Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 558: Women Are No Less Than Men

"I’m just here to take a look, no need for you all to mind me. Lady Jing, you accompany me will do; the rest of you go about your business,"

Murong Jiu, devoid of any Empress-like haughtiness, even greeted the old Peasant Official from her time in Prince Ling’s Mansion and inquired a few questions.

Seeing this, the others each went off to their respective tasks.

Lady Jing led Murong Jiu through the Glazed Pavilion, row by row, able to name the history and habits of every crop that sprouted from each seed, and even the newly emerged seedlings were like treasures she could recount in detail.

It was evident that she truly loved this vocation.

Indeed, as Wang Yingluo from over there would say, it was a career.

Everyone has their career, women included.

Lady Jing had found what she loved and her place; hence, she shone brightly and radiated warmth in agricultural work.

The latest agricultural books noted that the initial planting and propagation of crops such as sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, and cotton were all personally sown and bred by her along with several other old Peasant Officials.

This was the first time in a hundred years that a woman’s name appeared in agricultural books.

It was said that many peasant women in the countryside took Lady Jing as a role model and learned from her.

After touring several pavilions, a whole morning had passed.

As the sun grew stronger, the pavilions became even more stiflingly hot. Everyone methodically climbed ladders to cover the tops with straw mats they had woven.

The gaps in these straw mats were large enough to ensure sunlight could filter through without being too harsh.

The doors on all sides were also left open to ventilate, allowing the air to circulate better and greatly benefiting the plants.

However, in the heat of summer, during the hottest days, to work in such conditions was very grueling for everyone.

Just take Murong Jiu, for instance – her clothes were already soaked with sweat from just one morning.

Not to mention the Peasant Officials who had to stand guard here all day long.

Murong Jiu also suggested that it wasn’t necessary for everyone to stay all the time, they could just assign more patrols to ensure nothing unusual happened with the crops.

But Peasant Official Jing insisted, saying that the seeds of these crops were hard to come by, some were very delicate and needed constant attention, and it was also necessary to keep daily records for ease of reference in the future and prompt correction in case of any mistakes.

"Your Majesty, you have sweat a lot today. You should change into a clean set of clothes, otherwise it’s very uncomfortable with your clothes sticking to your body,"

Peasant Official Jing turned her head to look at Hong Yi, "Miss Hong Yi, did you bring a change of clothes for Your Majesty?"

Hong Yi smiled, "I did. Peasant Official Jing, you should change too, otherwise the wind might chill you after sweating."

Peasant Official Jing said with a laugh, "I used to get sick a lot, large and small ailments. If I didn’t dry myself promptly after washing my hair, even a little exposure to wind would cause me to catch a chill and make me feel uncomfortable for quite a while. I always had a faint medicinal smell on me back then."

"Yes, Peasant Official Jing’s improvement in health is indeed thanks to Your Majesty,"

Chang Chonghai added from behind.

"Oh? Thanks to me?"

"Yes! If it weren’t for Your Majesty’s care in recuperating Peasant Official Jing’s health, she wouldn’t have been up to her current job. Since she became the Female Peasant Official, she’s been moving around every day as if she’s exercising. With her body strengthened, she’s less prone to colds. Like me, I bathe with cold water even in deep winter with no issues."

Murong Jiu laughed and said, "That really is the case, but Lady Jing has gotten rather tanned."

"Being tan is healthy. In my opinion, Peasant Official Jing is doing very well now. Ever since she took on the role, she’s been as energetic as if infused with chicken blood, as though she’s found the goal of her life. Especially when she saw her name in the agricultural book, she cried so much, she dampened two pillows,"

Feeling embarrassed, Peasant Official Jing came over to hit Chang Chonghai, "Why do you spill everything? Was I crying? I was overjoyed!"

"Hehehe, right, it’s because I’m happy!"

Chang Chonghai was beaten by his wife, and he laughed merrily too, a towering and robust tough guy who somehow betrayed a hint of simple honesty.

Murong Jiu also started to laugh.

It’s really wonderful.

Women should not be confined to their homes; look at this world, there are so many places that need women.

Sometimes, people just need to pursue something, need goals, need to discover their strengths and abilities.

Life is the same for everyone, but while some people live it aimlessly, others live brilliantly, making contributions and achieving success.

But is there anyone who inherently wants to live an aimless life?

Not necessarily.

Unlike men, in this day and age, if a family has a little extra money, they tend to spend it on educating the boys, while girls only have two paths: work or marriage.

Don’t they wish to do what they enjoy, like Lady Jing? Of course not.

They simply have no access to anything beyond their horizons.

From the beginning, they are restricted within so many boundaries.

That’s why Murong Jiu knew there was a long road ahead. Expecting all women to be educated at this stage was as improbable as a myth, but that might not necessarily be the case in the future.

A rich and strong nation, where citizens have enough to eat and wear, would have the spare energy to learn and progress, wouldn’t it?

Murong Jiu smiled and patted Lady Jing on the shoulder.

"Lady Jing, you are amazing. As a woman, your abilities are in no way inferior to the other Male Peasant Officials. I know you might face discrimination from men occasionally, but don’t let it bother you. Perhaps one day, women may not be inferior to men."

Lady Jing’s eyes reddened as she listened.

Now with the increased planting, seed saving, seedling cultivation, and so forth, they needed a lot of manpower; naturally, she also encountered those scornful men.

But she never felt aggrieved, because she knew the people supporting her were the Empress and the Emperor. Both admired her and gave her the same rights as men. Feeling this support, she was determined to complete the tasks assigned by the Empress and the Emperor even more perfectly than men.

She didn’t feel aggrieved now either; she was just moved, touched that the Empress, despite being so busy, would still speak to her so sincerely.

"Your Majesty, I surely won’t let you down!"

Murong Jiu shook her head, "No, I’m not just trying to boost your morale. On the contrary, I don’t want you to work too hard. You’ve lost a lot of weight since we last met, and such an environment can easily affect your appetite. If this continues for a long time, it will impact your health, so I hope you don’t have to deal with everything personally."

"But I’m worried about some of the seedlings..."

"You can hire people, recruit women. Women are more meticulous in caring and recording. Under your guidance, they can also grow quickly. With your excellent abilities, you can cultivate more outstanding Peasant Officials like yourself, and add to women’s strength, can’t you?"

Lady Jing’s eyes suddenly sparkled.

Yes, she could recruit more people, and by doing so, Female Peasant Officials could hold their own against Male Peasant Officials.

Eventually, discrimination would no longer exist.

In the future, more women would join the ranks of agricultural work.

Upon truly engaging with it, one would realize that the saying "food is the god of the people" is not just a simple phrase, but the foundation of a nation.

Murong Jiu smiled and said, "When you have more time, I have an even more important breeding plan to entrust to you."