Chapter 1708 - 1094: Heroine of the Republic 68 (Part 2)

Chapter 1708: Chapter 1094: Heroine of the Republic 68 (Part 2)

Other female teachers didn’t pass up this opportunity either. They felt that An Yi’s recent remarks were very satisfying and instinctively started talking about the role women play at home.

Especially in dual-income families, besides going to work, they also have to take care of children and families, making them more tired than their male counterparts.

The male teachers saw that the laser gun was aimed at them, quickly got up — some went to classes, others found a place to catch their breath and left immediately...

Even though this era is about eliminating feudal superstitions, the prejudice and oppression against women has never lessened.

Especially if you’re like her, reaching a certain age without getting married — you’re either seen as having a hidden illness or having an unspeakable past. Some even say she may not be able to give birth, that’s why she adopted so many — simply the biggest fool in the world, to have such a high salary and not enjoy it herself, blah blah blah...

An Yi had heard these kinds of repetitive remarks countless times over the years, her ears long worn out with calluses.

Now she’s tired of it, and her expression gradually grows numb. Who let her conditions be better than many female teachers, with a car, a house, sons and daughters, a good job, and a monthly salary of US$40 to US$50? Even supporting six people, she can live comfortably. Who wouldn’t envy that?

Nowadays, every household is squeezed into a room of twenty or thirty square meters, sharing public areas for toilets and cooking. If young couples really want to get married, there’s nowhere to go, making it very difficult. Meanwhile, the unit’s housing is so in demand, without a certain amount of seniority, you can’t get it at all.

In these times when everyone rides buses and the ground is bustling, a unit may have no more than five bicycles in total. Sedans are outdated and terribly worn-out vehicles, and it’s a tough era for eating, wearing, and using, yet An Yi’s home has two bicycles — though they’re old, they’re still bicycles. Plus, their house is so big that it’s spacious for anyone to have a room to themselves. The worse one’s life is, the more they resent seeing how An Yi thrives.

Thus, ever since the day she confronted several male teachers in the office, she felt isolated.

The good thing is that isolation doesn’t scare her, the more so, the more time she has for herself. If you don’t bother with her, does she care to bother with these people?

An office is such a place, no matter the unit, there is no real friendship, only utility or lack thereof.

Of course, there’s another reason she’s isolated — she never lends money; anyone who asks, she won’t lend.

In her view, she aids emergencies but not perpetual poverty. If you’re short on money for a meal, fine, she’ll cover it — no problem. But if you pretend to forget to repay, that is it — she’ll never help you cover funds again. She’s no fool, why do something thankless?

Even funnier is when you don’t pay for your meal and still want to borrow money from her — do you think she’ll lend it?

After understanding the office crowd, An Yi set her rule not to lend money — anyone who asks will get nothing.

High school teachers don’t have low salaries. With various bonuses, they’re better off than farmers, right? Farmers don’t come to borrow money — you do?

"The richer, the stingier." became the joke among colleagues, but An Yi knew and acted like she didn’t know.

Who knows who’s stingy — after all, sitting in this office already marks you as someone who’s not lacking money.

As for you claiming you have a big family to support, and you’re continuously in deficit, that’s your business, not hers.

Why should your burden be distributed to others?

But can you say An Yi is really miserly?

No, if she were truly so, why would she go through so much trouble with grains and food — it’s all to help more people, right?

After entering the year 1958, dining at different unit cafeterias visibly started shrinking.

She knew the reason, so she carefully observed people around her. Encountering the truly needy, such as lonely elderly or orphans, she tried her best to extend a helping hand. She even adopted five well-behaved children from an orphanage — three girls and two boys, all under ten years old, whose parents had died early, leaving them pitiably.

But she didn’t have the energy to bring them home and take care of them, so she provided for their school fees under the orphanage’s supervision. Occasionally, she would ’buy’ some meat or grains to deliver to the orphanage. When visiting, her whole family would go, usually in the morning, making dumplings at noon, and play for a while before returning home.