The Zheng family.
Bao'er went to bed early after eating and playing until she was tired.
Xu Qi rolled up her sleeves, filled a basin with hot water for Zheng Ya, and placed a towel on the table in front of him, saying, "Honey, why don't you wash up?"
"Okay, I'll draw later." Zheng Ya put down the pencil in his hand and got up to wash up.
In those days, tap water was not installed in households, let alone modern facilities such as electric water heaters and washbasins.
A distinctive feature is that his wife takes care of everything for him, from washing his face to washing his feet.
The wife treats her husband like a treasure, afraid that if she doesn't take good care of him, she will be called a lazy wife.
You call it conservative, but these are things every man dreams of!
Unlike people in later generations, who live worse than dogs, having to serve women and still being called cowards by them.
When a woman gets a promotion, her money loses value, and the man becomes just a decoration.
This is something that should give us pause for thought.
Think about matriarchal and patriarchal societies. Are they really characterized by unequal treatment and low social morality?
I'm afraid that's not necessarily true.
It's true that everyone is equal, but if one spouse isn't rational enough in their approach to marriage and family life, it becomes a collection of conflicts, with minor arguments every three days and major arguments every five.
Money is hard to earn, and then you come home to be mistreated and argue with the housekeeper?
We don't have much money, what's the point of arguing?
The prevalence of online information is the biggest poison that lures vain people.
As Zheng Ya washed her face, she thought about these issues. She felt that society was backward, but it was quite nice that one person could make the decisions about the family situation.
In a small number of families, women do make the decisions; it's not unheard of.
This shows that in a family, someone always has to put aside their status and give up their so-called dignity for the sake of the family and children, in order to create a harmonious and happy family.
Of course, a harmonious and happy family requires the efforts of both husband and wife. If either party loses their way and goes astray, they will ruin themselves and their family.
Things are a little better at this stage.
Despite the backwardness of the society, the level of trust between people is very high.
It is despicable to start a relationship and then abandon it.
It subtly creates a harmonious social and family atmosphere.
It feels good, nothing bad.
People need something to rely on in life, something to depend on when they are hungry or tired, something to have family to lean on and support them, rather than something to complain about or make a fuss about, something that gives people a real sense of family affection.
Seeing that he was so engrossed in washing his face, Xu Qi lightly patted his arm in annoyance: "Honey, what are you thinking about?"
"Hurry up and wash your face, or the water will get cold. What am I supposed to use to wash your feet then?"
"Haha, wife, do you think it would work if someone opened a foot massage parlor and made money by washing people's feet?" Zheng Ya wanted to know the answer.
Later generations saw foot massage parlors everywhere, as if it was all because their wives were lazy and sent their husbands to other women to wash their feet.
Although we have advanced technology and too many daily necessities, resulting in our homes having everything we need, what's the point if we lack human warmth?
Xu Qi rolled her eyes and scolded the person: "What kind of talk is that?"
Washing feet is a perk that women give to their husbands, a duty to take care of their parents-in-law, respect the elderly, and strengthen family bonds.
These are rules passed down from our ancestors, guiding children to know filial piety, understand etiquette, and serve as a bond to connect with family members.
Once it's canceled, it's tantamount to canceling the important matter of family ties.
It's very likely that this will lead to mistakes involving children, and if this continues, it will create a bad environment for society...
"Uh, wife, you're really good at talking!" Zheng Ya was convinced, unable to find a reason to say that she was wrong.
After all, washing your feet is not something shameful or a matter of laziness.
Rather, it is a practical approach that guides children to build family bonds and establish good habits.
With modern amenities at home, urging children to wash their own feet and bathe, while not helping the elderly with washing and cleaning, makes the urging seem like nagging and annoying to the children.
When you get used to it, where is the affection in your family anymore?
There's a saying circulating online: "To give birth and not raise a child is an act of retribution, even if it means cutting off a finger."
Zheng Ya initially thought so too, but then he wondered what people in ancient times would think.
Our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents.
While this statement may smack of blind filial piety, it must be said that cultivating filial piety reflects humanity's sense of loyalty and righteousness, preventing people from being ungrateful.
Seeing that he was distracted again, Xu Qi slapped his hand away, washed his face herself, and then poured the water from the washbasin into the foot basin, saying, "What are you looking at? Hurry up!"
"Hehe, is your wife angry?"
"It's all because you've been spacing out all day. Tell me, who were you thinking about?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? I admit that men will be tempted and have wild thoughts when they see a beautiful woman, but that's only human nature. Someone like me can just glance at her and then ignore her."
"Who's prettier than my wife? Let me think about it!" Zheng Ya cried out, "I'm innocent!"
Even daydreaming can make your wife imagine you're thinking about other women?
Isn't that ridiculous?
Xu Qi was in a state of turmoil today, constantly thinking about her teacher's wife's words, such as "it's better to guide than to suppress," and found it difficult to calm down.
Furthermore, Zheng Ya's increasingly outstanding performance has unwittingly attracted the attention of other women, which is not a good thing.
This is probably the kind of trouble that successful men bring to women.
Xu Qi silently washed Zheng Ya's feet, while Zheng Ya picked up a pen again to draw blueprints for the house renovation.
Zheng Ya has already used up his virtue and guilt points to cultivate the wood used for the renovation.
Golden nanmu wood, with a material that is 999 years old, cannot be artificially aged to 1,000 years, and the same is true for Chinese medicinal materials.
It's probably because Zheng Ya's abilities weren't enough; for now, he could only bring the medicinal herbs and timber to a quality that's over nine hundred years old.
What's amazing is that it can stimulate the growth of Phoebe zhennan trees so that they can grow according to Zheng Ya's wishes.
The 999-year-old Phoebe zhennan tree has grown to a height of three meters and a diameter of five meters, with its canopy extending more than fifty meters.
The main branches of the Phoebe zhennan tree are over a meter thick.
Just one golden nanmu tree could be cultivated, and the timber would be enough for Zheng Ya's renovation.
The cost of both moral integrity and moral failings is less than 10,000 each, which is cheap.
If this tree were sold, it would be worth far more than a century-old ginseng.
In his supernatural space, he also nurtured a Da Hong Pao mother tree, the tea from the most famous mother tree in history. Zheng Ya took a sample from his master's house and nurtured it into a towering tree.
Then, the tender buds are picked, stir-fried, and brewed into tea. It's incredibly fragrant!
"Plop!" Xu Qi finished washing his feet, then held them in her arms to dry them and murmured, "Honey, what are you drawing?"
So focused, yet constantly spacing out, are you really not thinking about anyone?
"I've been thinking about it. Look how angry you are. I wanted to get down to business with you..."
"Get lost! With Bao'er here, just bear with it!"
...
The next day.
After Zheng Ya finished eating the breakfast that Yan Jiecheng had bought, he told Xu Qi and drove to the factory to report for duty.
As soon as he entered the logistics department, he was stopped by Section Chief Sun: "Section Chief Zheng, you were absent from work yesterday?"
None of the items we ordered have arrived. What does this mean?
This is a violation of discipline, making me, the section chief, look bad.
I'm fine, but the workers under my command are all talking about it, saying that you, the section chief, are a useless person who takes money but does nothing.
"You're occupying the toilet without using it, yet you expect others to clean up your mess. Tell me, how do you plan to resolve this?"
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