I travel back and forth between ancient and modern times, hoarding goods to raise my grandchildren a

What's the meaning behind that expression?

"Why does a young girl like you need to eat such good food?"

"Stop looking at it. Leave this for your brother. He likes it. As the older sister, you should share good things with your brother."

Yu Wanwan listened with a furrowed brow.

She remembered when she was a child, before the Yu family became rich.

Once, they bought a big cake to celebrate their neighbor's child's birthday.

We couldn't finish the cake, so we divided it into two portions for their family.

I said at the time that it was for her and her brother to eat.

But as soon as the neighbor left, her mother took her share of the cake and put it in front of her younger brother.

The cake was meant for her and her younger brother, but in the end, she could only watch helplessly as her brother ate two portions.

Her mother's reasoning at the time was that she, a young girl, didn't need to eat so well.

Besides, since her brother likes to eat it, she should give in to him.

At the time, she simply thought they were sexist.

I really hate people who favor sons over daughters.

She was heartbroken for a long time because of this, and even thought about committing suicide to make them value her more.

"Snapped"

"Why are you crying?"

Do you think I'll feel sorry for you just because you cried?

The sound of slapping, a little girl crying, and an even angrier shout from the adults came from inside the house.

Even when Yu Wanwan was very young, she understood that people who don't value you won't value you even if you die.

Therefore, self-harm and suicide are useless.

Crying in front of them won't do any good.

This will only make them look down on you even more.

For example, they might say, "Look, she's so useless. All she does is cry. She cries all the time. She's not like anyone in our family at all."

Look, they commit suicide at the drop of a hat. Raising someone like that would be a waste of food. It's better for them to die sooner rather than later to save some food.

She also understands that if you want others to respect you, you must first respect yourself.

You have to become strong first, then others won't dare to look down on you.

"Shut up, stop crying. The important person is still outside. If you anger the important person, they won't come to give you candy anymore, and your brother won't get any more candy. I'll beat you up."

Yu Wanwan couldn't listen anymore.

She handed the remaining candied hawthorns to the third and fifth brothers, telling them to continue distributing them.

She walked towards that house.

Push open the creaking wooden door to their yard.

"You...you important person...what brings you here?"

The woman became flustered as soon as she saw Yu Wanwan.

Yu Wanwan's attire clearly indicates that she is either wealthy or of high social standing.

Moreover, even at times like these, she can still dress herself up neatly and eat until her face is fair and tender.

Clearly, their family had no shortage of water or food, and even had extra candy to give to the children. She even wondered if she was a noblewoman from the palace.

Even if she had a hundred lives, she wouldn't dare offend someone like that.

Without saying a word, she pulled the little girl and her brother down to kneel down together.

"I kneel to thank the esteemed person for giving the children candied hawthorns."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

The woman kowtowed several times on the ground.

They even made the children kowtow to her several times.

"Get up."

Yu Wanwan cut to the chase: "I overheard you saying that a young girl like her doesn't deserve to eat candied hawthorns?"

"Well, I'm quite curious. I'd like to ask you, why don't little girls deserve to eat candied hawthorns?"

"Does this mean that candied hawthorn berries are only for boys?"

The woman was very uneasy, never expecting that Yu Wanwan had come in because of this matter.

She quickly explained, "My esteemed guest, please don't misunderstand."

We didn't treat her badly. In this situation, many girls have starved to death. But even under such difficult circumstances, her father and I saved our food for her so that she could survive.

She's already luckier than many girls.

"Her father starved to death so that he could save food for her."

When Yu Wanwan was handing out candy, she noticed that almost all the people lining up were boys.

There were only two or three little girls among them.

She had assumed that most of the families living in this alley had sons.

Unexpectedly, it was because her daughter starved to death.

According to the woman, the little girl in front of her was indeed much luckier than the other little girls.

She survived even though her father starved to death.

"Since you would rather go hungry than not give her food when there is a shortage of food, why won't you even give her a string of candied hawthorns?"

This made Yu Wanwan even more puzzled.

She initially thought it was just male chauvinism, but it didn't seem to be the kind of male chauvinism she understood.

The woman hesitated for a moment, then looked at Yu Wanwan, not daring to hide anything.

"She'll be married off to someone else's family and have to work like a slave, so she has to start enduring hardship from a young age. She can't be spoiled, otherwise she won't be able to handle hardship later on, and life will be even harder."

"But her brother is different. He's a boy, and he'll be the pillar of the family in the future, someone who will support her family. If she treats him well now, he'll remember her kindness later."

Yu Wanwan?

So, doing this was actually for her own good?

Because we will have to endure hardship in the future, we must get used to it from a young age so that life will not be difficult.

But he's suffered since childhood, and life has never been easy.

Is it necessary to form a relationship through such hardship?

She suddenly realized that the little girl's mother had also experienced the preference for sons over daughters since childhood.

Deep in her mind, she believed that women were inferior to men.

At that moment, she didn't know whether to condemn her or pity her.

Perhaps in her past life, she was belittled even more by her parents.

Ultimately, it seems to be a problem with education.

Because of the lack of education on women's self-respect, the idea that women are inferior to men is only passed down from generation to generation.

Yu Wanwan came in specifically to uphold justice for the little girl.

She has mixed feelings right now.

She reached into her sleeve pocket, actually pulling out another candied hawthorn from her storage space, and handed it to the little girl.

"Eat up, life isn't all bitterness, it can also be sweet."

She took out another one.

It was handed to the little girl's mother.

"You should have one too. Don't even think about saving it for your son, or I'll take it back."

The woman took the candied hawthorn and saw the serious expression on Yu Wanwan's face.

She felt that Yu Wanwan might actually take the candied hawthorn back.

She hesitated for a moment before putting the candied hawthorn in her mouth.

When the little girl saw that her mother was eating, she quickly followed suit and started eating too.

After taking their first bite, they both exclaimed in unison, "So sweet!"

It was the first time they had ever eaten candy.

"So sugar really is this sweet and delicious."

"I never thought I would eat candy in my life. Candy is the best thing I've ever eaten."