Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Definitely Going to Complain Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Definitely Going to Complain Why do rural people value boys over girls?
Actually, in addition to the old thinking of carrying on the family line, it is also influenced by the larger environment.
In the countryside, everyone has to farm the land and do agricultural labor, where having greater strength is certainly an advantage, and women definitely can’t compete with men.
Another point is that in an era where people can’t get enough to eat or wear, conflicts often occur, even over a single grain of food, which can escalate into fights between families or villages.
At such times, having more brothers and uncles in the family can be a powerful advantage.
What good are the old folks and women in such situations?
Women are inherently disadvantaged, so of course, farmers want more boys in the family to hold up the household.
In a household like Chiang Xiao’s, even if nobody looks down on them, they still seem very vulnerable.
Chiang Liutao was frail and had a slender build, unable to do heavy labor, and these years also had to carefully look after Chiang Xiao, so most of the farm work fell on Chiang Songhai’s shoulders.
Chiang Songhai, suffering from long-term malnutrition, didn’t have much strength either and couldn’t farm much land.
As for Chiang Xiao, let’s not mention it, even having her help dry herbs could be a struggle for half a day.
Therefore, the Chiang Family’s meager one and a half patches of land, half of it was lent to the Old Chiang Family to grow rice, and they didn’t dare to plant the remaining patch entirely with rice either, leaving a small part for sweet potatoes and green vegetables.
Even so, Chiang Songhai still had to spend most of his time working in the fields every day.
In short, their rice was never enough to eat.
It wouldn’t be until June or July that they would have new grain, so for these two months, their family would likely have to borrow some grain or buy rice.
Chiang Xiao sighed, scooped less than half a bowl of rice, went to the water vat to rinse the rice. After rinsing, she poured it into the iron pot, added less than half a bowl of water, covered it with a lid, sat beside the stove, fed the firewood, and started cooking porridge.
Grandma should be back soon, she’d definitely bring back some sweet potato leaves to stir fry, along with some shredded radish, and that would settle one meal.
Chiang Xiao planned to find a way to earn some money to improve her family’s living conditions, ideally so that her grandparents wouldn’t have to farm anymore.
She wasn’t good at farming, and did not want to spend her life working the fields.
Besides, she had spent many years learning painting in her previous life, and although she was seriously injured because of a painting, she didn’t want to give up on art.
But who could she sell her paintings to here? People would probably think she was foolish, who nowadays would buy things that can neither be eaten nor worn.
“Little, open the door.”
A knocking from outside came from the grandmother, Chiang Xiao hurried out to open the door and peeked out—Ho Laidi and Song Xiyun were nowhere to be seen, probably too tired from arguing and had to go back home to cook.
Ge Liutao was carrying a load, pulling a coarse rope tied to a winnowing basket, with one side filled with sweet potato leaves and the other side holding a few sweet potatoes and a bunch of water spinach.
As she set the winnowing basket on the ground, she didn’t bother to wipe the thin sweat from her brow and looked at Chiang Xiao worriedly, saying in a low voice, “Little, when I was coming back, I heard from the neighbors, did your Second Uncle hit you?”
Chiang Xiao was definitely going to complain—it wasn’t to make her grandparents fight for her, but to make them distance themselves from Old Chiang’s household in their hearts.
“Yes, if I hadn’t rolled into Shi Zhuang’s vegetable field, Second Uncle might have beaten me to death.”
Ge Liutao gasped in shock, asking incredulously, “What was your Second Uncle thinking? He’s so ruthless!” Saying this, she hurried to check Chiang Xiao for injuries.
At this moment, Chiang Songhai also came back, carrying a hoe on his shoulder and holding a bamboo basket in his hand, followed at a leisurely pace by an old man carrying a load walking towards them.
Chiang Xiao thought to herself, she had finally seen the head of the Old Chiang Family.
This slightly hunched and lean old man was none other than Chiang Songhai’s older brother, Chiang Songtao.
Given the short distance, Chiang Songtao definitely heard what Chiang Xiao had just said, but he just glanced over and walked past their door, entering the house next door.