Chapter 171: A Bowl of White Porridge Moves Me to Tears
Chapter 171
While the common people were still skeptical, Gu Sang continued, "These various aftereffects are damages to the body that cannot be reversed, no matter how well you rest during the postpartum period or how well you take care of yourself afterward."
"The concept of 'postpartum syndrome' is the biggest scam since ancient times. I often hear people say, 'Your back pain is because you didn't rest well after childbirth,' or 'Your headaches must be because you didn't take proper care during the postpartum period,' and so on."
"That's not the case. Some conditions are simply caused by childbirth itself, and no amount of postpartum care can change that."
"I once read a news article about a man who accompanied his wife during childbirth. After witnessing the bloody and painful process of female childbirth firsthand, he developed a psychological condition. His condition was that he no longer loved his wife. He said that every time he looked at her, he was reminded of the bloody scene from the day of delivery, which terrified him."
"Women endure the hardships of pregnancy and the excruciating pain of childbirth, not to mention the physical damage to their bodies. Yet, as the man of the house, just seeing the bloody scene of his wife giving birth was enough to make him afraid to face her, even to the point of divorcing her. I want to ask, what did the husband go through? What harm did he suffer? The child is indeed the product of two people, but the damage from pregnancy and childbirth is borne solely by the woman."
The women watching the livestream fell silent.
Some women who had not yet experienced childbirth were shocked and frightened after hearing Gu Sang's words.
They frantically sought out their mothers.
Grasping their mothers' hands, they asked fearfully, "Mom, is what the goddess said true? You never told me that after giving birth, you could have uterine prolapse or urinary incontinence."
"Hah, what a massive deception. If the goddess hadn't told us, we would never have known how much damage it does to our bodies."
"I remember now, my neighbor's sister once said that while using the toilet, a piece of flesh suddenly fell out, and after that she..."
"Hahaha, no wonder the midwife wouldn't let my husband in on that day, saying the delivery room was unlucky. Now I understand that these traditions passed down were actually to protect us. It wasn't about bad luck at all! They were just afraid it would leave a psychological scar!"
"If men saw the scene of us giving birth, they'd probably avoid us like the plague."
Many women, both married mothers and unmarried girls, had an epiphany.
Even those who had gone through pregnancy and childbirth were unclear about the postpartum damages, because for generations they were only told that they must rest well after childbirth, or else they'd suffer lifelong ailments.
So when they experienced urinary incontinence,
uterine prolapse,
frequent headaches, hair loss, and other aftereffects, they all thought it was because they didn't rest properly after childbirth. Their mothers-in-law would only scold them, saying it was their fault for not taking proper postpartum care.
It turns out, the concept of 'postpartum syndrome' is the biggest scam!
When all the women learned this truth, their eyes quietly reddened.
This scam had fooled their ancestors for generations, fooled them for a lifetime.
All the blame was pushed onto women, while men remained uninvolved. The illnesses after childbirth were all blamed on women for not taking proper postpartum care.
Gu Sang let out a sigh, causing the pent-up emotions of these ancient women to burst forth instantly, tears streaming down their faces.
Gu Sang, lost in complex thoughts, walked downstairs. Gu Qing was waiting at the door, looking down at her own toes.
"Let's go get some bubble tea."
Gu Qing looked up and around, noticing that Chen Yun and the others were gone.
"Did they all leave?"
"Mm-hmm, let's go too." Gu Sang nodded and left the history museum with Gu Qing.
In contrast to Gu Sang's heavy mood, Gu Qing seemed to be in quite good spirits. Since getting in the car, the corners of her mouth had been turned up in a smile that wouldn't fade.
The scene of the confession earlier had made Gu Qing's blood boil with excitement.
Hahaha!
Good!
Gu Qing looked at her with sparkling eyes: "Gu Sang, what you did today was incredibly badass! Damn, if those quotes were posted online, they'd definitely go viral."
"Are you still the same bookworm as before?"
"I'm even starting to doubt if you were just pretending to be well-behaved at home before. Maybe you were actually rebellious inside, with very progressive ideas."
"Hahaha! From now on, you're my goddess!"
Gu Sang propped one hand on the car window frame and sighed, "I just chose not to get married or have children. It's not rebellion, it's just a choice."
Hearing this, Gu Qing almost applauded Gu Sang.
But she was still driving, so she had to suppress the urge to clap for Gu Sang.
However, she absolutely agreed with Gu Sang in her heart!
"I don't care, it's still awesome!"
"You don't know how much I hate hearing those relatives of mine say things like 'If you don't get married, there won't be anyone to take care of your corpse when you die.'"
"It makes me want to laugh. I mean, once I'm dead, I'm dead. I can lie anywhere, right?"
"Besides, when I'm dead, they can't morally blackmail me anymore. Are they saying that having descendants would somehow bring me back to life to find a place to lie down?"
"To be honest, I really don't care what happens to my body after I die. They could turn my ashes into fireworks and let me explode with a bang, for all I care."
"By that point, I won't be able to feel pain anyway."
The ancient people in the livestream collectively drew in a sharp breath.
How... how unorthodox!
They wanted to curse out loud, but they found they couldn't.
After all, how someone wants to handle their affairs after death is none of their business.
Suddenly, everyone realized something.
That is — as long as you don't care, what others think is none of their business!
That's right!
They had lived such hard lives, why should they worry about what happens after death?
It's better to be like the people of the future, waving their sleeves and not taking a single cloud with them when they leave.
Seeing that the ancient people didn't argue back for the first time, Gu Sang's lips curled into a smile, and she nodded in agreement: "That's right! As long as you're not bound by morality yourself, others can't morally blackmail you."
"The idea that marriage is only for continuing the family line, or that marriage is only so that someone will worship you after death, these thoughts are laughable when you think about it."
"I have so much of my life ahead of me. Should I trade decades of my life just so someone will worship me after I'm gone?"
"If I live these decades splendidly, when I'm old and can't move anymore, I can lie in bed and reminisce about how I didn't waste my time in this world. It's better than lying there full of regret, thinking about how things might have been different if I hadn't gotten married."
For the first time, the two sisters had such an open and honest conversation about their views on marriage, only to discover they shared common thoughts.
If they didn't meet someone they wholeheartedly loved, they would absolutely refuse to compromise.
They'd be a bit selfish and live for themselves!
Because those who are too selfless, too weak, and only know how to compromise live too painfully in marriage, only to be exploited.
Gu Qing grew more animated as she spoke, continuing, "Today's TV dramas are also stupid, always going on about destroying three realms for love, disregarding everything else for love."
"A rich, beautiful girl marrying down to a poor, ambitious guy, solely to accompany him through hardships."
"And then with a face full of emotion saying, 'This is the first time I've felt the warmth of home.' For fuck's sake, getting all teary-eyed over a bowl of plain porridge, it makes me want to puke!"