Chapter 002: Establishing a Female Household

“We always behave ourselves, doesn’t that make our lives miserable enough? No matter how submissive we are, Auntie’s heart is just too cruel to allow us any happiness. Just do as I say for now, eat as much steamed cornbread as you can, we have things to do afterwards.” Zhuang Qingning spoke.

Her firm tone slightly calmed the flustered Zhuang Qingsui. Already extremely hungry, she took the cornbread from Zhuang Qingning’s hand and began gulping it down.

After eating three cornbreads, Zhuang Qingsui let out a big satisfied burp.

“Sister, I’m full now.”

“I’m almost there too.” Zhuang Qingning took out a clean cloche, packed the remaining cornbreads securely inside it, and pushed it carefully in her blouse.

Zhuang Qingning, being lean and wearing loose clothing, managed to hide the bundled cornbreads well under her waistband, making it undetectable.

After they had finished packing, Zhuang Qingning took Zhuang Qingsui’s hand: “Let’s go.”

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Although she didn’t know where they were going, she would follow wherever her sister went.

Zhuang Qingsui didn’t ask any questions, but just quickened her pace to match Zhuang Qingning’s.

The two of them ran to the eastern part of the village, to the house of the village chief, Zhuang Jingye.

Zhuang Jingye was washing himself in the courtyard. When he saw Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui, he spat out the salty water from his mouth, wiped his lips with a handkerchief, and asked, “Aren’t you two the daughters of the Ruhai family, Ning and Sui? What brings you here so early?”

“Respected Uncle,” Zhuang Qingning bowed politely. “My sister and I have come to you today to ask for an independent family unit for women.”

An independent family unit for women?

Zhuang Qingsui was taken aback. She had thought that Zhuang Qingning had come to lodge a complaint against Mrs. Song and wanted the village chief to protect them from being mistreated.

To her surprise, their goal was something far more astonishing.

Zhuang Jingye was also startled, his hand holding the willow branch, froze in surprise. His assessing gaze swept over Zhuang Qingning’s tall, straight figure as he asked, “Why do you want to establish a matrilineal household?”

“Our parents have passed away, leaving no male heir in our family. I’m the eldest daughter, and by rights, I can establish a matrilineal household with my sister.”

“But in our village, there has never been a precedent for establishing matrilineal households. Even if your parents had left an inheritance, you separated afterwards, therefore, you’ll still get nothing from it, and you’ll face a dire poverty in the future.”

“Furthermore, matrilineal households, because they have no male members, are exempt from compulsory labor, but they are required to pay a 30% higher tax than regular households. If you establish a new household, you will have no house, no land, and no livelihood. If you can’t pay the taxes, you’ll be taken to work as forced labor. Be aware, this is no child’s play.” Zhuang Jingye cautioned with a furrowed brow.

“Thank you for your consideration, Uncle. I have given this issue careful thought, so you don’t have to worry about me,” Zhuang Qingning replied confidently.

Women not getting any part of the family property was a rule of this era, an unchangeable fact, so there was no rush. Everything that was owed to her, and every debt that needed to be collected, would be accounted for in due time.

Seeing this, Zhuang Jingye lowered his head in contemplation, put down his toothbrush, and uttered in a hushed tone, “Even though you have made up your mind, I would still advise to rethink this. Establishing a matrilineal household is serious business, we should discuss this at length.”

“You should go home first, allow me to discuss this with your Uncle Zhuang Ruman, then we’ll decide, how does that sound?”

If everybody started making unauthorized decisions like Zhuang Qingning, demanding to establish their matrilineal households, wouldn’t that be chaos in the village?

“Uncle,” Zhuang Qingning’s voice turned colder, her pitch increased slightly: “According to current laws, in the absence of men in a household, widows, and eldest daughters, are all eligible to establish matrilineal households, without needing approval from others. I am fully qualified to do so, so why am I not allowed?”

“Why I insist on establishing a separate household with my sister, I assume you, the village chief, understand. It’s because life truly has become unbearable for us this way and that’s why we must walk this path. If you refuse our decision to establish a separate household and decide to consult with my eldest uncle about this matter, then that would amount to pushing us back into the fire pit we just crawled out of.”

“If it is indeed true that we have no way to live here with dignity, then there is simply no reason for us to continue living. We’ll just find a hemp rope and go to the county town to hang ourselves in front of the County Government Office. Let everyone see how we’re driven to death by our ruthless eldest uncle and aunt, and by the inaction of our village chief.”

“Or perhaps, if you, village chief, aren’t afraid of such a scene, and are still intent on sending us back home, that’s perfectly fine. Let me make myself clear now: it will be a white knife going in and a red knife coming out, or a packet of rat poison in the well, everyone will lose, and it’s all up to you, village chief.”

“Anyway, as far as I’m concerned, there is truly no difference.”

Zhuang Qingning’s bold words were filled with determination, making Zhuang Jingye, the village chief, break out in cold sweat.

Zhuang Jingye had often met with Zhuang Qingning before, who always appeared submissive, accepting whatever happened quietly, hardly speaking loudly. But today, she fiercely spat out these harsh words.

But then again, even a rabbit, when cornered will bite, let alone desperate humans. Mrs. Song’s behavior is well-known to everyone, in that she treats her twin nieces with such harshness that it’s unbearable to see. It seems that the girls are at the point where they can no longer bear it, and are determined to fight to the death.

If Zhuang Qingning is making such deadly threats at this moment, should she really be driven to the edge, ready to stab with a knife or administer rat poison—

As the village chief himself, even if he were lucky enough to survive, his prospects would be over, and he might even be vilified by others.

But then again, verbal threats can be made by anyone. At this moment, Zhuang Qingning is only a twelve- or thirteen-year-old child, is she truly capable of rebelling to such an extent?

Zhuang Jingye’s eyes flickered, pushing his earlier shock aside, and barked, “You’re still a child, what kind of talk is this?”

“Does the village chief mean he does not believe that I am capable of such action?” Zhuang Qingning snorted coldly, her eyes filled with menace, “Alright, then you just wait here and brace yourself.”

That said, she dragged Zhuang Qingsui out, heading not towards Zhuang Ruman’s house, but in the direction of the village well.

Seeing this, Zhuang Jingye suddenly panicked.

There have been cases of people resorting to desperate measures when forced into a corner and he would never dare to gamble with the lives of one family, even the whole village for this matter.

“Wait.”

Zhuang Jingye hastily stopped the two of them. After considering for a moment and mopping the cold sweat from his forehead, he cleared his throat, “Alright, since you insist so stubbornly, I agree for you to establish a separate household.”

“Thank you, village chief.” Upon hearing Zhuang Jingye’s agreement, Zhuang Qingning also visibly relaxed

The bold are afraid of the stubborn, and the stubborn are afraid of those who are fearless of death. That’s always how it goes in this world. The more defiant you are, the more others fear you. If you always accept things passively, others will not sympathize with you, they may even criticize you for your lack of fighting spirit.

For their survival under these circumstances, the sisters will ultimately have to put on a layer of prickly armour a hedgehog would wear.

Zhuang Jingye went into the house to fetch paper and ink, he wrote down the document needed for Zhuang Qingning to establish her separate household. Eventually, he stamped it with the official seal, used specifically for managing documents. He handed the document to Zhuang Qingning.

“You first keep this document. I will get the official seal from the County Government Office. Once that is done, the process will be complete.”

Normally, the official stamp from the County Government Office is needed for this to be formalized, and only then can Zhuang Qingning officially set up her separate household. However, as this process is reasonable, the stamp is just a matter of time. Right now, Zhuang Jingye did not want to waste any more time dealing with this woman who always threatened to resort to violence. His priority was to settle the matter first and think about everything else afterwards.

“After this, you will be a separate household with your sister.” Zhuang Jingye said, “With regard to life and death, it no longer has anything to do with others, you must look after yourselves.”

Although Mrs. Song can be cruel at times, she would never starve you to death. But you girls insisted on setting up your own household. Once you step out, you won’t have a place to live or know where the next meal will come from. I really don’t know what you’re thinking. Do you really think that making a living is that simple and that life is that easy to get by?