Chapter 2002 - Two Elders Concerned With Naturalized Marriage (III)
"Mmm-hmm, and then? Where will the women come from?"
"That phrasing is deeply problematic," Wang Jun said. "At the first reading in the Council of Elders, the female Senators would tear it to shreds. Don't be so blunt, and avoid gendered language. 'Wives for naturalized workers' should be reframed as 'spouses for naturalized workers'—'spouse' is gender-neutral. That'll be less grating to female Senators, and the proposal won't appear to serve only male workers."
Du Yibin thought to himself that he couldn't juggle all these verbal gymnastics. Perhaps in the future he really should just go home and stick to raising chickens and pangolins.
"As for the source of these spouses," Wang Jun continued, "forget about female prisoners—once it reaches discussion in the Council of Elders, it'll be mired in arguments for months. The Jiliang Institute is a reliable source, but the numbers are limited. Importing women from overseas—India, Vietnam, wherever—requires Five Oaks' approval. And it'll cost money."
"So it seems everything is difficult to manage..." Du Yibin's spirits immediately deflated. Recent issues of Qiming Star had been full of articles about fiscal problems—the recurring theme was always "difficulties."
"That's precisely why we should rely on local resources!" Wang Jun seized the opportunity to pitch his own proposal. "Guangzhou has hundreds of thousands of people—the absolute number of eligible single women can't be small. If we organize several group matchmaking events, won't that work? Little Zhang won't be able to object—neither will Liu Xiang or the big shots in the Council. Look at the angles: we're promoting marital autonomy, reforming social customs, solving workers' livelihood difficulties..."
"But what about the disabled naturalized citizens?" Du Yibin quickly interrupted. "Would women at matchmaking events actually be attracted to them?"
"Brother!" Wang Jun leaned forward. "The marriage concept in this era is simple: 'Marrying a man means food and clothes.' For most lower and middle-class women, choosing a mate primarily concerns the man's economic ability, not his looks. Mutual love and matching beauty with talent—that's a luxury only well-fed young ladies can afford." He paused. "As long as disabled naturalized citizens have suitable incomes, women will naturally be willing to marry them. Didn't the Finance Department approve special marriage subsidies for disabled naturalized citizens?"
"Alright," Du Yibin conceded. "But who would be willing to attend? We can't just drag women off the street for matchmaking."
"So that's why you've been fixated on those female prisoners?"
"Exactly."
"The female prisoner idea had merit—it was just unrealistic. I think you overlooked a more practical, larger resource pool."
"What?"
"Prostitutes."
"Prostitutes?" Du Yibin had never dreamed Wang Jun would propose such a thing. He immediately shook his head dismissively. "That's what's truly unrealistic. Prostitutes are lazy and greedy. Their living standards: dressed in gold and silver, eating delicacies, attended by maids and servants. They all dabble in arts and music. Never mind disabled naturalized citizens—even Senators like us might not meet their standards."
"You can't take high-class courtesans like Dong Xiaowan as representative of all prostitutes," Wang Jun said with a laugh. "Most prostitutes are actually living in dire straits. Did you read the recent issue of Qiming Star?"
"No, why?"
"There's a report titled 'Guangzhou Public Morality Rectification.' It contains very detailed research. Particularly noteworthy: although we now permit prostitutes to 'self-operate' after cracking down on criminal brothel operations and cleaning up the business environment, over seventy percent of local prostitutes have expressed the desire to leave the profession. Moreover, among those who plan to continue, many come from hereditary entertainer or boat-dwelling families with no other means of livelihood. If given suitable alternatives, they'd be willing to seek other paths. Those who genuinely want to remain in this line of work probably constitute less than ten percent."
"Such a high percentage?"
"That's right." Wang Jun nodded. "According to the statistics, there are currently over fifteen hundred prostitutes holding yellow tickets in Guangzhou. Even if only seventy percent want to leave the profession, that's still at least a thousand people."
"But... I feel like maybe..." Du Yibin hesitated. "Prostitutes—would the naturalized citizens even be willing to marry them? This is the seventeenth century!"
"I don't know about this era specifically, but in the old timeline, when brothels were banned in the fifties and prostitutes were liberated, most of them went on to form families. In any time period, concepts of chastity only have currency among the upper and middle classes. Ordinary laborers are just grateful to find a wife at all—they're not that particular."
Having reached consensus, the two divided the labor. Wang Jun would handle persuading Guangzhou's relevant leaders to "greenlight" the matchmaking activities. Whether matchmaking or weddings, both required venues and materials, necessitating support from local power holders. Wang Jun wasn't particularly eloquent, but he worked in the Industrial Department and was responsible for steam engine maintenance—a solid "technical cadre." Local Senators were generally courteous to him on the principle that "he might prove useful at a critical moment."
Du Yibin, meanwhile, would be responsible for persuading the women at the shelter to "voluntarily choose" disabled naturalized citizens as spouses.
Truth be told, solving the marriage problems of disabled naturalized citizens wasn't more challenging than when the old Civil Affairs department found wives for disabled Korean War veterans. The Senate's mass medical standards were quite primitive, with severe material shortages. Even now, severely wounded casualties rarely survived. Among the disabled naturalized citizens, very few were incapacitated to the point of being "unable to care for themselves"—most had simply lost limbs. Relatively speaking, the difficulty wasn't insurmountable.
The harder cases were those with chemical burns. Among disabled naturalized citizens in the industrial sector, this was a substantial group. Many with chemical burns bore facial scarring and deformities. Some were "on par with Quasimodo"—in fact, for Du Yibin, who had interacted with many disabled naturalized citizens, the legendary Quasimodo could be considered handsome by comparison.
Though the Senate's medical standards were sufficient for cosmetic surgery, limited antibiotics and other technical constraints meant few facial reconstructive surgeries had been performed. Du Yibin felt they were the most difficult group to help.
No matter how much people talked about valuing "inner beauty" or "good character" or "drive to succeed," humans were ultimately visual creatures. Du Yibin sighed: Without organizational arrangements, this won't work...
Du Yibin arrived at Huanghua Temple—formerly Guangzhou Prefecture's "Puji Hall," now converted into the "Guangdong Province Temporary Shelter." Its function remained the same: specifically sheltering various "homeless" people.
The place had already been repaired and cleaned. The formerly dilapidated scene had been swept away. Though the repairs were hasty and crude, compared to the pitiful state when Liu San had come to inspect, it was worlds apart.
The Director, Deputy Director, and their staff were already waiting at the gate to "respectfully await" Du Yibin's arrival. Behind them stood several dozen elderly people, children, and women, all wearing identical dark blue short jackets. Their faces and hands had been scrubbed clean to "welcome the Senator's inspection."
The moment he stepped down from his sedan chair, the Director came forward with a beaming smile: "Greetings, Senator Du! I'm the Director here. My name is Lu Weijia. You can call me Little Lu."
Du Yibin noticed this "Little Lu" had a face full of stubble and deep wrinkles—nothing "little" about him. He teased: "I think 'Old Lu' is more accurate."
"Yes, yes, Old Lu works too," Lu Weijia nodded repeatedly.
Du Yibin noticed he wore a faded old military uniform with the collar insignia and cap badge removed. He likely knew this was a military veteran—the few veterans under Senate rule all liked to dress this way to demonstrate their "distinguished origins." He deliberately asked: "What year did you enlist?"
"Reporting, Senator! I enlisted in 1632 in Zhejiang—with the National Army. Later, during security operations in Gaoxiong, I was wounded. My legs became stiff, so I was discharged..."
"So you're combat-wounded. What disability grade were you rated?"
"Grade eight. Walking isn't too smooth now."
"Do you have a wife?"
Lu Weijia started, then quickly answered: "Yes... I married before I enlisted. She and the children are still in Lingao..."
Du Yibin wasn't particularly interested in this. Hearing that Lu had a wife, he dropped the subject. Spotting a hunched "cadre" standing nearby, smiling ingratiatingly and finding it somewhat irritating, he asked:
"Who's that?"
"This is Deputy Director Mao, a retained local employee."
Deputy Director Mao Xiuyu, who had been waiting to the side, quickly approached: "Your humble servant is Mao Xiuyu, Deputy Director here. Today the Senator has graced us with an inspection..."
"Alright, alright, enough with the formalities." Du Yibin waved impatiently. "Let's go inside to talk."
"Yes, yes. Please."
News of Du Yibin's "inspection" had reached the shelter a day in advance. Director Lu had mobilized staff the previous night to thoroughly clean the entire facility. Not a single fallen leaf was visible on any of the paths.
However, Du Yibin hadn't come to inspect, so he paid no attention to these careful preparations. Instead, he asked about the current population situation at the shelter.
Lu Weijia explained that Huanghua Temple's conditions were rather poor—far inferior to the Senate's own "Compassion Hall" with its complete facilities. The residents here mostly fell under "special care" categories. Currently, they mainly housed the disabled, elderly, orphans, and certain special groups. Prostitutes rescued during the public morality rectification campaign were also uniformly housed here, though they were managed separately under their own department: the "Jiliang Institute."
"What about the widows?"
"They're here too. They're placed in the former Chastity Hall area. Since many came, an additional courtyard was added."
After the various Chastity Halls were consolidated, the "chaste widows" inside followed the principle of "freedom to come and go." Those who could return to their parents' homes or seek refuge with relatives were given travel expenses or escorted home. They were also permitted to choose their own mates and remarry.
Some who'd had sweethearts before marriage had people come to "claim" them and "resume their past relationships." Some of these "first loves," when summoned, arrived overjoyed and full of gratitude toward the Senate. Others had already married and were unwilling to come, leaving the women with empty hopes. Still others came claiming they'd like to take them home as "concubines." In the chaos, there were also criminals who used the opportunity to abduct women. Eventually, this practice was halted.
(End of Chapter)