If a family could get by, if parents had the means and the heart to protect their children and act like proper parents, why would she have to go to such lengths? Didn't she know people would gossip about her? That her reputation would suffer and she'd never find a husband? But she had no choice—she was driven to it! And so now they were saying:
"Yesterday I went to town to buy meat, and I passed by a tea stall. I heard two men muttering that Lord Fang was a fool, and they were cursing him too. Pfft, I spat."
"What did they say?"
"The same old thing—they said Lord Fang was recruiting those gers and women, and what could they possibly do once they got there? Serve those young men inside, they said. The things they were saying were absolutely vile."
"Why do you even care what they think? They just look down on us womenfolk."
"I think it's good that the young master recruited her. At least he treats women and men equally."
"Exactly! The young master doesn't look down on us women."
"He's just like Lord Fang—different from other men. Other men look down on us."
"Right? They all came out of a woman's belly, yet in the end they turn around and look down on us. And it's not like they're any better than us. Even with farm work—it's not like we've never done that either."
During the busy farming seasons, everyone went out to the fields. And if a man was lazy, some wives and fulangs would handle both indoor and outdoor work—and they did just fine.
So why did they look down on gers and women so much? Take Tang Daniang—she joined the recruitment and at least had a way to survive. If she hadn't gone, she'd have died. And her qualifications were suitable. Why couldn't she go? Why did they have to insist that a woman couldn't do it and drag her name through the mud like that?
Apart from not being as strong as men, was there anything men could do that they couldn't? If anything, when it was all added up, the women and gers actually did more than the men. During spring plowing and autumn harvest, everyone was busy. When they came home, the men would rest and do nothing. If there was no one else at home, the women and gers would have to run to the kitchen to cook, then feed the pigs and chickens, and after eating, they'd still have to do the laundry. Not a moment's rest before they had to head back to the fields with the men. Weren't they better than the men?
At first, people thought that since Tang Daniang was a young woman of seventeen—the perfect age for marriage—it really wasn't appropriate for her to go, since the camp was full of men. They hadn't been too supportive of the idea either; a girl's proper path was to marry. But then they started hearing those comments, and the things people said grew uglier and uglier, even dragging the prefect and his son into it, calling them muddled and indulgent. The more they heard, the more unsettled they felt, and their anger grew.
What was wrong with being a woman? Had she eaten their rice? Why did they have to tear women and gers down and claim they were worthless?
Everyone was speaking with righteous indignation—after all, they were all womenfolk, part of the same group. Hearing that kind of discriminatory talk naturally made them furious.
A few men nearby said nothing.
They themselves didn't have any strong opinions on the matter either. They were all men who doted on their wives and didn't feel their wives were beneath them. If anything, when they finished the field work and came home to see their wives or fulangs still busy with household chores, they were happy to lend a hand.
But their parents wouldn't allow it! They'd say, how could a man do such work? Word would get out—wouldn't that be shameful? Let your wife handle it. They just couldn't understand it—why would sweeping the yard be shameful? Why did work have to be divided into men's work and women's work? If someone had free time, couldn't they just do whatever needed doing?
This conscription business was the same—whoever had the skill should go! Why did it matter whether someone was a man, a woman, or a ger?
Earlier, quite a few men and some older women had strong opinions about this, often bringing it up at every opportunity. But as they talked and talked, a bunch of rotten leaves got thrown their way.
"What are you jabbering about? Who are you looking down on? Weren't you born from a woman? Aren't you a woman yourself?"
"If you look down on them so much, then in your next life, don't be born from a woman's womb—be born in a pigsty! A sow would make a fine mother for you."
The men and older women started cursing back, but they couldn't win the argument. Young wives and fulangs came over to join in, and even some men stepped forward to defend them.
"She got recruited because she's capable—she's better than you good-for-nothing old windbags. What are you so sour about? If you've got the guts, go sign up yourselves! See if the officials want you. My second brother went, and my parents didn't say a thing. Who are you to talk? If your mouths are so itchy, go chew on some dirt."
After that, no one dared to bring it up again. On the contrary, many people started thinking it over and felt it wasn't such a big deal after all.
If their own gers or daughters got recruited, wouldn't that prove they were better than the men?
What was the point of staying home embroidering all day? If they could earn money like the men and do what the men could do—wasn't that just fantastic?
Fang Zichen and Zhao Ger could also clearly feel the change in many of the villagers. Before, they'd look at him with that "troublesome kid" expression, full of disapproval. Now, it had turned back into respect.
Zhao Ger said, "Everyone's accepted this now."
Earlier, he'd heard from Uncle Tang that some folks were planning to stage some kind of protest, and that a few workers at the factory were even talking about walking out. That had kept him worried for quite some time.
Not to mention how hard it was for outsiders to accept—even he, when he first heard it, had found it a bit unbelievable.
Fang Zichen naturally knew about all this too. His move was practically on par with allowing women and gers to take the imperial examinations. It was only natural that people would make a fuss. But that it had died down so quickly was beyond his expectations.
He never acted without weighing the benefits, and he certainly knew what consequences this would bring. Yet every time he encountered such matters, he couldn't help but think of Liu Xiaoli for some reason.
---
The sweet potato noodle factory started hiring and began buying sweet potatoes.
The surrounding villages were delighted.
This year, they had harvested a lot of sweet potatoes—not only enough to eat their fill, but with some left over! Now they could sell them for some money. How wonderful.
Zhou Ger and Liu Xiaowen had both made sweet potato noodles before and knew that some of the work was heavy—better suited for men. But tasks like washing sweet potatoes required patience and care, so gers and women would be more suitable for those.
Zhou Ger was meticulous and thought of everything. He knew that Zhao Ger had entrusted him with full management of this factory, so he had to do a good job and not let Zhao Ger down. Liuliu was helping register names while Zhou Ger looked on. Several of the selected gers and women were very happy, but when Zhou Ger heard they were from Fangxing Village, he frowned slightly.
"Wouldn't that be too far?"
Hearing this, they quickly said, "Manager Zhou, we don't mind the distance."
"Don't rush—I'm not saying we won't take you. It's just that we get off work late."
The days were still short and the nights long. By the time they finished work and walked home, the sky would be pitch dark. That wouldn't be a problem for the men, but for gers and women, it was a bit unsafe.
One young fulang said softly, "My husband will come pick me up after work."
They were all married, and they had already considered the concerns Zhou Ger raised. They'd discussed it before coming and agreed to have their husbands take turns picking them up. Besides, there were many of them, so there was nothing to fear.
Zhou Ger thought it over—there was really nothing to worry about then.
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