The Seeds of Life《渔米人家》

You might know him as the Golden Awards Best Actor, Ah Pao (The Superb Match Maker) or even Zi Cheng (Tribulations of Life). Regardless of what character he is, I'm sure you're familiar with Melvin Sia one way or another.

Then there's the unmistakable Shaun Chen, who from the time ntv7 started production of it's first ever local drama "The Beginning", he's always been the antagonist, the bad guy that everyone doesn't like but can't bear to hate cause of his good acting.

And Eelyn Kok, who needs no introduction for her works in Together and Little Nyonya, is such a great actress she makes the characters come alive whether the bubbly girl with big dreams or the selfish sister.

I'm sure some of you are wondering by now what the point of this post is, well it's about a new series called The Seeds of Life 《渔米人家》 (Yu Mi Ren Jia).

The name of this drama which translates roughly into "The Village of Fish and Rice" was inspired very much by Sekinchan, a fishing and rice producing village located in Selangor.

I was never from a small town or village so I can't vouch to say that I understand the feeling of wanting to break away from the humbleness of a small place to make it big in the city. But these are the struggles of the characters in The Seeds of Life--growing up in a small but close-knit community, there are those who love their home and would do anything for it, and yet there are those who want more than just a simple life.

Two brothers Shi Chong (Shaun Chen) and Shi Jie (Melvin Sia) are sons of the Luo family who run a rice milling business in their village. Although younger, Shi Jie is the one who responsibly carries out his duties towards the family business while his brother tries to impress but always fails cause he's over-ambitious.

In comes Xiao Yu (Eelyn Kok), a simple and contented girl, the kind who's willing to sacrifice anything for her family. Now Shi Jie, Xiao Yu, Zheng Shun (Cheng Zhi Wei) and De Jun (Ken Tan) are best buddies, while Xiao Yu and Zheng Shun are the village's model couple (the ones who should get married and live happily ever after). But what happens when the whole village expects you to do something and you don't? Pressure mounts, stares and glares are thrown at you, and you're left feeling guilty.

How will Xiao Yu face the people around her if and when she finally decides her one true love isn't Zheng Shun? How will Shi Jie explain himself when he's being named the person who betrayed his friend and ruined a fine couple? I'd love to tell you the story but I haven't gotten there yet, so you've got to watch to find out!

Starting tonight, 24th of February, Seeds of Life airs every Monday to Thursday at 10pm!