The car arrived at the town government entrance but could go no further. Because there were human walls blocking the way. The driver honked twice without startling the crowd, then said, "Mr. Lin, I’ll step out first to see what’s happening." Lin Xiang quickly replied, "It’s okay, it’s just a few steps anyway, I can manage it myself." She got out of the car, pulling her injured right leg as she struggled to push through the crowd. Seeing so many people, Lin Xiang guessed that Wang Xing was probably already causing a commotion. Therefore, she couldn’t let her image collapse. In the car, Secretary Hu watched Lin Xiang, worried that she might be pushed around by the bustling crowd, and quickly followed to protect her. Lin Xiang squeezed through the crowd with difficulty and indeed saw Wang Xing kneeling on the ground, crying out her grievances. "I implore the leaders to stand up for me!" "I implore the leaders to stand up for me!" Each time she shouted, she banged her head on the ground, and even from a distance, Lin Xiang could see the bloodstains on her forehead. It was shocking to behold. But at the town government’s entrance, there were only two grassroots personnel maneuvering with Wang Xing, not even a low-ranking official in sight. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝘯𝘦𝘵 Evidently, they had no intention of getting involved in this matter. The situation had already escalated to this point, might as well blow it up! "Xingzi!" Lin Xiang shouted, rushing directly over, "Xingzi, why are you being so foolish... You’ve already been bullied terribly by your family, lost so much blood, how can your body take it?" Wang Xing, though initially holding back, felt that if she persisted, she would surely move the leaders. But Lin Xiang’s concerned words instantly shattered her inner defenses, and she hugged Lin Xiang, crying. "Xiao Lin, I’m sorry, I couldn’t find a leader to help..." Lin Xiang held her, whispering near her ear, "It’s okay, I’m here now. Don’t think about anything else, just cry, let out all your grievances." Secretary Hu finally squeezed out, seeing Lin Xiang hugging and crying with a female comrade, feeling a headache coming on. He toughened up and approached Lin Xiang, asking, "Comrade Lin, what’s going on? If you’ve suffered any grievance, let’s sit down and talk it out. Creating a scene at the town government entrance isn’t the solution, the impact is quite bad." Lin Xiang, amid her tears and snot, accused, "Secretary Hu, didn’t you ask me a few times today how my leg got hurt? It is related to this female comrade." Secretary Hu’s expression towards Wang Xing instantly turned unfriendly. Now, Comrade Lin is the lucky star of our Cotton Textile Factory, we’re waiting for Wilson to come in a few days and secure a big order. At this critical moment, how can Lin Xiang be injured? No, if Lin Xiang’s leg injury was caused by this female comrade, why would they be hugging like sisters? Lin Xiang, in a moderate voice, recounted Wang Xing’s ordeal to Secretary Hu, and those nearby heard it clearly. "In this day and age, is there still arranged marriage?" Lin Xiang snorted, "Exactly! If they were siblings, it might be understandable, but the problem is, it’s her aunt who wants to sell her for the bride price! And the target is her elder cousin! Although family should help each other, the issue is, her aunt has her own daughter!" "They keep saying it’s for Xingzi’s good, handpicking a good match for her. If it’s really that good, why not marry their own daughter, why insist on marrying the niece from another branch? Isn’t it just because the niece’s family has no boys? That old widower has already buried three wives, his son is even older than Xingzi, isn’t this pushing Xingzi into the fire pit?" "That family is so unreasonable, just because I spoke a few words for Xingzi, they accuse me of instigating Xingzi to escape the marriage, and the whole family, young and old, stormed into my home and beat up my mom, my brother, and me. Our family of three, none could escape unscathed!" Lin Xiang’s acting was quite good, amid tears and snot, she accused well, controlling the rhythm, and the onlookers started cursing along. Even so, the town government still had no leaders come out. It shouldn’t be, right? The Township Party Secretary of Mianyang Town is a good official who cares for the people; they’ve already made such a scene, it’s impossible that not even a face can be seen. Or could it be that the Secretary is not at the town government? Wouldn’t this mean a wasted trip? Lin Xiang wasn’t afraid of causing trouble; she was just worried that the courage Xingzi mustered with difficulty would deflate. At this moment, a military vehicle slowly stopped outside the crowd. "What’s happening? Why are so many people gathered at the town government entrance?" The leader in the vehicle asked. The Township Party Secretary, sitting in the front passenger seat, hurriedly replied, "Sir, I’ll get out and have a look." The Township Party Secretary got out, and the onlookers spontaneously made way, allowing him to walk easily up to Lin Xiang. Seeing Lin Xiang’s red eyes from crying, the Township Party Secretary was somewhat surprised. What’s going on here? Hearing the voice, Lin Xiang instinctively looked up. Upon seeing the Township Party Secretary, she quickly had Wang Xing help her up, her weak right leg bent, the weight of her body resting on Wang Xing. "What is this? Why cry at the town government entrance? If you’ve been mistreated, you can go to the community service to find the relevant staff to resolve it." Crying and wailing at the town government entrance? What kind of behavior is this! Furthermore, today it’s the leader accompanying him back! Lin Xiang sobbed twice and replied muffledly, "Leader, I didn’t mean to, if it weren’t for being driven to this point, no one would dare make a scene at the town government entrance. My friend and I have truly suffered great injustice and hope the leaders can help us seek justice." Lin Xiang didn’t give the Secretary the chance to speak, and straight away recounted the details to the Secretary once more. Her narration was straightforward and plain, devoid of any flowery embellishments, making it appear very real. The Township Party Secretary frowned tightly, "You’re saying this Wang Xing comrade was forcibly sold by her family to a widower in the village in exchange for a bride price?" Lin Xiang corrected the Secretary’s statement, "To be precise, their whole family has this plan and is putting it into action. Comrade Wang Xing refuses to accept fate and doesn’t want to ruin her future, thus she ran away. If she gets caught by the Wang Family, bride price exchange is her only path!" "Such audacity! The government clearly prohibits arranged marriage, how can there still be people knowingly breaking the law? Doesn’t Director Qian of your commune, doesn’t your team leader of Li Hua Team deal with this?" "Leader, you don’t know, the Wang Family has the most males in our Li Hua Team, and they are accustomed to being arrogant, completely ignoring the team leader. Director Qian is not yet aware of this matter."