TGDS Chapter 83.2

The Good Dad System (Arc 11) Chapter 83.2: A Patriarchal Family (20)

“I feel like you’re laughing at me…” Pei Zihao wanted to believe his sister as always, but seeing Pei Xiaoping’s expression, he felt uneasy. However, after a while, he forgot about it and took another bowl from the kitchen. “Sis, Grandma just fried these, they’re delicious!” He strongly recommended, smiling like a cat that had stolen some fish.

“Eat, eat, eat! You’re all full now. What are you going to do for dinner later?” Wu Guizhi peeked out, brandishing long chopsticks used for frying, her face full of dissatisfaction. If Pei Zihao hadn’t run away quickly, those chopsticks would probably have hit him a few times. But as soon as she saw Pei Xiaoping, her expression changed instantly, like a gentle spring breeze. “Xiaoping, you’re back? Try my cooking.” Since it was for her granddaughter, she didn’t care how many pieces she gave her.

It wasn’t that Wu Guizhi was biased, but as soon as Pei Zihao came home, he squatted there and ate piece after piece. Seeing that she had fried several ladles of food, the bowl was still almost empty. How could she not be angry?

“Grandma, are you a master of face-changing?” Pei Zihao was full of resentment, but his hands were honest as he handed the food to his sister.

“If you say that again, I’ll beat you up.” Wu Guizhi threatened, then changed her expression again. “Xiaoping, eat more. Look, you’ve gotten thinner from being so busy lately.” She was still busy in the kitchen and didn’t dare to say anything more, so she went back to frying food.

Many years ago, Pei Naochun had repeatedly emphasized to his mother that although she loved Pei Zihao, he also needed to be toughened up. Although Zihao had lost a lot of weight since returning, his overall spirit was still good. Besides, Wu Guizhi was now very enlightened; Pei Zihao was there for academic internships, not for fun, so it was normal for him to endure some hardship. Xiaoping, however, was different.

She worked very hard during her postgraduate studies—this was because Pei Xiaoping actively learned a lot. She didn’t stop after choosing her major, frequently auditing courses in other majors, always keeping herself fully occupied. As a result, she never gained weight throughout her university years. After finally graduating and returning home for half a month, she had just gained a little weight, but once she started working, she began to lose weight again, which worried Wu Guizhi greatly.

Pei Zihao silently pointed to himself, then to his sister, his face full of grievance. His grandmother’s favoritism—who was really the thinner one?! Pei Xiaoping didn’t speak, but just smiled and lowered her head to eat. Grandma’s first batch of fried taro today was cut into chunks, and it tasted just right, very delicious.

“Sister, isn’t it delicious? You should eat more. Look, you’ve lost weight since you started working.” Unconsciously, Pei Zihao also started nagging. He had heard his father say many times since he was a child that they were both men, and most men are naturally stronger than women. In addition, with their social responsibilities and status, they naturally had to shoulder more burdens. They couldn’t let Grandma, Mom, and sister work too hard. Every time he saw his sister so thin, he felt sorry for her and wanted to share the burden. But at the same time, he knew that he really didn’t have any talent in running a company, not even as good as his mother. So why not hand the company over to his sister?

He had always been quite open about this idea. He had a friend who grew up with him, the child of his parents’ business partner, who knew their family situation quite well. When he heard him say this, he was immediately shocked and immediately said that he was stupid. The other person was just confused, saying that the family property should belong to him, so why was it all given to his sister?

It was then that Pei Zihao suddenly realized that his surroundings weren’t the whole world, and that outside of his family, there were many people who didn’t take girls seriously—and there were specific reasons for this. At that time, most families around Pei’s home who could even let their children get along were well-off. With money came the desire to have children. In that era, most men still hoped to have a son to inherit the family business, so that the empire they had worked so hard to build wouldn’t be taken to someone else’s family and become someone else’s property. Even if they only had one daughter in the early days, they would not hesitate to pay high costs for a second child, insisting on having another one. If the first wife was unwilling, there would be mistresses, and so on. In short, daughters were good, but sons were always necessary.

He simply explained to his friend earnestly, “It’s the same whether it’s for me or my sister. She has more talent in running the company, so why can’t she manage it?” From a young age, his father had instilled in him the concept of “unfair fairness.” In most things, the family treated everyone equally, but in many other things, the family was unequal.

Just like him and his sister, if there were six candies in the house, their father would divide them equally, giving three to each of them. But if someone gave them a dress, it would go to his sister; conversely, if someone gave them men’s clothing, it would be his. Besides, whenever his sister was on her period, feeling unwell, often irritable, or sad and crying, the whole family would take extra care of her. If he angered his sister during this time, he would definitely get a scolding.

Because of the special nature of relationships between men and women, absolute fairness can become unfair to some extent. For example, if there are two bags of fruit on the ground, one light and one heavy, and the older sister is weaker, it’s impossible to divide them equally, so naturally he takes the heavier one and she takes the lighter one. Or, in the kitchen, he’s a notorious culinary disaster. If no one is home, his sister usually cooks; otherwise, he might poison them both… His father sets a good example for him in every way, and he learns from him, gradually developing the habit.

Of course, kitchen work is an exception—Pei Zihao still doesn’t understand why his father, with such good cooking skills, always cooks culinary disasters. The congee with preserved egg and lean pork that he specially cooked for everyone last time—it just didn’t look very good, tasted a little too sweet, and the meat wasn’t fully cooked. Was it really worth banning him from the kitchen?

The other person just scoffed dismissively, thinking his friend was naive and needed to be enlightened: “Think about it yourself. What if it’s given to your sister? Then the company will belong to her. If she marries someone else, will the company your father worked so hard to build be surnamed Pei or your brother-in-law?”

Pei Zihao patiently explained, “Isn’t it all the same? Dad earns money not just for his own business, but also to ensure a good life for our family. If he really minds, he can find someone else to run the company, and we’ll just get a share of the profits. Since he doesn’t mind, even if it goes with my sister, I’ll be happy if she’s doing well.”

“You don’t understand,” the man waved his hand dismissively, seemingly farsighted. “You’ll understand later. What’s rightfully yours should be yours, and giving it to someone else is a different story.”

Pei Zihao didn’t argue further, but he couldn’t understand the difference. Besides, would Dad be happier if the company failed in his hands? His sister and he were both part of the family; was it necessary to distinguish between them? Nothing should rightfully belong to “him.” The family business was built by his father, mother, and grandmother; they could give it to whomever they wanted, even donating it all to charity—there was nothing wrong with that. Why should it belong to him? There was no logic to it.

He couldn’t control other people’s thoughts, but he could control his own actions. It was precisely because of that argument that he was pushing himself even harder down the path of civil engineering, never looking back. He didn’t want anyone to criticize his sister for managing the company—it was something he had given up, something he didn’t want, and it had nothing to do with his sister.

“You just keep telling me to eat; aren’t you afraid I’ll stuff myself to death?” Pei Xiaoping said helplessly, eating slowly, as the food was quite hot. A short while later, there was another noise at the door. Her parents entered the house. Her father was carrying large bags, which appeared to contain seafood. Her mother wasn’t carrying anything, only a phone, talking to someone on the other end.

As soon as Pei Naochun entered the house, he put on an apron and went to the kitchen to help his mother with the chores. Their family had a little habit: on ordinary days, the children could help out, but the New Year was different; only the patriarch could step in—this was partly due to the adults’ vanity; they had to show off their skills in front of the children.

“Okay, fine. The factory will be closed for the holidays. Anyone who wants to work overtime during the New Year will be paid triple wages according to regulations… but the number will be controlled, so you should decide…” Tang Zhaodi was no longer as timid as before. Standing there, she exuded authority without anger, issuing orders to Camus over the phone. Now, the family business was growing larger and larger, with factories located around several branch warehouses. In their hometown of Heping Township alone, there were three factories in total.

“Mom…” Pei Zihao wanted to talk to his mother, but Tang Zhaodi had just hung up her previous call when she answered another one. “Hello, Sister Laidi, yes, I’m home. Yes, Naochun and I have discussed it, and this year’s profits are higher than expected. We want to do more charity work. You can communicate with the Women’s Federation to see if we can organize a few events. Yes, I can attend. I’ll have the accountant send you the specific amount later.”

The person she was talking to was Li Laidi. Under Pei Naochun’s arrangement, Li Laidi became a key figure in the company’s external affairs department. She was decisive and efficient, and when communicating with people, she was also humble and flexible, handling many matters for the company.

In recent years, the company’s largest external business has been the charity projects in cooperation with the local labor union, chamber of commerce, and women’s federation.

It’s important to understand that, aside from the factory in S City, the other doll factories are all located in relatively underdeveloped rural areas. They absorb the low-cost labor of these towns and villages, while simultaneously using a portion of their profits to build roads for them. This has created a virtuous cycle, leading to rapid development in many areas.

The location of the doll factories also reflects a strong preference for male workers, primarily recruiting female employees. This has freed many local girls from the fate of early marriage for dowries. After all, everyone knows how to calculate – whether it’s better to save up for four or five years to earn wages or to immediately sell them for a dowry. At the same time, the factories also provide basic team-building activities – a practice Tang Zhaodi learned from her boss in the port city. Every day after work, they organize activities like watching movies and television, listening to the news, and inviting outstanding female workers to give lectures and conduct legal education. In short, the goal is to make every female worker understand that women hold up half the sky.

That’s not all. Both Pei Naochun and Tang Zhaodi were the type who were content with just enough money and didn’t hesitate to invest. They even signed an agreement with the local night school, having students attend classes at the factory every week. This solved the problem of many female workers who, due to early school dropouts, were illiterate and lacked understanding of right and wrong. Every year, model workers were selected and arranged to travel or pursue further education. In short, working at the factory provided almost a one-stop service. Even if they left, they could support themselves, knew they were independent “people,” and had some basic legal knowledge.