Jinzhong Women's Vocational and Technical School.
Amidst the gray bricks and tiles, the clacking of looms mingled with soft whispers.
The moment Bai Liuyue stepped through the door, the female teacher abruptly looked up, turned to her, and exclaimed excitedly, "Director Bai, you're here?"
She was now the Director of the Jinzhong County Education Bureau.
She was also the first female director in the new Republic.
Below, the female students curiously raised their heads, casting gazes of curiosity, envy, or gratitude toward the woman in the distance dressed in a white suit skirt.
Bai Liuyue nodded slightly and said to her, "Don't be nervous. I just came to check on the progress."
Though told not to be nervous, the teacher still stuttered a little when she spoke.
"There are two textile classes and one nursing class. They have all started, but they aren't fully enrolled yet."
"Many people don't believe that our school here is tuition-free."
"But I think in a little while, more and more people might come to attend classes."
"Everyone is studying very seriously. They are a bit out of practice, but they are all working very hard."
Bai Liuyue looked at the students below with gentle eyes.
The women sitting below learning to weave varied in age; some looked to be in their thirties or forties, while the youngest were only in their teens.
As Bai Liuyue walked among them, a woman in her forties stared at her with dark eyes and suddenly dropped to her knees with a thud.
"What are you doing?" Bai Liuyue was about to help her up.
But the woman laughed through her tears and said,
"Thank you, Director Bai, thank you! My husband went out to work for a few years and, who knows who he listened to, decided he wanted to pursue 'true love' and shouldn't be bound by an arranged marriage dictated by matchmakers and parents."
"He abandoned me and our three daughters. I barely survived by relying on the charity of my neighbors, and I was almost at the end of my rope."
"I heard from a neighbor that a school opened here, teaching skills to women for free, so I came to take a look. I never expected that I could actually learn a trade. Once I start working, I will definitely repay you."
Bai Liuyue solemnly helped the woman up, gently patting the dust off her clothes.
She said in an extremely serious tone,
"If through this school you can all support yourselves, become independent, and gain a firm foothold in society, that will be the best repayment you could give me."
Following this older sister's words, many others in the back echoed,
"Yes, my father wanted to sell me for a bride price, so I fled to Jinzhong. Here, not only can I learn a skill, but room and board are covered. I will definitely study hard."
"Once we learn these skills, we will help other women in difficulty in the future."
"Yes, absolutely."
It was the same scene in the nursing class.
Bai Liuyue not only arranged for the school to allow these helpless or unskilled women to learn a trade, but she also reached agreements with many local textile workshops and hospitals.
Upon graduating from the women's school, they could be smoothly assigned to work there.
When this initiative first started, many people opposed it, especially those within the government system.
As time passed.
A year later, these women successfully graduated.
They became the backbone of the local textile industry and the nursing staff in hospitals.
In addition to establishing the women's school, Bai Liuyue also successfully pushed through several bills related to women's rights during this period.
The revision of the "Provisional Regulations on Women's Suffrage" single-handedly elevated the status of women in politics and society.
It was only at this point that Bai Wenshan finally understood what his granddaughter was trying to do.
She actually shared the same ideals as Bai Baozhu, except that Bai Baozhu relied on her pen, writing articles in the New Nation Newspaper to encourage and inspire women.
But in this era, ordinary women were completely illiterate, let alone able to read those articles. Only a small minority of educated women could read them.
Bai Liuyue, on the other hand, first grasped power herself, and then used her political influence to tangibly implement measures that improved women's status.
Three years later.
"The Jiang family has urged us about the wedding date several times now. What are your thoughts? Do you really plan to stay in Jinzhong forever?" Bai Wenshan asked.
By this time, Bai Liuyue was already the Minister of Women's Affairs for the Jinzhong Provincial Party Committee.
Initially, her relationship with Jiang Yunshen was indeed a temporary alliance, a fake engagement, but the outside world tacitly accepted them as an engaged couple.
Moreover, Jiang Yunshen had never taken the initiative to suggest breaking it off.
And so, it dragged on.
Now, Jiang Yunshen had firmly secured the position of President.
Xie Chengxiao had completely taken over the Northwest territory, becoming the new Northwest Marshal. Many people tried to arrange marriages for him, but he rejected them all one by one.
Every time he had time off, he would disappear for a while and then secretly show up in Jinzhong.
As for Pei Yu, over these three years, he successfully defeated his father's illegitimate children. After successfully seizing power from his father, he also became the undisputed Marshal of Jinzhong.
Yet, these three most powerful tycoons in the new Republic were all completely smitten with Bai Liuyue.
Even though she had devoted herself entirely to her political career over the past three years, these men had not wavered.
Hearing Bai Wenshan say, "The Jiang family has urged us about the wedding date," Bai Liuyue couldn't help but smile.
Today, the Jiang family completely followed Jiang Yunshen's lead; those relatives and elders wouldn't dare to utter a word of dissent.
It was clearly Jiang Yunshen trying to take the opportunity to test the waters and see if he could officially enter her life.
"Grandpa, who do you think I should make the primary husband?" Bai Liuyue asked back with a smile.
She wasn't asking who she should marry.
She was asking who should be the main husband.
Bai Wenshan had come to understand over the years that one, two, three grown men were all hovering around his little granddaughter.
Especially Pei Yu's desperate demeanor—it was truly too embarrassing to watch.
He reckoned that even if Pei Yu were made a concubine, he would be moved to tears.
Bai Wenshan used to quite like Xie Chengxiao, the son of a good friend; otherwise, he wouldn't have married Bai Baozhu to him in the first place.
However, that brat Pei Yu kept muttering in his ear that Xie Chengxiao was a second-hand man, a second-hand man. Hearing it so much, the old man also started to feel that way.
Right.
He was already a second-hand man.
How could he be worthy of his outstanding little granddaughter?
"Xie Chengxiao is definitely out," the old man mused.
Bai Liuyue nodded with a faint smile.
"As for Pei Yu... he does things too rashly. He's a Marshal now, yet he has none of the majesty of a Marshal. But fortunately, he listens to his wife. We can consider him."
"Mhm."
"Jiang Yunshen looks decent at the moment, but once you marry him, you'll have to go to Peiping, and I won't be able to stop worrying."
Bai Liuyue smilingly saw through the old man's thoughts.
"Don't worry, Grandpa. If I really go to Peiping, this territory of Jinzhong will definitely be handed over to my mother."
Wei Min was a lady from a prominent family, skilled in embroidery and weaving since childhood. Shortly after the women's school opened, she went to take a look one time, and somehow ended up becoming a female teacher at the school.
She also frequently followed Bai Liuyue to the countryside to help impoverished young girls.
Bai Liuyue wasn't just working hard herself; she wanted to drag her mother into the hustle too. She was only in her forties—the perfect time to build a career!
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Tomorrow, two chapters will be updated, including the ending and the side stories.
