Chapter 1385 - 1304: Working Together (Part 3)

Zhao Hanzhang decided that the next issue of the newspaper would be about the benefits of girls reading, and she would have the schools and the village chiefs promote it downwards.

Now, women could enter the court as officials and the army as generals just like men.

Zhao Hanzhang tilted her head to glance back, raised her eyebrows—she could even make her mother the Empress Dowager!

Zhao Hanzhang immediately knew how to handle this matter, and as soon as she returned to the palace she went straight to support Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang was so tired her back ached and her waist was sore; when she got out of the carriage her waist almost couldn’t straighten. "Third Lady, your mother won’t go to the fields to see you tomorrow."

She was now finding that living in the palace wasn’t bad at all.

Zhao Hanzhang nodded repeatedly. "Mother, don’t go. Rest for a day; the day after tomorrow I’ll take you out of the palace to have some fun."

Mrs. Wang’s spirits lifted, and she asked, "Where are we going to play?"

"We’ll first go to Yushan Hall to see the children, then go out to the countryside to visit the people everywhere who are rushing to harvest, and let them witness the Empress Dowager’s dignity."

Mrs. Wang: "...I’ve grown this old and only ever heard that the Empress Dowager summons titled ladies in the palace; I never knew she had to go to Yushan Hall and the countryside. Can’t these places just be handled by the Palace Attendants?"

"How could they compare to your dignity, Mother? We came from the countryside ourselves; we used to live on an estate. Once the people know that you are kind and virtuous, that you raised such an impressive daughter like me and such a valiant son like Second Son, they’ll all want to meet you."

Mrs. Wang felt much of the soreness in her back fade, and the stuffiness in her chest disperse as well. Smiling broadly, she said, "It’s you siblings who turned out well, and your grandfather who taught you well. What credit do I have?"

That was what she said, but she straightened her back, her face full of pride.

Zhao Hanzhang summoned a sedan chair and personally escorted her all the way back to Xuanguang Palace, coaxing her until she was completely appeased and very happy, then finally returned to Deyang Palace.

Fu Tinghan had already washed his hair and bathed; he was sitting on the couch watching her. "Why were you coaxing Mother like that?"

Zhao Hanzhang rolled her neck and said, "So that all the people under heaven know how great it is to have daughters. It’s only that my father isn’t here—if the old man were still around, a Supreme Emperor’s seat would be his in minutes. So, you see, raising daughters isn’t any worse than raising sons. You have to open up your thinking and broaden your horizons."

"The difference in status between men and women certainly has its roots in productivity, but I believe the greatest cause is the shackles on people’s minds. Back when the country was first founded, the Chairman said that women hold up half the sky. There was a mighty women’s movement then—working the fields, building canals, women were involved in all of it. Was there no difference in physical strength back then?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Men plow and women weave—clothing and food. You have to know that the vast majority of cloth and clothing among the people comes from women. Without food, you starve; without clothing, you freeze. Hunger and cold have always been discussed together. So even speaking purely in terms of contribution of life, women’s contribution is not beneath men’s. Why, then, must their status always be lower?"

"In the end, it’s still a problem of thought. Because the ones standing in court are all men, and most of what’s written is by men. But now it’s different. Women likewise have the right to stand in court. So as long as we establish the idea of equality between men and women and change the old, rotten rules, then even if we can’t achieve gender equality in ten or twenty years, in a hundred or two hundred years we will."

Zhao Hanzhang: "The most wonderful thing is that by working hard now, even if we can’t instantly change the fate of every girl, as long as there’s even one who lives better than her original path, then our efforts won’t have been in vain."

Ting He knocked on the door and bowed. "Your Majesty, the hot water is ready."

Zhao Hanzhang went to bathe first.

Fu Tinghan sat on the couch thinking by himself, and when she came out of the bath and walked over while toweling her hair, he was holding a brush and scribbling on the low table.

Zhao Hanzhang went over curiously to take a look, and her hand paused mid-towel. "What’s this?"

Fu Tinghan said, "Didn’t you say clothing and food are equally important? Since that’s the case, let’s improve the efficiency of weaving and tailoring, increase their productivity, and let them gain strength not only in thought, but also in their economic output."

"Although the looms and spinning machines have been improved, the models are still too bulky and currently only suitable for workshops. I’ll go to the Ministry of Industry later and find people to study them again, see if we can shrink them while increasing output—ideally so that every household can own one. And a sewing machine—if we had such a thing, the speed of making clothes would increase greatly, right?"

Zhao Hanzhang cupped his face and gave his lips a hard bite, then laughed loudly. "Ting Han, you really are my Angel."

Fu Tinghan’s face flushed crimson, his ears nearly bleeding with embarrassment.