1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

Listening from the side, Chen Liu snorted irritably, picked up the broom in the corner, and swept Chen Laonian back and forth a couple of times.

"Quickly dust your clothes off, and wash your face and hands before coming inside! Lotus, go fetch a basin of clean water for your father. Apricot Blossom, bring the scented soap from the windowsill!"

People in the village have attended a funeral, and they should all change out of their clothes and take a bath to get rid of bad luck. But seeing how angry Shanzi's father is, they decided to just keep it simple.

Chen Gaoshan leaned against the door frame, listening to his father complain about the troubles his aunt's family was going through.

Chen Liushi was holding a towel in her hand.

"With your sister's personality, she's feisty, capable, and has a fiery temper. She's never one to be taken advantage of in the surrounding villages. Who could possibly bully her?"

Old Chen was squatting by the stone stool in the yard, holding a bar of soap and vigorously rubbing his face and neck.

I just came back from the funeral, and my face and nostrils were covered in black ash from burning paper. I rubbed it several times.

I looked up halfway through washing my pancreas and squinted because of the burning sensation.

"No matter how capable or powerful a woman is, if there's no man to hold the household together and she has to take the lead in everything, how can she have a good life? In the end, she's destined to suffer!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Liushi, who was packing her things, did not argue with him as usual, but instead fell silent.

When she married into the Chen family, her parents-in-law had already passed away. At that time, her younger sister, Chen Guilan, was still young and unmarried. She raised her single-handedly, and the two sisters-in-law had a very good relationship.

When we were looking for a husband for Guilan, we chose Zhang Baofu from the Zhang family because he was honest and kind-hearted. We thought that Guilan wouldn't be mistreated if she married into the family.

Who would have thought that she would only realize after marrying into the family that Zhang Baofu was not honest at all, but a complete coward. He was so weak that he wouldn't utter a word, and he would always back down when faced with a problem. He had no ideas of his own and listened to his mother in everything at home.

With such a useless husband, how could Guilan possibly have a good life in her husband's family?

Fortunately, Guilan inherited the Chen family's temperament—fiery and strong-willed—so she could barely keep Zhang Baofu in check. If she were any weaker, she would have been tormented to the point of being unable to live a normal life by Zhang's mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.

Originally, Chen Liushi thought that now that the old lady of the Zhang family was finally gone, Guilan would no longer have her mother-in-law to weigh on her, and could finally get through the tough times and live a few comfortable days without having to see her mother-in-law's face anymore.

Judging from the tone of the head of the household, the Zhang family has caused trouble again, and Guilan has been wronged once more.

"She's gone, and they were just buried, right? Did they start making a fuss about dividing the family property as soon as the old lady was buried? It must be those two sisters-in-law, Guilan and Guilan, stirring up trouble behind your back, trying to take advantage of your sister!"

Old Man Chen took the coarse towel handed to him by Mrs. Chen Liu, wiped his face and neck haphazardly, threw the towel into the basin, and fumed.

"Shanzi's mother, you were absolutely right! That old lady only stayed at home for one day, and she was buried before dawn this morning. The soil on her grave isn't even dry yet, and those two good-for-nothing sisters-in-law are already jumping out to cause trouble, dividing up the family property and grabbing grain. They have no shame at all!"

"I have to go to Old Zhang's house again this afternoon; I must go and support Guilan!"

"I refuse to believe it! It's not like our Chen family is without capable people. Those two fat old women, who look like potatoes come to life, can ride roughshod over our Chen family's matriarch! Shanzi, you're coming with me this afternoon to give Dad some courage!"

Chen Gaoshan had been standing by listening the whole time, and he already knew the whole story. When his father asked him to go with him, he immediately agreed.

"Dad, I'll go with you. Don't worry, we absolutely won't let Auntie suffer."

Standing to the side, watching the father and son, Chen Liu couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"Speaking of your aunt, she's had a tough life. She endured so many years in the Zhang family, giving birth to three daughters in a row, before finally getting Zhang Kexin, her youngest child, and was able to hold her head high in her husband's family."

But her husband was a spineless coward, always running away from problems and never standing up for her or supporting her. Over the years, she had been manipulated by her mother-in-law and bullied by her two sisters-in-law. She had finally raised Kexin to ten years old and outlived her mother-in-law, thinking that her suffering was finally over, but then this happened.

"His father, Shanzi, you're right. Our Chen family isn't easy to bully, and we can't stand by and watch the Chen family be bullied! Go over there this afternoon, and if the Zhang family really dares to be unreasonable, then if all else fails, bring your aunt back to our home."

And those two kids, Sanya and Kexin, we'll bring them over too! It's just three more mouths to feed. As long as we have food, they won't go hungry. The Zhang family doesn't want them, but the Chen family will!

The reason why people in the village are so desperate to have sons is because...

Even when they were starving and dirt poor, some families had only one pair of cotton trousers to wear when going out. Whoever went out on business wore it, and the rest of the family had to stay on the kang (a heated brick bed). Life was so hard, yet the women still got pregnant and gave birth one after another, never giving up their hopes.

The old saying goes that many children bring many blessings. The primary reason for having a son is to carry on the family line. The older generation says that not having a son means the family line is cut off.

A hundred years later, there will be no one to break the pot or burn paper money at the grave. They will become lonely ghosts, unable to find peace even in the underworld.

But the more real and heartbreaking reason is that in this day and age, people simply cannot live without men.

Men are the pillars of the family and the main labor force. They are responsible for everything from clearing land and planting crops to chopping firewood, pulling carts and carrying loads, building houses and repairing courtyards. No heavy work can be done without men.

Just like what Guilan encountered today, being bullied by her sisters-in-law and harassed by her in-laws, no matter how fierce a woman is, it's useless; she has to rely on her mother, brothers, and the men in her family to stand up for her.

If things really escalate and a fight breaks out, there are fewer men in the family, so they can't even win a fight and can only be bullied.

In the village, families with many sons would have a formidable presence when trouble arose. Just a few strong young men standing at the door would command respect, making even those with malicious intentions think twice before provoking them.

But if a family has no sons and only daughters, and eventually the line ends, then life becomes truly unbearable.

Not only will they be gossiped about behind their backs, accused of having no descendants and losing their family line, but they will also be ostracized and never be able to hold their heads high or stand upright in the village.

Throughout her life, what Chen Liushi despised and couldn't stand the most was a spineless old man like Zhang Baofu. He would shrink back in the face of trouble and had no sense of responsibility whatsoever, which made people angry just looking at him.

If she were stuck with such a useless man and lived such a miserable life, she would want to find a block of tofu and smash her head against it to die rather than suffer this torment.

Her willingness to let Chen Guilan take the children back to her parents' home, and even her offer to bring them over, suggests she had her own agenda.

Zhang Kexin is already ten years old, which is long enough for her to be able to work in the countryside. She can lend a hand with the work in the fields.

Shanzi is all alone in his family now. He doesn't even have a brother to help him out on a daily basis, and he has no one to consult with or relatives to lend a hand when something happens. Whether it's living a simple life or going out to do errands, he will be too helpless.

If Guilan brings the children back, the family will suddenly have a few more laborers.

The family is doing well, so they don't need to worry about feeding the mother and her children. It's just a matter of having a few more chopsticks. But with more people in the family, not only will there be someone to lend a hand when doing chores, but Shanzi will also have someone to consult and help him if anything happens in the future.