Chapter 131 Ambitious People Stir Up Trouble; That's all they can find out.
The storm stirred up by the pseudonym "ambitious person" was far greater than Yao Xiaoyu had anticipated, so much so that some people held a special meeting to criticize this article.
After more than a year, the story of the real and fake heiresses has become somewhat saturated in the market. Many authors have written from both perspectives and have begun to add elements such as gods and ghosts, for example, the fake heiress is not actually human, but the daughter of a fox demon.
Generally speaking, the serialized novels follow the same formula: vying for clothes, jewelry, a fiancé, dowry, reputation, and family love—like cats playing around in the eyes of humans, kept within a limited scope. No one dares to drop a bombshell like an ambitious person; just look at what's written in those articles—
"What does it matter if I'm not their first choice? It's enough to give them one option. You should have studied the Xuanwu Gate Incident, so why can't you remember?"
"Shi Honghui is their biological son, and I'm their biological daughter. We're both of their bloodline. We both had them sterilized, so they'll never have any other children. Shi Honghui is useless, so they can only rely on me."
"What does it mean to be born with a life in your hands? Did they even ask me if I wanted to be born? Do you know that before I was recognized, the You family said they wouldn't have given birth to me if they had known I was a girl? Do you know how I answered them? — If I hadn't been born, your houses would have had to be replaced with medicine for having a baby, and your backs would have been stabbed to pieces!"
"Mother doesn't understand either. My father stays outside, and besides indulging in pleasures and having illegitimate children to upset her, what good is it? Although he's somewhat capable in business, the family is already overflowing with money. If she joins forces with me, once Father loses his position as head of the family, Mother can keep a mistress or secretly raise a young man, wouldn't that be much more comfortable than it is now?"
"...What's there to be afraid of? If they really prefer to raise their nephew to inherit the family fortune, then I have no reason to spare their lives. It's a win-win situation for me to drag a few people down with me. It doesn't matter if I don't enjoy the wealth; it's quite a sight to see gold and silver go down the drain."
"Can't beat them? Good heavens, why are you resorting to violence? Can't you afford a knife? Don't you know how to use a gun? Or at least use some rat poison? Even if you don't have any of that, people need to sleep, right? You can always twist a rope and put it around your neck!"
"Connections? Sis, you're even more naive than me. Doing things well is difficult, but offending people is so hard. If you really don't know how, have someone carry a chamber pot and shove it all over those so-called big shots. If they're still stubborn, stuff it in their mouths. If that still helps, then I'll really admire you."
...
The attendees' eyelids twitched as they read these sentences. Then, glancing at the newspaper that published the article, they realized they had found the root of the problem: the New World! This article was indeed the New World, capable of inciting rebellion!
The newspaper wasn't originally called "New World." Its founders initially wanted to call it "The Madman's Newspaper," but that was rejected. They then changed it to "Peak Newspaper," taking the character for "madness" and changing the order of the radicals, but that was also rejected, so they finally got the name "New World."
"We shouldn't have let those lunatics off the hook back then!"
Some people said angrily that they were too soft-hearted. They only asked them to change the newspaper's name and approved it. Now that this article has been published, they can't even sleep well.
Are we going to imitate Cao Cao and say, "I can kill people in my dreams"?
The concerns of the public are not unfounded. Since the article was published, the current situation in the community is still unknown, but so far, more than ten male heirs in Shanghai have died unexpectedly, and five or six heads of households have stepped down. Although the resulting turmoil has brought them considerable benefits, they are also worried that one day they will become one of them.
Having tasted the joy of being in charge, who would want to be an ordinary person?
The ambitious man's article wasn't exactly top-notch, but what was terrifying about it was that it offered a feasible solution for transferring power of discourse with extremely low barriers to entry. He also cleverly used the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues to his advantage, creating a magical clash with worldly moral norms and arousing the ambition of other children who had lost their inheritance rights because they were born later, and even the daughter who had never been considered by them!
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, although thought was gradually liberated, the distorted concept of filial piety did not change much. Parents would not treat their children like oxen, and even if they beat them to death, it would only be considered a family matter. As for the inheritance of property and career, it was dominated by the eldest son of the main wife, and women had no chance of getting involved. Although there is no legal support now, this has always been the case.
But the ambitious man's article shattered all these worldly notions with a hammer, and the author even offered different solutions for different situations—
Those who are loved by their parents boldly start a battle for their children; those who are not loved by their parents but are still considered family members have their number of siblings determined by the degree of kinship and their parents' fertility; those who would rather give their property to outsiders than not have a son take direct action, adhering to the principle that they would rather suffer themselves than let others suffer, and when pushed to the brink, they will take a bomb and perish together, enjoying the pleasure of living one day at a time.
Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose; the ruthless are afraid of those who are fearless. Most of the time, as long as you are willing to go all out, there will naturally be people who will compromise. Don't cry, don't question, don't say anything about unfairness. Show your anger with practical means. When you are smashing the wall with a hammer, someone will naturally say to open the window.
In addition to practical examples, the author also provides ideological support—he or she transformed the unequal relationship between children in the secular world into one based on blood ties, not on the physical flesh and blood of the child, but only on the shared blood of the same mother and father, thus bridging the fundamental gap in the inheritance of the family business.
In addition, ambitious individuals will transform the struggle for wealth into a winner-takes-all affair, stripping away all worldly shackles—on the battlefield, there is no distinction between men and women, black cats and white cats are never concerned with tactics, and even the outcome is always a matter of offense or defense:
If the children lose, and a compromise can be reached, the family can still live a peaceful and harmonious life. If the elders lose and want to morally condemn the children, then they can talk about the principle of the ruler being the guide for the subject. After all, once the roles are reversed, the children are in a superior position, just as the law of the country is greater than the law of the family, and the ruler and subject can be greater than the father and son. This is what is called using magic to defeat magic.
"This author, 'The Ambitious One,' is absolutely terrifying!"
Someone drew a conclusion, and those around them nodded in agreement.
Yao Xiaoyu, who only wanted to write a story that subverted the typical female head of the household: ...
No one knows the final outcome of the meeting, but the issue of "New World" that published the ambitious man was destined for destruction. However, as everyone knows, in this ancient land, the more banned a book is, the more widely it circulates. "New World," which originally had lukewarm sales, spread to thousands of households at a rapid pace, and even handwritten copies could sell for a good price.
According to reliable sources, the stories of ambitious women's real and fake heiresses have become essential reading for many Shanghai women. They ponder the principles and methods contained within, nurturing the seeds of power in their hearts while quietly lying dormant, waiting for their opportunity.
It's not just the heirs and family heads in Shanghai who have run into trouble; only a few have been exposed so far. Many women are like silent, active volcanoes, slowly accumulating power.
Because of this counterproductive result, some people became even more furious, and they still haven't given up on investigating the true identity of the ambitious person. If it weren't for the fact that there were no cameras in this era, and that Yao Xiaoyu habitually copied with her left hand and didn't even write her own information when sending the letter, she might not have been able to stay in hiding until now.
However, their investigation ended there. After all, apart from the pseudonym of an ambitious person, they knew nothing about the author's family background, name, appearance, or age.
...
"Would you like another one?"
While eating her colorful sundae, Yao Xiaoyu squinted and asked Tao Xiaoxiao a question. When Tao Xiaoxiao shook her head, she asked her for a serving of pea flour cake.
These two items aren't the signature dishes of the Western restaurant, but they are the best-tasting. The sundae is served in a clear glass, with the colors of a rainbow around the edges, and the center is pure white milk. One sip and the summer heat is instantly dispelled. Most importantly, the sweetness is just right, without the dazed feeling of being punched in the face.
One of the modern stereotypes is that foreign desserts are always excessively sweet, to the point that you can even feel a sharp pain on your tongue when you bite into them—the dehydration aftereffects of sugar. There are also many witty sayings like "my country's Snickers is a reduced-sugar version" and "One bite of foreign chocolate can make you march from Guangdong to Lhasa." Yao Xiaoyu uses her personal experience in this era to prove that these are all true!
Sugar was actually quite precious in this era, but for some reason, the Western restaurants she went to always used it generously, especially for small desserts like macarons, which were practically lethal amounts of sugar. One sip and even drinking two bottles of water wouldn't lessen the effect. But this restaurant's sugar really suited the local taste.
Sure enough, Western restaurants that dare to use Chinese names are all quite capable.
Yao Xiaoyu thought of the two large characters "Yong'an" on the signboard at the entrance and gave herself a thumbs up for her choice.
While Tao Xiaoxiao was eating ice cream, the pea flour cake that Yao Xiaoyu had ordered for her was served. It was a very common dessert, with eight pieces arranged in a circle on a white porcelain plate. Half of the plate was filled with hawthorn cake, and the other half was empty. It was a pleasing yellow dish to look at.
Tao Xiaoxiao took a piece of pure pea flour cake and put it in her mouth. The texture was extremely delicate, which reminded her of some things from the past.
When she was still working as the family's hard-working ox, there was a year when grain prices were very good. The Tao family earned a few extra copper coins and bought some pea flour cakes for the children as snacks. She remembers that the pea flour cakes were made by pouring the batter into a clay pot, and the vendor would cut and sell them on the spot. They weren't expensive, and every child in the family got some, except for her, who was pulling the cart.
The most favored younger brother received a large piece, but when he got home, he lost his grip and a piece the size of a fingernail fell off at the foot of the bed. When no one was looking, she secretly picked it up and ate it. Actually, it wasn't very tasty; the one they bought was coarse pea flour cake, which had a sandy texture, but was a bit sweet.
Tao Xiaoxiao ate another pea flour cake with hawthorn on it. It must have been placed next to ice for a while, so the coolness was just right. It melted in her mouth and tasted delicious.
Following Yao Xiaoyu, Tao Xiaoxiao also learned a few words. When ordering food, she saw the prices, which were expenses that her family would save up for a long time but would never be willing to spend. Tao Xiaoxiao thought of the family she saw fighting like chickens in the dark when she returned to the village last time. Looking at the delicate white porcelain plate in front of her, some things in her heart quietly dissipated.
Yao Xiaoyu ate several sundaes before reluctantly leaving the restaurant. Once home, she rushed into her room with ice as if it were her life, and didn't go out for a long time. While she was engrossed in writing, some of the recipes from Yang Shunxin's story finally started to be used tentatively by someone.
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