Although constables held very low status and the Ancient Era assigned most of them to the Servile Registry, their descendants could not take the Imperial Examination for three generations. Even so, they were still half-Public Officials—though the occupation was reserved for men.
A woman taking on the role sent a message: in the Future Era, women might hold more important official positions.
The Ancient Era had female officials as well, but most belonged to the Imperial Harem and did not participate in court politics. They managed the Imperial Harem’s affairs instead. A few female officials participated in government, but almost none held official posts and took part in the affairs of the outer court.
By becoming officials, they meant holding a legitimate official position and participating in court politics, like men did.
The emperors of the dynasties after the Martial Empress frowned. After witnessing the Martial Empress seize the Imperial Throne, they became wary of women, fearing that another woman might take their Imperial Throne. For that reason, the Ming and Qing dynasties expressly prohibited the Imperial Harem from interfering in government affairs.
Most men in the Ancient Era believed they had absolute power over women and could control every aspect of their lives at will. They could not tolerate women rising above them.
Thus, they could not understand why the Future Era kept giving women advantages. Letting women go out to work was one thing, but the Future Era also allowed them to wield power. They knew the taste of power and did not believe anyone would willingly spit it out after tasting it.
Once women tasted power, they would become unruly and difficult to control, throwing the household into disorder. If the household was not peaceful, the Realm and Dynasty would descend into chaos.
Qin Shi Huang, on the other hand, was fairly accepting of women serving as officials. At this time, women faced few restrictions, and the State of Qin had a famous female politician in history—Empress Dowager Xuan of Qin, who was also history’s first Empress Dowager.
He thought that so many women in the Future Era going out to work and even becoming officials showed that women were capable as well. Perhaps he could recruit some talented women.
There were too few people available at present. Having just unified the world, he needed many people. Relaxing the restrictions on Gender might ease the pressure.
During the few days she waited for her departure notice, the company’s Proprietor called her, hoping to persuade her to return. The Proprietor even raised her salary.
If she had not nearly died from overwork, she would have agreed. But now, she felt that her health mattered most. Otherwise, what use was earning so much money?
When the company realized it could not persuade her and that her reasons were reasonable, it had no choice but to agree. It completed her departure procedures ahead of time, so she did not have to wait several more days.
After completing the procedures, An Ran checked the time and decided to return to her hometown. She had been busy with work during this year’s New Year holiday and had not gone home because her vacation was short. Since she had the opportunity now, she decided to visit. Besides, the wheat at home was about to be harvested, so she could help out.
Her body might not even be as strong as that of her seventy-year-old grandfather.
The wheat harvest would end just before the National College Entrance Examination. After the exams, she would take her younger brother and sister on a trip.
Before she left, she called her parents to ask whether they needed her to bring anything home.
After packing a few changes of clothes, An Ran took a taxi to the High-Speed Rail Station.
When the people of Ancient Times saw the suitcase, their eyes lit up. This was excellent: adding wheels made it much easier to carry, it could hold plenty of things, and it was easy to make.
The clever craftspeople immediately took action. After all, the suitcase was simple to make and easy to produce. Only by seizing the initiative could they earn more money.
Upon reaching the high-speed rail station, she entered after having her ticket checked and queued up in front of the platform.
The people of Ancient Times were puzzled about why she did not drive that metal Automobile home. It was so fast—why had she come here instead?
They saw that the place was called a station, but where was the vehicle? They had assumed it would be the same metal Automobile as before and complained that coming here was unnecessary. Or was that vehicle forbidden from going anywhere else?
As they wondered about this, a long whistle sounded. A long white figure approached from the distance with a roar. The friction between the wheels and rails slowed the High-speed rail until it stopped.
The people of Ancient Times stared with their mouths hanging open as the White giant serpent glided toward them.
“What, what is this?”
“Oh my goodness, it scared me to death.” An elderly man patted his chest and spoke with lingering fear.
“It’s huge! And so long!”
“It scared me to death. When I first saw it, I thought it was a giant snake!”
“A demon, a demon!”
As panic spread among them, the train carriage doors opened, and the passengers lined up to get off. Only then did they realize that it was similar to the metal box and was also a Means of transportation.
Good heavens! How could such a huge means of transportation move?
The common people marveled, the emperors were captivated, and ancient physicists such as Zhang Heng, Zu Chongzhi, and Shen Kuo went wild. They desperately wanted to understand how this Means of transportation worked.
The Automobile had been the same, and so was this. The Future Era held too many wondrous things. They wondered whether they would ever have the chance to contact the Owner of the Celestial Screen.
They followed An Ran’s perspective into the train carriage and saw rows of neat, clean seats. When the train began moving smoothly, they marveled.
Then came the envy, jealousy, and resentment, especially from people who suffered from motion sickness. Riding in a swaying carriage made them miserable every time. If only they had a vehicle like this.
Some people watched the scenery outside race backward and exclaimed, "It's too fast!"
Before long, the Heavenly Screen closed. The scenery was repetitive, so an hour was enough. An Ran would need more than six hours to reach her destination by train.
After the Heavenly Screen closed, the common people returned to their own affairs and discussed what they had witnessed. The spectacle had been astonishing.
Qin Shi Huang thought of the white giant serpent that could carry over a thousand people and move as swiftly as the wind. He could not calm his thoughts, and his desire to contact the Owner of the Celestial Screen grew stronger. He ordered the School of Yin-Yang to find a way to communicate with the Owner of the Heavenly Screen.
Liu Che felt the same way. The white giant serpent was magnificent—he wanted one! Since they could not establish contact, why not find people to build one? If the Future Era could make it, they could too. With enough people pooling their wisdom, they would eventually be able to produce one!
Li Shimin watched the many wondrous Means of transportation in the Future Era and realized that the Ministry of Works was important. If they could manufacture similar Means of transportation, it would have far-reaching effects on the economy and other areas.
The emperors of the Late Qing Dynasty were particularly shaken by the white giant serpent. They already had trains, but their appearance and speed could not compare with this High-speed rail. If the Future Era's technology could reach such a level in little more than a hundred years, how powerful must that Nation be? Even if they knew someone would seize their Realm and Dynasty and prepared in advance, could they withstand them?
When the Heavenly Screen opened again, it was past three in the afternoon. An Ran had left the High-Speed Rail Station and reached the automobile station, where she was buying a ticket to The Town.
After seeing the High-speed rail, they were no longer surprised by automobiles. They even found them somewhat lacking: they were smaller, and their interiors were neither as clean nor as comfortable as the High-speed rail.
As time passed, the People of Ancient Times watched the surrounding scenery and realized that their destination was becoming more and more remote.
The tall buildings and automobiles became less common, while trees and patches of grass grew more numerous.
It was not until An Ran got off the automobile, hailed an electric three-wheeled vehicle, and gave the name of her village that they realized An Ran’s hometown was actually in the countryside!
Wait, you have so many beautiful clothes, eat such good food, and even have automobiles. You can go to school and work—and you are from the countryside?
Although their observations over the past few days had shown that An Ran was neither part of the Imperial Nobility nor especially wealthy, they had assumed she came from a prosperous urban family.
Now that they were told she had merely come from the countryside, it was simply unbelievable.
“My heavens, are even rural people this wealthy in the future era?”
"Then how comfortably do city people live?"
“So she is a rural person like us after all. The difference is enormous.”
“Life in the future era is far too blissful!”
Their envy, jealousy, and resentment peaked when they saw the three-story Western-style house with a courtyard. It was not very large, but its snow-white walls, beautiful tiles, and abundance of valuable transparent glass made it look extremely wealthy. Without being told, no one would ever have guessed that it stood in the countryside.
The land here was also remarkably flat, unlike the land in their villages, which was full of pits and bumps. A horse-drawn carriage could not even cross it.
This road was flat and seamless. It did not look as though anyone had paved it with stone bricks. What could they have used to make it?
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