Chapter 89 answers her question: Why are there so many hooks when there's someone else to choose?

A Little Fish's "Back to the Ming Dynasty" caused a sensation. Yao Xiaoyu thought their attention would be focused on the new time-travel theme, but most of the letters that came in like snowflakes asked about the world before Zhang Xiu's time travel, which was only mentioned in a few words.

...I'm currently in secondary school, and my family hopes I can get married soon...I have an older cousin who still can't find a job after graduating from secondary school...Is there really a future for women...?

Yao Xiaoyu sighed as she looked at the letter. Even without reading its contents, she could tell from the delicate handwriting that it belonged to a woman. The letter, which spanned several pages, contained only two questions: Would life really be this wonderful twenty years from now? Would women really be able to attend university?

The Republic of China had only been established for five years, and girls' schools were just beginning. Apart from female workers and maids, 99% of formal jobs in the market still did not consider women. Yao Xiaoyu was able to look back with such composure because she was standing at the forefront of history, but for most people, the future was still shrouded in a thick fog, especially for women who wanted to study.

They were educated and enlightened, but the world did not provide enough fertile ground for their survival. As a result, most of them still had to take the path of being a virtuous wife and loving mother—but this path was more inclined towards those women who had not been educated.

"A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent; female students, oh dear."

“My family doesn’t want anyone who’s been to school; they’re hard to manage.”

...

Recalling the disdainful words she had overheard, Yao Xiaoyu looked at the letters beside her that had all been opened, read, and categorized: 20% asked about the future, 30% asked about university, 40% asked about both the future and university, and 10% asked about other topics.

She had originally planned to reply by letter, but seeing this number made her give up. However, doing nothing wouldn't do either—Yao Xiaoyu reached out her hand to Pi Kangxiu:

"Give me back the manuscript."

Pi Kangxiu reflexively stuffed the manuscript into the drawer.

Yao Xiaoyu: ...

"It's just adding a paragraph, not revising everything."

Yao Xiaoyu said, both amused and exasperated, "She's not the type to leave things lying around, so why is Pi Kangxiu acting like she took it and won't return it?"

After finally getting the manuscript back, Yao Xiaoyu quickly read it twice. In the middle of Zhang Erya reclaiming her gains but being scolded by her family for speaking so harshly to her elders, there was an expansion mark - "Baozi parents, huh?" This is a typical character who wrongs her family to please others, and she can also subtly plant a foreshadowing.

Yao Xiaoyu took a blank sheet of paper and inserted a short plot into it. It wasn't very long; it was just a story about a wronged girl in the dark of night who missed her advisor who promised to take her graduate studies once her financial pressure eased.

[“I’ll mentor you through graduate school, and then you can pursue your doctorate under my professor. I’ve already spoken to the old lady; she’ll definitely accept you as her grand-disciple.”]

"When you're copying it later, copy this section between these two sections."

Yao Xiaoyu pointed to the writing on the white paper and said to Pi Kangxiu, "A small fish is directly linked to her true identity. She can't answer questions about speculating about the future, but she can make the world before Zhang Xiu's time travel a little better."

As for speculation about the future and the possibility of the woman attending university, Yao Xiaoyu had another answer.

Over the next ten days or so, Yao Xiaoyu traveled all over Shanghai by rickshaw and tram, using some underhanded methods to complete her social survey. She then returned to her home and began her seclusion.

Some time later, two articles by a social observer, "On the Possibility of Women Entering University Schools" and "A Brief Discussion on the Employment of Female Students," were published in the Da Ping Daily, causing a social sensation and prompting other newspapers to bite their handkerchiefs in disgust.

Now is the time when Wenqu (the star of literature) is flourishing and there are many Ziwei stars, but other families only have one Da Mu (a star of literature) each, so why does Dapingbao have two?

...

Li Shouzhen took a rickshaw home. She first checked the mailbox by the door and was disappointed to find it empty. She then asked Wu Ma, who was in charge of receiving mail, and only after confirming that there was no mail for her did she give up. Then, the moment she saw her grandmother, she put on a smile and fed her bowl after bowl of chicken soup for the soul, saying that "after finishing your studies, you will definitely marry well and bring honor to your ancestors."

Grandma nodded and handed a few silver dollars to her granddaughter—not because she trusted Li Shouzhen's abilities, but mainly because Li Shouzhen's classmates did indeed have brothers of marriageable age.

After appeasing her grandmother, Li Shouzhen went upstairs to her room, withdrew her smile, and began to read the newspaper with a blank expression. Ever since she read the article about returning to the Ming Dynasty, which first threatened her reputation, then used the example of boys of the same class to illustrate her point, and finally used her aunt's case to make empty promises, she was able to eat decent meals at school and had some pocket money.

But her parents' reply... she didn't care if she found a son-in-law to manage the family business; her parents had already said they would prepare a generous dowry for her. Li Shouzhen was torn between graduating and getting married as planned, or dropping out of school and getting married—

Before, she didn't go to school and had to stay home and embroider her dowry. Compared to the embroidery needles that would prick her hands from time to time, going to school was much more interesting. Reading books, learning to read, chatting, and doing all sorts of things were more interesting than the dowry that she could have handed over to someone else to embroider but had to do herself.

But things are different now.

Her parents said they consulted a fortune teller and concluded that this year is the most auspicious time for her to get married. It will not only bring good fortune to her parents' careers but also to her husband, who is now a university student. If Li Shouzhen is willing to drop out of school and get married, they will double the dowry. However, since she cannot continue her studies after marriage, her husband's family will not be happy if she does not stay at home.

To show that they weren't just making empty promises, the parents even sent over a list of the additional dowry items, each one quite impressive.

Li Shouzhen felt she should agree, since getting married would not only bring her a larger dowry but also completely eliminate the possibility of Hongshu returning. All she would have to give up was her thin high school diploma.

What's the use of a diploma? It doesn't allow you to go to university or find a job. Her distant cousin also graduated from middle school, but she still can't find a job. People would rather hire a man who graduated from elementary school or even junior elementary school than hire her.

Moreover, her name was originally Shouzhen, but it was later changed to Shouzhen. Isn't this destiny that she was destined to live a good life in her husband's family?

Li Shouzhen came up with many reasons why she should agree, but for some reason, she picked up her pen several times but couldn't write a reply agreeing. Li Shouzhen thought she had contracted some strange disease, but she was perfectly normal when she picked up her pen to write a letter to a little fish.

Strange.

Before opening the newspaper, Li Shouzhen picked up her pen as usual and began writing on the letter paper. Three minutes later, the paper was still completely blank, so she gave up and simply opened the Daping Daily—which she had bought casually on the roadside to pass the time.

As Li Shouzhen flipped through the newspaper pages, an article by an anthropologist titled "On the Possibility of Women Entering University Schools" came into view. After reading it with interest, she flipped to another page and found another article by the same author: "A Brief Discussion on the Employment of Female Students."

Li Shouzhen: ...

Half an hour later.

[...The extra dowry is not necessary...I will not drop out of school...]

Li Shouzhen affixed the stamp, stuffed the envelope into the mailbox by the door, and felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her heart.

Human observation scientists have said that in a few years universities will open up to girls. So what if she's a college student? It's not like she'll become anything!

***

"Is this a mistake? The ones arguing and fighting over things earlier were all women, so why is it that it's Old Master Zhang who's cursing during the family division?"

Pi Kangxiu put down the manuscript and asked with some doubt, "To be precise, it wasn't just Old Master Zhang who was being scolded; Zhang Erya also scolded Uncle Zhang and her cousin. The woman who had taken up a lot of space earlier didn't appear much."

"It's not wrong, you'll see as you read on."

Yao Xiaoyu really wanted to write something mindless, but she couldn't control her hand from smuggling in personal information. For example, regarding the family status of the various branches of the Zhang family, she could have simply written about who was more valued by the family, but instead, she used Zhang Erya's words to conduct a specific analysis from a realistic perspective.

Pi Kangxiu hesitated, but he was a man who listened to advice, so he lowered his head and continued reading the manuscript.

["Pretending to be a good person, being a good person, remaining silent and taciturn his whole life, he actually believed he was a good person!"]

"When has your grandma ever changed your mind? She always says she can't control her daughter-in-law, but when something happens, she's the one who rushes to the front, fights for you, snatches things for you, scolds you, and even gets into fights. And what does she get in return?"

"You didn't eat the eggs you got by cursing? You didn't live in the house you got by throwing a tantrum? You didn't cultivate the land you fought over, or did you harvest any grain from it?"

"You gain benefits and fame, but in the end, you sigh and tell others that your family is unfortunate, and they will even pity you for marrying such a wife. But there's no such thing as being unable to control someone; it's simply a matter of whether you want to or not!"

["Grandma, as a fellow woman, I'll leave you with this: I'm an outsider, and so are you. You, a woman who married into the family, talk about carrying on the family line—whose lineage are you carrying on? Have they remembered even the slightest good they've done for you?"]

...

"hiss--"

Pi Kangxiu gasped. Every time he thought Yao Xiaoyu had challenged his ideas enough, Yao Xiaoyu would tell him in a new draft that what she had done before was nothing.

How did they come up with the term "married-in-law woman"?

Pi Kangxiu watched in stunned silence as Zhang Erya cursed Uncle Zhang, then Uncle Zhang, and then Cousin Zhang, all while displaying an air of triumph and arrogance that belied her family's impending doom.

"Once this is published, it will likely attract a lot of criticism."

Yao Xiaoyu nodded indifferently. Pi Kangxiu wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Yao Xiaoyu was still somewhat eager to try.

"Have I not been criticized enough?"

Yao Xiaoyu's question left Pi Kangxiu speechless. Being half a step ahead is genius, being a whole step ahead is madness. She also wanted to know how the outside world would define her, since it would determine the plot later.

If she were blown into the sky, perhaps more women would undergo a change of heart; if she were smashed into the mud, the subsequent power struggle could be written more boldly—no one would take the madman's words seriously, no matter how arrogant they are.

The so-called win-win situation means that Yao Xiaoyu wins twice.

Yao Xiaoyu was pondering which newspapers and magazines to buy after this publication and where to learn about its reputation when she heard Pi Kangxiu, who had composed himself, ask another question:

"I noticed that the word 'hook' appeared many times in your manuscript and was crossed out. What does that mean?"

Yao Xiaoyu's hand trembled, and the plate of pastries was knocked to the ground, cracking into several pieces with a crisp sound. However, Yao Xiaoyu just sat stiffly in the chair, without making any movement.

What could she say? Could she say that she had made a bet with someone about a completely new writing subject, and then successfully went astray, and now whenever she thinks of the Ming Dynasty, she thinks of Zhu Yuanzhang, and then of the famous declaration that her ancestors were farmers, and then her hands just wouldn't obey her? [1]

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Author's Note: A little tidbit: In modern times, Xiaoyu once wrote a novel about flowers because of a bet, and achieved quite good results.

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[1] I won't write about this. If you're interested, search for the keywords "Hook Literature, My ancestors were farmers, one white flour bun at a time".

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