On the outskirts of bustling Beijing, a middle-aged couple, Li Qiang and Wang Mei, sit in their cozy hut and face a big and delicate topic: having children. Li Qiang, a steady engineer, and Wang Mei, a teacher, are both rational and modern thinkers. However, when they decide to welcome a new life, they find themselves caught between traditional ideas and modern values.
In their life circles, the topic of discussing the gender of children is almost everywhere. Whether it's a family gathering or a dinner with friends, this topic inevitably comes up. Some relatives are outspoken that having a boy is a source of pride and continuity in the family, while some friends are more open-minded and believe that both boys and girls are equally precious.
This divide exists not only in their small community, but also in a microcosm of society as a whole. With the passage of time, the imbalance between men and women has become a social problem that cannot be ignored. In some regions, men far outnumber women, and this imbalance not only affects the marriage market, but can also lead to a range of social, economic and even psychological problems.
Li Qiang and Wang Mei's fertility journey is like a bottomless whirlpool, involved in various superstitions and methods of sex selection that cannot be confirmed by science. At a family gathering, relatives sit around and discuss how to "ensure" the birth of a boy.
Some people suggested that Wang Mei eat more alkaline food, while others mysteriously shared the "secret" of choosing a pregnancy time according to the lunar calendar. Li Qiang sat on the side, his brows furrowed, his heart full of contradictions. As a well-educated person, he knew that these were claims without scientific basis, but the pressure of his family and the influence of traditional beliefs made it difficult for him to completely get rid of these irrational thoughts.
Wang Mei's mood is even more complicated. As a soon-to-be mother, she knows the weight on her shoulders. She often reflects in the dead of night on why the idea of having a boy or a girl is still so deeply entrenched in the 21st century. She searched a lot of information on the Internet and found that the imbalance between men and women has become a social problem that cannot be ignored. According to the latest statistics, there is already a serious imbalance in the ratio of births between men and women in some areas, resulting in enormous challenges to the social fabric and the health of the population. For example, gender imbalance may increase social instability and even affect the balance of the marriage market.
Wang Mei was shocked by the data and analysis, and she began to realize that the problem was far more serious than she had imagined. In a late-night conversation between the couple, Li Qiang confessed: "Are we also inadvertently contributing to this inequality and imbalance?" Wang Mei was speechless, she knew that Li Qiang was telling the truth. They began to delve into why so many people were pursuing to have boys, and what socio-cultural factors were at play.
As news of Wang Mei's pregnancy spreads, Li Qiang and she find themselves caught up in a whirlpool about the gender of their unborn child. The expectations of the family, the chatter of friends, and even the elders in the community are eagerly discussing, as if everyone is hoping that the unborn child will be a boy. Wang Mei felt a deep pressure, and more than once she shed tears on her pillow in the dead of night.
Li Qiang was by his wife's side, and his heart was also mixed. He began to read and study the gender balance in depth, and found that the imbalance between men and women was far more serious than they could have imagined. The data he saw showed that in some regions, the male population far outnumbered the female population, which not only led to an imbalance in the marriage market, but also brought a series of social problems, including an aging population and a decline in social stability. He realized that every family's choice invisibly affects the future of society.
In the hospital, when faced with the doctor's question asking whether to check the sex of the fetus, Wang Mei looked at Li Qiang, and both of them had firmness in their eyes. They chose not to know. This decision seemed to make the burden on their hearts much lighter. From that moment on, they were more concerned about the health of the fetus than their sex. They begin to imagine a different future, a world where gender is no longer the world that defines one's values and roles.
As the pregnancy progressed, Wang Mei's belly grew bigger and bigger, and their home was full of warmth and anticipation. They began to discuss what to name their children, how to decorate the nursery, and how to be good parents. There is no longer a word of gender in their conversations, only visions and plans for their future lives.
In the end, when the child was born, Li Qiang and Wang Mei saw not a boy or girl, but the crystallization of their love and hope. In that moment, they deeply felt that the miracle of life transcended the boundaries of gender.