A blogger writes, “My coworker has been venting to me that her mother is 65, been retired for 10 years, and has 2 million RMB in savings, and owns three houses. She suggested that if her mom gives her one of those houses and 700K of her savings, she can take care of her mom in old age. But her mom insists that all of her savings and real estate are going to go to the coworker’s brother. But because the brother’s wife refuses, he can’t have his mom live with them. So now, her mom is living alone and has high blood pressure, so the coworker is really worried that something will happen. She’s even thought about taking care of her mom without anything in return, but her husband is strongly against it. Her husband is very clear that your mom is very comfortably well off. If your brother wants to enjoy all of the inheritance, than he should take on all the work. There’s no reason why he should get all the benefits, and you get all the responsibility.” OP has told her coworker that her husband is right. Perhaps some people will blame you for not being filially pious, but maybe people should consider that it was her mom who wronged her first. Grown ups need to take responsibility for their decisions. OP finishes by asking what people would do if it was their mom.
Comments ask, “How is 65 too told to live alone? Not to mention, if her mom resents her this much to not leave her a cent, wouldn’t living together only exacerbate that high blood pressure?”
Someone asks, “Does anyone know anything about Masters Degree programs in Britain? I just had a fight with my mom, because a relative’s daughter just came back from Britain after finishing a Master’s Degree from an unheard of school. My mom kept saying how smart she was, that she could get a graduate degree overseas, and putting me down for never completing my Master’s in China. I told her that Britain’s Master’s Degrees have no meaning at all—anyone can get one if they just pay money. It’s not any more worthwhile than my Bachelor’s degree from a 211 university (one tier below Chinese ivy league). My mom wouldn’t believe me and went around saying that I’m lying to save face. Has anyone completed one of these one year Master’s Degrees in Britain? Can you tell me what it involves?”
“That girl is from a wealthy family. Her Bachelor’s degree is from Beijing Union University and went to Britain right after graduating there. My mom kept going on and on about how she never studied that hard in China, and she still got her degree in just one year. Honestly, this kind of for-profit degrees can only fool someone like my mom. There’s no way someone who doesn’t have the discipline to study while in China can keep up with her studies once she’s out from the watchful eyes of her parents. I’m friends with her on wechat, and all I see her posting about is partying everywhere. I never see anything about studying. She’s just got one of those degrees that you pay money for, right? What’s there to be proud of about that?”
“I’m not sure which school she went to, or what she majored in. I didn’t ask that closely. I just know that she got it within a year.”
Comments say, “A one-year Master’s Degree from Britain are used to spruce up your resume for getting a government job through connections, cause there’s requirements for hiring for any kind of desired government job, like National Electric, or National Tobacco. If you’re just from a normal family with no connections, it’s useless.”
Lately, four community college students from Anhui have been recovered from Myanmar after going missing there. As this news went viral, more and more news stories are cropping up of people from Guangxi and Gansu being trafficked to Myanmar. Most of these people are lured in by promises of “high-paying jobs”, brainwashed with promises of “making easy money”, believing that they can just, “work customer service and chat on the phone with people all day for 50K a month.”
Guangdong Yangjiang police have saved a lot of people from Myanmar, and those people have done interviews with reporters, recalling working 11 hours a day, doing nothing but eating and sleeping and talking to more con victims. “We were treated like animals, just tools for making money.” And if they run away, they’ll be caught and beaten, often times ending up with permanent injuries for life. Now, all they feel is terror and regret.
Comments say, “The sad thing is, it’s always Chinese people trafficking other Chinese people.” The second most top-voted comment says, “Wow, 11 hours a day. I’m working 12 hours a day in China right now.”
A video of a man with a super well-trained border collie, complaining that now he doesn’t know how to do anything for himself. Internet commenters joke, “Man paralysed in bed survives on the care of his beloved dog.” “If this dog so much as went out for a walk, you’d shit all over your bed.”
[for people who can’t open the link, try copy pasting the following into the weibo.com search bar, and it should pull up the video: 养边牧后自己快废了]
A writers writes a short story on weibo: “You cannot be Hua Mulan.”
“A couple of years ago, I thought of a what would happen if you were to travel inside a game. You can save, you can load, you can spend countless iterations achieving the greatness that historical figures did.”
“All of a sudden, you find yourself as a little baby. You hear your father whisper, “Let’s call her Mulan.” And you think to yourself, oh, so I”m Hua Mulan, that famous heroine who conscripted in her father’s stead and won battles and defeated enemies. I know what I have to do.”
“In order to complete this game, you pick up your father’s sword since childhood and practice with it. You parents are good to you—they never resented you for being a girl. They tell you stories, give you flowers. But no matter how well they treat you, your mother would always complain that it’s not proper for girls to play with swords.”
“Your father said that the world isn’t peaceful. It’s not bad for girls to know how to defend themselves.”
“But when your mother glares at him, he adds, “Of course, you still need to learn how to weave with your mother. Girls have to know how to do that too.””
“The days pass one by one. You’ve been practicing the sword for a couple of years now. The neighbours are starting to gossip that you’re not a good girl, you have no manners, you’re rude and abrasive. Your parents try to defend you, but you encounter weird looks every time you went out. You’ve become the soil of town gossip.”
“You know what you’re destined for, so you keep going. But soon enough, your brother was born, and as you watch your parents become ever busier, you start helping out with the household expenses.”
“Slowly, you start caring more and more about your weaving, the price of fabrics in the city, thinking more and more about how to sell your handicrafts for a better price. As your fabrics sell better and better and you’re not bad looking, more and more people are looking to marry you. But your tell your parents that you want to marry someone you truly love, so your dad swore he would make it so and stopped all the suitors.”
“At this point, you notice that your father is starting to get white hairs.”
“The military recruiters come. They want to draft your father to fight the Huns. You look at the white hairs on your father’s head and you know that it’s time for you to step out.”
“But suddenly, you find that you cannot.”
“People in the city still need your fabric. Your father wants to find you a good husband before he leaves. You want to join up in his stead, but he locks you up in the shack. You can’t possibly sneak away—it’s not subtle riding out with a horse.”
“You feel completely lost—how did Mulan manage to get away?”
“You stayed in the dark shack for a long time and you thought, well, Mulan is just a fictional character, after all. Maybe the author never thought about these details. You bang on the door and you yell, “Fine, I won’t go. I’ll weave. We can talk about my marriage later.”
“And thus, you compromised.”
“You dad rode off with the army to the west and never came back.”
“Your family’s life gets harder. You’ve gotten into conflicts with people over the price of your fabric. There have been thugs trying to marry you. It was with rather rusty sword skills and sheer stubbornness that you continue to fight back.”
“But in a few years, you tire.”
“There is an honest man who is not bad to you in the village. You married him. After a decade, you have children together.”
“Far away, came the sound of hoofbeats. The vast army sweeps through. Your father has become a bag of coins in compensation. You never see his body.”
“Somewhere deep in your mind, you wonder, “That’s not right. Aren’t I supposed to be Hua Mulan?””
“Your vision goes dark, and you hear the ding of an achievement unlocked: “You have unlocked the ending: Lost in the Crowd.””
“You’re not satisfied. The second round starts.”
“You load back to when your father got drafted. You go all over town buying a horse and everything you need, saying that it’s all for your father. That night, you drink with your father. Then, without a care to stealth, you take advantage of while he’s sleeping to barge into his room, take his draft papers, and run off.”
“You father watches, shocked into immobility, as you climb onto your horse with your sword, throw down a, “Don’t worry, I’ll serve in your stead.” and ride off without looking back.”
“Wind blows in through the open door. Your father is stunned into sobriety. He chases after you, but he doesn’t manage to catch up.”
“After he returns home again, he spends a good long while cursing your name. He looks up to see your mother’s eyes, red and swollen, and he breaks down in tears too.”
“You don’t care. You feel awesome. You’re free. You run all the way to the military camp. At this point, you’re thin and tanned and, with your chest bound, no one can tell your gender. You join the camps under the name Hua Jun.”
“But after a couple of days of training, you realise that your on-and-off practice with the sword hasn’t actually taught you anything useful. You’re among the most useless of the new recruits.”
“War doesn’t wait. You’ve barely familiarised yourself with the military formations and you were thrown to the front lines.”
“During a defeat, you’re slow to flee, and die under the blades of the Huns.”
“You didn’t feel much pain when you died. You were beheaded in one stroke. All you heard was the whoosh of blood as it left your body like wind in your ears.”
“Your head fell to the ground and your soul floated home. You saw your parents sleeping in bed, their brow knit in nightmare. They were dreaming about you stumbling along in the defeated army, broken blade in hand.”
“Your throat swells before darkness overwhelms you again.”
“Again, the ding of an achievement, “Congratulations, you have unlocked the ending: A Moment of Recklessness.”
“You wonder what that achievement means. Why is it a moment of recklessness? What doesn’t count as reckless?”
“Then you remember how after practicing the sword every once in awhile for a couple of years, because of people’s mocking and the realities of life, you gave it up gradually.”
“You became like every other girl, weaving, waiting for marriage…it’s not until the last moment that you remembered you were supposed to be Hua Mulan.”
“It was too late.”
“You cannot make the decision in the heat of the moment to become Hua Mulan. You have to commit to being an enemy of tradition and conformity from the very beginning. You have to stand up to the mockery of your neighbours, the confusion of your parents. You have to resist the temptation of warm family life, and tell yourself, “Who can do this, but I?””
“You return to your childhood.”
“You remember your military training regimen still. And you begin your practice again, this time with far more determination and method.”
“Your father is amazed. He thinks his daughter is a martial arts genius. You laugh and tell him, “Dad, since I have talent for this, then perhaps I cannot be like other daughters and bring you joy.”
“Your father asks what you want to do.”
“You raise your sword and say, “I will defend my nation. I will protect our territory.””
“Your father sucks in a deep breath, stares you in the eye, and sees your determination.”
“After two deaths, you’re finally something close to Hua Mulan. You barge your way through the shackles of tradition and charge straight for your destiny. This time, you never swayed. You made enough money with your skills with a sword. You turned down your suitors yourself. Everyone in the neighbourhood told your parents that, “Your daughter is very inappropriate.””
“There are even people spreading sexual rumours about you.”
“You smile and start practicing your sword in front of their house. And soon enough, no one dares to gossip about you anymore.”
“But you can’t stop what people talk about inside their own homes with the door shut. Your relations with the neighbours never improve.”
“But you don’t care. You know what you want.”
“When the recruiters come, you talked to your dad. You told him that he was old, and you still had ambitions. You will go instead, you will protect everyone. You were made for this.”
“You persuaded him. Or perhaps he just realised that he can no longer lock you up anymore.”
“You ride overnight away from your family. This time, as soon as you join the military, you’re an elite soldier. You are always on the front lines. You take the heads of enemy commanders. You turn the tide of battle, again and again. You are promised promotion.”
“But you are not promoted.”
“Someone accuses you of lying about your gender—and that even at home, there are rumours of your scandalous behaviour.”
“Since you had achieved such military honours, your superior decides not to report your crimes. He merely sends you home. When you are about to leave, he comes to see you and says, “I don’t have any wine for you. Let us share a cup of water together, after such a long time of fighting side by side.””
“You ignore him, but you do take a drink of the water he offers.”
“Your superior smiles. “I admire you, truly. I hope we can see each other again.””
“You’re not stupid. You know that he is protecting you. But you’re still not happy. You say, “There are many scumbags in the army. Be careful yourself.””
“Your superior nods and sees you off. And suddenly, he calls out, “I still don’t know your real name.””
“You reply sullenly, “I am Hua Mulan.””
“On your way home, you are intercepted by assassins. The lieutenant who found out about your gender had sold the information of your route home, and the Huns had come to get revenge for the heads you have taken.”
“It was a hard battle. At the end, your sword lay in pieces under the moonlight. You continue fighting, taking your enemy’s blades in your hand. You are soaked with blood, both theirs and your own.”
“You kill them all, but you aren’t capable of continuing on either. On the way home, you fall in a pool of blood.”
“The game ends again. This time, you have achieved the ending: A Heroine at the End of Her Ropes.”
“You reflected on this life for a long time. You think about how long it has been since you saw your parents. You think about how you were exposed. You start to get the beginnings of an idea.”
“No one can truly completely ignores what people think of them. Real life isn’t a game. Although it’s fun to simply shatter all the shackles of society, this simply isn’t realistic.”
“Let’s go. This time, I will get further.”
“Starting from the beginning, this time, you no longer practise swordplay in front of gossiping neighbours. You occasionally learn how to weave, you learn how to fight in with other girls…just like your first life.”
“When people make rumours about you, you can manipulate the townsfolk to disbelieve those rumours. You can even turn them back upon your enemies and put them in jail.”
“Even if those people are released again, it’s fine. You are waiting for them with a black mask over your face, and a sword in hand.”
“Under the starlight, many dead souls lay witness to how your skills with the blade have never faded.”
“You learn how to work with this impure world. Compared to your last life, not only are you tougher, but you are sharper, more sensitive, and know how to read people’s hearts.”
”This time, you take your father’s place with a smile. You are so calm and collected that your father is a little lost. You hear him asking your mother sometimes in the night, “Is this truly my daughter?””
“Your mother laughs and asks, “Who else could she be?””
“You laugh too. At dawn, you ride off to join the army again.”
“This time, you still fight in the front lines. You are still the most skilled soldier in the camp. But you learn how to analyse enemy movements. You no longer go exactly where you are pointed. You learn tactics. You learn strategy.”
“You earn even more honours. You get even more promotions.”
“The lieutenant who exposed you in the last life never figured you out in this one. But you didn’t let him go. You found evidence on his contact with the enemy and reported him. Even at the moment of his execution, he had no idea how you discovered him.”
“You go from leading a hundred men, to a thousand. You direct entire fields of battle. Eventually, the General has his arm around your shoulders as he shows you off to the Hun diplomats. He says, “This is Huajun. You cannot defeat him without a company of ten thousand men.”
“The last battle was particularly dangerous. The enemy’s blade almost reached the throat of your General.”
“But you killed their leader first. Your army erupts in cheering. The enemy turns to see their flag fall. They have been defeated.”
“That night, the General says that he owes you his life. He had only drank some water, but he’s swaying like he is drunk. He says that he has a sister, only ten years old when he first left home. She’s stubborn, she’ll only marry someone she loves. He’ll introduce you two when he returns home. If you dare turn her down for being too old, he’ll kill you.”
“You shrug and ignore him. You think, I’m about to complete this game. I just need to see the Emperor and turn down his offer of becoming Minister of Defense, and I can return home. Then you’ll know I’m a woman, and none of this will be an issue.”
“When you turn down the Emperor’s offer and reveal your true gender, your comrades and your superior are shocked at first, then they erupt in laughter, and insist on making you drink. The General even jokingly told you off for getting his sister’s hopes up.”
“And the envoy from parliament suddenly asks, “You’ve been in the military for 12 years. Are you still a virgin?”
“You almost laugh out loud. The General is the one who stands up in rage and asks the envoy, “What the hell do you mean? How could Hua Jun not be a virgin?””
“You’re just wondering, “I have killed countless enemies. I have freed thousands of kilometres of our territory. I have earned the highest of honours. And at the end of the day, you only care about my virginity?””
“Quaking under the intimidation of men just returned from a battlefield, the envoy reassures, “Perhaps General Hua doesn’t care, but parliament cannot let such an accomplishment go by unpraised. If you had really maintained your virginity after 12 years in the army, we need to give you a title of Virgin Hua and build you a monument.”
“Your comrades think he’s making sense. Only the General understands you. He might not know why, but he knows that you hate this award.”
“Oh, right. Because this isn’t an award. It is exploitation.”
“Who cares what you have accomplished in defending your nation. Women should only be concerned with their purity.”
“You tell the envoy, “I don’t need such a monument. I don’t think virginity is worth any praise.””
“The envoy smiles back, “This is a gift from the Emperor himself. It would be impolite to refuse.””
“When you turned down being the Minister of Defense, nobody cared. But when you don’t want a virginity monument, now, it would be impolite to refuse.”
“All they want is to ensure that women continue to be solely concerned with their virginity, and never think about fighting in battle again.”
“The building of this monument would only cause more sexual rumours for you, not less. This is not an honour—this is a cage.”
“You laugh, “This is what the government wants. It is not what I want.””
“Once those words leave your mouth, everyone’s faces change. The General quietly pulls on your sleeves.”
“But you do not back down. Once you take even a single step backwards, the name Hua Mulan will never again be associated with a hero who served in her father’s stead and defeated the Huns. She will only ever be a Virgin. If you want to be freed of your shackles, there are moments you cannot back down.”
“You stare at the envoy for a moment, and then offer that you would like to retire to the woods. You say you have always dreamed of the wandering poet life. Now that the Huns are not a problem anymore, that is what you wish to do.”
“Finally, the envoy looks satisfied and says he will report this to his superiors.”
“That night, and many nights afterwards, you drink with your buddies. You say you’ve retired to be a wandering poet, but you’re not much better than a bandit. You set up camp between your nation and the Huns, and rob from both sides.”
“When you left home, the General arranged a good job for your brother, gave a bit of money, and told you, “I still don’t know your real name.””
“This scene is familiar to you, and you smile as you say, “I am Hua Mulan.””
“You pick up your sword, climb onto your horse, and ride off without looking back.”
“A couple of years of peace later, war comes again. You are living in the mountains. Your parents are still worried about your marriage. They are constantly sending you travelling merchants or other bandit lords in the hopes that you will settle for somebody.”
“You hear about how the General was killed in political manoeuvres. Countless refugees are gathering at the foot of your hill. You suddenly feel an overwhelming guilt.”
“A thought jumps out at you. “I could’ve saved them.””
“And you know, you’ve done everything that Hua Mulan has done. Even the game has told you, “Congratulations, you have unlocked the true ending. You are truly an independent, modern woman. You can log out now.””
“You stare at the refugees in rags before you and think, lost, “I can log out now?””
“”You can log out now,” the game reassures you.”
“You begin laughing. You begin crying. You say, “I still want one more round. I want to return to the end of the war. I want to be the Minister of Defense. I want to take my army and end this chaos for good.””
“You’ll be exposed. You’ll never survive politics. They’ll kill you.””
“”So what if they kill me?””
“”If you die too many times in this game, you’ll go crazy.””
“”So I’ll go crazy. I still want to save everyone I can see.””
The game falls silent for a moment, then says, “Then I will wait for you to unlock a new ending.””
“”What ending?””
“”The ending where you have united the world. You climb up to your golden throne, your long hair blowing in the wind, and you tell the world, “The Conqueror of the world, Hua Mulan, she is a woman.””
“Yes, go. Go be a Hua Mulan who is not Hua Mulan.”
“You are beautiful when you raise your sword.”
3/22/23 - If you want to be freed of your shackles, there are moments you cannot back down.
Hi!
Wonderful shares.
Could we know who is the author of the Hua Mulan short story?
Thank you!