Sun Xiaoxue from my eldest aunt's side is fine; she's six years old this year and doesn't find this distribution unreasonable. Though the half bowl isn't enough and she wants more, she didn't say anything, only watching greedily as her brothers devour their bowls.
Sun Xiaoyu from my second aunt's side is only four and a half, the same age as Zhao Zhitong. She hasn't had enough with her half bowl and wants more, so she asked her mom for more.
But she was rejected by her second aunt, Mrs. Liu: "Haven't we already eaten? We have guests at home, you can't be so thoughtless."
Sun Xiaoyu wants to cry but dare not, her lips tucked in, feeling incredibly wronged.
Zhao Zhitong doesn't understand, so she asks Old Mr. Bai: "Old Mr. Bai, are my eldest and second aunts bad mothers?"
Old Mr. Bai strokes his beard and thinks for a moment, then says: "It's not exactly that; it's more of a habitual mindset shaped by the living environment. Because your parents spoil you, you've never noticed that during this era, there's a constant phenomenon where boys are favored over girls."
Zhao Zhitong's little face is full of confusion: "Favoring boys over girls? Why do they favor boys over girls? I'm not light, I'm heavy; Dad even said I've gained weight today."
Old Mr. Bai, amused, then explains seriously: "Girl, the meaning of favoring boys over girls is about placing men above women. In a family, males are viewed as the continuation of the family line, and the elders place greater importance on males. Consequently, a male's status is higher and his rights more extensive.
For example, if guests come over for a meal, women are not allowed at the table. Now your aunts distribute food, favoring male children naturally."
Zhao Zhitong listens, bewildered. After all, she previously lived in a world of equality, and she's spoiled by Sun Mei and Zhao Dong now that she's traveled through time, not having encountered such thoughts.
She's puzzled: "Why, Old Mr. Bai, why? I don't understand. Why can't mom and aunts, who work so hard to prepare the meal, sit at the table? Aren't boys and girls both precious to their parents? Why are boys more esteemed?"
Old Mr. Bai thinks for a moment and explains: "Girl, the era you currently inhabit is primarily agricultural. Due to physical differences, women can't perform heavy labor and can't earn money to support a family, so they became men's dependents.
In such a social context, gender equality is not allowed, and for women, equality is nearly impossible.
Moreover, women are often bound tightly by traditional virtues, unable to survive without a man—whether a husband, father, or son. In such times, women rarely have equal rights."
Zhao Zhitong listens with her mouth agape, eyes round with disbelief, and after a while asks: "So, Old Mr. Bai, if women could earn money and support themselves, leaving father, husband, and son, they wouldn't starve, right? Then they wouldn't be dependents anymore and would be valued as much as boys?"
Old Mr. Bai chuckles happily and nods: "In theory, yes, and it's already proven. The world you previously lived in has implemented the idea of gender equality.
With continuous technological development, families no longer rely solely on men doing physical labor to earn a living. In contrast, women can also hold up half the sky, and the status between men and women gradually becomes equal."
Zhao Zhitong listens but still feels sad, eventually showing determination on her little face as she clenches her small fists: "Tongtong will also hold up half the sky. I won't starve even if I leave Dad."
Old Mr. Bai strokes his beard, listening quietly, not saying anything more.
At the table, several boys are still eating, sprawled on the table, savoring their bean curd sweetly.
The two girls stare at the bean curd in the boys' bowls, persistently asking: "Brother, is it tasty?"
Meanwhile, Zhao Zhitong is staring dazedly at a bowl of bean curd.
When the little cousins finish the bean curd in their bowls, their gaze shifts to the untouched bean curd in front of Zhao Zhitong.
"Cousin, cousin, why aren't you eating?"
The calls from her little cousins bring Zhao Zhitong back to her senses. Looking at her own bowl, she says: "When I'm at home, mom makes a lot; I don't want to eat anymore."
The second cousin Sun Daqing leads the group closer, speaking in a coaxing tone: "Cousin, if you don't eat it, it'll get cold and won't taste good. Let us have it, okay?"
Zhao Zhitong immediately guards the bowl, fiercely saying: "Absolutely not!"
Then she takes the bowl and rushes to her two cousins, dividing the bean curd for them: "Cousins, Tongtong is tired of eating it. This bowl is for you."
The two cousins are surprised, asking uncertainly: "For us, really?"
Zhao Zhitong nods firmly.
Seeing Zhao Zhitong give it to the girls, not them, the boys are unhappy.
Sun Daqing grabs Zhao Zhitong's small arm, questioning: "Why do you only give it to them and not us?"
Sun Daqing is the eldest son of the second uncle's family, nine years old this year, inheriting the large build from his father, he is tall and strong.
Yet Zhao Zhitong isn't afraid of him. She glares at her cousin, then decides it lacks momentum, so she pulls over a chair.
Then she climbs on top, hands on hips, staring angrily at her cousin: "You've already had a bowl, cousins only had half a bowl, didn't they?"
Sun Daqing is taken aback by her bravado and obediently nods: "Yes, yes, so what?"
Zhao Zhitong stands firm: "Since you've eaten a bowl, you can't have more. You need to eat the same amount as the cousins."
Because the family has always divided food this way; even normally, men eat solid meals while women have porridge.
So the boys don't find anything wrong: "But we've always divided it like this. Mom says men need to work, so they need to eat more and be full."
Zhao Zhitong disagrees, asking: "Then tell me, don't the cousins work? Don't the aunts work?"
Sun Daqing and the others are taken aback by Zhao Zhitong's questions; thinking back, the two younger sisters, despite their age, already wash clothes, sweep the floor, and collect piggrass by the river.
Their mothers and grandmothers also work in the fields alongside the men.
Thus, they all nod: "Yes, they work."
Zhao Zhitong: "See, why should those who work eat more or less? Everyone needs to be full to have the strength to work; you've been wrong all along."
Saying this, she climbs down from the chair, takes out her small basket, and places it on the table, then she digs out nine candies.
She distributes one to each and gives the cousins one each, asking: "Now if I give the cousins two candies and only one to you, are you happy?"
The boys shake their heads repeatedly, indicating they're not happy at all.
Zhao Zhitong raises her little head: "So, you can't snatch food from the cousins anymore, or I'll have plenty of candies that I'll never give to you, and you won't get any delicious treats, hmph."
"Okay, okay, we'll listen to the little cousin from now on."
"Yes, yes, whatever the little cousin says, we'll do."
Seeing the candies, the boys instantly rally to the little cousin's side, nodding repeatedly.
At this moment, Sun Xiaoxue and Sun Xiaoyu look at Zhao Zhitong with sparkling eyes.
They suddenly think the little cousin is amazing, knowing so much and speaking so well.
Zhao Zhitong, like a triumphant hero, stands on the chair, as if she's become the leader of Monkey Village, commanding the group of 'monkeys': "Alright, everyone come here, I have a secret to share."
Then a group of little heads follows Zhao Zhitong into the small alley behind the west room, starting to plot great deeds.