Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 308 Changes
"Mingzai and Amei haven't returned yet?"

After returning to his home in the city from the dock, Liu Ashui ate a few bites, took a quick shower, and then collapsed onto the bed and slept soundly for days.

I didn't wake up until the night was deep. When I opened my eyes, I felt as if I was still floating in the clouds and mist, wondering where I was.

After a while, he heard his wife and children talking in the outer room. The familiar local accent and affectionate tone were like a ray of warm sunshine, slowly dispelling the fog in his heart and bringing him back to his senses.

This is returning to Xinhua's homeland, returning to home, returning to the familiar bed.

He rubbed his face vigorously a few times to clear his head, then got up and went to the outer room.

The five-year-old second son was struggling to move a stool to reach the gifts he had brought back from the Ming Dynasty. Hearing his voice, the little guy trembled in fright and almost fell off the stool.

The three-year-old girl darted under the table, only her round eyes peeking out timidly.

The seven-year-old second daughter looked up from her book and called out softly, "Father."

Liu Ashui felt a pang in his heart.

The last time he left home, the children would follow him around like little tails, clinging to his legs and begging for candy, so affectionate. But now they are so distant, as if they have met a stranger.

Liu Ashui gave a wry smile, went over and affectionately patted the heads of the children, then sat down at the dining table. He looked around and noticed that his eldest son and second daughter were not in the room, so he looked at his wife, Zheng.

“Mingzai ate a few bites, then his colleagues from the factory called him away for drinks.” Zheng quickly ladled a bowl of corn porridge and placed it in front of him, smiling as she said, “Amei found a job at the Guangfeng Woolen Mill and applied for a dormitory room. She rarely comes back on weekdays, only returning by carriage for a night during holidays or her days off.”

"You probably don't know, do you? Amei works in a factory and earns two yuan and six jiao a month, plus two meals a day. Tsk tsk, I did the math, and she can save at least ten yuan a year!"

Mrs. Zheng spoke with great pride, as if her daughter had done something extraordinary.

"Has Amei found work?" Liu Ashui looked at his wife in surprise. "She's only fifteen, and she's a woman. It's not really appropriate for her to work alone outside, is it? ...Besides, the family is short of the money she earns."

“It shouldn’t be a problem.” His wife, Zheng, took another white steamed bun from the steamer and handed it to her husband. “Most of the workers in the wool factory are women, and it’s controlled by the government. The management is very strict. What could possibly go wrong? Besides, Amei has been to school for four years and can read. She’s not like an ignorant woman like me who would be easily fooled.”

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Liu Ashui took a big bite of her steamed bun, her cheeks bulging, and mumbled, "Even if she's read a lot of books, she's still just a woman. How much knowledge can she have? Helping you take care of your younger siblings at home and doing some housework is what she should do. When she's old enough, she should find a good family to marry into and live with a man. That's a woman's duty."

“Look at what you’re saying,” his wife, Zheng, rolled her eyes at him. “These days, which girl in Xinhua doesn’t go out to work?… Even the indigenous women are learning needlework, canning, and salting fish, let alone us Xinhua women! Our Xinhua government advocates gender equality…”

"Equality?... What kind of gender equality is there in this world?" Liu Ashui glared at his wife. "That's just because Xinhua is short-staffed, so they have to lie to you women and make you equal to men so you can come out and work. Humph, gender equality? How could that be possible!"

Honestly, I'm already feeling uneasy as soon as I get back!
“Why not?” His wife, Zheng, said with dissatisfaction, “Think about what kind of life we ​​had in Guangzhou more than ten years ago? Don’t forget, we were all Tanka people back then, and we couldn’t even go ashore! But since we came to Xinhua, we not only have a house on the shore and settled down, but we can also send our children to school to learn to read and write.”

"How was this achieved?...Isn't this a testament to the equality among all people in our Xinhua? And look at you, from a fisherman and boatman who was looked down upon in the Ming Dynasty to the captain of a large ocean-going ship, earning a salary of fifteen dollars a month. Doesn't this prove that nothing is impossible for us in Xinhua?"

"..." Upon hearing this, Liu Ashui was speechless. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. She was very embarrassed and annoyed. She managed to squeeze out a sentence: "What do you know, you woman! Anyway, it's not proper for a woman to show her face in public. It will only attract gossip."

"What gossip have we attracted?" His wife, Madam Zheng, immediately objected. "When I followed you fishing and trading fish in the Ming Dynasty, we never attracted any gossip! Our family isn't a wealthy one, so why would we need to keep our daughter indoors? If we're talking about showing our faces in public, then the wife of our Xinhua Committee leader is still teaching at the school. What's this?"

"..." Liu Ashui slammed down her chopsticks: "You woman, I can't reason with you!"

With that, he got up and went out of the house, standing in the yard, sulking.

In the past, as Tanka people, they had no choice but to fish in their small boat to make a living. Not only did he and his wife have to fish in their boat for long periods of time, but that rickety little boat was their home. Even their children were restricted from going ashore due to their status and could only grow up in the cramped and damp cabin of the boat.

However, since arriving in Xinhua, life has been getting better and better. In just over eight years, he went from being a sailor to the captain of an immigration fast ship, finally making it big.

Even if the wife stays at home and does nothing but do some housework and take care of the children, his salary is enough to support the whole family.

The eldest son, Mingzai, joined Xinhua Heavy Industries two years ago, starting as an apprentice. Now he is a Level 5 (junior) craftsman, earning a stable salary of four dollars a month. As his skills become more proficient and his work experience grows, he won't have to worry too much even if he becomes independent in the future.

But the eldest daughter, Amei, is already fifteen years old. In the Ming Dynasty, a girl of that age would be starting to be introduced to a matchmaker and get married.

But why should I go to work in a wool factory at this time?

You should know that the population of Xinhua is over 36,000. Excluding the local people, the number of Han women is not large to begin with, and young girls of marriageable age are even rarer.

Everything has a principle of scarcity, right?

Therefore, if someone in Xinhua wanted to marry a Han woman, the dowry would definitely be extremely generous.

But if our daughter goes to work in a factory, wouldn't people look down on her for showing her face like that?
The night was deep and all was quiet. Liu Ashui sat alone in the courtyard, eating a plate of peanuts and drinking alone. He felt very depressed, as if the heavy night was something he couldn't shake off or dispel.

The eldest son, Mingzai, returned slightly tipsy, his steps unsteady, his figure swaying in the moonlight.

In the cool moonlight, he caught a glimpse of his father sitting in the courtyard, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Father," Mingzai said, slurring his words as he sat down opposite his father. He reached into the dish, grabbed a few peanuts, and popped them into his mouth, mumbling, "Foreman Liu at the factory told me that next month they're recruiting a batch of mechanical design apprentices. Once they've completed their apprenticeships, their monthly salary will increase to five silver dollars..."

"You want to go?"

"Hmm." Mingzai's Adam's apple bobbed. "But first, I have to pass the math test..."

Liu Ashui was stunned.

“Dad, I’m confident I’ll pass the exam.” Mingzai thought his father doubted his abilities, so he tried his best to prove himself. “Back in elementary school, I was excellent at math. Although five or six years have passed, I can pick it up again just by flipping through my textbooks and going to night school for extra help. I also practice writing often…”

Liu Ashui's gaze fell on his eldest son's hand.

I still remember that his palms had many calluses—not the hard calluses of a farmer, but the soft calluses from holding a pen.

Thinking of this, he felt a tightness in his chest.

When he was a child, his father once said, "Knowing how to read is not as good as knowing how to read the tide." In those years when people relied on the sea for their livelihood, this saying was like a golden rule, deeply imprinted in his mind.

But now...

Liu Ashui tilted his head back and took another gulp of wine. The spicy liquor flowed down his throat, but it couldn't wash away the complex emotions in his heart.

He gazed at the night sky, where the twinkling stars seemed to be silently telling the story of the changing times.

But whether this change was good or bad, he couldn't say for the time being.

I reckon things have gotten better.
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(End of this chapter)