Chapter 266: System Reform

At that very moment, in a secure conference room of the General Office, a meeting was underway regarding the future of the maid school.

The future of the maid school had been the subject of several special investigations commissioned by the General Office, involving CHEKA, the Law Society, and the General Administration of Political Security, all under the pretext of “better promoting the welfare of the Elders.” The scope of the investigation covered everything from targeted employment rates, transfer employment rates, and training costs to ideological status, work performance, and consumption habits—touching upon every aspect of the maids’ studies, lives, and work.

The General Office’s investigation was not a spur-of-the-moment decision but was specifically launched in response to the current situation with the maids. However, since the Lin Xiaoya case, this sensitive topic, which had once sparked a “revolution,” had to be brought back to the table for discussion.

Since the first batch of maids was distributed after the Maid Revolution of 1631, almost every Elder, with very few exceptions, had purchased one or two maids over the past two years. Even female Elders bought maids for housekeeping purposes. Families like the Qian brothers, who also had to manage the activities of the Feiyun Club, each bought two or three.

Including other “life service personnel” serving the Elders, the servant class under the jurisdiction of the General Office, dedicated to the Elders’ daily lives, had already grown to over a thousand people.

Although this class was not large in number, they were the people who saw and spoke with the Elders every day. This was especially true for the “life secretaries” at the top of this hierarchy: some had already borne “second-generation” children for the Elders. Even if they might not become the Elders’ wives in the future, as the mothers of the Elders’ children, their status in the family would not be low.

While the Elders were rarely dissatisfied with the current state of affairs, the more insightful members of the Executive Committee and the Elder Council were aware of the problems inherent in this system. In the daily reports submitted by the “Ten-Man Groups” planted in various agencies, schools, and factories, in the routine anti-corruption checks by CHEKA, and in the “denunciation materials” sent in by naturalized citizens and natives through various channels, the frequency of terms like “maid,” “life secretary,” “the chief’s servant girl,” and “the Elder’s woman” was constantly increasing.

The General Office’s investigation was launched precisely for this reason. Not only was “maid politics” beginning to emerge, but the maids’ awkward legal status had been mentioned more than once in certain professional discussions and was fully exposed by the Lin Xiaoya case.

Ma Jia had specifically talked to Xiao Zishan about this issue.

In their conversation, Ma Jia specifically mentioned Ji Xin’s report about Cheng Yongxin’s suggestion to use the Great Ming Code for the defense.

“Although Cheng Yongxin’s defense idea is based on a completely erroneous understanding of the Great Ming Code, it also shows how awkward the current status of maids is. I’ve checked: the General Office requires them to sign a deed of absolute sale. Their status as slaves actually follows the old practice of the Guangzhou station, which was originally a preventive measure to stop purchased people from escaping, using the authority of the Ming government to deter runaway slaves. It was also an emergency measure from our early days when our legal system was incomplete, adopted to manage a large number of native personnel according to the traditional customary law of the Ming Dynasty. Now that a new legal system is gradually being established, it conflicts with the old measures, and it’s no longer necessary to continue using this system. Firstly, our political system will certainly not support the legalization of slavery; secondly, excessive personal dependency is not good and could easily lead to a ‘booi’ system. After all, most people still habitually think that slaves are more useful than talented people.”

Xiao Zishan said, “Cheng Yongxin’s idea may not be reliable, but what’s more worrying is Elder Yang’s own thoughts. I’ve told you about his ideas.”

“Yes, legally speaking, Yang Xinwu’s idea is feasible, but if it were really carried out, it would inevitably lead to terrible consequences. Fortunately, you managed to suppress it with a few words,” Ma Jia said, subtly complimenting Xiao Zishan.

“A huge storm.”

“No, much more serious than a huge storm. The negative consequences would likely be long-term. That’s why I say your conversation was a contribution for the ages.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Not at all.” Ma Jia believed that most Elders, including Xiao Zishan, had an inadequate understanding of the negative aspects of “Elder legal immunity.” “You know, Yang Xinwu’s basic idea of taking the blame himself is based on the ‘Elder immunity’ in the Common Program. This immunity is too broadly defined. Apart from the three capital crimes, it essentially exempts Elders from all legal responsibility. In other words, within the Elder Council, there is only ‘family law,’ not actual law. This is a rather dangerous situation: it not only involves the issue of discriminating against and oppressing natives but also affects the unity within the Elder Council.”

Ma Jia had conducted in-depth research on the legal status of maids. This wasn’t something he started only after the General Office assigned the “research project.” From the very first day the maid system was established, he had secretly assigned this research topic within the Law Society.

“Tell me more. You know the maid system is about to be reformed,” Xiao Zishan said, taking a sip of tea.

Ma Jia knew that this Director of the General Office loved tea. The various overseas stations would often procure small quantities of the Ming Dynasty’s “famous teas” for “special use.” In fact, most Elders didn’t care about drinking tea; it was mainly to serve this Director Xiao.

However, Director Xiao’s tea drinking had none of the “savoring” aspect. He was accustomed to using a medium-sized enamel mug from the old time and space, drinking with audible gulps, just as Miaoyu would have called “drinking like a cow.”

Ma Jia also took a sip of tea and said:

“The case of Lin Xiaoya reflects two basic perceptions many of our Elders have about their maids: first, that maids are slaves, if not ‘talking tools’ like cattle and horses, then at least inferior slaves; second, that maids are the nobility among the naturalized citizens.

“Obviously, these two perceptions are contradictory, yet they are a unity of opposites. Because maids are so special, they are indeed servants, but they are the servants of the Elders. As members of the naturalized citizenry, they are actually at the bottom of the legal ladder, regardless of which legal system we’re talking about. They not only lack personal freedom, but even their right to buy their freedom has been revoked; they must be completely dependent on the Elder himself. Yet, as the Elders’ maids, they are also the naturalized citizens closest to the Elders, and the Elders possess legal privileges under the Common Program. This plants hidden dangers for many future legal issues.

“Director Xiao, it’s not uncommon in the Elder Council for Elders to give their maids special treatment. Wen Desi has spoken about this issue.”

“Some Elders are more emotionally invested. Besides, these maids are like their first wives. They’ve been through thick and thin together. If they have children, the bond is even stronger,” Xiao Zishan said. “I can completely understand that.”

“Exactly. Therefore, the inconspicuous title of ‘maid’ or ‘life secretary’ is far from summarizing their true status. And closeness inevitably breeds trust. Perhaps some Elders trust their life secretaries more than their fellow Elder comrades, for all we know.”

Xiao Zishan nodded. “It’s human nature.”

“Then, it comes to the maids’ humble status. Cheng Yongxin’s imagined ‘Great Ming Code’ is more a reflection of the true status of maids in her mind: maids are objectified, a kind of ‘talking livestock.’ I don’t mean to denigrate her here, because many in the Elder Council think this way. They like their maids, love their maids, but that doesn’t stop them from thinking of a maid as a beloved dog.

“But thinking this way puts all the Elders’ maids and others of similar status in a dangerous position. Today it was Lin Xiaoya who died, but couldn’t it be another maid tomorrow? Regardless of whether the line of reasoning for acquittal is ‘a slave killing a slave is not murder, just destruction of property,’ or ‘I’m an Elder, killing someone just means a slap on the wrist.’”

“So this line of thinking is very dangerous…”

“Yes. In fact, these two approaches could easily trigger a sense of crisis among the Elders. It’s like opening Pandora’s box.”

“If I don’t like someone, I can just order my maid to kill their maid, just to spite them. Then I can either say the other person wasn’t human, or I can step forward and say I killed them, and see what they can do about it.”

“Indeed. Although I think the possibility of such a weirdo existing is low, we can’t rule out accidents. People can change. It’s better to believe that the fear of punishment is human nature than to believe in inherent human goodness.”

“What if such a weirdo does appear? Does the legal department have a way to deal with it?”

“There are ways. If someone really brings up this ‘property’ argument, then we won’t press murder charges. The prosecution’s opinion would be that this ‘property’ is too dangerous and has caused personal injury, thereby ordering the owner of the ‘property’ to destroy it immediately.”

Xiao Zishan nodded. “But that would be too ugly. It would hurt feelings.”

“If that day comes, it will be the beginning of the division of the Elder Council.”

“Hmm,” Xiao Zishan grunted, looking at the several Elders at the conference table. While Ma Jia was expounding on the legal issues of maids, the others had remained silent, not joining the conversation. Now, seeing Xiao Zishan’s gaze turn to them, someone finally spoke up.

The first to speak was Dong Weiwei. As the head of the maid training class, she had long had her own views on the maid system: “Regarding the issue of maids, I agree with Comrade Ma Jia’s views. The deed of absolute sale for maids is not conducive to their management. I’m not a feminist; I’m speaking purely from the perspective of education and management.”

She cleared her throat. “The current maids are too dependent on the Elders. It’s equivalent to being ‘sold absolutely,’ which makes them focus all their energy on how to gain and maintain favor, because that is practically their only path in life. As for the content we teach in the training class, if they think it’s useful for gaining favor, they study hard. If they think it’s useless, they are inattentive. This is something that can’t be changed, no matter how many canes you break.”