Chapter 37: Women’s Rights

After he finished taking the medicine, he asked, “I remember I got hurt in the mountains yesterday. I vaguely saw a woman saving me?”

Li Qing clenched her hands, unnaturally saying, “Yes, we couldn’t find you yesterday, and everyone was worried sick. We searched the mountains for a long time. We didn’t expect you to go to the mountains on the other side of Zhoujia Village.”

It was because the wheat seedlings in the village near the mountain had been trampled by wild boars. He had chased the wild boars into the mountains yesterday, and he ended up going to the other side. He didn’t catch the wild boars, and he fell into a trap.

“Who saved me?”

“It was a female intellectual from Zhoujia Village, the one people call the little miracle doctor.”

Li Qing almost wanted to take credit for it because she knew that if there was a life-saving grace as a bond between them, Yan Jin wouldn’t be so opposed to their marriage.

But when the words reached her lips, she didn’t have the courage to lie with a straight face. She was also afraid that the truth would be exposed, and she would be even more ashamed.

Even if Yan’s parents were on her side, the gossiping mouths of Zhoujia Village couldn’t be stopped.

After they went out, Yan’s mother scolded her, “You, you! Didn’t we agree that you would tell him that you saved him? Then your uncle and I would take charge and take advantage of this to get your marriage done quickly. Even if he finds out later, there’s nothing he can do. Why did you…”

Li Qing lowered her head, “I’m sorry. I… I really couldn’t say it.”

The situation at Yan’s family was also quite complicated. Li Qing’s parents had passed away, leaving her an orphan. She didn’t have any other relatives, so Yan’s father took his friend’s daughter into his home to raise.

Because her parents had arranged a marriage for them when they were alive, and because he had raised her himself, Yan’s father and mother didn’t want to go back on the marriage.

But Yan Jin had his own ideas. He joined the army at a young age and left home. Li Qing waited for him for several years. Last year, when he came back, they wanted to get married, but Yan Jin had always treated Li Qing as a sister, so he naturally refused.

Yan’s parents were also forced to do this. They wanted to take advantage of this situation and temporarily take credit for it, to get them married first and then talk about it.

But Li Qing ruined their plan, which made her very angry.

Of course, Jiang Nian didn’t know that she was just a hair’s breadth away from having her credit stolen.

Although at the moment she saved him, she didn’t think about taking credit for it.

Seeing Li Qing’s honest appearance, Yan’s mother sighed helplessly, “Forget it, forget it. You’re such a kind child. You’re going to suffer sooner or later.”

…

For the next few days, Li Rui devoted all his energy and time to writing the article carefully.

He not only learned about the situation through Ye Zhiqiu, but he also visited several women in families with conflicts in the village, focusing on investigating the social problems behind this phenomenon.

Li Rui’s writing was already good. In this matter, he not only wrote about Zhou Xiaoju’s story to arouse the sympathy of the masses, but he also used sharp writing to call on society to pay attention to the status and rights of rural women.

After finishing the article, Li Rui sent it to the newspaper.

Soon after, the article was published and quickly attracted widespread attention and discussion.

Although it reflected rural problems, few people in the countryside, regardless of gender, were literate. So, the first people to pay attention were urban women.

This was an article that exposed the unfair treatment of rural women, but in the face of gender inequality, who was not treated unfairly, not just rural women?

It was just that, compared to rural women, urban women had jobs to reflect their value, so their situation was always a little better.

The publication of this article made more people start to pay attention to the status and rights of rural women. All sectors of society launched initiatives and actions, calling for respect for women and the protection of their basic rights.

Especially some high-level women with culture and voice began to organize publicity and education activities, striving to change the old ideas and bad habits in the countryside, hoping to attract more attention.

The name Li Rui became famous, especially among women. He was called the “friend of women” by many women.

In contrast, there were many more men who cursed him. Most people remained rational, only despising him in their hearts, pretending to be indifferent on the surface.

But their efforts were not in vain. Through this article, they had awakened society’s conscience and attention.

As long as everyone worked together, changing the situation of women would definitely see results.

Of course, many of these were things that happened later.

When Li Rui came to find Jiang Nian with several newspapers, he was so excited that he couldn’t contain himself.

“Jiang Nian, Ye Zhiqiu, come out quickly. Come and see the newspaper…”

The newspaper in which his article was published was from several days ago. There were several other articles behind it, written by others who used his article as a topic for analysis or to express their agreement or disagreement.

But no matter what, whether it was good or bad, his article had sparked discussion among people. There was no doubt about that.

Although Jiang Nian was the one who suggested that Li Rui publish the article, she looked at things from an outsider’s perspective, so she wasn’t as excited.

Ye Zhiqiu wasn’t as calm.

As someone who had been deeply affected by this matter, no one had more right to speak than her.

“Li Rui, thank you. Thank you so much.” Ye Zhiqiu was so excited.

Li Rui smiled, “I don’t dare to take credit. It’s all thanks to your teacher. If she hadn’t reminded me, I wouldn’t have thought of using this method to get everyone to pay attention to this matter.”

Ye Zhiqiu was so grateful to Jiang Nian that she couldn’t express it. But that was a private matter between them as master and apprentice. There was no need to show it in front of others.

“No matter what, you wrote the article. I still want to thank you on behalf of all women.”

At the same time, this matter also attracted the attention of the Women’s Federation.

Yan Jin’s leg hadn’t fully healed yet. He was even dragged to a meeting in town.

After returning, he called a meeting of the collective he was responsible for. At the same time, he announced something. The Women’s Federation had organized a publicity and education campaign, using each village as a small collective for publicity. Regardless of age or gender, everyone over 16 years old had to participate. Those under 16 years old would participate in a separate “Gratitude to Parents” activity, allowing children to understand the hardships of their parents.

After the meeting, Village Head Zhou had just stepped out when he was surrounded by several other village heads.

“Old Zhou, I heard that the article was written by an intellectual from your village, and it caused such a big stir. You just praised those intellectuals a while ago, and now they’re doing this. It’s like they’re showing off, isn’t it? You’re their leader, and you don’t manage them properly. They’re getting out of hand!”

The leaders of the several villages were all men. Since the article advocated for helping women gain rights, it naturally affected the men’s interests.

Village Head Zhou didn’t know about this before. He hadn’t recovered from his shock when he was targeted. He was really wronged.