him some medicinal wine. The next day, Naughty wakes up to find swollen redness on his face while HUNG forces him to wear a mask in order to continue his performance……
Runtime: 45m
HUNG asks Sharp Eyes for ten silver dollars to redeem the freedom of Naughty and Crying Baby. Triceps has his hands swollen and HAN fears that it may be contagious. She instructs WONG Mum stealthily to find a doctor for his cure. For helping Naughty and Crying Baby to get out of trouble from HUNG as soon as possible, Sharp Eyes and Long Legs go and clean feces for people while Land Breaker and Copper Head work in a brothel as laborers after YEE and HA go to sleep. One night, YEE wakes up and discovers all sons disappear and she is angry to scold them for having no self-respect, to which Sharp Eyes tells YEE the truth finally. HA and YEE go to Acrobatic Troupe only to find Naughty being bullied and they are heart-broken. Marshal returns home, where KIU speaks ill of Triceps, saying that he has contracted freakish disease. Triceps comes out from room, claiming that he has become very powerful, to which Marshal is overjoyed……
Runtime: 45m
Doctor is unable to do anything for the illnesses of Sharp Eyes and others. TSUI comes to HA’s house, where he requests to take Big Mouth away. On seeing the swollen lips on Big Mouth’s face, he tells HA to redeem Big Mouth with 3 silver dollars. HA searches his brain hard and he only has to sell off YEE’s hairpin. Fly Five goes to work as servant in Marshal’s house. For a roasted goose, Big Ears and Triceps come to know YUEN TUNG TUNG, a cousin of Marshal, who comes a long way to visit Marshal. Crying Baby’s eyes get swollen increasingly and his tears pour out like a fountain when crying, to which HUNG has a flash in his mind, to use Crying Baby as a performing tool. TSUI and his wife do not believe Big Mouth having swollen lips and they go secretly to HA’s house for investigation, where they only find Copper Head and Big Mouth try to leave home in order not to be a burden of HA and YEE, to which they are touched……
Runtime: 45m
HUNG sees Naughty and Crying Baby heal completely and he forces them to perform in the troupe. Naughty and Crying Baby use their unusual ability to make trouble, causing the customers to go away. Naughty even fools with HUNG, making him to think that the Acrobatic Troupe is haunted with ghosts. All brothers use their unusual ability to assist HA, attracting a lot of customers. When talking with LAN, Sharp Eyes promises her to help find her missing father. YEE advises HA to consider his future, to which Sharp Eyes overhears everything and he advises HA to confess his heart to YEE as soon as possible. The ears of Big Ears suddenly grow longer and he overhears the talk of smuggle between Marshal and LAU Deputy, and he then tells Marshal and he wants to offer help, to which Marshal is frightened. TUNG and Triceps pick their own servants for wrestling competition. Fly Five is sweetened when seeing TUNG gives him a boost for the competition……
Runtime: 45m
HA redeems the hairpin for YEE and takes her out to see Cantonese Opera, hoping to find a chance to confess to YEE. HA is discouraged after listening what YEE has said. HA avoids YEE here and there, to which YEE feels surprised. On seeing the customers get les and less, KWONG decides to disband the Troupe. For fear that LAN may lose shelter, Naughty uses the unusual ability of his brothers as selling points to attract customers. Sharp Eyes uses his ability to look for LAN’s father, but fails. LAN hides her happiness when seeing Sharp Eyes is very much concerned with her business. Naughty personally makes a wooden rabbit and gives it to LAN, who denotes that she will put it beside her pillow. Naughty suggests to Sharp Eyes bringing along their own lovers for kite flying and then they come to know they fall in love with the same girl. Naughty scolds Sharp Eyes for taking away his love……
Runtime: 45m
YEE sees LAI, who denotes he does not mind YEE to have given birth without a marriage. He further proposes that they go to Shanghai to turn a new leaf of life. Triceps and TUNG watch the acrobatic show in a teahouse. Triceps points out that the special skills that performed by Naughty and others are not real. He challenges with his fists against the Copper Head, but Triceps is defeated. By force, Big Ears and Triceps rob of the white jade Goddess of Mercy from TSUI and his wife and give it to HAN as birthday gift. Ignoring the advice and hindrance of YEE, all brothers sneak into Marshal’s house to retrieve the jade Buddha for TSUI. When preparing to leave, Sharp Eyes discovers LAN is also in Marshal’s house and he tells Big Mouth to blow out a strange breeze, making LAN to escape successfully. KIU has found a magic way of how to have a baby from a fortune teller and she is troubled in finding a boy……
Runtime: 45m
Naughty and others try to beat Big Ears and Triceps to death for revenge for Crying Baby, but they are stopped by YEE. When cleaning the wounds, HA discovers the birthmarks on the bodies of Big Ears and Triceps and he confirms they are their sons that have gone missing sometimes ago. Big Ears and Triceps enquire from WONG Mum and HAN as to why they have lost their memories, to which there are discrepancies in their words. In addition, Triceps sees that Long Legs and others all have unusual abilities, and he begins to believe HA is his father. TSUI sends HA a letter, saying that he will stay in his countryside home town and he gives out his shop to HA, to which all are overjoyed. On the opening day of HA’s sugar soup shop, LAI sends a tablet for the occasion. When LAI and HA hang up the tablet, LAI falls down carelessly. YEE hurriedly approaches and gives her regard to LAI, to which HA is heart-broken……
Runtime: 45m
YEE speaks frankly to HA that gratitude and sentiment are two different things, to which HA is very sad. HA sees LAI goes in and out again in the brothel areas and tells YEE that LAI is a cheater, to which YEE accuses HA is a backbiter against LAI instead. LAN and TUNG come to know each other by throwing worshipping documents (paper objects with wishes written to worship deities), and they pour their hearts out to each other on the first occasion. LAN listens to TUNG’s advice to sew a wallet personally for Sharp Eyes to show her love. LAN is sick. After performing the acrobat in the neighboring village, Naughty immediately hurries back to care for LAN. When sending medicine to LAN, Naughty sees Sharp Eyes stand beside her. Later Naughty discovers LAN has given Sharp Eyes the wallet that she made; the two brothers break off their relation……
Runtime: 45m
Land Breaker discovers that he has the unusual ability to break ground and he takes LAI and others to escape Marshal’s study. LAU Deputy chases after and fires his gun blindly, in which Land Breaker gets injured. YEE blames LAI for victimizing Land Breaker. Marshal orders to seal off the city for 3 days to let LAU Deputy to locate the wounded thief. LAU Deputy comes to investigate in HA’s house when Big Ears and Triceps offer to help searching the house, where they finally find that Land Breaker is actually injured. With good idea that comes in time of crisis, Triceps beats Land Breaker harder and LAU Deputy is not aware of the situation. YEE and HA go to thank Big Ears and Triceps, where KIU is suspicious on hearing that. TUNG dates Sharp Eyes on behalf of LAN, who decides to give up seeing LAN again for avoiding hurting the brotherhood. Knowing that Big Ears and Triceps are not his sons, Marshal drives them out of his house in anger……
Runtime: 45m
YEE and HA try to take Big Eyes and Triceps home, to which Triceps scolds YEE instead, for making them homeless. TUNG gives material help to Big Eyes and Triceps, where Triceps runs away on the sight of TUNG, who complains to LAN in tears. YEE and HA take food to the shabby temple to Big Ears and Triceps, but Triceps is not grateful and he scolds YEE instead. HA cannot stand the cold shoulder from Triceps and he beats him. LAI entrusts HA to give YEE the apologetic letter and YEE later knows that she has blamed LAI wrongly. LAI secretly enters Marshal’s house again to take away the account books. For fear that LAI may disclose the evidence that relates to his corruption practices, Marshal accuses LAI is a pirate and he orders a wanted warrant to arrest him. Big Eyes and Triceps find the traces of LAI and they both lead LAU Deputy to arrest him in a lime shack, hoping to redeem their guilt by good deeds……
Runtime: 45m
YEE discovers the 10 brothers have their weakness of being afraid of lime powder. When Sharp Eyes knows that Big Ears is secretly listening to what they are talking, he uses the tactic of leaving the house empty to get LAI out of the city. Big Ears believes in what they have said and he informs Marshal. Marshal knows better that he figures out there must be a plot and he decides to separate his subordinates into two groups for siege, in which HA, Fly Five and others are easily captured. On the other side, because LAU Deputy stains with lime powder on his body, the ten brothers lose their unusual abilities. Under the protection of Sharp Eyes, YEE, LAI and others escape. On the contrary, Sharp Eyes and Naughty are injured and fall off the cliff, when they are rescued and taken back to Acrobat Troupe by LAN for treatment. LAU Deputy beats HA hard to force him to speak out the whereabouts of LAI……
Runtime: 45m
When Big Ears and Triceps know that Marshal has the intention to kill the whole family of HA, they immediately go to the prison for rescue. At that moment, Marshal comes with a large group of soldiers when Land Breaker and Big Mouth arrive in time to save them out and they run away successfully. Ignoring the objection of Naughty and others, YEE keeps Big Ears and Triceps to her side, to which Big Ears and Triceps kneel down and admit their fault to YEE and the family is reunited. HA takes the risk of death to enter the lime shack for retrieving the account books. Marshal uses guns and cannons to prevent HA from leaving the village while the 10 brothers resist with their unusual abilities. At that moment, LAI arrives with the rescuing soldiers, but Naughty burns away the account books …… All brothers eventually accept Big Ears and Triceps as their family members……
Runtime: 45m
YEE does not go to Shanghai with LAI, to which HA and the 10 brothers are overjoyed. After many investigations, LAN eventually knows that her father has died. When she goes to her father’s grave for worship, where she locates the drunken CHI and Big Eyes piggybacks him home. When CHI wakes up, he hears the loud reading voice of books from Sharp Eyes and he thinks Sharp Eyes has the potential. CHI decides to teach Sharp Eyes how to read and write, but he does not want him to ask the question of his past. Marshal does not oppose TUNG to see Triceps, who, however, drives TUNG away once again. With a broken heart, TUNG goes to find LAN for conversation. CHI is again found drunken in the street. LAN fears that CHI may be intoxicated with alcohol if he continues his way of life, so she takes him to a shabby temple to visit a group of orphans; CHI is enlightened and he decides to set up a school……
Runtime: 45m
Villagers welcome the HA’s family members for their completion of mission. CHI comes across the 10 brothers in the marketplace and he comes to know that he has misunderstood YEE previously. Sharp Eyes visits CHI and sees the picture of YEE on his person; he knows that CHI is his grandpa and he returns home immediately, taking YEE to go to see CHI. Land Breaker uses his ground breaking skill to make YEE and CHI a father and daughter reunion. CHI requests YEE to marry HA as soon as possible, to which YEE feels embarrassed. TUNG personally makes some cakes for Triceps, who enjoys them deliciously though the cakes have some kind of strange smell. However, Triceps fears that TUNG may be mistaken, he scolds her away. Fly Five apologizes to TUNG on behalf of Triceps and he tells her what is on Triceps’ mind……
Runtime: 45m
Crying Baby suddenly cries, yelling to ask LAN taking him to see YEE in HO KA Village. CHI is unlucky to contract disease. At the point of dying, Crying Baby embraces him and cries and very soon, CHI heals from his illness. Since then, all people use the tears of Crying Baby to cure the epidemic patients. Marshal knows the weakness of the 10 brothers and he invites the brothers to have meal at his house, using lime powder to harm the 10 brothers on purpose. HA fights alone with one against ten, letting the 10 brothers to escape and eventually HA and YEE are captured. The 10 brothers hide inside a temple, where Sharp Eyes teaches everyone to wash their wounds with oil. At that moment, Marshal and his men surround the temple. For the safety of HA and YEE, the 10 brothers cannot help but wait to be captured. TUNG stops Marshal to kill HA and others, while every soldier turns their weapons against Marshal……
Runtime: 45m
LAN follows KWONG to Hunan for acrobat performance. Big Mouth uses his tele-voice skill to stop LAN from leaving. After knowing the truth, LAN and Sharp Eyes become friends again. YEE and HA go and beg the strange person for mercy, but he still insists to take away all 10 brothers in mid autumn night. Sharp Eyes uses his eyes’ ability to let LAN see her father’s face, while Triceps dates TUNG to go to seaside where he gives her the engagement gift. Other brothers renovate the sugar soup shop and also make two chairs for YEE and HA. On the other side, YEE and HA hurry day and night to sew hats and shoes for the 10 brothers. At mid autumn night, the whole family has their meal. YEE and HA are reluctant to say goodbye to the 10 brothers. On the way to go to the meeting point with the strange person, the 10 brothers cry without stopping……
