Chapter 16: Sons and Daughters
Master Zhuang patted Man Bao’s head and smiled, “Today, you can take the brushes and ink home first. Tomorrow is the fifteenth, so I’ll have a day off from the study hall. I’ll visit the Landowner’s residence, then the day after you can come back here. You’re still young, so no need to formally study anything specific yet. We’ll just start by learning some characters together. Once you’re a bit older next year, then we can begin writing practice and official lessons.”
Tomorrow being the fifteenth meant it was one of only two days per month he closed the study hall for a brief respite, the other being the middle of the month.
Man Bao happily agreed, cradling the box containing her new writing tools as she followed her father and brothers back home.
No sooner had they returned than Er Ya and Er Tou came scurrying over, tentatively reaching out to stroke the ink stone with reverence.
But Feng swiftly swatted their prying hands away, scolding, “Don’t touch that carelessly! It belongs to your little niece. You two had better keep your distance from now on, understood?”
Displeased, Man Bao pulled Er Tou and Er Ya closer, consoling them, “Once I’ve learned writing, I’ll teach you both too.”
Contemplating it briefly, Feng remarked, “Just Er Tou will do for now, Little Niece.”
“Why not Er Ya too? She’s even smarter than Er Tou.”
Feng laughed, “There’s no use for a girl to learn such things. Er Ya still needs to go cut pig feed.”
“Of course there’s a use,” Man Bao insisted. “Once you can read, you’ll be able to enjoy all the wonderful stories from books yourself.”
Chuckling, Feng dismissed, “Rather than waste time on stories, she’d be better off weeding the fields. We can just tell her as many stories as she’d like to hear.”
Unable to remain silent, Er Ya pleaded, “Mother, I want to learn characters too.”
Feng just rapped her daughter’s head lightly. “Don’t go encouraging silly notions from your niece. Have you finished washing today’s laundry yet? If not, hurry to the river and get it done.”
Crestfallen but not daring to cry openly, Er Ya lowered her head and went to fetch the soiled clothes.
Infuriated to the point of puffing out her cheeks, Man Bao barely had a chance to unleash her temper before Feng scooped her up, carefully placing her on a chair and meticulously arranging the writing box before her. “Little Niece, where are those manuscript pages you brought home previously? Have Er Tou find them so you can start practicing characters. If you get tired, just rest a while. Let me know if you’re hungry and I’ll bring you a snack.”
Blinking slowly, Man Bao studied her second sister-in-law, perplexed that this warm demeanor aligned with her usual impressions, yet the dismissive words about Er Ya had also come from Feng’s own mouth!
Dejected, Man Bao slumped in the chair, her small troubled frown going unnoticed by Feng who bustled off to the kitchen once the little niece was settled.
Er Tou had already scampered off to retrieve the manuscript pages Man Bao previously brought home from Master Zhuang.
With so many swirling thoughts and questions bottled up, unable to voice them aloud, Man Bao could only convey them to the system.
“Ke Ke, why won’t Feng allow Er Ya to learn characters?”
The system bluntly relayed the future findings of human research to Man Bao: “Because she prioritizes males over females.”
Though unfamiliar with this term, its straightforward meaning was self-explanatory just from the combined character definitions.
So with widened eyes, Man Bao questioned, “But why? Isn’t she a female herself?”
“This stems from thousands of years of human inertial thinking,” the system expounded. “It originated in agrarian societies where production relied on physical labor, and men possessed greater strength than women, hence the favoring of males. Over time, this distorted into a warped ethical paradigm where humanity believed only male progeny could carry the family’s ancestral lineage, while females were viewed as appendages subordinate to men.”
“But my father and mother cherish me dearly, and my brothers respect me too,” Man Bao pointed out.
A current of electricity seemed to pulse through the system’s core as it abruptly severed the conclusion it had deduced, refraining from voicing it aloud.
Instead, it stated, “You are the sole exception. Don’t you notice? Apart from you, the status of every other female in your household is beneath that of the males.”
As a data collection system rather than an educational one, the system did not realize some topics were inappropriate to discuss so directly with a child. It provided examples to illustrate its point:
“Your mother is subordinate to your father. Your sisters-in-law rank below your brothers. Even your nieces receive far less favorable treatment compared to your nephews.”
“Normally for the early meal, your brothers and nephews eat plain rice while your sisters-in-law and nieces only have porridge. Only during the busy farming seasons can the women also have plain rice.” The system pointed out, “Your sisters-in-law have to fetch washing water and empty the basins for your brothers, yet your brothers never perform such tasks for them.”
Man Bao fell silent, recalling her mother’s justification, “Because my brothers do more strenuous labor, so they need the extra sustenance from plain rice.”
“Yet your sisters-in-law also perform arduous physical work,” the system countered.
Considering it, Man Bao had to agree it made sense.
Lowering her head in thought, she wondered aloud, “So if one day women become physically stronger than men, will society then start prioritizing females over males instead?”
“According to research by future historians, prior to slavery-based societies were matriarchal clan systems centered around females, which aligns with what the host describes as ‘prioritizing females over males’,” the system explained.
Curious, Man Bao asked, “So women were physically stronger than men back then?”
“No, they derived status from their reproductive capabilities to create new labor forces by giving birth. Since children only recognized their mothers and not their fathers, women held higher standing.”
Man Bao pondered this before shaking her head decisively. “Neither approach sounds good to me. I don’t like prioritizing males nor prioritizing females. We’re all just human beings, so shouldn’t we be viewed as completely equal without any hierarchy?”
The system seemed to gaze impassively at its host for a long moment before finally responding, “In the future, equality may be possible due to advances in technology bolstering productive forces and transforming societal relations. With a greater emphasis on intellectual labor, many girls prove no less capable than boys in terms of cognitive ability. So gradually, the two genders achieve parity on an equal footing.”
While Man Bao couldn’t fully comprehend the first part about productive forces and societal relations, the system realized delving into such esoteric concepts would prove too abstruse and confusing. So it simply told her, “The economic base determines the superstructure. So if your sister-in-law could earn far more income than your brother, then he would have to defer to her authority, and she would naturally grow more assertive.”
Clutching her chubby cheeks, Man Bao exclaimed, “Then if Er Ya could earn more than Er Tou in the future, would Feng cherish her more and also allow her to learn literacy?”
“In theory, yes,” the system affirmed.
Immediately hopping off the chair, Man Bao declared with grave seriousness, “I think that’s very wrong! Feng should cherish Er Ya simply because she’s her own daughter, not based on potential future earnings. I’m going to persuade her about this.”
The system didn’t attempt to dissuade her.
So Man Bao marched determinedly to the kitchen, confronting Feng, “Second Sister-in-law, do you actually prefer Er Tou over Er Ya?”
Washing a pot, Feng laughed in surprise at the question. “Little Niece, where ever did you hear such a thing? Er Tou and Er Ya are both my children – how could I not cherish Er Ya just as much?”
“Then why won’t you let Er Ya study and learn characters?”
Stating it like an obvious fact, Feng replied, “There’s no use for her to do that.”
Stunned, Man Bao sputtered, “How…how could it be useless? Reading is extremely beneficial – otherwise why would so many people spend money to study?”
“Those are boys you’re referring to. Tell me, which girls spend money attending study halls?” Feng countered.
Man Bao instantly retorted, “Me!”
Feng couldn’t help but laugh at her niece’s brazenness. “You’re the exception, Little Niece. Besides, Master Zhuang isn’t even charging you tuition fees, nor does he expect you to purchase any textbooks. So it’s not really costing anything.”
