Chapter 031 The Flame of Feminism
Xu Yinxi racked her brains, but all she felt was chaos. She couldn't seem to find an adjective to describe her unwillingness at the moment.
Xu Zhenying smiled slightly: "It's as if women are just men's possessions, not independent and complete people."
"Yes, it's belonging!" Xu Yinxi's mind suddenly exploded, and her eyes lit up. It was as if the clouds in front of her eyes had dispersed, revealing a naked and cruel corner of the world. As if baptized, Xu Yinxi's whole body suddenly became clear. "Before getting married, it belongs to the father. After getting married, it belongs to the husband. After the husband dies, it belongs to the son. Isn't it belonging? Sixth sister, you are really amazing."
Xu Zhenying thought that under the mainstream ideological trend a thousand years ago, there were actually seeds of feminism awakening.
It seems that the ancients were not all conservative.
Xu Yinxi continued to talk to herself: "Unable to be independent, unable to have my own thoughts, isn't that just an object—"
At the end of her speech, Xu Yinxi couldn't help but fall into deep thought, feeling somewhat sad and angry. Her brows furrowed as she asked, "But why is it? We're all human beings, so why are women inferior to men? Besides not being able to farm and hold official positions, what else can't women do?"
"Wrong." Xu Zhenying smiled calmly, "Women can naturally become officials."
"Ah?" Xu Yinxi's eyes widened, and then she covered her mouth. "How could a woman be an official in this world? Throughout history, I've never heard of such a ridiculous thing!"
"What's absurd about that?" Xu Zhenying spoke slowly, word by word. "Becoming an official isn't a difficult thing. The Great Zhou Dynasty had a complete system for cultivating talent. Although it still had many drawbacks, it was replicable and scalable, and it didn't vary from person to person. As long as one had certain material conditions, combined with years of repeated study and a grasp of current political affairs, becoming an official wasn't difficult. The difficulty lay in productivity, which limited the level of social development. Brushes, inkstones, and other items were difficult to purchase, information flow lagged, fertile land was inefficient, and the ruling class monopolized educational resources. It was naturally difficult for ordinary people to make a name for themselves, let alone women."
Xu Yinxi was dizzy and dazzled by the unfamiliar words. She had no time to think about where Xu Zhenying knew all this. She just felt her breathing quicken. She digested the words one by one, but still felt exhausted.
Xu Zhenying was stunned for a moment after he finished speaking. After a brief thought, he changed his explanation to a more straightforward one. "Let's put it this way. For example, if the price of brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones dropped from a few coins to a few cents due to improvements in production technology, would the children of farmers buy some to practice calligraphy?"
Xu Yinxi wasn't completely unproductive; she knew a bit about the lives of farmers. She nodded immediately and said, "Of course! A few cents isn't expensive; they can definitely afford it!"
"Under these conditions, coupled with the fact that teachers are easily available... well... that means there are so many teachers now that half the people in a village can even become literate. The private schools these people run are cheap, and a full year's worth of lessons only costs a few dozen coins—"
Before Xu Yinxi could continue, she immediately replied, "Of course all the children from the farmers' families will be sent there!"
She thought again, "But the only children who can go to school like that are boys!"
"What if the yield of crops per acre increased from 200 to 300 kilograms to 1,000 kilograms, and everyone in the family had enough to eat? And at this time, the imperial court suddenly issued an order allowing girls to take the imperial examinations, do you think these farmers would send their daughters to school?"
Xu Yinxi was stunned. Her mind began to imagine that scene wildly. She was shocked for a moment, and after a long while, she said, "If that's the case... why not send them to school? They don't need to work in the fields, and the harvest is sufficient. With just a few dozen coins, you might be able to train a female official. It's a small investment with a big win and no loss. Why not?"
Xu Zhenying smiled with relief. "If we have the same textbooks, the same teachers, the same study time, and parents are willing to make the same investment, do you still think it's difficult for women to become officials?"
"It's not difficult!" Xu Yinxi clenched her fists, her eyes shining frighteningly. "If that's the case, I can guarantee that I will never lose to any man! I can even... I can even..."
Xu Yinxi was anxiously trying to form her words, almost blurting out, "I can even be more powerful than my father! No, I will definitely be more powerful than him!"
"So...it's not that women can't be officials, but rather that society as a whole doesn't allow women to be officials."
At this moment, a dark figure suddenly jumped out from the corner and asked three urgent questions in succession: "What is the solution to society?! What is the solution to productivity?! What is the monopoly of resources?!"
The sound was like a bolt of thunder, which scared Xu Zhenying.
Xu Yinxi hurried forward, subconsciously covering Xu Zhenying's feet, and tremblingly stood in front of her, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, "What...what are you going to do?!"
Xu Zhenying poked his head out from behind Xu Yinxi. "It's okay. They were exiled together."
The person who came was a tall and thin man in a dark-colored long gown. He looked to be in his early twenties, with his eyes wide open, looking anxious.
Behind him was a burly, black-faced man. He was extremely tall, and when in the shadows he was like a towering mountain, giving people a huge feeling of oppression. He showed his head and smiled, which gave him an inexplicable sense of stupidity.
Seeing Xu Zhenying looking at him, the man felt rude and hurriedly bowed, "My name is Li," he said, "Ladies, I'm really sorry for the inconvenience. I'm Han Ruqing, a branch of the Yinshan Han family. I was just about to go into the post station to ask for some food, but I overheard the conversation between the two ladies and was so mesmerized that I just... just..."
Xu Zhenying glanced at the tall man again.
Han Ruqing immediately touched his head and said, "This is a friend I just met today, Liu Dazhuang. He's a very loyal person and he even lent me two steamed buns for lunch."
Steamed buns, are you still borrowing them?
The tall man said, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I just happened to walk over here and heard you two girls talking about whether or not to become officials. I was curious so I listened for a while."
Xu Yinxi's expression changed slightly, and she whispered to Xu Zhenying, "The Shanyin Han family is a century-old family. They have produced three queens, eight Hanlins, and three prime ministers. The current Prime Minister Han is from the Shanyin Han family."
Xu Zhenying was stunned, but Han Ruqing had already introduced himself in a big way: "The Shanyin Han family is somewhat famous, but that is the glory of the main branch. My family is just a side branch, managing some ancestral property and barely surviving. Moreover, I have been expelled from the family——"
Xu Zhenying and Xu Yinxi were both stunned.
In ancient times, being expelled from the family was a huge matter, but this young man actually smiled and didn't take it seriously.
Isn't this a fool?
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