明面上 是让青蒲 帮我去打理生意
“On the surface, it'll appear that Qingpu is going there to manage my business.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
“and I've long since established a lot of businesses there.”
明面上 是让青蒲 帮 我去 打理生意
“On the surface, it'll appear that Qingpu is going there to manage my business.”
暗地里
“But secretly,”
“Running the business is just a cover story; her real mission is entirely different.”
Chinese strategic thought frequently relies on the duality of 'Ming' (overt actions intended for display) and 'An' (covert maneuvers kept secret from rivals).
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
on the surface / ostensibly / overtly
Commonly contrasted with '暗地里' (secretly) to distinguish public pretexts from hidden motives.
manage a business / look after commercial affairs
Colloquial and professional collocation for taking charge of trade or commercial operations.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“I had Qingpu keep watch. No one will notice.”
“to send Qingpu to Shanxi.”
“Qingpu, ask Mr. Ping to send two men to watch him closely.”
“Qingpu. I wish we could go back to Tongzhou for the New Year.”
“On the surface, they’re impeaching him. In truth,”
“Keep it down, will you? She lost several deals she thought were in the bag.”